Page 69 of Guardian's Heart

On the other hand, seeing Zaarek's mouth agape as he stared at me with the hungry eyes of a predator it might be a good idea to keep this dress to ourselves.

"Nova," he said dryly. "You look absolutely beautiful."

"You think so?" I turned for him. I would have twirled, but the dress was pretty tight and not really the twirling type of dress.

"Think so?" He walked over to me and took my face into his hands. "I don't know what I did to deserve you, but you are the most beautiful female in the entire universe."

Honestly, his words and the truth of them written all over his face made my knees go weak. Being wanted by this man… "I don't think I understand how I got this lucky either," I admitted and kissed him.

"When this is over, I'm going to take you to a big feast or something," Zaarek promised, lifting me off the ground. "I can't wait to kill everybody who dares look at you in this dress."

I giggled. I shouldn't have, but Zaarek had a way with words that made my heart go all batty and fill my stomach with millions of bubbles. Which in turn turned my mind to mush. Hence this babbled word salad.

I leaned up and whispered, "I'm not wearing any panties."

He already knew that since he watched me undress and put the dress on, but his reaction was still everything I had expected and more.

The time to say goodbye came way too quickly. I liked Silla and Garth and wouldn't have minded to stay longer, but after what Kevin inadvertently solved last night and finding out Raasla's name, our mission had grown hotter, and the three of us were antsy to solve the final puzzle.

Before we left, Silla gave me one more task. "If you find Raasla and Zoe, will you tell her that I believe I found her mother and sister, Regina and Lizzie?"

Silla had told me about the database she and Ashley were maintaining in order to unite as many humans as possible. This was good news, and I was thankful for the chance to be the bearer of it when and if we ran into Raasla and Zoe.

Silla's expression turned far away. Her smile was nearly ethereal. "Small miracles like this happen here every day. I'm so blessed to be able to play a small part in it."

"You are doing such important work here, Silla," I said, meaning it. Even though, for just a moment, I wished that finding my brother Tuck would be that simple. She had asked me if I had anybody she wanted me to be on the lookout for, but everybody I cared for on Earth was long dead, so I had declined. I feared that should I allow this sliver of hope in, thiswhat if, it would drive me insane. Tucker was long dead. End of story. If he wasn't, he would have come back for me. He would have reached out.

Instinctively, I took her hand, something I had never done with a stranger before, but just like an unknown power linked Zaarek and me, I felt a similar draw to Silla, who I would have probably never met on Earth. That alone seemed enough to make me believe in fate. I said, "Something tells me that you have more than asmallpart in this."

Her eyes warmed at me, and she pressed my hand in return. "Many wheels are turning to right things that have been wronged." She looked heavenward. "I've never been a believer in God or fate or anything like this, but now I'm convinced that some higher power is turning the lever to get all those wheels aligned."

Her words sounded poetic and would have turned me off a few weeks ago, but now…. On Earth, I would have called hera brainwashed fanatic, but here, and with everything that had happened, I wasn't so sure she wasn't right.

"Before we go, may I take a few images for my show, please?" Nock reminded us of his presence.

"Please. We can use all the publicity we can," Silla waved him on.

Zaarek sighed loudly, shaking his head. "After Garth's story last night and now the pictures, the insufferable Kred will only get worse."

I snickered. Over the course of the last few weeks, I had learned a thing or two about Nock and Zaarek's love-hate relationship. They were like brothers, and Zaarek would rather die than admit that he cared for the holostreamer. While Nock… I thought he craved Zaarek's approval and recognition. I would have to talk to Zaarek to make him be nicer to Nock. Nock was a great help; I didn't think that we would have accomplished half of what we had so far without him.

"Oh, you like him, and you know it," I teased.

"Well, I wish you good luck on your endeavor," Garth said, watching his wife talk to Nock for a few more minutes.

"Thank you, Garth, and let me assure you again that I will return to my initial mission of rescuing humans as soon as I unravel this secret."

"Why do I have the feeling that there's a big scandal brewing?" Garth asked, returning his attention back to Zaarek while my gaze moved to Silla. She looked so small and fragile, and yet it was more than obvious that she had this nearly seven-foot giant wrapped around her little finger.

"Let me know if there's anything I can do to help," Garth offered.

"We are good for the moment, but thank you, Lord Protector. It would help, though, if you send a message to the Ohrur that I fulfilled my mission to your satisfaction."

"That I can do," Garth agreed. "I don't suppose you want me to mention the guests staying back with you?"

"It might help if you did. I'm planning to inform the Ohrurs that Nova is staying with me as a mediator for the next group." Zaarek pulled me to him.

"I can do that," Garth said.

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