Page 66 of How to Hide Your Angel Kid

He led Pinks down the stairs to the first floor, then through a twisting hallway to the back of the mansion. There, they stopped by a set of large steel doors with a black scanning panel.

Galent blew a small, thin plume of fire onto it—cool orange, hot white, cool orange, and white again. Then he turned the flame into the hottest blue, and stopped.

The doors unlocked with a hiss, revealing a set of gentle stairs lit by warm yellow lights. Galent gestured for Pinks to go first. Limesicart came butting in, so Galent let the cart follow Pinks, its wheels thudding against every step.

Pinks slowed down when he reached the end of the stairs. The basement was vast—this couldn’t possibly be just one room. Buthuge white pillars supported the ceiling, which was a velvety dark blue speckled with glowing stars.

“You really love the stars,” Pinks whispered, staring at the ceiling in awe.

Galent grinned. “Is that your favorite part of my hoard? The stars? I stay up late at night sometimes to stargaze. The night sky in Cartfalls isn’t quite as dark as in the wilderness, but I can still see my favorites. I used to do that with my family.”

Pinks ached. “We could stargaze with you.”

Galent glowed; he looked so happy. “Oh! Um. That’s—That’s amazing. I collected all the things down below for you. Well, not everything. Some are for me.”

Pinks looked down to find a sea of... things. Polished gold coins covered the entire floor, piled around dressers and other exquisite wooden furniture—cribs, rocking chairs, rocking horses. A few books were stacked on a dresser, next to huge bags of yarn.

“Merino wool,” Galent said. “But I also like bamboo. It’s very soft.”

A stack of paintings leaned against the wall, at the foot of three pine trees, all different sizes.

“They’re spelled to be as fresh as the day they were cut,” Galent said. “I understand if you want new trees for the holidays. The ornaments are mine, from my parents. They’re yours if you want them.”

“You’d just give them to me?” Pinks asked, aghast.

“What’s mine will also be yours, if you become my mate,” Galent said, almost shy.

Pinks’ heart skipped. “Let me think about it.”

Galent nodded and watched as Pinks carried Zarrie through the piles of gold.

“These coins are all really shiny,” Pinks said.

“I scrubbed them all myself.”

“For me?”

“For you.”

It must’ve taken decades, to amass a collection like this and turn everything pristine. Pinks trailed his hand over the dresser, wandering over to the far side of the hoard where there was a section of things that didn’t belong. Stacks of video tapes and CDs, some miniature robots, and... a huge humanoid robot, whose head almost touched the ceiling. It was girthy like a tree, made of shiny metal, with tubes and lights running all over it. Its face looked stern.

“That’s an original AlphaBot movie prop,” Galent said proudly. “Made of solid steel.”

“How did you even get it in here?”

“Carefully. I had to make sure it didn’t hit anything on the way down.”

“It’s heavy!”

“I’m strong.” Galent flexed his arms. Pinks tried not to let his drool drip down his chin. Galent’s smile grew. “Would you like me to prove my strength in bed?”

“Actually, yes.”

“Later.” Galent’s eyes darkened.

Pinks gulped and turned back to the movie props. “So, this part of the hoard is yours.”

“Yes.” Galent went up to the giant robot—it towered over him! A giant!—and rested his hand fondly on its side.

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