Page 24 of Heart’s Prisoner

Lana shook her head. "No, not all. Everyone has different tastes."

"And this is yours?"

Lana closed her eyes, continuing to sway. " I like it, yes. But I like other kinds too." When she opened her eyes, Xerus was watching her again. His expression was dark, but his eyes were bright. When she looked back at him squarely, they stared at each other for a few seconds before Lana had to look away.

She cleared her throat. "Sorry, maybe it's not your thing."

"It's not."

Lana nodded her head and went to turn the music off.

"But it is beautiful."

Lana paused and turned back to him and saw his eyes still on her. She smiled weakly and laughed. "You recognize beauty?" she asked, half-joking.

Xerus` mouth widened. "Yes. I can tell when something is beautiful."

Lana's smile turned to a grin. Xerus lifted his head and some emotion passed over his eyes but Lana didn't catch what it was. She did catch herself staring at him and quickly turned away.

"Let's try something different. How about this?" Lana selected another song. This one was nearly the opposite of the previous with a fast beat and heavy synths.

Xerus seemed indifferent to it. Though he recognized it as dancier music. Lana tried several other pieces of different musical genres that she liked and most of his reactions remained the same.

"Curious..." Lana glanced at the alien then went to the search bar and looked for a genre she didn't like as much but was interested to see if he would. "How about this?" Lana pressed play and heavy metal blasted through the room.

Xerus tensed up at the noise and bent forward, crouching like a predator. His lips lifted in a snarl and his eyes narrowed into fiery slits. A low growl escaped him and he looked ready to attack.

Panicking, Lana quickly shut the music off. "Xerus?" she called to him nervously.

Xerus didn't seem to hear her at first. He huffed and grunted like an animal for a few seconds, his heart jackhammering in his chest. She was about to call to him again when he let out a long breath and straightened his body.

He shook his head and blinked then looked at her. "What the hell was that?"

"Heavy metal."

"...I wouldn't play that again if I were you."

Lana made a big mental note on that one. "Let's try one more. This one’s not so heavy." Lana found a song that was worldly in its essence, focusing on drum beats and bass instruments. When it began to play, Xerus seemed to perk up.

"Mm. This is better."

"Is this the kind of music your people listen to?" she asked.

When Xerus gazed at her, Lana put up her hand. "Ah. Forgot. No, questions."

Xerus sank to the ground, placing himself in a crouching position. "It is similar to certain songs among my kind, yes."

Not wanting to bother moving her laptop, Lana sat down on the ground next to the glass. "This one derives from the desert and tropical regions in my world."

Xerus listened, his eyes fogging over as if recalling something. "This reminds me ofYersha'sdance."

Lana leaned in slightly, her forehead nearly touching the window. "Who is Yersha?"

Xerus' eyes flickered over to her then looked away. "She wasVeradis'sons' mate."

Lana recalled that name and remembered it was a name mentioned in that vow she took when she and Xerus began to play Chess with the high stakes.

She was about to ask whoVeradiswas but decided she better not push it. "What's the dance like?" she asked instead.

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