Page 25 of Star Prince

Ian made a disdainful noise. “I imagine he is.”

As the men lagged behind, deep in conversation, Tee’ah focused on the purpose of her visit to the market, forcing herself to shop quickly and efficiently, sensing Ian was suddenly impatient to return to the ship. She found three high-necked, one-piece, all-weather outfits in a rich bluish gray that could double as both her flight uniform and off-duty clothing; a lightweight, short thermal-controllable coat; socks; undergarments; and two nightshirts. With those purchases in several sacks, she stoppedin front of a stand displaying soaps, incense, oils, and assorted medicines.

“I have everything you need,” the young vendor called in a husky voice. She scrutinized Tee’ah’s cap, her butchered hair and dirty clothes, but tactfully displayed no distaste. “Whatever is your desire…or his”—with an overt smile of approval, she gestured somewhere behind Tee’ah— “you will find it here.”

Tee’ah looked over her shoulder, expecting to see Ian, but a tall man, dressed warmly and well, watched her from a stand across the street that was selling fire-cooked meats. The fur-trimmed hood he wore shadowed his features, but she sensed from him an intense, pointed regard. Considering her appearance, she couldn’t believe attraction was the cause of his interest, though the Grüman vendor seemed to think otherwise.

So engrossed was the cloaked gentleman with her that he didn’t notice at first that the cook was trying to hand him a paper-wrapped skewer. Finally, the vendor tugged on his sleeve and the tall man turned away…but not before Tee’ah glimpsed his eyes.

They were golden, like hers.

Her mouth went dry. He wasVash Nadah.

She fought the urge to bolt to where Ian and Muffin stood, several shops away, talking. Instead she forced herself to watch the man and ascertain his intentions. If he had come here to “rescue” her and bring her home, would he not have acted already?

TheVashpaid for his purchase with a gloved hand. Then, by some miracle, he walked off purposefully, as if he were late for an appointment. Perhaps he was only partVash.Or he could be an expatriate, like her, desirous of a less restrictive life.

Regardless, he wasn’t a Dar guard here to force her to go home.

She let out a shaky breath. Shutting her eyes, she composed herself, then turned back to the stand. “I require hair dye,” she said emphatically.

The female vendor uncovered a row of little boxes. “I have the very latest from the outer worlds. Clay-roll,” she declared, struggling with the pronunciation.

Tee’ah admired the exotic Earth products, particularly fascinated by the dark colors— black, rich browns, russet and auburn.Clairol,the labels said in almost illegible runes.

“May I have a translation of the instruction manual?” she asked.

“You won’t need it,” the Grüman merchant replied. “Simply mix the contents of the vials and massage it into your hair, like soap. When the shade is to your liking, rinse with water.”

The procedure was primitive compared to DNA-based hair dye, which altered hair strands on the molecular level.

Tee’ah was beginning to like primitive.

Plunking her bags on the ground, she said, “I’ll take the brown, please.” She needed a betterdisguise, and a new darker hair shade would be the ideal camouflage. With eyeshaders on, she would be able to pass for an Earth-dweller, as she had in Ian’s arms on Donavan’s Blunder.

After selecting several cakes of scented soap, mouth cleanser, and menstruation protectors, she let her fingers drift over a selection of little cubes decorated with a holographic floral pattern. “What lovely boxes.”

“Twenty credits,” the vendor cajoled. “No one sells blockers for less.”

“Blockers?”

“Birth-blockers, yes.”

Tee’ah felt the blood drain from her face, then rush back in a heated blush. The woman smiled knowingly, as if she knew a great secret Tee’ah did not. Though the vendor was barely past her mid-teens, she seemed much older and wiser. Tee’ah envied the young woman’s feminine self-awareness, her apparent worldliness. If only it were possible to fling off innocence like an old coat. “Of course; birth-blockers,” she replied in an airy tone that didn’t quite work. Cheap, easy, and reliable, birth-blockers were the most popular method of birth control for the merchant class. But that was as far as her knowledge went. She hadn’t been taught more, since it was expected she would remain a virgin until she married and thereafter go right to work producing royal heirs.

But her life’s path had changed.She hadchanged it.

She was a free woman now. Self-reliant. Open-minded. Women such as herself chose lovers where and when they pleased.

Did they not?

Her mouth went dry. She glanced wildly to where Ian and Muffin chatted outside a neighboring shop. Ian’s coat was again hooked on his finger and tossed over his shoulder. The fingertips of his other hand were wedged into the back pocket of his jeans. When he briefly tipped his face toward the sky, the thought of his sun-warmed lips on hers sent a languorous tremor of desire coursing through Tee’ah.

“Which one do you fancy?” the vendor coaxed.

Tee’ah spun her gaze back to the girl. “Which who?”

“Whichcube?”

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