Page 70 of Across The Stars
“I’m not,” I cut her off.
I hated the idea and I hated that she thought that of me, but it was not hard to see why she got that impression. I was making mistakes left and right and I wasn’t used to it.
“Well, then what is it? I’m not asking to be your girlfriend here,” she laughed. “But explain it to me.”
“I…” I couldn’t do it. Not quite yet.
Instead, I swung my gaze down the cliff toward the gardens that Akasa had indicated. They were beautiful and used to grow herbal plants and food and they were all in bloom. Looking over my shoulder, I saw a couple of people coming out to the landing to eat and I decided it wasn’t the place to talk to Innifer anymore. Not about the things I wanted to discuss.
“Come with me,” I said.
Taking her hand, I led her away from the railing and across the landing to an archway that led to a stairwell. It spiraled down into the deep canyon and the gardens below.
The stairwell was covered in a glass tunnel that was built into the stone of the cliffside as we descended. When it got dark, motion lights lit up the path, illuminating each step.
“Where are we going?” she asked as we approached the bottom of the steps.
Metal doors slid open and a gust of sweet-smelling, fresh air filled the tunnel. Innifer sucked in a breath, her hair getting swept off her shoulders. The sensation must have been startling because her foot missed the last step and she stumbled forward. I spun around, catching her waist to keep her upright. The little gasp that escaped her lips was so soft and feminine and made it hard to let her go. Honestly, I could have held her in my arms for hours. But eventually, I slowly lowered her to the ground.
“Thanks,” she said bashfully, straightening her hair as she stepped back.
My hand slid down and took hers again, but I released it quickly. I needed to control myself and touching her made that impossible.
Everything about her made it impossible.
Which made my decision to show her the gardens a mistake. Akasa had suggested it because she knew Innifer would enjoy it and we’d have privacy. But privacy was exactly what we didn’t need.
And it was all I wanted…
Moss made the ground spongy. There was no path and the gardens were massive, so if there wasn’t a glass dome covering us, it would have been like we were in the wilderness. And Innifer was entranced by it. All stressful thoughts seemed to leave her, making her lighter on her feet.
And the look on her face was everything. I was going to say something when we got there, but instead, I was charmed by the faint smile on her lips when she saw where we were.
33: Innifer
“Holy shit,” I muttered, unable to hold my tongue.
I wasn’t sure where we were but it was beautiful. Beyond beautiful. Springy moss made the ground soft under my boots, but it was a deep purple color with slightly different shades throughout. Black mushrooms with glowing, blue edges sprouted from the ground in carefully measured patches. And all around there were giant trees with winding branches that looked like big nets. They stretched upward, the nets spread overhead and filled with black leaves the size of my head. From the branches hung thin, hair-like moss in that same dark purple color.
“It’s all so dark,” I said, slowly walking around the giant space.
“Ophenri. The star. It is a dwarf star,” Vahko explained. “It doesn’t give off as much light as your sun. Plants here must absorb much more than they do where you’re from. Which means more color. It turns them black and various other shades close to it.”
I reached out, touching a giant leaf. It felt the same as Earth plants. Cold and pliable.
“That’s so weird. So all of your plants are black? Or dark, I mean.”
“Most of them.” He slowly walked behind me as I explored. “But not on Valer. On Valer, the forests are lush and green and blue. All the colors you can think of, actually. Valer’s star is old and powerful. We thought it was a god at one time, just like humans in ancient times thought of your sun the same way. Strong and warm and magnificent.”
I smiled. I didn’t mean to, but I couldn’t help it. I saw little, wine-colored flowers blooming on a moss-covered log and wanted to touch those, too, but I refrained. I wasn’t sure what the plants were or if they were safe, so I decided to be smart about it. Looking up, I saw that we were covered in a giant, thick, glass dome through which I could see the purplish sky.
“Is this a greenhouse?” I asked. “Well, I mean, a mostly-purple-house.”
Stupid joke…
I glanced at Vahko and saw him just watching me. Not in a stalker way, but like he was fascinated. Which was odd because I had never been fascinating. I looked away, letting my hair hang over my face as I continued walking.
“This is a production facility,” he explained. “We grow herbs and medicinal plants here as well as the fruit you had yesterday. The next section is filled with ponds for fishing.”
