I stopped bouncing and gripped his shirt, pulling myself up to him. “What is that?”
His hands came up and went to my cheeks. His lips gently pressed to each of my eyes before moving to my ear as he whispered. “My humanity.”
I kissed his neck just below his jaw. “All this because I love plants?”
A corner of his mouth turned up. “All this because you are like no other woman I’ve ever met, little one.”
My eyes met his, and my breath caught. For a long moment, we stood there. His hands on my face, my hands clenching his shirt, our eyes looking past the other’s and into our souls.
Finally, I broke our trance and lowered down from my tiptoes. Reaching over and grabbing whatever small pot was within reach, I held it up. “This one?”
He let go of me and smiled, not breaking his gaze. “Perfect.”
I knew there was more behind the word. He wasn’t speaking of the plant. He hadn’t even looked at it. But I pulled it into my chest and smiled. “Thank you.”
Flagging down the shopkeeper, who had been pruning a seedling that was already blooming a brilliant, orange blossom, Kane placed an order for a few of the pots I had pointed out to be sent to the castle. He scheduled a time for the city’s best gardener to meet with me to make arrangements for more before heading out again.
Before we could exit, the shopkeeper rushed up, “Your highness.” He bowed to Kane. “My lady.” He bowed to me as well. “May I?” With both hands, he held a seedling out to me.
Kane nodded. “You may.”
I looked to Kane and back to the man before me. “It’s beautiful.”
“Not as beautiful as you, but hopefully one day, it’ll grow and fulfil its role in your home if you will accept it.” The man kept his eyes diverted.
I took the small plant, cradling it in both of my hands, bringing it to my face to take in its scent.
He reached out, gripping my wrists. “No!” Letting go, his eyes went wide, and he let stepped back a couple paces. “I am sorry. The eointhias has strong healing properties if allowed to flourish. Just having a healthy one in a room can aid in calming the body to heal faster. However, it can be used as a sedative. Breathing too much of its essence in can put someone in a permanent state of sleep. And only one herb in Naelyra can bring them out.”
“They are rare, especially in the north,” Kane interjected. “It is quite the gift.”
The shopkeeper bowed his head and took another step back. “I have the parent to it. It is one of a few cuttings I have cultivated. I can see no better keeper for it. It would be an honor.”
“Wow. Thank you.” I smiled and held it carefully. “The honor is mine.”
"Well Auriena, you know, we will simply have to make a trip to the Emalne villages if you love nature this much. There, you will get to encounter all sorts of greenery,” Kane offered.
“Oh really? Like really, really? That would be amazing!” I looked around some more. “Maybe we can put a greenhouse in the castle if you do not already have one.”
A smile spread across his face. "Yes really, really. We will have to talk to the builder.” He took the small cutting from my grip and handed it to the man. “Please have this delivered with the others with instructions for it to be set on my desk in the library. She will certainly be in there a great deal of time. Since we will be out for a while, I would hate for something to damage it.”
“Of course. Right away.” The shopkeeper took it and rushed back to his counter, starting the paperwork for their order.
I nudged his arm, shaking my head. "This is a dream, right? None of this is real. You're not real. I'm going to wake up in my life on Earth. A life I felt was just fine until now. But I’ll wake to find all of this will have been nothing but a dream."
"Does this not feel real to you?" He tilted my head up and kissed me lovingly.
I gazed into his features, memorizing his features. "If I were to wake up to find this was a dream, I'd go looking for you."
"Well, luckily it's not a dream" He kissed me again.
"Very lucky." I grinned and returned my attention to the shopkeeper. “Again, thank you. Have a wonderful day.” I tugged Kane to the door.
He followed me out, tossing a bag of coins onto the counter on our way. “I haven't shown you the book shop."
I stood very still, my eyes going wide, my mouth slowly opened. In almost a whisper, I asked, “There’s a book shop? You have a library and a book shop? Is it big? What kind of books? What’s it called?”
He took my hand and walked me around the corner, motioning to another brick building. "Possibly one of the biggest in the world. My books, in the castle, are just my personal collection."
The towering, five story construction was brick like so many of the other structures around it, but it was ornately decorated with copper overhangs over the windows, carvings of creatures on the corners of the roof and stained-glass designs of literature in all of the windows. The entrance, two delicately carved, massive,
