“Thank you.” Her voice was low in the surrounding din. “This means a lot.” She paused. “I’ll pay you back somehow, I promise.”
She smiled at him then and his frown disappeared.
No reply came forth.
Her smile had him transfixed for a bit and he didn’t look away.
Couldn’t.
…didn’t want to.
19
To her surprise, Riv actually let her shop.
Whatever she picked up and asked if she could get, he only shrugged.
To test him, she even picked up what looked like a very expensive garment based on the trimmings and the golden material. When she turned it to him, his gaze flicked to the thing only briefly before returning to her, and all he did was shrug.
She wished she could see his face because the shades and face covering hid a lot, but as they moved through the market, she could feel his attention on her and on her only.
He was like a rock. Unmoving and dangerous if you pushed too hard.
Whenever she moved to a stall, picked up something, and turned to glance his way, he was always hovering there like her personal guard.
He had no idea, but this little shopping trip, this little sense of normalcy, was rescuing her from a terror she hadn’t known she’d been running from.
She didn’t say it to him, but it felt good having him there.
After she’d seen that alien slug hovering on the light-blue ring, it had brought back memories she thought she’d overcome.
It was the same race of aliens that had abducted her from Earth and seeing one again so close had made all her systems set to FLEE.
It had taken everything within her not to dash across the market and keep running.
She hadn’t seen one of those aliens since the ship had crashed and a part of her had naively believed she would never see a hint of them again.
So much for wishing to ignore her past.
She glanced at Riv nervously as he paid for some hygiene products.
He wanted to know why she’d reacted the way she had.
She wanted to tell him, but not here, and not before she accepted the reality that she’d have to talk about it.
She hadn’t spoken about it to anyone since it’d happened.
She hadn’t had anyone to speak with about it.
Glancing down to the hamper in her arms, she looked at the items there. A set of two shirts, or tunics as they called them, two pairs of trousers, boots, and the hygiene products. That’s all she needed for now and she was about to tell him this when an exclamation farther down the street caught her attention.
It took her a few moments for her to see what was happening but even then, she couldn’t quite understand it.
It seemed like a procession, as if a dignitary of some kind was passing through.
Whoever it was must be important because all the aliens around them were moving out of the way, plastering themselves to the side of the street as the procession came through.
But something didn’t seem right, and she realized what that was when she looked more closely at the aliens moving out of the way.
They weren’t moving out of the way only so the procession could pass.
They were scampering to safety, trying to wedge themselves in the spaces between the stalls.
Those who couldn’t do that were hurrying away in the opposite direction and others were plastering themselves against the stalls themselves as if they could become a part of the metalwork.
The merchants themselves looked frozen and some even looked like they’d gone pale.
Frowning, her eyes fell back on the procession and she almost gasped.
There were guards travelling with someone between them…and she recognized the guards.
She understood now why the other aliens were reacting the way they were because her fight-or-flight response was telling her she needed to run.
What were the chances of seeing so many things that reminded her of her abductors?
Coming down the street was a group of about twelve of the species of guards that had been on the alien ship.
They’d been the ones to help abduct her from Earth.
They’d been the ones who’d enforced order on the ship.
Lauren’s throat went dry.
They looked like alligators walking upright and they snarled at the aliens by the sides of the street…just as they’d snarled at her on the ship.
In the middle of the group was an alien type she’d never seen before.
And it was hideous.
It looked like an oversized green toad dressed in a lavish white robe. Its dark eyes flicked over the aliens along the street and she swore she felt the air become chilled.
Someone’s hand closed around her arm and pulled her toward them.
With wide eyes, she looked up into Riv’s face.
She couldn’t see his expression but she could almost feel the alarm emanating off him too.
“Whatever you do, try to blend in.” His voice was low and Lauren nodded. She didn’t need to ask why.
Terror was flooding through her veins.
She was never more thankful for the cloak he bought than she was then.
As she pulled the hood low over her head, she turned a little so she could see the procession move closer.
The street was clear except for the group walking down it and it didn’t seem as if anyone along the street was even breathing.
And that’s when it happened.
A round object rolled into the street.
She didn’t know if it was a child’s ball but it sure looked like a toy based only on the colors.
There was a sound and a small being with light-orange skin ran out to get the thing.
A collective gasp echoed through the crowd of onlookers and when Riv stiffened beside her, she realized just how close they were standing together.
It was a child for a bigger version of the little alien came hobbling toward the little being.
It was obvious the older alien was trying to get the younger one off the street but it took too long.
The procession came to a stop before them.
“You dare to block the way of
