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“He loves to read?” I wasn’t exactly sure why I was surprised by that, but I was. I just couldn’t picture some big, brawny alien mountain man being the literary sort. But then again, I wouldn’t have pictured him carefully bottle-feeding a pink alien goat, either.

My new husband was full of surprises.

After the outdoor portion of our tour, Magnolia took me into Oaken’s house. At first, I didn’t want to go in when he wasn’t there, but Magnolia shrugged off my concerns.

“You’re married,” she said. “Which means this is your house now, too.”

I nodded, even though I didn’t really agree with her. My home was currently out of commission in the mountains. But either way, I went in with her. This would be a good time to have a look around without Oaken. Make sure there weren’t any alien skeletons in his closet.

Of course, there weren’t. The closets were cozily piled with blankets and quilts, as was the bed in the only bedroom in the small cabin-style home. The kitchen was clean and homey, with a large wood-burning oven, as well as pots, pans, plates, and a door that led down to a large cold cellar below ground.

Magnolia pointed out the outhouse, which I made grateful use of, and since it was getting close to evening, she helped me get familiar with the ingredients in Oaken’s cellar. I hadn’t exactly signed on to cook Oaken’s meals, but I figured after the guy had literally married me to help me out today, it was the least I could do.

Magnolia had just put me to work peeling some kind of Zabrian Prinar One root vegetable when a voice I wasn’t familiar with called in from outside.

“Magnolia? Garrek sent me to find you. Are you here?”

The door opened, and in came…

A kid.

Like, an actual little Zabrian kiddo. He was about as tall as Magnolia, but compared to Oaken and Warden Tenn, it was obvious he was a child.

A child. In a penal colony for convicted murderers.

But then I remembered what the warden had said. That Oaken had been convicted and brought here when he was a kid.

Which meant…

This little dude had probably killed somebody.

He was scrawny and shirtless, with a mop of bright white hair to match eyes the same white colour as Oaken’s. They glowed when they landed on me. Then narrowed with in a dramatically suspicious expression that would have been hilarious if not for the whole he’s-a-killer thing.

“Who are you?” he asked. Instantly, he hurled himself between Magnolia and me. It only took me a moment to realize why. I glanced down at the knife I was using to peel the veggies.

He would have used his skinny, teal-skinned body as a shield for Magnolia. Without hesitation, without knowing who I was or what I wanted, he’d seen me with a weapon and had thrown himself into what could have been harm’s way.

It brought back a memory from earlier today. When the warden had drawn his weapon…

And Oaken had immediately stepped in front of it to block me from a blast.

“Killian,” Magnolia admonished, “we don’t greet guests that way! Would you move, please?”

Killian didn’t move. I felt myself softening towards the kiddo, even as he bared some alarmingly sharp fangs at me.Maybe he killed someone while trying to protect someone else…

Slowly, making sure he could see every one of my movements, I put down the knife.

“I’m Jaya,” I said, wiping my hands on a small towel. “I… Well, I’m Oaken’s wife, I guess.”

A fluttering feeling tickled the inside of my chest when I said it.Oaken’s wife.

Killian’s affronted gasp was so loud I almost wondered if Magnolia had gotten a hold of his tail and yanked it or something.

“Oaken got married?!” he cried, his gaze swinging wildly between Magnolia and me. “And I wasnot invited?!”

“Sorry, Killian,” Magnolia said soothingly. “It all happened very quickly. And it’s just a temporary situation, anyway. Jaya needs permission to be here while she fixes her ship, and Oaken volunteered to help her out.” She patted Killian’s shoulder kindly and added, “Don’t worry. You’ll be there for Oaken’s real wedding.”

His real wedding. The light, fluttery feeling in my chest turned to lead.