Page 3

3

Open

*Jalen*

“ T hat’s it.” Liquid heat pulsed through my veins as my gaze locked on the glorious vision before me. “Open for me, beautiful.”

I’d waited for this moment for so long. Caring for her. Lovingly tending to her every desire. All for this. My mouth watered as more of the lush pink prize I’d been desperately waiting for was slowly revealed. It was even more beautiful than I’d imagined.

“Yesss,” I crooned. “I can’t wait to taste you.” I licked my lips and leaned closer.

A shadow fell over the delicate flower, and the bud snapped closed.

“Hey!” I scowled at the massive ontania bush beside my rare canides plant. “What in ellios’s name is this, Tani? I thought we talked about this? If you keep sucking up Candy’s light, she’ll never bear fruit! Don’t make me grab the clippers.”

I paused, glaring at the stupid plant like it might actually respo—

“Don’t hurt me.”

Eyes widening, I jolted. “Wh-what?” That plant did not just talk back to me.

In the three years I’d been stuck on this tiny spit of land, I might have adopted the habit of talking to my plants. I might have even given them nicknames. Could you blame me for making friends with a few bushes when I spend ninety-nine percent of my time with no one to chat with? But no matter how much I’d grown to think of my plants as friends, they’d never talked back.

Not until now.

No. It didn’t talk.

That was crazy…

I must be overheated from sitting in the sun all morning. Yes… that’s all this is. I just need a drink.

“Please, don’t clip me,” a disembodied voice whispered. “Please!”

“Harlx’s ghost!” I backed away slowly, my heart pounding. This wasn’t happening. I was going insane. I—

A flash of blue caught my eye between the bush’s branches. I shook my head and circled Tani. Before I’d taken two steps, laughter rang out, confirming my suspicion.

“By Harlx’s beard, you should’ve seen your face!” Cruz brayed, his long blue hair swinging in his face as he chuckled heartily. “I had you going there, didn’t I?”

I rolled my eyes, but a smile creeped across my lips. “Laugh it up.” I leaned against the chest-high fence bordering my yard and scanned Cruz up and down. His abs flexed beneath his pocketed vest as laughter spilled out of his mouth. His violet eyes glittered, and it was hard for me not to join in with his merriment, despite being the butt of the joke.

But my smile faded when I registered his nearly empty pack. “I wasn’t expecting you for another week.”

Cruz was my lone contact with the outside world. As tribe runner, he had the unenviable task of braving the harsh jungles of Dionus to bring supplies to outcasts like me. Normally, his visits were as predictable as a sundial. He’d show up, his pack bursting with the supplies I’d need for another month of seclusion.

But not this time.

“Please tell me you just came here to poke fun at your favorite recluse.” My heart thumped heavily in my chest and my thoughts raced as Cruz fought to control his laughter.

What if my home village burned down? Or off-worlders caused trouble? So many things could have happened while I was stuck here, and I’d have absolutely no idea it was occurring.

My stomach sank. What if something had happened to Rhelt or his mate?

We might not be the closest family—they were the whole reason I was in this mess to begin with—but that didn’t mean I wished them ill. If anything happened that I could’ve stopped, that would be a far worse punishment than my years of seclusion.

“Nothing’s wrong.” Cruz wiped his eyes and cleared his throat. He nodded into my yard. “Karln begged me to fetch her more of those herbs you just sent.”

“Truly?” My speeding pulse finally settled, and a huge grin spread across my face. “I told you they’d work like a charm.” I waved at him. “Come in and grab some?”

Cruz rolled his eyes, but the sly half-smile he flashed told me he’d play along. “Can’t.” He coughed, a pathetic, weak sound that was clearly forced. “Got a tickle in my throat. Wouldn’t want you catching it.”

“Oh. Too bad.” I headed for the herb garden I planted along the far side of the fence. I liked to play around, inviting Cruz inside, but the truth was, he couldn’t come in. No one could. And I couldn’t leave the confines of my yard. Not until the ruling was lifted.

Cruz trailed me along the perimeter. “So what was that all about?” He stared at my prized canides plant. “With the way you were talking, I thought I’d find you covered in drool.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” I wiggled my brows, making him chuckle. “Just waiting for the day I finally get to taste the fruits of my labor.”

He shook his head, his gaze trailing across my garden with a perplexed frown. “I don’t know how you do it.”

“Do what?”

“Make the best out of… everything.”

A wry grin curved my lips. “What am I supposed to do instead? Sit around crying all day?”

“Pretty much.” Cruz scratched his chest. “It’s what everyone else I run for does.”

My stomach clenched . Been there… I brushed off the memory before it fully formed.

I bent beside the herbs and plucked a few orange stems with my fingers. “Not my style. You know what they say. Life throws you shit, either you sit there stinking or make manure.”

“No one says that.” Cruz chuckled.

“You must not know many planters.”

“Nope. Just you and Karln.”

I stood, the fragile reddish leaves crinkling in my hands and contrasting against my bronze skin. I could pass them over… but what was the fun in that? “So… what did you bring me?”

It was another game we played. We both knew I wasn’t planning to hold out on him. Knowing the plants I grew were helping people back home kept me going. But I wasn’t exactly playing by the rules. Never had, and I likely never would. Bartering with my runner was a gray area I’d learned to exploit—a necessity for my sanity as a castaway.

“What?” Cruz nodded back to Tani. “Playing puppet master with your brood wasn’t payment enough?”

A hearty laugh rumbled out of my chest. “That was the best entertainment I’ve had in months…” And yes, I was being completely honest. Pathetic, I know.

“Well, I haven’t passed any pretties to snag you some new seeds.”

“You didn’t take that hike I was telling you about?”

He hefted his pack on his shoulders. “You think I have a burning desire to tromp through the jungle more ?”

Not everyone could enjoy exploring as much as I did. Or… as much as I used to. “Fair point.”

Cruz leaned in, lifting a brow. “Would a rumor whet your appetite?”

“Depends how juicy it is.”

“It’s practically oozing.” He backed away suddenly, a look of mock horror crossing his face. “Wait… I forgot. You’re not interested in the comings and goings of city folk, am I right?”

Like ellios I’m not. That was where Rhelt was. My only cousin, who’d turned up his nose at me after a single mistake. I’d burn my garden to the ground for a chance to understand what went wrong… Nope. Not going there.

I adopted a casual grin that hopefully disguised my inner turmoil. “Eh, it might be good for a giggle.”

Cruz stretched out his hand expectantly.

I slapped the leaves into his waiting palm.

“So, word from the city is that someone in space used the planetary landing code.” His grin turned smarmy. “And… they’re from the Terran system. I know how much you love those humans.”

My heart clenched as the lovely face of the only human I’d ever encountered flashed in my mind’s eye. Honestly, I’d be happy to never see another off-worlder again after what happened with her.

But Cruz didn’t need to know that. And I refused to let him see that his playful dig had hit its mark. “What can I say? I have a type.” Not like there was a chance I’d have any interactions with them, but curiosity got the better of me. “Any news about why they’ve come?”

“Not that I’ve heard. Want me to keep an ear to the loam for you?”

That request was gonna cost me… But I wasn’t kidding about entertainment being sparse. “Why not?”

His eyes lit up. “You got any more of that stuff from last time?”

“Why do you think I became a planter in the first place?” I chuckled and pulled a burner from my vest pocket.

Cruz grinned as I passed the paper-wrapped tube to him. “Thanks, Jalen. Don’t work too hard now.”

I waved. “Me? Never.” I pulled another burner out and dug through my pocket for a light. “See you around.”

A Terran linguist had arrived a few months ago, and he hadn’t stirred up any trouble. If the rumors were true, he’d even managed to upgrade our translators a bit since he’d started studying the intricacies of our many tribal tongues. More humans landing on Dionus might not mean anything. Even if it did, there wasn’t much I could do to stop them. But it couldn’t hurt to learn what they were here for, either.

As the first warm blast of smoke filled my lungs, all my worries washed away. I turned, my gaze landing on Candy. I licked my lips and sauntered over. “Now… where were we, beautiful?”