Page 24 of Dark Shaman: Love Found (The Children Of The Gods #99)

RUVON

R uvon adjusted his collar for the third time as he made his way to Arezoo's home.

He'd changed shirts twice already, finally settling on a crisp blue button-down that supposedly brought out his eyes.

Not that he understood what that meant, since his eyes were brown and the shirt was blue.

But when it came to matters of fashion, he trusted the judgment of the lady in the department store more than his own.

The small jewelry box in his pocket felt like a radioactive rock, even though it wasn't an engagement ring or anything as presumptuous.

It was just a delicate gold bracelet he'd seen in the same department store and thought Arezoo would like.

It would look nice on her. It was simple, elegant, with a small charm in the shape of a book.

Was it too much? Too soon? He'd been second-guessing the purchase from the moment he made it.

He walked the familiar path to Arezoo's house, nodding to other villagers he passed.

The morning was peaceful with birds singing in the trees and the distant sound of children playing in one of the parks.

It still amazed him sometimes, this hidden paradise where immortals could live openly, where he could walk freely without constantly looking over his shoulder.

When he got to her house, he found her waiting on the porch, wearing jeans and a soft green blouse. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she carried a small green purse across her body.

"Hi." Her smile was bright but nervous.

"Looking forward to your adventure in the city?"

"Very much." She smoothed her hands over her jeans. "I've only been outside the village a few times since arriving. I'm surprised you managed to get approval for taking me out."

He smiled sheepishly. "My boss might have pulled a few strings for me."

At first, Ruvon had been hesitant about asking Kalugal for help, but Phinas had convinced him that Kalugal was a big romantic and that he would be happy to use his clout as a councilman to assist young love.

Phinas hadn't been wrong.

"I made a plan." He offered her his arm. "But if you don't like it, we can change it."

She threaded her arm through his. "I'm sure I'm going to love it. What's your plan? "

"Lunch at a Persian restaurant that is highly rated, then the Getty Museum, and if we have time after that, we could explore the shops on Third Street. But if you don't like museums, we can head to Third Street right after lunch."

"The museum sounds wonderful," Arezoo said. "I've never been to an American museum."

"The Getty it is, then."

The tunnel leading out of the village was dark, and since the windows had turned opaque as soon as he drove out of the lift, there was nothing to see, but Arezoo pressed her face closer to the window, trying to discern what was outside.

"It's like a secret passage from a novel," she said. "Hidden doors and mysterious tunnels. It's like a fairytale made real."

He chuckled. "The entire village is like something taken from a fairytale, except this one is full of technological marvels instead of magic."

They emerged into bright sunlight, the canyon walls rising on either side of the narrow road.

"And here we are. Out in the real world," she murmured.

The windows were still semi-opaque, but he knew it wouldn't take long before they cleared.

As soon as they did, Ruvon disengaged the autonomous driving and took control of the wheel. He liked driving too much to just sit back and let the car have all the fun on its own .

"It's amazing." Arezoo smoothed her hand over the window glass. "Does anyone outside the village have cars like these?"

"I don't think so." He turned to smile at her. "Do you want to hear something funny?"

"Always."

"The person who thought up many of the security features in the village was a former Doomer who joined the clan even before we did. He helped save a clan female from a really bad guy, and in gratitude, the clan offered him a job. He was a building assistant."

"I wouldn't call it funny, but it is thought-provoking. I assume that he and the lady got married?"

"Nope. Do you know who Carol is?"

She nodded. "Lokan's mate."

"She was the one he saved, but they weren't meant to be, and they separated. He found the one that was meant for him, and Carol found Lokan. They both had their happy endings."

"That's nice." Arezoo turned to look at the scenery again. "I like happy endings."

Traffic was light, as he expected it to be for Saturday morning, and they made good time to the city.

"You're a very careful driver," Arezoo observed.

"I'm transporting precious cargo. I need to be careful."

"I'm not that fragile, Ruvon. "

"You are." He glanced at her quickly before returning his attention to the road. "You are still human, Arezoo."

"Yes." She closed her eyes briefly. "I am. And I don't know how to drive. Can you teach me?"

The sudden change of topic took him by surprise. "I'll be happy to. We can find an empty parking lot somewhere and practice the basics."

"Thank you." She was quiet for a moment. "You're precious to me too, Ruvon, but since you are indestructible, and you don't participate in any fighting, I don't have to worry about you."

He didn't know if he should be flattered or offended that she didn't worry about him or think of him as a fighter. Then again, he wasn't a fighter at heart, never had been, and it was good that she liked him for who he was.

The Persian restaurant he'd found online was tucked between a dry cleaner and a bookstore on a street lined with small businesses. The scents of saffron and grilled meat wafted out as they entered, and Ruvon watched Arezoo's face transform.

"It smells wonderful in here." She breathed in deeply.

They were seated at a small table by the window, and Arezoo began studying the menu.

"Everything looks so good," she said.

"Order whatever you'd like for both of us," Ruvon said. "I don't really know what's good. "

They ended up ordering too much food. Something named tahdig with two kinds of stew, kabobs and flatbread. As they waited, Arezoo told him about learning to cook with her grandmother, how the old woman would never measure anything, instead always adding ingredients by feel and memory.

"She'd say recipes were for people who didn't trust their instincts," Arezoo said. "That cooking was about love, not measurements."

He didn't know how to respond to that so he just smiled.

"I think she would have liked you."

"She would?"

Arezoo nodded. "You're patient, kind, and you listen more than you talk." She smiled. "And you appreciate poetry."

When their food arrived, covering the entire table with colorful dishes, Arezoo made a small sound of delight at the golden crust of the tahdig, which was perfectly crispy and fragrant.

As she explained each dish, sharing bites across the table, it felt intimate, domestic, like something they'd done a hundred times before and would do a thousand times more.

When the server brought Turkish coffee at the end, Arezoo sighed contentedly. "I'm so full I might need to be rolled to the museum."

"We could skip it," Ruvon offered. "Walk around the shops instead. "

"No." She reached across the table to touch his hand. "I want to see the art. I love sharing beautiful things with you."

He turned his hand palm up, an invitation, and she laced their fingers together.

"Can I tell you something?" she asked.

"Anything."

"I'm happy." The words came out sounding almost surprised. "I didn't think I could be happy again after...after everything. But sitting here with you, I feel like myself again. Or maybe a new version of myself. Someone I actually like."

"I know exactly what you mean," Ruvon said. "Before I met you, I was just going through the motions. Existing but not living. You changed that."

She squeezed his fingers. "We've changed each other, and it happened so fast that I feel dizzy."

He didn't say that compared to other fated mates, they were progressing slowly.

She wasn't ready to hear that from him. Not yet.

The drive to the Getty took them through several different neighborhoods, and Arezoo watched it all with curious eyes.

"Los Angeles is so big," she said as they wound up the hill toward the museum. "Tehran is big too, but different. This city feels endless."

"Wait until you see the view from the gardens. "

The museum's parking garage and the tram up to the hilltop were a marvel of engineering, but after the wonders of the village, he and Arezoo were not easily impressed. They took the tram up to the main buildings, Arezoo pressing close to his side as the city spread out below them.

"Look," she breathed. "You can see the ocean."

Later, as they wandered through the galleries, Arezoo stopped to read every placard. In the medieval manuscripts room, she was awed by the illuminated texts.

"They're like jewelry on paper," she said. "Look at the gold leaf. And the blue—it must be lapis lazuli."

"You know about medieval manuscript printing techniques?"

She nodded. "I know a little."

They moved through the Renaissance paintings, the classical sculptures, and the photography exhibits.

Arezoo had opinions about everything, some pieces making her frown, others leaving her speechless with admiration, but to Ruvon, she was the most fascinating exhibit of all.

Watching her excitement was definitely worth the price of admission.

"Art is so personal," she said as they stood before an abstract painting that was all swirls of blue and green. "You and I can look at the same thing and see something completely different."

He saw only her, but he didn't say that.

"What do you see?" he asked instead .

She tilted her head. "The ocean during a storm. All that power and beauty and danger mixed together. What about you?"

"Freedom," he said without thinking. "Breaking free from constraints, finding your own path."

"I like that interpretation better," she said. "Less scary than mine."