19. Xax

Chapter 19

Xax

I was pleased with how things had gone so far with Amanda. Since I truly believed Digaray would return and announce that the gods insisted Amanda was my fated mate, I wanted to make sure she'd want to stay with me after that.

We ate and left the dishes for Alexa to take care of, then we descended the stem and stepped outside.

"It's sunny again," she said. "What's the plan for the day?"

"I thought you might want to work on your tea shop."

Her smile faded. "I don't have one."

I took her hand and tugged her out of the shade of the shroom. "Yet, my lovely mate. You don't have a tea shop yet ."

Coming to a stop, she frowned up at me. "What does that mean?"

"Allow me to show you." I took her through the deep grass behind my shroom, stopping before we reached the forest. I hummed, calling forth the vines.

"Whoa." She reeled backward, her hands lifting. "Something's attacking."

"The Ulistars are the plant clan."

She scooted around to my back, leaning around me to watch the vines that continued to weave across the ground toward us.

"I'll protect you from them," I said bravely, though I held no fear. They were coming toward us at my command.

"Normally, I'm all over protecting myself."

"Now you have me to do it for you."

"Where were you when I laid Tribon on the ground twice yesterday?"

I grumbled. She'd surprised me. Amazed me. "I battled him. It's my role as your mate to defend you."

"We're not mates."

"If you're a good girl, you'll agree I'm your mate, and I'll promise to lick you again."

"Xax," she growled.

"Amanda," I said quite pleasantly.

Her gaze fell on the vines stretching toward us. "Do they bite?"

I kissed her cheek and nibbled on her ear. "I'm the only one who'll be biting."

Looking up at me, her frown didn't fade. "You have tusks. Those babies would hurt if they sunk into my skin."

"It's all in the touch, mate. All in the touch."

"No breaking the skin." She pointed to her chest. "Praise kink, not vampire sex."

"You're such a good girl," I said on cue.

Her smile returned. "If you keep that up, I'm going to fling you to the ground and have my way with you."

While I was eager to let her try, we hadn't come to this section of the village for that. A few low sounds in my throat sent the vines on my mission. They soon returned with stumps of varying sizes, dropping them around us.

"I'm not sure what's going on here," Amanda said, her eyes wide.

I righted a stump and urged her to sit. "Watch, and I'll show you." Stepping away from her, I started gathering the stumps, placing them in a pile. "Describe your tea shop again."

Her breath caught. "Xax." Did her eyes sparkle with excitement or tears?

I strode back over to her and stooped down in front of her, which placed us at eye level. "I want to help with your shop. Will you tell me how you'd like me to arrange your chairs and tables?"

"Xax." She truly was crying now.

"I've upset you."

"No. It's sweet of you to do this for me."

"I want to help you. This is important to you, which means it's important to me."

"Aw, Xax. I—"

"What are you doing?" I turned to find Cresar striding past our shroom and over to us .

"Constructing Amanda's tea shop," I said.

"What's a tea and why does it need a shop?" He stopped beside Amanda. Seeing him standing there reminded me of how tiny she was compared to a Zuldruxian. Even a mere youngling like Cresar was taller than her, though he was about her same breadth.

"Tea's a beverage I used to drink back on Earth," she said. "Some people enjoy it hot, others cold. I like it any way someone's eager to serve it to me."

"Why do you need a shop for tea?" he asked.

"When I lived on Earth, it was my dream to open a tea shop. I pictured selling my handcrafted blends, plus treats like muffins and scones. Cookies, cake, pie, and . . ." She shot me a sad smile. "Funny how much I loved sweets. How much I miss them already. I just realized I didn't know how long your gods kept me asleep, how long I traveled. Maybe Earth as I know it no longer exists. My landlord must've held a yard sale to get rid of my precious things. Someone else paid the lease on the building I was renting for my shop. And all that stuff I ordered . . ." She released a soft sigh. "That probably got thrown out or sold as well. Everything I was, everything I am, is gone forever." She cupped her face with her palms and tears leaked around her fingers.

Cresar looked up at me before staring at Amanda. He shuffled closer and put a hand on her shoulder. "Please don't be sad."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be crying," she said through her tears. "I'm alive. All of you are nice. I have no reason to complain. "

He glanced back at me. "Xax and I are going to help you. We're going to create the best tea shop in the village."

I didn't point out that there was no other tea shop on Zuldrux, let alone inside our small village.