Page 27 of Gyft

“Grekl and I were already out chopping down a tree. It’s set up in the living room. When the twin souls wake, we’ll put up your decorations. Menga found some old jewelry to put on it. She even found old pictures the seedlings drew for her that she thought she would decorate the tree with.”

The smile stretches out on my face as I imagine children’s scribbled posters poked onto the tree branches. One way to get rid of the countless untalented drawings, I imagine. “Very unorthodox tree, but I like it.”

“Get showered, gorgeous. Come down and see the decorations you inspired. We have a special day planned.”

“We do? What is it?”

“We’re going to the city you wanted to visit. H’liyio.”

After I finish eating, I shower and dress and head downstairs.

“Oh-Livv-yeh-ya.” The farm woman throws her arms around me. “Your freelig! It’s completely colorless, like our twin souls.”

She starts sobbing and I awkwardly pat her back. “Yes, well, it’s a new look,” I agree. “Now I match my husband.” Those words give me a giddy feeling.

Monesse doesn’t even hear me. “Thank you so much! Thank you for going after our seedlings. We will be forever in your debt.”

“It’s quite all right. Anyone would have done it.”

She sobs harder. “No, not many would have risked their lives.”

“Well,” I consider carefully. “I am pretty magnanimous. An influencer on my planet, but not just decorative. My best friend Yvette and I were becoming more humanitarian. A conscious decision between us.” I don’t mention that my marriage cut our careers short.

Gyft frowns as he studies a small, round disk that he’s pulled from his pocket.

“I have an incoming call from the castle. Eat your breakfast, Bride. I’ll head into our suite to take it and meet you and the twin souls outside.”

Chapter Twelve

GYFT:

“MINNIEL.” A SWIPE of my palm across my comm brings up a hologram image. He looks uptight in his starched uniform—the same one I usually wear.

“I realize you’re out celebrating your marriage,” he says drily. “But you did say you were returning to the castle as soon as you retrieved the human. You haven’t even sent for aliestrelto deliver the Earth shuttle.”

Guilt rushes through me. Truthfully, I haven’t even thought about work.

“Oh, yes. A lot has happened—”

“—which I would know if you’d been checking in.”

“Iamon my marriage celebration,” I return. “Normally a couple is sequestered for at least two cold seasonal rotations. Two moons according to the Earth calendar.”

There’s a pause. “Which is why I sent out a team to bring in the shuttle myself.”

“Oh.” That changes the conversation from personal to work-related. “Have you studied it?”

“We have.”

“And?”

Frustration laces his voice. “There’s nothing spectacular about it. Nothing unusual. No reason why it should have made it through a black hole and no reason why it should have landed in one piece on the other side after traveling faster than the speed of light. Yet we all sawthe proof. Your bride was delivered in it. There’s got to be a component we’re missing.”

When he pauses for a moment, I relay my news. “We’ll find it. I should have studied the shuttle more myself, but I was intent on finding my bride. Olivia had woken up from the sleeping gas early and left the shuttle.”

“That close to the deadlands? She’s okay?” He sounds strangled. I know it’s not personal care about her safety... I was the same way not long ago. Our priority was political in making sure the alien was alive and kicking. It had nothing to do with her as a person.

“I found her in the woods before amongortialdid. But I needed some time to recover and we came upon a homestead owned by Minstrel and Monesse Grekl M’irshlak. Gray farmhouse? They have a set of twin souls.”

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