Page 7 of Loving the Alien Spy

Patrolling the area are several guards. Because I have the worst luck imaginable, one of them happens to be Lorik. The only person who knows about the stupid kiss between him and me is Devon, but that’s because she witnessed it. I pointedly avoid looking at either of them.

“Hi, Lorik,” Olivia calls out. “I’m really glad to see you’re doing all right.”

On the night Janik kidnapped Olivia, Lorik had been the one escorting her to the dormitory to grab the wedding gift for Quinn and Horek she’d forgotten. He’d gotten his ass kicked by Janik and the other rebel who’d been with him.

“Thank you, Olivia.”

According to Quinn and Devon, he’s been beating himself up about the whole incident. I continue walking and glance up at the wrong time, because our eyes meet. Lorik opens his mouth like he’s about to say something, so I quicken my pace and move past the others to escape.

Finally, at the next block, our destination comes fully into view. Our friends were right. This place is stunning. Divided by walking paths, trees, bushes, and flowers blooming with color line each side. They range from the brightest white to the deepest bronze and every shade in between. They don’t lookanything like the flowers I’d see in the books I’d find in the garbage those in the upper tier disposed of.

I can see why Quinn and Olivia love coming here. It’s peaceful and radiates such a calming effect. A person could get lost within its boundaries and not have to think or worry about the outside world. Benches are located every few hundred yards, usually in front of the brightest, boldest display. We pause briefly in front of one.

“Isn’t this where Horek first kissed you?” Olivia asks Quinn, who’s blushing deeply, but who also wears a dreamy expression.

“Yes.” She traces her fingertips over the backrest of the bench like she’s remembering every second of the encounter.

I’m really happy for my friends—but also ridiculously envious. Entering my name in the lottery in the first place may have started out as a joke, but it’s quickly becoming a hope of mine. That I’ll find a guy who looks at me like Horek looks at Quinn and Janik looks at Olivia. As if their entire world is right in front of them. As if they never want to stop looking at them. Stop touching them. As if their only wish in life is to be with them.

“Wow, this place is incredible,” Devon gushes, panning both sides of the path we walk.

It really is.

The three of them chat about things I’d rather forget—like the rebels who have since come begging the queen for forgiveness and how they swear fealty to her and Alik. People died because of them. Maybe it makes me a bad person, but I’m not so sure I could do it if I were Queen Veroneek.

Someone gently nudges my hand. I glance over at Devon.

“You’re awfully quiet,” she notes. “More so than usual, I mean.”

I try to be nonchalant. “Just tired.”

She draws me to a stop in the middle of the path. “I promise I’ll let it go after this, but are you sure you don’t want to talk?”

“Will you be mad if I say yes, I’m sure?”

Devon gently squeezes my arm. “Of course I won’t be mad. I’m sorry if you think I’m being pushy. It’s only because I worry.”

I hug her hard, but it only lasts for a second. “I know, and I really appreciate it.”

She mimics buttoning her lips. “Okay, I’m done asking. I promise. But if or when you’re ever ready, my door is always open.”

“Thanks, Dev.”

We catch up to Quinn, Olivia, and Mak, who’d continued on, and finish the tour through the garden. When we step out onto the street, several guards are on patrol nearby.

“Holy shit, is that Bannik?” Olivia whispers.

Our heads all whip in that direction and, sure enough, walking with three other Bohnari males is Quinn’s former suitor. After the rebel attack, he’d gone missing. Everyone assumed it was because his role as a rebel traitor had been discovered.

I hadn’t told any of them that I’d seen him that day while the rebels were herding us through the city. That our eyes had locked and, for a split second, it felt as though a thread of some kind snapped into place between us before we lost sight of each other.

Yet, despite his previous disappearance, he’s here patrolling with other guards in full view of everyone.

“He showed up before sunrise the morning after the attack full of remorse for being stupid enough to fall for Mohneek’s lies,” Quinn explains. “Horek said he’d never seen anyone grovel and appear as contrite as Bannik did. He’s not allowed to be on patrol without the presence of a senior officer until he proves his loyalty. He’s also required to physically check in with someone every couple of hours when he’s off duty. But yeah, Horek and the queen forgave him. Supposedly getting Olivia out of the rebel camp earned him an extra favor.”

I study Bannik a little closer and kind of feel bad for him. He always struck me as this soft kind of guy. Not weak-soft. Just more introspective-soft. He’d really had a crush on Quinn, and the few times I’d danced with him, at the welcome banquet and the second party the queen had thrown, he’d been really nice. Sweet, even. Maybe even a tad shy.

As if sensing my stare, Bannik turns his head in my direction, and our eyes lock for the second time in a number of days. The same strange sensation runs through me at the flare of heat that appears in his gaze. But as quickly as it sparked, it’s gone. As if it had never been there.