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found them, theye foe,d suffer, in ways that would make them wish they were dead. As for whoever murdered her irrihunter, they would pay for their betrayal with their lives.
    “They’ve ordered you to help a boy from this planet find his soul mate.” He looked incredulous, as though saying the words out loud made the request seem more absurd.
    Venus blinked and waited for more. Surely there would be. When Zaren didn’t continue, she let out a deep breath of relief and slugged him on the arm. “What’s wrong? This’ll be easy. I can’t fathom why they want me to help a human find his soul mate, but I can do this.” She gave his shoulder another smack and stood, looking around, her confidence returned.
    Amberlee had said that life without love meant nothing. Her sister held such sentiment and she was kelarian. Humans were worse. They fell in love effortlessly. Venus had witnessed the phenomena many times during Earth Studies. They let their hearts lead them, did stupid things for love, made fools of themselves. She’d help this boy find his soul mate in three days, five at the most, and then return to her planet. When her Gods understood she’d done nothing wrong, she’d be free to pursue those who’d set her up and make them pay.
    If anything, Zaren seemed tenser when he spoke. “If the boy doesn’t find himself truly in love, you cannot return to Kelari. And that means you’ll—” He growled. “It’s ridiculous!”
    She watched him, curiously. Didn’t he think she could do it? Maybe not, and he worried he wouldn’t be able to return after she’d died. Having been proclaimed her personal Formytian, he must’ve felt honor bound to stay, even after her death.
    “I will do this, Zaren. But if, for some reason, it doesn’t work out, you’re free to return without me. I release you from your vow. As of this moment, you are no longer my Formytian. I don’t know what you did with the Transports, but if you desire, you may return home now.” Secretly she hoped he wouldn’t. She didn’t want to be alone, and though she sounded confident, she’d no idea how to find the . . . human.
    He rose and swept her into his arms. “Thank you, Venus. Being your Formytian has always been a pleasure. And though you’ve released me, my vow to protect you will remain forever. Now, though, I can be more. I can be the man who longs—”
    Venus pushed away and put a hand to his mouth. She wasn’t ready to hear the words. Not right now.
    “Zaren, if for some reason I don’t make it, I have one request.”
    “Anything.”
    She pulled him closer, “I want you to hunt down whoever is responsible and I want you to make them suffer. Will you do that for me?”
    He brushed her forehead with his fingers, moving aside some hair that had blown over her eyes, out of the way. “Yes, Princess. I’ll do what you ask.” He’d spoken in such a tender way, Venus questioned whether he understood. She was about to clarify when he wrapped his arms around her, holding on tight.
    She rested her head against his chest, breathing him in. Lemons and honey.
    A force pressed against her ribs, swelling, awakening warmth she hadn’t known existed.

    “Princess. Venus, I—”
    “No. Don’t.” She didn’t understand the emotional and physical stirrings, nor did she have the time to discover their meaning. Tugging herself out of his arms, she asked, “What’s this boy’s name and where do we find him?”
    He cleared his throat. “First we must find a place to stay and change our clothes. Physically, we appear human, but we aren’t properly dressed.” He pointed at their clothing. Venus only had on her cream unisa, which on Earth would probably be called a one-piece camisole. The fabric came from the gigantic Harras worms. The material so smooth and breathable that she had all her unisa’s made by them.
    Zaren wore his supple Formytian uniform and a sword strapped to his back. The jacket and pants were formfitting and cool, like a