“I know.” I spot a newly vacated bench and glare at a szzt who’s about to sit down. He heads off, and we claim the bench for ourselves. Helen eats her fruit happily as I scan our surroundings, looking for dangerous sorts. The booths near us seem to be selling children’s gear and toys, which is safer. I’m just glad we’re not near a weapon vendor. “But since we’re here, I just want to remind you that we need to stick together. We can’t look at everything, as much as I know you want to.”
“It’s just so incredible to see all the faces and the stuff everyone has at their booths,” she tells me, eating the last of her fruit. She peers over at my cup. “You’re not eating yours?”
I hand it over to her. I’d rather watch her enjoy it anyhow. “You go ahead.”
She immediately eats the flower-shaped berry and puts a gloved hand to her mouth as she eats. “This is the best thing I’ve ever tasted!”
Even though I’m determined to be all business today, it’s hard not to enjoy Helen’s enthusiasm. What will it hurt if we have a few snacks while we wait for my contact to arrive? So I tell her, “My favorites are these little savory veg cakes that are breaded and fried, and you dip them in a spicy sauce. There’s probably someone selling those around here. You want to try those?”
Her eyes wide with excitement and her mouth full of fruit, Helen nods. “I want to try it all.”
That makes me chuckle. “You really don’t, trust me. But I can show you the good stuff.”
The look she gives me is clearly adoring, even through the ooli mask, and my heart squeezes with affection. “I’d like that,” she tells me. “Show me everything.”
CHAPTER 29
HELEN
I love the space station. I love the sound of voices talking over one another, the crush of the people, the smells in the air. I thought I’d be terrified, but seeing so many different beings gathered together makes me feel safe and secure. I’ve got my disguise, and I’ve got Mathiras at my side, so everything is perfect. I just focus on enjoying myself.
A few hours after we land, my stomach is full of all kinds of good food, and Mathiras carries bags and bags of things he’s bought for me. He’s insisted on clothing and shoes, toiletries and combs and even a few pretty necklaces I stopped to look at. When I asked why he was buying me so much stuff, he said it was his duty, and his ears turned this dark blue that told me maybe it wasn’t just duty. He doesn’t seem mad, though, and when I take his arm, he slows down so I can walk closely at his side.
“Have we seen everything?” I ask wistfully as we pass the fruit vendor again. It’s hard to tell if we’ve just come back to the front deliberately or if we got lost. It’s shoulder to shoulder in here, and the air is humid and muggy from the press of bodies. I don’t mind it, though. I could sweat my entire cloak off and I wouldn’t care. I just want to see everything.
Mathiras shakes his head, juggling the packages in his arms. “No, you’d need to be here weeks to see everything. There are different vendors based on the days of the week, and there’s the apartments a few floors up, a terrarium, a zoo, and don’t even get me started on all the cantinas. But we need to drop these packages back to the Little Sister so we can go to dinner at the cantina.”
Dinner? I feel like I’ve eaten half the station. But I’m not going to turn down dinner with him. That’s our date. “After dinner are we going to make sweet love?”
He stares at me. “Helen, we talked about going slow, remember?”
“That’s not slow?” When he shakes his head, I sigh. “Oh. Okay.”
We head back to the docks and take the packages up to the Little Sister. The ship is still crawling with inspectors, and I can hear Adiron yelling at someone. Wrinkling my nose, I decide I’m glad we got to explore instead. Part of me is worried that Mathiras is going to want to stay and handle things, but I’m relieved when he races down the ramp and moves back to my side. “Come on. Our meeting place is a good distance from here and we need to catch an elevator or three.”
Oh. I let him take my gloved hand and he drags me through the station, past a few booths I’m sure I didn’t get a chance to look at yet, and then we wait in line for an elevator. And another. And another. At this point, I don’t even care that we’re going to have dinner. I just want to get somewhere instead of waiting in line.