At least, she hoped they were swim trunks. Otherwise she’d caught him in his underwear.
Long black hair brushed his shoulders and fell down his back, shifting with the breeze.
Her tongue tied, Ava took another step backward.
He reached a hand toward her. “Careful.”
When he nodded to his right, she followed his gaze and gasped.
The lovely meadow they stood upon ended in a cliff only three or four yards away, one that hung high above an ocean.
Swearing, she hastily moved closer to him and the forest.
She was not a fan of heights.
He studied her curiously. “You are Lasaran?” She liked his voice. It emerged in a smooth, deep rumble that made her want to hear it again.
Then his question registered.
Lasaran?
She blinked. Oh. Right. They’d been heading to Lasara. “No. I’m an Earthling.” It felt so weird to say that, but both the Lasarans and the Yona she’d met had thought it odd that her people didn’t name themselves after their planet.
Was this man a Yona warrior? The Yonas’ skin was a much more prominent gray. And it lacked the faint scales. So… maybe not.
His frown deepened. “I don’t understand.”
“I’m from Earth.” Earth was so far away from members of the Aldebarian Alliance that its sector of space had gone unexplored by anyone other than the damn Gathendiens, who seemed intent on eradicating every race other than themselves and taking over their planets.
He shook his head. “I can’t understand your words.”
“Oh.” He definitely wasn’t a Yona then. If the difference in his skin left any doubt, the frown he wore didn’t. Yona never showed emotion. Ever. But perhaps this man was biracial and only half Yona?
“Do you speak Purveli?” he asked.
She shook her head. She’d never heard of Purvelis. But the Lasarans must have dealings with them, otherwise the translator chip they’d implanted in Ava’s head wouldn’t enable her to understand him.
Too bad it didn’t render her capable of speaking his language, too. Unfortunately, that required a more advanced translator chip, and—after a longer than expected sojourn in space—the Lasarans had lacked any spares.
“Alliance Common?” he queried. Apparently, her rescuer either didn’t have a translator chip or his hadn’t been updated to include Earth languages the way the Lasarans’ and Yonas’ had.
“Yes,” she said with some relief. “A little bit.” Technology on Earth was so glitchy that she’d been unwilling to rely completely on the translator chip and had been studying Alliance Common just in case the chip ever failed her. “Thank you for helping me.”
His expression lightening, he offered her a little half bow. “I was happy to do so. You are Lasaran? Is your translator chip malfunctioning?”
So they did malfunction! “No. I’m not Lasaran. I’m from a planet called Earth.”
He tilted his head to one side. “Earth?”
“Yes. It’s…” Silently, she cursed her weak grasp of the language. How was she supposed to tell him Earth was on the other side of the galaxy without knowing the word for galaxy? “It’s far, far away,” was the best she could come up with. “Far away. My friends and I were traveling to Lasara with Prince Taelon and…” Biting her lip, she looked at the forest. “I don’t know what happened. We got separated and…” She shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know. I don’t even know where I am or how I came to be here.”
His handsome features softened. “You are on Purvel.”
She motioned to the beautiful blue ocean. “That’s what this planet is called?”
He nodded with a smile. “Yes. And I am Purveli.” He extended his arm. “I’m Jak’ri.”
Smiling, she clasped his hand and shook it. “I’m Ava. It’s nice to meet you, Jak’ri.”
He glanced at their hands in surprise.
“Oh.” She blushed again. “I’m sorry. I forgot. Members of the Aldebarian Alliance don’t shake hands.” Releasing him, she clasped his forearm, which was thick enough that her thumb and fingers only stretched halfway around it. “Nice to meet you.”
His strong fingers curled around her wrist, so long that they overlapped. “It’s good to meet you, Ava.” Withdrawing his touch, he gave her a friendly smile. “I must correct you, though. Purvelis are not members of the Aldebarian Alliance.”
Unease trickled through her. “You aren’t?”
The only nonmembers of the alliance she’d heard mentioned on Prince Taelon’s ship were the Akseli and the Gathendiens. The Akseli were a warlike race that seemed to behave like mercenaries, selling out to whoever paid them the most. And the Gathendiens were a ruthless species that used biological warfare to wipe out sentient, humanoid races and claim their planets. They had even tried that crap on Earth by manufacturing the vampiric virus. But they hadn’t counted on the virus mutating in gifted ones and turning them into immortals instead of transforming them into psychotic killers the way it did humans.
If Purvel wasn’t part of the alliance…
He raised both hands in what must be a universal gesture of peace or a take-it-easy sign. “Be at ease. I wish you no harm. Though we are not part of the alliance, Purvel is not hostile toward any of its members.”
“Oh. Then why aren’t you part of it?” she asked, doubts lingering.
Lowering his hands, he sent her a wry smile. “We are a solitary people and prefer to keep to ourselves.”
Her smile matched his. “I can understand that. I am, too.”
“Solitary?” he asked curiously.
“Yes.” She had to be. It was the only way she could relax her guard without being bombarded by other people’s thoughts.
Ava stilled… and barely kept her eyes from widening once more as she stared up at him.
She couldn’t read Jak’ri’s thoughts. His mind was blessedly quiet to her.
“If you’d like,” he said, “I will help you find your friends. But you should rest a moment first. The climb up here is a strenuous one.”
Exhaustion was creeping up on her. “Thank you.” She sat cross-legged on the ground.
Jak’ri lowered himself beside her and sat, legs bent, with his arms looped casually around his knees. “I should have known you weren’t Lasaran. Lasaran women do not bare their arms.”
She glanced down. Soft jeans encased her legs. A colorful shirt—now streaked with dirt—hugged her small breasts and narrow waist, the short sleeves covering only a few inches of her upper arms. Ava grinned. “True.” Then she winked, though she had no idea where that little snippet of boldness came from. “Maybe I am Lasaran and just like breaking the rules.”
He laughed. “You would be the first then.”
“I believe you,” she said with a laugh of her own. Lasarans were very big on following rules.
A cool breeze wafted over them, dragging their hair back from their faces. “The view here is beautiful,” she murmured.
His smile softened. “Yes. I come up here sometimes to forget my worries.”
She arched a brow. “Forget your worries in as little clothing as possible?”