Delivered by the Defender (Kindred Tales)

Selena felt as though her stomach was suddenly filled with a thousand butterflies, all flapping their wings at once. What was he saying? Was he just playing the part of a Ma’shorkan Master? Or did he somehow have an idea of the kinds of things she fantasized about? But how could he know that?

For a long moment, Valen held her gaze with his and—as before in the lounge—she felt powerless to look away. Then the vendor said,

“I quite understand. Here is your chosen foodle-smoon, Sir.”

He tried to hand the big Kindred the lovely jeweled flower, but Valen shook his head.

“It is for my lady.”

“As you wish, Sir. If I have your permission to hand it to her?” the vendor asked politely.

Valen nodded.

“Kindly put it in her hands and I will pay you.”

He tucked Selena’s violin case under one arm and pulled a round golden coin out of one pocket, holding it out to the vendor. The Ma’shorkan man carefully transferred the jeweled red flower onto a paper napkin and placed it in Selena’s outstretched hand. Then he took the gold coin, bit it, and nodded, as though satisfied. He made change and started to hand several smaller, bronze and silver coins back to Valen, but the big Kindred shook his head.

“Keep it, friend, as a gift from me to you,” he said formally.

“Why, thank you, Sir.” The vendor smiled gratefully. “And I do hope your lady enjoys her foodle-smoon.”

“I’m certain she will,” Valen murmured. “Come, Selena, let’s move on,” he said, nodding at her.

Still feeling slightly mesmerized by the “Master” persona, the big Kindred had displayed, Selena followed him further along the rotunda, the jeweled candy flower still cupped carefully in one palm.

“Thank you for this,” she said to him, once they were clear of the foodle-smoon kiosk. “Um…and I’m sorry if I wasn’t supposed to, uh, contradict you in public.”

“That’s just the Ma’shorkan way,” he said dismissively. “Go on and eat that,” he added, nodding at the flower. “And don’t say anything about it not being on your ‘diet.’ If you like sweets, you’ll love it.”

“But…don’t you want any of it?” Selena objected. “I mean, it’s big enough to share—we can each have a bite.”

“I’d rather watch you eat it,” Valen murmured, giving her that intense look again. “Besides, it’s meant to be a one-bite dessert. It’s best to put the whole thing in your mouth and let it melt on your tongue.”

“Oh…okay.” Carefully, Selena plucked the red and green candy flower off the napkin and placed it in the center of her tongue. She was a little afraid that the sharp edges of the petals and leaves might cut her, because the flower honestly looked like something you’d find in a Swarovski crystal shop—not anything edible. But they began to melt almost at once, dissolving in a sweet rush and leaving the creamy center on her tongue.

“Well?” Valen raised an eyebrow. “What do you think?”

What she thought was that it was the best thing she’d ever put in her mouth, but she couldn’t say it yet because her mouth was still full. So she simply closed her eyes and murmured, “Mmmmm.”

The texture at the interior of the foodle-smoon was rather like chocolate, because it warmed and melted in the heat of her mouth. But the flavor was unlike anything she’d ever had before—it was sweet and creamy without being cloying and there were faint, bitter and floral notes too—like dark chocolate and candied violets. As it melted further, she detected something tangy like some kind of citrus. It finished with a buttery, salty-sweet aftertaste that was a bit like salted caramel.

Selena swallowed and licked her lips, savoring it before she opened her eyes.

“Wow, that was…I’ve never had anything like it,” she confessed, looking up at Valen. “It was delicious—so many flavors! I don’t even care that it probably had about a thousand calories—it was amazing!”

He gave her that slight, charming smile of his again, which raised just one corner of his mouth.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it, little one,” he murmured. “It was a pleasure to watch you eat it.”

Selena wasn’t sure what to say to that. He was giving her that intense, blue gaze again—the one that made her heart pound like a drum in her chest—and she seemed to be at a loss for words.

“Um…thank you,” she murmured at last. “It…it was really sweet of you to buy it for me.”

“Well, sweets to the sweet—isn’t that a quote from some Earth literature?” he said, raising an eyebrow. “At any rate—”

“Excuse me, Sir, but are the two of you having a moment?” a new voice interrupted them. “A lovely moment, you’d like to remember always?”

16

Valen looked away from Selena’s lovely, big brown eyes in irritation, to see yet another Ma’shorkan vendor staring at him hopefully.

“Yes,” he said shortly. “We are having a moment and we’d rather not be disturbed.”