It was nearly two in the morning before the festivities quieted down. Gem had murmured an excuse for them to depart the main banquet area half an hour before, and since then they had silently walked along the corridors to Gem’s living quarters. He held her hand as they walked.
“I can’t stop touching you,” he said.
Gem smiled. “Have you heard me complain?” she asked.
He chuckled and shook his head. “It’s hard to believe that all of this was right in front of us the whole time, just hidden,” he commented.
“The Elders’ spell froze everything and hid it so that the alien could not harm them,” she said with a nod.
“Gem – are you sure about this – about me?” Ross suddenly asked.
She paused outside a set of double doors. His heart pounded in his chest when she smiled at him, opened one of t
