Candi stared at his dark angry face.

“Slate. Why are you so mad?” She frowned. “It happened so fast I couldn’t avoid it. I’ll just be more careful next time.”

Slate turned his glittering blue eyes at her.

“I’m not mad at you.” He growled under his breath. “I’m mad at them for hurting you.”

He picked Candi up with care as if she weighed nothing.

“I could never be mad at you,” he said as he took her through the main hallway out to a hover pod.

“Where are we going?”

“To my home. I have to make sure you are not more seriously injured.”

Candi nodded. He seemed to be worried about the physical test more than any other, and here she was, nervous and concerned about the magic test!

The ride to his home took less than ten minutes.

Apparently, all the princes lived around the main palace for ease and convenience of being summoned at all times of the day and night by their father.

Slate’s house was a literal castle. It had multiple spires built out of pale white travertine stones with black rooftops, rising up into the sky like a huge white mountain.

“You live here?” Candi gasped, staring up at the castle’s stone front.

He shrugged as if it was no big deal.

“It was convenient. I didn’t feel like building something new so I just took over an old castle.”

Candi laughed.

“Are there old castles just conveniently lying around for you to take over?”

Slate nodded.

“There are plenty of castles all over various worlds. I just pick the one I want and have it transferred here.”

“Transport?”

“Magical transport.”

“Of course.” Candi laughed. “What was I thinking.”

The hover pod took them through the main gate to a large front garden filled with colorful tropical flowers and stately palms.

Past the garden was an arch way which took them to the front of the castle.

They stepped from the pod and without hesitation, he picked her up from the pod.

“I can walk, you know Slate.” Candi mumbled.

“You hurt your ankles. I need to look at them more closely.” His tone broke no arguments.

In a few short strides, he had reached the doorway.

Immediately several serving people stepped out to greet Slate. They bowed at the waist and ushered him into the house.

Slate carried her through the doorway and up the stairs until he reached the master suite. The double doors swung open at his command.

The room was stately, filled with exquisite hand-carved furniture that looked as if they should belong in a museum.

“Is this your bedroom?”

Slate carried her through the doorway.

“This is my home. They are all my bedrooms.”

Fair enough.

Slate strode to the large king size bed and set her down.

“I’m going to have a warm bath drawn for you.” He pulled a robe from a trunk and handed it to her. “Take your clothing off and put this on.”

“What are you going to do?”

Slate gave her a hard edged look.

“I need to check the condition of your body.”

She sighed, watching him as he opened another set of double doors which led to the adjoining bathroom.

The bathroom was almost the same size as the bedroom. Within it was a bath tub the size of a hot tub that could fit five people.

A female attendant was already within, filling the tub with steaming water that billowed smoke up into the marble walls.

She poured something into the water and a delicious flowery scent filled the air. Then she nodded and stood aside, awaiting further instructions.

“Come.” He beckoned to Candi.

No longer hesitant, she jumped off the bed and stepped into the bathroom. He’d bathed her before so she knew what to expect.

She stripped down and slipped into the bubbling bath.

“I see where the bruises and contusions are.” He shook his head. “That woman did a lot of damage to you.”

He took hold of her hands and inspected the bruises with a grim face.

With more healing magic, he removed the bruises. The heat of his fingers poured molten energy through her limbs causing her to feel languid and sleepy.

“Arms and ankles. It looks like those are all the damage that was inflicted on you.” She heard him say as he continued to heal her body.

His touches were light, feeling more like caresses rather than healing touches.

“Everything feels so much better. Thank you for helping me.”

He said nothing, continuing with his ministration. His touches began to move away from her injured areas to places that were perfectly fine.

Candi nodded dreamily as he continued to bathe her body.

“Slate.”

“Hmmmm?”

“Why are you taking care of me?”

For a moment, all Candi could hear was the sound of splashing water and his deep steady breathing. She opened her eyes and saw that he was pouring an amber liquid into his hands.

“Your hair needs to be washed again because of that windstorm. That old goat is going to have to do a lot of explaining to me what his motives are.”

“You’re not answering my question.”

“We only have today to heal you up and get you ready for the physical tomorrow. Focus on that.”

Candi reached out and touched his arm.

“What is there to focus on? It’s a physical. Other than stand there and let them judge my body, what else am I supposed to do?”

“You were only supposed to present your Avgo stone today to prove qualification for entry and look what happened.”

Candi nodded. He was right. It was a squirrelly pageant where strange things happened. Still, what he said and what she asked were two different things.

“I will be careful at the physical. So please tell me why you are taking such good care of me.”

His eyes softened.

“All the other contestants have teams of people taking care of their every need to get them ready for the Avgo Competition. In your case, you have nobody but me.”

“Because I was not a legitimate Avgo choice since I stole the Avgo?”

He chuckled and shook his head.

“No. It’s because once the Avgo appeared on Earth, the other female, that Dahlia woman, had been predetermined by the Earth’s ruling factions as the candidate they would endorse.”

“Fools.” He scoffed. “They had been warned that we would only accept the candidate that the Avgo chose but they decided their will was above that of the Universe.”

He squeezed a washcloth with suds and began rubbing her face and body with a gentle circular motion.

“What will happen now that Dahlia has been disqualified?”

“I expect them to come seeking you within the next few hours. They will expect me to hand you over to your people and allow them to take care of you for the duration of this contest.”

Slate sighed and ran his fingers through her hair.

“I don’t want to go with them.” Candi grimaced. “What if they kill me off in hopes they can transfer the stone to Dahlia?”

Slate poured more of the amber liquid soap into her hair and began working it through with gentle fingers.

“My only job was to deliver you safely to the coliseum. I have done that requirement.”

“Are you going to let them take me away?” She furrowed her brows and looked up at him.

His fingers paused.

He leaned down to kiss the hollow at the base of her neck.

“Never.”