Chapter 14
Once they were through processing, they exited the hangar and stepped out into a bright, beautiful day amid a wide, open plaza.
Kenji’s head was on a swivel, taking in all the sights.
Everything was so blue—from the sky to the hard sidewalk-like surface, to the robes and dresses people wore—and there was water everywhere.
People rushed around them, traveling alone or in small clusters.
They were in various forms from human, human with tentacles, or fully tentacled.
Most of the later swam instead of walked.
Narrow waterways lined the pathways, giving two options for mode of transport in each direction.
Buildings in the distance looked like skyscrapers, but were more round with design elements beautifully curved, reminiscent of water flowing. What looked almost like an outside mall was to the left, with three levels of shops.
It took a moment for the stares to register. Kenji searched the faces of the people they passed and found angry glares—most directed at Qylar. He glanced over and saw the upward tilt of Qylar’s chin, but also the tension in his shoulders and jaw.
Kenji slipped his hand into Qylar’s. Qylar looked down at him, brows furrowed.
“You probably don’t want to do that,” Qylar told him, his voice low.
“I don’t care what they think,” Kenji replied, squeezing Qylar’s hand.
The farther they walked, though, the more stares and whispers came. Kenji did his best to ignore them, but it wasn’t easy, especially as some stopped to awkwardly gawk.
“Uncle Q!”
Kenji’s attention went to a beautiful little girl in a long, pale blue dress running straight at them. Qylar released his hand to kneel and open his arms wide. The little girl leapt into Qylar’s embrace. “I missed you, Uncle Q!”
Qylar stood, squeezing the little girl tight. “I missed you, too, princess.”
A small boy in a dark blue robe raced up next and wrapped his arms around Qylar’s leg. Qylar leaned down and scooped the boy up, too. The boy smiled at Qylar and happily barked like a dog.
“Another puppy?” Qylar asked.
“Paw Patrow,” the little boy declared.
“Did Papa pack your iPad with Paw Patrol?” Qylar asked him.
The little boy nodded and barked again.
Qylar turned to face Kenji, a bright smile on his face. “Kenji, this is Princess Zaadi and Prince Aeloran of House Qlr-Kreegl. Zaadi, Ael… this is my friend, Kenji.”
His friend? What happened to mate?
“Hi,” Kenji said to the kids, adding a little wave.
“Hi,” Zaadi said with a half-smile as she watched him with curiosity.
Aeloran only stared with one eye, hiding most of his face against Qylar’s chest, but Kenji thought he saw a hint of a smile. He grinned at Aeloran, who then hid his entire face, his chubby little hands bunched in the soft, gray sweater Qylar wore.
Kenji glanced over and noticed a couple approaching. One man he suspected was Cryss from the photo he’d seen. A very pregnant man who had to be Alex was on his arm. They stopped a couple of feet away, smiling broadly.
Alex’s cheerful gaze washed over Kenji before he looked at Qylar. “Sorry it took us so long to catch up. I’m at waddle-walk point and the kids took off as soon as they saw you, Q.”
“I told him he could stay home, and I’d come meet you two, but he said he wanted to get out of the apartment and stretch his legs,” Cryss said. He reached a hand to Kenji. “Hi, I’m Cryss.”
“Kenji,” he replied, shaking Cryss’s hand.
“And this is my husband and mate, Alex.”
“Very nice to meet you,” Alex said. Instead of a handshake, Alex went in for a hug. “You don’t know how excited I am to meet another hybrid. We have so much to talk about.” He linked his arm through Kenji’s and eyed Qylar. “You didn’t bring luggage?”
“I paid a porter to deliver them to your apartment,” Qylar replied. “They should arrive in an hour or two.”
“Ah, smart,” Alex said. He turned to Kenji. “Want a little tour of the promenade before we get stuck indoors?”
“Are you okay walking?” Kenji asked, eyeing Alex’s round belly.
“The more I walk, the faster this baby’s coming,” Alex said. He peeked at Cryss and Qylar. “If you two can handle the kids, I’m stealing your mate for a little tour, Q.”
Qylar eyed Kenji. “You up for that?”
“I’m more worried he isn’t,” Kenji said.
“You don’t know Alex yet. He’ll do anything he sets his mind to.” Qylar turned his gaze to Alex and gently narrowed his eyes, a hint of a smile on his lips. “And his mind is set on getting you alone so you two can gossip.”
Alex chuckled. “As sharp as ever, Q.” He tugged on Kenji’s arm. “Ready?”
Kenji chuckled. “I suppose so?”
Alex led him away from the men and walked towards the shops. Kenji glanced over his shoulder. Qylar smiled softly at him. The men remained where they were, Cryss watching over the kids splashing their hands in the fountain.
“How was the trip?” Alex asked.
“It was… nice,” Kenji said, averting his gaze from a person passing with a nasty frown sent his way.
“Knowing Qylar, he took a straight shot here and didn’t show you anything cool on the way.”
“Actually, we stopped at this… nebula cluster? We sat on the floor of the pilot’s deck to eat our Thanksgiving dinner picnic style in front of the crystal window thingie with it right outside.” Kenji sighed. “It was a gorgeous view for dinner.”
“Well, he does know how to be romantic. I wasn’t sure he had it in him.”
Kenji grinned. “Is that a common complaint among his ex-boyfriends?”
“What ex-boyfriends? In the five years I’ve known him, there’s been nothing but a constant series of one-night stands—any of whom I’ve never met because he usually never hosts. From what Cryss tells me, there weren’t any boyfriends before that, either. So… you are a first for him.”
Kenji frowned. “His first boyfriend? I seriously doubt that.”
“Well, you’re a little more than a boyfriend, now aren’t you?”
Kenji wasn’t sure if Alex was digging or not, so he remained quiet. The stares as they walked along the busy corridor were starting to get to him, too. “You all call him Q. Why is that?”
“Well, his name.”
“His name is Qylar,” Kenji said.
“And how does he spell that?”
Kenji frowned. “I assumed it was K-Y-L-E-R, but I suppose I’ve never asked.”
“Close. It’s Q-Y-L-A-R.”
“Shit. First I fuck up his entire name and now I don’t know how to spell it,” Kenji said. “I should’ve asked.”
“How did you fuck up his entire name?”
Kenji sighed. “We met at a bar. It was a little loud. I thought I heard him say Skylar and then called him that later. I was so embarrassed.”
“An easy enough mistake to make,” Alex said. “I doubt he was bothered.”
“He wasn’t, but I was so nervous. There’s this really fucking hot, super chill guy who seemed into me, and I couldn’t figure out why. I was so jumpy that I rambled on and sounded like an idiot. The name mix-up felt like the final sign that I was over my head, and I tried to leave his truck.”
“Good thing he stopped you, hmm?”
“Oh, so you knew about that?”
“Yeah. After you disappeared the second time, he came over and told us the whole story. I’ve never seen him that distraught about anything.” Alex sighed.
“He was distraught?”
“He was… and I was really worried about him, especially given that we were leaving a few days later. We tried to delay our departure, but he refused—and I’ve been anxiously awaiting news since.” Alex squeezed his arm. “I’m glad you two have found one another again.”
Kenji smiled.
“You two have found one another again, haven’t you?”
“Is this the ‘what are your intentions with my friend’ conversation?” Kenji asked.
“More a temperature check. I don’t want to make assumptions.”
“Well, I moved into the upstairs bedroom of his townhouse before we left for Nefyria, so maybe that clarifies things a bit?”
“The upstairs bedroom—but not his?”
“He offered to let me stay because I live in a shitty neighborhood and have an asshole roommate. I refused at first, because this is way too new, but he convinced me by offering me my own space to get away from him if he was too much.”
“Ah, so tentatively considering moving forward. That’s something, I suppose,” Alex said.
Kenji chuckled. “I may have also suggested he move up there with me… and leave the basement bedroom for when he pisses me off and I need to get away from him.”
Alex’s smile widened. “So not so tentatively considering.”
They walked in silence a few paces, and Kenji took in the sights—and the looks.
“Does the staring ever stop? It’s sort of creeping me out.”
Alex smiled softly at him. “It gets better, but I still get some. It comes with the territory being the first known and acknowledged child of two planets.”
“I thought Qylar mentioned you had siblings who were also part human?”
“Yes, but they look fully Nefyrian and were raised here, no one but our father knowing who their mother was. My siblings know the culture and blend in—and don’t seem to get the same reactions I seem to, even with everyone now knowing their origin.
In most people’s minds, you’ll likely be considered the second hybrid, even though you’re technically the fifth. ”
“Great,” Kenji murmured. He eyed the people around them, less their faces and more their clothing. “Does no one wear anything but blue?”
“Blue dyes are made from a mineral found in their oceans—and there’s a rarer salt ore, too, that makes green and black.
Runoff from fabric mills using those dyes don’t pollute their rivers and oceans like other colors they’ve attempted to make, so I’m told.
They’re very strict about keeping their waters pure here. ”
“Is that adding to the stares? The fact I’m wearing a bright red shirt?”
“It could be,” Alex said. “It does make you stand out as an outsider—in a protected residential neighborhood.”
“Meaning?”
“Visitors are usually kept to the business sectors and welcomed there. Here, less so. But since you’re our guests and of Nefyrian blood, you were allowed here.”