Mishra stops humming, and I turn toward him as he looks over at me, his expression neutral. “You’re not asking about my dislike of spacecraft are you?”
I swallow nervously before clarifying. “No.”
At first I don’t think he’ll answer, but then he rolls onto his side, propping his head up on his palm. “Well you see, it’s a funny story involving twins, a capybara, and a whole heap of buttercream.”
KEALAN
“Fine, don’t tell me,” Nalani huffs as she stands.
I squeeze my eyes shut, deciding quickly. Fekk it. I reach out, catching hold of her wrist. “You really want the truth?”
“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t,” she states as she yanks her arm from my grasp.
I let a long heavy sigh spill out as I stand. “Fine, but you’re gonna have to get me liquored up first.”
Nalani looks at me for a long moment before she says, “I know a place.”
“This story must be good if you have to get this blitzed to tell it,” Nalani comments as one of Spector Station’s flapper dress clad waitress clears away of collection of empty drinks.
“I wasn’t joking when I said the story involved twins, a capybara, and a whole heap of buttercream,” I state, pointing my drink at her. “But I’ll skip ahead to the part you really want to know,” I continue as I down the last of my drink. “When I was ten my dad took me to work one day—he was Protectorate stationed at Port Chaand. It was a normal enough day at the starport…until it wasn’t.”
The look on Nalani’s face as she sets down her drink tells me she knows exactly where this story is headed.
“I didn’t realize what was happening, even as the bombs started going off. The place was jammers, so much chaos and people running and screaming in all directions.” I take a deep breath trying to suppress the flashes of memory, but it’s like I’m there all over again.
“He grabbed my hand and we started running until we reached the shared Protectorate and Galactic Authority station. Despite everything going on around me, I wasn’t afraid. Don’t give me that look, I’m not trying to put up a front, I really wasn’t. I was never afraid when I was with Dad.”
I pause, lifting my drink until I remember it’s empty. Nalani slides hers toward me, and I take a sip before continuing. “After dodging around an altercation between a Protectorate and a GA, Dad led me back past the holding cells and put me in a PolicePod. As he strapped me in he reassured me that everything would come good—that he’d get in one himself as soon as I was safely away—and I believed him. Of course I did. He was my dad, and he’d never lied to me before.
“The last thing he said before he closed the pod hatch was ‘take care of your sister, mai chisaya astari.’ I should have known something was wrong when he called me his ‘little star,’ but like I said, he was my dad and I believed every word he said.”
I let out a bitter snort as I look down into the depths of the drink. “I didn’t learn until much later that the first thing the Monotheists took out were the escape pods. That he’d lied to my face as he put me in that pod. That he’d known the whole time that he wasn’t going to make it out of that starport alive.”
I take a sip of Nalani’s drink and try not the grimace at the taste. As I do I catch a glimpse of the look on her face. “If you want to ask something, just ask.”
“How did you…?” she doesn’t finish the rest.
“How did I become a Toresha Astari?” She nods. “There must have been another explosion after my PolicePod was jettisoned, because I woke up two weeks later in hospital at a Galactic Authority substation in geostationary orbit above Mars. And the blood transfusion that saved my life, also made me Toresha Astari daemon.” I tip back more of her drink, ignoring the bitter taste. “It’s a bit ironic isn’t it?” I comment as I slam the glass back down. “I escaped death twice only to be branded an outsider for the rest of my life.”
NALANI
As Mishra’s voice fades to silence the jazzy music of the vintage replica speakeasy surges forward. Its upbeat tones in direct contrast to the story I’ve just heard. Like him, such heartache and loss buried beneath a charming smile.
I should just tell him. Right here, right now that I know exactly what it’s like to be an outsider.
“I know what it’s like,” I blurt out.
He arches a brow, the drink halfway to his mouth. “You do?”
“I—” But I lose my nerve. “I had a friend at the Sashaivarian Regional Academy of Dance. She was kicked out when they discovered she was a Toresha Astari.”
The hopeful expression on his face turns dark. “Well I’m not surprised. I mean we’re all sexual deviants who brought this on ourselves,” he states sarcastically. And I begin to wonder if all the stories I’ve heard about Mishra were true, or if he was merely playing the role everyone expected of him?
The silver pendant hanging round his neck catches the light as he tips back the last of his drink. The black patina covering the metal pulling out the details of a stylized raven, and making it look ancient. The arc of its wings forming a circle above its head and its tail feathers in the shape of an upside-down five-petaled lotus. I’ve only seen the symbol a few times, and always on Protectorate.
“Was that his?” I ask, pointing at the pendant.
“Yeah…he—my dad—put it around my neck shortly before he jettisoned the PolicePod.” Kealan Mishra lifts the pendant from his chest, running his fingers over the raised surface. “I haven’t taken it off since.” He runs his finger reverently over it one more time before letting it fall back to his chest.
“And now if you don’t mind, I’m going to drink until I forget I ever told you this story,” he states as he goes to stand, his mood changing abruptly.
“I told you I was buying tonight,” I remind him as I stand.
“Fine,” he relents as he all but falls back into the booth. “But pick something lollie this time. I don’t know if I can stomach another thing the burns like mouthwash.” I arch my brow at him. “What? I’m confident enough in my masculinity to admit I prefer things that taste like candy.”
I should just tell him. I should just walk up, slam down the drinks and tell him the deadset truth, I say to myself as I carry our drinks back to the booth.
Kealan sits up a bit taller as I arrive. “Either I’ve done something to vex you or someone else did?”
I plunk our drinks down just as I planned, but the words don’t come out.
“Seriously, if I did something to—?”
“You’re grand. It’s grand. Everything grand,” I state as I slide a little too forcefully into the booth, bumping into him.
“Okay…” he replies uncertainly. His arm brushing my horns as he lays it across the top of the booth.
Gods he smells amazing. Normally guys have this unpleasant sweaty musk, but Kealan has an alluringly exotic scent to his skin.
“So…since everything’s apparently grand…” he starts, his warm breath stirring the hair beside my ear. Causing a delicious shiver to run down my spine. “What should we—?”
“What do you do when you’re not illegally stowing away on ships?” I ask abruptly, trying to distract myself from how I wish it was his lips not his breath brushing my skin.
“I find things.”
“What kind of things?”
A small grin tugs at the edges of his lips. “Rare things.”
“Oh, so you’re a treasure hunter?”
He runs his fingers over the bare skin of my shoulder. Sending little shockwaves throughout my body. “I prefer to think of it as uncovering items that were previously undervalued.”
Nine
KEALAN
“You know, someone as tiny as you really shouldn’t drink that much,” I point out as I guide Nalani back toward our section of the Cosmic Cabaret’s performer dorms, only slightly less blitzed than her. When she had said she wanted to go for drinks, I didn’t realize she was intending to try and drink me under the table like sh
e had something to prove.
“I’m not tiny,” Nalani protests, slurring her words.
“Well yes, you do have a rather impressive ass. And your chest is anything other than flat,” I’m forced to agree, because she’s right, she’s definitely not a slight young girl. Not with curves like hers. “But you’re also like what, a hundred and fifty centimeters?”
“A hundred and fifty-two thank you very much,” she corrects indignantly as she throws herself off balance in her attempt to face me.
“Whoa there!” I reach forward to catch her as she falls against my body, her face slamming into my abs.
“Ow,” she yelps, my shirt muffling her voice. “These are surpassingly hard.”
“Thanks?” I reply as I look down at her. Not sure if it’s a compliment or a slight.
Nalani pushes herself back upright, gripping my shirt with one hand to keep herself steady. “Seriously, how does someone like you get muscles this toned?” she asks as she pokes a finger into the hard muscle.
I cock an eyebrow. “Someone like me?”
“You know someone…” her voice trails off as she looks up into my face. We’re so close, I could lean just that little bit further forward and kiss her. But I’m afraid of where it might lead. And that I wouldn’t be able to stop myself.
Nalani runs her teeth slowly over her bottom lip. “You know what I mean.”
I look away from her before I do something I know I’ll regret. “No I don’t. But to answer your question, I’ve been practicing kendo since I was six.”
“Oooh, is that why you wear these?” Nalani asks as she tugs on the sash holding my hakama pants up.
I continue to studiously avoid looking at her. “Well yes, but mainly because they’re—”
Nalani’s hand slips down beneath my boxers and I freeze, unsure if I should remove it. I mean, on the one hand she’s clearly blitzed, and for her that apparently means she gets handsy. But on the other, I’ve wanted to feel her skin against mine for weeks now, and I don’t want to give her the impression that I don’t want her. Because I do—desperately.
Oh, gods, this is like Amber all over again.
Nalani’s palm slides down the length of my shaft, and my pulse jumps as it hardens. I should stop her now before things go any further, because the universe in which she and I can be together doesn’t exist.
“Don’t pretend you don’t want me, Kealan. I can feel that you do,” she purrs, her mouth beside mine. Using my name for the first time since I met her.
Oh gods.
My body screams to just let her continue, and I almost listen. The sensation of her skin sliding across mine almost too much to resist. But a small voice in the back of my mind tells me I’ll regret it if I let this happen like this. And I’m not enough of a wanker to ignore it.
“You’re beyond blitzed, Nalani, maybe we should—” Her fingers wrap around it, interrupting my trajectory of thoughts completely.
“I’m not blitzed enough to know what I want,” she states in a low, sensual voice. Her breath hot against my lips. Nalani looks up at me from beneath her lashes when I don’t respond. “Do you want me to stop?” she asks in the same voice as she moves her hand up across the sensitive skin.
My mouth drops open. “I…”
“Hey Kealan, if you wanted to have the room to yourself all you had to do was comm me. You don’t need to—Nalani?”
She turns toward the sound of Tarou’s voice, swaying on her feet. Her hand still shoved down my boxers. And then she loses her balance, smacking the back of her head on the door on the way down. And further worsening the situation by dragging my hakama pants down to the floor with her.
“This really isn’t as bad as it looks,” I start until I look down and realize that in the process of falling Nalani also pulled me free of my boxer briefs. Exposing me to Tarou and anyone else who happens to come down the corridor. “On second thought, maybe it is.”
Fekk.
“Look, you can say whatever you want later,” I state as I lean forward to pull my hakama pants back up. “But, right now can you just help me put her to bed?”
“When you say ‘put her to bed’ you mean in a platonic I’m-not-asking-you-for-a-three-way kinda way, right?” I give hir a scathing look as I retie my waist sash. “It was a joke—I’m joking! Sorry, I make jokes when I’m uncomfortable,” Tarou says sarcastically as ze crouches down in front of Nalani.
“Sorry for making you uncomfortable, I’ll make it up to you later,” I apologize as I crouch down beside hir.
“Well since you’re offering…”
“Tarou, sahavi, I love you, but you, me, and her are never having a three-way anywhere other than your dreams—got it?” I clarify as I shake Nalani’s shoulder gently. She doesn’t stir in the slightest.
Not good.
I press my index finger to her IdentiBand, and begin typing on her forearm when the screen comes up.
“What are you doing?” Tarou asks in confusion.
“Having the biometrics run a scan to see if she has a concussion.”
“You can do that?” Tarou asks in disbelief.
“You can look up basic info on anyone’s IdentiBand, but you can also access emergency medical info like life-threatening medical conditions, allergies, and blood type,” I answer as I type in the proper med code to get it to perform the scan. “And if you really know what you’re doing you can also get it to do certain med scans.” Tarou gives me a wide-eyed look. “I may have dated a Kalo EMT for a few weeks. Well…more like we had a mutually grand time until she left for Mars.”
The IdentiBand pulses a yellowish-green, and I breath a small sigh of relief until a warning comes up.
This individual is classified as a Toresha Astari Daemon. Please take proper precautions when handling bio materials.
My heart skips a few beats, sure that there must be some kind of mistake. I quickly back up to the main med screen, but it shows the same info Blood Type: TA. TA for Toresha Astari. Swallowing hard, I shift her IdentiBand up slightly, needing to know for sure. The telltale dark-blue lotus-tipped edge of the Fallen Star tattoo slides into view, confirming the data on her band.
My brow furrows. Why didn’t she say something?
“Kealan, what is it, what’s wrong?” Tarou asks anxiously.
“Nothing,” I answer, shaking my head clear. “Other than being supremely blitzed, and a bit dehydrated, Nalani will be just grand.”
I lift her into my arms and stand, cradling her against my body. “Can you open the door?”
“No, only she can.”
“Then can you help me here?” I ask as I gesture toward the door with my head.
“What’s her blood type?” Tarou asks as ze holds Nalani’s IdentiBand to the door’s censor.
I eye hir appraisingly, hir admission about wanting to be intimate with Nalani taking on a whole new meaning. “Somehow I think you already know that,” I reply as the door slides open.
“Fine,” Tarou sighs. “Since sex is off the table for obvious reasons, how about a kiss?”
“A kiss is never just a kiss,” I state as I step through the archway into Nalani’s room.
Nalani’s room isn’t much bigger than Tarou’s and mine. A small photonic glass work table and clothing rack taking the place of the second bed along the right wall.
I lay Nalani gently down on her bed, watching her chest rising and falling in sleep. Why didn’t you tell me we were the same? Were you seeing if I’d stop you before things got too intimate?
I stare down at her for another long moment before shifting my attention to her feet. I reach down, pinching the top edge of her MicroMesh, knee-high boot. The fabric splitting down the middle, making it possible to remove it. I drop her boot on the floor and do the same to the other.
“How did you know how to do that?” Tarou asks a bit in awe.
“Well I dated this girl—Lexana—once. She liked us to start with her boots still on, but trust me those things hurt when t
hey’re digging into your—” Ze arches hir eyebrows at me. “You know what—never mind,” I amend as I gently slip Nalani’s body beneath her blanket before straightening.
Oh, right.
I look back down at Nalani, running my teeth over my bottom lip. “Well you did grab my cock, so I’m gonna go out on a ledge and guess you won’t care about this,” I mumble as I lean forward. Slipping my hand slowly down the front of her top.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing, just making her more comfortable. I heard these are awful to fall asleep in,” I answer as I press the small trillion-shaped adhesive device on Nalani’s breast bone. Her boobs bounce free, pressing against the fabric of her top as the gravity field holding them dissolves.
As I pull my hand back out of Nalani’s top, Tarou says, “Let me guess, you dated a girl—”
I give hir a mischievous smirk. “No, that one I fekked just the once in a bot closet.”
“A bot closet?”
“At a dinner party.”
“A dinner party?”
“When I was seventeen,” I finish with a huge grin.
Tarou’s expression is somewhere between alarmed and impressed, and something occurs to me. “Uh…Tarou, I know you like both, but have you actually, you know, with a girl?”
The scarlet blush coloring hir face gives me the only answer I’ll ever need.
“Uh…forget I asked.”
Tarou looks away from me, arms folding across hir chest. “Well excuse me for not being a bed-jumper like you. It’s not my fault most girls don’t go for someone with looks like mine.”
With a small smile I pull the blanket to Nalani’s chin, and come to stand next to hir. Because Tarou’s wrong. Girls do go for the beautiful androgynous look, but only if you know where to find them.
“You know before, I didn’t say I wouldn’t.”
Tarou turns. “Wouldn’t what?”
I cup hir face, pulling hir lips to mine. Giving hir more than a peck. Because ze deserves to feel wanted, even if it’s not by me.
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