“Why can’t we just live on Nefyria? We don’t have to hide who we are there.”
Qylar sighed before kneeling to come to her eye level.
“Because there are no other children your age on Nefyria,” Qylar said. Nefyrian infants were born in tide pools and left there to mature under the watchful gaze of guardians. Most Nefyrians couldn’t shift into a human-like form until they were older, so they had to remain water-bound until ready to brave their first shift. “You two would be the only little kids on the entire planet, and there would be no one your age to play with.”
“But we don’t really play with anyone here.”
“You will when you start school next year,” Qylar said, still not sure if a human school was the best choice for hybrid children, but he was deferring to Cryss and Alex’s decision there. “And you know what else they don’t have there?”
“What?”
“Toys. Kid’s movies or TV shows. Chicken nuggets or french fries. And theworstpart? No taco trucks near the beach.”
Zaadi grinned. “Are we getting tacos?”
“As long as you don’t tell your parents,” Qylar whispered.
“Better not get one for Ael,” Zaadi said before climbing the stairs to the slide. “He’ll end up wearing it again and Papa will know.”
Ael slid down just then, and Qylar snagged him before he landed on his bottom on the ground. Qylar placed him on his little feet and let him go again. He immediately ran towards the stairs for another trip down.
“Tacos!” Ael yelled with a tiny, meaty fist raised over his head, like it was a war cry.
Qylar smiled to himself, all while an ache formed in his chest. He heard Cryss’s voice whisper through his mind.You have every right to want a family.
Alex and Cryss needed to stop filling his head with nonsense. If they didn’t, he might start believing it was possible… and that would only make his suffering worse.
CHAPTER 5
Qylar scanned the crowd inside the Eagle, not seeing the one face he wanted to see most. Two months had passed with no luck finding Kenji or his roommate. He’d come to the Eagle many a night since theirs spent together. When Qylar wasn’t there, he was visiting local bars and restaurants, trying to figure out where Kenji worked. No one he’d asked seemed to know who he was talking about.
He was starting to believe the guy had been a figment of his imagination.
Just as he was considering calling it a night and going home alone, he thought he recognized a face. Not the one he wanted, but another that might be just as good. He sidled up beside the guy at the bar.
“Hello.”
The man spun and eyed Qylar from head to toe, a growing smile on his face. “Well,hellllloto you, too,Daddy.”
“You look familiar. Are you K?—”
“If we’d met before, I’d remember it.Trust.”He leaned closer, tickling a trail up Qylar’s chest with his fingertips.
“Are you Kenji’s roommate?”
A slight frown furrowed his brow. “Yeah. Why?”
“We met here a couple of months back. Kenji and I. He left without giving me his number. I’ve been hoping to run into him again ever since.”
Kenji’s roommate leaned in closer, grinning seductively. “He left you high and dry. Bad Kenji. You can havemynumber if you want.”
Qylar sighed, remembering Kenji said the guy was little more than a roommate, not a friend. He could see why. “Can you give Kenji a message for me?”
The seductive act ended and fast. The roommate glared at him. “I came out to have fun. Not be your errand boy.”
“Then give me his number and I’ll message him myself.”
“Maybe he didn’t give you his number for a reason, stalker.”
