“Are you frightened?” I asked.
“No,” he answered. “Which is weird because I thought I would be.”
“What do you mean?”
“I feel like I’msupposedto be scared. I mean, what kind of man wouldn’t be freaked out after getting impregnated by an alien on a different planet?” He laughed again, shaking his head. “But it’s strange. There’s no fear. Hell, I was more scared answering the admiral’s call earlier.”
My hopes lifted. “Then, you are happy?” I offered.
Levi blinked up at the sky. “Yeah. I think so.” He stretched his arms up in the air, then made a content sound. “Man, the weather’s nice today. Is the sun always so warm?”
I gestured to his belly with my tentacle. “That is likely the baby’s influence. Maeleons need the sun to grow.”
Levi’s brows rose. He looked down. His midsection looked the same as it did yesterday. There was no obvious growth yet, but there would be soon enough.
Levi curiously ran his hands over his flat stomach. “A baby Maeleon,” he murmured. Then he shot me a sassy look. “Hey, what makes you think it won’t be a human?”
His snark pleased me. It meant he felt better. After the stressful event in the Sweetfields, I only wanted to see Levi happy and well.
“Do human fetuses thrive on sunshine?” I asked.
“Well, I’m no doctor, but I figure they’re not opposed to it,” Levi countered.
I grinned. “That is fair.”
“What if it’s a hybrid baby? Does that happen?”
“As far as I’m aware, no Maeleon has ever hybridized with another species,” I mused. “But it might not be outside the realm of possibility.”
Levi snorted. “Yeah, that seems to be a theme lately.” He took a deep breath. “You know, this all still feels like a dream.”
“How so?”
“Crash landing. Winding up on Eukaria. Meeting you.” He paused as his cheeks took on a pink hue. “Falling in love with you. And now this. It’s just all so—ugh, how do I say this without sounding cheesy?”
“Tell me,” I urged.
He blushed harder, biting his lip. “It’s... magical.”
His aversion to admitting that amused me. Despite all the time I spent with him, I couldn’t understand why humans hid their true feelings.
“Why are you ashamed to admit it is magical?” I asked. “If that is how you feel, then it is true.”
He made a face. “I dunno. Magical stuff doesn’t happen to me.”
“Until now.”
“I’m not that special. I’m just aguy.”
I took him by the shoulders, my gaze burning into his.
“You are my filum, Levi,” I told him. “You were born to be special. To bemine.Your uniqueness is part of you. Do not forget that.”
His eyes went soft as the scent of rain. Emotion wavered in them as he murmured, “Zat’tor...”
“If your past on Earth pains you, leave it behind,” I urged. “Abandon everything that does not bring you joy. You don’t need it anymore.”
Levi parted his mouth as if to argue. Then he let out a sigh mixed with a laugh. “You make it sound so easy. Maybe it actually is, and I’m the one making it difficult.”
