“I don’t know why this is happening,” I sob. “I’m not like this…”
“The hormones are?—”
“I’m better than this! I’m better thanfuckinghormones…”
“Andromeda…”
“And now I yelled at you when you’re being nice to me. I’m so sorry.”
“Shhh…”
“I always fuck everything up…”
His hand presses firmly against my head, holding me to his chest. “Andromeda. Stop talking.” Command laces his deep tone.
My breath catches as his warmth makes it into my brain.
“Stop thinking,” he continues. “Just breathe.”
I obey. For once, my instinct isn’t to do the opposite of what I’m told.
The steady rhythm of Sylvus’s heart—one of his hearts, anyway—under my ear grounds me. My body slowly relaxes and regulates.
He offers me a handkerchief woven of silk, and I burst into tears again.
His brow furrows. “Andromeda? I…”
I shake my head. “I’m sorry. That’s just so nice. You made it for me, and I’m just going to get it all snotty and?—”
He uses it to wipe my cheeks dry, and the wave of emotion passes.
I blow my nose and sniffle. “Bet you’re really second-guessing putting me in front of a client now, huh?”
“I am.” The quiet, murmured words catch me off-guard.
I blink and look up at him, trying to understand what those words mean, why they seem to tug at my sternum.
“At least not yet,” he says gently. Unconvincingly.
I’m not out of chances to prove myself, though. “Right, the… transformation is still really fresh, right? I just need some time to adjust.”
He’s quiet for a moment, then nods. “That may be sufficient. Some humans experience more side effects than others.”
“Alright… cool.” I sniff again and rub my cheeks. “Thank you.”
“I’ll put something else on for you.”
I hesitate. “I…dowant to watch it. You were… right that I’d like it. I guess I just liked it too much. The ICSS—they banned us from any exposure to Earth artifacts. So it was just… overwhelming.”
“Alright.” The screen comes back to life, showing a splashing hippo.
I ride out another wave of emotion, clinging to Sylvus’s arm.
“Is there anything else you need?”
I can’t pull my eyes from the screen. “Can you… stay with me?”
A pause. “Yeah. Yeah, I can stay with you.”
