She’s petite. She’s enormous.
Pax and I share a short glance before he steps forward. It’s amazing how quickly I’ve learned what his eyes are saying.
“Kiyoko? I am Pax Princip.”
He extends his hand.
She ignores it. Steps to me.
“You’re Stella,” she says.
“Yes.” So many people, calling me Stella. It feels dangerous.
“Your cat is Snuff.”
I blink. “It’s a stray.”
Kiyoko snorts a soft laugh. “No cat thinks of himself as a stray. He prefers the term free-range.”
The corner of my mouth ticks up. “That sounds like Snuff.”
“When’s the last time you’ve seen him?” she asks.
“Um—I’m not sure. Since we’ve been in this new boardinghouse, I guess.”
“We,” our Stella says!
Pax noticed. He rather thinks that’s adorable.
That fella is drawn to adorable like a moth to flame.
Always has been. That’s a problem.
I could unbutton his fly. Show him we got eyes on him.
I shift my weight. So uncomfortable, this placement of Pax’s fly in my mind’s eye.
“You should find him,” Kiyoko says. Her stance softens. She shifts the bulk of the tulips to her other arm. “Your cat. He’s worried about you.”
Kiyoko turns to Nirav, scans him briefly, nods her approval. He lifts his chin at her in greeting, smiling shyly.
Kiyoko whips toward Pax. “And you?”
Pax flashes his most salesman-like smile, the one I both admire and distrust.
“We’d like to offer you the chance to join our Bureau,” he says. “Share your immense gifts.”
Kiyoko huffs. “No one needs my gifts. No people.” She starts to walk away, her strides carrying her quickly across the chamber. I step forward.
“That’s untrue,” I say. “Your grandfather needed your gifts very much.”
Kiyoko freezes. Her shoulders fall.
“What do you know of my grandfather?” she asks without turning.
I don’t much care for showing how accurately I can relay some messages, but I feel I must with this young woman. And Spirit is drawing me toward Kiyoko. When Spirit does that, it feels inevitable. Unavoidable. Organic. Like we’ve been friends before, and we simply needed to find each other again.
“He was a farmer. He relied on you. He relied on your way with animals.”
