“Excuse me.”
I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sudden voice beside me. It was a huge purple Maeleon with a smooth voice.
My heart hammered. Was he talking to me, or the Maeleon behind me? It must’ve been the latter. Nobody ever talked to me. I ignored him and kept staring at the fruit.
A moment later, the purple Maeleon chuckled. “Yes, you. I’m speaking to you.”
My stomach lurched. From the corner of my eye, I noticed that the Maeleon behind me had turned away, engaged in a different conversation.
The purple one was talking tome.
My throat closed up, and my pulse skyrocketed. I didn’t want this. I didn’t want to talk to anybody. But it was rude to ignore him, and being rude attracted unwanted attention.
Although I couldn’t look at him, I mustered the courage to reply. “Y-yes?”
He chuckled again. Warm and smooth. “I have sat next to you during feasts many times now. Yet I have never seen you eat anything. Why is that?”
My organs turned cold.
Shit. Not only was he talking to me, but he was also asking me questionsabout the last thing I wanted to discuss: myself.
“I don’t know,” I blurted in a panic. Just to say something. Hoping he’d take the hint and stop.
Sadly, I had no such luck.
“Sure, you do,” the purple Maeleon countered. “Who knows better than you?”
My heartbeat tripped over itself. I had to shut this down fast. If I kept replying, he’d keep asking, and then we’d be having aconversation,andI’d really be in trouble.
“My name is Farr’vye, by the way,” he interjected.
Who asked? I didn’t.
“And your name is Assistant 23, yes?”
My eye twitched with irritation. That obviously wasn’t my real name. But then again, how was a Maeleon supposed to know that? All human names probably sounded strange to them.
“No, actually,” I replied. “That’s my designation. Not my name.”
Farr’vye sat up straighter, his gaze widening with intrigue. I noticed for the first time that his eyes were bright orange, like a California poppy. Not that an alien’s eye color meant anything to me.
Then his earlier comment belatedly sank in. He’d noticed me sitting next to him before? For how long? Months? Why had he chosen this specific moment to strike up a conversation with me—one in which I didn’t even want to participate?
He’s weird. I don’t want to talk to him,I decided.
Pretending to be interested in something else, I turned my face to the other side of the table where Levi and his alien mate Zat’tor were happily playing with their daughter.
A ribbon of discomfort threaded between my ribs. Dai’zee was a beautiful child, and I was happy for their family. But everytime I thought about a cisgender human man giving birth… it terrified me to the core.
That must’ve been part of the reason Maeleons unnerved me; they had the ability tochangemy body. Paz insisted it was consensual, and I believed him, but it didn’t curb my fear.
I didn’t like the idea of other people influencing me. Changing me. It had already happened once already with catastrophic results, and I never wanted to experience that again.
In spite of the warm weather, a chill ran down my body. I rubbed my arms.
“Cold?” Farr’vye asked.
Great. He was still talking to me.