With Kael’s oath and Dawson’s reaction, I don’t know if I just got manoeuvred into agreeing, but somehow, we’ve got a breakfast to get through. And after that? Dawson’s going to meet Aelith, and I have to go with him.
I’m just not quite sure how I feel about any of it.
Breakfast is turningout to be a surprisingly pleasant affair.
I say surprisingly because, one: Kael has been with us this entire time, which I assumed would make my meal difficult todigest. And two: I just put something in my mouth that looks like the unholy love child of an octopus and a pufferfish.
It has tentacles.
But damn if it doesn’t taste like the most tender, buttery scallop I’ve ever had.
The first time I ate on Terrafeara, I barely kept anything down. Between the weird textures, pungent smells, and the sheer wrongness of some of the colours (food should not be that shade of electric blue), I struggled. But now? Sure, I’d commit a felony—maybe light arson—for a sausage sizzle or a lamington, but my palate has adapted.
Mostly.
Still, food aside, the bigger surprise is Kael.
Somehow—don’t ask me how—we end up sitting next to each other. It isn’t planned, at least not on my end, and I’d rather rip my own arm off than admit how hyperaware I am of him the entire time.
Which is infuriating, because he hasn’t so much as looked at me properly.
And yet he’s strangely charming.
Not to me, obviously. No, the arsehole is still avoiding eye contact like I carry some kind of contagious disease. But with Dawson? Sweet as. He answers his questions, listens with what looks like genuine interest, and even cracks what I think is supposed to be a joke at one point.
And Dawson laughs. Like, full-bodied, head-thrown-back laughs. Which is probably the only reason I don’t kick Kael under the table for being so insufferably likeable.
But just when I start to relax, just when I think I can actually eat in peace, his voice—low and deep—brushes against my ear. “So, how long have you been here?”
I jump.
Not a big jump, but enough that my knee knocks against the table with a dull thud.
His breath is warm against my skin. Close. Too close.
I turn my head slightly, but he’s already angled away, staring straight ahead like he didn’t just drop his voice an inch from my damn ear. His bioluminescent markings pulse faintly along his arms, betraying nothing.
Still, the question throws me.
Why would Kael be asking me personal questions? He hasn’t to anyone else around breakfast.
“Uh.” I clear my throat, trying to will my heart rate back to normal. “I don’t know exactly. But fifteen rifts have happened since I got here.”
That catches his attention. His gaze flickers towards me—almost.
“You track them?”
I nod. “They’re a big deal. Sometimes humans come through. Sometimes….” I hesitate, then shrug. “Sometimes other species do.”
Kael hums low in his throat, something thoughtful about the sound. Then he asks, “What was your life like on Earth?”
And that’s what really surprises me. No one’s ever asked me that before. Not really. People assume. People project. But Kael? Hewantsto know.
I shift, pushing my empty plate away. “I worked in clubs. Managed one for a while when my boss couldn’t get a replacement.”
Kael tilts his head slightly. “Clubs?”
I huff a quiet laugh. “Yeah, something called nightclubs. A place where people go to have fun, dance, move their bodies….” Here, I know I should stop for all the obvious reasons, but where’s the fun in that? I continue, “Usually end up getting down and dirty… hooking up.”
