“No. No, Selena. I want to prove myself to you. I may not have some mysterious mental connection with you like Xylo and Odelm, but I want you to trust me. I want us to be friends. That and your safety are all I’ve wanted since I learned of you, eight—almost nine—years ago. Just tell me what I need to do for this to happen,” he begged.
My eyes traced from his visor to his pointy ears and his curving horns.
“I want to see your face.” I pulled my hands free and held one up to stop his protest. “It doesn’t need to be here, it doesn’t even need to be right now, but I want to see the man behind this mask. You don’t have to show me the rest of your body—I know how important hiding your identity is to you—but I need to see your face. I need to get a read on you, see your facial expressions. I keep wondering what you are hiding from me.” Placing one hand over both of his, I added, “But also know, Kaede, I’ll keep your secrets. I won’t say anything about what you show me to others.”
I watched him and waited for his answer.
I knew this was a major decision for him, but I needed to know. I needed to feel I understood him before I could trust.
A sigh escaped him as he nodded. “If this is what you need to be able to trust me, okay. But not here, there are too many eyes, and not at your suite where anyone could walk in at any time. Will you come to my cabin?”
I nodded in return with a small smile. “Right now?”
“Why not? We’re finished eating and not expected anywhere.”
Kaede assisted me up and out of the booth, and we made our way to the topmost floor, where both our cabins were located. He walked on my right, and I could feel him looking at me nearly the entire way.
As we stopped in front of his door, I realized his cabin sat between the lifts and my own suite. I knew his cabin was marked on the ship’s directory, and its location made sense in terms of being a strategic location for my protection, but I’d never needed to look up exactly where he was staying.
Kaede’s door opened, and we entered.
I examined his cabin curiously. I had only seen the infirmary recovery room and my current suite. The walls and ceiling were metallic silver like the rest of the ship, and black carpet covered the floor. His common room looked similar to my own but smaller, with only a single couch and a pair of chairs grouped around a center table. He had a drink dispenser and a data screen along the wall, but his data screen was connected by wires to a portable stand containing computers and other gadgets. I assumed they were part of his job.
Eying the additional doors, he noticed my curiosity and said with a chuckle, “Not much different from your Royal Suite, just smaller.” He pointed to the left. “Bedroom and bath. The others lead to a guest bathroom and a storage room. Have a seat, and I can get us drinks. What would you like?”
He walked over to the drink dispenser as I collapsed on the couch with a sigh. Leaning back to get comfortable, I grinned at him.
“I’ve enjoyed playing the ‘surprise me’ game with Xylo. Everything is new to me, so I have few favorites. It’s fun trying new things. Haven’t found anything I dislike either.”
He selected two drinks and brought them over.
He handed me a familiar dark cup, steam rolling off the rim. I cradled it carefully in both hands and sniffed, inhaling the familiar sweet herbal scent of green tea.
I giggled.
Kaede had served me the same drink Xylo had that first night. I was touched Kaede had remembered something so minor. It was also the tea that smelled like Xylo, and I wondered if Kaede knew.
“What’s funny?” Kaede asked, sounding confused.
“You really have been paying attention. This is the drink Xylo served me. I’d thought you’d give me something you liked or something you thought I’d like.”
He set his drink down on the table and focused his attention on me.
“I assumed you liked that one, and since I tend to keep my cabin cooler than yours, I didn’t want you to get cold”—he shrugged—“so I got you something warm. Do you want me to grab you a blanket from my bedroom?”
Now that he’d pointed it out, his cabin was slightly chillier than mine. “Thanks, I’d appreciate it.”
As I sipped my tea, he brought a dark green blanket—the same material as the silver ones on my bed—and tucked it carefully around me. He sat beside me when he finished, careful not to sit on the legs I had tucked up beside me, then turned to face me.
“How do you want to do this?”
“I don’t know. Are you really so scary, you’re worried you’ll cause me to go into labor?” I asked, tilting my head to the side as I examined him. A sly smirk pulled at my lips.
“Some considered me to be. I don’t want you to be disgusted or afraid of me after I show you. That’s my biggest fear. How am I supposed to protect you if you’re scared of me?”
To my surprise, he seemed serious. I leaned forward and placed my hand on his knee. He looked down at it.
“I promise I’m open-minded. I’m used to a variety of species, and as far as I can tell, you don’t have any extra appendages. You’re bipedal like me. And I don’t judge someone’s worth based on their looks. How someone behaves is what matters. Who they are, instead of what they are. I mean, I’m attracted to both Xylo and Odelm, and they are quite different.”
Kaede looked up at me, considering for a moment.
“I need to dim the lights
