Page 38 of I Married Kayog

“But baaaabe!” she said in a whiny tone.

“No buts, my love. We do not pry into people’s personal lives,” he said in a gently chastising voice.

“Bah, you two are no fun,” she said with an exaggerated pout that clearly indicated she was just playfully being a brat. “So when are you seeing him again?”

I scrunched my face and shrugged. “I don’t know,” I said sheepishly.

Their troubled expressions laced with a hint of pity—although quickly hidden—stung quite a bit. It didn’t take a genius to know they were wondering if I was being played. At the same time, I could feel their inner struggle about it as they both strongly believed that he was serious about me, if only because they’d never seen him show interest in anyone else.

“I believe we’ll see each other again either later today or tomorrow.”

Their instantaneous excitement touched me deeply. They wanted to see me happy.

“You really like him,” Tala said in a gentle voice devoid of her usual mischief.

“I do,” I said with a timid expression. “He’s so sweet and respectful. But he has some substantial challenges that I hope I can help him with.”

“Is he neurodivergent, as we speculated?” Mares asked.

I gave him an apologetic smile. “It’s not my place to discuss his personal matters. But we had a long discussion yesterday, and it explained a lot of things. Honestly, I’m thoroughly amazed by him. The things he has overcome, all the challenges he faced and not only prevailed, but grew into such a good person is just awe-inspiring.”

“Damn, someone is falling hard!” Mares said in a gently teasing tone.

“I am,” I admitted shyly.

“Well he couldn’t have gotten himself a better partner than you,” Tala said affectionately.

“That’s right,” Mares said, puffing out his chest as he drew Tala into his embrace. “Because I already got the best one there is.”

“Aww, why are you always so sweet?” Tala asked, melting against him.

My chest warmed for my friends, even as a sliver of envy flashed through me.

“You two are incredibly cute,” I said with a smile.

“Of course, we are,” Tala said, flicking her hair in a pretend diva fashion that had her mate and I laughing.

“We were thinking of going on a Nordjarimm ride,” Mares said, sobering. “Would you want to come with us?”

“Better yet, could we make this a double date?” Tala suggested.

I hesitated. “You know, us winged folks usually prefer flying ourselves rather than riding flying mounts.”

“Show off,” Tala said, making a face at me.

I chuckled.

“Fair enough, but you could fly alongside us,” Mares countered. “Their flight path is supposedly absolutely breathtaking.”

I nodded. “Yeah, so I heard. But didn’t they announce an incoming storm in that area?”

“Hmmm. Let me check,” Mares replied.

He released his mate and walked a few steps towards the ancestral tree under whose shade we’d been standing. He placed his palm against the trunk, and hisverisimmediately extruded. Those vines ran just below or above the skin of Edocits both on their hands, feet, and intertwined with their hair. They allowed his species to connect with any plant, tree, and even the ground itself. On their homeworld, animals, fish, and birds also possessed their ownveris, allowing Edocits to communicate directly with them.

In this instance, Mares was connecting with the tree, which would allow him to transfer his consciousness through any interconnected flora, giving him an open window into the remotest region of the planet. Naturally, the farther his consciousness traveled, the longer it took for him to return. Therefore, Edocits always carefully chose where they used that ability as their bodies remained vulnerable to attacks during that time.

His face went slack as hisverissank into the grooves between the bark of the trunk. Unlike on his planet, these trees did not haveverisof their own, which made the connection a bit weaker.