28. Carter

TWENTY-EIGHT

CARTER

Chapter 28

O n a sunny day some six months after I was shipped off to Glimner, I shuffled out of the casino, missing my tail. It had been years, but I still felt as if I had phantom limb syndrome.

"What are you doing?" a female voice asked.

"Oh, nothing," I said, pulling my gaze from my own behind. "I thought I sat in something…."

I stared into the most beautiful set of twilight purple eyes I'd ever seen. There was no way.

The eyes I had dreamed about for so long. That I had lived with for so much of my life as a Masari.

"Arael?" I breathed.

"Hmm? Oh, I'm afraid not. My name is Liara. I don't think I've ever seen you around here before."

I blinked, trying to shake off the sudden surge of emotions that threatened to overwhelm me. Those eyes... they were so familiar, yet different. My heart raced, and I had to remind myself that this wasn't Arael. Couldn't be Arael.

"I, uh... I work at the casino," I managed to stammer out, gesturing vaguely behind me. "Accounting."

Liara's lips curved into a smile that sent a jolt through my system. "Ah, a numbers man. No wonder you look so... intense."

I chuckled, the sound rusty from disuse. "Yeah, well, staring at screens all day will do that to you."

She tilted her head, studying me with those mesmerizing eyes. "You seem... different from the other humans I've met here."

"Trust me, I'm as human as they come," I said, wincing internally at the irony. "Just your average Joe trying to make ends meet on this rock."

"I don't believe that for a second," Liara said, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "There's something about you, Carter Reed. Something... extraordinary."

I froze. "How do you know my name?"

Her eyes widened slightly, and for a moment, I could've sworn I saw a flicker of... recognition? But it was gone as quickly as it appeared.

"Oh, I don't actually know. I just somehow knew. I... I must have overheard it somewhere in the casino," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "This place isn't as big as it seems, you know."

I narrowed my eyes, suspicion warring with the inexplicable pull I felt towards her. "Right. And you just happened to be out here when I was leaving?"

Liara laughed, the sound sending shivers down my spine. "Paranoid, aren't we? I was just passing by, I assure you. But now that we've met, I'm glad for the happy coincidence."

I couldn't help but smile back, despite my reservations. "Yeah, I... I'm glad too."

We stood there for a moment, the silence stretching between us, filled with unspoken questions and a tension I couldn't quite name.

"Would you like to get a drink with me?" I asked.

"I don't even know you," she said. "But I feel like I can trust you."