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I couldn’t sleep.
While I tossed and turned, Mom’s words after dinner replayed in my head a thousand times, and my stomachache got worse, and I wanted to cry.
I was like Andromeda when I was little.
Too hyper.
Too loud.
Too much.
And other parents cautioned my mother about me how she cautioned me about Andromeda.
Well-meaning words in order to snuff out the light so it won’t blind people who don’t understand. Well-meaning words that carry a singular message of conform.
And I did.
I conformed so well I hardly know who I am anymore. I built an entire life around the conformation and exhaustion. I built it so well that I don’t have a clue how to undo it without losing everything.
Pollux steps forward, toward me. “Kassandra—”
“Stay there,” I whisper.
He goes still. “I’m sorry.”
“Show me who you really are.”
His eyes close, and pain creases his brow, but when he looks at me again, his eyes are red. The whites are black. He forces a grimace that shows off sharp teeth.
“Where’s the rest of it?” I ask.
He threads his fingers through his hair. “This is the form I normally take outside the dream plane. It’s the most comfortable for me and others. The…claws can get in the way of everyday activities.”
I grip my hand around my arm, bury my fingers in the fabric of my coat and the sensation of my muscle beneath it. “Last time we spoke, in the dream plane, you didn’t want to give me hard proof so soon. What changed in a week? My parents are human, aren’t they? Why couldn’t you just let Andromeda say thank you to my mother?”
“Because,” he grumbles, “those words are precious to us. We use them sparingly, for the only one we trust with our soul. Andromeda has never thanked a single person. One day, she will get to say those words to her soulmate and no one else. I would not ask her to sacrifice that moment for the meaningless comfort of a useless social expectation centered around a feeble concept of politeness.” Rubbing his jaw, he lifts his attention skyward. “Forgive me, Kassandra. When I kept her in this world, I made a commitment to protect her. Even if you would reject me, even if it risks your security, I must put her first.” His voice breaks. “No matter how painful it is to see you hurting, she’s my little girl.”
My heart thuds. The tension in my shoulders releases.
Pollux lowers his face, and his damp eyes find me a moment before an ink-dark tear falls down his cheek, hits the sidewalk, and dissipates into a curl of steam. “Are you well? Can I do anything to help?”
Pressing my lips together, I watch him. The entire drive over, my mind felt blank. I didn’t even know what I was expecting to gain from this. I’m embarrassed. Ashamed. I’m so tired, lost.
I feel like an idiot.
“We’re soulmates?” I whisper.
“Yes.”
“Is that why you think we’re married?”
His head shakes. “No. We’re married because you accepted my proposal.”
“Your proposal?”
“The kitten. I had intended it as a marriage kitten.”
One dot. Two dots. Three dots.
