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“If you stop finding new ways to kill me, yes.”
Leo turned with a sigh and took a step toward Roy. “Hey… Roy, right?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Thanks,” Leo murmured. “I don’t know why you’re helping, but thanks.”
A very good question, one Roy asked himself often, but all the answers pointed to the warmth of Cal’s laugh, and the sudden fullness of his house, with Adria throwing Buttercup’s rubber toys and Uros brooding in the corner of the living room, amusing Roy with snappy remarks toward his brother.
“I talked to the immigration office here,” Leo muttered, dangerously close to Roy’s face. “Might have bribed a very friendly reptilian there. He said immigrants still need to register for taxes.”
“Okay?”
“Make sure Cal goes there, please.” He patted Roy’s shoulder, as if they were old friends. “Good luck.” After unlocking the door, he disappeared into the hallway shadows, leaving Roy alone with the blue-haired prince.
“Ass,” Cal groaned, tugging off the black titanium band from his left ring finger. He hurled it at the door, where it left a small bump, then bounced off the floor and rolled away.
Roy tipped it with his boot and picked it up, examining the shiny diamonds sealed in sapphire dust. “Don’t lose this. You can still sell it.”
“What am I supposed to do now? How… how am I supposed to make a living? I need to get Adria to school, and Uros—he should be in college, not stranded here…”
“In a seaweed harvester’s cabin?” Roy smirked.
“I didn’t mean that,” Cal added quickly.
“Ah, don’t worry,” Roy shrugged. “I know it’s a huge downgrade. But, uh, speaking of making a living—” He rubbed his hands, suppressing an annoying itch that usually appeared when he was nervous. “If you’d be interested, I think I could offer you a job.”
“Roy, I really don’t want to sound mean, but I’ve seen how much your stall earns on the market. That can’t feed four people.”
“No,” Roy agreed, the words pinching between his ribs. “But there’s been a demand for new spices. Not much grows on Pyraxis, but the neighbouring planets have interesting offers. I’ve met some of the merchants, and I honestly think it could boost my sales.”
“But?” Cal raised his arched eyebrow.
“But I need a pilot,” Roy confessed.
“Oh. You don’t have a license?”
“I do; it’s just that—” The very thought of landing with a spaceship sent beads of cold sweat running down Roy’s back. “I don’t fly anymore.”
“Okay, then.” Cal gave him a quizzical look. “I can be your pilot.”
Chapter
Four
Thick, humid air hit Roy’s face. The immigration office’s waiting room was cramped, merging noises and languages into an indistinguishable blur. Roy tapped the display and scanned his resident card, granting them access to the priority queue. A little injustice couldn’t hurt anyone, right? They had enough time to drink a cup of coffee and stare at the posters on the wall before their number appeared on the holographic projection in the middle of the room.
Roy held the door open for Cal. When he noticed the office worker they'd been assigned to, his heart lurched.
“Thyrn. It’s been a while,” he gritted.
“Roy?” Thyrn's lizard-like eyes widened, pupils constricting into thin vertical lines. He ran a claw against the emerald scales on his head. “I thought you—never mind.”
No, you bureaucratic, cold-blooded bastard, I'm still alive and kicking. “I see you found your calling.” Roy slumped into the chair in front of Thyrn's computer. “Let's get this over with. I believe you’ve already been informed, so this is Cal—Caelestian Atheros Reyn, and I'd like to request his residence permit. And extend it to his two siblings.”
Thyrn chewed on his pen, eyeing Cal while the frill around his head expanded. “Shhhure.” His tongue lashed out, flicking the envelope on his desk. He folded it in an excruciatingly slow movement, then placed it onto the pile on his shelf. “Can you repeat the name?”
“Caelestian Atheros Reyn,” Cal said, taking the seat next to Roy.
