Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 66222 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66222 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Harry looked positively crushed. “Adam,” he said, and his voice cracked.
The human swore under his breath, grabbed Harry, and crushed him against his chest.
And Harry... Harry absolutely melted into the man’s arms with a high, whimpering sound.
Seyn stared.
He watched in confusion as Harry clung to the human, making happy little noises as the human stroked his hair and murmured something into Harry’s ear.
He watched the man’s hands stroke Harry’s back and eventually settle on Harry’s lower back. Harry practically purred.
Seyn cleared his throat. “Um, hello?”
The human—Adam—stiffened and lifted his head from where he was nuzzling Harry’s hair. He looked over Harry’s shoulder at Seyn.
“Who is that?” Adam said.
“It’s just Seyn,” Harry mumbled, his voice muffled by the human’s shirt.
“And who is Seyn?” Adam said, his gaze traveling over Seyn in an assessing manner.
The look made Seyn a bit uncomfortable. Seyn had always been more of an empath than a telepath. He could feel waves of hostility coming off the human without even trying to read his mind.
“He’s my childhood friend,” Harry said.
Seyn nodded. “I’m going to stay with Harry here for a while.”
Adam’s eyebrows drew together. “Is that so? And who says Harry is welcome to stay here?”
Seyn thought it was a ridiculous thing to say considering the guy had Harry in a tight embrace.
Harry sighed. He finally stopped clinging to the human and stepped back. “I’m sorry for leaving like that,” he said softly, taking the human’s hand and looking him in the eye. “I have missed you so much.”
Some emotion flickered across Adam’s face before it closed off. “Let’s talk in the kitchen.” He glanced at Seyn briefly. “You can wait in the living room.”
Seyn nodded and followed them inside the flat. He flopped down on the couch, content to wait. He wouldn’t want to be in Harry’s shoes right now. His friend had a lot of explaining to do, and not just to Adam.
CHAPTER 14
Harry eyed the distance between him and Adam—they were too far apart for his liking—before focusing on Adam’s face. It was impossible to read.
Adam said curtly, “Talk.”
Harry chewed on his lip.
Adam’s gaze flicked to his mouth for a moment before Adam looked back into his eyes. “I’m waiting.”
“I don’t know what to tell you,” Harry admitted.
“The truth would be a good idea,” Adam said tersely.
If he could tell Adam the truth, he would have done it ages ago.
Correctly interpreting the miserable look on Harry’s face, Adam snorted. “Right.” He raked his hand through his hair and turned away, his shoulders and back tense with frustration.
“Is Harry even your name?” he said at last.
Harry’s heart skipped a beat. “Yes.” For all intents and purposes, he was Harry. Even his parents and best friend called him Harry now.
“Harry Calluvianen doesn’t exist,” Adam said flatly.
Harry’s stomach dropped. So Adam knew his passport was fake.
“Care to explain it?” Adam said. “Apparently, you don’t exist.” When Harry said nothing, Adam laughed. “Was everything you told me a lie?”
“No!” Harry said, taking a step forward. He wished he could tell Adam everything, but he and Seyn would be in a lot of trouble for their unauthorized trip to a pre-TNIT planet as it was. If they broke more laws, even their social positions wouldn’t save them. There was no hiding anything from the Ministry: there were Dalvars—a species that could detect lies—working for the Ministry and they would know if Harry attempted to lie about it.
“Your passport is fake, Harry.”
“Yes, but… I swear, I’m not a criminal or something! I just couldn’t use my real name here.”
Adam said nothing, his back still to him.
“Please, believe me.” Harry walked to Adam and touched his arm tentatively.
“Don’t,” Adam bit off. “I can’t fucking think when you touch me.”
Sighing, Harry leaned his cheek against Adam’s back and murmured, “If I could tell you the truth, I would, but I can’t. It’s bigger than me. Bigger than us. I’ll break multiple international laws if I do.”
Adam gave a harsh laugh. “You sound like a secret agent in a bad spy movie.”
Harry smiled. “I’d make an awful secret agent.”
Adam heaved a sigh, his muscles relaxing a little. “You have to give me something, Haz.”
“I left because my parents sent for me. They didn’t give me time to say goodbye. I tried to convince them to let me talk to you, but it was useless.”
“So you were home all this time?” Adam said.
“Yes.”
“With your fiancée,” Adam said without any inflection.
Harry frowned. “No. She’s been away at a boarding school.”
Silence.
Finally, Adam turned around. He looked Harry in the eye and said, “Is she still your fiancée?”
Harry’s breath caught in his throat. He hesitated, unsure how to answer the question—unsure what the answer was. On one hand, there was no bond anymore. On the other hand, he hadn’t talked to Leylen’shni’gul yet. Until he talked to her, he didn’t think answering negatively to Adam’s question would be right. Not to mention that his parents had signed a legally binding betrothal contract on his behalf. Even if the bond was gone, legally he wasn’t free.