“So your cute hair does not get wet,” he pointed out.
My response was a dumb, love-struck smile.
“You wish to see a rainbow, yes?” he asked.
I squinted with suspicious affection. “Why, can you make one magically appear?”
He chuckled. “I would, if possible, just for you.”
As if my chest didn’t feel fuzzy enough.
Farr’vye carried me to a small grassy hill within the village and stood on top of it. He ignored the drizzling rain that ran down his body but held me close to block me from getting wet. I noticed that all the cuts from the thorns had already healed, which I was grateful for.
He’s so kind,I thought suddenly.
The sky was lightening. The beautiful purples and pinks of sunrise melted into a calm gray-blue, and the scattered clouds let in rays of pure sunlight.
Farr’vye scanned the sky as if he could manifest a rainbow by the sheer force of his will.
“Farr’vye,” I said softly. “Um… there’s something I want to tell you.”
He stopped looking at the sky and immediately met my gaze. “Yes?”
Nerves hooked into my racing heart, but like the sun breaking through the clouds, Farr’vye’s intense gaze cleared away my anxiety.
I took a breath and said, “It’s… my name.”
16 /Farr’vye
My human was ready.
He glanced up at me, his eyes as green and dewy as the wet grass surrounding us. His gaze was mesmerizing. I could have stared at him forever—and now that we had confessed our love to each other, I had every intention of doing so.
“If you wish to tell me, I am listening,” I promised.
Assistant 23 wriggled in my arms. A cloud directly overhead split open, shining a ray of sunlight down on his pale face. The darker specks peppered across his nose and cheeks looked like daytime stars. I got lost in them, seeking out their constellations.
“You’re staring at my freckles,” he said shyly.
“Freckles,” I repeated. “I adore them, just as much as the rest of you.”
His mouth curved into a smile. “Can I be honest?”
“Always.”
He grimaced. “I feel embarrassed for hiding it for so long. My name. It’s not even a big deal.”
I bowed my head to nuzzle his forehead with my snout.
“Do not fret,” I soothed. “Everything has its time. You were not ready before.”
My little human kept pouting. “But you saw my face, and my body, and we had… really hot sex,” he whispered the last words, as if anyone were around to listen. “And I still didn’t tell you my name. Our whole relationship is backward.”
“It suits us. We are backward, are we not?” I teased.
That earned me a bubbly laugh. “Yeah, that’s true.” His smile lit up his whole face, creasing his eyes creased at the corners as he gazed fondly up at me. “Zephanaiah.”
I did not understand the word. “Pardon me?”
