so much life outside of Earth tickled her scholarly interest but also terrified her a little. There were so many other species, yet humans were so blissfully unaware.
Even just in this small subsection of space, so many different species of aliens congregated.
As she continued walking, she assumed she must be going the right direction for the crowd was becoming thicker and with it was a rise in the noise level.
Groups of aliens were everywhere along the streets. Some laughed together and conversed while others stood close to the peach-colored walls of the buildings as they watched the hustle and bustle go by.
Glancing behind her once more, she happened to spot the tall gray alien again.
Kyro.
This time, he was paying close attention to one of the peach-colored walls, and he glanced in her direction for a second.
Actually, he glanced right at her.
He must have seen her.
Evren frowned, her nose scrunching in a confused look.
Was he following her?
As she walked on, she slowed her pace. Pretending to put her hair behind her ear, she glanced behind her once more and this time, she was sure of it.
He was following her.
As soon as she’d glanced behind her, Kyro had suddenly stopped walking, jerking abruptly as if he hadn’t expected her to turn around.
Her incredulous look turned into one of amusement as she watched him fold his arms across his chest and glance around him, looking at everything except her.
His obvious failure at disguising the fact that he was trailing her was amusing and she fought the sudden giggle that bubbled into her mouth.
She knew he wasn’t dangerous...his stalking, if anything, was most likely not based on any ill will.
On a sudden burst of mischief, Evren smiled to herself.
Deliberately increasing her pace, she moved quickly so she was walking a few feet in front of a tall, burly brown-skinned alien who was so thick he was his very own wall.
Popping her head around the alien as she walked, she spotted Kyro and their eyes locked. Just as quickly, he moved out of her view, choosing to walk behind a group of tall yellow aliens who were just in front of him.
Evren’s shoulders shook with a laugh.
Her smile was still on her lips as she raised her gaze only to realize the tall, burly alien in front of whom she walked was now looking down at her.
“Hello,” he said, his large, toothy mouth splitting in a smile. His greeting was pleasant, but his teeth looked as sharp and pointed as knives. Evren swallowed hard, giving him a ghost of a smile before moving out of his path and to the side, increasing her pace as she did.
It took her just a few more moments before she came up on a metal archway. Through the entrance, she could see hundreds of people, er, aliens moving about and what looked like stalls and little shops.
There was a sign above the archway in a language she couldn’t read, but she was pretty sure she’d arrived at the market.
Glancing behind her one last time, she searched the crowd of marketgoers and tradesmen and was surprised when a bead of disappointment formed within her.
Kyro was nowhere in sight.
His little game had caught her attention and taken her mind away to someplace pure.
If even for a moment, it had felt good not thinking about anything.
She was still looking through the host of aliens walking about, trying to spot him once more, when her eyes caught movement on top of a wall close by her.
There was a strange-looking animal balancing on the wall as it headed in the direction of the market.
It didn’t look like a wild animal and no one was paying attention to it, so she guessed it wasn’t.
Must be someone’s pet.
It was gray, with a long bushy tail like a skunk’s, four legs, and a head like a cat. A rectangle of dark hair ran along its spine and there was a tuft of dark fur behind each ear.
She couldn’t help but stare. It was a skunkat—a skunk plus a cat all in one.
As the animal sauntered along, it turned to look at her, silver eyes focusing on her. It stopped to sit on the wall, eyes on her the entire time.
Evren cocked her head, her brows furrowing as she looked at the animal and it looked back at her.
Those eyes.
They seemed so familiar.
Her own eyes narrowed. It was very...peculiar the way the animal was watching her—almost as if it knew her.
Just then, another big yeti-alien lumbered past and