Page 20 of The Jorogumo

"Haruto! Is this him?"

I turned my gaze to the light, lyrical voice, and blinked. The kid was probably still in his teens, and I could tell at a glance what he was: a centaur.

He galloped closer, the cart supporting his back half clattering after him, and stopped paces away from me, peering at me curiously. Even though he looked tiny beside Haruto, he waseye-to-eye with me, and he didn't seem the least bit wary as he stared, which made me feel instantly at ease.

"Hello. I'm Liam. You must be Keoni." Haruto had told me a little about all his 'neighbors' in the Forest area, and I'd made sure I remembered everyone's names so I could make a good first impression.

Keoni smiled widely, then stepped right up to me and wrapped his slim arms around me, hugging me tightly. I blinked, too stunned to do anything but stand there.

I got my head out of the clouds quickly enough, though, and hugged Keoni back, feeling like I'd needed it. I couldn't remember the last time I'd hugged someone, and wasn't that just pitiful?

"Liam! I'm so glad to meet you. I've been wanting to since Haruto told me about you, but Draven hasn't figured out a way to make the wheelchair work for me yet, so," Keoni shrugged as he pulled back, but I could see that disappointed him immensely. I couldn't imagine not being able to go out. As fascinating as I found this place, I imagined it could get boring sometimes too, especially when you couldn't leave.

"I hope they figure it out soon, then. I'd love to show you around my store."

Keoni smiled, his blue eyes shining brightly. "Come on! Let's introduce you to everyone. You've already met Dustin, right?"

I nodded, then glanced over at Haruto, who was watching us with a small smile. Meeting my gaze, he waved me on. "Go ahead. I'm right behind you."

I let Keoni tug me deeper into the Forest, nodding along as he told me random things about the Sanctuary that he thought I should know. He was acting like I was moving here, but I waved it off as a quirk of his. He seemed like a friendly guy, so I figured he was just excited about having anew face around.

"Dustin! Liam's here!" Keoni called out as we stopped in front of a single-story house. Well, it looked like a single-story house, but the second floor seemed to have something on it, with flickery walls that I could see through out of the corner of my eyes but not when I tried to look at them head-on.

Haruto leaned closer, and he must've noticed my confusion because he explained, "Their bedroom's upstairs, and there's a shield around it to keep anyone from seeing in."

Why their bedroom was out in the open, I didn't ask, because there must've been a reason, and it wasn't my business.

The door opened, and Dustin stepped outside, smiling widely when he spotted me.

"Hey, Dustin. You look good!" At five months pregnant, he was showing, but he also had that healthy pregnancy glow, and he really did look stunning.

"Thanks. I never thought I'd see you on this side of the world," he said with a grin, and I smiled.

"Right? Neither did I. This is all mind-boggling."

Just then, a thick, scaly green tail wrapped around Dustin's legs as a man appeared behind him, his strange yellow-brown eyes scanning me from head to toe. Ah, the naga boyfriend. Haruto had warned me about him. Apparently, he'd grown a little overprotective since the pregnancy.

"You must be Khush. Nice to meet you."

"You too," he said with a nod, then turned his eyes to Dustin. "You should come lie down."

Dustin gave him a very brittle smile, and I winced in sympathy. "Khush, I've been lying down all day. So help me if you drag me back to bed, I'll tie you to it and leave."

Khush's brows shot up, and then he huffed. "I'm just worried about you."

That seemed to soften Dustin, because he turned around—both of them had clearly forgotten they had an audience—and cupped Khush's face. "I know, sweetheart. But I'm alright, okay? I just want to hang out with everyone for a bit."

Khush stared at his boyfriend for a long moment before relenting with a nod. Dustin smiled widely, then pressed a kiss to Khush's lips before turning to us.

"Let's sit down somewhere and we can talk. Keoni, go find Silas, or he'll whine about it later."

Keoni snickered, then took off, and I followed the others, taking Haruto's hand in mine. He shot me a surprised look, then tightened his hold, like I'd pull away if he didn't.

Smiling, I inhaled deeply, and thanked my lucky stars for making that ladder break. Without it, I wouldn't be here now.

Eight

Haruto

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