Page 55 of Knox
"What in the hells…" Knox muttered, his gaze drawn to a woman with elaborate horns twisting from her temples. They had an odd shine to them that made them look unlike any horns Knox had seen back home.
"Cosplay," Adrian supplied, his gaze flickering nervously between Knox and the approaching group. "You know, dressing up? Like from a book or a movie?"
Before Knox could respond, another cosplayer, a young man with wings crafted from cardboard stopped in front of him. "Dude," he breathed, his eyes wide with awe. "Your Knox cosplay is insane! Did you make those clothes yourself?"
"This is… my usual attire," Knox stated, his tone flat. Why could the people of this world never believe that he was who he was?
The young man’s eyes widened further. "No way! You bought this online, didn’t you?" He leaned closer, reaching out as if to touch Knox’s coat.
Knox caught the man’s hand in mid-air. "Keep your paws to yourself."
A cough drew Knox’s attention to Adrian, who’d jumped up from his seat and stood beside him now, a strained smile plastered onhis face. "You’d better leave him alone," Adrian said, his voice a touch too high. "He’s… really serious about staying in character."
"Oh." The stranger took a step back, but the crowd around them took a renewed interest in Knox and his friends. A woman in a flowing green dress stepped forward and shot Knox a smile that was clearly meant to be seductive. "You can play in character with me any time," she said with a wink. "I’ll be the little elf who can’t resist the incubus."
"Just the incubus?" Lyrian asked. "I’ve got a thing for elves, even fake ones."
Next to Knox, Adrian glanced down the street as if he was desperately hoping for the bus to appear.
Knox wanted to tell him to calm down when another woman approached him, and this one was dressed like his mother. "You can call me Mommy," she said with an even brighter smile than the one the fake elf flashed Lyrian.
Knox recoiled. "By the Abyss," he muttered. He wasn’t one to shrink away from even the wildest, most degenerate sexual fantasies, but this was a step too far.
The woman in the replica of his mother’s court attire pressed closer, her perfume—cheap and cloying—washing over him. "Don’t be shy, darling," she purred. "Mommy knows what you like."
He fought the urge to snarl. Never had he encountered such a blatant disregard for boundaries.
Zev, probably sensing that Knox was about to snap, stepped in between them. "He’s not interested."
The woman’s attention focused on Zev. "Are you?"
"Interested in fucking the image of my best friend’s mother? Absolutely not."
Her gaze narrowed. "Your loss," she replied, sauntering away with a sway in her hips.
"Thank you," Knox said to Zev.
The night fae shook his head, lips twitching.
"What?" Knox prodded.
"This human wanted to be your mommy." Zev’s cool facade crumbled as laughter bubbled out of him. Lyrian joined in on it as well, and Knox realized his friends would never let him forget about this incident.
"Don’t laugh," Adrian cut in. "We’ll probably see cosplayers of your mother at the convention as well."
Zev shot Adrian a sharp look. "Why would anyone dress up as my mother? She was a horrible woman."
"Beautiful, though," Lyrian supplied the reason before Adrian could.
"Her beauty was nothing but cruel," Zev said, entirely devoid of mirth.
The bus arrived then, an even bigger metal beast than the ones they’d been on before, and Adrian motioned for them to board.
Knox got on, the otherworldly nature of the bus fascinating him despite the situation. The seats were lined with worn fabric, the air tinged with the scent of sweat and some unpleasant odor he couldn’t identify.
He chose a seat near the back, hoping to get away from the odd women who’d come on to him earlier. Adrian sat beside him, Lyrian and Zev across the aisle.
"You good?" Adrian asked.
