“Good.”
He snorts. “It’s not good for your her to hate you. Trust me on this. Forever is a long time, especially on your ball of ice.”
“I don’t intend for her to stay on Usuri. I fact, I’d prefer it if she leaves of her own volition when it’s time for us to part.” Asick satisfaction settles over me. I won’t have to send her away if she already wants to escape.
Fen smirks at me. “You’ll change your mind.”
“When have I ever changed my mind?”
“When have you ever had a queen?” So much for any spies listening. Now they know everything. I growl at Fen, but he continues, oblivious. “The goddess’s will warps your senses. Everything bends toward your Alara.”
I’m well aware. Every second is consumed with thoughts of Delphie and what she is to me. “That only makes me more determined to remove her from my planet when the time is right.”
His brow arches. “When will that be?”
“When it is safe enough. When the missing terrakin is located. When my enemies are neutralized.”
“You have a lot of enemies,” Fen observes. “That could take some time.”
“So it takes time.”
“You don’t have time,” he says bluntly. “Tama tells me humans become ill due to solitude. Their minds suffer without daily companionship. When I spoke with Delphie earlier, she did not seem well.”
“Philadelphia,” I correct, bristling. “She has companionship. A guard. Your son.”
“Whom you’ve forbidden to speak to her.”
“They were becoming too familiar. I found him sitting on the floor and laughing when he was on duty. How can he guard her from the floor?”
I can’t forget how she leaned into Aqen, admiring the ridiculous drawing he’d made of her, her face open and joyful. How her joy disappeared when she saw me. How, after I sent him to the pits and stood guard in his stead, she offered to shareher meal with him. Tried to remind him of their friendship even when he did not speak to her.
I hiss as anger and jealousy sends spikes of pain over my skin.
Fen’s look is smug and knowing. “If you keep her from others, you must spend time with her yourself. And if you won’t, you must send her to me. I’ll keep her safe on your behalf. I’m sure Lothan will do the same, if you trust him more. My Alara insists that her friend will not be mistreated, and I will cross you a thousand times before I cross her once.”
His tone is playful, but there is a steely edge I’ve never noticed from him before. I believe my unserious younger brother would go to war with me over this. I should take him up on his offer. She could have more guards on Olethia, ones who worked in shifts and never tired. She would be happier there.
“Alioth save me, I will tend her more carefully,” I promise.
Everything bends toward her. Even me.
When I unlock her door, I stand there in the doorway, bracing myself for a storm. She no storm, though. Delphie’s huddled in the furs like a frightened traxilla, and every urge inside me is to scoop her up, cradle her in my arms.
“I’m mad at you,” she says.
I hang my head instead. “I know.” I hand her the old stuffed braxa that has been my companion since I still had milk teeth. It has been a good friend during dark nights.
She clutches it to her chest. “Why didn’t you come see me?”
“Because I didn’t want to.” Her face crumples, and I can’t pretend it doesn’t injure something inside me, too. I take a deep breath and give her something closer to the truth. “I didn’t want you to know I’d made no progress with the Eye. I thought if I kept trying, I could bring you good news.”
She sits up, still hugging the battered old toy with its many repairs, like she’s starved for comfort. I really was a bastard tostay away. “What about everything else? How are the repairs going?”
“Slowly. The miners’ quarters had extensive damage. Most are still sharing with the apprentices. It has caused...issues.” I rub my hand over my scalp, thinking of all the petty disagreements I have mediated this week.
“Where did you sleep?”
The truth is, I barely did. “The comm room floor.”
