"That's right!" Mistral replied in a sing-song voice. His smile turned into a frown as he poked me in the chest with a talon. "That meansI'mthe one in charge here so you'd better explain why and how you managed to get in here."
I noticed Kamari scowling when Mistral touched me. Was he afraid he'd cut me by accident or was there another reason? Jealousy, perhaps? That would be cute.
Don't get your hopes up, Zak.
"Well, as I've said to multiple people numerous times now," I said exasperatedly, "Nautilus is my grandfather. As in, my alpha-father's father. Does that make it clearer for everyone? Because I'm kind of tired of repeating myself."
Mistral stared at me like I had two heads. Then he slapped his fist against his palm in anaha!gesture. "Oh! You must be Zakariel!"
"Yes, that's me."
"Wow," Mistral said, examining me more closely. "You don't look anything like him."
"Gee, thanks. Am I supposed to have a dragon head?"
"Do you have any powers? What can you even do?" Mistral asked, poking me again. He sounded curious now, not suspicious.
Kamari swatted Mistral's hand away, which surprised me given how respectful he seemed about spirits in general. "Please stop that."
Mistral glanced at Kamari like he was noticing him for the first time. "And who are you supposed to be? You're not another one of Nautilus's relatives, are you?"
"No," Kamari stated.
"He's with me," I said quickly, in case Mistral was going to blast him with air for not belonging here or something.
Mistral hummed, looking back and forth between us, then casting a glance outside to the dark passage. His eyes lit up. "Oh. Ohhh. I get it now." He nodded. "Wonderful!"
"Are all spirits this eccentric?" Kamari mumbled.
Mistral either didn't hear him or straight-up ignored him. "It's a good thing you're both here. Maybe you can do something about this." When he saidthis, he gestured to my unconscious Granddad on the floor.
Suddenly worried, I kneeled beside him. He was always so big and grand, so powerful... Passed out like this, he looked vulnerable. It scared me. It must've shown on my face because Kamari put his hand on my shoulder. It was nice to know he was here for support.
"What happened?" I asked Mistral. "Is he sick? Can spirits even get sick?"
Mistral made aso-sohand gesture with his claws. "Not really, but... I guess that's the closest thing in mortal terms."
"I don't know if you know this, but the coast Nautilus reigns over is in chaos." Kamari's voice was grave, but curt, like he already had little patience with this air spirit. "Any information you have about his condition would be appreciated."
"Oh, I know, little one. I've flown over it myself," Mistral said, making Kamari scowl. I stifled a grin. Hearing him call a man as big and strong as Kamarilittle onewas amusing as hell. "Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do. As long as he's dormant like this, the coast will continue to roil. If it was my domain, I'd help in a heartbeat, but it's not. I only reign over the skies."
"Well, there must be somethingsomeonecan do," Kamari growled. "I have omegas who are hurt and sick, and the shifting waters aren't helping. Not just them, but mute animals are being affected, too."
I loved seeing that fire in Kamari's eyes. It was admittedly sexy to see him get so heated.
"Do you even care?" Kamari snapped when Mistral didn't reply.
When Mistral looked down on him, a shadow fell over the spirit's bright blue eyes, turning them stormy. "Of course I care. Don't presume to know my feelings, mortal. Nautilus is like... What's the word you use? A brother to me."
"You're his brother?" I asked, surprised.
The shadow lifted from Mistral's face and he waved a hand. "Well, not exactly. There's no precise term that you'll understand. But we were created from the same cataclysmic event. Does that make sense?" He grinned like it made complete sense.
"Uh, sure," I said. "So basically, you're like my great-uncle?"
Mistral sighed. "Sure, whatever. I can't keep up with you mortals and your words anymore."
"Cool."
