Her grandmother grinned.“I certainly do and can again as soon as we get you home.”
“Well, then, what are we waiting for?”
Riimal held out his hand to her, and she took it, walking ahead of her grandparents with him to the elevator.
Riimal said, “We have all of the instructions to maintain you and emergency numbers, as well as the clothing they provided.You will be fine.”
“You sound like you are convincing yourself.”
He smiled.“I am.”
She squeezed his hand.
They were let out of the locks, and then the elevator took them directly to the roof.There was a shuttle waiting for them with the pilot and the others in fully Sethir royal livery.
She glanced at their black and gold and down at her black and gold.“I should have picked the other colours.”
He grinned.“I like this statement.It’s keeping him calm.”
She smiled.“Is he going to fly home?”
“No, I want to sit next to you, my thigh pressed against yours until you are capable of something more.”
“You have that kind of patience?”
“I have waited eight years, and I have you now.We know your scent and taste and what your smile looks like.We will not lose you again, but we can wait.”
He walked her into the shuttle and, instead of putting her in a seat, settled and eased her onto his lap.There was a soft curl of air under her, and she was held against him but not touching.
Her grandparents were settled, and then the vehicle lifted off.
Outrider vessels formed around them as they left the city, and Ival looked at Riimal.“Do I know you?”
He smiled and chuckled.“We met when you were with your parents in the court.”
“Ah.I would have been small.”
“You were.And I was a teen standing next to my brother’s throne.”
“Oh.”She thought.“Oh!You put me on the cookie table.”
He nodded.“You demanded up and then pointed to the table and looked furious when I didn’t do it immediately.”
“Yeah, that sounds like me.”She frowned.“Why was I there?”
“Omega assessment.You are not one, and your furious takeover of the treats was indicative of that.It was like a tiny monster movie.Your father was laughing, and your mother was horrified and helpless.The entire court came to a halt.”He smirked.“I was blamed and did not care.It was hilarious.”
Her grandparents were smiling.
“Is this a well-known anecdote?”
Riimal nodded.“It is.It is the only time I ever laughed at court.You can eat a lot of cookies.”
“I like cookies, and Nandy and I had been making them, but I wasn’t allowed to eat them until the holidays.There was a whole table, and Nandy was across the court, so it was my chance for the ones with jam in them.You were just the elevator.”
He grinned.“Happy to be of service.My brother was stunned at my laughter, and you could have eaten the entire buffet, and he would have gotten a second prepared.I hadn’t been adapting well to my beast, and my family was worried.”
She frowned.“Why?”
