My patience was wearing thin. I wanted to close the distance between us and find out what he would mean to me. That would mean telling Wyn of my inner fire and my premonition regarding him; I didn’t want to do that. Not yet, at least.
Keeping secrets had become my normal, and I was unsure how to change that. Telling the truth was far harder than people thought, especially after years of secrets, after years of hiding. But I would do it. I had to. Wyn deserved the truth of me.
Wyn smiled, and peace filled me. He was worth waiting for, no matter how we turned out or how long I had to wait. I was beginning to suspect that Wyn was worth everything.
Chapter 6
A friendly introduction.
I paused in my walk to the atrium. I wasn’t working yet, but I liked to walk and keep active. It soothed some part of my restless soul that always made me keep working and moving forward. Since the latter part of my childhood, I’d started striving to make a place for myself, to become more than my humble origins. Now that I had accomplished my goal, the habit of always working hadn’t vanished. No, it lingered in my bones, urging me ever onward, chasing some deep part of myself, which told me I mustalwaysbe busy.
Being alone didn’t help the matter. All through my childhood, I had been so alone, the only one around, but now, things hadchanged. I did adore silence; however, so much of it was grating on my nerves.
Unfortunately, Urgg was busy, and Seth was napping, according to Kalvoxrencol. I’d spent quite a bit of time with Edith, working on one of my special projects, but she’d told me I needed to do something fun and not related to work. So I’d agreed to meet Camden when he’d pinged me in front of her, and she’d stared at me with a broad smile, proud of me. Her pride felt almost nice, like I’d done something amazing, not just said yes.
I did like Camden, though I would rather spend time with Urgg, Seth, or Edith, and getting to know the human better would probably be fun. Also, he struck me as lonely. I wouldn’t have said I was lonely, exactly, but in my current state, anyone was better than being alone. Thankfully, by now Seth had discussed permissions with all the humans, so they would respect every drakcol’s boundaries. So at minimum, Camden would keep his hands to himself, which made spending time with him easier.
I froze in my step, my head tilting and tail flicking.
My eyes glanced over Prince Serlotminden and his human mate, Bartholomew, who were right in front of me in the long corridor. Serlotmiden wasn’t that much taller than his mate—Bartholomew was tall for a human—but he was significantly broader. His white hair was shaved on one side, and it hung over one of his muscular shoulders, contrasting against his deep purple scales. He looked like his brothers, with a long nose, wide forehead, full lips, and green eyes—only Kalvoxrencol had purple eyes out of the royal brothers.
Bartholomew stared up at him, his black hair starting to curl and his brown eyes covered by lenses humans called glasses. He was thin and long, as if he had been stretched or undergone some horrific torture. Seth had assured me that whileBartholomew was still underweight, his long appearance was perfectly natural. I did find Bartholomew attractive enough for a human. His skin wasn’t quite as pink as Seth’s nor as pale as Vince’s. He was more golden-pinky-pale.
Human skin was odd for me to describe.
But the royal couple didn’t hold my attention for long. Rather, I focused on Noxlyn, who leaned against the wall, not far from the couple, fingers clacking away on his screen. He would look up at Bartholomew, inspect him, then start making notes. When the royal couple moved, so did he. It was like a dance between the three of them, though only one was aware, and I couldn’t help but watch.
He was clearly stalking the humans. That was… that wasn’t unexpected, but it wasn’t good. Once one of the princes caught sight of Noxlyn, they wouldn’t handle the situation well. Both were aware of the boundary the Council of Seekers had enacted—Noxlyn wasn’t obeying it, as he was far too close—but both Serlotminden and Kalvoxrencol were exceedingly overprotective.
Even as I panicked and had visions of Kalvoxrencol eviscerating Noxlyn, I noticed Serlotminden’s eyes seemed to skate over Noxlyn when he glanced behind him. It was as if he didn’t—or rather, couldn’t—see the seeker stalking him and his mate. Then again, even I hadn’t noticed Noxlyn at first. I’d been walking along, not seeing anyone beside Serlotminden and Bartholomew until I’d debated pinging Noxlyn to invite him along to meet Camden, then all of sudden, there he was. It was as if he’d appeared from nowhere.
“Stalking the humans?” I asked from right behind him.
Noxlyn turned around, his movements unhurried, almost sluggish, but Serlotminden jerked toward us, wings rustling like they might pop free. He frowned at Noxlyn, tail wriggling. When he caught my eye, I offered him my throat.
He smiled, calling in a voice so bright it felt like sunshine washing over my scales, "Lieutenant Wyn!”
Bartholomew, or Teddy as the humans called him, grunted in greeting. He wasn’t really a talker that I’d seen in our limited acquaintance. That was fine by me. I wasn’t much of one either, except with my close friends.
“Greetings, Prince. Bartholomew,” I said, offering the human my throat as well—he was a prince consort after all.
“I heard from Monqilcolnen about your hand being injured,” Serlotminden said, bounding toward me like an oversized kit. His eyes flicked toward Noxlyn, who offered his throat, looking nonplussed. “Is this the one who harmed you?” Serlotminden asked, his voice losing all of its cheeriness and dropping in obvious threat.
A nobody like me stirring Prince Serlotminden’s protective instincts wasn’t something I could’ve guessed. I was close friends with Seth and knew Kalvoxrexcol, but other than that, I didn’t know the royal family well. Why would he care if someone had hurt me?
“Yes,” I said, then in a rush continued, “but it was an accident.”
Noxlyn had taken a step back from the prince. He didn’t touch me, though he did hide behind me. Clearly, no warrior soul in his body; a seeker through and through with this one.
Bartholomew laid a hand on his mate’s arm. “Accidents happen, Mindy.”
“True,” Serlotminden replied with a smile at his mate, then turned toward me. “I’m glad you’re well. Seth would be upset if something happened to you, and I hate it when Seth is upset. He secludes himself, and I can’t tease him or play with him, and Kalvoxrencol gets even more protective. I hate it.”
I smiled shyly. “As do I.”
Serlotminden said a quick goodbye and snagged Bartholomew’s hand. Holding hands was a human gesture I wasstill acclimating to. Couples, family, and friends did it—it was similar to us holding tails, from what I understood.
“You have ruined my observation,” Noxlyn commented, turning his screen off and tucking it under his arm. “I will have to wait until they stop thinking about me before I look for them again.”
