Bartholomew and Urgg appeared before me. Bartholomew said in a calm voice, meeting my gaze, “Breathe, Wyn. In and out. In and out. That’s it. Keep breathing.”
“What is it?” Urgg asked, gripping my arm.
“No. No. No,” I whispered, darting through the code. It wasn’t possible.
“What?” Talvax demanded.
I ignored her. Please. No. I couldn’t have beenthatdrunk orthatstupid. My fingers froze on the screen, and my soul pounded loudly in my ears. All I could see was a string of code that wouldn’t mean much to anyone else, but it did to me. It meant so very much to me. I closed my eyes, leaning against Seth.
Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to stand up straight and meet Talvax’s gaze. “I implemented a trial program I’ve been working on.”
“You did what?” she demanded. “What program?”
“I’d planned on testing it, but in an isolated system and not so soon. Not nearly this soon.”
“What does this program do?” Talvax growled.
“It is meant to destroy artificial intelligence. We’re not the only ones with systems like NAID and they can be great adversaries. My program slowly grows, corrupting as it goes and bugging the AI until it can’t process any further. The code duplicates faster than AI or anyone can remove it, spreading like a plague throughthe entire system. Spreading from ship to ship and server to server.”
Talvax growled, “You released that on my ship?”
“I didn’t mean to, but in my drunken state…” She didn’t care about excuses. Straightening my shoulders, I replied, “Yes. I did.”
“Stop it now,” she snarled, slamming a fist against her desk, the thud radiating through the still room.
“I don’t know how. I haven’t made the decoding sequence yet, as I wasn’t intending to test it any time soon.”
She moved to stand right in front of me, looming in a way that had me flinching away. “You mean to tell me you released a virus that will destroy theAdmiral Ven, compromising this entire mission, and maybe even destroy the whole of the NAID system, injuring the Drakcol Empire beyond repair, because you could not hold your alcohol and lost a bet?”
“Yes,” I whispered, my tail hugging my ankle.
“He didn’t mean to,” Seth interjected. “It was an accident.”
“You do not speak right now,” Talvax snapped.
“Then you will not speak to him like that,” Seth replied, his voice growing in volume, though I could feel his frame trembling.
I rested a hand on his forearm to silence him.
Talvax said, “Prince Consort Seth and Prince Consort Bartholomew, you are both confined to quarters until I deem it safe to have you free on my ship. Urgg, you are also confined to quarters, any besides mine.”
Urgg said, “Mate, don’t do this.”
“I need a moment to calm,” she said in a low voice, then she looked at me, her upper lip curling, "Lieutenant Wyn, you are confined to your berth or where you are working on the ship. You will clear each and every movement with Qinlin. You are not to speak to or engage in conversation with your fellow officersuntil you fix this. I would throw you in the brig, but I cannot spare you at the moment. You are probably the only one who can fix this. And you will, or you will suffer the consequences.”
“Monqil—”
She cut me off with a wave and a sharp growl. “No. You will fix this. Now. Work fast, or it will be a very lonely trip back to Tamkolvanloknol where I will ask for you to be tried for destroying my ship, endangering humans, and putting the entire empire at risk!”
“I understand.” It could be worse. She could’ve stripped me of my rank right here and now, but she hadn’t. Talvax was giving me a chance to fix this mistake and save my career. And I had to fix it. I couldn’t let anyone suffer for my mistakes, let alone all of Earth and Tamkolvanloknol.
I stood outside Talvax’s office, waiting for my mate as I silently planned the rest of our day. I was practically bouncing. Wyn was moving in with me. The second he left, we would retrieve his items, then get him settled into our quarters. Our quarters. I smiled. The thought was enough to send heat racing through my limbs. We belonged together always, and now, we would be.
I wasn’t alone in the corridor. Kalvoxrencol and Serlotminden were with me. Apparently, their mates had also been summoned. Neither of them knew what it was about, but they all had clearly done something wrong during their drunken escapade. It was probably nothing too horrible. I imagined it was more about the ruckus they’d caused in the canteen. After a lecture, Talvax would probably release them, and Wyn and I could get on with our day.
The door slid open, and Wyn burst out first, tears in his eyes and tail coiled around his ankle. A snarl swelled in my chest as I chased after him. I caught his arm and hauled him against my chest. He came willingly, arms going around my waist and his tail finding mine.
“Peace?” I whispered, wiping the tears from his eyes. “What’s going on?”
