“I made a mistake. A horrid mistake.”
“I’m sure it’s not that bad.”
“It is,” Wyn whispered, tears sliding down his cheeks. “It’s worse than should be possible.”
I frowned. What could he have done? “Wyn?”
“I might have doomed the Drakcol Empire.”
My eyes widened. “What?”
Chapter 48
No. You belong here.
“She cannot do this,” I snarled as Wyn's eyes darted over his screen. He was sitting on our bed as I prowled back and forth, ignoring Cincin’s cries for food. He’d cleared staying here long enough to pack what he absolutely needed. Now he had to try to sever the ship’s link to the main NAID hub back on Tamkolvanloknol. Qinlin had agreed that was the priority—one everyone was working on.
“She can.” His tears had long since subsided, but I could still see them perfectly in my thoughts. Talvax had injured him; that was unacceptable, no matter the circumstances.
“You are living with me.”
“Not at the moment.” His fingers never stopped moving and his eyes never stopped roving over his screen.
“Yes. You belong here,” I snarled, tail whipping.
Finally, he glanced up. “I have to do this. I have to fix this, Monqilcolnen, or she can strip me of my rank.” He shook his head. “She could probably do that anyway. More than that, I’m hurting people. I’m hurting our people and the humans because of a foolish mistake. I have to repair this.” He went back to his screen, his movements frantic.
I climbed on the bed, caught Wyn around the waist, and tried to pull him onto my lap, but he fought me. “Stop. Just stop.”
“I don’t have time. The main NAID hub could be infected already!”
“Please, Peace. Many people are working on this. Just take a breath. Please.”
Wyn finally allowed me to gather him into my arms and settle him on my lap. I pressed my nose into the nape of his neck and breathed in his floral scent. “Peace, you belong here.”
“I do,” he answered instantly. “I belong right here, with you. Let me fix this, then I’ll come back and stay.”
I shook my head. “I need to see you. I need to talk to you. Every day. I cannot part from you, Wyn.”
He took a sharp inhale. “I know.”
Talvax had basically ripped Wyn away from me to punish him, and that was… horrible. She was punishing both of us for an honest mistake. It wasn’t as if I didn’t comprehend the magnitude of this mistake, but removing me from Wyn and Wyn from me would only worsen it. We needed each other, and I needed to take care of Wyn as he fixed this issue.
I kissed his neck, touching the jagged scales that I had bitten this morning. “I will talk to her.”
“No,” Wyn snapped, wiggling out of my embrace and returning to his screen. “You need to let me do this,Monqilcolnen. This is my career, my mistake, and my life, not yours. You need to stay out of it.”
“I want to be a part of your life,” I whispered.
“No, you want to fix my mistakes. I don’t need or want that, and you can’t, Star. You can’t fix this. I have to.”
My claws bit into my palm as I fisted my hands on my thighs. Instinct thrummed deep inside of me to fix this, to protect him, to shield him, to keep him safe at all costs.
But I couldn’t do any of those things, because he didn’t want me to, and he was right—there was nothing I could do to end the threat. I had to trust Wyn.
I cocked my head, giving my mate my throat. Wyn nipped my neck, and I groaned at the wet warmth of his mouth and the sharp feel of his teeth.
“Finish soon, please,” I begged. “I need you.”
