I stilled, unable to force a single word out of my strangled throat.
“I let my anger and worry override my sight of you. You are far more important, Wyn.”
“I'm not,” I whispered, and Monqilcolnen growled, nipping my neck in clear reprimand.
“You are. While this virus is destroying theAdmiral Ven, it is a remarkable feat. I cannot even fathom what it took to create this.” She gave a small chuckle, but the exhaustion on her face and in her posture wouldn’t allow for any humor to be seen. “This creation is so far beyond something I could have ever made, and you did it by yourself, in your spare time. You are a remarkable seeker.”
No words came out of my mouth.
“Qinlin has already chastised me fiercely for what I did, and I also regret my rash actions. But more importantly, I stopped treating you as a living, breathing being. I neglected you, and in that neglect, irreparable damage might have happened. I offer you my sincerest apologies. I do hope you will forgive me.”
“There’s nothing to forgive,” I said, shocked she was even apologizing. I was literally a lieutenant; she was the captain. Monqilcolnen growled again, and I swatted him with my tail to silence him. He grumbled, snuggling me closer. I continued, “I am at fault. I shouldn’t have done what I did.”
“No, but neither should have I.”
I gave her a slight smile.
“I do need you to continue working on fixing my ship.”
“I am, but if I could work directly with the other seekers, not just read their reports, I believe it would go faster.”
She offered me her throat, making my jaw drop open. “Indeed, Noxlyn has made a rather ingenious relay of systems and timeslots for us to collaborate. He’s also snidely dropped comments about how I should not have isolated you.”
Monqilcolnen chuckled so softly I doubted any but me heard, though he said loudly, “Just like his mother, that one.”
Talvax snorted. “Hardly. Qinlin is far more vocal. She does not have a single care about rank or what I might do to her. We’ve been friends too long. Though I did hear her call the Admiral a pompous fool who would be better off as food for wildlife, so I doubt friendship matters all that much.”
My brain froze on the information. “Qinlin is Noxlyn’s mother?”
“Indeed,” Monqilcolnen said. He slightly shifted me toward him so my expression was visible. “Did you not know that?”
“I didn’t. He never said.”
Talvax added, “It’s not a secret, but I believe she doesn’t want anyone to treat him specially because of it. Qinlin is a huge advocate for people having equal worth regardless of birth, probably due to her being born an orphan, and people proving what they can do without their parents interfering.”
I blinked. I hadn’t known we shared that common thread. Her opinion was unheard of in Drakcon society, but I could see the value. I myself was treated as a no one because of being an orphan and having no parents, just like her. Though it would be so much harder, I could and would continue working my way up in the navy and make something of myself.
As Doctor Qinlin has, I thought.
My fingers dragged over Monqilcolnen’s arm. If he was interested in permanence and we became a mated couple, I would shoot up in society by leaps and bounds. I worried how people would treat me outside of the small bubble we lived in, but it wasn’t worth leaving Monqilcolnen for.
Monqilcolnen’s chest rumbled and his tail stroked my leg. “Is there anything else?”
She rolled her eyes. “You are on duty.”
“So?” he bit back, and I swatted him again. Antagonizing Talvax wasn’t a good idea, no matter how annoyed he was with her.
He nuzzled my neck in response, and it soothed some deep part of me.
“I apologized to Wyn,” she said blandly. “I will not apologize to you.”
Before he could say anything, I said, “Nor do you need to, Captain. He’s just being a kit about it.”
He sputtered. “Excuse me?”
Talvax chuckled. “I am glad about the two of you, though.”
My tail wiggled, and my eyes flicked from her face, uncomfortable. “Thank you.” I cleared my throat, asking a question I knew the answer to, but I had to help my friend. “How is Urgg?”
