“I’m not sure that is wise,” Kalvoxrencol said, getting to his feet. “Monqilcolnen is not coping well. He needs you.”
Seth moved to Kalvoxrencol’s side. “Is it important?”
“Very.”
He bobbed his head. “Be quick.”
I smiled at my friend. “I will.”
I didn’t wait for anyone else to say anything before racing out of my quarters toward the lift. I slapped the button, but it didn’t respond. I snarled. Of course. Now, NAID had to not be working enough to operate the lift.
I ripped open the panel to the tunnels and shimmied in. With ease, I navigated the twists and turns. I had been in the tunnels enough to memorize the layout. I did not need NAID to guide me, which was a benefit right now. The main problem was the time. It took a great deal of time to navigate the tight tunnels. Sometimes going down a deck wasn’t as simple as going down. You would have to go up, then over, then down. It was a nightmare.
I persevered. I had to do this.
It took much longer than I would’ve liked to reach deck eight. Qinlin glanced up when I stepped inside her office, located inside the med bay.
She blinked. “Is Monqilcolnen dead?”
“No. Of course not! Why would you ask that?” My pulse sped from the mere thought of him being dead. I couldn’t handle such a thing. I loved him far too much.
She raised her palms. “I figured that would be the only thing to take you from his side.”
I shook my head. Doctor Qinlin wasn’t incorrect, but I wished she hadn’t placed the image of Monqilcolnen dead within my mind. But I forged on. I had to hurry.
“I need you to do something.” Nerves plucked at my soul. This was not a normal request, but Monqilcolnen and I needed this. I was sure of it.
“And that is? If you haven’t noticed, the ship is literally crumpling around us, so perhaps you could speak faster.”
I swallowed. “I need you to remove my soul scales.”
“What?” she asked, dropping her screen to her desk.
Traditionally, you were supposed to rip the scales out in front of your mate, but as much as I liked pain, I couldn’t stomach the thought of doing that, and Monqilcolnen would not enjoy it. Also, if Qinlin removed them, there was more of a chance the scales would regrow.
“I need you to remove them,” I repeated.
“Why by the Crystal would you desire that?”
“I want to give them to Monqilcolnen.”
She rolled her eyes. “You cannot be serious.”
“You know the tradition behind them, right?”
“I am aware. It’s idiotic. I had thought we’d moved beyond such moronic traditions.”
“It’s romantic, and he will like it.” When Qinlin did not respond, I said, “If you do not remove them, I will rip them out myself, then most likely faint from blood loss. When that happens, you will have a lot more issues.”
Qinlin rolled her eyes again. “Fine. But if you pass out on me, I am not taking care of you.”
I had never really liked blood. Well, except when Monqilcolnen was licking mine. That was arousing.
I sat on a bed; my tail flicked and my breath sped up.
“This is a ridiculous tradition, but I will help you, if only to make less work for myself later.” She pulled out several instruments. “You know they rarely grow back, correct?”
“I know.”
