The bland silhouette appeared, but beside it, I caught a glimpse of Edith’s face before she vanished with a slight yelp. I frowned. I’d been prepared for the possibility she might wiggle her way into theAdmiral Ven’ssystems.
“NAID, you are dismissed. Edith, you will return and speak with me.”
“Yes, Commander,” NAID replied before disappearing. Edith, on the other hand, reappeared and gave me a cheeky grin.
“Edith.”
“You can hardly expect me to leave my friends, my family, for two years,” she said, bouncing on the screen. I couldn’t help but wonder for a moment if Edith Smith, the real human Edith Smith on Earth who she’d based her appearance off of, bounced like that, because her grandson Caleb certainly did.
I took a deep breath. This matter would hold. Always attack the most urgent problem first. Wyn. He was the most important. “We shall discuss this later. Alert Kalvoxrencol that I’m here and that I need to speak to Seth.”
“Yes, Commander.”
The door opened a moment later, and I entered another battle. Seth was holding a smiling Bobbinvoxlyn to his chest. “Bob is hurt, Kal,” Seth snapped. “I should’ve never left.”
“It’s a scratch. Breathe, Husband. Bobbinvoxlyn is fine.”
Seth glared, rocking the kit. I caught a glimpse of the offending injury. It wasn’t even a scratch. It was the smallest mark on his pudgy arm. Seth pressed another kiss to Bobbinvoxlyn’s temple, and the baby gurgled, perfectly content with his dad. Yes, Bobbinvoxlyn obviously loved Kalvoxrencol, but he clearly favored Seth. We all knew it.
Nevertheless, he was a happy baby. I’d seen some cranky babies—Hallonnixmin’s second came to mind; the lungs on that child—but not Bobbinvoxlyn. He almost always smiled and laughed. From what I’d observed, it seemed as if he was aging like a drakcol child did, growing faster and getting far more active than a human infant. Human newborns usually, from my understanding, did little more than defecate and cry, whereas drakcol kits gained mobility and could hold their own head within a week.
“I’m never leaving him again,” Seth declared before darting into the bedroom. The instant the door closed, a black pudge ball raced out from under the couch and squeaked, clawing at the door. A moment later, it opened and allowed Lucy to escape with Seth.
Kalvoxrencol scrubbed a hand through his hair and turned toward me. “Now is not the time, Cousin.” He paused, finally noticing Wyn slumped in my arms. “What happened? We noticed Wyn and you were gone, but I’d assumed Wyn was eliminated and that duties had called you away.”
I relayed the incident as succinctly as possible, while disregarding my panic, guilt, and the sheer comfort of holding Wyn close. “I hoped Seth would care for and watch over him.”
“Not tonight,” Kalvoxrencol said, glancing at the door. “Wyn is dear to him, but he is spiraling at the moment. Talvax was playing with Bobbinvoxlyn and he fell, hitting the edge of thetable, barely, but the mark…” He shook his head. “Seth is protective.”
Seth Harris had the purest warrior soul ever recorded—of course he was protective of his child.
“You will have to watch Wyn,” he said.
“Perhaps Urgg,” I suggested.
“Drinking after their victory. Seth, Wyn, and I were eliminated, and they single-handedly got both Bartholomew and Speedy.”
Wyn groaned, pressing closer to me. He slowly rubbed his face against my neck, and my scent bloomed, coiling with his in an alluring fashion. My tail quaked, desperate to curl around his, but I resisted, though a possessive growl rumbled in my chest.
“Don’t worry, Pest. I will take care of Wyn. Now, go watch over your mate. Children hurt themselves. Seth will have to come to terms with it eventually.”
Kalvoxrencol scoffed, but he slipped into his bedroom, not remarking or perhaps not noticing the exchange between Wyn and I.
I headed to my own quarters, and Cincin meowed from her overstuffed, fluffy bed. It was the finest I could find, which she deserved. Behind it was a small shrine. I hadn’t been able to replicate the perfect shrine Caleb had shared with me, but it was close. When we returned to Earth, I would secure the necessary objects. Like the sacred catmint the house gods loved so much.
I laid Wyn on the couch and draped a blanket over him. With a frown, I stared down at his slight form. Would it be better to place him on my bed? Wyn would be more comfortable, but he might become upset when he woke up in a strange bed. But he might grow uncomfortable on the couch. What of his wings? The couch wasn’t large enough for them to stretch out comfortably when he inevitably shoved them out in his sleep.
Which was better? The bed? The couch? Did it matter?
Before I could decide, Cincin plopped onto Wyn and plonked her furry orange butt down, her golden eyes daring me to move her, which I wouldn’t. She’d made the decision for me.
Settled, I sat on the ground beside him, my wings sliding out to stretch. My head rested on the edge of the couch as I watched him for the slightest change. Nothing would happen to Wyn, especially by my own hand. I would see him well, then offer him my deepest apologies.
My head throbbed in an unfamiliar ache—though notthatunfamiliar. It had been years since I’d been bashed in the head. My childhood hadn’t been horrid. None of my caretakers had ever harmed me, not once, but being on the small moon in a mining colony had left me with a lot of dangerous places to wander and unsavory people to meet. Not all had been kind to the children running around.
But unlike those miners or shippers, Monqilcolnen hadn’t intended to harm me. The look of horror on his face had been enough to assure me of that. He always had a disinterested, collected expression, but this time he’d been upset, extremely upset.
It had been oddly gratifying, not to mention attractive, to see his peace shatter, which I wasn’t sure what to do with. Yes, I’d thought he was lovely before, but seeing the fakeness melt away had made him beautiful.
