Seth scoffed. “Wyn and Monty? I don’t think so.”
“Thank you,” I replied, though at the same time something prodded me. Why shouldn’t Monqilcolnen and I be together, besides the fact we disliked each other?
“I don’t know,” Edith said. “You two looked very nice together.”
“Did they?” Seth asked, leaning toward her.
Did we?I thought.
The door opened, and thankfully interrupted our conversation. Kalvoxrencol came in. He went straight to Seth and his child, but he gave me a short greeting. He took the kit from Seth and hooked an arm around his mate. “Is he still giving you trouble?”
Seth nodded.
“I have him, Husband. Why don’t you and Wyn go get something to eat?” Kalvoxrencol shot me a look, and I stood, ready to help. Seth had yet to leave Bobbinvoxlyn alone in the two days since the incident.
Seth cleared his throat, glancing at Kalvoxrencol, then away, his cheeks red.
I fought a grin. Seth wanted to spend time with his mate. I took a step forward and offered, “I could take Bobbinvoxlyn for a walk to the atrium. Perhaps it would help.”
Kalvoxrencol looked at Seth, who bit his bottom lip. I hadn’t been allowed to watch his kit yet.
Seth took a deep breath and replied, “That would be nice, thank you.”
“You’re alright with it?” Kalvoxrencol asked.
“Urgg and me talked. They helped. Getting hurt is a normal part of life, and I don’t want to be so protective of Bob he doesn’t get to live.”
“I’m glad.” I curled my tail quickly around Seth’s wrist before reaching for Bobbinvoxlyn.
Kalvoxrencol held him out, and the baby continued to sob. He wasn’t ill. He wasn’t hurt. He wasn’t hungry or wet or anything besides just being fussy. “Thank you, Wyn.”
“Of course, Prince,” I replied, offering him my throat.
“I’ve told you, multiple times, I believe, to call me by my name.”
I looked at the ground. That wasn’t going to happen. “I will ping you when I’m on my way back.” I didn’t want to interrupt anything.
Seth chuckled, though he was blushing. “We’re just going to nap.”
That I believed. I doubted either of them had slept last night.
When we stepped out into the hall, I told Bobbinvoxlyn, “You know, Little One, if you stopped screaming, it would be a much more pleasant walk. We might even go visit Prince Serlotminden and Bartholomew. Your uncles adore you.”
Serlotminden loved Bobbinvoxlyn and would fuss over the little kit, kissing and playing with him, but I didn’t wish to disturb the newly mated couple, and I didn’t feel comfortable pinging either of them when we weren’t close. Perhaps I would run into them.
Bouncing Bobbinvoxlyn, I walked down the corridor, catching glimpses of Edith in the monitors, which made me smile. She was as bad as Seth when it came to the kit. And she hadn’t heeded Monqilcolnen, which hardly shocked me. Though it was things like this that made the Council of Seekers nervous. Edith did as she wanted, and that was worrisome if she decided to conquer us from within.
“Wyn,” someone called, and I looked over my shoulder. Camden rushed toward me, his gold hair gleaming in the artificial light. His eyes were red and his nose looked swollen, as if he had been crying. Who had hurt the human?
“Greetings, Camden,” I said, soothing a hand over Bobbinvoxlyn’s back. “Are you well? Your eyes are red. Do you need to talk? Can I help?”
A deep laugh escaped him, and his eyes crinkled adorably. “It’s the damn pollen.”
“Pollen?” I asked, tail wiggling.
He laughed again. “Many,manyhumans are allergic to plant pollen, and there are plants everywhere. Like, we can’t get away from them.”
I peered at the flowing vines on the ceiling, the potted flowers, bushes, and trees along the walls, and finally the blue moss on the floor. I’d never thought much of all of the plants in the confined space and the recycled air. Very few drakcol had allergies. Caleb was an oddity in that way—besides the fact he was a human soul in a drakcol body—as he was allergic to cats.
