“Seth and Prince Kalvoxrencol are asleep. Prince Serlotminden and Bartholomew are occupied, and I cannot take Bobbinvoxlyn back to my berth. There are too many people.”
“Why haven’t you taken him to mine? You do have access.”
Edith had been right. He didn’t care. As per usual, I was the only one who was overthinking everything. I could’ve merely sent him a note, and Monqilcolnen would have accepted the situation, moving on easily.
“Come,” he said, standing and leading me toward his quarters. Monqilcolnen went directly to his bedroom, and I fought a sudden curl in my stomach that wasn’t exactly discomfort. In fact, the warm pulsing feltnothinglike discomfort. But I refused to think about whatitdid feel like.
His bedroom looked like all of the senior quarters, with a bed, long window, recessed lighting, and a door to the washroom. But I found many differences from the dark gold bedding, theartwork on the walls, and the plush rug, woven into a forest scene.
Monqilcolnen pulled the blanket off and rolled it, which made me frown and my tail flick. I asked, “What are you doing?”
He glanced at me. “Making it safe for him.” With the rolled blanket he made an oval in the center of his bed. “This shall keep him from rolling over or off the bed.”
I wasn’t sure if the kit could roll over yet. He could support his own head, but I didn’t know if he could do more than that. Babies were something of a mystery to me. There had been infants at the care facility I’d grown up in, but I hadn’t interacted with them. Why would I have? Besides, none had been drakcol babies, let alone human/drakcol hybrids.
“You’re well versed in child care? Do you have one?” It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. He was over ten cycles older than I was, near forty cycles, and while natural pregnancy was rare, Monqilcolnen could’ve gotten someone pregnant or he could have used one of the nesting facilities to make a child, as long as his parents had agreed—Monqilcolnen was still in the first phase of adulthood.
“No,” he replied. “But I often take care of Hallonnixmin’s children. Now, lay Bobbinvoxlyn down.”
Carefully, I placed the kit in the center of the oval, and he mumbled, wings and tail twitching. I held my breath, my eyes fixed on him. The kit stayed asleep. Thank the Crystal. My arm felt like fire, and my muscles were cramping something fierce.
I exited and Monqilcolnen was right behind me, so close I felt his breath rushing over me, tickling the small scales on my neck. I swallowed. The same curl that wasn’t quite discomfort returned. My tail coiled around my ankle for a moment before I controlled the action, trying to keep my shoulders straight.
“You can stay here,” Monqilcolnen said, and an odd feeling swelled within my chest as a sudden longing for a home, a placeto belong, nearly consumed me. I forced it away. He hadn’t meant that, and I didn’t need a home. I’d carved a place out for myself and was perfectly content with my life.
“Thank you,” I replied, offering him my throat.
He gently touched above my pulse point, right where my scent gland was, and my eyes widened. Monqilcolnen ripped his hand away. “My apologies, but you don’t have to concede to me, Wyn, as I have said.”
“Why not?” I asked before I could stop the words. He was my superior officer. Of course, I needed to concede to his dominance.
“Because you’re special,” Monqilcolnen said before rushing out.
My legs suddenly lost all stability, and I crashed down on the couch, staring blankly at the shared space around me. I cupped the side of my neck that he’d touched, my soul racing. I didn’t even react when Cincin came and sat next to me or even when she meowed insistently.
Monqilcolnen didn’t… He couldn’t, right? He didn’t care about me inthatsense. It wasn’t possible. My soul thrummed at the possibility as the heavy curl returned to my gut.
Chapter 15
A slight detour.
I fought the smile wanting to curl my lips. Wyn was in my quarters right now. The mere thought of him relaxing in my space made fire race through my veins. It felt as if he belonged there, his rich scent coating my couch and filling the air.
Not yet. Not yet. Not yet. Soon.
A growl rumbled in my chest at the mantra my inner fire was screaming at me. I was getting tired of hearing it. If my inner fire didn’t tell me something different soon, I was going to disregard it entirely for the emotions cascading through me. I was fairly certain Wyn was going to become the most important person to me. My eyes closed at the strong urge to return to my quartersand ask his opinion of me. My tail thrashed and my soul bashed against my ribs, as if it was trying to escape.
Where would it go?
Where else but down the hall to where Wyn was? My fate had always been tied to him in some way, and I was beginning to suspect, no, hope, it was in a romantic way. The more time I spent with him, the greater I liked him. He was tense around me, but I’d seen flashes of humor and mischief I was curious about. If only I could draw it out and indulge in it.
“Wyn,” I muttered.
My touchstone grew warm, and for one moment, I hoped it was Wyn pinging to ask me to return, but Talvax’s voice sounded in my ear, “Monqilcolnen.”
I removed the glowing blue stone and responded, “Yes, Captain?”
“I need to speak with you in my office. An issue has arisen.”
