“You’re a royal and that has its complications, as much as you like to ignore them,” he said. I might not be able to see him, but I could easily picture his bored expression that basically said I was an idiot and he shouldn’t have to tell me these things. I’d seen it frequently enough when we’d served together.
“I am aware. My parents adore him, as do my cousins.”
“All helpful, but it’s going to be hard for him to conquer the stigma of hopping classes, even if you two are bound-mates.”
“The Crystal didn’t choose him. I chose him.” My inner fire might have led me to Wyn, but I was the one who’d chosen him. I refused to give him up.
“Beautiful sentiment, I’m sure, not to mention, disgustingly romantic, but people are still horrible. I much prefer them dead.”
I ignored the latter comment. “No one has said anything.”
“Of course they haven’t. Right now you’re in a bubble, but one day that bubble will pop and he’ll have a whole host of stupid people making comments about the two of you. I’m not saying give up. I’m saying be aware of what you’re asking of him. Iwouldn’t choose you if I was him. Not worth the trouble or hassle.”
Talvax had said something similar.
“But what do I know?” Vorjyn chuckled without even an ounce of humor. “Single for life and horrifying my parents a little more everyday.”
I laughed, but it was forced. “Do you think they will try to make you stay?”
“Probably. They’ve issued many orders about me returning, so I’m sure you’ll be ordered to keep me on board once you have me. Don’t worry, though, I’ll sneak off before we get home. I’m not going to be contained and ordered about by an ancient tradition that no longer makes sense,” he said.
I grunted. Many people hated the second phase of adulthood laws. I didn’t. My parents were kind, and they also never enforced them, letting me do as I wished. Others, like Vorjyn, were not as lucky.
“Will I get to meet your Wyn?” he asked.
“Yes, he’ll be with me when I go to the station.”
“Excellent. I need to make sure he measures up. See you soon.” He ended the session before I could comment.
I stared at the darkened ceiling, grateful for Wyn’s weight on top of me, grounding me. Vorjyn and I weren’t close like I was with my cousins, but we were still friends of a sort. He’d never tried to use me for my position, which I appreciated. Vorjyn honestly never cared one way or another about my relation to the royal family. I was just Monqilcolnen to him.
However, he’d never tried to get to know me better. Vorjyn was rather self-centered. If it didn’t directly affect him, he didn’t care about it. It was all about him. He had always been content with whatever I offered him in regards to our relationship, never pressing for more unless I pissed him off. Vorjyn did have a potent temper.
We had a complicated friendship, to say the least. It would be good to see him, though. A part of me almost felt guilty about calling him a friend when I truly didn’t know much about him. Vorjyn had refused to share much unless he wanted something from me. Also, deep down, I didn’t know he was actually capable of caring about me, or anyone for that matter.
If I didn’t call him friend, though, I’d have to call him a fuck partner. Somehow I was certain Wyn wouldn’t like that. And fuck partner didn’t sum up my relationship with Vorjyn either.
Hopefully, Wyn would be fine with meeting Vorjyn. While I wanted to see a jealous Wyn asserting his claim over me again and again, I didn’t want to push him so far as to hurt him. Besides, he had nothing to be worried about. He was my everything.
Chapter 36
An outing to remember.
This wasn’t my first outing with Monqilcolnen, not even close, and yet my gut fluttered and I kept smoothing my clothes. I’d wanted to wear my casual clothes, but this outing would start in an official capacity, so my uniform it was. I didn’t hate it by any means, but I wished to show my best aspect to Monqilcolnen.
With every day that passed, I was growing more attached to him. It was becoming inconceivable to even contemplate leaving Monqilcolnen for a small stretch. Sometimes it felt as if our work hours were too long to be apart. Contemplating the months on the Vvekian ship was nearly impossible without being in pain, and that in itself was terrifying. How could I have become so… attached to him in such a short amount of time?
I pushed the thought out of my head. My attachment to Monqilcolnen wasn’t permanent, and I wasn’t going to think about it right now. Besides, as much as his parents seemed to like me, Monqilcolnen was never going to choose me. Too many pressures existed around us. Once he was able to see everything against us outside of theAdmiral Ven, he would leave.
“Wyn,” a warm voice said, and I turned around. Monqilcolnen stood in the docking ring corridor behind me. We were the only people going aboard. I was excited, regardless of the coiling pit of emotions I didn’t like to think about gurgling most insistently.
I moved toward him, and my tail quaked with the need to curl around his. I held back, though. We didn’t usually touch when on duty, to maintain boundaries, but we were alone. Not that it truly mattered if people were around. I simply wanted to touch him all the time. However, duty, regulations, and all of that stood between us.
Without any hesitation, Monqilcolnen wrapped his tail around mine and drew me closer until his hands rested on my narrow hips. His expression was the fake serene one, and I didn’t like it. I put my pointer fingers in the corners of his mouth and pushed up. He laughed, making me grin, then gave me a huge smile, which made my fingers obsolete.
“Much better,” I said.
His smile turned to something warm and sent delicious flutters beating in my stomach. Monqilcolnen dragged me closer until we were pressed together. Slowly, he slid his arms around my waist, and my soul pounded loudly in my ears. My gaze was locked to his, and he stared back at me with darkened eyes.
