“Yeah.”
“Do you need something? I can request for Prince Kalvoxrencol to return.”
“No,” I snapped. “I’m fine.”
“Alright.”
I took another deep breath. “Where is he?”
“With his oravirven.”
The word sent several meanings floating through my head: mentor, guide, and parent. “What is that?”
“When the Crystal chooses a mate for the petitioner, they are assigned an oravirven to lead them through the process, offer advice, and assist when needed.”
“Ah.”
“You can have one if you like. A mate of one of the drakcol. A different species of the same gender and soul type. It’s your right.”
Soul type? What the hell was she talking about? My mouth opened to ask, but I snapped it closed. I didn’t want to know, at least at the moment. “Do I have to decide right now?”
“Of course not. You have the right to request an oravirven for the entirety of your life, should you choose to remain with Prince Kalvoxrencol.”
“Is that really his name? It’s ridiculously long.”
“It is. His esteemed parents gave it to him. It means ‘beloved gift of the sky.’”
That was nice enough, I supposed. “Why is it so long?”
“It denotes importance. Those of a higher status have longer names.”
“What do you know of him?”
“What information do you want?” NAID studied me with puckered lips.
I honestly had no idea what I wanted or didn’t want to know. “Was he upset when he saw who thisCrystalhad chosen?”
“No.” She smiled so much, her skin creased and made her eyes practically disappear in the folds. “We orbited for several hours before we collected you to make sure you didn’t have an illness or microbes that could harm the drakcol. He paced the entire time. He wanted to retrieve you immediately, for he feared something would happen to take you away from him.”
“He said that?”
“Yes.” She winked, then vanished.
I smiled. I couldn’t help it. His desperation touched me. I forced NAID’s words from my thoughts. In the past, I had been too easily swept away by grand gestures or gifts and lost myself. I wouldn’t do that again. The man had kidnapped me. That had to be my first thought.
A whoosh sounded, and I whipped toward the door. Kalvoxrencol stood in the doorway. His tail started to shift. I hadno idea what the movement meant. My breathing turned shallow as black spots floated across my vision.
“My Seth,” he said, stepping closer. “What’s wrong?”
My mouth opened, but no words came out. He came toward me, hands outstretched. The panic reached catastrophic levels, and my lungs refused to take in any air. White noise filled my ears while I felt like I was being ripped apart. Trying to regain control of my spiraling emotions, I dropped my head between my knees.
Fear, panic, and unnamed emotions swirled in my head, ringing like an alarm.Focus, I told myself. I took a shuddering breath in through my nose and smelled a spicy fragrance, almost like Christmas, which immediately invoked memories of my mother baking cookies as she sang Christmas carols.
Gentle footsteps came in my direction moments before the couch dipped. A pressure wrapped around my ankle. It was strong and unyielding, but it didn’t hurt. I took another deep breath, feeling the air expand my lungs, and then let it all out through my mouth. Once again, I breathed in through my nose, held, then out through my mouth.
Something jumped up beside me, purring. Lucy headbutted me, and I gave her weak pets. The pressure on my ankle tightened, and I finally noticed Kalvoxrencol’s blue tail wrapping around me, the tuft at the end on top of my foot. Being this close, I could discern the scales across the appendage. They were tightly interlocked, not showing any purple or electrical blue that peeked out in other places on his body.
“My Seth,” he said, his voice more melodious than I'd ever thought possible. “What can I do?”
