Things with Seth were moving slowly. Getting him to talk was a challenge. We hadn’t even discussed if I could touch him, let alone sex. It’s not that I didn’t want to fuck him, because I did. Badly. The mere thought was enough to make me hard, but Seth was skittish. I also longed to know him. It was more than physical. I wanted to know what he liked, what he hated, and everything about his past.
I wantedhim.
“Pest, I saw he’s a warrior soul. The priestess sent a transmission of his soul testing to the palace. The Ranks are excited about how deep red he is. Are you upset?”
My soul thrashed. Light began to pool under my scales. Since our bonding, I'd tried not to think about his soul type. I’d buried his warrior soul deep within me, where it couldn’t harm either of us. But there was no denying he had what I’d always craved. All of my brothers, and the entire royal family since the empress of legends had been a warrior soul, except me.
It was unfair. I wasn’t who I wanted to be.
Serlotminden’s voice softened. “Kalvoxrencol, talk to me.”
I couldn’t. I’d disappointed my brothers time and time again. They and my parents had cleaned up after me, making excuses for my mistakes. Stood beside me during my needless challenges. Tried to shore up my shaky honor. How could I admit my mating was less than perfect?
“I need to go.”
“We are all here for you. We love you.”
Not responding, I ended the session.
Chapter 12
So we have something in common?
I frowned at my tablet, puzzling through the reading exercise. After a few days of Drakconese primary lessons, I could already read and write the numbers. Learning to read their language was another thing entirely.
NAID materialized on my tablet. “I have found you an oravirven.”
“You did?”
“There is one person aboard who is not a drakcol and is a warrior soul. They are not male, though. Your language identifies them as non-binary,” she said, bouncing on the screen.
“Is your display broken or are you excited?”
“Excited,” NAID said with a wide grin, making her heavy lids close.
“What does their language call being non-binary?”
Her thin lips pursed. “The closest translation would be third gender or non-gendered, but it’s not exact. This species has one sex, but they identify by three different genders.”
“But their pronouns are they/them?” I asked.
“Correct. Is there a problem? From my understanding of your planet, not everyone accepts non-binary people.”
“I have no problem. I wanted to make sure I understood correctly.”
“You will like Urgg. They’re mated to Captain Talvax.”
My mouth fell open. “The captain’s mate is my mentor?”
“Yep,” NAID said in a chipper voice like it wasn’t a big deal.
“Right, that’s not awkward.”
“I’m detecting sarcasm. Why would it be weird?”
“It,” I paused. “It just is.”
“I can find you another. They will be your same gender and soul type, but they will be drakcol.”
