“For what purpose? To delete the faulty programming? To delete her?” I wouldn’t help them if they planned on hurting NAID.
Her hands fell to her sides. “I am not a murderer, Seth Harris. NAID is a person. To delete her is to kill her. This is a breakthrough that no one thought possible.”
“Sorry about—” I gestured my hand. I hadn’t meant to accuse Dr. Qinlin. “She’s my friend.”
Instantly, her expression smoothed. “You are a warrior soul.”
I scoffed.
Dr. Qinlin said, “I will send a note with the time.”
As I headed toward the elevator, I paused. Captain Talvax was moving in my direction. I ducked my head, hoping she’d pass by me.
“Seth Harris.”
“Seth.”
She inclined her head to the side. “Seth.”
“I thought Kal was meeting with you.”
Her tail hung in the air. “Kal? He lets you call him Kal?”
“I’m his mate.”
A bright smile crossed her features. Her tail edged toward my wrist, and I frowned. Expression flickering, Talvax lowered her tail. “Urgg speaks highly of you.”
Urgg had promised not to share anything, and I hoped they hadn’t, even though I hadn’t told them anything shocking.
“Did you know when the Crystal led me to Urgg, I was upset?”
“You were?”
“I was furious. I argued with the priest, claiming the Crystal was wrong. I actually shook him by his fancy robe.”
I had to stifle a laugh at the picture of serious Talvax shaking some old man while she yelled at him. “Why didn’t you like Urgg?”
“I didn’t know them. All I knew was they were a barbarus. Drakcol and barbarus used to be enemies. We were constantly atwar. While a peace treaty has been recognized since before my birth, there's animosity between our species.”
“What did you do?”
“Argued. I tried to deny the call I felt to Urgg’s planet. I fought the urge so long, I became sick.”
“Did Kal get sick waiting to come get me?” I asked.
“No, he was actively trying to answer the longing. Intention matters. I fought, though, for over five cycles.”
“What?”
“The longest person in recorded history.” A smug smirk graced her face. “Eventually, I gave in and found Urgg. I took one look at them, and I knew. They were mine. I was furious, but Urgg was mine. It was an undeniable fact. They were not as easy to convince.”
“But you two are in love,” I stated.
“Desperately. Their brother even mated my cousin. Quite the family affair.”
“I assume you have a point to all of this besides telling me about you and Urgg?”
“My point is sometimes things don’t begin the best, but that doesn’t mean they’ll end badly. You are dear to the prince.”
