“Why?” she asked when she appeared.
NAID would hate the truth, so I lied. “I want to thank the alien who assisted me.”
Her lips pinched, wrinkles more pronounced than ever. “Do you think that’s wise? Prince Kalvoxrencol has ordered you to remain on board.”
“Am I a prisoner?” I demanded.
“No.”
“So I can leave when I want, and I want to leave. Are you going to help me or not?”
Her lips puckered. “Edith Smith says rash action leads to poor decisions.”
“NAID!” I didn’t give a rat’s ass about Edith Smith or what she thought. I needed to make a single damn choice that was my own.
Her expression shuttered as her appearance fluttered, going back to the drakcol silhouette.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have shouted.” I scrubbed my hair. “Everything is screwed up inside me. I need out. I need it, NAID.”
“I will help you, in a way,” she said, but her tone was wary and she kept the drakcol form. “A shuttle is leaving in fifteen minutes from bay three on the docking ring. I can’t help you more than that, but I won’t tell Prince Kalvoxrencol unless he directly asks.”
I snagged my new touchstone and raced out the door. When I reached the elevator, I pressed the button for deck nine where the entrance to the docking ring was. Normally access was restricted to this section, but civilians were going to the surface fairly regularly, which made the usual obstacles vanish.
A group of citizens moved toward the shuttle, and I squeezed into the crowd. People pressed all around me. The different voices and smells assaulted me. God, I wanted to run away to the privacy of my room, but I forced myself to stay. I pressed against the bulkhead, sweat coating me. The floor started to vibrate as the shuttle lifted into the air and left the ship.
Everything would work out. Everything would be fine.
Chapter 21
Choices and consequences.
Seth and I hadn’t spoken since our fight. He’d remained in his room, sleeping. Sleeping was what he’d done when he first came aboard, which made my tail twitch in worry. I stepped inside me and mine’s quarters after meeting with Talvax as well as Pimtimzol and turned to Seth’s door. It was open.
Maybe Seth and I could actually talk?
Hearing his deep voice that sent shivers down my spine and feeling his smooth skin that was so much cooler than mine had become a fierce ache the last two days. I needed to see him. I needed to hold him. I needed to heal the rift between us.
I peeked into his room; I didn’t see him anywhere. “My Seth?”
No one answered.
I sagged against the door frame. One of his soft jackets was in a pile at the end of his bed, and his bedding was in disarray. His screen rested haphazardly on the ground, and Lucy’s toys littered the space. An itch to arrange his things swept through me.
Another thing we hadn’t discussed.
Nonetheless, as I took a deep lungful of his perfect citrusy scent, my muscles relaxed. My mate. Seth. His name was like nectar on my tongue.
Lucy rubbed against my leg.
“Where is our Seth?” I asked her. She smashed her head into my shin. “Do you think he’ll stay with me?”
She chittered and picked up her ball. I chuckled. She always wanted to play. I tossed the ball. Lucy bounded off, snatched it, and returned.
“Why doesn’t he understand?” I wanted to protect him. The very thought of losing Seth stole my breath. I would not survive his loss. A universe where Seth did not breathe the same air as me wasn’t one I had interest in living in.
“Why won’t he let me keep him safe?”
NAID manifested on the monitor. “Prince Zoltilvoxfyn would like to speak to you.”
