With a knock on the door jamb, I asked, “Dr. Qinlin?”
She frowned like she was trying to remember where she was. “Seth Harris, what do you need?”
“NAID wanted me to get checked because of my bruises,” I said, hands buried in my hoodie pockets. Ireallydidn’t like being in the medbay, because I couldn’t help but think about when I first arrived.
Dr. Qinlin’s tail flicked. “She’s concerned about you.”
“We’re friends.”
“It will be fascinating to study the two of you.”
I swallowed, squeezing my touchstone.
Dr. Qinlin went to the main room in the medbay. She waved a long wand with a flat tip over me slowly, taking more time over my bruises. The monitor lit up in Drakconese.
Her tail waved peacefully, and her claws clicked on the monitor. “Everything seems to be fine as far as I can tell. I’m still finding myself quite inadequate in regards to your anatomy, but I am learning as fast as I can.”
“I’m sure you’re doing fine.”
“You are very kind, Seth Harris.”
She turned around, dismissing my existence, and I ducked out and scrambled to the elevator to go to Urgg’s bakery. I stayed away from the largest crowds, but the marketplace was emptier than usual because most people had gone to the planet's surface.
When I stepped inside, the mouth-watering scent of fresh bread and spicy herbs filled my nostrils. Urgg stood behind the counter, kneading dough with their thick fingers. “Seth, Kalvoxrencol is letting you out of his sight? I’m shocked.”
“I’m my own person.”
“Certainly, but you’re injured and quite purple in places. Not to mention, you ran away.”
“I didn’t run away. I went to the surface to prove a point.”
“Which was?” they asked.
“That I’m not helpless.”
“And how did that work out for you?” Urgg placed the bread on a wooden paddle before depositing the jiggly dough into an old-school, fire oven.
“Well. Me and Kal actually talked.”
“Gorgg be praised. Never thought that would happen,” they said with a bleating chortle.
“We’re not the best at communicating, but we talked.”
Urgg began to measure out more ingredients. “Did you need advice on the conversation?”
“Not that. But a conversation Kal had with his father.”
Their eyebrows rose. “Kalvoxrencol let you speak with Emperor Kontolmakqilnen?”
What a name. How the hell was I supposed to remember it? “Sort of. I overheard him saying something to Kal I didn’t like, so I kind of yelled at the emperor.”
“Truly?” they asked, freezing halfway through pouring flour into a bowl. “And you question your warrior soul? Only a warrior would be that stupid.”
It had been pure instinct. I couldn’t let Kal be hurt.
When Urgg shook their head and did not speak, I continued, “Do you know why Kal and his dad seemed tense? More so Kal than his dad.”
“That’s something you should ask Kalvoxrencol.”
