“Mate,” I said, opening the door, “we need to leave, but once this issue is resolved, I promise we can fuck as long as you like.” I paused. The bedroom was empty. My soul began to race. “Caleb?”
Silence was my answer.
“Caleb?” I called, racing around our quarters. He was nowhere in sight. Where was he? What happened? Did he vanish? Panic mixed with agony ripped through me. I gripped my hair. Where was my mate?
I forced myself to take a deep breath. Caleb had probably grown bored and gone to the greenhouse. I leaped out of the window and glided over to the glass structure. There was no one inside. As I wandered around the garden, calling his name, I didn’t find him.
With every moment that passed, the more tense I became. My mate was gone. I’d asked him to stay here, to wait for me. Caleb’s words came back to me. He’d asked me to trust him, but I didn’t know how to do that.
Every instinct in my body demanded I find Caleb and keep him right by my side. He was mine. I could not live without him beside me. I needed him. I returned to our quarters on the off chance he’d come back in the time I was gone.
Our quarters were empty.
“Caleb,” I called, chest heaving.
The chime came from the door, and I ignored it. Caleb might have gone to see Tinlorray for some reason. Why he had to doitrightnow, I could not say. Another ring came followed by Kalvoxrencol yelling, “Zoltilvoxfyn, open the door.”
I let him and Seth inside.
“Are you and Caleb ready?” Kalvoxrencol asked.
“He’s not here,” I said, throat tight.
“What?” Seth looked around, even though he couldn’t see Caleb.
“I asked him to wait, and he’s not here.”
Seth asked, “Did Caleb say anything?”
“He asked me to trust him if he was gone.”
“Then you should.”
Kalvoxrencol’s tail wrapped around mine. “Come on. Caleb will be safe, and he’ll be here waiting for you when you get back.”
“Would you leave Seth?” I asked.
Seth laughed, shaking his head. “No. He wouldn’t. Shit, he’d rip the palace apart to find me.”
Kalvoxrencol frowned at his mate, but he didn’t say otherwise, because it was the truth. He would never leave his mate behind. I glanced around our quarters as my soul thrummed at a rapid pace. Caleb was gone.What if he passed on?The thought was like a claw to the gut—it ripped me open. I should want that because it would be the best thing for Caleb, but selfishly, I desired him to remain with me for forever.
Seth grabbed my hand. “Trust him, Fyn. Come on.”
I tightened my fingers around Seth’s much cooler ones and allowed him to pull me from me and mine’s quarters.
I stood in Command of Dontilvynsan’s ship. The scientists had sent out a greeting in every language we had access to, trying to find a way to communicate with the foreign ship. For all weknew, the vessel was empty, though that wasn’t likely from the sheer size of it. The ship was far too large to be a probe or unmanned shuttle.
No matter what we did to alter our sensors, the shield was impervious, so we had no way to know if the ship was experiencing mechanical issues or not. The sole thing our sensors perceived was the shield.
Dontilvynsan refused to fire on them first, unless ordered to do otherwise. Firstly because a shot would end any hope of this resolving peacefully, and secondly, because he didn’t know what type of weapons the ship possessed. But from their technology, it was safe to say their weapons would be powerful—more powerful than ours.
Seth and Dontilvynsan, who glanced at me frequently, chatted while Kalvoxrencol and Serlotminden added in occasionally. Each had ideas, as did the scientists and the one diplomat—a Fynlincoxmin—but I was unable to focus on anything besides the fact that Caleb was gone. My soul felt carved out. I was empty without him.
What if I’d done something wrong and he left? What if he’d moved on? What if I never saw him again?
“No,” Fynlincoxmin cried, waving his arms around dramatically. “That could upset them.”
“We don’t know who they are,” Kalvoxrencol snapped, “so how would it upset them?”
