I bit my lip when a dull ache throbbed in my legs, and the thud of a heartbeat whispered in my ears. The longer I stayed, the worse it got.
Focusing on my Sunshine, I pushed the pain away. He was what mattered. Another day, another hour, another second. Even if I only had minutes left, I would spend them with Fyn.
But soon I would be gone, and he would be left alone. Drakcol mated once, but I hoped, because we hadn’t been together physically, he would one day move on. Fyn had said I was his only, but maybe I wasn’t. It might be possible. How many people fell in love with ghosts? Not many, I assumed.
I wished I could write him a note or leave him a message, but Drakcon technology didn’t perceive me. Though… Wyn had been working. The hour was late. It would be impossibly rude to bug him, and he couldn’t even hear me.
One glance at Fyn was enough to convince me. Sleep was unnecessary, right?
I pressed my lips against Fyn’s forehead, and there was something—maybe a scraping? It had been too long for me to truly identify the sensation. “I’ll be back, Sunshine. I promise.”
I went downstairs to Wyn’s quarters. Thankfully Seth had paid a visit before, and I’d been able to see it. I stepped inside the nearly empty one-room apartment.
Wyn was sprawled on the bed. His bubblegum pink hair tickled his forehead while the sheets clung around his legs, leaving his round ass and thin back bare. I’d never seen his lavender wings, and now, I guessed why. One was long andstretched over the bed, the other was oddly shaped and the talon curled inward, against the membrane. The wing was small and malformed like he had a congenital disorder. There was no way Wyn could fly.
My thoughts went to all the staircases with channels for flying and the streets without lights or decoration. This was not a world built for those who didn’t fly. And Wyn wasn’t alone. Tinlorray couldn’t fly. I imagined there were others, whether from age, injury, or congenital disabilities.
Drakcol were a warrior species, and I imagined that had played a part in how they viewed people with disabilities, but I didn’t know for certain.
None of that mattered at the moment, and I doubted Wyn wanted me to wake him up in the middle of the night to discuss accessibility. Right now, I needed Wyn’s help, and he didn’t need me staring at him. I poked him, sliding my fingers down his spine. “Sorry, Dude. Not trying to invade your privacy like a creep, but I need to talk to you.” I glanced at his tail. Fyn’s was sensitive, so it stood to reason Wyn’s was as well.
“Sorry,” I said before dragging my fingers down the appendage. A shiver went up his spine. He rolled over, and I slapped a hand over my eyes. “Please cover yourself. This is creepy enough without your junk flapping in the wind.”
“What’s going on?” Wyn thankfully dragged the sheet up.
I patted his chest over and over again, trying to make him cold.
“Are the environmental controls acting up?”
“Yes,” I said, “grab your screen. See the phase variance.” I poked his head. His tail flicked. He rolled over, yanking the covers over his head. That was not a barrier for me. I shoved through the blanket and dragged my fingers over his chest.
He shot up. Naked, he strode over to the monitor on the wall. I kept my gaze on the ceiling. Wyn’s claws clacked on the glass for a few moments before he said, “There’s a phase variance.”He whipped around, seizing the sheet and winding it around his narrow waist. “Caleb, if you are in here, this is ahugeviolation, and I will be speaking to Prince Zoltilvoxfyn about it.”
“I know, I know. Don’t get your tail in a knot,” I said, “but I need something.” He couldn’t hear me, so I poked him in the chest again.
Wyn shivered and rubbed the cold spot. “Yes, you’re here.” He froze. “Is something wrong with Prince Zoltilvoxfyn?”
“No.”
“NAID,” he shouted.
She popped into the monitor. “Hello, Wyn.”
“Scan Prince Zoltilvoxfyn’s quarters.”
“Why?”
“Caleb is here.”
She blinked. “Prince Zoltilvoxfyn is perfectly fine according to my readings.”
“Then why is he here?”
“Are you certain he is?” she asked, disembodied head tilting to the side.
I stabbed Wyn in the chest.
He rubbed the same spot. “Yes.”
