I averted my gaze and kept it locked on Seth.
“We went to a planet, and I was wearing, well, this necklace,” he said, fingering the silver chain. “I lost my touchstone, so I didn’t understand them, but they tried to take me.”
“Touchstone?” I asked.
Teddy said, holding out a perfectly round stone that pulsed in a low blue light, “You should’ve gotten one. It connects to NAID. It translates and lets you speak to anyone else who has one if you say their full name.”
“I did. I forgot.” So much had happened so quickly yesterday and this morning. I couldn’t believe I’d let Don touch me, or that he’d been able to help me sleep. I couldn’t remember the last time that I’d slept so well or so deeply. It had been miraculous and so unexpected. “What happened?” I asked, pushing away thoughts of the odd drakcol. “Kal, I suppose.”
He shook his head. “I fought them off. Got beat up, but I fought them and returned to the port where Kal was amassing a search party for me.”
Seth never fought. Ever. I’d seen Travis hit him, and Seth just let him. Of course, I was no better. I’d stopped fighting Tryk and the aliens who… Nope. Not thinking about it. I asked Seth. “You fought?”
“Yeah.” He looked at Teddy. “You?”
“Mindy and I fought the alien. They were huge and had four arms.”
Caleb bounced, then stopped suddenly, wings hugging his shoulders. “I was kidnapped too. Sort of. I went on this ship because I was a ghost, and they tried to keep me.”
“Tatas,” Seth said, chuckling.
“What?” Teddy asked.
“That was their name,” Caleb said. “The leader's name was Tatas of the Boobaas. No one got it when we laughed.”
“Don did, probably, because he could read my thoughts,” Seth said.
“That’s real?” Teddy asked, expression as blank as ever.
“Yep,” Caleb said. “He can hear everything you think and feel when you're in range. It’s his inner fire. Every drakcol has one. Even me.”
“What is it?” I asked.
Caleb’s face twisted up, and I pressed further away from him. Teddy placed a hand on my shoulder, which made me yank away, though I did give him a tight smile. None of us spoke, but when a figurine on the bookshelf lifted into the air, my mouth dropped open. The black cat statue hovered for a moment before lowering again.
Panting, Caleb said, “Telekinesis. I’m not very strong or skilled. Also, it’s not an impressive inner fire. Not like Fyn or Don, or, well, any of Fyn’s brothers, except Mindy.”
Teddy crossed his arms. “Mindy can create fire with his mind. It saved our lives. It is amazing.”
While Caleb and Teddy argued, my thoughts returned once again to Don and last night. I hadn’t had such a peaceful night in a long time. The nightmares had started right after Teddy and I were bought by the fighting ring. They happened almost every night. But after Don had come and sent me to sleep, I hadn’t had another one for the rest of the night.
I’d felt his sincerity when Don said he wouldn’t hurt me. I didn’t trust anyone. Seth and Teddy, yes. Other people? No. But Don had kept his word. He hadn’t hurt me. He hadn’t touched me beyond sending me to sleep.
The fact he heard my thoughts was nice. I didn’t have to try and phrase things right or explain what I was feeling. He knew it all. It was… I honestly wasn’t sure, but it was nice and I liked it. There was no struggle; Don just knew.
“Wyn,” Seth said, yanking me out of my thoughts. A drakcol with lavender scales with gold and magenta peeks of skin appeared on the screen. His long bubblegum-colored hair was plaited in a single braid down his scalp. He smiled at Seth, and I was struck by how attractive he was.
This man was, like, model hot. His heart-shaped face was lovely. His eyes were crystal blue and his lips were full. Handsdown, he was the most gorgeous man I’d seen. If it had been three years ago and this drakcol had been here, I would have tried to fuck him.
“Seth, I was coming to read to your child,” he said in a velvety smooth voice.
“I always appreciate you checking on them,” Seth said. “Wyn, this is Bartholomew, or rather Teddy. He’s Serlotminden’s mate now. And this is Vince. He’s my childhood friend.”
“Greetings,” he said. “You were all rescued from Xome?”
“Yeah,” Teddy answered. “I crash landed with Mindy.”
“I wish you and Prince Serlotminden every happiness.”
