“But you won’t remember seeing me again.”
“I won’t, but you will. You and Teddy are happy and safe. That’s enough for me. I want to go back so I can forget. That’s how I can move on. How I’ll finally be at peace and back to my old self.”
“That’s not enough for me,” he whispered. “I need you, Vinnie.”
Tears burned the backs of my eyes. I had an impossible time not giving Seth whatever he wanted.
“Please don’t leave.”
I pushed my face against his shoulder, sobbing. “I need to.”
Seth pulled me close. “I won’t stop you, even though I want to, but I will sure as hell miss you.”
“I will miss you too, even if I won’t remember seeing you again, seeing you safe, seeing you happy. I will always miss you, Seth.”
“Captain Dontilvynsan,” NAID said, making me jolt.
I immediately reached for Vince to soothe him back to sleep, and froze, soul racing. He was gone. I blinked, sitting up. Where was he?
“Captain Dontilvynsan,” NAID said again.
“Yes?”
“Prince Kalvoxrencol is attempting to reach you.”
He must have tried to ping me on my touchstone, but I hadn’t heard. “Put him through.”
My youngest brother appeared on the screen across from Vince’s bed. “Sorry to wake you.”
“It’s fine. What’s wrong, Pest?”
“Vince came to speak to Seth. He looked upset. I didn’t want you to wake up and not know where he was.”
My brothers knew I’d been sleeping in Vince’s room. I hadn’t bothered to hide it, and Serlotminden had caught me leaving one morning. He’d teased me fiercely, but I wasn’t embarrassed about our relationship. Vince cared about me. He’d called me “his” once. I wanted to be his permanently, but that wouldn’t happen, so I was keeping tight control of my emotions.
“I would’ve worried,” I conceded. “Do you know what he wanted?”
“To steal my mate maybe,” he grumbled. If Kalvoxrencol truly believed that, he wouldn’t have let Seth out of his sight. I remained silent, waiting. He continued, “I don’t know.”
Was Vince upset at our latest failed attempt? We’d been kissing when he asked to take off my shirt. I’d agreed, cautiously, hoping he wasn’t going to initiate sex that he wasn’t ready for, and then he’d taken off his own. My eyes had feasted on the sight of his bare skin and the trail of hair down his stomach. We’d gone back to kissing, but when our bare chests touched, he’d panicked.
Vince had climbed off my lap so fast, he’d fallen. He’d been unable to calm down until he begged for my help. He’d kept apologizing over and over again. I hadn’t cared besides the fact he was terrified. After we dressed, I’d pulled him onto my lap and held him close, sharing my thoughts with him. Vince loved when I opened up to him. He’d fallen asleep like that.
I’d never been as open with someone as I was with Vince. He was the only one I’d ever shared my thoughts and general feelings with, because I trusted him. He wasn’t going to get annoyed or hate me.
I lay back on the soft bed, waiting for Vince to return. A sudden flare of agony and grief pierced my brain like a knife. I clutched my head, groaning. Vince. He was in pain—horrible pain. I was out the door without a single thought besides finding and protecting him.
I found Vince in the atrium with Seth. He was sobbing as Seth held him, rocking him gently and placing kisses on the top of Vince’s head. I wanted to rip Seth away and soothe Vince myself, but I grabbed ahold of the violent instinct. Warrior souls were naturally protective, and Vince called to my instincts more than anyone. But Seth wasn’t a threat to what was mine.
Seth was helping him, I realized as Vince told him what had happened on Xome. Something inside me uncoiled. He’d needed to actually talk about it, and Seth was the best choice, above Bartholomew, even above me. They were best friends, and Seth understood what it was like to be hurt. They trusted each other.
Slowly, I backed out of the atrium. I would wait for Vince in his room.
When he did come back, Vince raced into the bedroom and threw himself at me. I held him close. “I have you.”
He snuggled. “Don’t let me go.”
I nuzzled his head. “Never.”
