Chapter 7

I carefully stepped into the living room. Even though NAID had said Kalvoxrencol left, I didn’t quite believe her, but he was gone. I sagged as all of the tension fled. I was truly alone for the first time in days. A prickling sensation crept up my spine and settled behind my eyes.

Normally, I was relieved to be alone; I loved it, reveled in it, but when I looked around the empty apartment, my heart clenched and tears gathered. I was completely alone. The only human. One of a kind.

A meow came from behind me, and I swiped at my cheeks but found them dry. Lucy rubbed along my calf before sauntering into the living room. Her round eyes grew, and I knew what was going to happen next. She took off like a bolt of lightning, zooming around the room and leaping onto the couch for the barest moment before she sprang off.

Lucy was over this whole abduction thing. Then again, she was a cat. She was fed, safe, and comfortable; why wouldn’t she be happy? Maybe that’s what I needed to be like—accept everything and not care.

I sank to the squishy ground because my legs no longer supported me. I tried to fight against the allure of old patterns. This always happened. I would lose myself, hide, or become someone else entirely to please whomever I was with. Such changes were easier than hoping they would see me for who I was and want me. They never had anyway.

I’d sworn after my last relationship I would never enter another one. Travis had gotten a job in Washington, and he’d asked me to come with him. I’d thought, for once, I’d been chosen. I hadn’t been. I’d paid for the entire move from San Francisco to Olympia, and six days after we arrived, he broke up with me. I had been his ticket to moving. By that point, he’d isolated me from what few friends I’d had, namely one, and I had no family to help me, so I was stuck.

Which was why I’d promised myself to stay away from people. They only hurt me. But Lucy, she’d been a gift. I’d gone to a shelter to get a dog, but the woman had convinced me a cat was better for my apartment. She’d walked me by Lucy’s cage two times in the hopes I would adopt her.

Each time, Lucy had clawed at my sleeve, crying. She’d been so scared and alone, like me. Her previous owners had abandoned her when they moved, leaving her behind in an empty apartment. I’d decided to adopt her as soon as the lady told me. She’d practically cried when I picked Lucy.

I’d brought her home, and that was it. I didn”t need anyone else. Lucy didn’t make me change. I didn’t annoy her. It was perfect.

Lucy landed on my lap, which made me jolt. She used me as a springboard and leaped to the bookshelf. Two sculptures teetered, and my mouth dropped open as I scrambled to my feet. They crashed to the floor before I could catch them.

“Shit.” I picked the sculptures up, flipping them over to inspect for damage. I couldn’t imagine Kalvoxrencol being pleased if Lucy broke his things. They could be valuable. The man was a prince.

Thankfully, I found no damage.

The first statue was an animal mixed between a cat and a fox, but scaly with wings and bright red in color. The second was a tree, except with a deep purple trunk and light blue flowers resembling wisteria.

Putting the two sculptures back onto the shelf, I ran my fingers over the spines of the books. I couldn’t read any of the titles, but their presence was comforting. Human. If that made any sense.

I wandered toward the paintings on the walls, my gaze moving over them until I came to one that made me pause—an abstract done in shades of blue with splashes of purple and gold. Art had never been my thing, but I liked this one. There was something about it, something compelling.

Slowly, I inspected every inch of the apartment, except for the other bedroom. Everything was clean and well-made. The room didn’t seem planned or designed, since nothing matched. If I had to guess, I would say everything belonged to and was chosen by Kalvoxrencol.

I sat on the couch, my feet barely reaching the floor. Most drakcol I’d seen were quite tall, Kalvoxrencol being an exception, well into the six-foot range to my average height. I leaned back, then stopped. There was nothing there. The couch didn’t have a back, though the seat was wide enough for two.

Wiggling, I readjusted until I sagged against the arm that reached my shoulders. I didn’t know what to do. I had no responsibilities. I had no job. Nothing to clean. There was literally nothing for me to do.

“How do you like it?” NAID asked, manifesting on the small monitor next to the door.

“I don’t know.”

“You have no opinion?” she pressed.

My jaw clenched, and my pulse began to race. I had no idea why, but my anxiety spiked. I tried to breathe through it and focus on the softness of the couch, the spicy scent of the room, and the sound of my own heartbeat, which began to slow.

“I’m detecting stress hormones. Are you alright?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you need something? I can request for Prince Kalvoxrencol to return.”

“No,” I snapped. “I’m fine.”

“Alright.”

I took another deep breath. “Where is he?”

“With his oravirven.”

The word sent several meanings floating through my head: mentor, guide, and parent. “What is that?”

“When the Crystal chooses a mate for the petitioner, they are assigned an oravirven to lead them through the process, offer advice, and assist when needed.”

“Ah.”

“You can have one if you like. A mate of one of the drakcol. A different species of the same gender and soul type. It’s your right.”

Soul type? What the hell was she talking about? My mouth opened to ask, but I snapped it closed. I didn’t want to know, at least at the moment. “Do I have to decide right now?”

“Of course not. You have the right to request an oravirven for the entirety of your life, should you choose to remain with Prince Kalvoxrencol.”

“Is that really his name? It’s ridiculously long.”

“It is. His esteemed parents gave it to him. It means ‘beloved gift of the sky.’”

That was nice enough, I supposed. “Why is it so long?”

“It denotes importance. Those of a higher status have longer names.”

“What do you know of him?”

“What information do you want?” NAID studied me with puckered lips.

I honestly had no idea what I wanted or didn’t want to know. “Was he upset when he saw who this Crystal had chosen?”

“No.” She smiled so much, her skin creased and made her eyes practically disappear in the folds. “We orbited for several hours before we collected you to make sure you didn’t have an illness or microbes that could harm the drakcol. He paced the entire time. He wanted to retrieve you immediately, for he feared something would happen to take you away from him.”

“He said that?”

“Yes.” She winked, then vanished.

I smiled. I couldn’t help it. His desperation touched me. I forced NAID’s words from my thoughts. In the past, I had been too easily swept away by grand gestures or gifts and lost myself. I wouldn’t do that again. The man had kidnapped me. That had to be my first thought.

A whoosh sounded, and I whipped toward the door. Kalvoxrencol stood in the doorway. His tail started to shift. I had no idea what the movement meant. My breathing turned shallow as black spots floated across my vision.

“My Seth,” he said, stepping closer. “What’s wrong?”

My mouth opened, but no words came out. He came toward me, hands outstretched. The panic reached catastrophic levels, and my lungs refused to take in any air. White noise filled my ears while I felt like I was being ripped apart. Trying to regain control of my spiraling emotions, I dropped my head between my knees.

Fear, panic, and unnamed emotions swirled in my head, ringing like an alarm. Focus, I told myself. I took a shuddering breath in through my nose and smelled a spicy fragrance, almost like Christmas, which immediately invoked memories of my mother baking cookies as she sang Christmas carols.

Gentle footsteps came in my direction moments before the couch dipped. A pressure wrapped around my ankle. It was strong and unyielding, but it didn’t hurt. I took another deep breath, feeling the air expand my lungs, and then let it all out through my mouth. Once again, I breathed in through my nose, held, then out through my mouth.

Something jumped up beside me, purring. Lucy headbutted me, and I gave her weak pets. The pressure on my ankle tightened, and I finally noticed Kalvoxrencol’s blue tail wrapping around me, the tuft at the end on top of my foot. Being this close, I could discern the scales across the appendage. They were tightly interlocked, not showing any purple or electrical blue that peeked out in other places on his body.

“My Seth,” he said, his voice more melodious than I”d ever thought possible. “What can I do?”

“Nothing. Stay where you’re at.”

“I can do that.”

He did not speak, but the silence wasn’t oppressive.

Eventually, I sat up, and the world didn’t shift. Lucy snuck onto my lap, making biscuits while I stroked her. After a few moments, Lucy crawled in Kalvoxrencol’s direction, tail straight and nose scrunching. He froze. She smelled him before hissing. Kalvoxrencol didn’t even twitch. Slowly, she smelled him again. This time she didn’t hiss.

“Progress,” he commented.

I glanced at his tail around my leg, then back to his face. “Progress.”

His fingers crept across the couch in my direction. As the tips of his claws brushed my thigh, I stood, heat flushing my cheeks. His tail remained around my ankle, but when I stared at it, the prehensile appendage unwound. The moment I was free, I dashed to the bedroom with Lucy right behind me.