Chapter 8
KAELION
This is exactly the wrong way I was hoping for this morning to go.
I thought I would wake up, do another diagnostic of Lyn, make sure she’s safe and headed to medical…then I would tidy my apartment, clean Solvi’s room, go to the train station, and pick up my daughter.
We were supposed to get breakfast together, the four of us—me, Solvi, Shahar, and Wulfric—before Shahar and Wulfric returned to the Arborium.
We were supposed to do all this according to plan.
And now…now, my daughter has seen this human female in her room, and she is convinced that Lyn is my girlfriend.
…whatever that means.
“What?” Shahar says, eyes going as wide as Solvi’s. “No—really, Kaelion? Did you just see her, Solvi?”
“She’s right there!” Solvi practically shrieks, pointing down the hall. “She was in my room!”
Shahar looks at me. “Was she now?”
Wulfric appears to be absolutely mortified, arms crossed and brow furrowed by the door. “Kaelion,” he murmurs. “You did not tell us there would be another adult in your home.”
“That’s because I’m not supposed to be here,” Lyn chimes in.
I let my eyes slide shut.
Gods help me.
“Well, hello,” Shahar says brightly. “Uh…you can come out. We don’t bite.”
“I’m more worried the dragon does?” Lyn says.
I take a couple steps forward to look, finding Lyn cornered by a hissing Flicker. I snap my fingers.
“Flicker,” I bark. “Here.”
Flicker streams down the hall, six legs pistoning, nostrils flared. Lyn’s shoulders slump and she raises a hand in greeting.
“Hi,” she says. “I’m Lyn.”
“Hi Lyn.” Shahar looks at me knowingly, wiggling her brows, then turns back to Lyn. “I’m Shahar—Solvi’s mother. And this is—”
“I’m Solvi,” Solvi says, sticking her hand out for a shake. “What made you like my Baba?”
Gods. Help. Me. Please.
Lyn takes a few steps down the hall, keeping her eyes on Flicker—but Flicker doesn’t move, not even when Lyn takes Solvi’s hand and shakes it.
“It’s not really like that,” Lyn starts. “I just—”
“Baba’s kind of weird,” Solvi continues. “He acts like he’s mean, but he’s actually really nice and cool. I guess you probably know that already though because…”
Shahar came over to me while Solvi continued to babble to Lyn, probably about to tell my student my entire life story despite my reservations. I sigh, shaking my head.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Shahar whispers.
“Because she’s not my girlfriend,” I mutter. “She’s my student.”
Shahar’s eyes get even bigger than before. “And she spent the night at your house,” she says. “In my clothes.”
“There was an accident in the lab last night,” I reply. “I was keeping an eye on her. She was shaken.”
“I can’t imagine this is making her feel much better.”
“Because she wasn’t supposed to be here when you arrived,” I hiss. “She was just leaving.”
“Yeah,” Lyn says, still talking to Solvi. “Sorry—the thing is, I’m not your dad’s girlfriend, we just work together. I had an accident at work last night and he’s been keeping an eye on me.”
That seems even more interesting to Solvi. “Did you almost die?!”
“No, it’s not that big of a deal,” Lyn says, then gestures over her shoulder. “I’m just…I’m gonna get my stuff and go—”
“Wait!” Solvi yells, grabbing Lyn’s hand before she can escape down the hall. “Why don’t you like him, though?”
Lyn looks at me like she’s waiting for me to rescue her.
“I’ll help you,” I murmur.
I brush past Shahar and Solvi, then I take Lyn by the arm and walk her down the hall. Her bag is in Solvi’s room, and we go to grab it when—
She sucks in a breath, yanking her arm away from me and stumbling back. “You…really need to be careful touching me,” she says.
“I’m sorry,” I say immediately. “Are you…did it hurt?’
“Still no,” she says, closing her eyes. Her face is flushed, her throat bobbing as she swallows. And…her scent.
Her scent is incredible.
Intoxicating.
I’d never noticed it before, but now it’s the only thing on my mind—sweet and rich and warm.
“Please go to the clinic,” I ask. “And let me know what they say.”
“I will,” she says. “Thanks, Dr. Rhyss.”
She grabs her bag, and I follow her down the hall again, seeing her out. I don’t even notice she’s still in Shahar’s clothes until she steps through the door.
Then I turn and look at Shahar, Solvi, and Wulfric.
Wulfric is glaring.
“Kaelion,” he growls. “You spent the night with an unapproved adult in the home our daughter will be staying in.”
Solvi looks between the three of us. “...I’m gonna go to my room.”
Shahar leans down to kiss her on the forehead. “Good idea, blossom. You know how Wulfric is.”
Solvi rolls her eyes, looking to me as if I should be the one to reestablish sanity…then she leaves.
And it’s just the three of us—me, Shahar, and Wulfric.
Shahar sighs. “Wulfy,” she says, “you really don’t need to worry about this. Lyn is not Kaelion’s girlfriend.”
“And she won’t be coming back here overnight,” I murmur. “I don’t date, Wulfric.”
Wulfric folds his arms across his chest, the muscles in his jaw twitching. “You do not date,” he repeats, “and yet a human female slept in our daughter’s bed.”
“My daughter,” I correct him.
He narrows his eyes.
“Our daughter,” Shahar says, gesturing between me and herself. “Wulfric, really, you need to get a handle on yourself. Solvi was spending her summers with Kaelion long before you and I ever met, and that was when she was even younger. She’ll be fine. She loves Mythara.”
“If the female was not yours, then why did she reek of sex?” Wulfric asks.
Shahar looks to me again, surprised now. “She…she did?”
Skoll senses are sharper than ours; I should have known he would recognize it, and of course he’s too nosy not to pry.
“She’s…” I pause, knowing the easiest way through this is merely to be honest. “She’s doing research on a device that can simulate arousal. The incident last night left her in a heightened state, and she was worried there could be permanent neurological effects.”
“Shouldn’t she be in a hospital then?” Shahar asks, immediately concerned.
“She insisted that she was fine, and I feared she would return to the lab and continue testing her tech on herself,” I explain. “So…I forced her to come home with me for her own safety.”
“And she will not be spending the night here again with such experimental technology, correct?” Wulfric says.
Shahar sighs and presses her fingers to her temple.
“Wulfric,” she says, “Kaelion has never—never—put Solvi at risk. You know that. She is his daughter, and he loves her. Now…can we establish that yes, he will tell us if another adult enters the picture?”
“Of course,” I cut in, rolling my eyes just like Solvi did earlier.
Wulfric notices and glares.
“And Wulfy, can we establish that we know you adore our daughter, but that this is truly not your call?”
He lets out this pained, raspy sound of disagreement…but he folds.
Because no matter how I feel about Wulfric, I know that at least he truly loves Shahar and Solvi.
“I understand,” Wulfric says.
“Now,” Shahar breathes. “Are we ready for breakfast? I’m starving.”
I sigh in relief. “Yes—let me just go and get Solvi.”
Shahar reaches out to squeeze my shoulder. “Sorry for the confusion, Kae.”
I give her a hapless smile. “That’s alright.”
I leave them, the two of them beginning to bicker as soon as I’m out of the room.
I follow the hallway down to Solvi’s room, and I find her lying on her stomach, scribbling in her sketchbook with Flicker curled up on her back.
I just…stand for a moment and look at her—at my little girl, growing so very, very fast.
She notices me and looks up.
“Baba,” she beams. “I’m so happy I’m home.”
I return the smile. “I am too, blossom,” I say. “I am too.”