Page 41 of Wayfinder
“What are you doing?”
My sister’s voice held a hint of aggravation. I glanced at her from where I’d plopped in the corner of her fuzzy white sofa. She was regal as always, the mass of braids she wore now sporting silver and gold beads in decoration for the Duke’s upcoming birthday dinner. From the kitchen, I heard Trafelia banging about with the pots and pans. A fissure of worry shot through me at the idea I might have to partake of something other than Pearl’s cuisine for my dinner.
I’d walked away from her.
She’d admitted to wanting to stay on the Bardaga... with me... and I’d walked away.
What else could I do?
She deserved the chance to find a true mate.
Yet the idea of never seeing her... never holding her in my arms or tasting her on my tongue. Of never having the opportunity to sheath myself in her warmth... it was unthinkable.
“I’m trying to figure that out myself,” I grumbled and changed the subject. “Has Praxxan gotten in touch with Siemba about the animal tampering?”
“Yes.” Jala lowered herself onto the other end of the sofa with far more grace than I possessed.
Pearl had grace.
The way she moved, the sound of her voice, the gentleness of her touch....
Stop it!
Nothing would come of letting her image wallow in my mind... as though I possessed the will to stop it.
“Siemba is of the mind that Nansar might have a hand in what happened with the contest,” Jala was saying, thankfully bringing me out of my thoughts.
“For what purpose?” My brethren had discovered Nansar’s hand in many things, but the Duke’s son seemed mostly intent on hurting humans. Cheating the contest only served to bolster the Baron and Pearl’s reputations. My mind spun with theories, none of which made sense.
“That is the question.” My sister issued a serene smile, her golden eyes cutting away from me at the sound of the door opening.
“Uncle Jutuk!”
Priemba bounded into the room and onto my lap in the time it took for my smile to grow.“Hello, my princess!”
“I missed you.” Priemba frowned, poking a soft, fuzzy fingertip into the center of my chest.
“I missed you too,” I announced, burying my face in her mane as I pantomimed biting at her. She smelled of sunshine and the carefree days of youth, despite the faintly stuffy scent that clung to her school uniform.
Priemba squealed, squirming in my lap, flailing at me with her tiny paw-like hands as though she truly possessed the hope of besting me.
From nearby, Jala made a noise low in her throat, and the message was clear: Stop goofing around before you break something.
Priemba stilled, smiling at me adorably for a minute before her face scrunched in concern.
“What’s wrong, Uncle Jutuk?”
“Nothing, my princess.” I purposefully broadened my smile but knew damn well that it didn’t reach my eyes. “I just have a lot on my mind.”
“Is it because you helped the human win the contest?” Her simple, childish question was far closer to the truth than she realized.
“Something like that.” I tugged on a lock of her hair, making her giggle.
“I have navigational calculations for homework,” Priemba announced, a roll to her eyes that she took great care to hide from her mother. “Can you help me later?”
“It would be my greatest delight,” I announced. Perhaps spending time with my niece would help get my mind off another female I adored.
I adored Pearl.
