Page 50 of Cosmic Soul

Without my permission, another smile stretched over my face. Caleb had asked to spend time together tonight when he returned. I hated him wandering the city without me by his side because something might happen and I wouldn’t be there to protect him. While I wanted to keep him within my sights at all times, I recognized he’d been on his own for over twenty cycles. He was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. Being with one another all the time wasn’t healthy either; regardless of thatfact, my instincts demanded I stay beside him for every moment of every day.

Kalvoxrencol stared at me, tail flicking. All of a sudden, a sly grin quirked on his lips. “You met someone.”

“What?” I squeaked, then cleared my throat. “What do you mean?”

“You met someone. Who is it?”

I turned my back to him. I wouldn’t dishonor Caleb by lying, but I wasn’t ready to speak about us.

Chuckling, he said, “I’m right. You have that presence of a new relationship about you. Who is it?” When I kept quiet and continued rearranging the pots, Kalvoxrencol asked, “Is it someone in the palace? You rarely leave. You’ve been spending copious amounts of time with the scientists studying NAID.”

He paused and swerved in front of me. “It’s Ensign Wyn, isn’t it? I cannot fault your taste; he is quite lovely. I was actually jealous of him spending time with Seth when I first met him.”

“It’s not Ensign Wyn.”

“But it is someone.”

I groaned. “Leave me alone, Pest.”

“Tell me who it is.”

I wouldn’t lie and say there was no one, for there was, but how would Kalvoxrencol react to Caleb being the choice of my soul? Not well was my assumption.

“Why won’t you tell me? Did I do something wrong?”

The hurt was obvious in his voice, and it sent waves of guilt crashing around me, even stronger than before. I’d never kept a secret from Kalvoxrencol before. We were each other’s confidants. When he was returning with Seth from Earth, Kalvoxrencol had confessed his every doubt and issue between him and Seth to me.

He’d trusted me, and now it was my turn.

I took a deep breath, my soul pounding against my ribcage. “It’s Caleb. We are together.”

“What?”

“Caleb and I are courting.”

He looked as if he was about to speak further when he stopped and stared at me.

A cloud began to gather inside of me as the words from my past came to haunt me like spirits that would never depart. Liar. Freak. Attention seeker. I averted my gaze. My hands trembled as I lifted one of the empty pots to my workstation. My emotions deadened when an all-encompassing numbness descended, filling every fiber of my being. I was courting a spirit, and my brother, my dearest friend, didn’t understand. If he didn’t, no one would.

“Now you know why I did not say anything,” I remarked, voice hard. Stars, why was I the odd one of the family? My inner fire, my emotions, and now my romance. I didn’t regret Caleb, but I yearned to be normal—I longed for us to be normal mates who were together with no judgment.

“He’s a spirit, Zoltilvoxfyn.”

A sharp knife forged of ice plunged into my soul. “I am aware.”

“You two cannot be together.”

“Why not?” I demanded, wings sliding out the back of my shirt. “He is mine, and no one shall take him from me.”

Light pooled under his scales, and Kalvoxrencol’s wings spread from my aggression, but he didn’t move toward me. Though younger and shorter, Kalvoxrencol would win should this end in an official challenge or physical altercation. His soul type might be a creator to my warrior, but he’d spent every day honing his body into a weapon.

He took a deep breath, and his wings dropped to a neutral position. “Did he agree to be yours?”

“Yes. Do you think I would take advantage of him?” I snapped.

“Does he understand what it means?”

“Yes.” Caleb had readily agreed to be mine, without hesitation.

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