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“He is. If I’d not allowed Mirilla to have undocumented entry to my bedroom…”

“To Au’revele’s quarters! Her private quarters and you both used her private space as a way station,” Quin said. “Making it common place to any who might witness it so that they’d not question it when it happened for reasons other than a tryst!”

“A tryst? We did not have a tryst! She’s going to be my wife!”

“You’re betrothed?!” Eula asked, surprise evident in her tone as she stood from the sofa to finally join the conversation.

“Are you sure, Bart? I’ve not heard an announcement. Females usually tell any who’ll listen,” Quin said.

“She has reasons,” Bart said defensively.

“What reasons?” Eula asked. “And regardless of anyone’s reasons, no one else should have access to, or through, another’s quarters for their own convenience. There is such a thing as personal privacy and we try to respect that as much as possible regardless of the fact that this is a palace.”

“If I were Au'revele, I’d be angry that my personal space had been compromised repeatedly,” Vivian said.

“Even without any of the recent occurrences, it still calls to be addressed,” Eula said.

“Other than try to keep her visits to me secret, she did nothing wrong,” Bart said. “I’m sure she spent no time in Au'revele rooms, and did not even notice any of her personal belongings.”

“So, next time I’m on the Consortium’s station, I’ll wander through your quarters here and there when you’re away, and maybe those of your Generals’, too. They shouldn’t mind as long as I’m just passing through, and don’t touch any of your things, or theirs, right?” Quin asked.

“We just didn’t think through the method by which we were keeping our alone time secret,” Bart said.

“You were thinking with…” Quin started.

“Do not tell him what he was thinking with again, Quin!” Eula said as she would to an unruly child. “You had this conversation only minutes ago. We all heard it.”

Quin glared at Bart.

Bart glared back.

“Quin, I understand you’re angry and looking for an outlet for your anger and frustration about Alexandrus coming so close to harm. Honestly, I am, too. And Bart, I’m sure all you’re doing is protecting the female you love, so much so that you’re trying to reason away things that you wouldn’t normally find acceptable. I understand that all too well, myself. I care very much for Mirilla, she’s a personal friend and has been with me for years. Unfortunately, there are circumstances that must be questioned. But until we have proof, that is all they are — circumstances. We need to speak with her directly instead of assuming. I’ll send for her and we’ll ask our questions and see what she has to say.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” Vivian said.

~~~

Zahn lay perfectly still, enclosed in the healing chamber as his body was healed using the most state of the art medical technology. His bones and tendons slowly knitting themselves back together as his blood cells replicated themselves to resupply his body with the blood he’d lost during battle. His mind was completely unaware of the trauma his body endured. Instead, he thought of a female with dark silver hair, silver skin bearing the most delicate white tattoos, and eyes of such a deep green he felt surely if he leapt into them, he could be lost there forever. But the vision of the female didn’t soothe him. Instead, it caused him more anxiety than he’d ever experienced. No matter how he tried, he couldn’t reach her. In his mind’s eye he murmured sweet, calming words. He reached out to her and laid gentle hands on her shoulder and smoothed the hair from her face, but none of his actions stopped her tears. No matter whathe did, she just kept crying. It was obvious her heart was broken, and that was completely unacceptable. Whoever had hurt her would answer to him. He’d stay beside the female until she found a way to rest at least, then he’d hunt down the person responsible for her broken heart, and he’d remove theirs.

Au’revele sat beside the healing chamber Zahn lay inside of. She gave up being brave and stoic hours ago. Now, she just sat there, crying incessantly. Somehow the infuriating male had managed to worm his way into her heart and was permanently entrenched there. She stood from the stool she was perched on so she could better see into the lid of the healing chamber and gazed down on Zahn, completely unconscious, yet still battling those who’d ultimately put him here. At least from the twitching of his hands and legs, and the occasional grimace on his face, she had no doubt that’s exactly where his mind was. And unfortunately, until the healing chamber finished its healing cycle, and possibly another after that, there was no way she could soothe him, or even just let him know that she was there. Somehow, she couldn’t find it in her being to leave his side, and nothing could make her do so until he was awake and strong again.

“Miss, perhaps you’d like to return to your duties until he awakens,” one of the doctors said, having entered the room to check all the readouts of Zahn’s vital statistics.

“This is my duty. Until he awakens, I’ll stay here,” Au’revele said.

“There’s nothing you can do, Miss. He doesn’t even know you’re here.”

“I know. And when he awakens, he’ll know. Until then, I’ll wait right here.”

The doctor watched her for another few moments, then knowing it was hopeless to try to dissuade her, simply walked away, leaving her to sit with the wounded male. Newly mated couples were sometimes so bound they failed to see any reason at all their actions, and in his opinion, this couple was exactly that. He had no idea that they hadn’t yet bonded.

Au’revele perched back on her stool and leaned against the healing chamber lid, her arms cushioning her cheek as she looked down at Zahn inside. Her tears splashed on the glass window of the lid, as she sniffled, trying to regain some control. “I’ll be right here, Zahn. It’ll be okay. I’m right here.”

~~~

Mirilla sat all alone in Sovereigna Eula’s sitting room, her back ramrod straight as she waited for Eula’s return. She’d heard, as most of the palace had, of the attempted attack on the Sire’s family, and after her morning duties were finished, had come straight to Eula’s sitting room where they spent most every day. She had no doubt that Sovereigna Eula would arrive just as soon as she saw to the safety of her son and his family. And her plan was to just sit right where she was, where her Sovereigna could easily find her when she was ready to. She had something to confess that she had no doubt would greatly affect her place in the palace. In the meantime, she’d given instruction to everyone who looked to her for direction of their daily chores and responsibilities. Done all she could to stop the insidious rumblings and rumors that were quite impossible to be true, and now had nothing else to do but wait to confess that she’d lost her passkey, and hopefully have it forgiven enough that she could be there for the Sovereigna when needed. She could have followed up on the cleaning and chores that had been carried out throughout the morning, but couldn’t quite bring herself to be unavailable when the Sovereigna returned.

Mirilla cast a glance at the timepiece on the wall and realized she’d been sitting here for almost two hours. Not once had she heard from Eula. No messenger had come, and not one person had come for Eula either. Not even the guards were in place as they should have been — no doubt they were still stationed at the entrance to the West wing, but there had been none outside the royal residence when she entered. Surely withthe events of the previous night, there would be a more visible security presence. Or maybe not, if they’d moved most of the personal guard to the Sire’s residence.

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