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“Ah, I’m exhausted,” she confesses. “I should call it a night.”
The table has long-since been cleared by my staff, but we’ve been sitting here for at least a full interval, if not two.
“Lucky for you, you don’t have far to go,” I say, nodding my head at the door.
“True.” She chuckles, then stands up with a full body stretch and an adorable yawn. “In that case… I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Sleep well, wife,” I say.
Her eyes dart away from mine, but she’s still smiling as she leaves me there. My kaia is half-asleep herself, but startles to attention when Frankie and I start moving. Briefly confused by her mistress’s exit, Nisi looks at me and then at the door.
“Where do you want to go?” I ask her.
She huffs in disapproval, likely thinking that Frankie and I should be in one room so that she can monitor us more efficiently.
I open the door for her, and as I expected, the beast decides to jog off after my mate.
“As I thought,” I mutter.
I listen to the subtle tip-tapping of Nisina shuffling around Frankie’s room with her. I can even hear muffled, high-pitched babbling.
She talks to Nisi like a baby, I muse. I spoil the beast enough as it is, and now she’s sleeping in the bed like a princess.
When the sounds from the room beyond go still, I head to my bed and lay down. Things are going well considering there was no sign in sight that my mate would become a part of my life just days ago. I drift to sleep more easily than I have since this trip was boarded.
But my blessedly dreamless sleep doesn’t last long.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
MAK
I wake up abruptly to the sound of Nisi’s whining and scratching. My hand is already clutching my blade as I fling myself out of bed. Movement comes before lucidity. I stumble to the door, Nisi’s barks growing more urgent when she hears me approaching.
The warrior on duty outside my quarters stands in the threshold of the entry.
“Stay at your post,” I tell him. “I’ll send Nisi if anything’s amiss.”
Nisi butts her head against the backs of my thighs, herding me toward my mate’s room. I can’t hear anything, but something’s wrong.
I can’t see Frankie when I first enter, but Nisi runs ahead to show me.
The first glimpse I get is her shaking hand slapping the light switch. I flinch at the sudden brightness. I follow Nisi around the side of the bed to find Frankie crumpled on the floor, trembling and panting. I drop my blade on the side table and crouch next to her.
“Frankie,” I try softly. “Are you awake?”
No reply.
“Can I help you up off the floor?”
No reply.
A great deal of her skin is exposed, as she’s wearing a loose smock of a top that I’ve seen other humans wearing. I swallow nervously at the realization that she’s not wearing pants either. I’m glad I sent the other guard away, because the last thing I need right now is to slip into a territorial amma’ka episode.
I need to get her up, but if I touch her, it might hurt more than help. In a flash, I’m back to that first day she woke up and screamed at the sight of me. I’m temporarily frozen as I debate how to fix this. Do I call Kaye, or handle it myself?
Nisi nips my ankle, impatient with the speed of my problem-solving.
“I’m thinking,” I tell her.
