Page 41 of Monster Married
“I see what Vergis means about the deep frustration of not getting your café au lait in the morning.” Fellisse looked at my elbow. It was really just a scratch, but he turned it this way and that.
A door behind Inkiri opened, and I craned my neck to see Hove and another bagu walk in. This one had light blue skin, a lot like Inkiri. It stood out somewhat to me now, because most of the bagu in the city were darker, either indigo or deep lapis.
Hove spoke to Inkiri rapidly, and he was all business now, nothing at all like yesterday.
“Ouch!” I flinched. Fellisse was dabbing at my arm with a cotton ball. The Aër version of a cotton ball, anyway, probably dipped in whatever they used for antiseptic here. It hurt.
Fellisse clicked. “I don’t want this to get infected. I don’t see anything else that worries me, but maybe a little coddling is in order.” He looked up at the other two and said something to them.
Inkiri nodded once, his eyes narrowing. “Rory, stay with Hove, please. The other prisoner just came to, and I’d like to join them to ask questions.”
“Do…you have to? He tried to kill you.” Fellisse was bandaging my arm, and I was going to blame my watering eyes on that.
“Sweet thing.” Inkiri hugged me despite Fellisse’s annoyed growl. “You don’t need to worry. You’re fine here. They won’t get to you, not when Fellisse is watching.”
“And I too,” Hove said.
“I’m not worried about me, I’m worried about you.”
That made Hove laugh.
“You both are trying to be funny today,” Fellisse said. “Rory, Inkiri can manage. But he can manage even better if he knows you’re here with us. Yes?”
Fellisse was good. The fury of a tantrum flared in my belly before it died away just as quickly. My bottom lip quivered, but I nodded. I didn’t want to be in this situation. I didn’t want Inkiri to be in this situation. I wanted to be back in our room, in bed, with Inkiri there and making love to me, his soft clicks and my too-loud moans the only sounds around us.
At the same time, I didn’t want to make him look stupid, or even more stupid, for being saddled with a crybaby of a mate. I nodded. Inkiri clicked and bent to lick my throat before he walked out of the room.
Fellisse finished his bandaging, which really was excessive if I was being honest. I still looked away from where he was dealing with my wound though. Unlike the hotel with all the wooden sliding doors, the walls here were stone, the doors a more familiar style and made of lacquered wood. It looked like the building we’d gotten married—mated in, but since I’d been hiding my face against Inkiri’s chest, I wasn’t even sure whether this was the same place or somewhere else.
“There is students come here in moments,” Hove said. “You did?” he asked Fellisse.
“Yes, all done. It’s not too tight, Rory, is it?”
I flexed my arm, and now that I was calmer, it actually did hurt. “It’s fine. Uhm, I’m sorry about the shirt.” It had come from one of the bags the store had delivered. Lissir had bought more than just the one outfit for me, and I still needed to thank him for all that and apologize for ruining one of the nice shirts already.
Fellisse put the medical things away. “Eh, don’t worry about the shirt. Hove, can we get him a new one?”
Hove nodded. “Easy. My quarters, Lisse?”
Fellisse shot Hove a smoldering look. “I know the way.”
Hove looked at me. “He knows his way in the pleasure too.”
Fellisse let out a belly laugh and patted my back before helping me down off the exam table. Well, lifting me off it actually. Even most of the younger bagua were still taller than me.
“Rory is not yet used to discussing lovers, Hove. Humans don’t do that.”
Hove held the door for us. “No? But—” He gestured, searching for the words. “How is it, how can you know that a lover be adequate? When no one talks?”
Hove and Fellisse took up positions on either side of me, and just when we were about to round a corner, a group of six bagua hurried our way. They carried books and small bags and vanished into the exam room. Huh. Had to be the medical lab where they learned how to take care of patients. They were all younger, all dressed in light gray, and they all inclined their heads toward Hove. I picked up on them all calling him visdena.
“Is that what your title is, Hove? Visdena?”
He nodded. “Yes, is visdena. Also an adequate lover, or no?”
Fellisse chuckled. “You’re very adequate, Hove. Speaking of your title, where is the dena today?”
“He will join Inkiri,” Hove said.
