four-story ceilings and a comfortable seating area that was in front of a desk where a woman had been sitting, until she stood at our entrance.
Immediately I felt defensive, noticing the surprise that lit in her gaze before it turned clinical, running over my mate analytically before she offered a small smile. I knew it was in this woman’s nature to be observant, but I still found it annoying. My dragon rumbled in my throat as Maya squeezed my hand tighter, Croy and Sai both following us in, the guard grunting as if someone had done something. I wasn’t one to make bets, but I was going to guess Sai’s annoyance with the man had bubbled over.
I didn’t blame him.
“Maya, correct?” the physician asked as she rounded the desk. My mate jolted slightly at her name, having been distracted by examining the room. I had to trust this woman was good enough to be trusted with my mate. I mean, if the queen trusted her… that was something, at least. Although, I found trusting anyone with my mate difficult, especially after everything she’d been through recently.
“Correct.” Maya leaned into me, flashing a hesitant smile at the physician. I knew that Maya was hesitant around other women, and while I would have preferred her to never have a reason to feel caution around others, I was thankful that she viewed me as someone she could rely on for support and safety. It meant more to me than she would probably ever realize.
“Happy to meet you.” The woman reached out a hand, and Maya hesitantly met it with her own. Immediately, a spark ran from Maya’s hand to the woman’s in a flash of gold, and the doctor’s brows went up with interest. I couldn’t tell you what type of supernatural she was, outside of not being a dragon, but it was clear she had some type of magic. I was now wishing Henry was here, because I had a feeling this woman’s thoughts were far more interesting than anything she planned on saying. That was usually how it was with professionals, and she had enough years under her belt that she would probably keep her mouth shut about anything she wasn’t one hundred percent sure on. Something that was both positive and frustrating. I didn’t want her to bullshit us or be incorrect, but we did need some direction on what was going on.
“Please come sit.” She ushered us towards the couches before pausing. “Actually, would you gentleman mind waiting—”
“I want them here.” Maya’s tone was suddenly filled with a hard edge, a slight string of panic underneath making me know she didn’t want to be left alone here. I also could hear the hesitation that she ended it on, as if she wasn’t positive if she could demand that of this woman. I wondered how long it would take for Maya to realize that she could demand anything and it would be granted without question. I wanted to increase her confidence when it came to her making decisions, I just wasn’t positive how.
“Of course.” The woman nodded, examining Maya’s expression and seeing what I probably did. Maya kept her hand in mine as we sat down on two large, comfortable couches that faced one another. Croy sat on her other side, and Sai stood behind us, his hand absently playing with her hair, his entire body tense, letting me know how uncomfortable he really was with this.
I hadn’t made peace with my demons from my childhood or this realm, not exactly, but I also knew there was nothing I could do about them. Any family I had before Marco was gone, and I was far more focused on our flight’s future than anything else. But I knew the same couldn’t be said about the twins and Sai.
While Sai had mostly contained the disappointment of constantly feeling forgotten about in such a large family, it was the type of loneliness and pain that affected everything about him whenever he came across something that reminded him of just that. The Dreki realm, of course, was everything that his family was, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we came across them, considering his parents were part of the court here.
Whereas Marco’s father and Henry’s family would probably be away on missions, as they usually were when it came to military operations, both Sai’s parents and the twins’ father were part of court life and would no doubt be around. Unfortunately. It not only