swimming again?”
“The next time you visit, Bella,” Quill said.
“But Mama says you are too busy now that it’s the warm season and we can’t visit as much,” the little girl said. Her skin was the same shade of purple as Quill and Sabrina’s daughter. “I won’t see you again for at least a moon.”
“Then you will enjoy the pool that much more, meena,” Quill said with a grin.
Bella pouted a little but brightened when she saw me. “Hello, Galan!”
She ran forward and when she jumped at me, I caught her and set her in the crook of my arm before kissing her soft cheek. “Hello, Bella. You are looking well today.”
“Quill said you weren’t here. He said you were on Earth with Krey.”
“I was,” I said. “We have only just returned.”
“I’m glad you’re here.” Her smile was shy, and I kissed her cheek again. While I had no desire for children of my own, I enjoyed spending time with them, and Bella was a sweet girl. She’d developed a small crush on me over the last few moons and whenever she visited, sought me out.
“Will you go swimming with me, Galan?” Her tail flicked out and wrapped around my forearm, squeezing tightly.
“Not this time, Bella. But when you visit next, I will join you in your swim.”
Her tail squeezed again. “All right. Guess what?”
“What?” I said.
“I am skipping a grade in school. Papa says it’s because I’m very smart.”
I smiled at her. “Good for you.”
“Uda is worried that the older children will be cruel to me because I talk like Mama and I’m small, but I’m not worried. If they’re mean to me, I will punch them right in their face.”
“Bella, we spoke with you about proper behaviour, my love.”
The human female entering the infirmary looked remarkably like our queen. Her long dark hair and curvy body were similar to Sabrina’s and her skin was the same pale shade. The woman standing next to her was curvy as well, but her hair was a striking shade of pink and her skin a warm brown.
“Sorry, Mama,” Bella said, although she didn’t sound sorry at all. “I wouldn’t actually punch them in the face.”
The woman smiled at her before turning to me. “Hello, Galan. I didn’t expect to see you on this visit. Sabrina said you and Krey were on Earth.”
“We just returned now. It is good to see you, Evelyn. You look well. How are your mates?”
“Busy now that the warm season has begun. The crops are starting to come in and they spend most of their days in the field,” Evelyn said. “Have you met my friend Candala?”
“Not formally,” I said. I’d seen her in the training room, she was one of the females employed to clean it and she was impossible to miss with her pink hair, but I hadn’t spoken to her. “Hello, Candala.”
“Hi there.” The woman shook my hand in the traditional Earth greeting. “You can call me Candy.”
“I prefer Candala,” I said.
All three of the women laughed, and I glanced at Quill who just shrugged. Despite being mated to Sabrina for three years now, there were times he understood the human females no better than I did.
“I thought Court was picking you up at three,” Sabrina said to Evelyn.
“He’s on his way,” Evelyn said. The baby in her arms made a short cry and she swayed back and forth. “He messaged me to say he was running a bit late.”
“Well, in that case, hand that baby over for one last snuggle,” Sabrina said. She held out her arms and Evelyn gave her the baby.
I moved closer, shifting Bella to my other arm so I could see the baby.
“Bella, come stand with me and Candy,” Evelyn said. “You’re too heavy to be held for so long.”
“Nu-uh.” Bella flung her arm around my neck in case I decided to listen to her mama. “Galan is really strong. He can hold me. Right, Galan?”
I smiled at her. “Yes, Bella. What is your brother’s name again?”
“Naceth,” Bella said. “It is a name from Uda’s family. I forget from where though.”
She glanced at Evelyn, who said, “It is Uda’s grandfather’s name, meena.”
“Right.”
We studied the baby as Sabrina propped him above her round belly and cooed to him. “He looks so much like Court,” she said. “Seriously, he’s a mini Court.”
Evelyn laughed. “I know. And even though he’s only a month old, his personality is already fully Court too. He’s such a laid-back baby. I swear he only cries when he’s hungry