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Riithan checked, and he blinked. “There are two transactions. One for five thousand and one for forty-five thousand. What the fuck?”
“The first is the return of the application fee. Sorry. You won’t be able to get an active escort on this continent. You will have to deal with the humans your family sends to you. The second is what a female in heat who wants no attachment pays to the BDC for a male escort.”
“She wanted an attachment. She wanted me.” He huffed. “Wait. I can’t be a patron ever?”
“No. Not after what you did to Ylara. You broke her. She’s... I can’t even describe what happened to her after leaving you, but she’s ill. Did you sting her?”
Riithan got defensive, and he stood up. “Of course I did. She was mine.”
“And you threw her out.”
“She left me! I was trying to figure out how to place her in my life as a mistress while I waited for a proper wife. She left!” His tail slashed forward, and Etgar had to jump to the side.
“You didn’t want her.”
“She’s a hired woman.”
“On her fucking day off! She gave herself to you because she wanted to, not because she was paid to. Only a patron can hire her, and it has to be a direct contract. You are not and never have been a patron. The other three patrons she had when she started have gone on to other escorts. She has been in the administration for the last five years. Technically, she is classed as an escort, but she is a scout.” Etgar growled. “I do not tell you this because being an escort isn’t fine. My Vallu is the hottest woman I ever had the chance to touch, and I thank every deity in the world that she agreed to that contract. I know a few of the men that she has had as patrons, and they view her with affection. I know that your family used to buy sobbing humans for you. Did Ylara cry once?”
Riithan swayed. “Only when she was leaving.”
Etgar balled up his fist and struck his friend. “That is for making her cry. If she survives this, I am sure that she will hit you herself.”
“Survives?” He staggered forward. “What happened? Is she sick?”
“Yeah, and I have contacted your family to take responsibility if her child survives the pregnancy because looking at her, she isn’t, and if she doesn’t, I am never going to speak to you again because Vallu is going to be busy trying to kill you. That right hook of hers is no joke.”
Riithan frowned. “Wait. Pregnancy? She said she wasn’t.”
“She said she didn’t see it. She didn’t see the child until it had begun, and then, her body shorted out. I read her file while she was on the way here, but in no way did it prepare me for what is happening to her.”
“She’s here? On Daycross? She came back?” He looked around as if she would materialize.
“She had to. She needed someone to watch over her, and Vallu and I were already back, so she demanded that Ylara come here so she could be taken care of. That woman is normally so stubborn that only a threat to her life could send her for help.”
“I need to see her.”
Etgar checked his com where a worried Vallu’s face was centred. “What is it, baby?”
“Ylara has been taken to Khytten’s. She can offer help that I can’t right now. Khytten is keeping us apprised of how her recovery goes if it goes. Ylara has seen the baby, but she didn’t see herself with her.”
“How did she get there so fast?”
Vallu smiled. “Salat called a buddy who’s a shadow walker. She has already been given a dose, but she isn’t responding as hoped.”
Riithan tensed. “Where is she?”
“Oh, shit. You are still there?”
“Yeah, baby. He’s in rough shape. Sitting on the floor drinking and crying with sex sheets wrapped around him.”
Riithan scowled and then looked around. He was going to object, but it was true. Etgar snorted. He knew the feeling. Before Vallu had agreed to stay with him, he had sets of post-sex sheets that he used for comfort. The fact that Riithan was seeking them out already indicated how attached he was. His dignity might have pushed Ylara away, but his instincts wanted her. There might be hope.
Riithan went to the bedroom and came back with his hair wet and combed, his face bright, and then he got some slacks and a black shirt. “Tell me where she is.”
Etgar chuckled. “You are really going to want to call ahead. Salat does not like visitors who aren’t announced. Also, be prepared to be shot at a lot. Khytten has five infants on the property, as well as her birth daughter, who went for a visit right after the wedding. Oh, and Ylara’s sister is there as well. It is a very supportive environment for her. There is also Dr. Torenne. So it is the best place for Ylara right now.”
“I still need to see her.” He finished getting dressed and put on some shoes.
