“I’m Marina Rowan-Castellan, Seth’s eldest sister. May we come in?”
They don’t wait for an answer. All four of them sweep past me into my small quarters like they own the place, filling the space with their presence. I’m left standing by the open door, feeling suddenly very small in my nightdress and bare feet. I wish I hadn’t changed out of my clothes from earlier, but after seeing Seth, all I wanted to do was crawl back into bed.
“I—” I start, then close the door because leaving it open seems worse somehow. “You shouldn’t be in my quarters. I’m a healer, and there are protocols—”
“Protocols.” One of the other women—younger, maybe late twenties, with the same cutting features as Marina—laughs. “Did you hear that, Marina? She’s worried about protocols.”
Marina’s lips curve into somethi
