William breaks off with a sigh. Heading to a wall, he pushes his hand against the surface and a door pops open. When he reaches in and pulls out a bottle of water, I realize it’s a fridge. He opens the bottle and takes a sip before continuing his story. The other two brothers watch on in quiet solidarity, content to let him handle this.
“In a last bid attempt to keep the orb out of the hands of the Aaz’ax, the Unas roamed the galaxy in search of a soul pure enough to be responsible for it. They landed on Skar and stumbled across an Adams ancestor. Although he wasn't as pure as they had hoped, they’d run out of time, and he was a good, kind, and just man, who would defend his family to the death if needed, so they decided that was good enough. The group combined their power and linked his blood with the orb, making it so that it could only be controlled by someone from his bloodline. They then instructed him to create some kind of cover that would allow him to covertly move through the universe, helping people in need. For the orb is so much more than a source of power. It also heals, both living beings and lands. No one but the Unas and our ancestor knew for sure where the orb ended up, and alien races have been searching for it for ages.”
He puts down his bottle of water and grabs hold of my hands as if to emphasize the seriousness of the situation. “If you choose to take over, you will be required to make a blood sacrifice to the orb, and it will becomeyourresponsibility. We are the current guardians of the orb and the circus, and you are the last of the Adams bloodline. If you choose not to do this, it will become our responsibility to search for a new family bloodline to carry this burden, and like the Unas before us, we will have to sacrifice ourselves to pass this on.”
“What do you mean bysacrifice?” I ask, a lump of worry in my throat. Nothing sounds good about that word.
“The orb will absorb us just like it did the remaining members of the Unas. We would cease to exist.” The lump in my throat grows at the thought of these men no longer existing. I’ve only just found them; to lose them again so soon would bring me no joy.
The silence is heavy when William finishes his story, and I don't know if I can take any more surprise revelations. After a few beats, the grandpas sigh.
John takes over. “Because of this, you are always going to be in danger. All the performers have sworn an unbreakable loyalty pledge to us, and they will protect you if needed. They believe it is protection for the circus and the tasks that we perform for the various nations throughout the galaxy, whether that be trade or negotiations. Nobody but the four of us know about the orb. Your parents and our wife also knew, but you cannot tell anyone. Once you take a mate and seal the mating bond, then you can share the information. From now on, you will need to be alert to the people you are surrounded with. Although all people who perform with the circus are vetted, you never know who you’re going to stumble across when off world.”
Eric chimes in, speaking for the first time in a while. Maybe he’s just more comfortable letting the other two take charge. “It’s a good thing you became friends with Dylan. He will protect you if needed, even more readily than the others might. Get some rest, and we will see you in the morning for training.” Eric leaves with William trailing behind him, but once again, John stops and pulls me into a hug.
“I’m so sorry that you have had all of this information dumped on you. I’m sorry that your parents weren’t able to share all of it with you themselves. Even though we don't know each other well, I can tell you they would’ve been so proud of you. You’ve handled all the surprises with dignity while so many people would be curled up, rocking in a fetal position. You’re a brave girl, Lila, and we couldn't be prouder that you are our granddaughter.” He kisses my cheek then leaves the room, perhaps sensing that I’ve justifiably hit and surpassed my limit for the day.
I throw myself backward onto the bed, looking at the ceiling, my mind a haze of information overload with one thought repeating over and over again.
Fuck!
The next morning, it’s a struggle to get out of bed. The overload of emotions and influx of questions had made me toss and turn for ages before my mind finally succumbed to exhaustion. There were so many that I couldn't possibly remember them all. I had to make myself a note to write down everything when I got a chance. Maybe it will be easier to sort through it all if I have a tangible list.
The ringing of my door has me stumbling toward it, hair in my face, wearing only the tank and panties I fell asleep in last night. Not bothering to check the monitor, I fling it open and growl at the person on the other side.
A chuckle has me pushing my hair out of my eyes and grinning sheepishly when I see it’s Dylan, not one of the grandpas.
“Sorry about that. I didn't sleep so great last night.”
He smiles widely and shrugs. “Lila, I’m a dragon. A little bit of growling doesn't scare me.” I wave him inside my room and go back to my bed, burrowing under the covers and pulling the pillow over my head. For some reason, I feel completely comfortable with Dylan despite how smoking hot he is. Must be because I know nothing is going to happen there.
“Hey, none of that.” I feel him sit on the bed and shake me. “William sent me to bring you to your first lesson in possible powers.” He pulls the blankets off and wiggles his fingers in a woo, woo jazz fingers kind of motion. “Aren’t you excited to give it a try?”
Another growl escapes my mouth, and I must be seeing things because I could swear a flame appears in his eyes for a moment. The reptilian green flashes with fire before going back to normal, or normal for him. I sit up, looking my fill. He’s wearing a Galaxy Circus t-shirt and black jeans. No sign of his fangs like last night, but his skin ripples with scales before they settle back down again into smooth ebony skin. He is black like no person on Earth is though, so I’m not sure how they could mistake him for human. There’s an otherworldly glow to him that I guess could be misconstrued as being in good health.
“Sorry if this is rude, but are your eyes always like that? Can you appear more human?” My curiosity is getting the better of me, so now I’m hoping he won’t eat me. He just chuckles again, and his eyes turn from the full vivid green to a green pupil surrounded by a white outline.
“I’m not offended at all. I understand your curiosity, but I warn you not everyone will. William said to bring the tablet so you can read up on all the races whenever you get a free moment.” His smile turns down for a moment, and he won’t meet my eyes with his next question. “Does how I look upset you? I can hold this, but itisuncomfortable.”
“Oh god no, D.” I reach forward, grabbing hold of his hand to make him look at me. He seems surprised by the nickname, or maybe it’s the unexpected contact. I probably shouldn’t just touch people without getting to know them better first. Man, I fucking suck at people-ing. “I’m sorry, please don't be uncomfortable on my behalf. I think you’re hot the other way! I was just wondering if you can leave the ship or if you’re stuck inside when on Earth.” The glamour fades away, and his eyes return to normal when he smiles again, those slight fangs and rippling scales visible again.Are his scales affected by his emotions?
He rolls over me and stretches out on the other side of the bed, getting comfortable. “I can and have done it, but to be honest, Earth is not all that great. It’s primitive, and the people are small minded and intolerant.”
I bristle at the words, insulted on behalf of the place that has been my home for so long now. “Not all of them... Some humans are capable of the greatest compassion and love. More so than the horrible ones.”
“I guess there are horrible people everywhere, but human beings seem hellbent on destroying the planet they live on. Nowhere else in the galaxy is there a race so unconcerned with preserving their planet. Most races take care of their worlds. And what makes it worse is Earthlings don't even know that there are other options out there.”
His words resonate with me; the world has always been so wrapped up in the turmoil of whatever political agendas are loudest, while the general state of our world and our environment tends to get forgotten about in the midst of that chaos. Establishing better ways to dispose of our garbage and finding cleaner energy should be the priority, but they’re unfortunately not as entertaining as the latest scandals. In any case, I’m sure he didn’t mean to send me off in a tangent inside my head, so I try to focus back on him.
We’re both quiet for a moment before he claps his hands. “Come on, lazy, get that sweet ass moving. Otherwise, we’ll both be in trouble with the boss men.” He shoves at me unexpectedly, and I’m not able to brace myself before rolling off the bed.
Omph. I hit the ground hard to the soundtrack of Dylan’s chuckles echoing through my room. Getting myself up, I place my hands on my hips and stare down at him. “You’ll keep! Payback is a bitch.” As I turn to go to the bathroom, I swear I see his eyes flame again, but when I look back, he’s not paying any attention to me. He’s grabbed my tablet off the bedside table and is doing something to it.
“I programmed my number in here. My room is quite a distance from here, so if you need me, now all you’ll have to do is call. I’ve also programmed it into your watch,” he calls out through the door while I pee and brush my hair, wash my face, and clean my teeth. Thank goodness I wasn't trying to impress him because I almost screamed in fright when I caught sight of myself in the mirror. My hair was everywhere, and I hadn't taken off my eye makeup before bed, so mascara and eyeliner were smeared around my eyes, making me look like a raccoon. After a quick spray of deodorant, I call it good. From my first step out of the bathroom, then back around the bed to the closet on the other side of the room, I can feel Dylan's eyes on me the whole time.
“Are you going to give me the inside scoop on all the gossip? Everything I need to know that isn't in that tablet of my grandfathers’?” I call out to him as I search through my drawers for something to wear. When I shoved all my clothes in there last night, I noticed a few Galaxy Circus shirts like Dylan is wearing.
“Girl, I have all the knowledge you need and more,” he calls back as I pull my tank off and put on a clean pair of undies and bra.
