“It’s too short a journey for lightspeed, not to mention the arena isn't lightspeed capable on its own. You need to be strapped in for the first part of the journey, and it takes roughly ten minutes to leave the Earth’s atmosphere. Most people choose to nap for the journey since the bed converts into a secure capsule which you can be strapped into for safety purposes. There’s no real point being up and about. We don't serve a meal, and apart from the control deck, there are no windows. Best that you wait until we dock with the main ship.”
“Once we get there, I can show you to your permanent quarters and all the other cool things on board. Because the ship travels most of the time, it’s virtually a little city.” John butts in as the guards step away to allow us entrance.
“We will have a few days of rest and relaxation, then we will take the arena to the US and do the show all over again. After that, we hit Asia and Australia, and then this rotation on Earth will be done.” William presses the button for the employee floor, and the elevator moves smoothly upward. “Oh, and when we are in the US, we also take on anyone who wants or has been asked to leave Earth. We have holding cells on both this pod and the main ship so that visitors can travel with us without being a potential threat to any of our regulars.”
My mind spins with all the information. Just when I thought I had a handle on it all, it seems I haven’t.
“Come on, Lila. Let’s take tea in our quarters. Eric will be cleaning up after the show, and we usually do a debrief before take-off.” The guys lead the way off the elevator, past my room, and all the way down the corridor to a set of double doors.
John opens them with a flourish and marches in, with William gesturing for me to go first. As I enter their private space, a whistle escapes my mouth.
“It is good to be the kings.”
“Well, there are three of us,” William grumbles from behind me as I take in the huge luxuriously appointed space.
“And there used to be four,” John adds in quietly.
I take a seat on one of the plush sofas and decide to address the elephant in the room.
“What happened to Grandma? I don't think anybody has said,” I ask gently, and they both join me on the large sectional sofa, each giving the other space.
William rubs a hand across his suddenly tired face. “We’re not sure. She disappeared, and her body never surfaced. We’re not even surewhereshe disappeared. We were performing on Earth, but she hadn’t made the journey from the bigger ship with us. Said she had some things to do. She'd been very secretive, and her sister was also coming to visit from Skar on a transport. They’d been estranged for a while, but with the birth of their grandchildren, they’d decided to try and mend fences. When her sister arrived, your grandmother was nowhere to be found. We used every single resource at our fingertips to try to find her, and believe me, they are extensive, but it was like she vanished into thin air.” William breaks off, the toll of telling me about it showing on his face.
“Then your parents were killed, and we decided it would probably be best for you to be hidden and not come to live with us for your own safety,” John adds, and I feel so much sympathy for these men. We haven't known each other very long, but they are worming their way into my heart. I reach over and squeeze John’s hand before doing the same for William.
“Thank you for telling me that. I know how hard it must have been for you both.”
An internal door opens before anyone can say anything else, and Eric steps out in sweats, rubbing a towel through his wet hair.
“There you all are. I wondered where you had disappeared to during the Nenghe.” He throws the towel over one of the chairs surrounding the huge dining table then joins us on the couch. He squeezes in between me and John even though there’s plenty of room further down. Our bodies bang together, but he just chuckles and throws an arm around me.
“So, our little princess, what did you think of the show, especially your most amazing grandpa?” With his words, the tension in the room relaxes. I’m not sure if he’d been listening, but he’s successful in lifting the mood.
“I’d have to say the overacting ringmaster was a bit much, but the rest of it was spectacular,” I reply tongue in cheek.
He squeezes my shoulder and growls, “Cheeky.” Once I burst into a set of giggles that I hadn’t anticipated, he removes his arm and gets up, stretching. “God, I’m looking forward to a week off. This week seemed to be more work than normal,” he complains before heading to a hutch in the wall and typing something in.
“You want a beer?” he asks the rest of us, and both William and John say yes.
“Can I have one of those pink things? Rilaxious, I think they were called.” With how good they tasted, I’m going to grab one whenever I can. He brings us over our requested drinks and takes a seat again, this time not practically on my lap.
“Is it always a week off in between each place you play?” I ask, curious to know more.
“Yes, usually, but it depends how far we have to travel. A week is typically long enough to get us where we need to be,” William explains after taking a sip of beer.
“We also take a month off each year and return to Skar. The performers all take vacation, unless their contract is up. We also audition any new acts during this time. It’s the equivalent to Christmas and New Years on Earth,” John adds in.
“Yes, and this year we actually have someone to celebrate it with us.” The excitement in Eric’s voice adds to the happy relaxation I’m feeling right now. Poor guys have been alone for the last twenty years since my parents and Grandma disappeared. I want to know why they haven’t rebonded or whatever, but we’ve moved past the sad part of the evening, and I don't want to bring it up again.
“When you bond with someone, it’s unbreakable except through death,” William says quietly, and I swing to look at him.
“How did you know that I was wondering that?” I ask, worried about mind reading again.
“Princess, you have a very open and expressive face,” Eric says gently. “The thought of moving on has never been easy. When a bondmate dies, there is usually a severing of the bond. The mate mark disappears, and the remaining bondmate usually falls into a coma. Most of the time, they don’t survive. On the odd occasion they do, they will never form a bond again. When someone is bonded to multiple mates, the chances of survival when one of them dies is much higher. In that case, the Skarrian has other mates to sustain them. It doesn’t lessen the emotional pain, but it helps to keep the body alive.”
“That severing never happened to us, so we hold out hope that maybe she is out there somewhere. We have all stayed true to our vows. Not to mention it makes us nauseous to think about starting a relationship with someone else.” John looks resigned to his fate, but not like he regrets it. Their loyalty is not what makes them sad. It’s the unknown that has brought such exhaustion and defeat to their faces. Before we can talk anymore, a siren sounds through the room.
“Ah, the ten-minute warning bell. Come, Lila, I’ll show you how to set your room up for transport.” Eric jumps to his feet, draining his beer and putting the bottle on the coffee table.
