“Are you sure you are still okay with us having a date?” I check again. He’s been so good about all this, and there hasn’t been any jealousy or resentment or anything. I’ve got to say I’m a little surprised, since shifters are usually possessive as fuck. I expected more of a reaction when he learned about two more suitors. I know I’m a little worried, but he seems to be taking this all in stride. It’s a little unnerving, and I hope it’s authentic.
“Yeah, man. I’m just thrilled that I was first and that she even wanted me to begin with. There will be occasions when I am selfish and want my time with my mate, but my beast is pretty stoked that she’s carrying our young even though it might be a while before we meet them. Our place is solid, but we also understand those fuck me vibes and her Skarrian nature are going to attract other suitors. I’m okay with that as long as she is happy.”
I nod, feeling more relaxed by his admission, knowing that I won’t be overstepping any boundaries. “Okay, go and look after our woman. She seems pretty cut up about what happened,” I tell him, but Nikos grumbles next to me.
“I do not know why. It was a beautiful thing to see her lovely chest mounds covered in my seed.”
Anger zips through my veins at his dismissal of Lila’s feelings. “Because, man, that was not what she intended to do, and she couldn’t stop her beast once it took over.”
His chest puffs out. “She has nothing to be sad about. I will find her and explain everything is wonderful.” Before I can stop him, the idiot rips off his loincloth and dives into the pool, shifting into his dolphin form before taking off after Lila.
“Fuck, that’s not going to go well. Those idiot animals of theirs are even hornier than their humanoid or mer forms,” Caspian swears, tearing off his clothes and shifting quickly. “Pick her up around eight, I will make sure she is ready.”
“I want to take her for dinner first before we head to the club, so I will make a reservation at Saturn’s Rings for just after eight.”
“That will be perfect, because my friend Silac and Dylan’s dragon replacement are arriving on a transport and are expected at half past eight. That will give me enough time to get to the docking platform to greet them and show them to their quarters.”
“I’m not sure what time I’ll have her home,” I tell him cautiously, and he slaps me on the back as one of his tentacles caresses my leg. I glance down at it in surprise, and when I look back up at him, he shrugs innocently.
“My beast thinks you’re cute. Anyway, have fun with Lila. If she stays over, just shoot me a message so I know not to expect her home. Silac was going to use one of the rooms in our quarters for a couple of days, but he can have my old ones instead. And Dylan’s replacement will be in his old quarters. I’ll give them a late-night tour and bring them up to speed with what is expected of them. I’ll probably be late too, so don’t worry.” He gives me a wave and takes off after Nikos while I climb up the stairs to deal with the wayward vampire. I am hoping I’ll have all the information on what it means to be a sanguinista’s blood rose by the time I get back to my clinic.
Nixie is quietly singing under her breath as she folds some laundry that has been dumped on a nearby sofa. She must have swum around and climbed out on the surface. She’s covered by another dress that ties behind the neck. It’s a traditional dress for the Aquilians, much like Nikos’s loincloth. It makes changing forms easy.
She looks up when she sees me and grimaces. “Where is my idiot brother? I swear my mother bashed his head against a rock when she was teaching him to swim.”
“He chased after Lila when she ran in embarrassment. He wanted to tell her she had nothing to be embarrassed about.”
She groans and stands up, dropping the piece of cloth she was folding. “I should probably go rescue her from him. He doesn’t integrate himself as much as the rest of us do, and because of that, his social skills leave a lot to be desired. On our home planet, women throw themselves at him because he is a prince.”
“You guys are royalty?” I didn’t know this, and I’m starting to get a little suspicious now. I can’t believe that there is another high-ranking family aboard this circus. With them, Prince Xavier, General Saxon, and the Lords Maxsim and Echo, we have a fairly influential group of beings on board the Galaxy Circus.
Why are all these powerful people working for the circus and not back on their home planets, learning how to rule or lead troops into battle? I must check the archives to see if this is a common occurrence or if this is something that has happened recently.
“Yup, Mother and Father decided that my idiot brother needed a reality check, so they made us come and perform in the circus as part of the mermaid show. I love it. I have so much fun performing and traveling the galaxy. But Nikos did not cope very well, and he sulks at the bottom of our pool instead of learning about different worlds. I think my parents are going to be very disappointed if he comes back and is still the arrogant man whore that he was before we left.”
“Hmm,” I murmur, but before I can voice my suspicions, Saxon groans. “Oh no, we don’t want him to wake before I can get him back to my clinic. Can you sing him to sleep again?” I ask her hurriedly, and she nods.
“Close off your ears so it doesn’t affect you.” I do so, and my hearing disappears, plunging me into silence. I watch Saxon as Nixie opens her mouth and sings, and he stops moving and relaxes once more. She waves at me to turn my ears back on.
“Done, but you better hurry. You need to knock him out and see if you can find a solution to this problem. Now that he’s found her, no other blood will satisfy him.”
“You know a lot about Vilaxians?” I question as I lift him onto the nearby hover stretcher.
Her pastel blue cheeks deepen into a darker blue as she blushes and looks away from me. I chuckle. “Hale convinced you to play with him, did he? I’m surprised the girls let him near you.”
She shakes her head, still not looking at me. “No, I let Velorina drink from me. I did some research after that about Vilaxian relationships.”
“It’s good to educate yourself,” I assure her with a smile, but inwardly I’m surprised. Skarrians are an anomaly in the galaxy in that they will happily form family units with whomever they are attracted to, whereas almost eighty percent of all other species tend to stick within their own race. An Aquilian princess having a relationship with a Vilaxian woman would be a scandal. It’s not that she’s a woman, that wouldn’t matter, but the fact that she is a different species surely would.
I’m not going to judge, though, because cyborgs are much the same, and once my mother hears from Josa that I am courting Lila, I’m sure I will get disowned. I’m not all that upset about it. My father won’t care, all he wants is for me to be happy, and he’s the only one in my family who matters to me.
“Alright, I better get him back to my clinic. Thank you for your help with Saxon and protecting Lila. See you around, Nixie.”
“Bye, Link, and have fun on your date with Lila tonight. Be on the lookout for Estrella and Radella though,” she warns me. “Once they find out that Lila is Saxon’s blood rose, they will be gunning for her.”
“I will. I might not look like it, but I’m quite a formidable opponent myself,” I assure her, and she looks me up and down.
“Oh yeah, I can see that, and I bet Lila can too.” She winks, and I use the console in my arm to move the stretcher forward. Back across the floating pathway we go, and when we stop to wait for the door to open on the other side, it retracts, leaving just an expanse of water with no way across but to swim.
