I shake my head. “Never mind. Let’s turn our attention to the elephant in the room.” I wave my hand at the frozen Vilaxian. “How do you feel about her and this situation?”
“She’s not an elephant. Is Lila alright in the head? Should she really be in charge of such a large operation?” I hear Aarin mutter to Mark, who snorts with amusement and shushes him.
“I’m her blood rose,” Mags mumbles again, and this time it sounds less like shock and more like awe. “She wants me despite me being Skarrian.” She looks to Saxon with hope in her eyes.
His worry softens, and he nods, smiling gently at her. “Yes. She doesn’t care who or what you are. You are her perfect match.”
Mags smiles, and this time it’s blinding. She wriggles, lifting her feet off the chair, and gestures for us to move so she can get up. Link offers her a hand, and she gets to her feet. I follow her when Saxon offers me some help too.
I give him a kiss on the cheek and turn my attention back to my alien bestie. She’s staring at Vanity with awe. She reaches out to touch her, but I slap her hand away. She squeaks with surprise and jumps backward before glaring at me.
“What the fuck was that for?” she demands, and I grimace sheepishly.
“Ah, I’m not sure if the frozen state will stand up to interference. It’s best not to risk it yet.”
Just as I say that, Xavier pops in behind Aarin, making him jump and squeal like a girl. Xavier snickers when the deity glares at him, but thankfully he doesn’t say anything. I don’t have time for man squabbles.
He inspects the frozen Vilaxian and lets out a whistle. “This is a tight spell, Lila, good job. She isn’t going anywhere,” he praises me, and my skin prickles with goosebumps at his compliment.“So a bloodsucking girlfriend, Mags? What fun,” he says to my friend, giving her a wink, and I roll my eyes. God, could he get any more irreverent?
Saxon glares at him before turning his attention back to Magenta. “Is this something you are open to?” he asks, and I brace myself for her reaction. I wouldn’t blame her if she needed some time to think about it, but of course in true Magenta style, that isn’t the case.
“Hell fucking yes I’m okay with it. Unfreeze her, and I’ll seal that blood rose bond here and now,” she says enthusiastically, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
“But we need the blood rose chalice, and Xenos returned it to the queen when the circus broke up because of John’s medical emergency,” I say, and her face drops. “Without it, you could die during the process. We’re going to have to wait until the queen can send it again.”
I hate that I had to pump the brakes. She looked so excited, and I could feel how thrilled she was to be the one who was being pursued instead of her doing the pursuing for a change.
“Hmm,” Saxon muses. “I think we might actually be in luck. Sabine sent the blood rose chalice along with Musette and Mehira in case either of them found their blood rose on the tour. She didn’t want them to wait.”
Magenta’s disappointment turns back into excitement, and she bounces up and down, clapping her hands. “Let’s do this.”
“Do you know what’s going to happen?” I ask her, and she shakes her head, her pink purple hair flying everywhere.
“No, but I don’t care. I just want to make her my mate.”
Aww, that’s so fucking sweet. “Well, okay then. How about I teleport you to your room, and then Xavier can bring Vanity while Saxon finds his cousins and grabs the blood rose chalice?”
I look at my two mates, and they seem to agree with the plan.
“Magenta, I want you and Vanity to come see me when you are done. I want to make sure your body makes the same kind of adjustments that Lila’s did, just to be sure,” Link orders her, and she agrees.
“I’m sorry lunch was a bust. Can we try again soon?” I say to Susie, who is standing off to the side with both Mark and Aarin. She gives me a smile. “Of course,” she replies before giving Magenta a thumbs-up. “Get some,” she says, cheering, and Magenta laughs.
“Oh, I plan on it.” I take her hand, and we teleport to her bedroom, Xavier following behind us with Vanity.
It doesn’t take Saxon long to find his cousins and grab the blood rose chalice. I release Vanity from her frozen state and get her to calm down long enough to explain what needs to happen, but she already knows, so we leave them to it.
“How exciting,” Musette gushes as we walk down the corridor of one of the residential levels. “I have hope for us now.” She gives her sister’s hand a squeeze, and Mehira nods.
“Yes, I wish we could go around cutting people, which is an acceptable way of testing someone on Vilax, but I’m pretty sure that won’t fly here.”
“You think?” I say dryly, looking at my cousin-in-law.
“Don’t forget that someone who smells especially good to you has a higher chance of being your blood rose,” Saxon reminds them.
“Yes, and you could always ask them if they would mind being tested,” I suggest, and they seem happy with that.
“What are you two doing now?” Musette asks, and I look at my watch. “I missed lunch, and I’m starving, so grabbing a quick bite before I go for a swim, and then I need to get ready for a thing tonight,” I tell them.
