“We aren’t here to talk about my brother,” Kaica replied, placing a hand on my shoulder and squeezing lightly. “He did his duty and returned her, healthy and safe.”
“He did. If I am well enough to stand before you, then I am capable of seeing my nestmates. My exam can wait.”
A dark-purple Ulax with seafoam swirls along his skin spoke up, studying me. “You are Xylo’s nestqueen?”
“Yes, he is my Primary.”
“Primary?” A charcoal Wudox with teal and magenta splotches stepped beside Chyox, seemingly awestruck. “My son is not only a Favored but a Primary? I heard rumors, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up.”
“The rumors are true,” I whispered, glancing over at the four Cryopods with golden threads. “I claimed both Xylo and Odelm as my Favored, declaring Xylo as my Primary before I left. They are the foundation on which I have built my strength. Through them, and the rest of my clan, I was able to grow into who I am today.”
“We couldn’t believe a… demi-human could be capable of establishing a clan web until we met Kaica and her two nestmates,” the dark-purple Ulax said. “I am Yuwal, Master Healer”—he placed his hand on his chest—“and standing beside me is my lifemate, Suvax.”
“It’s an honor to finally meet this moon’s Queen,” Suvax added, bowing his head. “We are not often in the presence of royalty, so please forgive us.”
“So, it’s true,” I muttered. “I really am the ruler of the Circuli mental web.”
“You’ve been slowly taking control since you mated the princes,” Usthu explained. “But they held the majority of the control. When you claimed your Favored, your clan’s network changed, strengthening its shape. We all felt it—”
“We?”
“Yes,” Chyox replied, nodding. “The whole island felt the moment your clan’s network matured, so to speak—the moment it evolved into a more established web. If you were a Circuli, the transition would’ve been almost instantaneous. With your abilities, we assumed it would be only a matter of time before you completely took over.”
“Is that why I can only see the golden strands of the mental web and not the direct connections to my nestmates?” I asked, searching the Circuli healers’ faces. Their expressions ranged from confusion to concern to shock. “Did taking over the network cost me my clan connections?”
“No, that can’t be right,” Usthu breathed.
“To my knowledge,” Yuwal mumbled, “it’s never happened before.”
My thin composure crumbled.
It couldn’t be true. There was no way that I had lost my connections to my nestmates. Not like this.
If I had, then I would send for Xenak so I could personally kill him. I wouldn’t allow Oeta, Kaede, or the others the pleasure.
He was the root of all our pain, and if he had taken my connection to my nestmates away, it was just one more reason to hate him.
The Stars be damned.
Jerking away from Zirene’s and Kaica’s embraces, I ran to the Cryopods, needing to see the full damage Xenak’s actions had wrought.
A bereaved gasp escaped my lips as my feet halted in their tracks.
All four nestmates lay almost unrecognizable, ashen and devoid of their vivid coloring, beneath the glass cylinders. If not for the live readings from the medical screens beside the glass, I would have thought them dead, displayed in their tombs.
Tears blurred my vision as my hand traced each Cryopod one by one, refusing to believe that they were this fargone.
Now, I knew why their condition had been kept a secret from me. If I had known they were on their deathbeds, like I was, I would have been frantic beyond sanity to reach them.
Kaede had been right to protect me from this.
“They live,”Vowels comforted me.“They refuse to welcome the cosmic embrace, believing you will return for them. Their body shells need mending, but their souls are still safe within.”
“What do I have to do to save them?”
Chapter Seven
Selena
