Thankfully, the Stars had graced him with a boon. His sources reported that the Quaww were in the midst of a civil war. He could chuckle on the sidelines, watching his greatest adversary crumble from within while he reinforced his empire.
This not only gave him time to reevaluate what he wanted to do about his citizens, and the Quaww, but also a chance to help Selena rebuild her clan.
The citizens of Destima needed her to fix the Circuli mental network. Royak had been pressuring him to address their people to ease their worries, both about the change in rule and the Quaww. Their citizens were demanding to meet their new leaders, and now, as soon as Selena was ready, he would need to arrange an empire-wide introduction speech.
Only now, she brought with her more trouble.
He had invited Chamber Master Mwe to Destima under the guise of visiting his daughter, so the rest of the Assembly wouldn’t know that they had discovered an endangered species in a group of outsiders. Zirene knew Mwe would take advantage of the invitation to spend time with Selena and learn about her plans for Destima. Hopefully, after hearing his Beacon’s plea and meeting her new ambassadors, the Assembly leader would fight beside them.
Zirene only cared about his Nova’s wishes. Personally, he would have hijacked all of the Earth-born humans and left the rest of the base to their own devices. His Beacon was a forgiving female and hated seeing others suffer when she could help, so he knew that plan wouldn’t have gone over well with her.
As frustrating as her kindness may have been for him, he couldn’t fault her; without it, their relationship might have crumbled already. She had forgiven him for thrusting cubs on her to ensure her CEG citizenship. He had feared that the Yaarkins or their black-market contacts would overhear Selena’s thoughts and use her against him. That was why he had refused to reveal who he was while he’d trained her to strengthen her already powerful mental shields in their dreamscape.
Their Nova-Shadow relationship hadn’t been sealed until their first time together, but losing her behind enemy lines would have hurt him at any point. He had taken the chance to buy her rights before his rescue mission, believing the Yaarkins wouldn’t think anything about it. A failed prototype was worthless in their eyes, and the amount he had been willing to pay for her had been enough to cover the resources they had spent on their experiments. Little had they known, his Nova wasn’t a failure. Their Project: Adapt was a huge success.
In the end, it didn’t matter if she couldn’t conceive like the Yaarkins had advertised. He would’ve found a way to rescue her anyway.
She was worth everything to him, and he was willing to make any sacrifice to keep her by his side. He didn’t care that she came with a harem of males; after the life she had lived, she deserved to be loved by anyone who met her.
As long as she didn’t take in another Aldawi.
Zirene could tolerate another dominant male in her clan—Kaede had proven himself worthy—but there wasn’t a hair’s chance that he would be able to handle another of his kind.
She washisNova. She couldn’t have the same connection with another Aldawi.
She was the Beacon he needed to balance him, to bring light to his darkness, and to guide the important decisions he needed to make. Their budding relationship mirrored those chronicled in the archives: the powerful fated bond that used to be common amongst the Aldawi.
He purred soothingly at Selena, who was sobbing in his arms as the medical team prepared to wake the princes from their slumber. He could do nothing more for her, other than to support her.
Zirene couldn’t fathom the mental strength needed to rule a Circuli mental web. She had to be bowing under the immense pressure.
Zirene sighed and peered at Kaede standing beside the central display table, studying the readings. He knew his top agent was purposely giving him time with their shared mate. Kaede could infer his unstable state from minor details he observed, and for that, Zirene was grateful. Kaede must have decided that he didn’t need to be the one comforting Selena and had opted to give them space while staying close enough to show his support.
Perhaps he wouldn’t dislike his new nestbrother as much as he had expected.
A familiar mind caressed his mental shields. He released a sigh as he accepted.
“Sovereign,”Oeta pathed.“Is it a good time for me to report?”
“Since Kaede is beside me and hasn’t mentioned what happened, I take it the interrogations went well?”Zirene tightened his hold on Selena, brushing her hair as he eyed his newest nestbrother.“Or is something wrong?”
“The interrogations went decently well. Nothing alarming to report.”
“But something happened,”Zirene hedged.“There must be a reason you’re interrupting.”
“Tori and her clan are safe and harmless. The only member of their clan we will have to keep an eye on is the sapphire Swynemi, Celyze. He is a Cosmic Soul with the ability to read the Stars.”
“A star whisperer?”
Zirene wondered whether such a power could be useful on their side—and yet, it was an uncertain path to travel. He could easily become addicted to gaining insight into his future when the only alternative was blindly following Fate’s path.
What was the price for such an unusual gift? He wondered how many sought to bring a Cosmic Soul’s abilities under their control. One would be invaluable to a commander during a war or a merchant trying to get ahead with deals, for example.
He wasn’t comfortable with taking advantage of Celyze, however. Selena and the demi-humans’ influence had helped him understand how easily people could be forced into slavery and abused, treated as a tool instead of an individual.
“He is a fortune teller of sorts,”Oeta said.“From what I’ve gathered, he’s abnormally strong, but only when the Stars are willing to give him guidance.”
“This clan took in my Nova?”
