“Correct. I’ve already shown them to the second-floor room Symi prepared for them. I used the Oetsae builder bots to combine three neighboring rooms and create a clan cabin with a balcony for the Swynemi males to use.”
Zirene had heard all about the new ambassadors whenever he met Selena in their dreamscape. He suspected Selena and the Earth-born human Tori would become fast friends, judging by the tales she had told him. He’d been pleased to hear that she was surrounding herself with friends, because Aldawi females built tight-knit familial communities which shared responsibilities and successes.
This was how he knew their cubs were doing well, even though the residents surrounding Masmi’s villa weren’t pleased to have males nearby. The females there only tolerated his brothers because they were relatives helping raise Aldawi’s future leaders.
The rift between Aldawi females and males was one more thing he needed to take care of to heal his empire from within.
He was relieved that Oeta hadn’t found anything concerning about Tori’s clan. Betrayal by her new friends would have been one more blow to Selena, and he was afraid that she couldn’t take any more bad news right now.
“What about the other two outsiders?”
“Ryzen believes he owes Selena two life debts—one for what his brother did and another for pulling him from the cosmic embrace. He doesn’t understand how she was able to do it when his twin brother couldn’t. Selena confuses him, but no matter what, he will respect her privacy and social status. He is ashamed Xenak disregarded her safety and autonomy. Even though he wishes to repay Selena for what she’s done, his main reason for coming here is to request sanctuary.”
“What about his psy-daggers?” Zirene glanced at the Circuli in the room. He was wary about allowing an armed stranger on this moon. He risked the commander pressuring, or even injuring, his Nova. After the damage his sire had done, and the betrayal of Q’s crew, he didn’t trust many outside his clan and the Fab Five.“Should I be worried?”
“I sensed no hostility from him,”Oeta replied. “Butthere’s not much we can do, because his psy-daggers are a part of him as much as the Oetsae are a part of Selena and Kaede. I believe they work more like Kaede’s drones.”
“I don’t like it, but if you don’t believe he will cause a problem, then I will look past his… unique situation.”
He knew Kaede wouldn’t allow anything to happen to their mate. His new nestbrother was truly the best addition to the clan he could ask for. If anyone came close to hurting Selena, he wouldn’t hesitate to dispatch them.
“Where did you house Ryzen?”
“Beside Tori’s clan,”Oeta replied, annoyance seeping into her mental voice.“Only Zyxel has a problem with where he’s been assigned.”
“For all I care, he can sleep in the forest, if he doesn’t like it,”Zirene growled.“What gives him the confidence to demand such a thing?”
“I’ve dealt with it,”Oeta interjected, sounding tired.“He knows his place. I’ve made sure he won’t be an issue.”
“Selena hasn’t claimed him as a mate, and even if she did, I don’t know him.”Zirene pulled Selena closer, unwilling to discuss sharing her with, yet, another. Scanning the infirmary, he noticed everyone staring at him. “If you don’t have anything of importance to tell me about him, then I have to go.”
“I don’t. He’s harmless. His devotion to Selena may become an annoyance to you, but his loyalty to her will keep him from betraying your clan.”She paused so long, Zirene would have thought she had disconnected from him, if he weren’t aware of her fuchsia-black mental thread. “You are waking them?”
“We have decided to wake the princes.”
“That is wise,”she replied, sounding pleased.“No need to worry about them.I will play host to the newcomers until I’m needed. Focus on your clan.”
Chapter Nine
Z’fir
Z’fir’s body burned like a thousand suns incinerating him from within. A cough rolled through him, cutting him from the inside as he gasped for precious air. His vines felt heavy—too heavy—and unresponsive to his commands. He struggled to move, to no avail.
He needed her… his nestqueen. The only one who could end his torment and soothe his very being with only her presence.
Searching his mental shields, he found them intact but unrecognizable.
He no longer stood at the center of the Circuli network. Instead, a golden strand had replaced his, leading to the brilliance of a new Queen surrounded by her mental web…
Something felt wrong, as if a part of him were missing.
This train of thought made him realize that, for the first time in his life, silence met him.
V’dim was gone. The thousands of voices of his Circuli people were missing. He was no longer surrounded by the voices of others. He had become an insignificant part of the whole, fallen from importance.
Alone.
A void of dead space sat in his bondmate’s place, his once-turquoise strand now black within the tightly tangled mental threads which tied their mental shields together, melding them into a unit. He felt severed, not only from his bondmate and nestbrother, but from his nestqueen.
