“Masmi invited you to visit for the harvest festival,”Vowels explained, sounding amused.“Judging by what your Shadow has told you, it should be twenty-seven days from now.”
“Doesn’t that mean you should start as soon as possible?”
“Only if you believe you are ready to wake them,”he cautioned.“You mustn’t overwork yourself. Check your mental strength. Do you believe you have enough to reclaim two more mates?”
Closing my eyes, I focused on my inner shields. I could see their golden border and the mental doors that connected my four threads to my nestmates. A golden ring had loosely formed around my outer shield, the centerpiece of the mental web, and hundreds of threads led toward my Circuli citizens.
Pressing my hand against the golden ring, an explosion of thoughts assaulted me, sending a plethora of humming sensations through my connections. Gingerly, I pulled my hand back, and the clamor dimmed to calm silence. Only a constant pressure against my mental shields remained, a gentle reminder I wasn’t alone anymore and had almost a thousand Circuli lives connected to me.
Touching the ring once more, I focused on locating Chyox. I knew his mental signature from the time I had tested my boundaries in the infirmary, but I couldn’t find him.
Without a word, an invisible hand landed atop mine, gently guiding me to a strand before disappearing. Chyox’s violet mental shield waited at the end, available for me to request communication.
I sent a quick thanks to Vowels and carefully tugged on his connection, hoping he would reply.
“Yes, my Queen?”Chyox responded, sounding astonished.“Is… is something the matter? I can head over right away.”
“No need,”I pathed quickly, afraid he would alarm more people.“I’m testing my limits as my nestmates rest. Is it possible for you to grab Usthu and have him join us? I want to memorize his mental signature and attempt to sort out your threads.”
“Our threads?”
“Yes, I want to distinguish your clan’s threads so that you are available, if I ever need either of you.”
“Of course—one moment.”
There was a slight delay, then my strand was jerked toward another, followed by a slightpop.
“Yes, my Queen?”Usthu demanded.“My nestbrother told me I was needed.”
“Hold on, I want to attempt something.”
“I understand. I am prepared.”
Using Chyox’s connection, I focused on his bondmate thread to Usthu’s sapphire mental shield and traced its length. Finding Usthu’s connection to the mental web, I followed it back to the golden ring and pulled the two bondmates’ threads together until they sat side by side.
With my mind’s hand, I grasped their two network threads, fusing the bases to signify they were a clan. A burning sensation passed through my hand as groans and gasps passed through their connections to me.
“What did you do?”Chyox pathed. His mental voice had weakened.
“I’ve created a basepoint for your clan,”I explained, sharing the news with Usthu, too.“Now, it will be easier to locate you both, and if Kaica ever decides to take another Circuli in, there will be a base ready for them to connect to.”
“How?”Usthu asked.“Why?”
“I wanted to see if I could sort network threads myself, now that I’ve learned more about the mental web. Since Kaica isn’t capable of connecting to the mental web, I figure she can’t make a clan network without help. So, I decided to make one myself.”
“You did this for us?”Chyox hedged.“But, why not Xylo’s fathers? Or Odelm’s? They are the kin of your Favored.”
“Because I don’t know them like I do you,”I said soothingly, hoping I didn’t offend them by testing my abilities on their clan.“If something had happened, besides Oeta, you two would be the first I would consult.”
“You honor us too much,”Chyox replied humbly.“I will let our nestqueen know.”
“Is there anything else we can help you with?”Usthu asked, sounding as if he didn’t want me to disconnect.“Are you and your nestmates well?”
Doing a mental check, I scanned my body and mind to make sure I was strong enough to proceed.
“Yes, you can help me,”I pathed after confirming nothing was amiss.“Gather up the team. I want to wake my Favored.”
Chapter Eighteen
