Odelm finally spun to find his nestqueen standing tall with her Circuli princes behind her. Her silver hair and purple nightgown swayed in the gentle breeze. She stared at the sky, so regal she seemed to stand among the stars instead of beneath them.
“Selena?” Her name was like a prayer on his lips. “Is that you?”
She turned to face him, and time stopped for a moment when their eyes locked.
“Who else would it be, Odelm?” She grinned as she glanced at Xylo beside him. “I know I may look different—I am still trying to get used to all the changes myself—but you must recognize your nestqueen.”
His bondmate stepped forward and almost stumbled over his feet like a hatchling learning to walk. His movements were jerky, as if he were in a trance. When he was within an arm’s length of their nestqueen, he dropped to his knees and grabbed her hands with his vines. Pulling her to him, he stared up at her reverently like she was a manifestation of the Stars themselves.
And perhaps she was.
“My nestqueen,” Xylo breathed. “You came back.”
“It was never my intention to leave.” Closing her eyes, she leaned over and gently pressed a kiss on his forehead. “But now that I am back, I don’t ever want to leave again.”
“We saw what happened,” Odelm blurted, nodding to the princes as he stepped to his bondmate’s back. “We saw everything.”
“A lot has happened since...” She flinched as though the memory had assaulted her. V’dim placed a hand on her shoulder, and instantly, she relaxed beneath his touch. “Seeing the two of you lifeless on the floor has been haunting me. Then, witnessing what became of you while I was kidnapped, when I should’ve been at your bedside the whole time… I will never forget the horror.”
“But, it wasn’t your fault,” Odelm protested. Why was his nestqueen placing the blame on herself when outside forces had caused all of their clan’s pain? “You shouldn’t blame yourself for what happened to us.”
“Odelm is right. Don’t worry about what happened or why; focus on what we have before us. Though you were the central focus of the plot against us, none of it was your fault. We don’t blame you,” Xylo stressed, combing his grassy hair back. “While I don’t quite understand your relationship with your Oetsae and how he was able to form this… psychic construct, I am glad that you are here with us now.”
“We’ve met her symbiont,” Z’fir announced, offering his hand to Xylo. “He takes a peculiar approach, but his intentions are pure.”
“If what we saw in Selena’s memories is true, we have no choice but to accept him.” Xylo grabbed Z’fir’s hand and used his help to stand, nodding a silent thanks. “We, as a clan, must deal with the consequences and adjust.”
“I would never betray my host.”
A golden, ethereal human male appeared beside Selena, dressed in a robe and casting a bright aura reminiscent of Oeta’s fuchsia glow. Long, golden hair blew in the gentle wind, like Selena’s, as abyssal eyes swallowed the life his body radiated.
“It’s in my best interest to grant her anything within my knowledge and power. Her body is my home, so I must keep her healthy and safe. This includes her mental stability and stress levels. She wanted to rescue her mates from their pain and heal their bodies. I asked her to trust me, and she did, which resulted in me creating this plane.”
Odelm studied the Oetsae, considering whether the promises were too good to be true.
He couldn’t sense a lie in his words—which shocked him.
Odelm had witnessed Zirene, Kaede, and even Oeta use plays on words to speak half and veiled truths, but he didn’t know anything about Euouae, yet. The symbiont seemed to only provide need-to-know information and nothing more.
Odelm suspected he was creating an illusion concerning what his abilities and limits were.
How could something—someone—so powerful be encased in a mere gem? He had never heard of an energy being until now and didn’t understand how Euouae could bring the five of them together in this psychic construct.
“How long are you planning on keeping us in here?” Crossing his arms, Odelm tilted his head, not sure whether he should trust this… being’s promises. “If you are our nestqueen’s symbiont, how exactly are you going to heal us?”
“As most of you know, my specialty is energy medicine, a form of healing that uses energy drawn from my host and surrounding bodies. Not only can I heal Selena, but I can redirect the energy to others, as well. If there are enough energy sources nearby, I can expand my power to greater projects.” Pausing, he looked off into the distance and sighed. “It looks like your other clanmates are worried about your sudden mass drop into unconsciousness.”
“What will you tell them?” Selena asked, her gaze following. “How long should we stay here?”
“I’ll keep everyone in here as long as needed. I can give you an accurate time frame once I fully assess the situation.” He glanced over his shoulder to Selena. “I know how important your clan is to you. If I hadn’t intervened, you would’ve most likely lost your two Favored, which would have devastated you more than any tragedy you’ve ever faced. I couldn’t stand by when it was within my means to help you all. For now, I ask that we all calm down and request more of your night lamps be delivered to your nestroom.”
“Thank you, Vowels.”
Smiling, the golden male nodded and faded away.
“Were we dying?” Odelm had to know how close he’d come to fading away forever. “This isn’t some… dream? Did what we see really happened?”
“What part?” Selena sighed, stepping closer to Xylo. Frowning, she tilted her head to the side and studied her Favored. “I could feel your pain and your longing to live. No matter how I pulled on our bond threads, I couldn’t reach either of you. You were in far worse shape than the princes, but I didn’t want to give up—I couldn’t give up. You both lost your limbs defending me. It’s my duty to make sure you survive at all costs.”
