“You’ve sacrificed so much—”
“You’ve both sacrificed more than I ever did,” Selena countered. “And what do you get for your actions? Missing appendages. I can only hope Vowels—Euouae—can help you regrow them.”
“Even if not, it’s okay,” Xylo replied, gently shaking her hands with his vines. “All that matters is that we are alive, with you.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Zirene
“What the Stars happened?”
Zirene held his Nova, her body dangling in his embrace like a piece of cloth hanging off a table. He couldn’t believe he had lost her once again, only a day after she had arrived. Ghostly flames licked at his fur, darkening his vision as he hugged his Beacon closely, waiting for an answer.
He couldn’t lose it—he wouldn’t lose it. Not here. Not now.
He’d believed his life had just started to normalize, since she had returned and now this.
What if she doesn’t wake up? How will I explain this to my people?
Chamber Master Mwe was in transit to Destima to discuss her new ambassadors and the refugees on their asteroid base. Soon after he visited and advised them, Selena was supposed to join him in picking up their cubs and journeying to the new Aldawi capital to address the empire together, as ruling family.
He had overheard comments from other Aldawi about how weak his mate seemed compared to Aldawi females, and how she would be his downfall.
He didn’t believe them, however. He wanted to prove to the whole universe that Selena was his equal. Physical strength was only one measurement of a person’s worth, after all.
Selena may not have the physical strength to rival some of the species around her, but what she lacked there, she made up for in mental and spiritual strength.
His Nova persevered through years of experiments and torture, meeting him every night to learn about life outside the walls confining her and building stronger mental shields. Even though he had prepared her for all the hardships she could encounter, he never planned for all she endured after her escape.
All he could do was thank the Stars his Nova had possessed the strength to overcome and move forward.
Her love, intelligence, and determination made her the perfect Beacon to stand beside him… once they fought through what had happened to her and her Circuli nestmates this time.
“Someone get me Oeta,” he growled at the room before his gaze locked on to Kaede. “Tell your Oetsae I demand answers.”
“REI isn’t under your command,” Kaede spat, crossing his arms. “Don’t take your anger out on me or my Oetsae. We didn’t have anything to do with”—he jerked his head toward Selena and the collapsed Circuli clanmates lying nearby—“whatever this is.”
A familiar, golden ethereal form materialized on top of the central display table, dressed in his favorite baggy pants and vest, long hair pulled back in a tie. Hands clasped behind, his Nova’s Oetsae paced on top of the display, glancing between the projected charts and Selena.
“It’s been brought to my attention you would like answers,” Euouae announced, halting to lock eyes with Kaede, then Zirene. “Your Nova and her Circuli nestmates are safe in a psychic construct I formed to preserve their dying bodies and dull their pain. It was the best I could do to save her Favored from fading into the cosmic embrace and prevent her princes from losing a connection with their nestqueen.”
“What about the moon-wide network?” Kaede asked, staring at the other Circuli in the room. Their appendages were outstretched as if they were considering attacking Euouae. Kaica was the only one who seemed curious, rather than concerned, as she watched Euouae with a tablet ready.
“It’s muted but still stable,” Chyox answered, glancing at the other Circuli, who all nodded in reply. “Nothing alarming, though it’s like there is a veil covering us all, making it slightly more difficult to reach out through the web but not impossible. Most mated Circuli don’t mentally contact anyone outside their clan anyhow, and the unmated usually keep to themselves.”
“That’s reassuring.” Zirene sighed, his tail whipping back and forth in annoyance. “Now, explain what’s happening to them while you have their minds locked away.”
“You misunderstand.” Euouae raised a finger as if he’d had a bright idea. “I assisted Selena in making her clan web, creating the central base of Destima’s mental web. Now, any of her Circuli mates can rule the web and manage its occupants in her place. For those of you who aren’t Circuli and can’t see the mental web that surrounds this moon…”
Waving an arm before him, a display of four orbs caging a brighter central orb appeared. “As Queen, Selena is the central orb, the focal point of the whole web. The four spheres surrounding her are her clan web, her mental support, and gatekeepers between the rest of the Circuli citizens and their nestqueen.”
“You strengthened the web’s core,” Suvax muttered in awe, lowering his vines.
“Correct,” Euouae replied, turning toward Xylo’s fathers. “Selena need no longer worry about being trapped on Destima, unable to explore the Aldawi empire and the galaxy as she had hoped. Her enhanced clanweb will allow her to leave Destima.”
“As long as she has one Circuli mate here in her place,” Kaede concluded, scanning the fallen nestmates. “Any one of them would volunteer to stay behind, so she can be happy and fulfill her dreams.”
Zirene believed this, too.
