“You’re right,” Kaede replied, jumping on top of the nestbed’s headboard. Kicking his legs over, he held on to the edge as he stared down at Odelm and the rest of the clan. Odelm was shocked to see the assassin without his uniform and visor. Selena was often nude while spending casual, private time with the clan, but Kaede was always dressed professionally.
Blinking hard, Odelm confirmed he wasn’t mistaking the dark circles under Kaede’s eyes and how his shoulders sagged. It was clear Selena’s guard—and newest mate—was stressed and tired. He had probably blamed himself for Selena’s kidnapping and had felt he should be the one responsible for returning her.
“We are in a nestroom our medical team had built to make the clan’s recovery go smoother. The vidscreen dome with the window slit behind the mountain waterfall was Zirene’s idea. He wanted to give Selena the comforts a Beacon deserves while she is required to remain in this room.”
“Do you know how long Selena will be trapped here?” V’dim asked, sitting up beside Z’fir, who was surveying the nestroom. “I know I feel capable of moving.”
“Zirene has been working on getting Selena’s master bedroom upgraded to a similar layout as this room.” Kaede hesitated and glanced in the direction of the sleeping Nova and Shadow. They held each other in a deep slumber on the other side of Xylo. “The projected date of completion won’t be for another few days, but Oeta suggested the clan can take it easy and relax outside if you like. Tori has been bugging me to visit Selena, and I know our mate has mentioned she would love to spend time with everyone around her private pool.”
“Do you think I will be able to walk all the way there?” Odelm sat up; his muscles felt stiff and weak as he shuffled backward until his back pressed against the cushioned headboard. Wiggling his feet, he frowned at the limited movement in his legs. “What if I’m too weak? I don’t want to hold Selena back, because we all know she would stay to make me feel better.”
“If that is what you’re worried about, I could teleport each of you down there and back,” Kaede grumbled. “That’s how I got the four of you here.”
“Oh, Stars,” V’dim muttered, turning toward Odelm with wide eyes. “You don’t want to go through that. It’s the worst. I thought I had died and come back.”
“You basically did,” Kaede scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Stop being dramatic. I have it down to a science, and with REI, there’s no chance of a mistake.”
“Are you saying there was a chance you could have accidentally injured orkilledsomeone while teleporting?” Xylo demanded, shock raising the pitch of his voice as he sat up beside Odelm and peered at Kaede. His body was shaking not only from exertion but from the anger that radiated through their connection. “I thought you said it was completelysafe.”
“Nothing is completely safe.” He shrugged. “I had full confidence in my capabilities, or I wouldn’t have risked teleporting with Selena, but none of that matters now when there are more important issues at hand.”
“I thought we didn’t have any concerns outside of what Mwe and the rest of the Assembly will say about you bringing outsiders so deep inside our galaxy.” Z’fir stood, holding the headboard for support as he frowned at Kaede. “What is the problem we are about to face? Perhaps we can figure out a solution together.”
“It’s not like that.” Kaede sighed, clenching his hands into fists as he tilted his head and stared at the waterfall. “There’s no reason for me to keep secrets from you guys, but I haven’t told Selena yet, so I would appreciate being the one to deliver the news.”
“What news?” Odelm muttered, hoping deep in his hearts that it wasn’t something terrible. The clan had suffered through enough unfortunate incidents for plenty of lifetimes. The Stars should guide them along a gentler path for once. “Why would you ask us to keep a secret from her?”
“Selena’s pregnant,” Kaede hissed, snapping his head in Odelm’s direction. His neon-green slitted eyes glowed with anger, daring him to criticize. “And I am the father.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Xylo
“The Stars have blessed our nestqueen with more offspring?” Xylo blurted.
Circuli females only mated to reproduce when they went into heat once every three to five years. Not even half a year had passed since her last birth, and she was already pregnant. While he knew that fertility in female demi-humans peaked once every month, Xylo hadn’t realized how quickly their bodies would recover enough to conceive again.
The files he had received from the Yaarkins database about Earth-born humans and demi-humans didn’t provide adequate information about the subject. The earlier generations of demi-humans had been forced to mate with other species for research. Most of the females hadn’t survived their pregnancy, and even fewer had lived through delivery. Their supply of Earth-born humans had dwindled drastically due to carelessness, which was why the Yaarkins had switched tactics to use test tubes and conduct harsher experiments.
If Selena were capable of reproducing so shortly after bringing life into the universe, Xylo feared how the clan could keep up with her. If they had no way to control her fertility, she could potentially bear Circuli children every few months. They could quickly become overwhelmed.
“One more. A daughter.”
“Our nestqueen has been blessed with another female?” Odelm mumbled. He sounded defeated—and Xylo knew why. His nestbrother wanted to be the male she picked to reproduce with next. “Is she… Are they healthy?”
“My host and her daughter are completely healthy,”Euouae interjected, rematerializing as he sat down beside Kaede.“I’ve kept a close eye on their health as I healed the four of you, making sure that I didn’t take energy from them. All the energy I’ve used strictly came from the surrounding night lamps. I knew the risk of drawing even a minuscule amount from Selena—I could have stunted the growth of her daughter.”
“Give me their reports, charts, anything,” Xylo demanded, overwhelmed by the need to study their readings himself. He rode the burst of energy, a drive to wake fully and race to the infirmary. He reached for the edge of the headboard and slowly lifted himself from the mattress. His body felt stiff as he fumbled like a newborn hatching to stand on land for the first time.
Growling, Kaede snatched Xylo’s wrist and pulled him to his feet. He directed Xylo to lean against the headboard where he and Euouae were sitting on top with their legs dangling.
“Don’t you dare injure yourself again before Selena has a chance to wake up and see you,” Kaede hissed, jerking his head close enough that all Xylo could see were his enraged eyes. “Euouae just healed you enough to move independently. Don’t be foolish and push yourself too far. She’s in good hands. Rushing off to read their medical records isn’t going to solve anything.”
“I was her caretaker on theDestiny,” Xylo countered. For once, he wasn’t afraid to talk back and stand up for himself against the lethal guard. “It’s my duty to know everything about her.”
“Youwereher caretaker, yes. Right now, an entire team of competent healers supervises our whole clan because she almost lost everyone. Your fathers came right away to assist the medical staff and have promised to work with the team for years to keep you and your nestmates alive.”
“My sister Kaica and Oeta are fully capable of directing your medical staff,” Kaede continued. “If Selena and our unborn daughter weren’t healthy, she wouldn’t be curled up with her Shadow right now, chasing away his darkness. It’s in my best interest to keep this clan from falling apart before it has a chance to recover fully. If that means keeping you stubbornfraxesin bed or sunbathing in the grassy yard to do whatever you Wudox do to the soil for nutrients, then I will.”
