Now that he had his Oetsae to teleport him, I never have to worry about it, and thank the Stars for that, because I already have to worry about enough as it was.
Sighing heavily, I surveyed my private backyard, taking in the serene feeling of my nestmates relaxing.
Once again, Kaede was missing.
I never understood how the male was capable of disappearing, especially reappearing when I least expected it. Finally, after he had teleported all of our nestmates and myself down to my villa’s private backyard, he said he had a few things he needed to accomplish, and he would return in time when the others arrived.
At that moment, I had thought it was going to be just a short period of time, but as the suns started to descend from their peak, it was clear it was much longer.
The sound of a sliding door pierced the tranquil silence.
Instantly, I turned toward the noise to see who had made it.
The door of my furthest mate suite opened, revealing a familiar fuchsia aura belonging to Oeta. Gracefully, she walked outside, leading Tori, her clan Zyxel, and Ryzen shortly behind her.
While I was happy to see my newfound friends, I frowned at where they had exited.
Oeta’s gaze flicked to my lips, and instantly, her smile dropped.
“What’s the matter, Selena?” she asked as soon as she was close. “I thought you’d be happy to have a chance to finally relax.”
“I’m happy,” I replied. “But who permitted you to use one of my mate’s suites? This is my private backyard. Only my clan is allowed back here, and I don’t appreciate changes made to the room assignments without my knowledge.”
“I’m sorry, Beacon,” Oeta replied, revealing her neck. “It’s my fault. I ran the idea by the Sovereign and requested to have Zyxel’s room as one of your mate’s suites since the Stars have connected you both, even though you haven’t established each other as mates. His body is too big to fit in the villa’s elevators, making it impossible for him to reside on the second floor with the others in a guest suite. I didn’t want to ask Kaede if he could teleport Zyxel to and from his room, so I asked Z if he could use one of your mate’s suites to prevent everyone from being uncomfortable. There was no other place for him to go—not when Z hasn’t given your ambassadors access to the mountain base’s living quarters. “
“This is true,” I replied, sitting up as I turned to face them. “I just wish that someone would have warned me instead of allowing me to discover it by myself. Zirene may be my mate, Shadow, and Sovereign, but he gifted Destima to me for carrying his children by being his seedbearer. This villa is mine—and I appreciate any drastic changes regarding room locations to be passed along before me in the future.”
“You’re correct. I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”
“You’re forgiven.” I grabbed her hand and squeezed it as our gazes locked. “You are not the one at fault. And you’re right; he won’t be able to. Perhaps while we are away, Zirene could have new elevators installed, capable of carrying someone his size, to prevent this from happening with future guests.”
“I’ll look into it for you.”
“Thank you.”
I glanced behind Oeta at the outsiders. Then, as my gaze landed on Tori, I grinned at her infectious smile.
“You didn’t tell me how gorgeous your moon was,” Tori said. “I can’t believe that you own this. This is all yours. This is a dream—a paradise—something I wasn’t able to experience even when I was on Earth.”
“Thank you.” I blushed, releasing Oeta’s hand. I could feel the heat of my embarrassment burning my cheeks. “But I can’t take credit because Zirene built the villa. This moon was a natural beauty before that.”
“That may be so, Selena,” Xylo interjected, gripping my shoulder. “But you were the one who designed everything else. So it would be best if you took credit where it is due. All of the buildings on the main island were your dream—your vision. If it weren’t for you, the citizens of Destima wouldn’t have the infrastructure to thrive and be able to have a second chance at life, in exchange for their loyalty and hard work.”
“I hope that Destima will continue to grow, and that one day, I’ll be able to open it up to an exclusive roster of guests so that they can enjoy the variety of finer things of life from all over the galaxy.”
“Like an exclusive resort?” Tori asked. “Is that what you’re trying to build here?”
“That’s correct.” I nodded. “One side of my island is where all the citizens will reside, and the other will have all the shops and entertainment that you could ever think of.
“I rescued an entertainment company from the CEG space station, giving them a safe location for them to be able to perform their art without fearing for their lives. I’ve given injured and disabled Circuli a second chance at life. Whereas they wouldn’t have such a fortune back on their home planet. I’ve given demihumans a place to call their home—a place where they don’t have to fear being experimented on or sold. Here, they can earn fair wages using the unique capabilities they were designed to have and thrive on their own.
“Destima is a sanctuary of sorts—a sanctuary for those without a home, for those who need a second chance at life, and for those who require safety, something they wouldn’t be able to have where they were originally from.”
“The more and more I hear about Destima, the more I wish the Sovereign will be able to get permission to take us in as citizens and allow us to live here.”
“I hope for that too,” I replied. “I believe the demihumans will enjoy having the earthborn humans here. Not only will it give us better knowledge or understanding of where we come from, but with their basic biological structure, it would help us greatly in terms of research. They would give us the foundation we were missing to help the demihumans be capable of producing, which would help us increase our numbers, so we don’t become extinct.”
“From what I’ve seen, I don’t want to leave,” Auro said, wrapping his arm around Tori’s waist. “I’ve been picturing myself flying amongst the clouds and feeling the ocean breeze under my wings. Your cliffside would be a perfect location to build homes in caves. This would be a perfect location for all of the Swynemi.”
