Page 20 of Veiled Vixen

“And Tycho?”

“The boys are different. They are fine until their year of rage. And then…”

I stop listening. Because I know what the year of rage is like. We all go through it. Every Akeelian male has a period of time when all they want to do is fight, and fuck, and kill things. Kill everything.

We all went through it. But we had ALCOR. And we had space here on the station so we could wander off and be alone. And Serpint and Draden even got to leave and spend the tail end of their year of rage in space.

I’ve heard that zero gravity helps stabilize the hormonal imbalance.

But Tycho… Delphi is nineteen? Twenty? Right around there. So Tycho just came out of it.

“—he’s dangerous,” Veila says. And I realize she’s been talking this whole time. “I told you that.”

“You said he could be triggered.”

“Oh, he can be. Easily triggered. And I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the damage a silver princess is capable of. Planets quake when we approach them. Because they know we can blow them into atoms. But let me tell you something right now. That’s nothing compared to what Tycho can do. We’re talking suns, Valor. We’re talking supernovae. We’re talking black holes left behind when it’s over.”

“And you want to make more of these… weapons?”

“I want a freaking baby,” she snarls. “Not a bomb. I am a bomb, you idiot. Why do I need baby bombs? Don’t you get it?”

“You want me to believe that all you want out of this is to be a mother?” I guffaw again. It’s that stupid. “You want power, Veila. That’s all. And having another Tycho is just one more way to get it.”

She sighs. “The boys don’t want to be bombs any more than we do, Valor. And with this crucial bit of information that Corla was lacking when she gave birth—we can fix them.”

“Fucking sun.” I chuckle. “You’re insane. You’re just insane.”

“Didn’t you ever wonder why Corla came home?”

“What?”

“You know about that, right? You know she went back to Cygnus System. Her babies were about one standard year old. Why would she do that, Valor? What the ever-loving fuck reason could Princess Corla have to go back? She was free. She had her babies. She—”

“She had a plan.”

We both turn and find Crux standing in the doorway.

“She had a plan,” he says again. “Twenty years. It was going to take at least twenty years to set it up. That’s what she told me.”

“Shut the fuck up, Crux! What the hell, dude? Don’t tell her this.”

“She knows more than I do. Don’t you, Veila?” Crux stares at her.

Veila says nothing. Just crosses her arms and tilts her head up.

“You stole her,” Crux says. “That’s why the two of you were on Cetus Station when Serpint showed up. You were going somewhere and you were taking her with you. Where were you going?”

Veila stays silent.

“I heard what you said,” Crux says, and he’s talking to me. “I think you’re right. I think Corla has something inside her. Her body made something to help her carry the twins to term and Veila needs it for them.”

He points to the still shot of the babies on the screen.

“But I have the same question as Valor,” Crux continues. “Why? Why do you want these babies? And don’t tell me it’s because you want to be a mother. You’re no mother, Veila. You are incapable of that kind of love. That kind of selflessness. So…” He shrugs. “Tell me the truth and maybe I’ll help you. Lie to me and we’ll spend the next hundred and thirty odd years living out this Harem Station nightmare. Because the gates are locked down. No one comes in. No one goes out. Not until the security beacons come back online.”

“Not until you tell them to come back online, you mean,” Veila says.

Crux shakes his head. “I’ve got no pull with them. At this point it’s out of my hands. Only ALCOR can break through that firewall. And he’s dead.”