Interlude

Chapter 20

Zeydan

The little earth elemental in front of me holds her breath as I reach for my cloak to reveal myself to her for the first time. Anticipation vibrates off her, and I feel a pang of worry. I hope she is not disappointed when she sees me. It’s been a long time since anyone saw me in my true form. I lost the ability to glamour when my power was depleted and decided that a cloak was a good way to keep myself anonymous, but this little mimic is my soulmate. I felt it the first time I saw her in the bar on Z68, when she was in her true form, meeting with one of the harvesters. I didn’t stick around, because I knew it was just a matter of time before I saw her again, and I needed to make arrangements. Previously, this dwelling was nothing but a place to lay my head and rejuvenate my power in the soil, so I had to make sure it was a comfy and cozy abode for my beloved.

I could have been knocked over with a feather when I finally realized what the pull to her was. I originally thought that maybe she was Lilessa, because she has the same kind of resonance that life had once upon a time, but I quickly dismissed it. Lilessa always claimed we had mates out there, and it was only a matter of time until we found them, but after thousands and thousands of years, we had given up hope—the four of us elementals even more so since Lilessa and Vivax disappeared. I haven’t seen any of my fellow gods in close to six hundred years. I have no idea where they are, or even if they still exist. Maybe they chose to fade.

For the first time ever, I’m nervous about my appearance. I have been worshiped by millions, yet this little Skarrian’s opinion is more important than any who have come before her.

I slowly drag the cloak back, revealing myself to her. The ears on top of my head twitch with agitation, and my tails do the same thing, all nine of them fanning out behind and above me as I allow the cloak to fall. When I finally meet her eyes, I brace for rejection, but what I find isn’t the anticipated shock, but a deep, throbbing burst of lust. My cock hardens beneath my skirt. It has remained unused and dormant for so long, I thought I had become impotent there as well as with my magic, but the mere scent of my mate’s arousal has it rising to attention, making it rock hard. I am thankful for my long skirt and its fullness for hiding the attraction. It isn’t something I want to force on her until she is ready.

“Wow, you’re a kitsune,” she says, standing up and walking toward me. “I’ve read about them in Japanese mythology. You could be a samurai warrior right out of a fiction book.” She reaches out like she wants to run her hand over my naked chest but quickly snatches it back when she realizes what she’s doing. I feel a wave of triumph flow through me and struggle to contain my smirk at the thought that my mate is as drawn to me as I am to her. A searing sting on my shoulder makes me shout out loud as the Skarrian attraction mark burns itself into my skin. I see her flinch and feel her somewhat disgruntled acknowledgement as the same thing happens to her. My glee fades as I try to get a read on her feelings, but from what I can tell, she’s not disappointed, just unsurprised. I can hear her thoughts.

Of course an attraction mark appears. This man is walking sex on legs. You are only human, Lila, or slutty Skarrian.

I drop my gaze so she doesn’t see me laughing at her words. It must be hard for someone who grew up without knowledge of her true nature.

“I don’t know what you speak of, this kitsune, but I am happy that my form does not repulse you,” I say quietly as she walks behind me and brushes a hand over one of my tails. My cock throbs and weeps, and it’s all I can do to muffle my groan.

“Fuck, I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I couldn’t stop myself from touching your tails. That was rude.” She sounds embarrassed, and her cheeks are a darker green like she’s blushing when she steps in front of me. I reach for her tiny little hands, slightly frustrated by the size difference between us. She’s so small, I don’t want to break her.

“Don’t be, they radiate their own animal magnetism. They want you to pet them,” I tell her, and a little wrinkle forms between her eyes as she bites her lip.

“They?”

I release my hold on my pets. One by one, they take form and jump to the ground, crowding around her, their own bushy tails wagging with delight as they smother her tiny form in licks.

She collapses to the ground under all nine of them, and I lose her under the pile as they continue to lavish her with love and attention.

She giggles and squeals, the sound bringing a smile to my lips, her joy palatable. “Such adorable murder puppies. Stop, okay, stop, ugh. I’m definitely going to need a bath now,” I hear her mutter, but she doesn’t sound distressed.

I whistle and encourage them to retreat anyway. All nine of them sit in a line and wait for her to come to them instead. She stands up and gives them all a pat. “What are their names?” she asks, and I shrug.

“They don’t have names. They are me, and I am them.” I know that sounds like a bunch of mystical crap, but it’s true. They are just different aspects of my soul.

“Okay, they are Baby Z One to Nine.” She touches each of them, numbering them one through nine as I watch on with amusement. Each of them have slightly different colors, so it isn’t hard for her to tell them apart.

“What does the Z stand for?” she asks once she gets to the end. All nine of them find a space on the ground and get comfortable. They will return when I want them to, but they’ve been cooped up for a long time, so they deserve a break.

“I am Zeydan,” I tell her, sitting down on my chair, willing my cock to go down. I see her mouth my name, and I am instantly craving to hear it out loud.

“I’m Lila,” she says even though I already know this much.

“Well, now that I’ve shown you mine, are you going to show me yours?” I wave a hand, and she nods.

“I guess it is only fair, but I will be naked when I change forms, and this dress won’t fit me.”

I may be a god, and a benevolent one unless crossed, but I am also a male, and I am not going to complain about seeing my mate naked for the first time, nor am I going to do the right thing and offer her my cloak—at least not straight away.

“Your naked form is not going to upset me in the least,” I tell her calmly, my rumbling tone betraying that I’m not as calm and composed as I seem. She playfully rolls her eyes at me, and I feel her acceptance.

Her form shimmers, covered with a sparkly purple mist, and I see movement within. Her body starts to grow bigger, as do her proportions as her wings, tail, and horns shrink and disappear. When the pretty mist fades, it’s all I can do not to swallow my tongue. Lila is curvy in all the right places, with generous breasts and ample hips built for holding onto when you slide deep into her pussy. Her long, multicolored hair drapes down her back, hiding her pert cheeks from my view, and her pretty pink nipples are peaked. I’m dying to lean forward and take one of the hardened buds into my mouth, but I hold myself back. She is unaware that she is my mate, and despite the attraction mark on her shoulder, I want to earn my place by her side. I will ensure she can rescue her grandma.

I bend down and retrieve my cloak, holding it out for her. She snatches it out of my hand with a relieved, “Thank you.”

She pulls it around herself, and I watch her hold it up to her nose and breathe in deeply. I can’t stop myself from purring my approval, knowing that when I get it back, it’s going to smell like her too.

“How many forms have you mimicked?” I ask her, trying to relieve the small amount of anxiety I still feel coming from her.

“I have Celestian, Barcoa, earth and fire elementals, a necro, Rilaxian, warlock, Aquilian, and Madovian.”

“Madovian? They are a repulsive species. That was one of the last ones Vivax created, pouring all of her jealousy and malice into it. They would not be an easy race to assimilate.”

She wrinkles her nose and shakes her head. “They aren’t, but one of them was being paid by the Syndicate to infiltrate the circus. We are hoping to use that form to return the favor after we rescue Grandma Lily,” she explains, and I run a hand over my smooth chin. I’ve never grown any facial and body hair, none of us gods do.

“That isn’t many forms,” I point out, and she shrugs.

“I also have mates, which have given me more options. I have a kraken shifter mate, which allows me to access their form, a Vilaxian mate, and I drank from the blood goblet which changed me into part Vilaxian, and two lightning cat mates. My other Skarrian power is a whisperer, and I can shift into cat form as well. I have assimilated nanotechnology from my cyborg mate also.” That’s a little better. I would prefer her to have more forms, but we have time to rectify that. Like the Aaz’axian cord I saw joining them, I also saw one linking Lila to the damn dragon who kept circling us today. They think I didn’t see him, but it is hard to miss an object that big in the sky.

A whisperer power—another supposed long-lost power. “Have you tried controlling any other kind of shifter?” I ask her, knowing that lightning cats should not be the only animal she is able to control. I was there when Lilessa created her Skarrian race, and we all added our own input into the kind of powers they may contain.

“No, is that a thing?” she asks, her eyebrows rising in question.

“Yes, Lilessa made it so that a whisperer could help any kind of shifter. That’s what the power was originally meant for—helping them with their emerging shifting powers. Fluxx and Skarr are so closely linked because both were created by the goddess of life.”

“So you’re a god?” she asks, changing the subject from her back to me, and I can see she has questions.

“Yes, I am the earth elemental god. Lilessa was the goddess of life, and Vivax was the goddess of death. Then we had Sanshia, who was the goddess of fire, Tito, the god of water, and Markit, the god of air. I have not seen my co-elementals for many years, and we have no idea what happened to Lilessa or Vivax.”

“And your powers were stolen?” She’s trying to make sense of the story I told her.

“Yes, and one of the two missing goddesses is involved. We’re certain. Which one, I do not know, maybe both of them, and I have no idea how they did it. It should not be possible. All four of us were diminished in power.” I grit my teeth as the anger and betrayal that had grown numb over time rears its head again. I clench my fists in an effort not to take it out on my mate. “When we get to the bottom of it, the perpetrator will pay. We searched high and low for both of them, but their power signatures disappeared just after the war. It was like they both ceased to exist. That’s why I was shocked when I thought I felt a spark of it in you.”

“And you were at the bar, hidden in the corner, concealed by your cloak. You’ve known who I was this whole time?” she asks, sounding dismayed as she comes to that realization.

“Yes, I have, but it was amusing watching and listening to you all scheme.” I try to reassure her, but I don’t think it works if her glare is anything to go by.

“Are you going to help me?” she asks, cutting to the chase, her eyes narrowing with her anger. I like seeing her like this. It is much preferable to her earth elemental form, which was weak.

“Of course I will. All you had to do was ask. Shall we stop this ridiculous charade of harvesting fruit?” I ask her, and she grimaces.

“You already killed Oak. Poor Elm is going to be down three more harvesters,” she argues, and I scoff.

“My powers may be weak, little one, but I assure you, I can have your quota of fruit picked within the blink of an eye.”

“So why don’t you help them like that normally?” she asks, her anger replaced by curiosity.

“I am paid to protect them, not to provide them with a bounty. They are allowed to harvest, but they must prove they are worthy of my bounty, so they pick, and I protect, and if they are not worthy, they die. It is a way to pass the time. I have been bored for so many years. If they knew that I owned the company they were working for, they would not work as hard as they do.”

“You own the halla mead label?” She sounds surprised.

“Like I said, it is a way to pass the time. I own a lot of different businesses all over the galaxy. Most of them are some kind of food or beverage derived from my bountiful planets.”

I feel a being teleport down to the planet, and I cock my head to listen as my protective plants and creatures try to attack it. Ah, it is the dragon, returned to seek out his mate. Luckily for him, I have no predator that is at home in the sky. I guess I cannot fault the beast, I would be the same if I didn’t know my mate was safe. I told the warlock exactly who I was and who Lila was to me, which was why he was happy to leave her, and I am sure he informed the Aaz’axian.

A shifter at war with his inner beast would not be able to take Xavier for his word though. He would want to see for himself, and I respect that. I use my magic to clear a path for him, using the plants to light the way and lead him toward us. I will allow him to see for himself she is fine, but then he must return to the other large ship that is circling my planet. My mate will spend the night with me, and when the sun reaches its zenith in the sky, we will go in search of her grandmother. I will enjoy the stroll through my creations, because when my mate returns to the ship, I will accompany her. My life is about to change, and I can no longer be happy with just existing.