Bonus Scene
ATTENTION
If this is your first time reading the Galaxy Circus, I would suggest skipping this scene until you have read it in its entirety because it may contain spoilers for future books.
If you have already experienced this wild ride, then please continue.
Hopefully these new scenes add another layer of enjoyment to the experience.
Caspian
I wipe my sweaty hands on the pants of my circus uniform as I wait for the transport to come to a full stop inside the hangar bay. I decided to go with my human glamour to greet the new arrivals, even though neither of them would have blinked at my half form.
Silac was thrilled to be asked to join the circus, desperate to get away from his family and his arranged marriage that he wants no part of.
I’m excited to see my friend and former sometimes lover.
I can’t wait to introduce him to Lila. I’m pretty sure seeing a naga shifter is going to blow her mind.
She’s off on her date with Link tonight.
She was nervous and unsure before she left.
The concept of being polyamorous is still such a new concept to her, and with her Earth monogamy ideals, it’s kind of hard for her to grasp.
She was concerned about my feelings, which I appreciate, but I knew going into this that she was Skarrian and had the potential to be attracted to more than just me.
Hell, she already had Link’s and Xavier’s marks on her shoulder before we mated.
If they are the last two, I will be surprised.
There is something about Lila that makes her attractive.
It isn’t just her stunning good looks, her whole soul practically glows, and you can’t help but get drawn into her orbit.
I hope it doesn’t take her too long to come around to her new circumstances, but it must be a struggle to be at war with what you think you know and your reality.
The bay door opens, and I stand a little straighter as I plaster on a look of welcome. I need to focus on our act right now and not stress about my pregnant mate. She is in good hands, and I’m sure our sexy doctor will take care of her.
Silac appears in the doorway. Like me, he is also in his humanoid glamour.
There is no sign of his shifted form except for the scale patterns across his exposed skin at the neck of his shirt and bare arms. I allow my gaze to drift over him, assessing if he has changed in the time since I last saw him.
He’s wearing a pair of slim-legged black pants that hug his lower body nicely, and on top, he’s wearing a dark, long-sleeved cotton shirt with the sleeves pushed back.
His sculpted arms, covered in the pattern of his scales, flex nicely as he lifts his hand and waves with a grin.
Using the same hand, he pushes his tousled green hair back as he walks down the ramp, his arms open to greet me.
I step into his embrace and slap him on the back, squeezing him tightly. “Hello, old friend. Thank you for coming and helping us out. I really appreciate it.” We break apart, and he smiles.
“You know I’d do anything for you. The timing just happened to be perfect. I needed to get off Fluxx before my father forced me to do something I really don’t want to.”
“He’s still insisting you marry Kinga?” I ask, and he wrinkles his nose.
“Yes, but I managed to get him to delay it for a year. He knows being seen in a favorable light with the Galaxy Circus is only going to benefit Snakebite Logistics in the long run.”
I scoff, rolling my eyes. “Of course it’s all about what’s good for the company, not his actual son.”
Silac frowns. “Not all of us are blessed with parents like Murphy and Mira, Cas.”
I sigh. “Yeah, I know. I’m sorry.” I look over his shoulder, searching for the other shifter who should have joined him on the flight. “So who did the king send to replace Dylan?”
Silac grimaces, and I feel a sudden sense of dread. “The dragon faction is in an uproar. Half is furious that Dylan attacked Lila, and the other half is furious that he was punished for it. Dylan wasn’t quiet about the fact that she stole his mate.”
I shake my head furiously. “I was never his mate. I never implied I would mate with him either, that was all in his head. I’ve always been perfectly clear with him that my beast would never accept him as our mate. Same as I was with you.”
Silac flinches at that, but I don’t have time for hurt feelings.
“And it isn’t like he was faithful to me, if that were the case. Dylan was a huge man whore and stuck his dick in anything that would give him the time of day. He certainly worked his way through the crew.”
“Is that what you tell yourself to feel better about breaking my cousin’s heart?” a growly voice rumbles, and I jerk my eyes from Silac back to the transport. Standing in the door is none other than Crown Prince Tirrian, the son of the king of dragons and Dylan’s cousin.
Fuck my life. It had to be him. I haven’t had a lot to do with him, but rumors abound on Fluxx that say he and his dragon are just as unstable as Dylan was.
Apparently, he roasted a couple of females presented to him as possible mates.
Why the king thought it was a good idea to send him as a replacement is beyond comprehension.
We’re just replacing one problem with a bigger one.
I take a deep breath and plaster on a smile. The Adams brothers trusted me to greet our new arrivals, passing on a responsibility that would have been theirs or Lila’s, and I want to prove to them that I can be an asset to the family.
“Prince Tirrian, welcome.” I bow at the waist before straightening.
Smoke drifts out of his nose as he narrows his eyes on me and sneers, “Let’s get one thing straight.
I am here under sufferance. My father only trusted me to get to the bottom of this, and mark my words, I will.
If it is found that Dylan was not in the wrong, then the Galaxy Circus will feel the wrath of dragon kind. ”
There’s a strained silence as I struggle to come up with a response, but Silac quickly breaks it.
“Tirrian, you are being ridiculous. I heard what your father said, and he ordered you to make things right with the circus. He has no doubt about the accusations and ordered you to go along with anything they require, which means you will be in the act if that is what is needed,” Silac chastises, and the dragon rumbles his displeasure.
“It is beneath my station to be a performing monkey, but I gave my father my word, so I will comply. I will, however, be watching the mate stealing whore carefully.”
I hold my tongue despite wanting to defend both myself and Lila.
I know creatures like Tirrian. His mind is made up.
His cousin must have been quite convincing, but what he thinks doesn’t matter.
Lila and I are mated, and nothing is going to change that short of one of our deaths, and I refuse to allow it to come to that.
“Well, let me make one thing clear. Lila is my mate and under my protection. Not only that, but she has two more potentials who will take exception to any harm coming to her. You do not want to upset the warlock or the heir to Pleasure Bot Industries, two very powerful men who could make life difficult for you,” I warn him, and his eyebrows jump in surprise before he scowls again.
“So Dylan is right, she is a whore.”
“For fuck’s sake, Tirrian, she is Skarrian. You know they are polyamorous. I dare you to call the Adams brothers’ wife a whore for having three mates. What do you think would happen to you?” Silac points out, and Tirrian flinches.
Ah, so the dragon isn’t a complete idiot. He knows the importance of the Galaxy Circus to the federation. He just needs to wrap his head around the fact that Lila is a part of that family too.
“Look, why don’t I show you to the ring, and we can discuss the logistics of the act? We need you to get up to speed before the next show. Your luggage will be delivered to our room where you will stay tonight while we arrange for more permanent accommodations.”
“That sounds great.” Silac jumps on the distraction, and I gesture in the direction we’re going. Tirrian just grunts and crosses his arms, but he joins us. His black wings, which have a slight pink shimmer, tuck tightly against his back.
“I’ll show you to the uniform office so you can grab some.
We tend to wear the standard issue jumpsuits while on duty and rehearsing, and there is a costume for performances.
You will have a few more duties other than just the show, since we tend to hold dual roles.
I work with the security team, as did Dylan, if needed, so you will probably just jump into that role too, but to be honest, there hasn’t been much need for security, apart from the incident with Dylan.
Mostly it’s if we get detainees or deportees from any of the planets we visit.
The ship and its crew all mostly get along,” I explain, though at the moment, the ship is in the most upheaval it’s ever been.
The Vilaxians are not getting along with one another, Xavier is sick of his harem, and the lightning cats are fighting like, well, cats.
I’m sure if I mention that though, Tirrian will probably place the blame on Lila, but all of that was happening before she even arrived.
The next few months will prove interesting, that’s for sure.
“My cousin said you used excessive force to subdue him and then threw him in the brig where he was denied food and representation,” Tirrian snaps, and I roll my eyes.
“Excessive force? Your cousin was restrained when he tried to attack the Adams’ granddaughter, and Link, our cyborg doctor, quickly and calmly incapacitated him with one squeeze of his shoulder.
Whatever Dylan told you, he lied. He was put in a cell because he tried to shift in our living quarters and eat Lila.
He was let out the next morning and put on a transport.
I guess the first thing he did was call you and make up a big story. ”
I’ve had enough now. The dragon is getting on my very last nerve.
I turn around with my hands on my hips and a glare on my face as I stare down the belligerent dragon.
“Look, Tirrian, you have two choices. Either get the fuck over yourself and actually make an effort to fit in around here, or hold an unfounded grudge against Lila and go the same way as Dylan, on the next transport back to Fluxx. What do you think your father will say if you damage the relationship between Fluxx and the Galaxy Circus?”
More smoke drifts out of his nose, but I see him swallow whatever he wanted to say next, and he gives me a nod.
“Fine, but I will be watching closely. If there is any hint that she deliberately destroyed my cousin’s reputation and standing with my father, then I won’t hesitate to ask for reparations. ”
I shake my head sadly at the stubborn shifter. “You do you, bro, but I think you’ll end up regretting your behavior.”
I lead them to the elevator and down to the circus pod where I show them around the ring and explain the current act without any more arguments. Tirrian is surprisingly cooperative and has some suggestions about making the act better.
Dylan was the one who orchestrated the original one.
I thought we could be more creative, but he didn’t want to hear my ideas.
Between Silac, Tirrian, and myself, we come up with a show that’s going to be really exciting—a mock fight between Silac’s naga and Tirrian’s dragon.
We discuss involving the audience, but I shoot that idea down.
The humans can’t be allowed to get too close to any of us in shifted form.
They think it’s all animatronics, holographics, and costumes.
“What if we plant a crew member in the audience and use them?” Silac suggests.
“That’s a good idea. It could still look like we were having audience participation without risking the circus’s secret.
Lila would probably do it. I’ll discuss it with the Adams brothers and see what they think.
Come on. I don’t know about you two, but I’m hungry.
Let me give you a tour of the rest of the ship and grab some food, then I’ll take you to our rooms. Lila is staying with Link tonight, so I’ll introduce you to her tomorrow,” I tell them, kind of thankful she won’t be there.
Hopefully by the time Tirrian meets her, he will have let go of some of his resentment, especially if he can ask around about Dylan and discover he isn’t the dragon he thought he was.
Hell, I could tell Tirrian exactly that, but he won’t believe anything that comes from me.
He’s going to have to hear it from others, but I’ll make sure that he talks to the right people.
Magenta will be the person to introduce him to.
She won’t care who he is to Dylan or the fact that he’s the crown prince.
She’ll tell it to him straight, that Dylan was a grade A asshole and deserved everything he got.
Whether he believes her or not will remain to be seen, but for now, he either has to get with the program or return to Fluxx with his tail tucked between his legs. I wonder what he’s going to choose.