Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Link
W hile the rest of the family gets ready for our day out, I make my way to the med bay. I want to ask Zeydan to come with us, since it’s time to get to know him better, and I want to encourage the grandpas to either rest or join us too. They are looking more and more broken the longer Liliana stays unconscious. It was different before, because they weren’t sure if she was still alive, so they had gotten on with their lives as much as they could in the aftermath of her disappearance and their son and his wife’s deaths. Now, though, knowing she’s alive and was tortured repeatedly, it’s weighing them down. If she doesn’t wake up from the coma she’s in, I’m not sure the three of them will survive it. They will probably lose the will to live and pass over so they can be with her.
I’m pretty sure that would destroy Lila. Physically, we could keep her alive, but she has such a big heart, it would break if she lost her grandpas, and I’m not sure anything could fill that void. Sure, Xavier’s and Cas’s parents love her, and Tirrian’s parents will as well. My mother will see her as a commodity to exploit, so I plan to keep her far away from them. Saxon’s parents were killed in battle many years ago, but his aunt, the queen, will dote on her, as will his female cousins. Actually, scratch that, we may need to keep them far away from Lila too. They are known for being mischievous, and I don’t want them leading her astray. Echo’s and Maxsim’s families conspired to force a mating, so they are very happy having Lila as their daughter-in-law. Nikos’s dad is a non-issue, but I’m not so sure about his mom. She’s supposed to be benevolent, but there’s only so much tyranny a person can be subjected to before they turn cold and bitter. Her position as Queen of Aquilia bears watching, and I don’t really want Lila to have anything to do with her until she proves what kind of ruler she is going to be.
I know nothing about Ghosie’s or Brannock’s backgrounds, and Silac’s parents are a wildcard too. He’s going to renege on the arranged marriage, which is going to cause some issues, but Lila will be responsible for rescuing them from the basilisks, and she can also assure the naga line will continue, so we will have to wait and see what happens there as well. In all, there’s no shortage of family, but it’s not the same as your own blood.
When I get to the med bay, Zeydan is there with his seat pulled up on one side of Liliana’s bed, and John is on the other side. He still hasn’t completely recovered from his ordeal, but there’s a strength in the set of his shoulders that wasn’t there before. Maybe I was wrong, and they will get through the loss of their wife if the worst were to happen.
“Good morning,” I call to them as I step up to the monitors to see if anything changed overnight. My alarms didn’t alert me to anything major, but I purse my lips and hold back my exclamation of surprise. Her brain activity has increased, almost doubled overnight. I release a rush of breath as relief washes over me. This is a good sign. It means she is healing. It’s not enough for her to wake up anytime soon, but it’s a step in the right direction.
I move over to her and pick up my light pen, opening first one eye and looking for pupil reactivity, and then the second, pleased at what I’m seeing. When Lila first healed her body, I had done the same test and had no reaction. I worried that she was brain dead, but before I left last night, I did the same test again, and there was a slight reaction, which gave me hope. Today’s reaction is even more significant.
I move to the base of her bed and do a reflex test, running a tool over the soles of her feet, and unlike before when there was no reaction, there is a very visible flinch this time. Both Zeydan and John stand up and look between me and the woman they both love. I’m hoping that Zeydan’s love is platonic and that of a sibling, because killing a god won’t be easy.
“Link?” John sounds hopeful, but he is holding himself back.
I return the tool and penlight to the tray on the cart nearby, and then I turn back to face them. “I’ll be honest, when Lila first healed her, I really didn’t have much hope that Liliana was going to come back to us at all, let alone in one piece.” John’s mouth falls open in surprise, but Zeydan just nods like he knew all along. I guess he may have. He is a god, so I’m sure he can read minds. “But I am now very hopeful she will wake up. Whether her mind is intact when she does will be anyone’s guess. You need to be prepared that she may not be the same person she was before she went missing. Her mind may have fractured, and she may not know you, remember what happened, or even be able to communicate.”
Tears well in John’s eyes, but he nods. “Yes, my brothers and I have discussed the possibility, but it doesn’t matter. She is our wife, and we will care for her in whatever capacity she needs.”
“I sense she is still in there,” Zeydan announces calmly, picking up Liliana’s hand and closing his eyes. A green glow encompasses him and Liliana, and both John and I wait for him to finish whatever he is doing. I doubt it’s hurting her, since he has had plenty of opportunities to try in the past. It’s a tense few moments, but the glow fades away and he opens his eyes and nods.
“She is still in there. I can hear her. She is fighting to return to us. I tried to help her by giving her something to focus on and move toward. Hopefully it will be enough, but it’s something she has to do on her own. It seems like her mind retreated to protect her from the torture, but it built such impenetrable walls, she’s having trouble tearing them down.”
“Why didn’t you tell us this earlier?” John doesn’t sound mad, just curious.
“I got no response earlier, and like the doctor, I did not want you to lose hope.” Zeydan delivers the news without emotion. I hope that’s not what he’s going to be like with Lila, because that is not going to fly. Saxon told me he had been alone for a long time, since the goddesses of life and death disappeared. The four elemental gods went their own ways. Hopefully we can coax this unemotional man out of his shell. Spending time with the family will help.
“But you feel differently now?” John pushes.
“Yes. For the first time since she went missing, I believe I will be able to talk to my sister and find out why.”
“But not blood sister, right?” John picks up Liliana’s hand and gently strokes a finger over the back of it. “Because I heard that you believe our granddaughter is your mate, and I know gods probably have a different concept of incest, as do one or two other species, but Skarrians frown on that sort of thing…” He trails off, but I can see he’s waiting for a response.
Zeydan’s mouth kicks up on one side. “There is no blood tying Lilessa and me together. We weren’t born so much as willed into existence. Lila is not going to be mating with a blood relative if she and I seal our mating bond.”
“How do you do that?” I ask, not wanting to miss the opportunity to gather more knowledge so Lila can be properly informed.
“She and I will complete the bond while I am in my godly form,” Zeydan replies, and I arch an eyebrow.
“And what form would that be?” I ask him, and before my very eyes, he grows taller and wider, and his face elongates, shifting to a fox-like countenance with his body remaining mostly the same. He looks very much like an Egyptian god from Earth’s history. I wonder if they ever messed around on Earth in the past.
Something starts to writhe beneath his skirt, and long, frond-like tendrils sprout out of his back and fan out much like a peacock’s tail.
I scan the length of him. He has to be close to eight feet tall now, and the green glow from before has returned. “Is there anything special that happens that she needs to know about?” I ask, wanting to make sure I have all the information for Lila.
“Only my true mate would survive copulating with me in this form. The fronds at my back will sprinkle her with my godly essence, thus allowing her to be able to take my seed and survive, transforming her to have a small sliver of godly essence herself.”
“And that’s it?” I push, not trusting the fact that something under his skirt is moving independently.
He grimaces and looks down his front. “My cock is probably slightly different from what she is used to. The dust will help her take that as well.”
John looks green and has reached his limit with this conversation. He turns his back to Zeydan, tuning out everything about his granddaughter’s sex life.
“You need to elaborate. I won’t have her being surprised anymore. She’s had too many shocks and had the decision to mate with someone taken out of her hands too many times. She needs a little bit of control.” I cross my arms. Even though he claims his power is diminished in this form, my jaw throbs as his energy pulses menacingly.
“You are a good mate of my mate.” Zeydan inclines his head in appreciation. “I have three appendages. When it is time to penetrate our partner, they twirl around each other, combining into one member, but it is ridged and curved like a corkscrew. I need to make sure she has been covered in my dust before I can penetrate her body. The dust will allow her body to change to accept my member. It will swell inside her, filling her with my seed. I cannot tell you if having a child is possible. None of my brethren have found their true mates.” His gaze slides slightly to John and the woman on the bed. “Or none that have been confirmed, so I am not certain conception is possible.”
“You are very big, so I’m assuming that is big too.” I nod to his writhing crotch. “Will Lila be able to take you?”
“Yes, my dust will make her body relax so she can take my member.”
“Well, I’m almost certain she will enjoy the challenge,” I mutter under my breath, but I think the god hears me, his eyes sparkling with amusement. He starts to shrink again, and the green glow disappears, as do the frond appendages, and his head returns to normal. I don’t know if they are wings or are simply for procreation. I don’t need to know. “Make sure you let her know everything you told me, or I will. I don’t want to kill you because you accidentally mated her against her will,” I tell him sternly, and he drops his amusement and nods his head.
“I would not take her choice away from her. I will make it very clear. Also, having sex in this form will not seal the mate bond.” He gestures to his body now that it has returned to the form we are familiar with.
“Good, I’m holding you responsible. Lila’s mimic powers push her to mate and keep her permanently horny, and she sometimes forgets herself. It’s up to us to be responsible while she adjusts to her new destiny. Now, I think it would be best if you all took a break from your vigil. Liliana is perfectly safe here. I will lock the med bay down despite there being no one else on the ship. Lila is planning a family day, and both of you, as well as Eric and William, should show your faces,” I insist firmly, not willing to hear any arguments.
Zeydan doesn’t protest. He seems happy for the invitation, but John drags his feet, reluctant to leave his wife’s side. I sigh and pick up a nearby tablet and activate a screen. It shows a live feed on the camera facing her bed. I turn it so he can see it.
“Look, you can keep an eye on her, but if you don’t look after yourself, how are you going to be able to look after her when she wakes up?” I try a different tactic, and it seems to work. He sighs loudly but stands up and places a kiss on her cheek, quietly murmuring that he will be back later. He takes the tablet from me, and the three of us leave the med bay. I activate the locking mechanism once we are clear of the door.
“Now, how about you go retrieve your brothers? We are having a family picnic on the bio level. The kids are going to run around, and we are going to enjoy some down time. If you don’t arrive there in the next half hour, I will send Xavier for you, and he won’t give you a choice, he will just teleport you there without your permission.”
“No need. It’s fine, you’re right,” John says as we make it to the elevator. “This will be good for us. I’ll make sure we are all there, I promise.”
We let him off at his level, which is below our suite, and instead of going to ours, I hit the right button for the Aquilian level. I wanted to stick my head in and check on Nikos, so that still needs to happen.
The silence is awkward, and the god fidgets, his tails bristling with agitation behind him. “Are you okay?” I ask him, and he bites his lip before sighing.
“I’ve never been on a picnic. Are you sure Lila wants me there?” Holy shit, he’s nervous. “I haven’t spent a lot of time around people for a while, only the halla harvesters, and I was not invested in them or their feelings. It’s why I didn’t care if they followed my instructions or not, and if they died, that was their own fault. I’m afraid I don’t have the capability to feel any of the right emotions needed to be someone’s mate or father or friend.”
Wow. I’m kind of shocked that he admitted all that. I assumed he’d be an arrogant asshole, but that’s not turning out to be the case.
“Don’t be nervous. Our family is a lot, but I’m sure you will fit in. Just be friendly and patient. Ask as many questions as you want, and don’t be afraid to speak your mind. We are a bunch of strong-willed creatures and will steamroll over you if you are timid. They are probably more afraid of you than you are of them. You’re a god, and that comes with big expectations and incorrect assumptions.”
The doors open, and we step out onto the entrance platform. I frown as I notice the weather program is set to stormy. The waves wash up and over before draining back into the pool. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it like this before. I hope Nikos is okay.
I’m not sure I’m going to be able to engage the bridge I need to get to his house. I know he’s unable to travel very far, so I can’t expect him to appear in front of me. I’m not sure what to do. I don’t know how to change the weather program, and I don’t want to worry Lila by asking Silac. He’s familiarized himself with all the ship’s workings, so he would be the one to know.