Chapter 33
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Xylo
Xylo knew there was something wrong with Selena when he first felt the extreme heaviness that fell on him. His vines went wild as his bond thread tugged on him, forcing him to follow it.
Reflecting on that moment, Oeta must have felt a similar disturbance as he did, for she stared in the same direction as Selena as soon as it started—occasionally giving him curious glances.
Mwe and Oeta were two beings he didn’t want to anger.
They were rumored to be more powerful than the Circuli Queens—fully capable of scrambling connections and mind-wiping those who needed.
Not that Xylo ever witnessed such things.
Those were the things they whispered in the shadows of the space station.
Mwe was the sole being capable of gathering information from a Yaarkin via interrogations whenever they were unlucky enough to get caught instead of killed.
Most warriors killed them on sight, for the Yaarkins killed those who weren’t worthy and enslaved those who had an attribute they were looking for.
Earth was their last invasion, with humans being their latest test subjects.
How did they get so deep into the Euph Galaxy without getting noticed? And why was Earth their goal?
“Once they discovered humans on unregulated ships, they captured and studied them. By using the ship's logs, they learned of Earth’s location, and the rest is history,” Mwe said, his mental voice like a gentle whisper caressing his shields.
Xylo jerked, sitting straight up on the couch, his teal eyes meeting Mwe’s magenta.
“Is something the matter, brother?” Odelm asked, voice slightly alarmed.
Xylo waved him off, not wanting to waken the drowsy Selena, who had dozed off.
“Are you saying there may be others like Selena somewhere in the galaxy—the universe? Other humans altered so much, they hardly have their original base forms?”
Mwe sighed and surveyed the remaining occupants of the room.
Oeta had left to gather the cubs from Pavryn and Vikvez.
Zirene was nursing an alcoholic beverage, keeping his focus on Selena’s sleeping form, the only movement from his agitated tail.
Royak had been conversing with Mwe before he interrupted Xylo’s thoughts.
The princes were silent, observing Selena as she relaxed between them, in a deep mental conversation with each other.
Now the room’s focus was on him.
“That is to be determined,” Mwe replied.
“We do know that, for some reason, she is being targeted by an outside presence unlike anything I have ever felt before.” He studied Selena’s sleeping form.
“Tell me. You both are bonded to her…” He tilted his head toward Zirene.
“You three are permanently bonded with her, with both princes working toward that goal.” He pursed his lips and looked up, his lavender wings shuffling behind him.
“Has anything similar to today happen before?”
“Oh, Stars…” Xylo murmured, his vines shivering as realization dawned on him. He looked down at Selena’s sleeping form curled up on Odelm’s lap.
“Xylo?” his nestbrother asked, concerned.
“Once,” he whispered. “It happened once—on the morning after Selena officially claimed me—the day Selena also established a court bond with you.” He glanced up at his nestbrother.
“I felt a presence… something unfamiliar caressing my mental shields… and woke up with a great need to defend her from danger. There was nothing in our room, and she didn’t mention anything happening to her.
I didn’t want to scare her and brushed it off as a bad dream or my body still adjusting to Selena’s claim.
If I had known it wasn’t my imagination, I would have made a bigger deal about it. ”
“How long ago was this?” Zirene growled.
Xylo paused and tried to calculate the days in his head.
“Twenty-three days… It was twenty-three days ago when Selena honored me with a second chance,” Odelm announced softly, looking down at Selena lovingly as he carefully brushed her hair with his agile fingers.
“If what you felt was someone reaching for her, we need to teach her how to send for help and defend herself from others. We don’t know what they want, who they are, or why they want her,” Mwe said grimly.
“Why not teach her before we leave?” Xylo asked. “We leave tomorrow night to arrive during daybreak on Destima. She said you invited us over for dinner, so why not do it then?”
Mwe closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, his magenta glow dimmed.
“Do you think it would work?” V’dim asked.
“It has to. She is connected to all of us. Who knows what will happen if they have their way?” Z’fir replied.
“But haven’t your mental shields improved since joining a court bond with her? Ours seem to be continuously growing,” Odelm said.
“Yes, they have.”
“We have noticed it has been easier to mute our crew’s chatter.”
“Then what is the problem?” Royak asked, confused.
“The problem is Selena’s natural ability is shielding.
If someone was powerful enough to crack into her and Zirene’s chamber uninvited, then we need to help train her how to defend against any more attacks—and how to reach out to others.
” Mwe opened his eyes and peered at Zirene.
“And you need to start joining her in the dreamscape. Keeping yourself separate from her will only harm you both over time.”
“Selena and I have already discussed it,” Zirene growled, narrowing his amethyst eyes. “We will work on it once she is settled on Destima—where she belongs.”
“If Selena is being targeted on the space station, why haven’t you left already?” Mwe asked. “It would have reduced my time to try to get to know her better, but I would’ve understood the reason.”
“I can answer. These fools thought they could take her away from me through political means. Unbeknownst to them, she fully defended herself with no aid from those who stood with her on the floor.” He chuckled and swirled the Xowyn in his glass.
“They drugged her and tried to have her create a scene, but it was Kaede’s quick thinking that solved that dilemma.
If we changed our plans, it wouldn’t solve anything but would make us look like we are cowards.
” Zirene raised his glass in the air and purred.
Xylo studied the part of the ceiling Zirene was focused on and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Was he slowly losing his sanity?
“No. We will let them try to target Selena once more. While they are scrambling to come up with their third attempt, my agents will find them.” Zirene toasted Mwe, took a sip, and sighed.
“You see, you may be able to hear anyone on this space station, but my agents are hunting. They feel it’s an insult to their capabilities that Selena was drugged right in front of them on their watch, so now, they are out for revenge and—”
“To prove themselves,” Xylo murmured.
“Exactly. They don’t know what is coming for them.”
“And am I supposed to turn a blind eye—and a blank mind—to all of this?” Mwe demanded.
“They are not breaking any laws. We are within our rights to establish preventative measures to protect my citizens.”
“Our citizens,” Royak corrected as he held his hand up. “I know you meant nothing by it, brother. Selena is mine as much as yours by CEG laws.”
This news stunned Xylo. The Aldawi princes were taunting anyone remaining on the station to act and to do it quickly, for no one knew when Selena would be in neutral space again once she landed on Destima.
It was both brilliant and dangerous. Who knew what extent they would go to to get their hands on her?
Or worse—make sure she did something that would imprison her?
Then all they would need to do was knock her unconscious for safety measures and do whatever they pleased with her.
Was the risk worth it?
Xylo hoped so. Selena had been controlled all her life and should be free from fear.
It was already bad enough there was an invisible threat they didn’t know and could do nothing about.
Yet if they didn’t try this trap, Selena would have to continue to look over her shoulder and wonder if others would be after her and the cubs.
He wasn’t a fool. She would always be desired.
It would be up to them to protect her and make sure she wasn’t bogged down by constant fear.
Her abilities made her important, someone who would be recorded in history as the first of her kind.
Combined with being tied to the Second Prince of the Aldawi Empire, she would never be free.
“I will do everything in my power to protect her,” Mwe said, his deep mental voice rumbled in Xylo’s mind.
“My daughter’s—and species—future are in her hands.
She wields great power that, if abused, could bring the galaxy—the universe—to its knees.
Will you aid her in helping those in need?
Or allow her to fall into the hands of those who have nefarious plans? ”
“Shouldn’t you be asking Zirene this? Between Prince Royak and him, they have more power than I… Stars, than any of Selena’s Circuli nestmates have combined.”
“You are the first one who she accepted as her own, and you are in charge of her research team. You hold more power than you believe,” Mwe chuckled.
“Selena doesn’t have Favored,” Xylo snapped.
“No, she doesn’t, but there is a clear divide. Everyone looks to you for answers about Selena. Odelm may be highly tuned in to her emotions—so much, I fear he may get lost in them. He can sense when there is a disturbance. But just because you don’t have a title, doesn’t mean you don’t matter.”
“I am not worried about my position in the clan,” Xylo scoffed.
“Selena is my nestqueen, and that is all I need. I am satisfied being hers even with the difference in our species. As her clan continues to grow, I will have nothing to worry about, knowing she will be taken care of when I am not around.”
The whooshing sound of the Royal Apartment Common’s doors opening caught the room’s attention. Oeta carried Meti cradled in both arms, the cub's silver fur popping against her dark green robe. Pavryn and Vikvez followed closely behind her, carrying the twins over their shoulders.
The cubs had grown considerably in the last week. They went from being easily held in one hand to the size of his forearm, which to Xylo’s amazement followed the Aldawi growth charts. He hoped they would continue the trend without any difficulty.
Xylo didn’t voice his fears about the cubs’ behaviors.
They were at a disadvantage compared to other Aldawi cubs by not having a mother of the same species.
Typically, the new mother would only grant a select few females access to her dwelling.
No one outside of her home would see the cubs the first month, and any visits would be short, due to their extreme protectiveness.
After that, the mother would introduce her cubs to the community, and they would raise them together as a unit until they were six months old, when they started their training and learned to be independent of their mother.
Selena didn’t have that. Zirene had a mentor already teaching them about their instincts and a doctor to keep watch on their growth. He hoped she wouldn’t feel inadequate—and that other female Aldawi wouldn’t look down on her for not raising her cubs on her own, needing males to aid her.
Her thoughts hadn’t reflected those emotions—yet—but she had been pressured and stressed by everything that had been thrown her way.
Selena hadn’t had a chance to relax—to not be on the defense or needed for something—and it was starting to wear on her.
He was excited to soon be at their new home and be planetside for once, to be able to plant his feet in the rich soil.
His new mission would be making sure Selena relaxed once they settled into their villa. She could let Vagren take care of everything—it was his job and expertise.
Once the princes landed the Destiny, they could help ease her mind off things. After all, their need to complete their court bond and make it permanent would be riding them as their bodies would be at their prime.
Xylo’s only hope was that Selena would have enough time to relax before she entered her next heat-cycle.