Chapter 20 #2
“Mark is also probably still digesting the fact that he is the heir of the Celestian throne,” Link says conversationally, and I feel my head whip around to look at him.
“Really?” I gasp.
“Oh yes. I ran some tests on him and Susie while you were swimming. I confirmed his identity, but we decided we wouldn’t say anything until we got to Celestia.
Susie is very close to activating that ball of power inside of her, so I advised her to continue drinking the water and let us know if anything strange happens.
Eric, William, and Magenta have all volunteered to assist her if anything does occur. ”
“That is smart. If we told the Celestian royal family that information, I’m not sure they wouldn’t come to us.
They are also probably used to imposters claiming to be their lost child.
I’m sure they have their own way of telling.
It’s better to wait and let them find out for themselves.
” William is all business now. “We also need to continue that conversation from before, but not here and not now. For now, we will continue with business as usual, but be on the lookout for anything suspicious.”
“Lila, I need to deal with my clan and dissolve my ties to them,” Saxon announces seriously. He gives Eric and William a guilty look. “We also need to discuss the continuation of the act and whether or not they want to continue working with the circus.”
William waves a hand at Saxon. “Eric and I will leave you to make whatever decisions you deem reasonable.”
Saxon’s eyebrows jump in surprise, and Eric chuckles.
“Saxon, my dear boy, you just married the heir to the circus, so that makes you co-owner when we hand all of this over to her. These decisions will all be yours eventually, so why not start early? That’s one less thing Will and I have to worry about. ”
I smother my giggle as Saxon’s mouth drops open in surprise. He stutters a couple of times before he gets himself together. “Ah, yes, okay. Thank you for your trust. I will not let you down.” He bows his head respectfully.
“And I will advise Echo and Maxsim that our next stop will be Iceen. As far as everyone knows, we were heading directly for Celestia. They may need to make preparations.”
“Thank you, Caspian. Please ask them if they intend to stay or return to Iceen. In light of the leadership change, Maxsim may want to stay and support his family. If they do decide to stay on their home planet, we will need to scour the universe for a new act.” William sounds aggravated at the idea, but that’s a problem to worry about in the future.
“Woo-hoo. Look at us all gelling and shit.” I throw my hands into the air and wave spirit fingers. “Team Adams and mates are amazing.”
Everyone looks at me with disbelieving expressions, and I raise an eyebrow.
“What? Too much?”
“Maybe just a little.” Eric holds up his hands, showing me a little, while the others all nod.
“Party poopers,” I grumble, dropping my hands just as the red lights switch off and the siren ceases.
“Warp is stable. You may all be unseated,” Captain Broderick announces, and I sigh with relief, clicking the button on my harness release and jumping up out of my seat. The minute I step away from it, it folds up and slides seamlessly back into the wall.
“Wow, that is super cool,” I say, running my hand over the wall. “You can’t even feel a seam or anything.”
I feel someone crowd in behind me and lean down.
“That’s nanotechnology. If you come with me to my clinic, I’ll show you what else nanotechnology can do.
” Link’s words are barely a whisper in my ear.
I know he did that deliberately to rile me up and so my grandpas didn’t overhear him.
I shudder as I think of my last demonstration of his amazing nanobots.
Whirling, I grab his hand. “I’ll see you all back here later, right?
” I ask, looking to my other three mates, stopping on Xavier.
“You might as well move all your crap from your room into mine too. I mean, it’s only a matter of time before we get to Westalin.
Not to mention I don’t like it when you’re too far away from me. ”
Xavier’s expression almost makes me laugh out loud. I think I completely blindsided him, if the open mouth and wide eyes tell me anything. One point to Lila. I like to keep my tricky warlock on his feet. He thinks he’s cleverer than the rest of us, so an occasional surprise will keep him humble.
“Did you get your things moved in?” I ask Saxon, and he nods.
“Yes. In between everything else, I found time to return to my room. I do not have much of sentimental value, so it didn’t take long.
Lila, I was thinking maybe tomorrow we could go down into the circus pod and use the arena to test out your new abilities,” he offers, and I squeal and throw my arms around him.
Of course I misjudge my strength, and the two of us fly into the wall, Saxon cushioning the impact with his body.
He grunts and slides down onto the floor, taking me with him.
“Oh fuck. I thought I’d gotten a handle on that,” I cry out, checking him over for damage.
He shakes his head and grabs my hands, holding them in place. “Extreme emotions will probably trigger you for a little longer, at least until you have had some time to get used to them.”
I scramble to my feet and hold out a hand, carefully hauling him up. “I’m so sorry,” I apologize, brushing him off, though he doesn’t really need it. I don’t like seeing him wrinkled and feel the need to do something.
Again, he grabs my hands and leans in. “Do not worry, my beautiful blood rose, you can kiss all my boo-boos better after you have seen to your cyborg’s needs.” He inhales deeply when his nose presses against my neck.
“Are you hungry? It’s been a while,” I ask, and when he pulls back, his magenta eyes are glowing, and I can see his fangs have dropped.
“Yes, I can smell the abundance of blood in your system and know that you are ready to feed me, but I can wait until you are done.”
“You can tell that?” I ask, cocking my head to the side before stepping in and getting on my tiptoes to shove my nose into his neck.
I inhale deeply, and sure enough, the smell of marshmallows and chocolate flood my senses as well as the unmistakable scent of copper.
My gums throb, and my stomach rumbles, which is weird since I just drank from Xavier not that long ago.
“Oh yes, well, I guess you and I have a date for dinner then,” I tell him, and the smug smile that crosses his lush mouth is panty wetting.
It takes all my strength to turn away from him.
I look around, and I’m surprised to find William and Eric are missing. “When did that happen?” I ask the other three, and Cas grins.
“The minute Saxon started sniffing your neck, they bailed. They went to check on John in the clinic.”
My stomach sinks. Fuck, John is in the clinic.
There is no way I want to play doctor and nurse with Link in there now.
They must see the dismay on my face, and Xavier brushes across my mind before chuckling out loud.
I should reprimand him, but he has been very good at staying out of my head, and do I really want to admit about me being selfish and wanting sex when my grandpa has an unknown toxin ravaging his body?
“She is upset because she was hoping for a little role play-down in the clinic and has just remembered that John is down there too,” Xavier shares, and my other guys all look at me with heat in their eyes and no judgment whatsoever. God, I love them. They are fucking amazing.
“It’s okay, baby. I have a private treatment room that is soundproof. We can still check you all over,” Link assures me.
“Well, what the fuck are we waiting for?” I grab my lovely cyborg by his hand and drag him in the direction of the closest elevator. “I’ll see you all later, right?” I call back, and they all respond in the affirmative.
“Okay then. Good luck with your clan, Saxon, and Xavier, tell Susie I’ll speak to her soon,” I say, but once we reach the elevator, I turn my attention completely to the man in front of me. As the doors open, I push him back against the wall, ready to ravish him, but he stops me.
“Wait!”