Chapter 26
Lila
The next day, Saxon brings me down into the circus pod soon after breakfast so we can work on my new Vilaxian strength.
When we arrive, Xenos is there, as are Hale, Velorina, and two unfamiliar Vilaxians. The nasty bitches are nowhere to be seen.
“Lila, I’d like you to meet my brother, Xenos.
” Saxon drags me over, and I blink, staring at the man in front of me.
I didn’t get a good look the night Saxon and I bonded.
Instead, I played possum, not wanting to draw more attention to myself, but it’s like looking at my husband with longer hair.
I glance between the two of them, and they both grin at me.
“Twins?” I ask, and Saxon nods.
“Welcome to the family, Lila.” Xenos pulls me into a hug, kissing my cheeks. “We’re so very happy that Saxon has found his blood rose.”
“Thank you.” I smile gratefully at him. I was truly worried that he was only putting on a happy face for his brother, but he seems genuinely pleased.
“Let me introduce you to my clan.” He waves the two strangers over, and both of them approach with happy, welcoming grins, and I feel a relieved breath escape me.
“This is Dante and Kavita.” He points to the male and female respectively.
Both of them are tall and intimidating, like all the sanguinistas.
Dante has luscious brown curls that flop over his lavender-colored eyes, and Kavita has long, pin straight, red hair that falls to her ass, dark eyes with red flecks in them, and ruby red lips.
They are both fucking stunning. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Hale and Velorina eyeing them like they are a tasty snack that they’d like to eat up.
“Welcome, little one,” Dante says, repeating the same actions as Xenos and kissing my cheeks.
“We are so happy to meet you. Well, I am happy to have another female in the family.” Kavita grabs both of my hands and squeezes them.
“Hey, what am I?” Velorina sounds annoyed and puts her hands on her hips.
“But you won’t be family much longer, will you?” Kavita doesn’t turn back to look at her, so she misses the hurt on Velorina’s face.
Wow, so things just got fucking awkward.
Hale growls and steps forward aggressively. “Fuck you, Kavita,” he spits out, and in a flash, Xenos is in his face, chest to chest.
“Watch how you speak to my clan member.”
“How about she thinks before she opens her fucking mouth?” Hale doesn’t back down, and Saxon pushes between them.
“Enough. Now is not the time or place.” He looks at me guiltily. I guess he hasn’t been completely honest with me.
Hale steps back and runs a frustrated hand through his ice blond hair, making it stick out awkwardly.
“It’s nothing against you, Lila. We both know Saxon wanted out for a while.
Both of us have had similar feelings, but the other two are making things difficult.
We don’t want it, but it looks like they are going to force a mediation on us. ”
“Mediation?” I ask, looking at each of them, hoping someone will answer.
Saxon sighs. “We need to go before a committee and explain the reason for our clan dissolution. It’s messy and prolongs the process, and it also makes it harder to find a new clan because the other members get the reputation of troublemakers.
” His eyes are full of sympathy as he looks at Hale and Velorina.
Hale has stepped back and wrapped an arm around the other woman, comforting her.
“I’m sorry. My words may have been insensitive.
I apologize.” Kavita has the grace to blush prettily.
“I didn’t mean to attack you, I am just so angry at the other two.
There is no reason this should be happening.
They are only causing problems for everyone.
A blood rose bonding is an automatic dissolution.
” Kavita walks over and wraps her own arms around Velorina in comfort, and I see her melt into them.
“Are you two going to behave?” Saxon looks between his brother and Hale, and now that I’m paying attention, I realize the air is filled with sexual tension.
Saxon told me these two clans used to be combined, but when they got assigned to the circus, Xenos and the other two decided to stay on Vilax.
Being in the circus was beneath him. I wonder what changed their minds, or if they were ordered to.
Maybe that’s why there is so much tension between him and Hale—or they used to fuck. I’m going to go with that.
“Because if you’re not, you can all leave.”
They quickly agree, and before long, I’m being put through my paces. They test my speed, strength, reflexes, and reactions. I’m put through the wringer, but I’m almost on par with Velorina who, by her own admission, is the weakest in the clan.
“This is freaking awesome. I was so disappointed when I didn’t get any Skarrian powers, so it’s nice to have these to rely on until we can see Xavier’s parents and get mine unlocked.
” I’m breathing heavily, and Saxon passes me a bottle of Skarrian water.
I twist off the top and down it all in one go.
“Okay, last test, my sweet blood rose,” Saxon says, taking the empty bottle out of my hand and putting it to the side.
“Flying?” I can’t control the excitement in my voice, and the others all chuckle.
Saxon nods. “Yes, it’s the main reason I asked the others to join us. When you’re learning, it can be unpredictable, and you should always have experienced flyers around to help you.”
I squeal quietly and do a little dance on the spot then clap my hands. “Let’s do this!” I shout, and they all look at me strangely, so I wave my hand. “Never mind. Show me what to do.”
“Well, if you have the ability, and you may not,” Saxon warns gently, “you just push off into the air and think about where you want to go and how fast.”
“So like Superman?” I say, and a little furrow of confusion appears between his eyebrows. It’s so freaking cute.
“Who?”
“Never mind. Can one of you show me?” I ask, looking at the others, and almost like they are in sync, they all bend their knees and launch themselves into the air.
Just like that, the five of them are flying around the dome.
I watch carefully, and I can see that they shift their bodies to direct themselves.
Streamlining makes them go faster, and making their bodies bigger slows them down.
They twirl, tumble, somersault, and glide, looking majestic.
“Are you ready?” Saxon draws my attention back down and holds a hand out for me.
“Yeah, okay. But promise not to let me fall?” I ask, putting a protective hand over my tiny baby bump.
“Of course, my sweet blood rose. I will never let anything happen to you,” he tells me, pressing a sweet kiss to my lips.
“Come on, Lila. Get your ass up here,” Hale calls, and I take a deep breath, bend my knees, and jump.
I lift maybe an inch off the ground and drop back down. I feel my face fall in disappointment.
“No, don’t be sad. It’s okay, sometimes it takes a couple of tries,” Saxon quickly assures me.
“Yeah, and sometimes it takes pushing you off a cliff.” Hale snickers, and Velorina slaps him on the back of the head.
“Shut up. You’ll scare her, you idiot.”
The five of them are upright and hovering on the spot, waiting for Saxon and me to join them. Hale and Velorina are on one side, and Dante, Kavita, and Xenos are on the other.
“Try again,” Saxon encourages, and so once more, I take a deep breath and bend my knees before pushing off as hard as I can.
This time I do manage to leave the ground, but it’s slow and awkward, kind of like doing bunny hops in a car, and my arms and legs are flailing. I scream, but Saxon is right next to me, hovering gracefully in the air.
“Good, Lila. Now you need to look in the direction you want to go and kind of kick off,” Saxon tells me.
“Kick off what?” I yell, still flailing wildly.
I can hear the others above me quietly laughing, so I look up at them and give them my middle finger.
My body shoots upwards in the direction I was looking.
Hale was the one who was in my line of sight, and I hurtle toward him, unable to slow myself.
His grin drops and his mouth opens as he realizes I’m not going to pull up in time.
He braces for impact when hands grab my legs and yank me to a halt.
He sighs with relief, and I’m so close, I feel his breath ruffle my hair. I look down and find Saxon and Xenos have a hold of my ankles.
“Whoa, that was close,” I exclaim, my body hovering in place now that my movements are being controlled by someone else.
“Wow, Lila, I’ve seen Vilaxian children with more coordination than you.” Velorina’s eyes are wide with shock, and I can’t really be upset with her—I am a disaster.
“How about two of us help her move around until she gets the hang of it? I remember my mother and father doing that with me and my siblings when we were learning to fly.” Dante smiles at me encouragingly.
“Holy crap, that was the worst flying I have ever seen.” A voice from below has us all looking toward the ground.
There, my magenta-haired friend stands with a hand shielding her eyes as she looks up at us.
Suddenly, she starts to rise into the air.
My mouth drops open in shock. I’d forgotten Magenta could fly.
It’s one of her Skarrian abilities. Soon enough, she’s eye level with me, smirking with her arms crossed.
“Dude, you are going to need some serious lessons, but there’s no time for that now.
Xavier sent me to find you. You need to be outfitted for Iceen.
” Her gaze drifts away from me, and she waves a couple of fingers at Velorina. “Hi.
Velorina smiles and propels herself closer. “Hello, pretty girl.” She picks up Magenta’s hand and presses a kiss to the back of it. Hale moves to their side.
“We missed you at the club last night,” he tells her, and I watch in surprise as my Skarrian friend blushes prettily.
Now hold up. Mags is a whore, but these two just made her coy. What the fuck am I missing?