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.
Nikos
Go away, I never want to see you again. Because of your single-minded selfishness, we may have lost our children before they even had the chance to live.
Lila’s rage-filled words play over and over on a never-ending loop of despair as I swim listlessly through the frigid waters of Skar to where I entered the water when I first arrived.
The island resort is sparsely populated at this time of year, and the beach is deserted as I shift and walk naked back to my room, my head hung in shame.
My heart is broken, and my soul is shattered.
Rejected by the woman I had chosen for a mate, I have no choice but to return to my home planet and find out if I can survive a one-sided mate bond.
I don’t know any stories of bonds that have not been reciprocated before, though I do know that bonds broken by a partner’s death are painful, and the surviving mate often chooses not to live without their chosen one.
I will have to ask Nixie if she will help me quietly look into it.
There is no way I am going to tell my father of the one-sided bond.
He would insist Lila reciprocate, by force if necessary, and she has already had so many changes and choices taken out of her hands, I refuse to add to her worries.
I have already caused much damage, lost to the siren song of the mating dance and the mesmerizing, musical tone of Lila’s voice.
I never would have allowed us to swim so far away from her nest if I had been in my right mind.
I saw the creatures that stalk her and her family and chased them away on two separate occasions while I bided my time, waiting for her to be receptive to me.
I was aware of the danger they presented and would never dream of putting her babies at risk.
I present myself as self-indulgent and shallow, but it is all an act.
It keeps my father’s attention off me and is good at distinguishing people who truly wish to know me and those who are putting up with my shit to get ahead, but Lila is different.
It’s what brought my attention to her in the first place.
She didn’t put up with my over-the-top, ridiculous behavior, and she couldn’t care less that I am the crown prince of Aquilia, future king and rightful ruler.
She told me plainly where I could shove my fins.
It’s so refreshing and enlightening, and I love it.
Many of our people were happy to throw themselves at me, not caring one little bit about my airheaded, narcissistic act either, thinking they would be able to manipulate me or use me to garner power and wealth.
I thought Lila finally saw me for who I really am under the show, but I miscalculated how affected I would be.
I heard rumors floating about after her major win on Iceen.
They spread through the galaxy like wildfire.
When her grandparents registered her Skarrian paperwork, and it listed her powers as a mimic and a whisperer, I took it as a sign from the old gods.
The woman I was obsessed with could be mine in every way.
It wouldn’t have mattered if she couldn’t shift, because I would have loved her with two legs above the water, but being able to perform a mating swim with her was indescribable.
Having it end the way it did is world shattering.
I’m not sure how I am ever going to recover.
I stare listlessly at the luxurious resort room, not sure what to do next. I guess there is no point in hanging around after she rejected me so brutally. I may be inexperienced in the way of mates, but even I can’t mistake what happened as a good thing.
I don’t have a lot to pack, but I pull on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt before sliding my feet into a pair of sandals. Gathering the few personal items I brought with me, I toss them into my backpack and pull the door closed behind me as I head to reception to check out.
The girl at the desk smiles at me. She was the same woman who was working when I checked in, and I subjected her to my ridiculous persona.
She seemed receptive, which automatically dropped her in my esteem.
She’s a little taken aback this time when I barely communicate, just flashing my omni band over the payment console before stalking out of the lobby in search of transport to the island shuttle port.
When I arrive, my personal Aquilian glider is ready and refueled for me.
I sent a message from the hover cab. Larger ships are not permitted to land on Skar and must dock in the space port orbiting the planet, but personal shuttles and smaller ships can.
My glider can fit four people in a squeeze, and there are no accommodations.
It’s purely a military style transport with weapons and shield capabilities, but it’s fast and has a warp drive, which is all I really need.
I don’t often leave Aquilia when I am there, and I certainly don’t drag an entourage around with me.
I settle my backpack into a storage cupboard and check my supplies. I have enough rations for the four day journey, the gray tanks are empty, and the freshwater tanks are full. We’re good to go.
I take a seat and go through the start procedures, grateful for something so mind-numbingly easy to distract myself from my chaotic thoughts, but they seep back in.
The look on Lila’s face when she saw the creatures in front of their nesting cave is seared into my brain, and where the hell did that water dragon come from?
I am, of course, grateful that it was around and took over protecting the babies when we failed, but there are none like that in any waters I know of.
The more I think about it, the more I think it must be a shifter from Fluxx, and if my suspicions are correct, then Lila is going to be just as pissed about him being there as she was about me.
I have heard rumors about the dragon royal family and an ancestor who had a different dragon form.
I consider telling Lila exactly who it is, but that would not endear me to anyone, so I’ll leave him to explain all of that.
My shuttle rises into the air, and I guide it out of the Skarrian atmosphere, taking it away from the planet before engaging my hyperdrive.
As I get farther away, my chest begins to ache, and a throbbing pain starts behind my eyes.
Is this a result of the one-way bond? I have heard it is difficult to be away from one’s mate, but I thought because Lila had not returned my mating bite, it wouldn’t be as bad.
I’m hoping it won’t be for her, even if I am starting to suffer for my mistakes. I deserve it and more.
I set course for Aquilia and activate the hyperdrive engines.
The transition is smooth, and soon, I am barreling through space faster than the speed of light.
I lean my head back and close my eyes. There is nothing for me to do but sit and marinate in my own woes, and I don’t really relish the idea of doing that.
Replaying what I could have or should have done is not going to help me now.
Instead, I’m going to take a moment to catch up on some sleep.
I haven’t had a lot of it since I reached Skarr, spending most of my time in the water protecting Caspian and Lila from a distance.
Those creatures were relentless, and I tried my best, but there is only one of me, and even as fearsome as I am, they got past me a few times.
Thankfully Caspian’s kraken is a formidable creature as well and could chase them away when they got past me.
I press the heel of my palm to my chest, hoping to ease the ache, but I fear it is there to stay.
When I get to Aquilia, I will ask my sister for advice.
She is the only one I can speak to about this.
My father is not a good male, and my mother has become bitter due to his behavior over the years.
My sister and I only have each other to rely on, and I will go to her for help now.
By the time I arrive on Aquilia, I feel even worse.
I slept most of the journey, only waking when the ship dropped out of hyperdrive when it reached Aquilia’s orbit.
We don’t have a space port, so visiting ships must orbit the planet, but we do have a docking area for Aquilian spaceships on a large stretch of land, and that’s where I land my glider.
I exit the ship, and the workers bow to me as I pass them.
I wave them away, not needing or wanting them to genuflect like my father requires.
I just want to get into the water. I hope I feel so horrible because I’ve been in space for so long without contact with water and not the one-sided mate bond.
I don’t hang around the ship dock, instead beelining straight to the water, my backpack of belongings slung over my shoulder.
When I reach the edge, I strip and toss my clothes and shoes into the backpack, which has water repelling capabilities, and secure it on my back.
As I stride into the water, my shift flows over me, and I let out a relieved sigh as the saltwater covers my skin, soothing the cracked and dry surface.