Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Lila
The five days it takes us to get to Aquilia are uneventful apart from the constantly looming presence of the Aquilian ships.
I work on my whip skills a little more, but without the rest of the cats for the ice show, there isn’t really any point in rehearsing.
Saxon tries to distract me with flying lessons in Vilaxian form, but I still suck at it.
Now that I have access to the Aquilian pool, I’ve been spending a lot of time in there in both my kraken and Aquilian forms. Thankfully they have no special powers, but I practice a lot of swimming with my tail and maneuvering.
Their skills in the water are exceptional, and Caspian and I mock fight just in case I need to defend myself once we arrive on the planet.
I doubt it, but I didn’t want to be caught unaware again.
Eventually, I get bored and restless and decide to join the meetings discussing plans for rescuing my grandmother.
Today’s powwow involves everyone except the two cats and Cas, who are looking after the little ones, which is what they will be doing when we arrive at Husadavia as well.
Apparently the three of them are not suited to go down to the planet.
I’m almost certain they are going to try to tell me I’m not suited either, and I’m going to tell them they are mistaken.
If my grandpas think they are going down to the surface, then they are sorely mistaken as well. Thankfully Xavier is on my side.
“We’ve explored everything we could find on the planet Husadavia, trying to figure out the best way to get into the death forest.” Brannock has taken charge of this expedition, which surprises me.
I didn’t think we were at that level of trust with him yet, but obviously he has proven something to my grandpas and mates.
Also, his experience during the war with the Una’s is invaluable, according to my grandpas.
“But there’s just not enough information.
Link has a friend who hooked us up with the leader of the halla harvesters.
We have a meeting with him at Z68 in five days’ time. ”
We’re all sitting around the conference table, which is off the side of the flight deck.
Saxon, Xavier, and Link, as well as Silac, Tirrian, Brannock, and my three grandpas are all here.
Bubby is making sure the ship stays on course to Aquilia so we don’t get shot out of the sky.
“Z68?” I ask because everyone seems to know what he’s talking about.
“It’s another one of those space stations, like the one we attended before,” Xavier tells me.
“We should be able to find you a few more beings to mimic as well. Depending on what the imagined slight is to the Aquilians, we should be able to wrap up that issue and make it to the space station on time. It’s not too far from here. ”
“It would be helpful if we could add the other two elementals, though the earth elemental is going to be an asset for this mission, and it certainly would be an advantage if we could get you to mimic another dragon. Their impenetrable hide would be useful on Husadavia.” Link nods, and I see Tirrian’s eyes narrow as his nose starts to smoke, but he’s made it perfectly clear how he feels about me, so I ignore it.
“What’s so special about the leader of the halla harvesters that he and his group can get onto this planet when nobody else seems to be able to?” I ask, worried we’re getting scammed. “What’s to say he won’t just take us there and leave us to die?”
Everyone exchanges a glance. “We’re not actually sure what species he is. It’s all very hush-hush,” Link tells me. “But even if we decide not to go ahead after the meeting, we’re hoping that you’ll be able to mimic him, and that should help us on the planet.”
Tirrian snorts derisively. “That’s reassuring.”
Grandpa William scowls at the dragon. “Be careful, dragon. You are still breathing at this stage because I respect your father too much to kill his firstborn son. The fact that you may come in handy for this rescue mission is the only reason you are still on this ship, so shut your mouth unless you have something helpful to add.”
“We are all very aware that you do not wish to mate with our granddaughter, and that is your decision, but you can keep all your derision and negative opinions to yourself unless you’re offering a solution,” Eric sneers at the dragon.
He fought with the other two to send him home once he found out that he didn’t want to seal the mating bond his dragon is insisting on, but John argued that it may make him even more volatile, and that we should just let him stay and leave him be.
We can’t force someone to do anything they don’t want to, and I certainly don’t want a mate who doesn’t want me.
I’m sort of sad because I kind of felt like maybe we had a moment in the caves of Rilu, but I guess I was mistaken. Shaking myself out of my funk, I tune back into the conversation, but I see Xavier looking at me with sympathy in his eyes. Damn him and his warlock emotional radar.
“Okay, so we have a plan for navigating the planet. What about the other thing Zamala told us about? The something bears?”
There are audible groans around the table and muttered curse words, and I go on high alert.
“The carevasta bears are an all-male species. They are the pirates of space, capturing ships and pillaging both their cargo and their women. They need to use other women for the continuation of their species. They emit a pheromone that makes women crazy, allowing them to breed and impregnate them. The women are loved and cared for until they give birth to their offspring. Any males born will be carevasta bears, and the fathers retain custody of the child and return the mothers to their former lives. If the child is female and of whatever race the female is, they both get discarded,” Silac explains, his nose wrinkling in disgust.
“They are foul-mouthed, arrogant creatures, but they have the ability to manipulate matter,” Saxon grumbles, but I’m still confused.
“So why exactly do we need them?”
“Because Zamala said that Liliana is encased in something, and we need a carevasta bear to reach in and pull her out with his matter disruption abilities.”
“It’s what makes them such good pirates. Nobody is able to keep them in a jail cell or out of any vault or safe that they want to get into. As long as they can get close to a ship, they can board it.”
“But if they are lacking in morals and complete assholes, then how are we going to convince them to help us?” I look around the group, my heart sinking with everyone’s solemn faces.
“I’m not sure, to be honest,” Xavier says, sounding worried, but he avoids my gaze, and again, Tirrian snorts.
“Are you really that stupid?” he asks. Everyone around the table glares at him, but I’m unfortunately still clueless.
“Shut up, dragon, or I will make you.” Xavier starts to spark with power, and Tirrian just rolls his eyes, not caring that he’s being threatened by one of the most powerful beings in the galaxy.
“Look, I’m not sure why you are tiptoeing around this. You need to let her make her own decisions,” Tirrian argues, and Link just snorts and shakes his head.
“That’s a bit rich coming from you. You’ve done everything you can to take her decision away from her.” I can hear the venom in Link’s words.
“Yes, because mine is being taken away from me as well.” Tirrian straightens in his chair and thumps his hand down on the table, his wings fluttering behind him.
Although my skin still itches to mimic both him and Silac, I am able to control it, so I haven’t asked them to remain in their human forms. Silac has kept two legs instead of his half snake form, but the rest of him is partially shifted.
Silac just shakes his head in pity, his tongue flicking in and out in agitation, and I’m mesmerized by it.
It’s forked, and if my reading is correct, it’s not the only thing on his body that’s forked.
“If you and your dragon are that disconnected, I would say you have bigger problems than who it’s picked for a mate.
Usually the human and the animal are in sync, so who is really the stupid one now?
Maybe you should shift when we get to Aquilia and see if you and your animal can reconnect, because whatever is going on with you can’t be sustained. ”
Tirrian’s nose smokes, and there is a low grumble, but he bites his tongue and doesn’t argue. He nods. “Maybe you are right. If you don’t need me for the meeting with the Aquilians, I will take advantage of all that space to shift and see if my animal and I can come to an agreement.”
He says this quietly, and everyone looks at me. Oh shit, they are all looking at me like he’s asking me for permission. Is he? Because that can’t be right.
I wave my hand. “Do what you want. Tirrian, I don’t get a say in what makes you happy.” There’s a moment of tense silence, but then I remember how it got that way. “Anyway, what were you suggesting about the bears?”
Everyone glares at him again, and he ducks his head and mutters, “Never mind.” Everyone relaxes, but I’m not happy with that answer.
“No, not never mind. If you have something to say that might help us rescue my grandmother, then I want to know.”