Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Lila
“Oh fuck,” Cas whispers behind me as I stare in open-mouthed shock at the sight before me.
Gone are Nikos’s very defined, sexy abs, and in their place is a very large, very familiar round belly—one I recognize from looking down at myself not all that long ago.
Unlike the king behind him who is all fat, Nikos is most definitely pregnant.
I blink a couple of times just to make sure, rubbing at my eyes and shaking my head, but sure enough, when my vision clears, he is still pregnant.
My gaze rises up his floating body until it gets to his face.
He looks at me with shame and embarrassment, and that wave of guilt that has been plaguing me rises up with a new force, as well as an overwhelming sense of jealousy.
Why is my can of tuna pregnant, and how the fuck did he get that way?
Which sea bitch am I going to have to kill for knocking up my mate?
A rumble starts deep in my chest, and it’s only then that I notice his cheek and the very dark, defined bruise with knuckle imprints.
“Who did this?” I demand, pointing at Nikos. “Which woman is responsible for my mate being in this condition?” I ask him, looking around at all the Aquilian courtiers.
“Ah, Lila. Marlin said it’s your bastard,” Cas whispers behind me, and I freeze.
“Mine?” I ask quietly. “But how?”
“We don’t have time for this, but I guess it’s similar to Echo,” Xavier says.
I think back to our swim and how my orgasm seemed to be so different from anything I’d ever experienced.
“Well shit,” I mutter as William steps up next to me.
“King Marlin.” He nods his head respectfully.
“I wish I could say it was a pleasure to see you, but under the circumstances, I believe I won’t.
As far as your request for compensation, the Galaxy Circus is only to be passed down to a member of the Adams family, so you have no business asking for half of it. ”
“That is an Adams baby in my son’s belly.
” He points at the bubble, where Nikos’s golden hair floats around his face.
I’m not sure if he can hear the proceedings or not.
I’m not even sure how I feel about this.
Even faced with the evidence of what we did, I still can’t comprehend that I’m his baby mama.
He looks miserable, and all I want to do is wrap my arms around him and hold him tight.
I also want to kill whoever put that mark on his face.
The need is fierce and all consuming, and when I find out who hit my pregnant can of tuna, they will die, and I will make them suffer.
“So you claim, but there are also five more babies up on the ship with equal rights, and it is them who have the right, not you. We will take Nikos with us, since you claim to have no use for him, and run tests to assure that what you say is true. If this is the case, he and his baby will be well loved.” Eric steps up to show a combined force on my other side, and I feel Cas and Xavier crowd my back.
“I want compensation.” The king struggles to his feet, huffing and puffing. “I am due some kind of compensation.”
“You will get nothing, and you will tell me who put that mark on his face,” I say through gritted teeth, trying to hold in the lightning power that begs to lash out and kill this worthless slug on the spot.
The king sneers at me and waves a hand. “Then you will rot at the bottom of the ocean in one of our prisons.” We are suddenly surrounded by the warriors, and I hear a thud and turn to find my warlock in a crumpled pile on the ground, a warrior having hit him in the head with the blunt end of his trident.
I go to raise my hands, but the lead warrior tuts, smirking at me as he shoves his trident deeper into Caspian’s side.
“If you even twitch, we will kill them all,” he threatens me.
I look around, and both my grandpas have razor-sharp tridents pointed at them as well.
I know that I could use my warlock powers and take care of these idiots, but I’m not experienced enough with them to be quick, and I don’t want to risk them getting a little stab happy if I do that.
I’m sure both my grandpas feel the same way about using their own powers, especially with Xavier on the ground.
“If you come quietly, I will allow the others to go back to the ship safely. If you do not, I will kill one every time you fight my guards,” the king says, sounding as happy as a clam at the moment.
“Don’t do it, Lila,” Cas says, shaking his head furiously.
I look around, but for now, I see no options. My heartbeat is steady, and I have a plan forming in my mind. With my earth elemental powers, I should be able to get out of any prison they put me in, and I have options once I’m out, so now I just have to make sure that everyone else is okay.
“Let them go,” I demand, and he shakes his head.
“You really have no room to negotiate, but I am wise and kind,” he announces to the room.
As I look around at his gathered people, I see the skepticism in their eyes.
Marlin’s gaze narrows on my Cas, and he grins evilly.
“I will allow them to return to their ship, but I want a galactic ton of suva delivered to me, and I want sole distribution in this quadrant of space, and I want that to continue every month.”
“No, that’s unreasonable,” I argue with him.
“Agreed if you let Lila go as well,” Cas says quickly, but the king snorts.
“No, that bitch is mine. She will spend the rest of her life in my cells.” My grandpas and Cas start to argue, and I hiss at them.
“Be quiet. I have a plan.” Thankfully they do as I ask, though I can practically feel Caspian glaring at me. “Fine, as long as you allow my family to take Nikos with them.”
Marlin sneers at me but waves a hand. “They can take him. I have no use for him.”
I turn to face my family. “Go, I will be okay. I have all my forms. They won’t be able to keep me contained for long. Just have Bubby watch the transport platform, since I haven’t mastered teleporting yet, and don’t let Xavier lose his shit when he wakes up.”
I can see that it’s killing Cas and my grandpas, but they readily agree.
William and Eric gather Xavier’s slumped form between them as Cas goes over and retrieves Nikos’s pod.
He still hasn’t really looked at me, and I feel terrible.
Not a wink or a smirk or a flutter of fins to be seen.
He’s listless and unresponsive as Cas wheels it down the hall, followed by my grandparents with an unconscious Xavier and half the mermen warriors.
“I don’t need to tell you that you won’t be welcome back here,” Marlin calls, and William and Eric stop, glaring at him.
“The Galactic Council will hear about this. I hope your people won’t be mad at you when you are completely cut off from everything else when I demand sanctions against Aquilia.”
King Marlin laughs evilly as murmurs travel through his people. “My people have no need of anything else the galaxy can provide.”
I’m still surrounded by some of his warriors, and I hear one of them mutter, “I wouldn’t be so sure of that.
” When I look up, a few of them have worried frowns.
All is not right with this planet. King Marlin is more tyrannical than anyone could have known.
I look closer at his surrounding citizens, and they look pale and gaunt and very unhappy. This planet is ripe for an uprising.
The doors close behind my family, the loud clang sounding awfully final, but my heart rate is steady and my brain whirls as I try to make plans despite the anger building inside me.
Marlin looks back at me and demands, “Change forms.”
I feign a frown and shake my head like I don’t know what he is talking about. “What?”
“I know you have an Aquilian form. My son wouldn’t be pregnant unless he fucked you in it. If you had done it in two-legged form, you would be the one who was pregnant.”
Oh crap. I haven’t completely studied up on my Aquilian knowledge yet. Had I known I was mated to Nikos, I would have. I didn’t even know that their males gave birth like Earth’s seahorses.
“If you don’t, I will kill my daughter,” he threatens, and I watch in horror as his other son, the one who is now crown prince, grabs Nixie and holds a knife to her throat.
Fuck, I was so worried about getting Nikos to safety that I forgot about my friend.
I allow my Aquilian form to wash over me and collapse to the ground when my legs disappear, my tail flapping, and King Marlin smiles triumphantly.
“So you are a mimic. I had my doubts, but now I am going to be able to make a galactic fortune by hiring you out to whatever race wants to make babies with you.”
“Like hell I will do anything for you, and my family won’t let you either. The minute Xavier wakes up, you will have the warlock and Vilaxian armies on your doorstep.”
King Marlin’s laughter echoes around the ostentatious room. “And how will they get to us deep under the ocean? Sure, your kraken mate may be able to, but there is no one else who can come to your rescue.”
I snort. “And how the fuck are you going to hire me out if no one can get to me?” I ask him, and he rolls his eyes like I’m an idiot.
“They can transport directly to my palace under the ocean if they have the right code, which changes daily.”
“And you don’t think a warlock can’t.” I smirk too, but my amusement disappears when he just tuts.
“Ah, Lila, I am not an idiot. My palace has been warded against warlocks. Even the warlock king and queen couldn’t get into it.”
Damn it. Iceen was the same. I was hoping maybe he was too stupid or arrogant to consider it.
“I wouldn’t be too sure of that,” a voice I’ve recently become familiar with says from behind me.