Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Lila
The transport deck is empty when we arrive. Bubby can remotely trigger it from the flight deck. I press my communicator and use the open broadcast channel. “Hey, where is everyone? I’m back and have Tirrian, Cronus, and Xylene with me.”
“Lila, thank fuck.” Cas’s voice is breathless when he responds not moments later. “We’re in the med bay. Come down and bring Xavier’s parents please.”
My heart starts to race. Fuck, Xavier must be more hurt than I thought he was. What did they do to him to render him unconscious?
“Come on.” I start to leave, but Xylene grabs me.
“Think of the med bay, Lila,” she instructs me, so I bring up Link’s domain in my mind, and within a flash, we are there—Tirrian included.
The room is in an uproar. My grandpas are all arguing in the corner about something, but what grabs my attention is Xavier’s still figure on the exam table with Saxon standing next to him, holding his hand. Cas is also there, and Link is running his diagnostic hand scan.
“Oh good, you’re here,” Link says, looking up from my unconscious fiancé.
“It’s been a shit show. You two had just left when these four returned with an unconscious Xavier and a pregnant Nikos.
” He waves his hand, and farther in the room is Nikos’s water pod.
He floats listlessly, the water suspending him in the pod.
He doesn’t meet my gaze, just stares off into nothing.
“Cas was shouting about you being detained and he had to return, because he was the only one who could get to you, but William stopped him. We wanted to give Xavier’s parents a chance first.”
I go over to my kraken and wrap my arms around him, pressing a kiss to his lips. He shudders in my hold and releases a huge sigh of relief. “Thank God you’re okay. What happened?”
“Do you remember that dragon I was telling you about back on Fluxx? The water one that you told me wasn’t real?
” He nods, and I turn and point to Tirrian.
“Turns out I wasn’t imagining things.” I think about what the dragon had done to the mating dome and snort with amusement.
I wonder if Tirrian is horrified at his animal’s behavior.
“He also saved our babies on Skarr and me just now on Aquilia. We owe him everything.”
Cas pulls away from me, marches over to the dragon, and pulls the shocked man into a huge hug, wrapping one of his agitated tentacles around the poor man as well.
“Thank you. You will always be welcome in our family,” Cas tells Tirrian, and the poor dragon’s eyes widen comically as Cas’s tentacles caress his leg.
Cas’s kraken is as bad as mine and gets away with a lot more while in half form.
It’s why I avoid mine most of the time. She ends up groping everyone around us.
“It was nothing,” Tirrian mumbles gruffly, patting Cas on the back. Holy crap, he really is trying to make an effort. “I would protect your family like it was my own.” He pulls away and leans against the wall in his favorite spot. Cas rejoins us around the table.
“What is wrong with our son?” Xylene takes the other hand that Saxon isn’t holding. Neither her nor Cronus raise an eyebrow at the fact that Saxon is indeed holding their son’s hand. I guess it’s normal for warlocks given their harem proclivities if they don’t have an intimate.
Link shakes his head. “Nothing that I can find apart from the goose egg on his head where the Aquilian knocked him unconscious. There’s a small amount of swelling, but nothing that should be keeping him unconscious. I was just going to suggest that Lila change to her Celestian form and heal him.”
“Lila, what happened? We were just in the process of working out which nations we could call on for assistance, but it seems you’ve already gotten us one of the most lethal.” William and my grandpas approach, smiling at Cronus and Xylene. The five of them exchange hugs and greetings.
“I dealt with that fat slug. He took a shot at me. No one lives to tell the tale. Nerissa is taking his place for now, so hopefully there will be some positive changes,” Cronus tells my grandpas when they all finish.
“Couldn’t have happened to a nicer man.” Eric smirks. “But what about the crown prince?”
Cronus points at Tirrian. “You have the prince of dragons to thank for disposing of that one.”
Eric turns a questioning look on the dragon who shrugs. “He hurt Lila, so I ate him,” he tells everyone succinctly without an ounce of remorse in his tone.
Eric narrows his eyes. “Maybe you will be an asset to this team.” He still hasn’t forgiven Tirrian for all the hurt he caused me, but it seems he may be thawing, not to mention Tirrian seems to be changing too, but that’s for later.
Now, I need to fix my warlock so he and I can get on with the intimate bonding.
I allow my Celestian form to wash over me, and I lose my clothes again.
I stomp my foot, annoyed that I didn’t ask Xavier if he could create a spell for me like he did for the kids.
There is only so much nudity that should be happening in front of people who are not my mates, and that is zero.
It’s Xylene who waves her hands and clothes me this time.
“Thank you,” I say, ruffling my wings and stretching them wide.
It’s weird. I don’t know where they go when I’m not in this form, but they always feel like they need a long, hard stretch when they first emerge.
I haven’t actually attempted flying with them yet either.
I was so embarrassed at my lack of flying ability as a Vilaxian, I haven’t wanted to try with these wings, even though I have mad skills as an elemental, but my whole body is different.
I’m slight and dainty and delicate. This form is no different than my normal form except for the giant ass wings, but they are pretty, and now they are the same color as my hair, a rainbow of opalescent colors, which I allowed to change back to normal the minute we returned to the ship.
I allow my Celestian powers to take over.
Xavier and Saxon took great pleasure in sword fighting—the metal kind, not the fun kind—and cutting each other, giving me wounds to practice my healing on.
Seriously, they were like two school boys, giggling and taunting each other as they parried back and forth.
Who would have thought that the galaxy had their own version of yo mama jokes?
I close my eyes and scan Xavier, and find that Link is right.
There is a lump on Xavier’s head, and I heal it, but it’s not what’s keeping him asleep.
I snort, and a smile creeps across my lips as I shake my head at the ridiculousness of my fiancé.
I can feel his own amusement. He’s not unconscious but playing possum.
He wants true love’s kiss to wake him up, so I lean in and brush my lips across his, muttering, “Do you need all the guys to lay wet ones on you as well, or is this something you reserved for the Earth girl whose fairy tales you are mocking?”
His eyes pop open, and he hauls me up onto the exam table, my body on his as my wings flutter behind me at the sudden, unexpected movement.
“No, I just needed my princess to wake me from my enchanted sleep.” He grins and nuzzles his nose against mine before grimacing.
“I can’t believe those eels got the drop on me. ”
“Me neither,” his dad mutters, and Xavier’s head turns, his eyes wide.
“Dad?” he asks. Well, maybe he really was unconscious if he hadn’t realized that his dad and mom are here.
“What are you doing here?” He struggles to sit up with me still clasped to his chest. Saxon just tuts and lifts me off him and puts me back down on the ground before helping Xavier sit up.
Xavier, the ungrateful ass, just slaps at Saxon’s hands.
“I don’t need help,” he mutters but also pales slightly.
Shit, did I miss something when I healed him?
I let my powers scan him again, but I realize he’s actually down on the tank again and needs to feed.
Before I can allow myself to feel guilty, he slides off the bed.
“What are you guys doing here?” They hurry over and hug him.
“Well, Lila called us and told us you’d been waylaid by that idiot King Marlin and invited us to join the party.
Most fun I’ve had in ages. Now, that’s a real welcome to the family present.
Best daughter-in-law ever.” Cronus slaps his son on the back.
“But then I wouldn’t expect anything less from Alina and Marcus’s daughter. Absolutely a chip off the old block.”
A pang of sorrow hits me in the chest. I’m never going to know my parents like these people do.
Xylene smiles at me with sympathy, no doubt feeling my emotions with her warlock powers.
Despite all my own abilities, I haven’t been able to keep my emotions under lock and key, but I guess there are worse bad habits to have.
“How about we get on with unblocking your memories so you can at least have those ones back?” she suggests kindly.
“Definitely,” I agree, but Link jumps in.
“Actually, can you just put that on hold for another twenty minutes or so?” Xavier growls at the cyborg who has the grace to look chagrined. “I’m sorry, but Lila and I just need to check on Nikos before you disappear for however long it takes for a warlock intimate bonding.”
Xavier’s growl instantly cuts off, and his eyes fill with worry as they slide over to the listless merman. “Of course. How about we all go and have a drink at one of the bars?”
“There’s no staff,” I point out, and Eric chuckles.
“You don’t need staff when you’re the owner, Lila.
Our passcodes unlock everything.” He waggles his fingers at me.
I no longer have the lanyard they first issued me.
The ship is coded to my biometrics, specifically my fingerprint.
“And I happen to be a deft hand at mixing cocktails.” Eric offers his arm to Xylene. “Shall we?”