Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Lila
Ifind everyone else in one of the bars on the communal part of the ship. It’s weird walking through it with no one else around just to arrive at the bar, finding it full of people laughing and trying to talk over one another.
All noise grinds to a halt when I enter the room. “Hi.” I wave awkwardly, feeling self-conscious now that everyone’s attention is on me.
“Lila, you look beautiful,” Xylene says when nobody else does. She glares at my mates. “It looks like you’ve rendered everyone speechless.”
Cas, Saxon, and Xavier all jump to their feet and hurry over to me.
Tirrian stays put, but smoke starts to drift out of his nostrils, and when our eyes meet, I see approval in his gaze before I tear mine away.
Tirrian is a problem for another day. I don’t have the mental capacity to cope with his mood swings.
Who knows if he really has changed his mind or if he is just giving in to his animals?
Only time will tell. He is going to have to grovel a little before I decide whether I want to forgive him or not.
“Phoeall, I knew that dress was perfect for you. You look breathtaking.” Xavier has lost his usual cocky smirk, and I can tell I’ve shaken him. Saxon and Cas both tell me how gorgeous I look before pressing kisses to my cheeks and returning to their seats, but Xavier and I are locked in a trance.
“Well then, let’s get this show on the road, shall we?” Cronus’s voice booms out, making us both jump. Xavier chuckles sheepishly and runs a nervous hand through his hair before grabbing my hand.
“Where are we going to do this?” I ask, not really wanting to return to our shared quarters, what with Silac and our babies in there. I’m almost certain things are going to get loud and freaky.
“I thought we could go to my room in my old quarters.” I wrinkle my nose at the thought of smelling everything he did with his harem in there, but he shakes his head, obviously reading my mind.
“I never fucked my harem in my own room. Saxon was the only one who was ever invited there, and I’ve cleaned the rest of the quarters of any trace of my former harem.”
“As you should,” Xylene agrees. “A warlock with an intimate has no need of a harem. Only those of us who don’t find them or have yet to find them continue to use them.”
“Okay then,” I say, and within moments, I feel us dissolve into particles before reforming in a room I’ve never seen before.
I look around. The low lighting makes it a little difficult to see everything in my human form, but Xavier’s familiar, exotic spicy scent is present, albeit faded.
He snaps his fingers, and the ceiling lights up like it’s been lit by thousands of lightning bugs.
It’s breathtaking, and I can’t stop the smile that crosses my lips.
Before I can say anything, though, both Cronus and Xylene arrive, their bodies appearing from nowhere.
Cronus frowns. “That was mean. You know we’ve never been to this room before.”
Xavier chuckles. “You’re just annoyed you had to work a little, Dad.”
“How did you get here if you haven’t seen it before?” I ask, curious about how teleporting works. We haven’t really worked on that skill in my warlock form. There are just so many new and different skills I have to learn, and I really haven’t had time to master all the forms I’ve acquired.
“Xavier is our child, dear. We could find him anywhere because we have a blood link. You will be able to do the same thing with your children,” Xylene explains.
“And you can do that with your mate bonds too. Xavier will teach you how to do that when you’ve sealed your intimate bond,” Cronus adds as the two of them move closer. Cronus moves Xavier to the side so that both he and Xylene have me between them—Xylene at my front, and Cronus at my back.
“Okay, Lila, we’re going to return your memories. Don’t be upset at your mom and dad for asking us to remove them. They were worried you were in danger, and rightfully so.”
“Why didn’t you take me with you?” I ask the question that has been plaguing me. “If you had to return to Earth to take away my memories, then why couldn’t you just take me to my grandparents?”
Xylene and Cronus exchange a glance over my shoulder. “Alina and Marcus asked us not to. We would have loved to have taken you home and raised you with Xavier, but they told us it couldn’t happen,” Cronus explains, but I’m sure they can see my confusion because Xylene sighs.
“Your grandmother, Liliana, has seer powers as one of her Skarrian gifts, and she was the one who told them to hide your powers and leave you on Earth. You would be found when the time was right. If you had been with the circus this whole time, you would have been killed by the faction after the orb.”
“Did they know they were going to die?” I ask them, stunned about what they just shared.
Xylene sighs. “They never said, but we have talked about it over the years, and I think they may have. Alina was extra teary when we parted that day.”
“We hated lying to your grandparents. Xylene and I dropped you off at the foster home and changed your name. We hated doing it, and she cried nonstop for a week after. But Marcus and Alina made us take an oath, so there was nothing we could do but pray for your safe return.” Cronus is the most serious I’ve seen him since we met.
“You have to remember that we knew you were Xavier’s intimate, and we already considered you our daughter.
It was heartbreaking to have to do what we did, and both of us hold no small amount of resentment against your parents despite us missing them like crazy. ”
I feel tears well in my eyes for the pain my parents put their best friends through.
I can’t imagine asking something like that of Susie.
I’m going out on a limb and guessing they were desperate.
Xavier’s hand slides between me and his father, and he rubs my back, obviously feeling my inner turmoil.
I brush away the tears and take a steadying breath. “Well, let’s not wait any longer.”
Xylene smiles at me and brushes a strand of hair back from my face, her eyes shining with pride. “This may hurt a little, but once the pain stops, all of your memories from before should be returned. We will leave you to complete your bond.”
“Could you please check on my babies while we’re here? There’s an awful amount of testosterone around and not as much estrogen. I’d love it if they could get cuddles from their grandma,” I ask Xavier’s mom, who beams at me.
“I would love it. Don’t you worry about a thing. I’ll make sure everyone is looked after until your return,” she assures me.
Return? Are we going somewhere? Before I can ask any more questions about this mysterious bonding ritual, they place their hands on my temples, and a blinding pain shoots through my brain.
I gasp and feel my knees give way, but they hold me in place.
Blackness surrounds me as bright flashes pulse inside my mind.
Fleeting images of eyes and smiles and laughter that I recognize make me feel dizzy and disoriented.
My stomach lurches, and a wave of nausea rolls over my body.
“Almost there,” Xylene croons. “You’re doing so well.
” The pain increases, and I bite my lip to stop myself from screaming, but a groan of pain still escapes.
I ball my fists and feel my nails bite into my skin from how tight I’m clenching.
The scent of blood permeates the air, and I realize my cat claws have popped out despite me being in my human form.
“Well, that’s interesting,” Cronus mutters, and Xavier responds, but I’m too lost in the pain to pay any attention.
Just when I think I can’t take anymore and I’m going to sink into sweet oblivion, it all ceases, and a wave of soothing energy caresses my throbbing mind, easing the pain and bringing me back to awareness.
My eyes pop open, and I look at the woman who I now remember fondly from my childhood.
Xylene always gave the best cuddles apart from my mama. I smile at her.
“Zeze, I remember you giving me cuddles and telling me I was the prettiest girl in the universe. You still smell the way I remember. Like cinnamon sugar,” I tell her, and she grabs me and hugs me hard.
“I always wanted a little girl, but unfortunately we weren’t able to have any more after Xavier. You more than made up for it. You were such a delightful little girl. We snuck onto Earth to visit you all the time.”
I tuck that little bit of information away. I knew there had to be another way to visit Earth after Susie told me all about her Jelliad experience, which is something I’m still dying to try. Xylene lets me go, and I whirl to face Cronus.
“And you were always sneaking me candy from your home planet. I can’t remember what you called them, but they were so tasty, like chewy ice cream. Cold and sweet.”
“Ah, yes. You really did love those. Your mother would scold me, but Xavier insisted we always had some with us when we came, even before he knew you were his intimate. He had such a soft spot for you. We really wanted you to grow up together in the hopes that maybe you would be together. We were ecstatic when we found out you were his intimate so early on, and equally devastated when we had to hide you from each other.”
He hauls me into a hug that I remember, and I feel tears flow down my face as my memories turn to my parents.
I have a few very vivid memories of spending time with them, but lots of flashes of broken memories.
They are the memories of a small child, but what stands out in all of them, both the broken and vivid, is that my parents loved me very much, and as a child, I already had levitation powers, but there was no sign of my mimic or whisperer powers.
I do vividly remember hearing my parents talk about all the possibilities and thinking I would like conjuring powers.
How much fun would it be to make something materialize in front of me?
But the most overwhelming breathtaking memory of all is hearing them tell me how much they love me and knowing I felt the same way about them.
My parents were amazing. New grief, grief I don’t remember experiencing previously, hits me hard, and I start to sob in Cronus’s arms. He stiffens briefly, but then he just pats me on the back and croons to me gently.
“Ah, pretty Lila. They loved you so much. They would be so proud of the woman you are now.”
Another whispered conversation comes to mind, and I remember my parents talking about being followed and arguing about whether they should leave Earth.
My mom wanted to, but my dad told her everything was supposed to happen that way, and that his mother foretold it.
If we were to run away from our fate, then I would die.
I remember her tears and him holding her much the same way that Cronus is holding me now.
“They knew they were going to die,” I say, pulling away and looking between the two warlocks.
Xylene nods solemnly. “Yes, and we were not to interfere. They insisted your life was more important than theirs and that they would do anything to keep you safe. But come now, dry your eyes. I know everything is overwhelming, and we can talk more about your parents at a later time. This is supposed to be a joyous occasion.”
Guilt hits me, and I whirl around to find Xavier.
This is our warlock wedding, and I’m bawling like a bullfrog, but when my eyes meet his, and Xylene places my hand in his, all the guilt, sadness, and negative emotions drift away as I’m hit by a sense of wonder and knowing.
This man is mine to love and cherish and share my life with.
I’m seeing him with new eyes. Although I knew I wanted to be with him, this is something deeper, soul deep if I’m being honest. It’s no silly surface level attraction, but right down to my very core, and it feels incredible.
“Hi,” I say, feeling shy all of a sudden. His lips turn up in that familiar smirk, and the slight hesitation just floats away like dust on a breeze.
“We’ll be heading out. I want to go and snuggle with my grandbabies now,” Xylene says, but neither Xavier nor I acknowledge her, and she huffs.
“Stop it, X. I remember our bonding night well, and I wouldn’t have wanted any attention on us either,” Cronus soothes his mate before I feel them teleport out of the room, but none of that matters to me. All that I’m concerned about is the man in front of me.
“Are you ready to be my wife?” he asks, his eyes sparkling, and I nod.
“I’ve been ready for a very long time, I just didn’t know it,” I tell him.
“Let’s go then,” he says, and I frown as he drops one of my hands and holds his out in front of him.
“Go?” Maybe I didn’t hear him right. I thought we’d just fuck and say some magic words and it would be done.
I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Xavier weaves an intricate pattern in the air, purple and silver sparks lighting up the space in front of us before it’s like the atmosphere splits in two and a large hole opens up, widening with every breath I take.
“What the hell?” I mutter. On the other side of the hole, something shimmers in the distance, but I can’t make it out clearly.
“This is the most sacred secret of the warlocks. Our original home planet is on another plane of existence. We can access it for our intimate bonding ceremonies. It is what gives us the power to only be sustained by one another apart from a harem of people.”
I gape at him, trying to understand what he is saying. “So not only are you an alien to me, but you’re also an alien to everyone else?” I ask, and he chuckles.
“Yes and no. I was born in this realm, as were my parents, but originally, our species is from another plane of existence. We are a curious species, and exploration was our number one pursuit. Come on, I don’t think I can wait any longer.
I will answer any questions you have later.
Right now, I just want to be your husband.
” He steps forward, my other hand still clasped in his, and leads us through the split in the space-time continuum, while various time travel rules play over and over in my head.
Man, I hope we don’t fuck up the multiverse.