“You’re talking about Selena, aren’t you?”
Oeta smiled as if she knew the ending of a story before it had a chance to begin.
“Selena, Kaede, you, me.” She shrugged. “Each one of us is connected in some form. It is up to you to determine how you want to join the web of life.”
In times like this, I wished I had studied the Cosmic Order. Many followers across the galaxy believed all beings were connected in some way. I knew Kaede was a believer, or at least had studied the teachings to occupy himself while traveling between missions.
The Cosmic Order had taught Kaede that when someone died, they became stars until they were reborn. He said such insane things sometimes; I almost suspected the Yaarkins had done something to his mind. His farewell speech to Selena had been something else.
I pitied Selena for hearing that. I couldn’t fathom her waking up from cryo-sleep while the last thing she remembered was some bizarre nonsense about being connected and reborn. How could Kaede live with himself, giving her false hope?
However, I’m not sure how I would have acted in his place. If something were to happen to B, I would probably say anything to keep her fighting to survive, even if I had to pull make-believe Cosmic Order nonsense out of my beak.
I hoped I would never suffer like Kaede had, yearning for B from afar and never acting on my feelings. As soon as Oeta officially cleared my name, I would make sure to get B alone and confess.
“Where are we going to do this?” Oeta asked, smirking.
I could tell she had overheard my thoughts by the way her eyes twinkled with secrets, though I was annoyed it was mine she had just learned.
“We can use the spare guest room in the mountain base,” B said, her gaze flicking between Oeta and me. “I don’t want to go down to the villa in case . . .”
Her lips pursed as she looked away, but I knew what she was going to say.
In case I’ve been guilty this whole time.
“Sounds good.” Oeta moved to the side, extending her arm. “You do the honors.”
B stormed past the fuchsia winged female on a mission. Knowing her, she was just as frustrated as I was.
Oeta jerked her head in B‘s direction, indicating I should go ahead.
“What do you expect?” I asked as she fell into step beside me. “I am a featherless male, trapped in a thick robe with my wrists bound. Even if I took off running, I would be trapped on this mountain with no place else to go.”
She gripped my shoulder, earning my attention.
“I am not your enemy, nor is she. But we both know that if she displays any more favoritism toward you, she could be reprimanded. She’s already in trouble with Sovereign Darcaw for what happened at the space station. Do you want to be responsible for her punishment?” She hesitated, shooting a glance at B standing at the hidden mountain base. “We both know that another failure won’t sit well with him.”
I didn’t know what to say.
Of course, I knew she hadn’t treated me as harshly as she should have. Any other one of her siblings would have bound my feet and hands and led me around on a leash. Instead, I was roaming free down this pathway, with only my wrists shackled together.
Glancing around, I was impressed by what I saw.
The base sat atop the highest peak on the moon, overlooking all three habitable islands. I could only picture what the view would look like along the edge. If not for the stone pathway connecting the landing pad to the base, I wouldn’t have known it existed, concealed within the vegetation. I could hear the waterfall Kaede’s ship had emerged from as we neared the stone archway. The outer structural supports were built with stone and metal, making the base sturdy and camouflaged against the cliffside.
B leaned against the doorway with her arms crossed as her piercing blue eyes watched our arrival.
“I would say ‘Welcome to our humble abode,’ but it isn’t humble, and you are our first visitors besides Z and Vagren.” She pushed off the wall and crossed the threshold. “Follow me.” She looked over her shoulder toward me. “And whatever you do, don’t touch anything.’
“How can I touch something?” I lifted my wrists and smirked at her glare. “You know you’re just teasing me.”
Oeta coughed behind me.
Serves her right.
She shouldn’t be snooping into my private thoughts if she didn’t want to know all the ways I liked being dominated by B . . . and making her scream my name in return.
We traversed a bare hallway, passing multiple, nearly invisible doors. Without my curiosity and sharp vision, I would’ve missed the thin outlines of each door frame.
B stopped in front of the last door, which automatically opened for her.
Turning around, she gestured for us to enter. “Here we are.”
Six
Qraniebi
If this was the guest room, I wondered what the master bedrooms looked like.
Violet-blue light emanated from the edges of every wall. Against the back wall stood a desk between two doors, which I assumed lead to a closet and one of the oversized lavatories the demi-humans called ‘bathrooms.’
Z had once given me a tour of the villa not long after Selena had been found. When I saw the master bathroom, my jaw had dropped. It contained a bathing pool large enough to seat
