Why would Selena need a bathtub that size? Her villa had two indoor pools along with a private outdoor pool.
It wasn’t my place to question her luxuries, but I was still envious. Sometimes, I imagined myself floating in one of her pools, enjoying the sun’s warm rays.
Turning, I searched for the room’s bed, spotting it tucked in the opposite corner. While it wasn’t as large as Selena’s nestbed, it was easily twice the size of the one in my captain’s quarters on my old ship. I could easily stretch my wings without worrying about the tips flopping off the mattress.
“Does this work?” B asked, addressing Oeta. “We could try—”
“No.” Oeta raised her hand to silence her. “This is perfect. I just need him to lie down on the bed, so he doesn’t accidentally fall over while I scry his memories.”
B grabbed the chair from the desk, pushing a lever along its side. Instantaneously, the backrest collapsed down into the seat, turning the metallic chair into a stool.
“Would this work for you?” B asked, her gaze flicking to the bed. “Or would you rather lie next to him? How does this work? Do you need to touch him?”
“No, I don’t need to touch him,” Oeta chuckled. “I don’t even need to be in the same room if I don’t want to be. Once I’ve memorized his mental signature, I could reach him beyond this star system. It’s just easier and less nerve-wracking for my client to see me when I scry. Invading his mental shields from afar may cause him to panic, which would make it harder for me to find what I want. That’s why Xenak encountered trouble while invading Selena’s mental shields and breaking into her shared void chamber. If I ever get a hold of that poor excuse for a male—”
“You will have to compete with many males who want to be the first to slaughter him,” I chuckled. “Between Z and Kaede, I don’t know who would enact the worse punishment.”
“As long as I am not nearby when they lose it, I am fine.” B shivered. “Seeing the aftermath of Z’s revenge on his sire makes me never want to think about upsetting him ever again.”
Oeta sat down and gestured toward the bed. “I don’t know about you, but it’s getting late, and I would like to go to bed at a reasonable time. If you could lie down, close your eyes, and relax, I can begin my judgment.”
Gripping the edge of my robe with my talons, I eyed the two females. “Is it possible for me to take my robe off? I’m afraid of what the fabric might do to my down feathers as I lie down on the bed. It’s going to be hard enough to grow my feathers back without accidentally rubbing off what I have left.”
Oeta faced B, allowing her to decide as her wings tensed.
B crossed her arms and sent me a hard stare.
“I guess you could, though I will have to uncuff you,” she sighed. “It’s not like you can escape right now.”
“Thanks for having faith in me,” I muttered, rolling my eyes.
She tilted her head and smirked. “You’re welcome.”
Raising my wrists, I approached her and watched as she unlocked my restraints, tucking the cuffs away in her utility belt.
Rubbing the raw spots on my wrists, I backed away until the back of my knees touched the edge of the bed. Keeping my gaze locked with B’s bright-blue eyes, I pretended I was giving her a striptease, disrobing in a little mating dance.
Pulling up the front of my robe, I whipped the garment over my head in one fluid motion, earning a gasp from both females. I stood and let them study my bare body with their mouths wide open. If I weren’t already naked, I would’ve continued my teasing dance to persuade B to form a flock with me. But first, I had to prove my innocence. Besides, I didn’t want to give Oeta the wrong impression.
Tossing the robe haphazardly onto the floor, I climbed onto the soft bed, enjoying the smooth sheets against my skin. I turned over and did what Oeta had instructed, hoping to get this procedure over with quickly.
Lying in bed with my eyes closed, I tried to control my breaths to force myself to relax.
I felt a presence push against my mental shields. Instinctively, I tried to block her attack, even though I consciously knew it was Oeta. The presence prodded my mind again, and this time, I could see the color of her thread.
It was a black mental thread that glowed the same fuchsia color as Oeta’s hair. I welcomed her, bringing the thread inside my turquoise shields.
“Good job, Qraniebi,” Oeta’s mental voice coursed through me. “Now, stay relaxed, so I can shuffle through your memories and search for the evidence I need to prove your innocence.”
I had only experienced this once before when Oeta’s father Mwe had proven to Z that I wasn’t a Quaww spy and opposed my species’ government.
Back then, I had panicked and fought him, creating unnecessary stress. I’d woken up with a painful migraine and sworn to myself that I would never put myself in that position again.
And yet here I was, having to prove myself once again. My memories were the only evidence I had to show that I was an innocent victim and had nothing to do with Selena’s kidnapping.
I forced myself to remain calm as I felt Oeta’s thread form an orb within my mental shields like a growth under my skin, making me want to slice open my skin and yank her out.
Her orb slowly flattened, lining the inside of my mental shields and blocking them from my vision.
Suddenly, my memories flashed before my eyes, moving backward in time.
The argument with Vagren, the discussion with B in my prison cell, witnessing her storm down my ship’s hallway with her blasters drawn.
Oeta paused at Kaede’s last moments with Selena, rewinding and watching the memory
