Xylo bowed his head and turned to the drink dispenser. He ordered three glasses of Xowyn, a silvery fruit concoction. The color reminded him of Selena’s silver hair, and despite the tension, he smiled to himself.
Glasses in hand, he strode back to the princes and handed each their glass, avoiding eye contact. Xylo took another deep breath and let it out before sitting on the chair closest to them. Gaze on the glass in his hand, he swirled the Xowyn before taking a sip. The liquid silver had a sweet fruity flavor with the sharp bite of alcohol as it burned its way down his throat.
“The female human we saved has woken. It seems I was right, humans have the ability to mentally shield. I tried penetrating her shields to soothe her panic upon waking—and find a way to communicate—but failed. As you know, I am as strong as most of the Wudox females aboard this ship. Only you and a select few have greater mental ability than I do, but I do not believe either of you have the strength to break through her shields,” Xylo finally answered, keeping his eyes on the Xowyn he continued to swirl.
“You bonded with her. Is that why you are shielded now? How?” The strain in Z’fir’s tenor voice was apparent.
“Based on my research, humans seem to be social, affectionate, and at times, sexual. When we finally succeeded in communicating our names and she perceived no threat from me, she placed her lips on mine, something commonly called ‘kissing’ that quite a few of the Children indulge in. Afterward, she placed her forehead against mine as my vines wrapped around her. That is when I felt the courting bond form. And only then could I see her emotions and hear her loud thoughts as she spoke to me mind-to-mind. My bond thread to her bypasses her natural shields, but it does not allow me to probe into her memories or anything we might normally be able to do,” Xylo explained.
“This complicates things. The Aldawi want us to deliver her when we arrive at CEG HQ in about fourteen days. We now have two options—either you find a way to break the courting bond and deal with the aftereffects, or you find a way to complete the bond and see if the Aldawi will let you go with her. Do you know the status of her pregnancy?” Prince Z’fir questioned.
Xylo stilled the swirling of his drink and finally looked up to meet Z’fir’s solemn gaze.
He understood the consequences of his bond with Selena. It saddened him his time among his people might end soon, but he was willing to follow her to the Aldawi and find employment wherever she went—better, he thought, than having the bond severed.
“It is clear she is not pregnant by a human. It is still too soon to determine the species of the fetus or the duration of her pregnancy. Humans are considered one of the Children. And of all the Children, they have the longest gestation time—approximately 280 days.”
The princes started in surprise. Xylo nodded at them in confirmation.
“The rest of the Children have an average gestation period of sixty-five days—still considerably longer than the three-day Circuli gestation—but nothing compared to that of the humans.” Xylo paused. “Do we know what the Aldawi plan to do with both the female and her offspring?”
“No, we do not. They only stated to treat her wounds and keep her safe while we travel to CEG HQ. We are not supposed to tell anyone we have her. They gave me the impression she is important to them. And, Xylo, even if we knew what they wanted with her, they are the most powerful species in CEG. We would be unable to keep her from them even if we refused to hand her over. Doing so would be suicide and jeopardize not only the Circuli on this ship but our position in CEG,” Prince V’dim warned.
“As it is, she may be a security threat. We have no way to read her fully. We can track her on the ship through the bracelets, but she could still be a spy or criminal of some sort—despite her pregnancy. I understand having a human hybrid pregnancy aboard ship is a huge moment for you, that you are eager to learn all you can. Especially since she has bonded with you. But we cannot jeopardize our position in CEG or the safety of our crewmembers. I am sorry, Xylo,” Prince Z’fir apologized, his voice full of regret.
“I was able to speak with Selena before I contacted you. She told me her story. She escaped from slavery and experimentation aboard a Yaarkin ship. They captured numerous humans to experiment with before they wiped out those on Earth. They have been using the failed experiments as sex slaves to fund their operations. She said she was the only prototype of a failed experiment they called ‘Project: Adapt,’ trying to genetically engineer a super soldier.”
The princes looked appalled.
“Sires... They sold her virginity to fund the next generation of the project. I am not going to abandon her—and her offspring—to the Aldawi. She does not deserve to continue living as an experiment, a test subject. She is a sentient being, and no matter how primitive the humans were considered, she needs to be protected. To have a chance at a life—”
Xylo snapped his mouth shut, cutting off his tirade.
Silence descended.
Xylo could not believe he had lost control of his emotions. It must be some instinctive aspect of his newly formed court bond to want to protect her, his nestqueen. He was shocked when the princes did not reprimand him.
Xylo eyed the princes as he finished his drink. They followed suit, Prince V’dim’s color sliding from the usual cobalt to a stressed black through a nervous brown to an angry red before settling on a worried orange. They seemed as bewildered about how to handle Selena as Xylo was.
A jolt of
