Standing, I leaped over the back of the lounge chair, and stopped before him, unable to believe the news as he watched me in shock.
“It is too much.” I murmured, trying to search for the first sign he was joking.
His eyes softened as he wrapped his arms around me, tucking me into his bare chest. A rumble escaped him as he tightened his hold on me.
“I am the Second Prince of the Aldawi Empire. If I didn’t give you something of such value, others would think I was trying to insult you. The moon is yours. The gem mine itself can provide enough funds to build whatever you want and fund the community’s needs. All you have to do is name it when I sign it over to you.”
“I don’t know anything about managing something—especially not a moon!” I exclaimed as my hands gripped onto the fur on his chest.
“I already thought about that. My other half-brother, Vagren Ayvar, would help as your elected enforcer. He has been in charge of organizing the moon and supervising everything. He is being paid to manage the moon how you see fit. Your orders are final, and only the Sovereign, Royak, or I can override it.”
I pulled my face from his chest. “You truly have been planning everything.”
He brushed back my hair with his paw as he smiled down at me. “Only the unknown makes me uneasy. Now, what are you going to name your moon?”
“Destima. I once read it somewhere. It meant to love across the stars in some butchered sense. I thought it was pretty.”
“Then, it shall be named Destima.” He pulled his gaze from mine and studied the Circuli in the room. “What are you planning on doing with them?”
Turning around in Zirene’s arms, I looked at the other princes.
“Remember when I said you guys were thinking about the future wrong? That you could promote someone else to be the leader or change how to govern your species? If you settled on Destima, would you give up your leadership to Zirene’s half-brother Vagren and me? The moon would be under my ownership, but it could become the sanctuary you wanted. The small number of nestqueens you have could settle and start families. I am sure after some trial and error over the next few years, we can settle on what to do with any improvements you may need. But for now, would that suffice?”
Suddenly, all of the Circuli within the room scrambled to the floor, kneeling their foreheads to the ground.
“We swear ourselves to you, Selena. And to your clan. We were renounced by our society and were explorers, hoping to find a new beginning,” V’dim announced.
“Now the Stars and the Fates have answered us, and we shall serve you, your clan, and the Aldawi Empire,” Z’fir swore.
They baffled me. I felt uncomfortable by their display as both of my nestmates joined their comrades. I was just giving them a part of the gift Zirene gave me. It would feel wrong to have a home to go to and have them part ways, not knowing when they would have a place to their own. Especially after they spent all these years searching and did not find anything to fit their needs that wasn’t already claimed.
“Get up, all of you. There is no need for this.” They all glanced up, confused by my reaction. “You guys broke the first rule of the room. Seriously, get up. If you are so thankful for this, then help me come up with infrastructure for the Destiny’s crew. I am lost when it comes to everyone’s needs.”
“We could use the dreamdome to plan. I can relocate enough dream-engineers to have everything built by the time the Destiny arrives. It would take ten days. That would give the princes time to organize where the crew would stay.”
“Dreamdome?” I asked, confused.
“It is something Aldawi use to build blueprints in their dreamscape, along with other things. Dream-Engineers take the blueprints and enter them into a fabricator, which takes a fraction of the time needed to build the designed object. The only restriction is the planner's imagination.”
“How is that possible?” I asked, unable to comprehend the capabilities needed to do such a thing. If the Aldawi had this power, what stopped them from taking over the whole galaxy? Why did they allow minor species to continue like the Circuli to live in their territory?
“Aldawi technology. Something no other species has in CEG. They keep trying to steal it but are never successful. The Aldawi are the only species with the ability to dreamwalk—other than you, Selena,” Royak explained.
“And you have a dreamdome here?”
Zirene nodded and tilted his head toward the doors behind him.
“The Royal Aldawi Commons has the only one available on the space station. It is through those doors. We could enter it now and make plans.”
“Who would watch our cubs?”
“Vikvez, Pavryn, and I can,” Royak volunteered. “If there are multiple powerful Aldawi in the dreamdome, it can cause issues with getting things mapped out since they can all effortlessly control the dreamscape—even unconsciously. This is between you, Zirene, and the princes,” Royak chuckled. “Besides, I plan to visit often.”
“Do you even know how to take care of cubs? I thought males typically aren’t around females and their cubs?”
Royak glanced at Pavryn as Vikvez answered, “If the male has a Seedbearer, he can take the cubs from her to raise once they are weaned. Royak may not have the experience, but I have aided many high-ranking males in taking care of their newly acquired cubs until they are old enough to have a hunting mentor and go to the academy. That is where
