I held on and shuddered until blackness took me.
Chapter Twelve Selena
Standing in the waiting room of the CEG Assembly, I watched the space station’s traffic through the glass wall.
I woke up this morning filled with the most energy I’d had in a long time. Odelm and Xylo were successful in carrying out Zirene’s plan and allowed me to have a full night’s sleep.
After we fed the cubs, Zirene had handed me an outfit to wear—a black fitted jacket with silver details and a royal purple hooded cape. A dark violet undershirt peeked through the jacket’s silver crisscross ties. It came with fitted black stretchy pants. The black knee-high boots were the same style as the jacket with dark violet under silver laces. Long fingerless gloves covered my hands.
The outfit made me feel confident and powerful—like I belonged—standing beside Zirene and the rest of the Aldawi.
I wasn’t a prototype anymore.
I was a mother. A lover.
A Nova and a nestqueen.
The owner of a moon to do whatever I wanted in the Aldawi Empire.
And I was about to confront a room full of politicians and scientists to earn my freedom and establish myself as a citizen.
There was no room for mistakes. I couldn’t feel panicked or worried.
I had to present myself with grace to make them believe I knew what I was doing. The Fates and the Stars blessed me with a connection to Zirene. I hoped using my connection with him would protect me from whatever they had planned for me.
“Selena?” Zirene whispered behind me, pulling me from my thoughts.
Turning, my gaze traced his elegant, decorated body. He wore a long, royal purple cape with silver clasps and details along the edges. There was a black bandolier styled with multiple pockets that were sealed with silver clasps that crisscrossed his chest and attached to his elegant black skirt.
His outfit wasn’t as fitted as the others he wore, but it still radiated elegance, power, and royalty. A smile crossed my face when I noticed his cape matched mine.
My gaze met his amethyst eyes—the ones I knew so well.
“Yes, Zirene?”
His soft paw carefully took my hand and opened it in his own. I watched as his other hand slowly lowered onto mine. Something fell onto my palm before he covered it and held it there.
“I want you to have this,” he said gently. Zirene slowly uncovered the object from our joined hands.
A gasp escaped my lips. It was perfect.
The necklace was a dark metallic chain with a jewel-like sphere attached to it. The sphere looked as if the galaxy lived within it. Colors and speckles swirled slowly, forever changing.
“This is gorgeous.”
“It fits you,” he breathed.
He picked up the necklace from my hand and dangled it between our faces.
“Turn around, and I can put it on you,” Zirene purred.
A giggle escaped my lips as I turned to face the glass wall, peering into space. The necklace passed in front of my eyes before landing in the middle of my breastplate. I studied our faint reflection in the glass wall as he carefully locked the clasp behind me. The hardness of his claws grazed the back of my neck as his soft padded hands took care not to injure me. His focused eyes observed his work as he lightly grabbed my hair and pulled it from the necklace. I felt the cold clasp fall on my neck before I felt my hair fall between his fingers. Grasping a few strands, he brought them to his nose, closed his eyes, and breathed in.
“I am at peace now that I know you are safe— now that you are with me. My mind will be at ease to know you will be protected in my star system while I am away serving the Aldawi Empire. My wish is for you to have the freedom to do whatever you want with your moon. My only request is for you to take Kaede whenever you travel throughout space. He will protect you from any trouble.”
“Should I be worried?”
“On your moon? No. Within my star system? Probably not. Throughout the Aldawi Empire? It shouldn’t be an issue unless you are near the border. We will soon see how much of an issue it will be for you to travel to other territories.”
I grabbed my necklace and turned to face him. “Do you truly believe others will be a problem?”
He pursed his lips. “I want to say no, but that would be a lie. There are others in the CEG whose moral compass is… different. They are the ones I want to protect you from.”
The swooshing sound of a pair of doors opening filled the room, bringing my attention to the messenger in its entrance.
“The Assembly is ready to see you,” a light feminine voice announced. She was a bipedal species that closely resembled a dragonfly from Earth—bright green skin, four iridescent clear wings, and a long thin torso, almost tail-like. She wore a flowy pale-yellow dress to cover her delicate body.
“She is an Euvrel. Her species strongly supports the Aldawi,” Xylo mentioned.
“Are they peaceful?”
“They like to keep to themselves—but aren’t against supporting something they believe in. They are one of the Aldawi’s greatest allies.”
“Thank you.”
I filed that information for later. A smile crossed my face at Xylo’s thoughtfulness, even though I was still battling nerves.
“It is time,” Zirene announced.
Our group followed the messenger in silence out of the waiting room and down a short metallic hall, decorated with memorabilia. Zirene and Royak led us, their heads held high as their tails swished along with their strides. The Circuli princes followed closely behind, and my nestmates and I trailed behind them.
As we walked up to the doors at the end, they automatically opened, revealing the Assembly beyond.
I gasped in awe at the room.
Dome-shaped and about the size of the terrarium on the Destiny, it contained four tiers of seating, filled with beings
