“Then I was correct in my assumption,” he mumbled.
A familiar presence pressed against my mental shields—a black mental thread that glowed the same magenta as Mwe’s glow. I welcomed it, bringing it inside my golden shields.
“Good job, Selena,” Mwe’s deep mental voice rumbled. “Now push me out and try to find me. Once you do, pull my thread.”
Taking in a deep breath, I did what I did to my nestmates and tried to close my shields, blocking all entrances. I felt my connections with Xylo and Odelm close, muting them. Their threads were still intact, but a thin veil prevented them from constantly being assaulted by me. Both males’ appendages gripped me tighter once they were sealed as if they were instinctually trying to keep as close as possible.
The problem was, Mwe’s blackened magenta thread remained.
“That was a good attempt, Selena. But instead of removing a foreign mental thread, such as mine, you strengthened your shields—which is good because that means you can defend yourself against any attacks.”
“So, what do I do?”
“Since you are capable of strengthening your walls, try using them to slice my connection with you. This should not affect your nestmates connections since their bond threads are a part of you.”
“Even the princes?”
The farther they traveled away from me, the fainter the pull from their thread felt. I could feel what direction they were in, but their threads’ colors had dimmed so much already, they almost seemed invisible. I didn’t know if it was the distance or because they weren’t permanently bonded with me, but it worried me. How would they survive for five days like this?
“There shouldn’t be a problem with them because you welcomed them in.”
“But I haven’t accepted their bonding spores yet! We aren’t permanently bonded, and they aren’t here in case I do something wrong. What if this does anything to our connection?”
“Try. If you feel any resistance, then stop, and we can try this when you mate with them. Or you can practice with Oeta.”
Sighing, I nodded and focused on strengthening my shields around his thread’s entrance to my shields. It was a slow process, but after a few tries, my mental walls sliced through his thread, severing it. The remaining piece faded, disappearing as if it was attacked.
I smiled and opened my connections to both Xylo and Odelm, knowing they would be worried about me. A wave of calmness fell on me from Odelm as he sent me support.
“Good job Selena!” Xylo praised as I felt him read what happened while he was closed off from me. “You did the hard part. Now, focus on searching for his thread. Your range should be large enough to find him in this room.”
I nodded as I felt a wave of exhaustion hit me. They were right. This took a lot of energy, but lying down made the lesson easier, especially lying between my nestmates. I could feel their support flow through me.
Reinforcing my shields, I looked beyond my walls and saw Mwe’s familiar black-magenta sphere a short distance from my own. He had multiple mental threads weaving and waving outside of his walls as if available and waiting for anyone to reach for him to establish a connection.
Focusing on the closest thread, I focused and pushed with all my might to send my thread to him. A blue-green centered thread burned golden, lighting up the blackened void space between Mwe and me and shot itself to its target. In an instant, my darkened golden thread entwined with his, and a rush of warmth spread to me.
“Congratulations, Selena.”
Chapter Thirty-Six Selena
A gentle breeze caressed my skin, cooling the blanket of warmth that surrounded me. The sounds of waves crashing on a shore filled my ears, rather than the humming from a space vessel I expected. Confused, I opened my eyes to Zirene’s face peering down at me, concern lacing the amethyst eyes I knew so well.
“Selena. Are you well?” he asked gently, voice strained with worry.
I glanced around, taking in our surroundings.
Gone was the simplistic dark cabin I last remembered, along with the nestmates I held dear. Instead, I lay next to a bare-chested Zirene on top of a cushioned floor mat under a gazebo, its curtains lightly blowing in the seaside winds.
“I assume we are dreaming?” I asked, confirming we were alone and hadn’t landed yet.
“Yes, we are,” he breathed as concern crossed his face. “I hope you don’t mind me being here, but I needed to make sure you were okay.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
His hesitation worried me. Zirene had always been a male who acted first without consulting others if he believed he was right.
It made sense after all these years why he would be this way—he was a prince of a large empire. When it came down to making a life-altering decision, it was up to him to have the answers, without delay or doubt.
“You fell into a deep sleep after your short lesson from the Chamber Master,” he growled.
“And? You knew that was what he would do, especially since you couldn’t teach me this important ability.”
“Yes, we included your lesson in our schedule, which allowed us to do our pre-flight inspections. But that isn’t the problem.” His eyes hardened as he sat up and looked away. “He rushed you, pushed your limits without thinking about the fragility of your connections—”
“What happened?” I demanded in fear.
“You lost your court bond with V’dim and Z’fir. They hailed me worried and confused as soon as I felt you fall into the dreamscape. Both males thought they angered you somehow by leaving you behind—as if they failed some test to prove themselves to you.”
“But… I thought I succeeded,” I breathed as I sat up and followed Zirene’s gaze. Watching the lavender waves beat on the white sands, I reflected on Mwe’s lesson and followed everything we did. “It makes little sense… I felt nothing—”
“Exactly. Mwe has a strong
