No, he would support his nestbrothers if they accomplished siring any offspring and would treat theirs as his, like their cubs back at the villa. Even if that support went against his Circuli nature.
A pulsing glow caught his eye, drawing his gaze to the source.
Selena’s gem had come to life, swirling faster than its average pace, just like when she’d interacted with the solar lamps two nights before.
“Stars,” Mafari cursed. “I was right.”
“Right about what?” Selena asked, lifting her necklace for all to see. “Wouldn’t it make sense for it to react to this cave?”
“Not this brightly.” The master geologist pointed at a set of unearthed gems along the nearby wall. “See how the inlaid gems only faintly glow? There has to be a reason why hers is much brighter than the rest in this chamber. Even the ones the miners took from storage didn’t shine like this.”
Selena raised her necklace to eye-level, studying the swirling movement within the gem.
“But why?” Selena muttered as she approached the water’s edge, the sand beneath her feet faintly lighting with each step.
Xylo pointed toward Selena’s feet, his vines expanded in full alertness. “Is that normal?”
Selena glanced down and gasped as she shuffled her feet. Each time her foot touched the ground, the sand instantly lit up underneath.
“Definitely not,” Mafari said, reaching for the necklace as he took a step forward. He stopped, hesitating as he dropped his hand. “I haven’t seen anything like this in all my studies.”
“Is it safe?” Selena squatted and reached for the luminescent sand beneath her. She stopped short of touching the ground, shooting a glance at the two silent geologists.
“It should be,” Karfic replied. “Nothing has changed other than . . . her.”
The news unsettled him.
When would the Stars ever grant Selena mercy? She had been through too much in her life to be dragged into whatever mystery revolved around this cave.
“What do you mean by ‘her?’” Xylo demanded as he stepped closer to his nestqueen. “Selena hasn’t done a thing! All she has done is wear the blasted bauble Prince Zirene gave her!”
“Xylo,” Selena hissed. “No need to take out your frustrations on them.” She pressed her hand down on the sand, instantly lighting up the ground beneath her touch. She shot him a smile. “See? Nothing bad happened.”
Xylo pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes, unconvinced.
This was not normal, especially judging by the stunned expressions of the two geologists.
Luckily, the hairs on the bottom of his feet weren't picking up anything harmful, though he found a trace of the gem’s dust sprinkled along the floor. Surprisingly, underneath the dirt, the cave’s floor was filled with such an abundance of rich nutrients that the soil would be able to feed Destima’s Wudox population for many years to come.
Slowly, the light around Selena intensified, both in radius and brightness.
Soon the whole chamber glowed like it was coming alive, lighting the cave’s lake into a pool of lavender radiance. The individual gems embedded into the stone walls twinkled as if they were stars flickering in a night’s sky.
Gasps filled the air as his nestqueen fell on her ass in shock, both hands catching her in the process. “Selena!” Xylo shouted as he tried to lift his nestqueen off the cave floor.
He didn’t trust the light—and he was starting to lose trust in the two geologists accompanying them. He felt as if they hadn’t provided them with the information they’d sought, and had been acting oddly ever since they had arrived. Could these males be jealous of Selena’s possession? At moments like this, he wished he had his nestbrother, Odelm, here to use the abilities the Stars blessed him with and pick up any lies they may have told.
Since the answers they sought had eluded them, this outing had been a bust . . . until now.
Where was Kaede when he needed him?
Xylo cursed himself.
He knew the aggressive assassin would not tolerate either male’s rude behavior—or the strange transformation of this chamber. Xylo just hoped the broody male wouldn’t take his anger out on him when he found out what had happened.
Selena shook her head and reached for his vines, tugging him onto the floor next to her. He allowed his knees to buckle, catching himself as he kneeled on the ground, shocked by his nestqueen’s directness.
Surprisingly, nothing happened—he had expected some reaction from the chamber. However, he suspected that just like a plant reaching for the sun, if his vines reached too close to the light, they would get burned.
That was the question he kept asking himself in moments like this, when Selena burned so bright that the world around her seemed to bend to her will.
Would she burn him in due time? Did it matter?
No, because a life without Selena would be a dull one indeed.
“Xylo,” Selena whispered. “Do you think you can help me with my boots?’
“Why do you want help removing your shoes?” he asked, taken back. What had made her come up with this idea?
“I want to walk along the water’s shore.” She glanced at the geologists. “There aren't any creatures that I should worry about? No dangerous cave fungus or something alike? Would it be safe to take a swim?”
“A swim?” Xylo hissed, fighting the urge to wrap her up in his vines and hide her from the universe. “You can swim at home!”
She waved him off. “Our pool at home isn’t a cave filled with thousands of glowing gems that make the whole chamber radiate in their brilliance.”
“In all the years we have mined within this room, we have not come across anything dangerous—animal, fungus, or plant,” Mafari explained as he stepped beside them, dipping the edge of his tail into the water. “I know the water is safe. I have tested it multiple times myself. Other than the lake’s cold temperature, and the odd nature of your request, I don’t see an issue
