"I'm going to leave," Kaede muttered, disheartened, from his driver's seat. "Odelm knows how to contact me, and I’ll be nearby if needed."
Selena crossed her arms. "What about your drones?"
"I’m required to watch you at all times," he replied. "I will restrict myself to one drone while you’re on your dates, but that is the most I can compromise."
Selena pursed her lips. "Fine. It's not like you’ve ever considered my feelings before."
"Take it up with your Aldawi prince," Kaede scoffed. "I am just a sworn soldier doing my duty."
"I will."
"Good." Kaede turned to salute Odelm before driving off.
As soon as he was out of sight, Selena turned to Odelm. "What's his problem?"
"The pressure of keeping you safe is probably getting to him," Odelm sighed, directing his nestqueen through the performance hall's sliding doors. "Don't let him ruin our night, or I might become the one seeking revenge this time."
Selena gently smacked his stomach with the back of her hand. "You will not!" she gasped.
"I know something that the male hates more than politics," Odelm chuckled. "Never mess with an Ulax while surrounded by water; you never know where you’ll end up."
"Are you talking about the Ulax pranks you like playing on your Wudox brethren? Dragging them by their vines into the middle of the body of water so that you can watch them struggle to reach the shore?" Selena asked in shock.
Odelm couldn't help but smirk, chuckling to himself as he pictured a caped Kaede trying to swim back to the Main Island.
"Odelm!" Selena gasped, astounded. "I never imagined my gentle and shy nestmate would go to such great lengths to hurt someone."
"You’d be surprised what I would do to protect the ones I love," he muttered as they entered the auditorium. “It has always been a nestmate’s duty to sacrifice himself so his nestqueen may survive. This was why nestqueens once took in as many males as they were capable of handling; in ancient times, the more nestmates a nestqueen had for protection, the higher chance of survival for her clan. Once our planet settled into peaceful times, there was no need to build a large clan other than as a status symbol. As the population grew, so did the number of males, but they were no longer needed to survive. A nestqueen technically only needs her Favored to pass on her genes, rendering most male Circuli superfluous and limiting their chance of being accepted into a clan.”
“Which is why most never felt love,” Selena muttered, flicking her gaze to him. “Because you’re born in a hatchery, like me, members of your species grow up alone without parents to show you what love is. In order to experience a connection, you form nestbrother bonds with other males—like the princes did—to ease your biological drive to seek a nestqueen. Even if you are bonded with a female, the bond doesn’t guarantee you would ever feel loved—not when a nestqueen has Favored.”
“And now you understand why we keep telling you how amazing you are, Selena,” Odelm whispered, grabbing both of her hands as they stopped before the raised center stage. “Even before you accepted Xylo and me as your Favored, you treated the princes with the love and respect that they deserved. That’s unheard of, especially among unbonded males.”
“I understand, Odelm. I really do,” she breathed. “I only wanted to do what felt right.” She gestured to the rows of seats around them. “I hope you know that I didn’t make you a Favored because Zirene pushed me to. I chose you because it’s what both you and Xylo deserve. I love you both so much that I didn’t want to make the clan suffer from my indecision.”
Odelm’s tentacle pressed against her cheek as she closed her eyes, leaning into his touch. “It wasn't your fault. We knew you only wanted the best for us, and yet we didn’t want to pressure you to make a rash decision you weren’t ready for.”
“But why would it be rash to choose you as Favored?” She opened her eyes, studying him in confusion. “Is this because you still believe you don’t deserve it? That you’re inferior to Xylo and the princes?”
Her words cut him like a vibroknife through a fish—swift and accurate, leaving a steaming burn in its wake.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t.” He averted his eyes to his Ulepo—the multi-tiered organ developed by the Ikzurn, which led him to meet his nestqueen. “But I have been getting better at not comparing myself to them.”
“Odelm,” she choked. “This is about your nestbrothers blossoming, isn't it?”
He nodded. “Soon, you will decide who will sire your offspring. I know that I am Favored, and what my position entails, but I would never force you to do anything you don’t want.”
“And yet?” She palmed his cheek, mirroring his tentacle. “You think I won’t want you?”
He shrugged. “Xylo and I don’t have the traditional Circuli coloring. Why would you want to hatch more abnormalities into the world?”
“I don’t know how many times I have to tell you this, but nothing about me is considered normal. You know this,” Selena scoffed, rolling her eyes as she shook her head. “Have you ever thought maybe I’ve pictured what life would be like years from now? Our cubs, playing with little Xylos and Odelms in the hatchery? I’ve wondered if they would inherit some of my silver in their coloring as the cubs do.”
“Truthfully?” he asked, stunned. “You have been thinking about me siring your—our future offspring?”
“Haven’t you?” She tilted her head and sighed. “Look, I know you’re all eager to reproduce, especially since you’re used to your species’ females only becoming fertile one week every five years, but I don’t want any more offspring at this time. A few years in the future, definitely, but right now?” She pulled away, raising her hands as she spun around. “I love my cubs, I really do, but I’m not ready to have more children. I just
