“You are right, Selena. I just haven’t thought about it that way.” He averted his gaze. “I understand if you feel like I’m not worthy as your Second. Being your Favored is enough for me.”
“Somehow, I don’t believe you,” I muttered, attempting to clamber off his lap. His tentacles refused to budge no matter how much I tugged at them. If this male didn’t want to be my Second, then I wouldn’t force him. He could enjoy the position he already held and not worry about taking on extra responsibility in the clan.
I refused to cry over this backhanded rejection.
“Odelm!” Xylo hissed, reminding me that we were being watched.
Not that it mattered. Nothing within the clan was ever a secret since my mates could read me like a vidscreen. I almost wished I were a Circuli female, just so I could read their emotions and thoughts too and know everything I needed without having to ask.
“Selena,” Odelm whispered, his voice thick with sorrow. “Please tell me what I’ve done to hurt you?”
Studying his tentacles like they were the most exciting thing in the room, I refused to meet his gaze. Perhaps I was acting petty or insecure, but I needed him to find a solution. He knew what I wanted from him, and I’d told him how I felt, confirming his suspicions, and yet he’d backed away.
He was the one who doubted my honest intentions.
And somehow, his rejection hurt me as much as what Zirene had done to me.
A snap sounded next to our nestbed. Suddenly, a furious Kaede stared down at me.
“Get up!” he hissed. “Zirene was too slow. That pompous ishing frax has issued a summons for you and your clan.”
Chapter Nineteen Selena
I froze as I let his words replay in my mind.
“You’re lying,” I mumbled, shaking my head in disbelief. “Zirene left last night, why would his father summon me now?”
“It’s simple,” Kaede hissed. “This was his plan all along. First, he summons Zirene and entertains him while he acts like nothing is amiss. Then we arrive shortly afterward, putting him in a tough spot.”
“A trap,” Z’fir muttered. “He must want something from Zirene and is willing to threaten Selena to get it.”
“Exactly,” V’dim nodded. “This was what Zirene feared this whole time. Unfortunately, his sire is the first to ever dare to go after Selena since she’s been on Destima. He’s the only one with the power to take over this moon if need be—with legal backing. Zirene’s allies within the CEG won’t be able to help because they refuse to interfere in Aldawi politics.”
“So what am I supposed to do, Kaede?” I demanded, finally climbing off Odelm’s lap. Kaede averted his eyes as I stood and approached him to sit down on the edge of my nestbed. “I told you that I couldn’t do politics, and this is politics! I wasn’t designed—or trained—for any of this.”
Xylo offered me my nightgown, giving me a pointed stare. Rolling my eyes, I took it from him and put it on. I didn’t care what Kaede saw or how disheveled I looked. We had already had sex once—and he’d seen me at my best and worst.
“She’s decent,” Xylo announced, sitting next to me. I felt the others near through our bond threads behind me.
“About time,” he scoffed, snapping his gaze to me. I knew he was staring directly into my eyes from behind his visor, trying to intimidate me. “There’s only one thing you can do, Selena.”
“And what’s that?”
“You have no other option but to obey the Sovereign and go directly to the ship already waiting for you at the starport,” Kaede said. “Then you are going to fly off on that blasted spacecraft to face the most pompous, bigoted ruler you’ll ever meet, and that includes those you met at the Assembly and all of the Quaww.”
“Where are you going to be?”
“By your side,” he replied, flicking his gaze to the vidscreen in his hands. “I’m sorry, but it’s not only you who’s been summoned. Your clan and your cubs have been, as well.”
I reached for his vidscreen, tilting it in my direction to see.
There it was, the order with each of our names listed. What bothered me the most was the order. Instead of being listed first, my name sat below my Circuli princes’, Xylo’s, and Odelm’s. On the very bottom was stated, ‘Seedbearer and Cubs of Zirene Darcaw.’
I pushed the vidscreen away. “He can shove his—”
“Selena,” Kaede snapped. “Not now. You have until midday to pack and report to the ship.” He glanced at the males surrounding me and sighed. “You will need to be trained on how to talk to the Aldawi Sovereign. He’s prone to throwing anyone who offends him in the dungeon, or outright attacking them himself if he feels the offense was personal.”
“Himself?” Z’fir questioned, placing a hand on my shoulder.
“It gets boring in the palace.” Kaede shrugged. “He sees it as a sport—a source of entertainment.”
“And no one stops him?” I
