He lowered his vidscreen, glaring through his visor at me. “I will be enough, don’t you worry. If need be, I will kill anyone who tries to hurt you. I swore myself to the prince, not to the empire. I don’t care what the Sovereign says. You are my topmost priority.”
“I believe you.”
“Remember that when the time comes,” he whispered. “Hopefully, it never will.”
Chapter Twenty Odelm
Odelm could tell that his hesitation had damaged his nestqueen’s faith in him. He hadn’t meant for his self-doubt and insecurity to damage their relationship yet again—but they had, and at the most inopportune time.
While their clan may be small compared to ancient times, it wasn’t unheard of for a nestqueen to rank her Favored once she determined their official order. Back then, if a nestqueen had a larger clan, she would surround herself with a layer of Favored, keeping her Primary and Second the nearest to her. Even though others keep trying to take Selena from them, they weren’t at war with anyone and didn’t need such an elaborate ranking system, especially since Selena had non-Circuli mates.
They explained all of this to her, but instead of accepting the great honor of being the clan’s Second—Selena’s Second—he had pushed her away. How could he have done that? Especially at a sensitive time like this?
The Sovereign’s summons caused problems for both the citizens of Destima and his clan. Odelm knew that Vagren would skillfully manage the moon in Selena’s place, but their absence would damage her reputation as a leader nonetheless. Six days had passed since Selena had bravely stood in front of a large crowd and made her speech, and the people of Destima already expected her to take over. Now that she had been called away, would her citizens doubt her leadership?
It only took one dissonant note to ruin a harmony.
There was no time for him to reconcile with his nestqueen and apologize for what he’d done. How could he? Their future was unknown. All of the clan’s energy had to be focused on trying to return home safely, and hopefully, with Zirene alongside them.
The wind blew wildly through his anemone hair as they stood, watching the incoming tropical storm and waiting for Masmi to arrive. If not for the gloom radiating from his clan, he would have considered the view beautiful, dark clouds on the horizon blocked out the planet Lunkai hanging in the sky.
His nestbrother, Xylo, had explained to him about Zirene’s binary star system. The reason for Lunkai, its capital, to always be in the sky was because Destima was tidally locked to it. The two suns hardly appeared at the same time because they never fully appeared zenith to the moon. Xylo went off spewing other facts about the whole star system’s relationship, but Odelm couldn’t understand most of what his scholar nestbrother said. The main thing he took from the conversation was that because of the uniqueness between Destima to Lunkai and their two suns, he shouldn’t be alarmed when Destima would fall into total darkness about twice a year. While the Aldawi followed the same time system as the CEG, Odelm appreciated knowing that their time was similar between Destima and Lunkai because of this reason.
He wondered when the first day of darkness would fall upon them, and how would his nestqueen react, as the storm clouds thickened, dimming the sunlight around them.
Odelm’s tentacles twitched, yearning to pull his nestqueen close and comfort her at her most dire time of need. He was afraid to touch her, not because of what his nestmates might think, but because he was afraid his advances would be rejected, especially in public.
Agony. Confusion. Stress.
Those were the emotions she cycled through, though she appeared calm to the world around her. He knew better. She wore a mask of strength to show her cubs and the Aldawi that she wasn’t weak—that she was fit to mate a prince.
She had chosen to wear a formal outfit similar to the one she had worn to face the Assembly, and now he understood why. Judging by the grace she radiated, outsiders and onlookers would think she was a born ruler.
She stood proudly with her head held high, her silver hair braided to look like a metallic crown sitting upon her head. The sun reflected off her simple jewelry, paired with a fitted black dress suit detailed in Royal Aldawi colors and equipped with a cape and heeled boots.
Selena was a force to be reckoned with.
He was almost afraid to watch her face off with someone, especially with Kaede by her side. Those two complemented each other in unimaginable ways. He didn’t understand why they had such a difficult time getting along. Whenever a problem arose, they instantly sought each other’s help to overcome the difficulty. There were moments when they got along so well it seemed as if one might just give in and confess...
Until Kaede said or did something that resulted in an argument and he disappeared.
A part of Odelm wished that they would just communicate their feelings and decide to be together. He didn’t know how he felt about Kaede joining the clan before he became Second. Perhaps Selena would give the Circuli position to another, which made his mistake seem that much worse.
She may never offer him the position again.
“You need to correct this, nestbrother,” Xylo urged. “Your misjudgment has sewn doubt in our nestqueen, and I’m afraid it will create more damage the longer it stews.”
He flicked his gaze to the scholar. “What do you think I should do? As soon as Masmi leaves with our cubs, we are taking off for Nerawn. Even on the older shuttle, we should arrive before dinner.”
“This is all true,” Xylo agreed, his attention drawn by a dark spot in the sky. “It seems our cub-sitter is here.”
They watched as the personal cruiser descended. The pilot showed off by approaching the landing dock at an alarming speed and
