“You are missing one development, Agent K,” Oeta mocked. “By scrying Q, I proved his innocence and devotion to the Aldawi and its royal family. While you are on your personal mission to bring Selena back, Kaica has requested to remain on Destima, bringing the Fab Five down a member. Q requested Z’s permission to travel with B as she leads the rest of your sisters on their search, now that he doesn’t have a ship or crew of his.”
“What the Stars is going on over there? Have you all gone insane?”
“We are doing everything we can to keep things stable on our front,” Oeta replied. Her mental voice sounded strained, making him wonder how poorly things were truly going on Destima. “It’s too late now. If you wanted a chance to voice your opinion on the matter, you shouldn’t have left so suddenly and disconnected from your family’s network. Now B and Q are leading the Fab Five as they follow you in hopes of assisting your hunt. Currently, I am trying to keep relations between Xylo’s fathers and the rest of the villa’s staff peaceful. It seems the old Circuli males were stuck in their ways and needed to be reminded that they weren’t in charge like they were on Circul. Tensions are high and your resistance to change isn’t helping, even though I understand why you didn’t want anyone to know about the orbs yet.”
“Don’t let them use the orbs to heal Selena’s mates,” Kaede pleaded. “They wouldn’t know the weight of the consequences of their actions. I am living with mine every day. It’s eating me up inside that when I find Selena, she will want nothing to do with me because of what I have done to her. I was selfish and made the call for her to keep her alive. I pray to the Stars that she will forgive me for the permanent change I have brought to her life.”
“That is between you and her, whenever you two find each other. I can’t tell you what I would’ve done in your place, because I haven’t needed to make such a decision for someone invaluable to me. Nor would I know what to do if I had woken up being a host to a sentient being without my consent,” Oeta stated.
He was shocked that she had discovered what the orbs truly were.
“Yes, Kaede. Do you think someone like me didn’t catch on when you tried to pass off an object of power as a simple trinket? Both my father and I knew what Selena wore the moment she entered the Assembly, and we know what problems would arise if news about the truth spread across the universe. We didn’t want to draw any more unneeded attention to Selena and her necklace since the Assembly already had their focus on her. It has been interesting working here on Destima; while they refuse to speak to me, I can feel their presence on the moon. In fact, I can sense your symbiont listening to us. Aren’t you going to introduce us?”
“Why would you want to speak to it?” Kaede asked, not understanding why she would be interested in something she couldn’t study in person. “You aren’t looking to get one for yourself, are you?”
“No, I would never,” Oeta confessed, her mental voice failing to mask her curiosity. “This discovery is new to me since they aren’t registered with the CEG—for good reason. If others knew of the power they wield and the possibilities they grant their hosts, I fear that we would have a civil war within the CEG on our hands. The other CEG governments already fear the Aldawi’s strength but have stayed out of their border spat with the Quaww. If news got out, I foresee the whole CEG would turn their backs on the Aldawi and swarm them.”
“We wouldn’t allow it,” REI interjected. “The Oetsae are loyal to the Aldawi and no one else. They have discovered our crash site and released us from our underground prison before we all slowly faded and died off. The Sovereign Zirene and the Fab Five gave us an opportunity to pay them back by using our abilities to power their creations.”
“They aren’t abusing or taking advantage of you?”
“Quite the contrary. By allowing us to charge ourselves with their dual suns, we can strengthen our lifeforce and prevent ourselves from fading. Instead of starting a relationship with a host, we have integrated into some of their designs to create living machines—”
“Those robots? Is that why those devices had a presence?” Oeta asked, her mental voice full of shock. “You’ve created a metallic host for them to use until they find a biological one! By allowing them to power your creations, you have essentially saved their lives.”
“Exactly,” REI replied proudly. “That is why we will never betray those who saved us.”
Chapter Five Selena
“Celyze!” an unfamiliar female voice demanded. “I should be here when she wakes up. You know how scared I was when I woke up in that Vhalxt prison cell. It took me a while to completely trust you and your crewmates. What if she’s like me?”
“No one is like you, Tori,” an unfamiliar male voice muttered. “Believe me, I remember how you… defended yourself against me when I tried to communicate with you.”
“We’ve been over this many times, Celyze,” she hissed in low tones. “It was a miscommunication. I told you ‘no’, but you kept grabbing my arm to get my attention. It was a natural defensive instinct and I’ve apologized to you every time you bring it up. How do you know she doesn’t share that impulse? Zyxel explained she has already tried to escape once, so she is in fight-or-flight mode like I was.”
“Do we really need
