“Kaede, look at me,” she snapped. “I know you probably have a dozen drones aimed at every living being in this base. Put them on standby and listen to me.”
It was closer to twenty, but she didn’t need to know that.
He obeyed with a growl, frowning as he took in her appearance. Gone were her long, silver locks. In their place was hair shorter than most Ulax’s. Not that the style mattered to him, but he knew how much she had loved Symi and his sisters doing her hair. Her face seemed thinner as if she hadn’t eaten enough while here. Yet her deep, blue-green eyes still compelled him to dive in and never leave.
He couldn’t wait to speak with her privately, without an audience. There were too many things he wanted to do and say that he couldn’t while they were in danger.
“Yes, Selena?”
“These people need our help,” she implored. “And I want to help them.”
He pointed toward Xenak’s body. “Does he look like he wants your help?”
“Forget him, he’s an ishing frax.” She rolled her eyes. “Kaede, I promised to take a clan home with me as a reward for sheltering me. Would you allow me to take a few refugees back with us?”
“You aren’t thinking straight, Selena,” Kaede muttered. “Let’s get you some rest on my vessel. All you need is a little sleep and soon enough, we’ll be home.”
“Don’t coddle me,” she hissed. “These are good people. They remind me of my citizens on Destima. They were abducted, their home was destroyed, and now they’re on the run, fighting to survive. I can’t leave them here.”
“Yes, you can.” He smirked. “It’s easy.”
“I won’t feel right leaving without helping them.” She frowned. “Isn’t there a way you could allow a few aboard your ship?”
Kaede looked to the ceiling and prayed to the Stars to give him strength. This was supposed to be a simple in-and-out mission. She had requested that he didn’t kill anyone, so he had incorporated that into his plans. Now she was begging to bring foreign refugees home with them. He felt uneasy bringing anyone but her and a selected few even near the Abyss, let alone into it. It was his pride and joy, and now others would know about it and try to figure out its secrets.
“I don’t have space for… How many are stationed here?”
“I was told over five thousand, along with seventy-two humans.”
“I don’t even have room for the seventy-two humans,” he grumbled. “Nor do we have the time to arrange for them all to travel with us or figure out who goes and who doesn’t. And to be honest with you, I don’t trust anyone enough to even glimpse my ship.”
Selena patted his shoulder. “I only want to bring a few, that’s it.”
Kaede narrowed his eyes at the frustrating female. He knew what a few meant; they would start with a few and end up taking the whole base with them.
“Fine, but they will be under heavy supervision,” Kaede sighed, already regretting the words that fell from his lips. “I mean it. They won’t be able to shit on my ship without me knowing.”
A scream erupted from her as she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him furiously on both cheeks. “Thank you.” Kiss. “Thank you.” Kiss. “Thank you.” Kiss.
He could feel his cheeks redden as everyone around them watched in shock. He smirked when he saw Zyxel eyeing him with jealousy, while his emerald twin appeared confused by the display.
Releasing him, Selena clapped and turned toward a ledge overlooking the pond.
“Tori! He said yes!” she shouted, cupping her mouth with both hands. “Bring the boys and anything you want to take with you.”
A squeal of happiness sounded in the direction Selena faced as a blonde female grabbed her sapphire mate, jumping up and down.
“What have I done?”
Chapter Twenty-Three Selena
“Ambassadors.”
“You want them to be your ambassadors?” Kaede asked, dumbfounded. “Why would you want that?”
“How else will I explain taking in a large group of refugees from beyond our galaxy?” I gestured to the apartments that housed the base’s citizens. “I will speak with Z, Royak, and Vagren about making it official, and with Mwe about handling the Assembly when over five thousand applications for new citizenship suddenly appear on their desks.”
“You know that means you will have to return to the CEG headquarters and submit your case in front of the Assembly again, right?” Kaede crossed his arms. “It’s not like I can stop you when you set your mind on something. I just want to make sure you knew your options.”
“I do know. I’ve already thought this through.”
“Well, if the refugees agree, so do I.”
Grabbing his hand, I dragged him toward Ryzen. The poor male was confused about how to respond to our approach. While Kaede owned all the drones that watched the base, I was leading him to speak in person.
“You can keep your psy-daggers up if you want, but I’d like to speak with you.”
He peered at us with pursed lips, his emerald tattoos dimming. “What is it you want to talk about?”
“I’d like your permission to take some of your crew members with me permanently. I plan to make Tori and her clan my official ambassadors to your base,” I announced, tilting my head. “I know I could probably take them without your permission, but I don’t want to leave with any hard feelings between us.”
Three thumps sounded behind me and he glanced over my shoulder. “Is that what you want?”
“I don’t know how good of an ambassador I will be, but yes, my clan and I want to leave with Selena and live on her home moon,” Tori answered, stepping closer to me. “We’ve developed a friendship that I don’t wish to lose.”
“I see,” Ryzen muttered. “And your clan?”
“We will follow our StarPyre and relocate to live near Selena,” Auro announced, patting Tori’s shoulder. “You know my clan brothers
