“Are you sure she doesn’t need to be medically examined?” Zyxel narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. “Or are you purposely hiding her?”
“I’ve searched the galaxy for this female for over seven years, and again when your commander went on a selfish power trip, to take her back where she belongs. Please tell me how I’ve neglected her,” he hissed, showing his fangs. “You have known her for a mere few days. Stop lashing out at me because she has rejected your advances and let me do my job by allowing her some much-needed rest. I don’t know if you remember correctly, but she was recently hurt and needs as much time as she can get to heal, instead of dealing with more problems others create.”
Kaede ignored the silent male, who could only gape at him. How dare Zyxel question his intentions, especially after he had to witness Selena breaking down because she was too afraid to shower by herself.
Glancing between the two telepaths on his ship, he tried to determine how to explain away their suspicions.
< ONCE THEY MEET OETA, SHE SHOULD VET THEM ALL. SHE CAN DO THE HONORS AND GRAB ALL THE INFORMATION FROM THEM BEFORE ENDING THEIR LIFEFORCE. >
What REI suggested was true. Oeta would be on the landing pad when they arrived. If any of their passengers grew too demanding before then, he could just eject them without any regrets.
“Listen to me, because I am only going to tell you this once: We aren’t friends. I don’t know you and I don’t trust any of you. You are only here because Selena begged me to allow you on, so don’t betray her trust by doing something you will regret as soon as I hear of it—and I will, because I have eyes, ears, and even noses everywhere on my ship. Do I make myself clear?”
A series of affirmatives filled the room, as each person nodded and met his gaze.
“Second. Don’t fuck with my ship. Got it?” When they agreed, he continued, “I have what I call a ‘living ship.’ It doesn’t breathe or grow, but five lifeforms do control the Abyss. That is what you sense—my crew.”
“Are they Oetsae, too?” Tori asked, skirting her mates to stand before him. “My clan met Euouae the day before you rescued her.”
Biting his tongue, Kaede closed his eyes and clenched his fists as he took deep breaths. He needed to speak with his female about risking her life and doing foolish things when he wasn’t around. The universe wasn’t supposed to know about the Oetsae, yet she was sharing their existence with four strangers.
“What did she tell you?” he hedged, pinning the female with his glare.
Tori tilted her head. “Selena explained how you saved her with a symbiont and Euouae let us touch our hands together.” She clapped her hands together and smiled. “But mainly, Euouae wanted to ask my Celyze if he was willing to weave their mental threads together to try and reach some government official’s daughter and ask about—”
“You guys becoming ambassadors and relocating to Destima. Got it.” Kaede sighed. If neither Euouae nor his crew had sensed any malicious intent from them, the Oetsae had to deem them trustworthy enough to be on the ship.
< REI. ASK THE CREW IF THEY ARE SAFE. >
< THEY ARE ALL CURIOUS ABOUT THE SHIP, SCARED ABOUT YOU, AND WORRIED ABOUT WHAT IS TO COME. >
He was glad that they feared him. The more scared they were, the less likely they would be to piss him off and try anything dumb around him.
“Abyss crew, report to the galley.”
Chapter Thirty Selena
When I woke up, Kaede was gone, but the sheets still smelled like him.
He had probably grown accustomed to waking up early while he had tracked me, so I wasn’t surprised that he wasn’t here.
Stretching, I climbed out of bed and grabbed a robe from the wall drawers before exiting the master cabin. It had been a while since I had last eaten something, as I had been too upset to look for refreshments yesterday.
Walking into the galley, I was surprised to see everyone—including all six Oetsae—present and staring at me. Taking Kaede’s hand, I leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the lips.
“Is this some sort of party?” I teased, smiling. “Or something else?”
“A few—” Kaede’s cheeks reddened as he coughed into his hand. “A certain few telepaths wanted to know what mental signatures they were sensing and Tori explained that she met Euouae.”
“Ahhh.” I knew what the trouble was. My desperation to contact Oeta—and potentially even my nestmates—had clouded my judgment and made me too trusting. “I would apologize, but Vowels told me I could trust them, so I did. I am sorry if that complicated things.”
“I just wish you would’ve told me first,” he whispered.
I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was disappointed and, now that his eyes were visible, I saw that he could even be hurt by my mishap.
Grabbing his other hand, I squeezed his fingers gently. “I promise I will refer to you before I share any more secrets or sensitive information. I’m sorry for not letting you know, but in my defense, we both know what happened yesterday. My mind wasn’t in the right place.”
Closing his eyes, he sighed and leaned forward, giving me a gentle kiss on my forehead. “I know, Selena. We will work through this together.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, giving his hands one last squeeze before letting go. “Vowels, if you want, you can join them.”
My Oetsae coalesced next to me, dressed in a similar bodysuit to Kaede’s, though his short hair matching my length and his abyssal eyes set them apart.
“I’ve heard much about you,” he said, offering his hand to Kaede.
My guard looked between us, confused, before gently shaking his head and accepting my partner’s hand. “It will be good to work with you in
