“Let me start from the beginning, since I don’t know any other way to explain,” the golden Kaede sighed, still using my voice. “Do you remember your Zirene giving you a necklace on that fateful day?”
“Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?”
“I am—I was—the orb in that necklace.”
“How can that be?” I asked, confused, reaching for the jewelry piece in question only to find it missing. “It was just a trinket.”
“A trinket that the shopkeeper on that space station warned you about,” Kaede countered. “She wasn’t wrong about my immeasurable value, though she didn’t know what I was. She assumed I was some lucky charm, granting an unexplainable boon to its owner.”
“And what is that boon?”
“Life.” The word fell from his lips like a prayer to the Stars, utterly devoted. His eyes never left the fabricated lavender ocean. “We form a pact with our host to heal and protect them for the rest of their lives—for eternity, if they wish.”
“What are you saying?”
“You were dying when your Kaede found you. That was certain. He saw that your body wasn’t healing all the damage that you had sustained due to the drugs they injected. Somehow, he knew the truth about me and decided to invoke me for you to keep you alive. When he implanted my orb in your body, I felt how much you wanted to live and read that as a sign of your acceptance to form the symbiont-host bond. I already knew your situation since I’ve observed everything you’ve done since my discovery. It was a judgment on my part to take your last thoughts as agreement. If you had given in to death’s embrace, I wouldn’t have kept your soul from joining the Stars.”
“Is that what I experienced? That numbing pain when I was drifting in space?”
“Yes.” His haunted gaze landed on me. “You were so far gone, it was almost too late for me to save you.”
“In my last moments, I wished for a way to keep living. With Kaede’s help, you were the answer—and now, I’m stuck with you,” I muttered, crossing my arms to stop the shivers as the consequences of my need to live dawned on me. The Stars willed this… being into my life to give me another chance and now, I was paying the price. “What does that mean for me?”
“We are forever bonded. My knowledge and power are yours for the taking as payment for serving as my host.” He scanned my body with a warmth that the real Kaede was incapable of. “I know everything about you—your memories, your thoughts, your dreams, and your body. In exchange, I will protect you from any harm that may befall you, heal any injuries you may sustain, and keep your body’s nanobots working at maximum capacity. Above all else, I will watch over you in times of need—like this—and help you survive.”
“Does that make you my body’s keeper?” I demanded. Why had the Fates and the Stars given me such a destiny? How many more masters, kidnappers, and enemies did I have to encounter until I was left to live my life with my clan in peace? “Will you command my body now that it is yours?”
“You misunderstand.” The golden Kaede shook his head. “You are my master. Your body is my temple and I am your warden in charge of maintaining it at all costs.”
“Why?”
“The only time I am capable of overriding your body’s movements would be when you wish it.” He held up his hand as I opened my mouth to object. “My life is bound to yours. When you die, I will most likely die with you, therefore it is in my fundamental intention to allow us both to live as a unit. My species’ moral compass prevents me from making executive decisions for you unless you give me your absolute permission to do so. I already walked that fine line when I interpreted your final wish and made the decision to save your life. I will not repeat my actions unless you permit me to do so.”
“Meaning you won’t take over my body and consume me?” I shook my head, unable to fully believe what he was saying. There must be something I wasn’t comprehending—something he was omitting to give me a false sense of security.
“I can’t,” he swore. “I can never interfere with your mental shield and connections with your mates. They are part of your very spiritual being and cannot be altered.” He stepped closer, trapping me between him and the railing, leaving me no room to escape. “I can protect your void chamber from intruders from the outside, if you wish, so you need no longer fear mental attack by some savage male who dared to invade you not once, but twice.”
“How?” I licked my lips as I stared directly into his eyes, locked into the celestial display. His offer seemed too good to be true. “How can you?”
“When I brought you back from the cosmic embrace, I needed to protect your mental state as I healed your body. Mending a body shell doesn’t do me any good when your soul has moved on to the abyss. The body will just decay without it, whether I am in it or not.
“I sealed the crack along your void chamber, burned shut with a part of my essence. I do not have mental doors like your nestmates; instead, I have become a part of the sealant in your walls. If another tries to force their way through your mental shields, I shall protect you and retaliate.”
“I am assuming we aren’t in a dreamdome since it’s clear this isn’t a dreamscape.” I waved my hand in circles, pointing to the sky. “So, what is this?”
“I took control of the
