“So be mad at me, discipline me if you have to. I was only doing what I was told—rescuing your Nova and protecting her the best that I could. Now that we are officially mates, I can extend that care to her heart, as well. I will continue to be the best guard in your empire, but now we are mated to the same female, I will be your clan brother, as well.”
Zirene stared at him in silence. Without REI’s timestamp on their feed, he would’ve thought that his vidscreen had frozen.
“You make valid points,” he grumbled. “I have been working you and your siblings too hard. I hoped allowing Agent B and K to work alongside their mates would help create some relief, but instead of working with your mate, you are now working for her. It will take some time for me to get used to the idea. However, having you as a clan brother may be a gift in disguise. Just… don’t fail me again.”
“I swear it, to both of you.”
Chapter Forty-Three Selena
Kaede invited all passengers onto the bridge to watch the Abyss enter the Lunkai Sol System and fly toward Destima. Excitement filled me as we passed the capital planet, and my watery violet moon came into view.
Home.
Over the course of the week, I could feel my golden threads to my nestmates strengthen, becoming thicker and more visible the closer we got. Yet no matter what I did, I couldn’t get anyone to answer.
I had figured we were still too far apart, but now we were almost in orbit and I still couldn’t sense them. Frantically, I reached for the threads, tugging like I always did when I wanted their attention.
Once again, I could feel no response.
“Kaede!” I cried, turning to my mate in his commander chair. “I can’t feel my mates. Why won’t they respond?”
“Everything is fine, Selena,” he replied, refusing to look at me. “But I need you to buckle up.”
“What are you hiding, Kaede?” I hissed. “What happened to my mates?”
“I can try to help you reach for them,” Celyze offered, his gaze flickering between the two of us. “It should be—”
“Everyone needs to buckle up so I can land,” Kaede ordered.
Glaring at my newest mate, I stormed off the bridge and into the cargo bay, buckling myself into the wall harness. The others followed me and did the same, except for Zyxel, who tangled his tail in some netting Kaede had provided for lift-offs and landings.
“You still can’t reach them?” Ryzen ventured, his voice carrying from across the room. His glowing emerald eyes held mine as I tried to reach out once more and failed.
Shaking my head, I sobbed, “I can’t.”
The vessel shook as we entered the atmosphere.
Grabbing on to the handlebars, I closed my eyes and tried to reach out yet again, pulling as hard as I could on my restraints until tears streamed down my face.
A loud pop echoed within my mind, filling me a wave of emotions that weren’t mine.
“Hello?” I mentally yelled out, hoping that my distance had only muted our ability to communicate. The foreign emotions’ intensity weighed, drowning out my own. It wasn’t the normal comforting that I had always received from my mates.
“Why won’t anyone respond?”
The Abyss jerked to a stop. I threw my harness off and slammed my hand on the ramp control. The ramp lowered at an agonizingly slow pace. I shook with frustration as I waited for it to complete its descent.
I heard Kaede scream my name as I ran down the ramp, but I didn’t care. I needed to see them. I needed to see all my mates with my eyes immediately.
Zirene stood at the end of the ramp in all his glory, wearing a crown and a fancy loincloth. I didn’t care about his new title. He was still my Shadow.
Leaping into his arms, I buried my face in his shoulder and inhaled his unique scent. His arms wrapped around me and he began to purr, trying to comfort me.
“I’ve missed you, my Nova,” he breathed. “I counted the days until I could see you in the flesh and now, you are finally here.”
Opening my eyes, I lifted my head from his shoulder and searched the crowd behind him. Faces, both familiar and unfamiliar, watched me as I scanned the space, looking for the four mates that should be here to greet me.
Instead of leading in a distinct direction, my golden threads connected to a wide entangled golden web that stretched infinitely across the sky. No matter where I looked, I couldn’t untangle the threads to find my nestmates.
Xylo. Odelm. Z’fir. V’dim.
They were all gone.
Locking my eyes onto the male I had known the longest, I gripped Zirene’s shoulders tightly and shook him. A pair of pitch-black eyes met mine, instead of the familiar amethyst I had grown to love.
“What happened to you?” I demanded urgently. “And where are the others?”
AUTHORS NOTE:
Thank you for taking the time to read my book!
I hope you enjoyed meeting Kaede and revisiting some characters introduced in StarPyre.
I loved writing Kaede and can’t wait to dive more into his character.
I am working hard on writing Reboot – along with cowriting some fun series w/a good friend of mine.
Please take a moment to leave a review! <3
Connect with me at:
Facebook Author Page: Jade Waltz
Facebook Group: Jade Waltz Literary Alcove
Twitter: @authorjadewaltz
Instagram: @authorjadewaltz
Email: [email protected]
Sign up for my newsletter:
No Spam! I Promise! <3
Jade Waltz Newsletter
Other Works Found At:
Website: www.jadewaltz.com
Amazon Profile: Jade Waltz
Bookbub: Jade Waltz
Project: Adapt
Reboot
Returning home hasn’t gone as planned...
My Circuli nestmates require my constant presence in order to heal making it impossible to accomplish anything else.
My ambassadors have moved into my villa, creating many changes to my growing extended family.
And adding to my stress...
The Citizens of Destima need me...
The Assembly wants answers...
The Aldawi demands to meet their new leaders...
And all I want is to spend time alone with my clan, to heal and grow together
