Kriss scoffed. “You have something going on in that head of yours. You forget she is here to serve us.”
“I have not forgotten.” He turned back to Kriss and thumbed his arm. “She’s ours, absolutely. We’ll fuck her when she wakes.”
“I’m going to bathe.” Kriss deposited his glass on the surface.
Alone with the girl, Jago pressed his palms to his throbbing temples. What was the matter with him? Why couldn’t he be like Kriss and keep detached from his emotions? He envied his cool-headed brother and hoped she wouldn’t drive a wedge between them. They were supposed to share everything.
Chapter Six
The light of three moons bounced off the lake through the window and onto Kriss’s sleeping face. One of his legs was propped up on a heap of pillows, his arms were tossed out to his sides and his head lolled precariously on the edge of a cushion. Almost ungainly in his sleep, he redeemed himself due to the pervasive nature of his cock. Although not fully engorged, even in his slumber he held onto a decent erection. The purple veins glowed in the shallow darkness, highlighting his girth, which rested against his thigh. Another sleeping beast waiting to wake. She considered it a pity that Kriss’s nature wasn’t as mellow as Jago’s. On the other hand, she was drawn to him in a way that was uncomfortable to accept; he stoked her into a hot mess whenever he disciplined her.
Shayla carefully rotated her body, turning away from Kriss, and came face to face with two shiny eyes. She jumped—he was barely a hand’s width away from her nose.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” Jago said.
She glanced over her shoulder. Kriss hadn’t moved.
Jago brushed a loose strand of hair out of her eyes. “He won’t wake. He doesn’t have my hearing. And he likes his sleep.”
“Your hearing?” If she was banned from touching the oracle, maybe Jago would explain things to her. “What do you mean?”
He leaned on his elbow and looked down at her. Just like Kriss, he maintained a semi-erect cock. “I like watching you sleep. You breathe so gently, like the breeze in the camastra trees of Hinom.”
Poetry wasn’t something she expected from Hezarans. “You can hear the trees outside?”
He cocked his head. “Not tonight. They stand like statues.”
“What else can you hear?”
“Your heartbeat. It quickens when I talk.”
He had her at a disadvantage with such an ability. “Is this common in nestors?”
He shook his head and settled back down, lying on his back. “For a few. It depends on what is enhanced.”
“You mentioned that before—enhancement. Kriss’s tongue? Was he born that way?”
Jago laughed. “Born? We are not born, Shayla, remember? We are hatched. The incubators bear us until that day comes. We thrive in their cocoons, their nourishment.”
She couldn’t imagine it; were they like pods lined up in rows or gathered in circles? Children—always boys—waiting to breathe, to walk and talk. “How long do you stay in incubators?”
“Until we can fend for ourselves. We hatched—Kriss and I—on the same day, which is why we are designated brothers. Then we train, build strength and purpose.”
“And your purpose?”
Jago tucked his hands behind his head and lifted his chin. Clearly his purpose gave him great pride. “I guard the queen. She is my beloved. My seed is for her and gives life to new nestors.”
“I don’t understand, the queen isn’t your mother?”
“No. She is on another world. Once we hatch, we are moved. Nestors do not stay where they hatch. We must hunger for another queen and give her our seed.”
“Oh,” Shayla enunciated slowly. “So you and Kriss are half-brothers, reared together and share half of your genetic makeup. I see.”
“Except for the enhancements. Those are different. They are given to us before the seed is fused.”
She suspected he meant fertilized. “You have enhanced hearing and Kriss has a big tongue.” She pursed her lips. “What is that good for?”
“Tasting the air.” Jago wafted his hand across the space between them. “For toxins, bad things that might be released. His tongue is like an antenna for such things. While I listen for danger, he licks the air and recognizes any poisons. We protect the queen. The Beasts would love to take our queens in retribution.”