He heaves out a sigh and relaxes into the couch. “That sounds pretty good to me.”
A loud clanging sound echoes through our suite, and I jump to my feet, looking around for the cause. “Holy fuck, what was that? Did we hit something?” I ask, and Xavier stands up too, shaking his head.
“No, that was just the clamps locking onto the ship. If they don’t, it would just float away into space because there is no hand brake on a spaceship.”
I try to peer out of the window and see the space port, but my suite is at the back of the ship, and all I can see is open space behind us. I pout, slightly upset that I don’t get to see it, but I guess it’s not a bad thing. I finger the bracelet around my wrist again. I don’t want to overload the spell that’s keeping me safe.
“Come on, I’ll escort you to the transport that will take you to Fluxx. Caspian is meeting you there, right?” Xavier says, his mist hovering around his feet.
“Yes. He asked Corethea if I would be okay traveling on it with the other Fluxx shifters, and she assured me I would be safe as long as none of them shifted in front of me. They won’t register as another species for my mimic abilities to copy if they remain in human form. It’s also why I can be around Skarrians, unless they use different abilities in front of me.”
“Do you need a blood top off?” he asks, and I shake my head.
“No, Saxon and I recently shared blood, and Link drew a couple of bags to sustain Saxon while I’m gone, but he promised he would feed from you if he needed to.”
Xavier winks. “Oh, it would be my pleasure.”
I pout playfully. “Hey, you’re not supposed to be having fun without me.” I haven’t had a chance to seduce them both to my bed yet, but it is definitely at the top of my list once we return from Fluxx.
“Oh, I assure you, it will be much more pleasurable once you join us.”
“Damn it, Xavier, I can’t get onto that transport stinking like fuck me vibes, so cool your jets, okay?”
He grins and lets his mist surround us both. “Anything for you, myphoeall.” He nuzzles his nose against mine, and I feel us dissolve into microparticles.
Lila
When we reform and Xavier pulls the mist away from us, we are in a smaller room, and when I look around, I realize it is very much like a coach. There are rows of seats, albeit more luxurious than a coach, and at the front of the vehicle is a windshield with two chairs and a console with a whole heap of controls on it. Turning to the back, I spy a galley area and possible toilets, so maybe it’s more like a plane in business class.
Xavier and I are the only people on it, but I can hear voices outside the open door. “Why don’t you take a seat where you feel comfortable, and I’ll go let everyone know you’re here?” He leads me down to the front seat just behind the pilot’s chair. “This has the best views,” he tells me, helping me down before leaning over and kissing me. “Have fun with Cas, and I’ll see you both when you get home. I’ll miss you.” He nuzzles my cheek before kissing me again, and my heart twists. I love this man. He really is the biggest softy, even if he is an arrogant asshole to everyone else.
“Love you,” I tell him, resting my hand against his cheek. A slow grin creeps across his lush lips, and he winks.
“Of course you do, I’m amazing.” He kisses me harder and longer this time, only pulling away when I’m breathless.
He turns and practically struts off the shuttle, but before he leaves, he turns. “Love you too,phoeall.” He blows me another kiss before his mist covers him again, and then he floats off the transport.
I’m a mess of feelings while I wait for Cas and the rest of the passengers to board—horny because Xavier is a fucking tease and anticipation for what’s to come, and nervous and scared to actually activate the pregnancy. I mean, come on, I can barely look after myself, let alone three infants. Thank God for multiple mates. I’m also nervous to meet Cas’s family. Both of his parents are kraken shifters, and I know the females can be rather cantankerous. Mine is the perfect example. Calling her a horny psychopath describes her perfectly. Her opinion of people is based on whether we can fuck them, and if not, let’s just kill them. I swear I get whiplash trying to keep up with her.
I stare out of the window, trying to get a look at the space. We appear to be in an aircraft hangar of some kind, as there seems to be a line of shuttles docked in here. Grandpa Will said this was the main transport hub for Skarr, and that everyone needs to come through here before transporting onto the planet. I think it works like their passport control as well. He said that while we are on Fluxx, he will have all my official documents drawn up now that I know what my Skarrian powers are.
Footsteps have me swiveling to see who’s coming, and I see the smiling face of Captain Broderick looking down at me. “Bubby, what are you doing here?”
“Well, I couldn’t let my favorite person have her first shuttle flight without me being the pilot, now could I?” He reaches out and affectionately ruffles my hair before sitting down in the front seat. “Would you like to sit up here with me? I could give you a flying lesson.” He gestures to the co-captain’s chair, and my eyes widen.
“But don’t you have a co-captain?”
He shakes his head. “Nah, this thing is a piece of cake to fly after the big ship. Come on, you would have learned to fly one of these when you turned sixteen if you’d been on Skarr. I still remember your dad’s first lesson. You’d think that learning to fly would be easy because there isn’t much out here to hit, but your dad still managed to dent his dads’ shuttle. It was the only small bit of space junk for miles, and he flew straight into it.” Bubby chuckles, and his eyes mist up slightly.
He and my dad must have been really close.
“God, I still can’t believe he’s gone. Did you know I asked your grandpas if I could become your guardian? Your parents wanted you to have a semi-normal childhood, which is why they had you on Earth, and I was prepared to move there to honor that. When they died, though, your grandpas wanted you here. They were devastated that you were lost in the system.”
Not lost, but hidden by the warlock king and queen. I don’t tell Bubby that, though, because he doesn’t know about the orb, and I won’t put him at risk with that knowledge. That’s another thing we are going to have to discuss once we get back. So much has happened that we haven’t had a chance to talk about the snake woman stripper—I can’t believe I just thought those words. My life really has turned upside down.
Who is behind the Syndicate, and why are they searching for the orb? That’s the million-dollar question. Fuck me, I now understand why Mom and Dad wanted to raise me on Earth. The thought of bringing three innocent lives into a world where people are gunning for us is terrifying.
“Lila?” Bubby is looking at me with concern in his eyes, so I smile reassuringly at him.