Page 6 of Interlude

“I will scan him and see if we can remove that chip,” Link offers.

“I would appreciate it.” Brannock nods his thanks. “When they did it, we were told it wasn’t possible, but it was a long time ago, so hopefully something has advanced enough to be able to.”

“Well, I guess that means we will be returning to Earth sooner rather than later.” William stands up, stretching.

“Oshan said he had an Una partner. I think we need to speak to them and revisit our options about dealing with the orb. I refuse to put our family at risk any longer,” John suggests, and from the murmuring around the table, I think we are all in agreement.

“Okay, but first, Grandma. It’s late, and we need to be at Z68 for the harvester recruiters. How about we all try to get some sleep?” I suggest. “We have a lot on our plate, and we need to tackle everything one at a time, otherwise, we are going to get overwhelmed.”

“Agreed,” Cas says, getting to his feet. This cues a mass movement from everyone. “Shall we meet back here at six in the morning?”

“Sounds good, we can finalize the plan for Husadavia.”

“I will offer to give Broderick a break. We still need to get this ship to Husadavia as well, so we are ready to send Ghosie when you get where you need to go,” Saxon says.

“Aren’t you tired? Do you need some blood?” I ask my mate, and he shakes his head.

“I’m fine. I require less sleep than most. I also won’t take your blood just before you go on a dangerous mission, and I am still full from Link,” he replies, reminding me of what they were doing to maintain their cover.

“But I don’t know how long I will be gone,” I argue.

“I am happy to offer up my neck again,” Link says quickly, and Cas chuckles.

“I will help out as well if he needs it. Are you going to be okay only being able to feed from Xavier?” he asks, biting his lip with concern.

“I would gladly offer up my vein for Lila,” Brannock volunteers, blushing slightly, “so that she doesn’t weaken the warlock.”

I feel a rush of warmth at the thought of drinking from this gorgeous creature despite him keeping secrets. Xavier chuckles quietly, obviously able to feel my emotions.

“Thank you, that would be appreciated by both of us,” he replies.

“I will be observing from above if you have need of me as well,” Tirrian reminds us gruffly, crossing his arms.

“Yes, we know you will, dragon, but you still have some ass kissing to do,” Xavier reminds him, and it’s my turn to blush. We haven’t really discussed what’s happening between us, but once again, that’s a future Lila problem.

Tirrian grumbles but doesn’t argue with my warlock.

“Okay then, we will see you in the morning.” John comes over and gives me a kiss on the cheek. “I can’t wait for you to meet your grandma.”

“She’s going to love you,” Eric says as he gives me a quick hug.

William approaches. “Get some rest,” he suggests before grimacing, “and everything else you need to be in tip-top shape tomorrow. We don’t know how long you’re going to be on Husadavia, and not only is it dangerous, but you’re going to have to use your mimic powers a lot, so you need to be at full strength, because you’ll only have Xavier to pull energy from if you need it.”

His reminder has me freezing. Fuck, my mimic forms are powered by sex, and I will only have one of my mates with me if I need to power up. I think about whether I can take any of the others, but there’s no option. Saxon is a possibility, since he has the skills to be an asset, but he will require blood as well. Cas and Link aren’t fighters, Maxsim won’t be useful in the temperature, and both Nikos and Echo are completely out. Silac would possibly be an asset, but he isn’t my mate, and we can’t do anything about it until he resolves things with his fiancée.

“Ah, yeah, sure,” I stammer, not wanting to look at my grandpa, but my eyes slide to the dragon. He claims I am his mate, but he doesn’t want it. I can’t force it just so I’ll survive our journey. I want him to want it. I straighten my spine and hug William. “I’ll be fine. I’m getting stronger every day, and if I don’t have to mimic too often, everything will be okay. Hopefully the being is willing to help us,” I say, and he looks as doubtful as I feel, but we have no other choice.

They take their leave, and a weird silence falls over us all. Thankfully, my cyborg is ready to come to my rescue. “Why don’t you go down and check on Nikos before going to bed?” he suggests, and I jump at the idea.

“Yes! Good thinking,” I blurt out, and Xavier, the shit, snickers, feeling everything I am—anticipation at seeing my can of tuna, unrequited lust for the dragon, my longing for the snake, and my curiosity about Brannock. I have to face the fact that my mimic self wants them all, and my Lila self is not opposed to being a Pokémon keeper either, even if I won’t admit it out loud.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” I say to the three men who won’t be in my suite tonight, and then I give each of my present mates a kiss before hurrying out of the dining room in the direction of the pool.

A swim to cool off sounds pretty damn good.

Lila

My mind is a chaotic mess as I hurry in the direction of the Aquilian level, trying to process everything we learned about Brannock, my feelings for the snake and dragon, and my nerves about our mission to Husadavia. Our plan is thin, but we don’t really have any other options at this stage. I refuse to leave my grandma behind. My grandpas have been through enough, and they deserve to be happy, but between Xavier and me, we have some pretty impressive powers, and Brannock will be an asset. We are going to nail this and be on our way in no time.

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