Page 2 of Spectacle

“Oh, of course. Shit, I forgot I could do that.” I strip off my clothes and allow my Celestian form to appear. Xavier conjures me a shift dress in his favorite lavender that allows my wings freedom to move. I stretch them wide, and both Link and Saxon duck out of the way. The slight ache I feel whenever I assume this form dies away with the movement. My wings are the same color as my hair in normal form—shimmery white opal with veins of orange, pink, and blue. They are so pretty.

Stepping closer to the table, I place my hands over the wound in Maxsim’s body. “I thought shifting would fix this,” I remark to Link, who moves around to the other side of the bed and watches as my hands heat and white light emits from them, covering the wound.

“Normally it would, but I think the Madovians must secrete something from their claws that stopped it from healing.” Link watches with wide-eyed amazement as the wound expels some kind of black toxic ick. He quickly grabs a vial from a tray behind him and scoops some of it up. The layers of tissue, muscle, and flesh heal beneath my glowing hands before the skin knits back together, mending the wound completely. I go to pull my hands away but stop when I notice little tufts of fur pushing through the dermal layers, covering the wound with new fur. It’s like he wasn’t even wounded to begin with.

His heavy breathing eases, and his eyes flutter closed as he starts to breathe steadily. “He’s all healed, but he’s going to need to sleep for a little while.” I instinctively know this, which is kind of cool. The glow disperses, and I pull my hands away. “Can someone go get Echo to sit with him?” I ask, looking at the gathered men. There really are too many of us in here.

“He didn’t want him to know because of the babies,” Saxon explains. “He didn’t want to stress him out.”

“Let’s downplay the injury then and explain that he’s all better and just needs some rest. I know I’d be pissed if you kept it from me for my well-being,” I scold them.

“I’ll go. There’s nothing I can do here anyway,” Tirrian offers. “I’ll let Caspian know we’re back as well. What should I tell the Adams brothers if I see them?”

“There’s no hiding this, so maybe just tell them we’re back and let them see for themselves. They won’t believe we failed if they don’t see it for themselves.” I heave out a heavy sigh as Tirrian gives me a kiss on the cheek.

“You failed?” Saxon sounds confused as he looks at the figure on the other bed. Zeydan is still holding her hand and hovering over her, and that stab of jealousy has me flinching again.

Jesus, Lila, get a grip. You’re jealous of an unconscious woman. Maybe wait until she wakes up and see if she makes a play at your god before you can be jealous.

“Who is that then?” Link lifts Maxsim, careful not to pull out his transfusion. Saxon grabs the pole that holds it, and they both move over to a clean bed away from Lilessa. Link lays him down gently and pulls up a sheet to cover him, while Saxon situates the blood bag close by.

“Should I let Broderick know we’re ready to leave, Lila?” Silac asks, and when I turn to face him, he’s wringing his hands in front of his body in agitation. We achieved what we set out to do, so he must be anxious to return to Fluxx now. I can’t wait for the day when I can complain of boredom.

“Yes, Silac. Have him set a course for Fluxx and not to stop for any reason. Let’s rescue your father.” In this form, I feel his wave of gratitude. Celestians must pick up emotions similar to warlocks.

“Thank you.” He places his hands together and bows before he and Tirrian both leave.

“I’m just going to wash up. This black gunk is stuck in my fur, and it smells.” Ghosie plucks at the Madovian blood splattered across his face and arms, staining his bright fur. “Let me know if I can help with anything.” He waves and starts to depart.

“Ghosie,” I call, stopping him. He turns back with raised eyebrows. “You need to decide what you want to do now that the job is finished. Do you want to return to your planet?”

His eyebrows drop, and his fur seems to droop ever so slightly. “Ah, yeah. Okay, I’ll think about it.” He hurries out without waiting for a response.

Xavier groans. “Jesus, Lila.” He runs his hand through his hair, yanking at the strands falling out of the ponytail.

“What?” I snap.

“Are you really that clueless?”

“Look, Xavier, spit it out. I don’t have time for games. I’m tired and hungry and can’t decide if I want to fuck you or rip out your throat,” I growl, and my wings flutter behind me.

He shakes his head, glaring at me. “Never mind, we can talk about it when you’re more rational. I’m going to make sure he doesn’t decide to drown himself in the shower.” Xavier disappears in a flash, leaving me speechless.

“What is his problem?” I growl, looking around and hoping someone will clue me in.

“I’m going to go and do the same thing.” Brannock steps into my line of sight, and I blink. He leans in and kisses my cheek. “Let me know if you need me.”

He starts to depart, and I grab his hand, stopping him. “There’s a room in our suite for you if you want it. Can you tell Tirrian the same thing? I would love to have both of you there if you want.” Even though we aren’t officially mated yet, I want him around because I know it’s just a matter of time.

His smile is almost blinding. “I’d love to, and I’ll let the dragon know.”

“Once we deal with Silac’s parents and his problem, I promise we will head back to Earth and handle Agent Smith once and for all,” I promise him, and he leans in and kisses me again.

“I can’t wait for you to meet her.” He leaves, and my mouth drops open. Meet his daughter? Shit, I just became a stepmom. You know what? That’s another future Lila problem. Future Lila is fucked.

A chuckle has me spinning around. All that’s left are Link, Saxon, a sleeping Maxsim, and the god, but it’s Saxon who’s laughing. Link is busy doing something to the goddess. My Vilaxian husband approaches me slowly, like I’m a rabid animal he has to be wary of.

“Babe, I can practically feel your mind imploding. Forget about everything else for now. Your grandpas are going to be here soon, and they need you present instead of spiraling. We will get you something to eat and drink shortly, so just hold on for a few more minutes.” He carefully grabs my arm and leads me over to the bed.

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