Page 18 of Spectacle

Something starts to writhe beneath his skirt, and long, frond-like tendrils sprout out of his back and fan out much like a peacock’s tail.

I scan the length of him. He has to be close to eight feet tall now, and the green glow from before has returned. “Is there anything special that happens that she needs to know about?” I ask, wanting to make sure I have all the information for Lila.

“Only my true mate would survive copulating with me in this form. The fronds at my back will sprinkle her with my godly essence, thus allowing her to be able to take my seed and survive, transforming her to have a small sliver of godly essence herself.”

“And that’s it?” I push, not trusting the fact that something under his skirt is moving independently.

He grimaces and looks down his front. “My cock is probably slightly different from what she is used to. The dust will help her take that as well.”

John looks green and has reached his limit with this conversation. He turns his back to Zeydan, tuning out everything about his granddaughter’s sex life.

“You need to elaborate. I won’t have her being surprised anymore. She’s had too many shocks and had the decision to mate with someone taken out of her hands too many times. She needs a little bit of control.” I cross my arms. Even though he claims his power is diminished in this form, my jaw throbs as his energy pulses menacingly.

“You are a good mate of my mate.” Zeydan inclines his head in appreciation. “I have three appendages. When it is time to penetrate our partner, they twirl around each other, combining into one member, but it is ridged and curved like a corkscrew. I need to make sure she has been covered in my dust before I can penetrate her body. The dust will allow her body to change to accept my member. It will swell inside her, filling her with my seed. I cannot tell you if having a child is possible. None of my brethren have found their true mates.” His gaze slides slightly to John and the woman on the bed. “Or none that have been confirmed, so I am not certain conception is possible.”

“You are very big, so I’m assuming that is big too.” I nod to his writhing crotch. “Will Lila be able to take you?”

“Yes, my dust will make her body relax so she can take my member.”

“Well, I’m almost certain she will enjoy the challenge,” I mutter under my breath, but I think the god hears me, his eyes sparkling with amusement. He starts to shrink again, and the green glow disappears, as do the frond appendages, and his head returns to normal. I don’t know if they are wings or are simply for procreation. I don’t need to know. “Make sure you let her know everything you told me, or I will. I don’t want to kill you because you accidentally mated her against her will,” I tell him sternly, and he drops his amusement and nods his head.

“I would not take her choice away from her. I will make it very clear. Also, having sex in this form will not seal the mate bond.” He gestures to his body now that it has returned to the form we are familiar with.

“Good, I’m holding you responsible. Lila’s mimic powers push her to mate and keep her permanently horny, and she sometimes forgets herself. It’s up to us to be responsible while she adjusts to her new destiny. Now, I think it would be best if you all took a break from your vigil. Liliana is perfectly safe here. I will lock the med bay down despite there being no one else on the ship. Lila is planning a family day, and both of you, as well as Eric and William, should show your faces,” I insist firmly, not willing to hear any arguments.

Zeydan doesn’t protest. He seems happy for the invitation, but John drags his feet, reluctant to leave his wife’s side. I sigh and pick up a nearby tablet and activate a screen. It shows a live feed on the camera facing her bed. I turn it so he can see it.

“Look, you can keep an eye on her, but if you don’t look after yourself, how are you going to be able to look after her when she wakes up?” I try a different tactic, and it seems to work. He sighs loudly but stands up and places a kiss on her cheek, quietly murmuring that he will be back later. He takes the tablet from me, and the three of us leave the med bay. I activate the locking mechanism once we are clear of the door.

“Now, how about you go retrieve your brothers? We are having a family picnic on the bio level. The kids are going to run around, and we are going to enjoy some down time. If you don’t arrive there in the next half hour, I will send Xavier for you, and he won’t give you a choice, he will just teleport you there without your permission.”

“No need. It’s fine, you’re right,” John says as we make it to the elevator. “This will be good for us. I’ll make sure we are all there, I promise.”

We let him off at his level, which is below our suite, and instead of going to ours, I hit the right button for the Aquilian level. I wanted to stick my head in and check on Nikos, so that still needs to happen.

The silence is awkward, and the god fidgets, his tails bristling with agitation behind him. “Are you okay?” I ask him, and he bites his lip before sighing.

“I’ve never been on a picnic. Are you sure Lila wants me there?” Holy shit, he’s nervous. “I haven’t spent a lot of time around people for a while, only the halla harvesters, and I was not invested in them or their feelings. It’s why I didn’t care if they followed my instructions or not, and if they died, that was their own fault. I’m afraid I don’t have the capability to feel any of the right emotions needed to be someone’s mate or father or friend.”

Wow. I’m kind of shocked that he admitted all that. I assumed he’d be an arrogant asshole, but that’s not turning out to be the case.

“Don’t be nervous. Our family is a lot, but I’m sure you will fit in. Just be friendly and patient. Ask as many questions as you want, and don’t be afraid to speak your mind. We are a bunch of strong-willed creatures and will steamroll over you if you are timid. They are probably more afraid of you than you are of them. You’re a god, and that comes with big expectations and incorrect assumptions.”

The doors open, and we step out onto the entrance platform. I frown as I notice the weather program is set to stormy. The waves wash up and over before draining back into the pool. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it like this before. I hope Nikos is okay.

I’m not sure I’m going to be able to engage the bridge I need to get to his house. I know he’s unable to travel very far, so I can’t expect him to appear in front of me. I’m not sure what to do. I don’t know how to change the weather program, and I don’t want to worry Lila by asking Silac. He’s familiarized himself with all the ship’s workings, so he would be the one to know.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Zeydan

Watching the water churn like it’s being driven by an angry water god, I feel the cyborg’s worry like a palpable thing as I try not to let the water soak the bottom of my skirt. I am not a fan of the ocean—that was my brother’s domain.

“Where are we?” I ask him, shocked that there is such a large body of water on this ship. It really is an engineering marvel.

“This is the Aquilian living quarters. We had a pod that used to perform in the circus, but most of them opted to stay on Aquilia for the birth of their first child. Only one remains, and he is also expecting. He is Lila’s Aquilian mate, Nikos.”

I feel my eyebrows jump in surprise. Pregnant? I had no idea Lila’s family was expanding so rapidly. I could hear the extra heartbeats in the omega lightning cat, but I hadn’t heard anyone mention that’s why the merman wasn’t able to leave his pool. I assumed it was because he was an arrogant ass, like so many of them are. They really are the closest race in temperament to my brother, who is more of an asshole than anything else.

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