Page 23 of Spectacle

“Would killing her fix the problem?” I ask, feeling slightly bloodthirsty. I hate seeing Ghosie so miserable. He’s such a gentle, loving soul, and he doesn’t need any of this.

He grimaces. “Probably not. She would have to use her power to undo the curse, and it is not easy to kill a god.”

My heart sinks, and I bite my lip. “Damn it. Well, I guess we need to add find Vivax to our list.” My eyes slide to Brannock as he leaps into the air to grab the frisbee thing they are playing with. “What about the Aaz’axian curse? The one where all their women died too? That sounds like a very similar curse. Brannock has a daughter. She is part human, so he’s hoping the curse won’t work on her, but ideally, we shouldn’t rely on that to save her either. Which god or goddess cursed them?”

He shakes his head and follows my gaze as Link tackles Brannock to the ground. The cheers and groans from the opposing team bring a smile to my lips. “No one knows. Hopefully Liliana may be able to shed some light on it.”

I turn my attention back to the god. “So you think it’s possible my grandma and your goddess is the same person? My grandpas sure seem to think so.”

He shrugs as childish shouts draw our attention to the orchard.

I stand up and hold my hand out to Zeydan. “Come on, let’s go see if they found some fruit.”

He doesn’t hesitate to take my hand, and I feel all warm and gooey. “It seems like the most probable thing. How that happened, I don’t know. Lilessa often spent more time with her creations than the rest of us, inserting herself into the societies she created so she could pretend to be normal. Vivax was the exact opposite, holding herself aloof. Being the goddess of death comes with the stigma of being intimidating and scary, and she did nothing to expel that reputation. Us elementals were a little different. We tried to be involved in our creations’ lives, but not to the extent where we inserted ourselves into them. We were happy to appear at religious services or holidays and bestow blessings when prayed too.”

“Sounds lonely,” I muse as the children notice our arrival and descend on us. There are hugs and kisses for both me and Zeydan, which startles him, and I can’t help but grin as he bends down and awkwardly returns the affection.

He looks up at me with slightly bewildered eyes and nods. “It was, but I have a feeling that is all about to change.” The smile that spreads across his lips as he manages to pick up all three children is blinding. He walks over to a tree that has fruit too high for them to reach and helps them each take a piece.

Eric sidles up next to me and mutters, “You’re fucked.” He grins wickedly and walks over to join them, holding out the basket for the fruit.

“You’re not freaking kidding,” I mutter to his retreating back. “So fucked.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Lila

We return to our suite once the children start to get clingy and cranky. They may be growing quickly, but they are still only a couple of months old, and they need plenty of sleep. In fact, they probably need it more because they are growing so fast. They don’t put up any protest when we get them into their beds, and the rest of us collapse in the living area to chill for a while. Xavier makes coffee, and Cas turns on the television, the volume muted with some galactic movie playing in the background.

My grandpas headed to the med bay with Link to check on my grandma, and Echo and Maxsim have appeared from their rooms, looking much more refreshed than they were earlier.

“Hey, babe, how are you feeling?” Echo throws himself onto the couch next to me and snuggles into my side, giving me a soft kiss on the lips.

I smile at him. “Weary, but that was just what I needed.” I pause, thinking about Ghosie who must have headed to his own room, because he wasn’t here when we returned. Zeydan and Silac both promised they would go check on him when they went to their rooms, but I kind of want them all here too. My greedy mimic keeps whispering words of want in my ear, insisting they are ours too, but I barely know them, and my psyche, which is still struggling with my Earth upbringing, keeps telling me that it’s wrong to want them as well. Silac is keeping firm boundaries despite his overt display a few nights ago. He’s an honorable man, and at the moment, he wants everything to be sorted with his fiancée before anything goes further between us. I think avoiding being in my company is helping with that—out of sight, out of mind kind of thing.

“Good. You need to take every scrap of downtime you can get,” he replies as Xavier hands me a coffee. When I take a sip, I’m surprised to find it laced with blood. Caspian’s blood, by the taste of it—all ocean breezes and passionfruit. It’s the best coffee I’ve ever had. I think maybe all my drinks should be laced like this in future. I wiggle with happiness, and my mates chuckle around me.

“We’ve all had Link draw some of our blood so we can supplement your drinks during busy times. Saxon insists you aren’t taking enough from the vein, and it’s going to make you more volatile,” Xavier explains.

“Don’t want you gnawing on some random stranger’s neck,” Maxsim grumbles adorably as he stretches and heads to the kitchen, looking in the fridge for something to eat. He finds the leftovers from the picnic and pulls them out, making himself and Echo a plate, which he brings over and deposits in our pregnant omega’s lap before taking a seat on the floor at his feet.

Echo purrs and tackles the food like he hasn’t eaten in weeks. He is eating for three now, and I remember very well what that feels like.

My gaze swings to my Vilaxian mate, and I think about what Maxsim just said. Shit, I am the worst blood rose ever.

I drain my cup and place it on a nearby coffee table before going over to Saxon and climbing into his lap. “I’m sorry you ended up with such a neglectful blood rose.” I put my arms around him and turn my neck to the side. “Please take what you need,” I say to him, but he chuckles, and instead of sinking his fangs in, he places a kiss on the side.

“It’s okay. The guys are supplementing my diet. We all know how much you’ve had on your plate, and they are happy to help. You didn’t notice, but when Tirrian shifted before, he offered his vein to me after he stretched his wings. Let me tell you, that dragon is delicious, and I drank my fill. I’ll be good for a day or two. Plus, if I drink from you now, that’s not going to be all it is.”

I squirm, remembering exactly how good Tirrian tastes, and mouth, “Thank you,” to him. He just winks, and I stare for a moment, stunned at the complete one eighty from grumpy asshole to sexy, all-in bond mate. Saxon must enjoy my wiggling, because I feel his cock harden beneath me. I’m about to suggest we take this to my room, but before I can suggest it, Link appears in the entry of our suite. His silvery locks stick out in all directions, and he looks more panicked than I’ve ever seen him before.

“Lila,” he shouts when he sees me. “Nikos is in labor. You need to hurry, he needs you.” His panicked gaze shifts to Cas. “Can you go too since I can’t be in the water?” Cas doesn’t even hesitate as he gets to his feet, but I’m still frozen with shock on Saxon’s lap.

Holy crap, it’s time. I’m about to become a mom again, but because I wasn’t the one actually carrying the babies, I don’t know if I’m prepared for it. We haven’t even really had a chance to stock the nursery with everything they might need. I have been meaning to read up on Aquilian babies, but with everything else that has happened, it’s one of those things that hasn’t happened. What if they don’t like me? What if I can’t bond with them? I haven’t spent nearly enough time in my own Aquilian form. Hell, I’ve practically neglected my mate during his pregnancy. He’s been very understanding, but how can he not be hurt by it?

I tried to call Nixie to see if she could give me some information, but she didn’t accept my call. I was hurt but didn’t let it stop me. I also put in a meeting request through the official Aquilian royal family secretary, hoping maybe she was too busy with her new responsibilities to take a moment of personal time, but that was also denied. I haven’t shared that with any of my mates. I didn’t want to upset them. I’m upset that Nikos’s sister wasn’t willing to help, but also because I thought Nixie and I formed a friendship. I guess I was more invested than she was.

“Lila,” Xavier calls my name, and when I look up, everyone is staring at me impatiently. “Nik needs you.” I feel him push a wave of encouragement and confidence at me, even though he’s frowning. He must be able to feel all my doubt and anxiety.

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