Page 4 of Spectacle

John’s sob is loud in the silent room, and it looks like William and Eric are only holding on by a thread.

“Gods can die?” Link asks. I guess Saxon must have filled him in on everything when they returned.

“Yes, we can if enough damage is sustained to our physical form, but we do reincarnate, and all of our powers and memories return as we mature.”

“Someone wanted her to suffer.” Eric’s fists are clenched, and equipment starts to rattle around the room.

“Easy.” William puts a hand on his brother’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze, and the equipment stops rattling.

“No wonder she gave up the location of the orb.” John’s despair floats in the air like it’s a tangible thing. “No one would have been able to withstand that. What about the flower, the one that saved me didn’t we save a petal?”

“We did, but it’s not going to be enough to fix this,” I explain and he sobs.

“If only I hadn’t need so much we could have used it on Lili.”

A siren suddenly sounds, and Bubby’s voice comes through the loudspeaker. “We need to make the jump to hyperspeed. Please strap in so we can do this. This is a five minute warning.”

Link moves over to a console and presses a button, then straps come up and over both Maxsim and the woman on the table, securing them. I’m going to call her Grandma until we get to the bottom of things. I don’t want to upset my grandpas more than they already are.

The rest of us head out into the hallway. “Come on,” I call to Zeydan, who stands by the bed.

He looks reluctant to move but does so, and I show him how to strap in so no one gets hurt on the jump before taking a seat next to him. After strapping in, I remember my can of tuna in the pool below.

“What about Nikos? Is he going to be alright?” I ask, wondering if I can change into my warlock form and teleport down there.

“The pool’s forcefield, which keeps all the water in, actually makes it the safest place for him to be. The water doesn’t move no matter what the ship does,” Saxon explains, and I sag with relief. At least one less person I have to worry about. “Poor Cas has to wrangle the babies into the chairs. Hopefully one of the others is helping him.”

“I’m surprised that Echo isn’t here yet,” Link says, pulling on the strap to make sure it’s secure.

“I’m certain he will be shortly after we jump,” I murmur, watching my grandpas carefully to make sure they don’t neglect their own safety in their grief. The five minutes passes quietly, all of us lost in our own thoughts. The jump to hyperspace goes smoothly, and we all unbuckle before the seats retreat into the walls.

“Why don’t you all go get some rest? I’ll stay here and watch over her, and I’ll let you know the moment something changes,” Link suggests, and I decide not to argue. I’m so tired, I can barely stand. In fact. I feel my Celestian form fade away, and I wobble again. Saxon swoops in and scoops me up before I collapse to the ground in a heap. Thankfully I’m so depleted of magic, the dress doesn’t disappear in the change.

“Whoa, you need blood and rest,” Saxon says, and I see him and Link exchange a glance. I need something else as well. I feel my cheeks pinken, but thank goodness they didn’t mention it in front of my grandpas.

“I’m not leaving.” Eric stubbornly crosses his arms, and I can tell from the look on his face there is going to be no changing his mind. Link must see the same determination, because he sighs.

“Why don’t we start a roster? You can stay while the other two rest.”

William and John splutter their arguments, but Link shakes his head.

“No, John, you have barely recovered from your own ordeal, and there’s no point in either of you staying. You can’t do anything. The best you can do is keep yourself healthy. If she wakes up, she’s going to need a lot of support to recover from what she went through. Get a hot meal and a solid eight hours of sleep and then another meal before I allow one of you to return. You can take eight hour shifts, then she won’t be left alone.” He turns to look at Zeydan, arching one of his perfect eyebrows in question. “Do you want in on this too?”

Zeydan studies my grandpas intently, and I kind of wonder if he’s reading their minds. I try to reach out with my warlock powers, but I’m empty, and there’s a small moment of panic that maybe I overdid it. Can I burn my powers out?

Zeydan’s gaze slides to me. “No, little mimic, you can’t burn your powers out, but you will need to rest and…” He pauses and looks at my grandpas before continuing. “Recharge.”

I release the little breath I was holding, grateful he didn’t mention fucking in front of my grandpas either—not that I think they would notice, since they are so caught up in their worry.

Zeydan gives me a slow wink. “No, I will leave these men to care for my sister. There seems to be some validity to their story, and I have no doubt they have her best interest at heart.”

“Sister?” William eyes Zeydan suspiciously. “Who are you? Liliana didn’t have a brother, only her sister, Vivian.”

Zeydan’s eyes narrow in contemplation.

“Yeah, she’s a real peach,” Saxon mutters under his breath, and I have to clamp my lips shut to stop a snort from escaping.

“There’s a lot we need to fill you in on, but can we do it once I get a nap? I can barely keep my eyes open.” I try unsuccessfully to smother a yawn, and my grandpas are quick to assure me I can catch them up when I wake. They shoo me off, and I worry about leaving Link to deal with the three of them on their own, but he waves me away.

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