Page 46 of Spectacle

Tirrian stands up and steps in front of me, stopping my pacing.

“Easy, your dragon is still new, and if you’re not careful, it will take over. I don’t think this reception center will accept you destroying it if you shift inside. They are already pissed that we raided it earlier.”

His hands on my arms ground me, and I breathe in and out. “Okay, sorry. I’m good now.” I reassure him, and he releases me. Everyone else stands up as Xavier waves a hand, sending the buffet back to the dragon keep.

“How about we fly back? It will give you time to calm down, and there’s nothing like flying with a wing.”

“Wing?” I ask him, slightly confused.

“Yeah, that’s what a group of dragons is called,” Thorn says, taking off his shirt and tossing it at Xavier. “Be a pal and bring our clothes, will you?” He finishes stripping and saunters out one of the patio doors, shifting before taking off. If I looked at his pert ass on his way out, I’m only a red-blooded female, and it was there.

Xavier grumbles but gestures to us all to pass him our clothes. The other dragons strip and head outside while I give my guys a quick kiss. I get to Silac and throw my arms around him, hugging him. “Bye, hubby. See you back on the ship. Make sure you move into one of our rooms.” I have a moment of panic and look at Saxon and Xavier. “Are there any spare rooms?” I haven’t been keeping track.

“No, but we’ve booked for the ship to be refitted during the time we are on Skarr. It should only take a day or two, which is how long we plan to be there.”

“Okay, well, we’ll move your stuff in later. You can sleep in mine for now.” He beams and hugs me back, dragging the zipper of my dress down and letting it pool at my feet. I’m not wearing any underwear, and I feel the room grow heavy with lust from my guys.

“Wait,” Brannock calls as I start to walk out the door. “What about him?” He points at Silac’s father, who is still standing in the corner, petrified. Whoops.

Silac heaves out a sigh. “I’m going to have to stay behind and figure out what happened to my mother and siblings. I’ll catch up with you on Skarr. If you could reanimate him, I’ll take it from there.”

I feel a pang of agitation, knowing I’m going to be separated from him, but it will only be a couple of days. The flight between Fluxx and Skarr is just a few hours. “We’ll leave the grandpas’ shuttle in the space port. That way, you don’t have to wait for a scheduled one,” I tell him, giving him a kiss. I let the basilisk form wash over me and prick my finger on my fang before dropping the blood on Silac’s father’s forehead. I don’t wait for him to unfreeze before shifting back to OG Lila.

“Toodles.” I wave and skip out of the room naked, changing quickly to dragon form when I get outside. Tirrian follows me, growling aggressively. Aren’t shifters okay with nudity? I bet a whole heap of female dragons have seen him naked. Smoke starts to drift out of my nose at that thought, and my dragon growls at him, nipping his tail as we take off. Our flight home involves a lot of nipping and chasing, and it’s the most fun I’ve had in ages. I’m breathless and worn out by the time we get to the keep.

As it turns out, we didn’t have to wait for Silac. He found his family at their family home. His mother refused to be involved in any of his father’s dealings and had apparently already known about the cheating and stealing. When Silac and his father arrived, she told him she was taking over the business, which wasn’t as in the red as he thought. She had been hiding the funds so he couldn’t lose them all. They are mated, and that mating bond is painful to break, so she kicked him out, and they will live separate lives for now. Silac’s brothers are now fully involved in running the business, and Silac also told them their father had been lying about the mating bite not changing a non-shifter female, so they have hope for future naga offspring as well. When he returned to the ship, we had a video call with his mother and siblings and made plans to have dinner next time we are close to Fluxx. I liked them all, and they seemed to like me too, so I call that a win.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Ghosie

After the successful rescue mission, we move from Fluxx to Skarr late that night. We arrive in the middle of the night, the journey a lot quicker with the circus ship. The Adams brothers decide to take their wife to their home on the planet, claiming she might wake up if she’s in more familiar surroundings. They invite all of us to stay with them.

It’s still winter on Skarr, but the minute they wake up the following morning, Caspian and Nikos herd their children out the door and into the freezing cold water. It’s completely different from Fluxx, which was warm and balmy. I can hear the children squealing from inside the house as they take to the water.

Echo and Maxsim also change forms and disappear to run up and down the icy, snow-covered shore. Both Xavier and Tirrian stayed behind on Fluxx to help facilitate the transport of the prisoners for the king and queen of warlocks. They, as well as Caspian’s brother Malik, will be joining us in a day or two.

That leaves Brannock, Saxon, Silac, Link, Zeydan, and me to help Lila with all the things that need to happen.

“I think our best bet is to divide and conquer,” Link says as we all enjoy a hot beverage once the children have departed. “I scanned Liliana this morning, and I’m happy to announce there is more brain activity. I really think she will wake soon, but we need to keep busy instead of hanging around, waiting for it.”

“Okay, well, we need supplies. William gave me the master list, and all his suppliers are here on Skarr. I’m going to take care of those orders today. If I go in person, then there’s a higher chance of me getting them now instead of having to wait a week or two,” Silac tells me, tapping the tablet on the table in front of him. He’s in charge because shipping and logistics are kind of his thing. “Saxon, maybe you can come with me to provide intimidation?”

Lila rolls her eyes. “I’m pretty sure your half form causes enough intimidation, especially if you flare that hood, hiss, and shake your tail feather, but sure, why not.”

“I was planning on greeting all the returning performers. They’ll need physicals, and I want to make sure they all have the proper documentation to travel, and that none of them have records or warrants.” Link looks at Lila’s newest potential mate, the earth god. “Could you help me with that? Even with your reduced powers, you can scan minds like Xavier, right?”

The god nods. “Yes, I can make sure people are who they say they are. I would be glad to help out. I’ve been feeling useless, unable to contribute to this family.”

“Wouldn’t want to let another Madovian on board,” Lila mutters. “Thank you, because that would ease some of my worries. I don’t want any possible Syndicate members or hellacious she-beasts getting near my babies. Also, Zeydan, you are not useless. Every member of our family is important and valued. We just have to find something that you want to do or don’t. I really don’t care, I just want you to be happy.”

He has this frown on his face, like he can’t decide if Lila is being genuine or not, but that’s the thing I love so much about her. She wants your happiness as much as she wants her own. Take Silac’s ex fiancée Kinga and her partner Andre, for example. Lila offered them positions with the circus, but it turns out Kinga is amazing with children, and she will be the children’s nanny, freeing up the parents to work on the show during the day now that we are resuming our schedule on Earth. Xavier decided that their children probably needed a bodyguard, so that’s Andre’s job now. It worked out brilliantly. They can spend all their time together while making sure the babies are safe and occupied.

“Okay,” he agrees slowly. “I would like to spend more time with you this evening if you are not busy.”

“Like a date?” Lila’s eyes light up.

“Yes?” Zeydan is clearly not sure, but Brannock slaps him on the shoulder.

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