Page 77 of Guardian's Destiny

"I think now I am."

"Good, me too."

Zapharos cleared his throat, "Your presence made everything easier, and your help is appreciated." And then a little bit lower, "Plus, I needed your help to get those females to Astrionis."

"Come again?" I dug my heel in.

"I can't go to Astrionis, and I couldn't very well drop them off at their doorstep like a basket full of kittens, now, could I?"

I stared at the Arkhevari, unsure on which of his statements to pounce first. Since I understood that he couldn't have dropped the women off, I decided on the other part that was bothering me. "How do you know about the kitten and basket thing?"

I mean, fine, I could have accepted that aliens might drop unwanted pet babies off at their neighbor's door, but kittens?

"You picked up on that, didn't you?" he asked.

I jerked my chin at him and widened my eyes, giving him a hint I needed a bit more than that. I even tilted my head and waved him on, but nothing happened.

"What?" he asked.

"Kittens?" I reiterated.

He sighed. "I might have picked some things up from Ella."

"You mean you got into her brain and dug around?" I theorized.

He shrugged. Telling me without words that he wouldn't elaborate. Vraax used this moment to assert his male dominance. "If you ever put her in danger again," Vraax threatened, stepping in front of Zapharos.

Zapharos placed his hand on Vraax’s shoulder. "She never was in danger, my friend, I assure you."

Vraax looked perplexed but nodded.

"Did you just fuck with his mind?" I demanded.

Zapharos shook his head. "No. But we have a connection, just like you and I do."

I wanted to protest, but no words left my lips. Because he was right, there was some kind of connection between us, I just wasn't sure what it was. I didn't have any romantic feelings toward him. None actually. Not only because of Vraax, but because I had met Zapharos first, and he was right; I feltsomethingfor him. It wasn't love, not like I had loved my parents; it was less and yet deeper. Part of me felt as if I had known him since I was born, like an old friend. Fond. Maybe that was the right word for it.I'm very fond of him. No, thinking that sentence only made it clearer that this wasn't the correct phrase, either.

"Don't break your head, Sloane; you won't figure it out. Our bond is millions of years old." Zapharos declared, and I wanted to throttle him again.

"Explain," I ground out between pressed teeth.

There was an almost fatherly gleam in his eyes. For a moment, he looked like he was a hundred thousand years old or more. A wisdom I couldn't even come close to understanding.

"Millions of years ago, longer than your human mind can even comprehend. My ancestors spread out over the universe, shaping it, creating planets?—"

I stared at him. "Is this the part where you're telling me you're some kind of God?"

The slight smile around his lips sent goosebumps down my spine, and a tremor moved through my body. My gut roiled most uncomfortably, and my scalp and neck itched. This couldn't be true or real. Could it?

"To you we might be," he smiled benevolently. A smile more beautiful than I had ever seen before, his golden glow pulled me in, warmed me, filled my insides with a sense of incredible peace. Right then, I would have called him an angel, whereas seconds ago, he had been a devil. Could a god be both?

"So you created the universe?" Trepidation was foremost in the tone of my voice. I was nearly afraid to ask the question and even more afraid of his answer.

"The universe always was and always will be." He answered enigmatically in his typical nonanswering way.

"But you said your ancestors…"

"You hear what you want to hear, what fits into your narrative, but trust me, your human minds cannot understand or accept what I'm trying to explain."

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