Page 57 of Xeda

"Oh," said a female lygin closest to the door. "You must be Xeda." She smiled at him. Her skin was silky and shiny, and her mane of hair was smooth along her head. She wore—very little, a strip of red cloth around her torso that also draped between her thighs and a red wrap along her chest. She also wore dozens of gold bands and a collar of jewels. She had a pattern of spots along her thighs and across her shoulders. The others were dressed almost exactly the same only in different colors. There was another lygin, a skra, and even a grex who was bigger than the others. They were all female, and they passed by Xeda to enter the room.

"How lovely," said the other lygin, smaller than the first. "And so warm."

"And what an interesting bed," said the skra, hopping down into it.

Xeda watched them, first with utter confusion.

Then he quickly realized why they were there.

His insides turned to fire, his body going rigid. The heat of both his need and his rage swirled inside him. Kaxek had done this. He had sent them. And Ophilia had been told what was wrong with him. That explained her distance.

The smaller lygin, with lighter fur than the spotted one, approached him and grinned mischievously. "Well, won't you join us, Xeda?" she purred as she dipped her head toward the others who now lingered or sat on the edge of the bed.

He didn't move. His logical brain told him this was what was right. Just mindlessly take from them what he needed, and be done with it. Then he could move on. No more guilt or shame or worries. They still weren't vrisha, but it mattered little in this situation. Even the most honorable vrisha would understand that, when it came to the heat cycle, one worked with what they had.

Only problem was his body didn't react to them. His heat came from and reacted to one source, and that source was not here. Some part of him knew no matter how much he took from these women, it wouldn't satisfy, wouldn't calm the heat. It would be like trying to drink from an endless pool but always being thirsty.

"It's all right, Xeda. We will do all that we can to please you," said the lygin. She rested her hand on his chest, and the touch didn't feel right. No, it didn't feel right at all. It only reminded him how much he didn't like to be touched by others. And only made him yearn more for the one who he wanted to touch him the most.

He stepped back toward the door. "Where is Ophilia?" he asked.

The lygin frowned and glanced at the others. "Well, she would likely be waiting somewhere. We don't know for sure."

"Oh, but I believe Master Zachary said he would keep her company," chimed in the skra. "Until you were satisfied."

Xeda glared at her. "What?" he hissed. Ophilia was alone with that man. A man who could easily be Ophilia's match.

He had a sudden image of them together in the way he had seen himself and Ophilia together, and all his composure snapped.

A low growl began to rise in his chest, and the lygin female backed away in fear. His lip curled back, and his fingers clenched tight as his tail weaved. Before they could stop him, he turned and shot out the door, making his way for the elevator.

She could be anywhere with this Zachary, but he would search every room, hunting her down if he had to, starting with their room.

Weak, fool,came a soft hiss, the dead queen whispering in his ear.Pathetic. Letting a human do this to you.

He ignored her as he came to the elevator, only to find the damn thing stuck at the top. Snarling, he went for the stairs to one side and started to descend.

The queen's shadow began to weave at the corner of his eyes. Trying to stop him.

You’re making a mistake, Xeda,she said.You’re losing yourself, you know that? Everything you fought for. All to waste. All for one of them.

He made it to their floor and turned down the passage.

Don't become like Vrexus. Don't let a human bring you down too. She's nothing. Stop this now before it's too late. She will break you, Xeda. She will ruin you!

"Enough!" he roared, turning on the image of the queen. "Die already!"

The image of the queen disappeared, like smoke on the wind. She was nothing but a hallucination, a bad illusion that his mind had conjured up to take the form of his guilt. He knew that now, and he was sick of it. He was done giving a shit. Without another thought, he rushed for his and Ophilia's room. As he came to the door, he slammed his fist on the pad, forcing it open.

Inside, it was dimly lit. At first, he thought it might be empty until he looked over at the few seats facing a small bowl of fire and saw Ophilia sitting there with the man.

Ophilia shot from her seat. "Xeda, what—"

He growled at the man who stared back at him with shock and, yes, fear. That was good, he was afraid.

Xeda stalked into the room, his tail whipping behind him.

"Get out," he growled to the man.

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