Page 60 of Courting Mayhem

Defne did a great imitation of a drunken cricket.

“Wheeee! Wheeee! Wheeee! Wheeee! Wheeee! Wheeee! Wheeee!” Kiri cried.

As we flew through the boiling clouds Qa’a added, “Zosia awaits you. Do not forget to spread your arms and legs to slow your speed.”

What? Was he nuts? I had my arms and legs wrapped around the kids. The crazy wind died suddenly, the clouds disintegrated, and we were plunging toward a white sand beach. I caught a brief glimpse of Derek and my fathers staring at us in open-mouthed horror as we fell.

Zosia’s tentacles snatched the kids away from me before I crashed face first into the one rock on the beach. I groaned as the world spun dizzily around me. It was hard to breathe. My face was numb, and I was covered in goopy yellow slime.

Strong hands lifted me. “Where do you hurt?”

I squinted up at Derek. “Everywhere. I broke my nose again and the slime is burning the crap out of me.”

Adan’s long tongue licked me from head-to-toe and back again.

“Ugh.” I smacked at it. “Knock it off.”

“Do you wish to be skinless?” Adan inquired.

Derek held me up. “No, she doesn’t. Lap away.”

“I’m never.” Slurp. “Ever.” Slurp. “Riding.” Slurp. “The vortex.” Slurp. “Again.”

Every inch the proud momma, Zosia announced, “My children are so brave.”

“Children?”Adan tentacles stood out from his body. “You are claiming the Rui as your own?”

“I am. Kiri is the reason Defne, and I still live.”

“Kiri is a very unique kid and smart as a whip.”Did I tell Zosia what she was capable of?

“Tell her.” Derek’s mental voice was a caress.

“Are you listening to my thoughts?”

“They are entertaining.”He gave me a mental nudge.“Tell Zosia, she needs to know.”

I took a deep breath and said,“During the battle in the void, an executioner tried to take Defne. Kiri killed it.”

“The Rodan succeeded in his quest to make a warrior who can kill Katanic shapeshifters. What Mallox failed to realize when he added my DNA to Kiri’s molecular structure was, she cannot be controlled mentally by him or any other lifeforms.” Zosia wrapped a tentacle around Kiri.“We are family.”

I heaved a sigh of relief.Thank the Goddess. “Did you hear that Kiri? You and Defne are sisters.”

“Me have momma too.” Kiri’s branches rustled happily.

“Yes, you do, and an auntie and lots of uncles.”I grimaced as Adan lapped at my face. Did I even want to know where he had been sticking that nasty thing?

Papi Sten handed Derek a healing wand. “This is the fifth time Mayhem has broken her nose.”

“Hey, you try doing Mach 1, and see if you don’t go splat. I’m lucky I didn’t break my neck.”

“You’re a klutz, plain and simple,”Poppa Jacob said with a sad shake of his head.

Using her tentacles as feet, Zosia ambled over to me and examined my left arm.“You allowed Qa’a to mark you?”

“He said it would keep the Enforcers and Executioners from eating me,” I replied.

“It will. Your warlord needs to wear our marks too.”

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