Page 110 of Invasive Species
“My point being that she left us the best surprise of all.” Shara beams warmly at me. “There's evidence that the clones named after her heal not just through their skills, but through their bodies as well.”
“Hm,” Samara grumbles. “Cut him up, let me see.”
The hands either side of my face fall back, no doubt to get a weapon. Mae opens her beak for another blood curdling death rattle, startling the Parthiastocks in the room, and Arra-bellah gives her a thankful look.
“No, no, no,” Shara says, still smiling. “l wasn't clear: not their body parts, their bodies. They adapt and react to disease, and clearly the Selthiastock needs to be alive to do so.”
“This is the first I've heard of it,” Samara sneers.
“Same for me,” Shara agrees. “I've shared the hypothesis far and wide, and scientists are gathering as we speak to examine the test case. Now, we should give them some privacy while the Selthiastock completes the knot.”
Samara glowers at me, and I hunker lower to block her view of Arra-bellah, not just because I want to protect my mate, but because no doubt my fiery little lover is glaring enough for Samara to call death down on me anyway. Mae paces in front, flicking her wings and staring down the Prif.
I slide my gaze to the All-Mother. Although she seems to be helping, she still referred to me as a thing rather than a person. Her silver eyes glitter in the shimmering lights dancing on the ceiling, and I swear she closes one eye in an Earth wink.
She leans in closer to the woman in gold. “Just let this one stand as an experiment. The human was on the verge of death according to machine taken test results; we shall take samples in half a cycle and see what's improved. This knowledge can save hundreds, maybe thousands. We might not have lost Katyen?—”
“Enough,” Samara says, voice low. She stands suddenly. “We will compare test results before and after. If there's no change, he’s mine, and he dies.”
Shara nods eagerly, and my hearts sink at her reaction; offering up my life means little to her. I don't know why it hurts, but it does.
“Call me when the results are in,” Samara snaps. “I know you’d hate for the order I impose to be compromised in any way, Shara. After all, that’s what keeps us all safe.”
Shara merely gives her enigmatic smile as Samara sweeps out, the Parthiastocks staying where they kneel.
“You can get up now, dismissed,” Shara tells them kindly.
“Thank you, All-Mother,” they say in unison, voices choked with fervent love. I'd curse them for fools, but they can't help their make up.
They file out in a perfect synchronized phalanx; I breathe easier when the one behind me is gone, but Arra-bellah’s eyes are still wide.
“What's happening?” she asks me, and I realize she hasn't understood anything of what was said in Olorian.
“The All-Mother announced my theory. They'll test it now, after the knotting is complete.” Quarter of a cycle, or half an Earth day, should be enough, let alone half a cycle. “Scientists are coming to verify the findings.”
“Meaning…?” She gulps. “Okay, I like a bit of exhibition as much as the next girl in a Planet of the Pirate Prince novel, but also not really. This is already too much.” She buries her beautiful face in my scales.
“I'm sorry, Arra-bellah?—”
Ezla clears his throat, and I tense automatically from surprise. “I do not mean to disturb,” he says in English, not looking us in the eyes. “The scientists are outside analyzing your results and eager to take fresh samples, but the All-Mother is with them tempering their excitement and keeping them occupied with previous readouts. She has also turned off the cameras in here, so you need not worry that you are being watched. I can bring fluids and nutrients if you desire.”
“Yes please,” Arra-bellah says, her voice muffled in my chest. “One of everything, I'm starving.”
“And you shall have it.” My chest swells with joy, and with it comes an echo of the link between us, our connection strengthening as my body heals and bonds to hers.
“Thank you, Ezla,” Arra-bellah says, heartfelt.
“Yes. I owe you… everything,” I admit.
“It is my pleasure.” Ezla leaves quickly, eyes averted, andMae follows him, her head held high. At last, we’re back to the relative privacy of the balcony high up in the Milagrove tree.
“Is it over?” Arra-bellah whispers, still sheltering under my protection. Her trust in me is unmatched.
“Not yet. We will be left alone, it seems, and then after my knot deflates naturally you will likely undergo some tests. None will be invasive.” I don't tell her I'll likely be subjected to tests too, and these ones will most likely be akin to the excruciating extraction I undertook with Ezla.
“And what then?”
“I don't know, but either way, you’ll be cured and free to go.”
