She sighed, happy those days were over. “Excuse me. Mrs. Bianchi, have you seen my daughter playing?”

  The old grey-haired woman shook her head while giving her an accusatory look. “I no watch children.”

  “No,” Karma assured her. “I didn’t expect you to keep an eye on her.” Karma moved over to one of the stone patios. She’d napped there once, and it had been amazing, looking at the ocean with the sound of the sea.

  M wasn’t there either. She had probably gone back to her room, but this property was too big to be traipsing around looking for a little girl. She used her communicator to contact her.

  M answered but didn’t initiate the holograph feature.

  “Hey, baby, where are you?”

  I’m with…a new friend.

  Karma’s brow moved up. “You made a friend? That’s good. But where are you?”

  M swallowed and looked around.

  “M, put your communicator on hologram,” Karma said.

  She did, and Ciprio suddenly ran to her side.

  “Hi, Miss. I was showing M around the property,” he said. “My grandparents are caretakers for the villa. I’m Ciprio. Ciprio Bianchi.”

  Karma moved her own image, so she wasn’t showing herself or Runnar—especially not Runnar.

  “Oh, I just saw your grandma. I didn’t realize they had any grandchildren. They don’t talk much, so-”

  “No, ma’am. My grandma says not to bother the Elites.” Karma hesitated at that info, never considering herself in those terms. Ideas like that are why Earth was in shambles. Rafe had made it seem as if it wasn’t much different here.

  “Well, it’s time for M to come home. Your Uncle Haru will be arriving soon.”

  M’s face lit up. He’s coming here?! I’m coming, Mama!

  “Mhm…” Karma said while tapping her foot. She wouldn’t embarrass her in front of her new little friend, but she was about to be grounded. Rafe was right, they didn’t like restricting their daughter, but she had to follow the rules; the spoken as well as the unspoken ones.

  Haru, Rafe, and Dorf were flying through the air—well, in the air created by Dorf’s imagination.

  How are we doing this? He asked. This feels very real… Haru flew ahead until he was ahead of Rafe and then turned to face him, flying at a frightening speed backward.

  You just imagine it, and it happens. More than that, it uses your memories—like the Haka. I have seen it done, but I would have never remembered the steps and chants. But here, it becomes real.

  Try it, Dorf said.

  Rafe gave his friends doubtful looks. The next moment they were no longer floating in the air but in a luxury home—his old penthouse apartment. Rafe was dancing, dance moves he had never in life performed. And yet he moved as if he had spent weeks being choreographed. Best was Haru and Dorf were behind him, mimicking the moves exactly.

  Suddenly Rafe began singing.

  Cause this is thriller, thriller night

  And no one's gonna save you from the beast about to strike…

  I knew it! Dorf said. All those times you sat there watching us dancing, I knew you wanted to join us!

  Rafe just laughed, not allowing himself to be too embarrassed to give in to one of his biggest desires. It was fun to sing and dance to the old popular song. But it would be better if M and Karma were here dancing, too—laughing, freestyling, each doing their own thing.

  And then he remembered there were a lot of important things to consider and the music faded and the trio’s dance ended. He turned to Haru who was laughing, his face doing the near impossible: Smiling.

  Haru, Tamsyn is here. She is holding you in her arms and has asked me to relay to you how much she loves you.

  Haru’s eyes widened. He suddenly faded away. Dorf sighed.

  That is what you did when you woke up. Are we safe?

  Safe enough. No one has pursued us, but I saw the condition of Haru and Mizpaki’s ship. They had definitely been under attack.

  Dorf nodded. I saw Mizpaki. He was still in his chair, as if he had used his last breath to get them here.

  Rafe nodded once. He was a good ally and a good friend.

  M turned and stomped back the way she had come.

  “Wait!” Ciprio had to scurry to catch up with her. “What’s wrong?”

  Didn’t you hear my Mama say mhm?

  “Yes.”

  It means I’m in trouble!

  “No. I told her it was my fault. Plus, if you go back that way, you will run into the guards-”

  She spun to look at him. The guards don’t worry me more than my Mama and Papa!

  Ciprio continued to keep up with the little girl, happier than he’d been in a long time. He had a friend! That’s what she had told her mother. She was his friend, and she was mysterious, powerful and an Elite.

  Haru jerked in his chrysalis. Tamsyn was sitting in the pool, along the safe edge where the water was tepid. She had shed her clothes until she was just in underwear and was holding onto the chrysalis.

  “Tam?” Came Haru’s faint voice.

  “Haru! I’m here!” She placed her ear to the fibrous material that encased the man she loved.

  “I love you, too. Always. It’s always you. Everything for you...” His voice began to fade.

  “I love you.” Tears filled her eyes.

  “Soon I will sleep too deeply to awaken. But I have never loved like this. Be safe, okusan, for if anything should happen to you, I will destroy this world to find the culprit!”

  She chuckled past her tears. “Don’t do that, my love. Our friends will still need a place to live.” She kissed the cocoon, knowing he had drifted back into hibernation.

  When Haru reappeared to Dorf and Rafe, he was sitting on a rock looking as stony-faced as the object he sat upon. They gathered around him.

  Your molting will pass more swiftly for you than for those that await your return. Rafe reminded him. He conjured a stone boulder for himself and sat. Dorf did the same, although his boulder was topped with a nest of smooth branches and turquoise feathers and down.

  It is always at the most inopportune time! Haru stated but then calmed. But thank the Guardian it was here for Dorf and me to protect us.

  Yes, my daughter just had surgery and I’ve left Kemistry alone to look after our children—although I am pleased to have been here to find you.

  You saved my life, Dorf.

  Dorf nodded once.

  What happened? Your ship was shot and why didn’t you contact us? Rafe asked.

  Haru’s eyes lit up. Ah. Everything was ruined before it even began. But humans have a saying about lemons into lemonade.

  ~Haru’s story~

  When I arrived in Galatia, I expected to be interviewed by Amalia and her council. That interrogation lasted days, but they could not get what they truly wanted. Just as you instructed, Rafe, I fed them the information you permitted me to disclose. It was a good idea to have a fake plan and then for you to change it once I was no longer privy to the information. I told them everything—repeatedly; your plans to attract former and current Galatian Guards and how you intended to do so. Your plans to threaten to leave the Interplanetary Collective unless they support your endeavors, and most importantly, your desire to replace the Queens with humans.

  The latter had the most impact—especially when I professed that I would never agree with replacing the Queens or to seek a subservient role for them. You were right that I would need to feed truth with misdirection. None of my responses were lies because it is true that I would never seek the demise of the Galatian Queens. Just as it is true that I would never replace them with human mates. You know my stance—each man should be free to love whomever they wish to love.

  And then after they were satisfied with the information I supplied, they finally released me to return to Caeda. And this is when things turned sideways.

  Chapter Twenty

  M didn’t have much to say to Ciprio despite his constant chatter.

  “Is the air black with pollution on Earth?”

  “Is it true everyone is forced to carry a gun?”

  “My friends say it gets so hot that if you’re caught outside your eyes can pop in your head, and so cold during winter that if you breathed the air, your lungs would freeze!”

  “Why won’t you talk? I don’t mind that you speak through that thing on your wrist.”

  M had spun around at his rudeness. You ask too many questions. You don’t have manners. And I don’t trust you! Now go away!

  The boy’s steps faltered and then slowed until he just watched her disappear into the distance. M didn’t care. She had her own neck to worry about! Because she’d been worried about how much he’d seen and who he was going to tell it to, she’d broken Mama’s rule about staying in the courtyard.

  She didn’t mean to be bad, but sometimes she reacted before thinking things through. But danger was around every corner and she had to be vigilant because sometimes big people didn’t see it coming—even if you warned them.

  But she didn’t want Mama and Papa to be mad at her. But she didn’t know how to explain that she wasn’t just being a brat. Although…she probably was. They probably wished they had never adopted her.

  One of the guards finally reached her just as she was about to cross back onto the property. He gave her a stern look as if she was more trouble than she was worth.

  “Miss. You are not supposed to leave the grounds.” She nodded her understanding. “You could have been kidnapped. And the Lieutenant would have had all of our bal—heads.”

  I’m sorry.

  He led her back to the house, probably looking forward to telling her Mama and Papa about her. Ha, they already knew. Mama might be mad at her, but she wouldn’t like some soldier telling her that her daughter was misbehaving when she already knew it.

  “My bound mate was very pleased at my return. But she is no fool. I would never have agreed to accept her as a bound mate if she were foolish. She tested me in many ways—ways I would not want my Tamsyn to ever learn about. We mated at every opportunity, and once she was satisfied that I truly desired her, she began asking me questions that mattered most to her.

  “‘Did I love the human?’ To which I answered it is my duty to love and care for my ward. ‘Is that not what I am meant to do?’ But then I explained that a consort is not a Queen; and could never be my bound mate.

  “Hmph, how others long to hear what they want to hear. I am grateful Tam is not a Queen as it is the Queen’s nature to want her workers to do nothing but what she commands. And to be a bound mate is equivalent to being a prisoner bound to his oppressor. Tam is mine and I am hers and no other title is necessary. In this way, it is easy to be evasive.”

  Rafe and Dorf nodded without interrupting.

  “I believed any doubts between us were resolved. I went about working a new job; as a consultant to Amalia. I was used to supplying intel to determine your next moves. I was also tasked with training the members of the war council. How ironic I was to teach them hand-to-hand combat techniques that would save their lives if they ever came up against us in battle.”

  Haru chuckled mirthlessly. “I did not dare hold back, although I gave them nothing concerning our advanced weaponry. They are still in the dark ages using demolition bombs instead of thermobaric devices.”

  “That is a dangerous game, brother. There are Guardian among them who side with the Queens. Any of them can reveal that information.”

  “But strangely, they have not. Those Guards who do not agree with us have also chosen not to support the Queens.”

  Rafe listened with interest at that. “And Commander Einar?”

  “Especially Commander Einar. I have seen him in conference with the Queen’s council and he hasn’t disclosed much more than I have. The Commander may not be on our side, but he is not on the side of the Queens.”

  “He is a spy. I would not trust him,” Dorf stated, “Not until one of our Japoxillian gets their teeth into him.”

  “Perhaps. But as I began to relax and provide information to our contact, I learned I was being watched. There were spies in the household—and they weren’t just Queens. The males that had never had the opportunity to leave Galatia were in the pockets of the Queens.

  “One such individual was Honoree. He is an elder who maintained the electronics in Caeda’s home. He has known her since she was a child. There are others, a physician, a groundskeeper, the attaché, and an ex-lover…or current lover. I do not know, nor do I care which.

  “I was eventually contacted by an unlikely ally — one who would risk her freedom, her status, and her life just to get a message out to our team. Filene—Titus’s bound mate. She acted on behalf of your mother.”

  Rafe came to his feet. “My mother!”

  “I could not tell you at the time, Rafe. I could not risk anyone ever finding out—for her safety. And, fortunately, I did not because I learned many things after our meeting. Her message to you is that she supports you, Rafe. But just as importantly, she loved the idea of having a grandchild and would not have cared what breed his mother was.

  “When she learned that your child had been murdered, your mother vowed she would never see another child killed just because they were hybrid. She went against Amalia and the council, and she wasn’t alone. Paris’s mother is also a vocal supporter. I believe that all of our parents support our cause.”

  Rafe could not believe what he was hearing. His head was reeling with the news. He had come to terms that his mother and all Queens were more interested in upholding tradition than loving their child. But why would he think anything different when it was their mothers who raised him to be submissive to the Queens? Rafe turned his attention back to Haru.

  “Jadorith even held a gathering for those who did not want to see their loved ones murdered in war, and the number was large! Not all were necessarily supporters of our cause, but they had questions—that is until Amalia put a stop to it and had her placed under lock and key.

  “Amalia locked up my mother?” he asked in alarm.

  “Your mother is safe. It was just for a day. Amalia meant to send a message. Jadorith’s status as an elder with two living offspring is too important. Your mother’s status is her protection.”

  Rafe paced while rubbing his chin. “But Amalia’s way is that of assassination.” Haru just nodded once. “Our mother’s support could mean their deaths…”

  “Your mother is a wise woman. She is no longer as vocal and is aware she is being watched. But Amalia cannot watch everyone. Not only are our parents allies, Filene appears to be a sympathizer, and Leolo is on our side, as well, even though he has relinquished his consort and position. I cannot say how large our numbers are, but what I know is Amalia has not moved forward with calling for war because she does not know if she could prevail in the event of a war.

  “This is fantastic news!” Rafe exclaimed. “Perhaps we can avoid a war. If The Collective knows this, then they wouldn’t dare risk being on the losing side of a war where they would lose the support of their Guardians!”

  Dorf nodded in agreement, but Haru looked at them grimly.

  “There is more. I did not know my mother was one of our supporters until she visited me before the parley. Part of me thought it was a setup, but I listened to her.

  “I had not seen her since my arrival in Galatia. I assumed my family was ashamed of me. I initially did not seek them out and when they paid me no visit, I decided it was done; I was no longer my mother’s son.

  “And then, the day before the parley, I fell ill. The cook had placed a small amount of iktai into my meal and I had to travel to the pool for a prolonged visit. Yes, it turns out that Caeda’s cook was also a sympathizer.

  But once I arrived at the pool, I smelled my mother’s scent and followed it to the top of a mountain where she was waiting for me. She promptly made me remove my communicator and leave it there. She then touched my face and said I was not to trust anyone or anything and bid me to follow her to a distant location where we would watch that mountaintop.

  “I did not know what to make of that, but I listened without responding. Which is when she told me about the supporters that numbered among the Queens. She told me not to trust any electronic devices, for they had been bugged and trackers had been placed in all vehicles that I had access to. She also told me about the bombs placed in Caeda’s space pods—just waiting for me to steal one of them in the event that I was a spy.

  “A red anger crept along his scales.

  “Caeda would rather see me dead; blown up in an explosion than to allow my freedom! Rafe. Dorf. I remained calm, but I was shaken by that news. I wanted to trust my mother, but in this place, trust is not anything you should easily give. Luckily, my communications with our allies had all been done using written symbols only known to us, and never spoken aloud.

  “My mother went on to explain that should I ever need to escape this place, there was a large transport fueled, weaponized, and free of tracking devices, and then she gave me its location. She named each of the people who had been set to spy on me and where I could locate the hidden monitors and listening devices. And finally, I saw what she wanted me to see. Old Honoree and Caeda’s lover had arrived on the mountain top right where I had left my communicator. My mother had known they would come looking for me. While communicators are trackers, it was now obvious that they were using it to actively keep tabs on me.

  And now they knew I had figured out that they were actively following me.

  “I thanked my mother and when I returned to Caeda’s home; I explained I had gone for a run and, due to being ill, I had taken a fall and lost my communicator. I wasn’t believed, but it didn’t matter. I was just counting the hours until I could leave, only thankful my mother had been able to warn me not to use any of Caeda’s pods to make my escape.

  “That is why I was unable to contact you. I didn’t trust any communication devices that Caeda had access to.

 

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