“You know…” Elder Samson muttered, interrupting us as Sin tried to soothe me, rustling on his bed. “I actually wouldn’t mind some stars on the ceiling. Can you work that, Ms. Jules?” A pause with chopped, choked words. “Without a climatic end?”
I grinned softly as Cain started rubbing his thumb back and forth over mine. “I can do you one better.” I let myself glow, then tilted my head, studying the ceiling before pushing my power, brushing my free hand wide, creating a large version of the screen right before calling someone outside the Temple, expanding the entirety of the ceiling above, the cosmos shimmering down on us.
There was silence all around, except for Brann’s quiet snoring as I cut my glow off, but left my Core open, eyes glowing dimly, to allow the best vantage point as everyone stared at the beauty above us.
Time slowly ticked away, then Sin mumbled, staring at the ceiling, “Love, I have a serious question.”
That was never a good thing. “Hmm?”
“You know how we all grow more powerful with age?”
“Yeah.”
“Well,” he flicked his hand at the ceiling, then lowered it back to my waist, “Do you think since you’re going to own all that damn galactic power eventually in your crown,” yeah, they had asked that one the third night they were here, “that when you climax, later in life, it won’t just be the stars that manifest from your body?” Another wave at the ceiling. “It’ll be that?”
“For the love of God, Sin!” My King barked, waving his hands at the ceiling. “We’re staring at all this goddamn beauty and that’s all you ask?”
I cleared my throat delicately, and knowing Sin was actually asking a serious question, just curious for my input, I murmured, “I believe some of it already is.” I pointed to one of the planets that looked like Mars. “That was there the last time.” I rubbed Cain’s hand soothingly with my thumb when it tightened marginally on mine, obviously not liking me talking about our private affairs…but it was Sin…so my finger flicked to the far left where a planet with two moons rotated. “So was that one.” I dropped my arm. “A few others were, too, but they weren’t in your field of vision.” Had to keep with this mindset that Sin was my lover around this group, thanks to Leric’s outburst. “So, yes, as I get older, and gain more power, I believe that’s what will happen.”
He hummed quietly, kissing my neck softly, and then stared silently at the ceiling.
Elder Bridges cleared his throat after a silent moment, muttering, “I know I’m not the only person in this room wondering what damn position he was in that those weren’t in his line of vision.”
King Zeller grunted, stating smoothly, “Blindfolded, for one.”
Snapped fingers from the Vampire Elder. “Dammit, that was too easy.”
“Yep.” King Zeller chuckled quietly. “Losing your touch for the dark side, Elder Bridges?”
“No,” arrogant words, “But, I just couldn’t visualize…never mind, they just seem too cute for the darker arts.”
I murmured slowly, getting my point across, “How about we all go to sleep now?”
“Best idea yet,” my King muttered on a yawn.
Elder Farrar spread his arms wide, staring up at the ceiling, mumbling absently, “Does anyone else feel like they’re going to be sucked into the big, black chasm?”
No one answered, and my lips trembled.
He brought his hands back to his chest. “Guess that’s just me.” A flicked finger up at the ceiling. “It’s like a bad acid trip the harder I stare.”
“Actually,” Elder Samson mumbled, his words muffled on his pillow. “I believe that’s exactly what Ms. Jules warned us would happen if we touched the screen during our private calls a few weeks ago.”
A tense pause, then Elder Farrar griped loudly, “She didn’t fucking explain that to me!” An irritated huff. “All I had to go off was the previous call at the manor!”
I cleared my throat once. “Oops.”
Cain started chuckling silently, shaking his head at me, eyes crinkling again, appearing all types of amused, even as Elder Farrar muttered a few curses under his breath, fluffing his pillow again by punching it.
My King’s reprimand was quiet. “Caro…”
“What?” I asked innocently. “Some like to blather endlessly…while others prefer silence.”
My King wasn’t stupid as I quietly snubbed Elder Farrar. “Caro…”
“Fine,” I cleared my throat, “In the future, Elder Farrar, never touch the screen.”
“Caro…”
Dammit. “And don’t get too close to it.” Only I could do that.
“Caro…”
I sighed heavily. “And never try to send anything magical through it.” The results were not pretty for the sender.
My King cleared his throat when Elder Farrar muttered another curse under his breath, hearing of the ways he could have been injured. “Apologize, my Prodigy.”
I snorted, snuggling my head further on the pillow. “Not happening. And besides, he knew the worst of the dangers.” The others would have just hurt him…a lot.
“Caro…”
I intoned deeply, “My King…”
King Collins growled quietly, but didn’t try again, muttering, “One day, Caro…you’ll have your own Prodigy to deal with.”
As one, everyone but Sin, Brann, and I started chuckling quietly.
Gaze still on Cain’s, I scowled, and he promptly tried to bite back his mirth, snorting with the effort, and appearing better, I chose that time to cut off the peace I was sending him, which only seemed to affect him a little, his own soothing peace quietly diminishing while the others laughed it up, not noticing any fluctuations in powers, our fingers still intertwined, just holding the other’s hand in the darkness.
“Keep laughing…because,” my lips tilted evilly, “a Prodigy under my training…only means another similar to me to deal with in the future as Elders.”
King Zeller coughed hard, muttering, “Jesus, she’s right.”
I crooned grandly, “And with that lovely thought, I bid everyone goodnight.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Exiting the meeting with elite Guardian representatives—whom my Lajaks had not enacted retribution on yet—that morning, I learned Cullo and Jeria had been seized completely by the Guardians. The two new elite Guardians, which were currently in Eski and Nosa helping to keep the peace, were being given their orders to start their reign in their designated city, to start the city afresh, Guardians to stay posted within both city limits for no less than a year to help maintain the peace. No new information was reported on who the leaders of the rebellion were. We had high hopes the Guardians had killed them off in one of their raids, but Mr. Damon was still leading this search, continuing on under Leric’s and my orders for more intel, since Leric had done a bit of digging when we first arrived at the Temple, and discovered it had not, indeed, been Reece who had fueled the flame—not everything could be blamed on the silent traitor.