Rovek said, “The pirates are another consideration. To set course for Earth of all places alone in the Empress, even with the Constantine trailing us, would be foolhardy. Repairs are underway on Cormac’s warship, and we await assistance from another warship for which we have acquired Galaxic approval.”
I said, “I’m sure they’re amused that we have to wait for another ship to come and protect us.”
Rovek actually smiled. It was part of their plan and the reaction they wanted to provoke.
“Still, what about this?” I asked while holding the sphere up to get their attention.
“Keep it with you at all times. Be patient. Meticulous planning is what this mission requires, not haste.” Eli studied my reaction. Then, he turned his attention to the distress beacon’s remains.
“Well, what about that?” I asked, pointing at the busted beacon.
Eli smiled. He had already scanned it. “Why, Lord Montgomery and Lord Alaric will turn it over to the Enforcers of course. It is nothing more than defunct space junk. The destruct sequence made certain of it. Well, and without this.” He held up a tiny portion of a chip which had been hidden amongst the metal scraps.
Rovek said, “They will assume the beacon’s solar collectors became damaged during entry and were unable to recharge, and it simply ran out of energy.” He wore a pair of gloves, took the beacon from the blanket, and sterilized it of all traces of Earth’s soil. Kaoti handed him a container. Rovek dumped its contents of Arachnean dirt, dead leaves, and spider webs over the probe and then brushed it all away, leaving trace amounts upon it. Then, he placed it within a crate and gave it to Kaoti, who took it to Simon.
“The less you say, the better,” Eli cautioned.
While removing his gloves, Rovek said, “Ensign Probus, have your cousins take you home. Carry on as you normally would during a visit to Arachne. Your guards will keep your thoughts and those of your cousins safe from discovery by Laconian spies.”
I had been dismissed. Returning the sphere to my pocket, I saluted my superior and left the shuttle.
“Chirp?”
“We get to stay for a few more days.”
“Chirp! Chirp!” Excitedly, he hopped to the top of the transport where he perched with Cass for the ride.
Simon helped me up onto the seat, and Eliot drove. Sighing, I rested my head on Simon’s thick arm. “Did you hear all of what they said?”
“We did. I’m relieved. The thought of your ship helplessly surrounded by attacking pirates made me want to do something to disable it from leaving.”
I pinched him which only made him chuckle. Angrily, I sought out Rozz’s mind. Telepathically, I scolded, “You made me think the children were asleep on my ship and ready to go.”
He replied, “I told you they were asleep in their beds which is the truth and what you should be doing.” He gave my mind a gentle push to sleep. It was all it took.
Chapter Twelve
When I woke up, I realized that I’d slobbered on Simon’s arm. Groggily, I sat up and wiped my mouth on my shirt. “Sorry,” I sleepily apologized.
“It’s alright. I know I’m drool-worthy.”
The transport had stopped. We were parked in front of my house. Simon opened his door, picked me up, carried me inside, and transferred me into Nico’s arms. “Here you are. Safe and sound as promised. Good night.”
“Good night,” Nico said. Then, he carried me off and into the lift.
I yawned hard against him and closed my eyes, but then he was putting me on my feet. Smelling one of my favorite scents, I opened my eyes and saw bubbles filling my tub and covering two of my husbands. Yukihyo and Fitz were in the tub waiting for me. The glorious tub was full of steaming water and bubbles. Nico made quick work of undressing me. I groaned as I stepped into the water. Nico got in behind me and steadied me so I wouldn’t slip, not that Yukihyo or Fitz would have allowed it. Luxurious warmth lapped against my calves and rose up my body as I lowered myself. I was too tired to get any ideas about having the three of them alone in my bath, and they knew it.
Soon, I was squeaky clean, wrapped in towels, and in bed with a tray over my legs. I barely noticed what they fed me. Then, the next thing I knew, my head was on Yukihyo’s chest in my favorite place. Perfectly content, I fell asleep.
“Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Time to get up!” Neema yelled while climbing our bed and crawling up Yukihyo. At least, she was careful of my stomach.
“Yeah!” Niklos said. He sat on Nico’s stomach and put his feet on my back.
Peter had his arms around my neck.
They had me surrounded. There was nothing left for me to do other than surrender. “What time is it?” I grumbled. It felt like I had closed my eyes only minutes ago.
“Forgive me. They escaped,” Pierce whispered from our doorway.
“It’s alright. We’ve got them,” Nico replied.
“Get up, Mommy. Get up!”
“Why?” I asked, staring at my overly energetic daughter with my bleary eyes.
“We get to go make play clothes at the act or fee!”
“At the what?” I asked her.
“At the act or fee with Uncle Sherman. He said so.” She nodded her messy little head of dove-grey hair at me.
“At the factory?” I asked.
Now, she was getting exasperated with me. “Yes. Come on! Get up, Mommy.”
“Come cuddle with me. Let’s sleep a little longer.”
“Mommy,” she pouted.
“Okay. Fine. Go get dressed. Take your brothers with you.”
“Yea!”
The three of them scrambled from the bed.
“Come on, kids,” Nico said. He got up and followed after them. I was relieved he’d worn a pair of pajama bottoms to bed. He picked Peter up from where he’d glided down to the floor and carried him the rest of the way.
I put my head back on Yukihyo’s chest and started falling asleep again, but the shaking of his chest woke me. He was trying not to laugh. I opened my eyes. Neema was standing on our bed with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her lips.
“Okay. Okay. Stars.” I got up and went to pee and dress. While brushing my hair up into a ponytail, I noticed the dark circles under my eyes. I needed some downtime, but not where my children were concerned. They needed my attention. Maybe, Eli’s plan was for the best after all.
“You can take a nap after lunch,” Yukihyo said while pulling on a pair of pants.
Neema was ready and waiting. She sat on the floor of our dressing room and pulled out a small vid-screen from her pink play purse. Then, she made a call. It wasn’t a toy. My face had scrunched up in disbelief. “We ready!”
“Neema, where did you get that?” I went to her and stared down at the new vid-screen. It was nicer than mine even before it had been damaged.
I saw Sherman’s mischievous pale blue eyes. “On my way!” he said before vanishing from sight.
Neema looked up at me innocently. “Uncle Sherman gave it to Neema. See? I call Uncle Sherman, Uncle Ethan, Gram, anybody Neema wants. I just gots to touch their picture.” She smiled and showed me my picture. I was sleeping on her daddy.
“When did you take my picture?”
Yukihyo chuckled, so I knew he had taken it for her this morning right before I had woken up. It was not a flattering picture.
“I give up.” Taking her hand, we followed Yukihyo down the hall and into the lift. Nico and Fitz were already in the living room with the boys, and they were full of energy. I made no effort to suppress my yawn.
Someone signaled for entry at the front door, and Niklos ran for it. “Uncle Sherman!”
I could only assume that he’d been in his transport and already waiting outside when Neema had called him.
“There’s my boy!” Sherman exclaimed. He picked Niklos up in one arm and Peter in the other. Neema ran to him and wrapped herself around his ankle, sitting on his boot and smiling up at him. “Are we ready to go?”
“Yes!” shouted a
chorus of eager children.
“But, breakfast… coffee….” I stared at Sherman in distress.
“I’ve got you. It’s in the transport,” he said over his shoulder while laughing and carrying the kids outside.
“Come along, Lady Wife.” Yukihyo laced our fingers together and playfully tugged me from the room.
I felt my pocket, making sure the sphere was secure. Once inside of Sherman’s large transport, I was handed a cappuccino and a chocolate pastry. After I had eaten it, I was quickly handed another. I knew why. If my mouth was full, I couldn’t complain.
Nico whispered in my ear, “Don’t be alarmed, but we are being followed.”
“By whom?” I asked.
“A team from the Constantine,” Yukihyo answered.
“Assholes,” I muttered under my breath. I took a savage bite of my chocolate filled croissant.
Sherman was feeding the kids sugary pastries, too. They didn’t need more energy, but I didn’t bother scolding him. Sherman would do whatever he wanted. I had eaten five pastries by the time Sherman parked in front of one of his factories.
“We’re here, kids! Are you ready?”
“Yes!” they yelled.
Somewhat placated with breakfast treats, I followed my family inside. Peter was sitting on Sherman’s shoulders and held onto his bright-red hair with tiny clawed fingers. “This way, Neema and Niklos,” Sherman called. He led them over to smiling ladies who had been eagerly waiting for them. “Teagan, go with Esme.” He pointed at a lady who had her greying hair up in a loose bun.
“Huh?”
“Oh, just do it,” Sherman said over his shoulder.
Niklos and Neema were talking at once. Nico and Yukihyo tagged along with them to help, but Fitz gave me his arm.
“Good morning, my lady. Right this way. I’ve pulled our finest silks for you.” Esme led us away to a table where bolts of silk in every color and pattern imaginable waited.
Soon, I was in my undergarments trying on dresses which would accommodate my growing figure. Neema and Niklos ran to me dressed in matching Galaxic Militia captain uniforms. I laughed and clapped. “Oh, what will Papa think of this?” I asked Fitz.
Grinning, he shook his head. Laughing, the kids ran back to Sherman. Nico came over to us carrying Peter in his arms. He’d been dressed like his brother and sister, but it had been modified to accommodate the patagium at his sides. Taking him from Nico, I kissed his adorable little baby cheeks, but he wasn’t in the mood for kisses from Mommy. He wanted to go to his siblings, so with one more kiss and a pat on the bottom, I relinquished him to Nico. I was trying on another dress when the three of them returned dressed like Kaoti.
“Oh, Nico, make one for Poppy!” I giggled to myself thinking of how Violet would react.
“Don’t worry. None of the children are being left out,” he assured me. He winked at me and took the kids back to Sherman.
A few minutes later, I was in the middle of changing when I saw Thunderdrop and Cass out of the corner of my eye. It confused me because I’d thought Thunderdrop had stayed home to play in the forest, and Cass would have been with Simon. Fitz covered his eyes, lowered his head, and laughed from where he sat watching me. Taking a second look, I realized “the spiders” were my children dressed in costumes.
“Chirp! Chirp!” Niklos said.
“Chitter!” Neema said while crawling faster to catch up.
Long black legs skimmed and bounced along the floor at their sides. Peter giggled and crawled behind them. I couldn’t take it. I sat on the floor, half out of a dress, and laughed so hard I cried. The children wrapped me in white silk ribbons before crawling back to Sherman, Nico, and Yukihyo.
“Stars!” I laughed.
Fitz, laughing even harder than I was, handed me a silk square for my eyes.
After Sherman was satisfied that the children had all of the play clothes they wanted and that my wardrobe had been appropriately replenished with silk, he drove us to the Sun Palace where Uncle Lee showered the children with attention and filled their bellies with all of the noodles, wontons, and chicken they could eat.
“Now, what shall we do next?” Sherman asked.
About an hour later, the back of the transport was full of new toys, and we were on our way back home. While the children had been in the toy store, I’d stopped inside of the jewelry store and had a setting made for the sphere. Now, I wore it openly around my neck as if it were simply a piece of jewelry. It had finally gotten quiet in the transport. The children were fighting sleep, but I intended to win the battle and started singing to them. It worked, not only on them, but also on Nico. Victorious, I knew I’d get my nap. Pierce and Lorca met us at the transport when we arrived and took the boys to their beds. Yukihyo carried Neema.
“Naptime,” I whispered to Sherman while nudging Nico awake. “Thank you, we had fun.” I hugged Sherman.
“I did, too. Now, off with you to bed. We’ll get these things inside.” Sherman handed Fitz a few bags.
Too tired to resist the temptation of my bed, I found it. Nico climbed in beside me, and we slept hard.
Chapter Thirteen
“Mommy, do we have to?” Niklos whined. He fidgeted in his little suit. Sunlight spilled through the window while I straightened the front of his shirt and combed his hair. Curious about my new necklace, he lifted it and held it in his small hands. The sphere was within a platinum cage with upturned wings to each side, like the symbol of the Parvac Empire.
“Oh, what you hold in your hands, my sweet son.” I kissed his cheek. “If you go to this party with me and are on your best behavior, we’ll do what you want when it’s over. Deal?”
Raising an eyebrow and reminding me of myself, he asked, “Anything?”
“Anything.”
“Deal,” he said.
Neema was admiring herself in the mirror. She was wearing a pretty pink dress and a tiara. I was dressed to match, minus the tiara.
“We party?” Peter asked.
“Yep. You ready to go?” Neema asked.
“Yep.” Peter held his hands up to me.
With him on my hip, we went to the lift. Fitz was the only husband who was brave enough to serve as our escort. The others had fled. “You look handsome.” I kissed him.
“You are radiant.”
I winked at him. “That’s better than radioactive.”
He grinned at my joke, but cast a pair of concerned eyes upon the sphere resting above my pregnant belly. Taking Peter from me, he said, “Come with Daddy. Let’s get you all in the transport.” We walked outside to my transport with its pretty blue seats. The five of us didn’t need to take anything bigger.
The Lady Lee was hosting a tea party to which we had been invited. I couldn’t wait to get my hands onto Ling and Hiroshi’s baby boy. I had sent gifts the week before his birth but had with me a bracelet of blue diamonds for Ling. Hiroshi was so happy and such a proud papa that he’d been staying close to the estate since his return from Epopeus. Yukihyo had spoiled the new baby even worse than I had, but Hiroshi was to blame for it. He and Ling had named their son Ruyo Chan Lee after Yukihyo.
Niklos was a stoic little gentleman at my side. He had developed an aversion to tea parties because of the ones to which Mama, Lady Dacia, and Grandmother had been taking him. On the contrary, Neema loved any event where she could show off. Outside near the transport, Niklos scowled up at the trees. Following his gaze, I spotted Thunderdrop.
“We’re going to a tea party. Want to go?”
Thunderdrop walked along a thick branch and then hid from view. “Chitter.”
Niklos narrowed his eyes, either in jealousy or resentment, but lifted his chin in martyrdom. After Niklos had taken his seat, I took mine. It wasn’t long before we arrived, parked, and walked to the front doors of the Chan mansion which had been left open. Butlers stood before them to welcome guests.
“Party!” Neema sang out.
“Don’t run off, little princess. Stay with us.”
“Ugh. Mommy, I good at parties. Oops. I mean. I’m good at parties.”
“Yes, you are but regardless stay with us.”
“Ugh. Whatever,” she huffed.
I rolled my eyes, this time at myself. Yukihyo and I had created a miniature, fearless version of ourselves. She had my mannerisms and his good looks. Fitz grinned at her. It wasn’t the smile he usually reserved for these types of functions. Lifting up on my toes, I kissed his smiling lips and kissed Peter’s cheek. Then, I took Niklos by one hand and Neema by the other and walked to the entrance.
A butler announced, “The Princess Teagan of House Probus of Parvac, Lord Jiri of Thalassa, Prince Niklos, Princess Neema, and Prince Peter.”
Niklos groaned. Such formality told him everything he needed to know about the torturously polite behavior that would be expected by attendees. Neema beamed. She’d act however she pleased and smile while she was doing it.
Hiroshi, with a huge smile across his face, strode over to us across a path as we stepped out through the back doors and into the garden. Garlands of flowers all in shades of blue adorned every doorway, spilled from decorative urns, and filled the air with their sweet fragrances. Hiroshi opened his arms, and releasing the children’s hands, I flew into them. I gave his chest a good squeeze, rested my chin on his chest, and smiled up at him.
“How is fatherhood treating you?” Fitz asked.
I let go of him so they could shake hands.
“I have never known such joy.” The morning sun glinted off his shiny black hair.
“Or such a lack of sleep?” I asked while gently touching the bags under his eyes.
Laughing, he said, “Ruyo has a loud, piercing cry and doesn’t hesitate to let us know when he is hungry or needs to be changed. It doesn’t seem to matter to him when Ling soothes him as you do your children. He still screams his displeasure. Now, come. The only thing he lacks is being held in your arms.” Offering me his arm, he led us to a canopy in the gardens under which Ling sat and held Ruyo.
Wrapped in a light-blue silk blanket, he watched his mother’s face with sleepy eyes. He was only a few weeks old, but he was obviously already an adorable mixture of Ling and Hiroshi. His hair, what he had of it, was black, and his eyes had the paleness indicative of his Arachnean heritage.
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