“The legacy of the Chan family will continue for generations to come,” Lord Chan said proudly.
Long ago, when humans had settled on the heavily forested planet of Arachne, some of them had found spouses amongst the Laconians. Something about the second generation of human and Enyo offspring and their empathic abilities had intrigued the indigenous Silk spiders. They’d realized that communication could occur between them as equals. The result of which was mutually beneficial cooperation.
Gram was at Lord Chan’s side. She held her arms out to me, so I went to her to get my hugs and kisses. She said, “Shame on those boys. They’ve been keeping you to themselves since you’ve been home.” Her hand found my stomach, and she made cooing noises to my babies, sending her love to them empathically as she did.
“Don’t worry. We will be here long enough for you to tire of our company,” Fitz said.
“Is that so?” an authoritative female voice asked.
Turning my head, I saw her. My former hero, and current nemesis, was wearing a yellow dress. Had it not been for her question, I might not have recognized her. I looked from her V-shaped neckline to her calf-length hem. “Nice dress,” I said.
“Thank you. It should be. I purchased it here. You can’t go wrong with Arachnean Silk,” Captain Espanoza said.
“Indeed,” Lord Chan said as he raised his glass to her.
“Gram, Neema wants those.” She gently tugged on Gram’s skirt, gazed up at her with wide, sadly pathetic eyes, and pointed at cupcakes with blue icing and sprinkles.
“Then, you shall have them.” Gram smiled down at her and took her hand. She extended her other hand to Niklos, who looked first to me for permission.
I gave him a slight nod, and only then did he take her hand.
“Your son is well-behaved,” Captain Espanoza complimented.
“Thank you. Of all of the emperors in the Empire’s history, he has had the most culturally diverse upbringing. I hope continued peaceful interactions with alien species will encourage him to one day rule with open-mindedness and less of the Empire’s propensity for annihilation of those who offend us.”
She smiled. “You sound more and more the Parvac Princess each time we meet.”
“She sounds like a woman who realizes that peaceful coexistence between those of diverse cultures is about common decency, compromise, and respect. Miring a diplomatic starship with radioactive debris, leaving the passengers and crew unprotected to fend for themselves, and then failing to protect them from being attacked by merciless pirates, which resulted in several fatalities, only to fine them an exorbitant fee for self-defense is not a beneficial means of interaction with our Parvac neighbors in my opinion.”
My eyes had gone as wide and innocent as Neema had made hers. The Lady Gina Montgomery, Simon’s mother, was my blue cupcake with sprinkles on top.
Gina asked Captain Espanoza, “Shall we discuss your participation in recent events?” She led the captain away.
Fitz’s smile had grown wider. Leaning down to whisper in my ear, he said, “I almost feel sorry for her.”
“I don’t.” I whispered back, “She tried to make me feel like an insignificant little shit on her ship. Fuck her. I hope Gina tears her a new asshole.”
Hiroshi cleared his throat. I did my best to release my negative emotions before approaching Ling and Ruyo. Sitting beside her, I got my turn with the baby and fell in love. I hadn’t fallen so deeply in love as to keep holding him after he grunted and filled his diaper. Laughing, Hiroshi took his son inside to change him.
After giving Ling her gift and exchanging pleasantries with Lady Glaucia, Fitz, Peter, and I wandered off to find Gram and the kids. They were with Auria, little Evan and Suzy, and Isidora. Sitting with them, we enjoyed some refreshments and were making some plans when Sydney, Auria’s mother-in-law, joined us.
Pulling me aside, she coaxed Peter into her arms. “Teagan, I heard all about the pirate attack from Ethan. I’m appalled to learn of such brutality occurring within Galaxic space. We could have lost all of you.” Tears had formed in her eyes as she spoke.
Wanting to comfort her, I put my arms around her back, but my thoughts turned to the men who had lost their lives in our defense. It put me at a loss for words. Gina walked over to us along with Captain Espanoza.
“I assure you, Lady Alaric, the Militia is investigating. We will learn who was behind the attack and punish those responsible.”
Sydney held her gaze while rubbing circles on Peter’s back. The breeze sent her dress dancing about her ankles in a flutter of mauve silk. “It is well and good to do so, but what of my family and their safety? What happens when they depart from Arachne? The pirates could be out there somewhere waiting.” She glanced up at the sky.
“We aren’t leaving anytime soon. Please, don’t be upset.”
Sydney asked, “Where is my son? Why has he been ordered away when he should be protecting his cousin? Is she not an ambassador of Parvac? What of Commander Bosh? Is his wife’s safety of so little importance? Whatever mission it is on which the Hadrian has been sent should have been given to some other crew.”
“Lady Alaric, I will protect your family in Captain Alaric’s absence. I give you my word.”
Angrily, Sydney said, “I doubt it. You came upon them moments before they were either boarded or destroyed. Where were you while their crewmen died?”
I turned my attention to the grass and flowers as I was overcome with sadness.
Fitz said quietly, “Ladies, this is neither the time nor the place.” He could feel my emotions through our bond and didn’t like it when I was upset. Putting an arm around my lower back, he led me back to the table and offered me a plate of tiny sandwiches.
“Our daughters are gonna need a lot more than this.”
“Not to worry, my darling.” He kissed my cheek and walked toward one of the appetizer tables.
I ate my tiny sandwiches and tried to get what Sydney had said about Quaid and Eric out of my head, but I couldn’t. The pirate attack had been brutal, but Quaid couldn’t be bothered to offer me a few moments of comfort and assurance? They hadn’t come to our defense. It was like they didn’t even care. Maybe, Jemaphera had been truthful. Perhaps, Quaid was moving onto less frequently plowed pastures. Snorting at my own private joke, I ate a cupcake from a plate Fitz placed in front of me.
Ladies were beginning to say their goodbyes and were trickling out of the gardens on their ways to their transports. My guard came back up at Captain Espanoza’s approach. Fitz helped me to my feet and handed Peter to me. Niklos stood in the first warrior form, and Neema fell in at his side in the same position.
Captain Espanoza raised an eyebrow at my children who stood at parade rest. “Before I take my leave, I wanted to thank you for turning over what you found in the forest. We believe it may have some bearing on an ongoing investigation.”
Playing dumb, I asked, “Oh, what investigation might that be?” I knew any connection to the investigation had been destroyed during the beacon’s auto-destruct sequence.
A small smile played upon her lips. “I’ve said too much. Good day to you,” she said while giving us a nod of her head.
She’d been fishing for information, but I wasn’t a hungry fish. Like my children, I was full of cupcakes. After she was out of sight, we thanked Ling for inviting us and made our way to our transport.
Once the doors closed with all of us inside, Niklos asked, “Was I good, Mommy?”
“You were perfect. As promised, you get to decide what we do next.” I crossed my fingers and hoped he wanted to play in the Alaric pool.
“We want to play outside,” he said with the seriousness of a general. He was so like his daddy.
“Oh, okay. We need to change our clothes first.” My thoughts turned to lounge chairs and stretchy pants, and I smiled while imagining my nap under the shade of one of my backyard trees.
“Yes,” Niklos agreed with a nod of his head.
Pierce and
Lorca were waiting for us at the front doors. As soon as Fitz powered off the transport, Niklos was out, running for the house, and tearing out of his clothes while he ran. Lorca caught the jacket before it hit the ground.
“He really didn’t like that suit,” I observed.
“Are our young charges ready for their naps?” Lorca asked.
Fitz laughed. “Oh, no. They are full of sugar. We’re changing clothes and playing outside.”
Understanding, Lorca and Pierce went to help them change. We followed at a slower pace. Fitz kept his hands on my stomach until we exited the lift.
“It’s quiet up here,” I observed.
“Everyone is either helping with the repairs or hunting pirates.” Fitz helped me remove my dress before going to change his own attire.
After pulling on soft stretchy pants and a comfortable T-shirt, I heard my vid-screen start to ping. Answering it, I felt a hurtful sting in my heart when I saw Quaid’s solid-black eyes and handsome face. “Lady Bosh, oh, how I miss you.”
I didn’t believe the longing I heard in his voice. “Have you?” I didn’t bother trying to hide my hurt and anger.
“You know I have.” He was trying to soothe me with his words and the sound of his voice, but they were hollow and meaningless to me.
“If you wanted to be with me, you would have found a way to do so, but you couldn’t make an hour for me on Epopeus. You didn’t come to me after trapping my ship, and you didn’t give a shit about spending a few minutes with me here. Just tell me the fucking truth!”
“Truth? What truth?”
“You’re avoiding me! You don’t want to be with me!”
“Teagan, that isn’t true. I love you more than my own life. Think about this rationally. Please.”
What I thought about was Jemaphera. I hurled my vid-screen against the wall and stormed out of my room. I heard Fitz picking it up and suggesting to Quaid that he do something romantic to make amends for his cruel neglect.
When he joined me in the hall, I asked, “Why doesn’t the damned thing break already?”
“It was made on Ephors. You won’t break it by tossing it around.”
“Thank you for what you said to Quaid. Work always comes first with him. I’m wondering if he even really still loves me.”
“He loves you, but the Galaxic Militia has his loyalty.”
Trying to hide my emotions, I put a smile on my face before we entered the children’s room. My smile wasn’t fake for long. They were dressed in their spider costumes and ran for the lift. Peter had to run while holding my hand, but he managed. Black spider legs bounced at their sides as they ran outside. Pulling out his own vid-screen, Fitz recorded them.
Thunderdrop chirped and lowered himself from a branch to walk around among the kids.
“No, like this,” Neema said to Peter. She showed him how to crawl on his hands and knees so he’d look more realistic.
Each of them wore black caps held on by chinstraps. Shiny black beads served as the eyes, and stuffed fabric sewn to look like mandibles framed their faces. They made chirping sounds and followed where Thunderdrop led. Holding hands, Fitz and I followed them around the side of the house. Letting go of the stress talking to Quaid had caused me, I breathed deeply of the clean air.
“This is my favorite scent. What’s yours?”
Kissing the top of my head, he put an arm around me. “I love the smell of fresh pineapple and salty ocean breezes.”
“It’s funny how something so simple as a scent can be comforting.”
Niklos had taken the lead and was guiding us along a path into the forest. My spiders watched us from the trees. Some stopped playing with their toys to observe us as we walked by. A large spider of about three feet in length from cephalothorax to abdomen crawled down a tree trunk to investigate us. While the kids oohed and aahed, I took Fitz’s hand in mine and lifted it to my lips. Running a fingertip along his ring finger, I said, “I should rectify this.”
“What might that be?”
“Not all of my husbands have wedding bands.” I frowned at my oversight.
He shook his head. “It’s a human custom. Each of us has been presented by Emperor Probus with an Imperial pin to wear on formal occasions.”
“Don’t you want a wedding band?”
“I’ll wear the effeminate symbol if it pleases you.”
I frowned up at him.
He shrugged. “What Parvacian males have you seen wearing rings who haven’t married Galaxic soldiers?”
“Nico wears his.”
Fitz grimaced and waited.
I couldn’t think of any. “Is it really only a human custom?”
“Those of Earth ancestry still follow the tradition.”
I called out to Zared and Izaac in my mind.
“Yes?” Zared whispered into my thoughts.
“Do you want a wedding band?”
I felt distaste along our bond. “If you want me to stick my finger within a hole, I can think of one I’d enjoy more.” With his abilities, he caused me to feel his phantom touch between my thighs.
“Zared! Shame on you!” The sensation faded. “Where are you? What are you doing?”
“We are procuring materials with which to replenish our arsenal.”
Izaac entered my mind. “I don’t want one either, but I’ll get a tattoo of one if it pleases you. Jewelry and Imperial Guard duty don’t mix.”
Zared said, “Getting a ring stuck on a jammed or broken finger would be unpleasant.”
Izaac said, “They aren’t practical.”
“Fine. I thought you might want them.”
“Please, no,” Zared said with laughter.
I let their thoughts go so they could fully concentrate on whatever it was they were doing. Fitz hastily unwrapped his arms from around me. I felt him tense up in fear. Then, he ran. Searching for danger, I saw his aim, and it was Peter. I jogged after him in abject terror.
“Peter, no! Come down from there! Come to Mommy!” He turned his head at the sound of my voice, smiled, and laughed at me. My stomach felt like it fell through my feet, and my blood froze in my veins. My tiny baby boy sank his clawed fingers and toes into the tree trunk and climbed even higher at an alarming rate. “Fitz! Oh, Fitz! My baby! Get him! Oh, stars!” My face felt hot, and my breathing quickened.
Fitz wasn’t fast enough or tall enough to get him. “Peter, come down, sweetheart. You’re scaring Mommy.”
Neema scowled up at her baby brother in his spider costume. “No fair!”
“Kaoti!” I yelled. Where was he? I looked quickly around but was afraid to take my eyes from Peter. If he fell….
Materializing as he walked past me, Rozz said, “I’ll get him. Relax, Teagan. He’s a boy climbing a tree. Kaoti is spending the day with his family.”
“He’s a baby!” I said in a hysterical tone.
Lifting a hand straight up, Rozz sent a grappler up to a limb and then was rising up into the branches until he was even with a joyously happy Peter. “Come here. You’re scaring your mother.”
Peter wrapped his arms around Rozz’s neck and snuggled him.
I bit my lip and tried not to have a panic attack while gazing twelve feet up a tree at my helpless baby. “Rozz,” I said with undisguised, naked fear.
“I’ve got him. Stop worrying.” He used his empathic abilities to calm my frazzled nerves while lowering himself to the ground. Then, he detached his grappler and retracted it into his wrist sheath. “Here you go,” he said as he gave Peter to me.
“Oh, my baby!” Closing my eyes, I held him in his silly costume, thankful he hadn’t been hurt. “You scared me.”
“Mama, down!”
I kept a tight hold of him and tried to slow the frantic beating of my heart. “What if you had fallen?” I swayed with him in my arms. “Oh, my baby.”
“Teagan, he’s Eloneave. Climbing is as natural to him as walking is to us,” Fitz said. “Let him play. He knows how to glide down and probably wouldn’t
fly into a tree, but if he did, he could hold onto it with his claws.”
I stared at Fitz as if he’d hit his head.
Rozz said, “He’s right. If Peter gets stuck in a tree, I’ll go up and get him.”
“Yes, or Thunderdrop will,” Fitz added.
Neema had her fingers in the tree’s bark and scowled up the trunk. “Where Drop at?” she asked.
With Peter clutched to my chest, I looked around and felt another cold wave of fear. “Niklos? Niklos!” I called.
Fitz and Rozz scanned our surroundings. Then, Rozz jogged off into the forest. Fitz picked up Neema, and we hurried after him. Reaching out to my son through our bond, I didn’t sense any fear from him. Instead, he was full of so much curiosity and playfulness that he didn’t even notice my terror.
“Niklos, where are you?” I called.
Then, I heard his laughter.
Rozz stopped and said, “He’s here.”
“Where?” Fitz asked before I could.
“Chirp!” Thunderdrop called. He was perched atop a branch a few feet above a hastily constructed web which resembled a net that he’d made above a berry bush.
Upon the web and appearing somewhat stuck to its strands by the abdomen of his spider costume was Niklos. He wasn’t alone. “Hi, I’m Nik. What’s your name?” My son was talking to a hand-sized Silk spider who appeared to be newly hatched. Thunderdrop was supervising them. “Drop made me a web. Want to play?”
The small spider blinked its eyes and slowly moved one leg at a time as it got closer to Niklos. The little spider was clearly as intrigued with the little boy as he was with it. Fitz started to move toward Niklos, but I grabbed his wrist to stop him. My eyes sought out Thunderdrop’s, and a feeling of love and friendship passed between us sparking a memory. The spiderling moved its legs, touching the strands of Thunderdrop’s web as it crawled closer to Niklos.
“Hey,” he said, giggling when the spiderling touched its mouthparts to his palm.
Fitz and Rozz didn’t understand, but Thunderdrop and I did.
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