Ovation (Galaxy Circus #9)

Chapter 22

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Lila

B y the time Link and Saxon arrive, Magenta has regained consciousness. Saxon takes one look at a frozen Vanity and pales.

“Shit, what happened?” he asks, looking around the now deserted cafe, his eyes settling on the mess Magenta made of the table when she tripped. I asked everyone to move to another cafe while we sorted this out, and they were all happy to comply, but I don’t doubt that rumors of what happened are already circling the ship.

“So it turns out that Magenta is Vanity’s blood rose,” I explain, looking down at my friend who is still on the floor.

Mark’s hands are glowing as he checks her out, but they stop, and he sits back on his heels. “You’re alright. Your blood pressure plummeted with your shock, causing you to pass out. I’m going to raise your legs to help with that.” He gestures to one of the chairs, and Link moves it into place for him, knowing exactly what he wants. “I also healed the cut on your hand from the glass.”

Magenta still looks a little pale, and I crouch down next to her, taking her hand. “Are you okay?”

I’m referring to her mental state now that I know she is physically okay. She blinks a couple of times, staring at me without seeing. I look to Mark and Link for advice, but Link just makes a be patient hand gesture.

“Mags?” I push, looking to where Vanity is still frozen. “Hey, I think that should last, but maybe we should get Xavier or Zeydan here to reinforce it,” I suggest to the others. Susie gives me a thumbs-up and moves to the side to contact one of my power hitters.

“Did she say I am her blood rose?” Magenta asks, her voice quiet and unsure.

I nod my head. “Yeah, she did. Have you even met her?” I ask. I’ve been so busy that I’ve only seen Mags during rehearsals the last couple of days.

“I met her briefly during rehearsals when Titus and Malik invited me to watch Thorn rehearse with them.”

Huh. Mags was hanging out with Titus and Malik? I hadn’t been privy to that rumor yet. Maybe they are keeping it low-key for now.

I raise an eyebrow at my friend, and she blushes. “They’ve been helping me avoid Nixie since she returned.”

That makes me frown. Although I understand it, I think they need to talk, even if it’s to clear the air.

She rolls her eyes at my frown. “It’s fine, we talked. I’m like whatever. I’m happy she found a mate. She wanted to rekindle things, but I’m not sure I want to. I’m hurt, and I’m not ready to play nice. Malik and Titus are a nice, nonsexual distraction.” She stresses the word nonsexual. Hmm, maybe she really meant it when she told me she wanted more.

“Dude, you are preaching to the choir. I completely understand. Trust is going to be a long road walked.”

She looks at me with confusion in her eyes, and I realize that maybe my metaphors are unfamiliar to her.

I shake my head. “Never mind. Let’s turn our attention to the elephant in the room.” I wave my hand at the frozen Vilaxian. “How do you feel about her and this situation?”

“She’s not an elephant. Is Lila alright in the head? Should she really be in charge of such a large operation?” I hear Aarin mutter to Mark, who snorts with amusement and shushes him.

“I’m her blood rose,” Mags mumbles again, and this time it sounds less like shock and more like awe. “She wants me despite me being Skarrian.” She looks to Saxon with hope in her eyes.

His worry softens, and he nods, smiling gently at her. “Yes. She doesn’t care who or what you are. You are her perfect match.”

Mags smiles, and this time it’s blinding. She wriggles, lifting her feet off the chair, and gestures for us to move so she can get up. Link offers her a hand, and she gets to her feet. I follow her when Saxon offers me some help too.

I give him a kiss on the cheek and turn my attention back to my alien bestie. She’s staring at Vanity with awe. She reaches out to touch her, but I slap her hand away. She squeaks with surprise and jumps backward before glaring at me.

“What the fuck was that for?” she demands, and I grimace sheepishly.

“Ah, I’m not sure if the frozen state will stand up to interference. It’s best not to risk it yet.”

Just as I say that, Xavier pops in behind Aarin, making him jump and squeal like a girl. Xavier snickers when the deity glares at him, but thankfully he doesn’t say anything. I don’t have time for man squabbles.

He inspects the frozen Vilaxian and lets out a whistle. “This is a tight spell, Lila, good job. She isn’t going anywhere,” he praises me, and my skin prickles with goosebumps at his compliment. “So a bloodsucking girlfriend, Mags? What fun,” he says to my friend, giving her a wink, and I roll my eyes. God, could he get any more irreverent?

Saxon glares at him before turning his attention back to Magenta. “Is this something you are open to?” he asks, and I brace myself for her reaction. I wouldn’t blame her if she needed some time to think about it, but of course in true Magenta style, that isn’t the case.

“Hell fucking yes I’m okay with it. Unfreeze her, and I’ll seal that blood rose bond here and now,” she says enthusiastically, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

“But we need the blood rose chalice, and Xenos returned it to the queen when the circus broke up because of John’s medical emergency,” I say, and her face drops. “Without it, you could die during the process. We’re going to have to wait until the queen can send it again.”

I hate that I had to pump the brakes. She looked so excited, and I could feel how thrilled she was to be the one who was being pursued instead of her doing the pursuing for a change.

“Hmm,” Saxon muses. “I think we might actually be in luck. Sabine sent the blood rose chalice along with Musette and Mehira in case either of them found their blood rose on the tour. She didn’t want them to wait.”

Magenta’s disappointment turns back into excitement, and she bounces up and down, clapping her hands. “Let’s do this.”

“Do you know what’s going to happen?” I ask her, and she shakes her head, her pink purple hair flying everywhere.

“No, but I don’t care. I just want to make her my mate.”

Aww, that’s so fucking sweet. “Well, okay then. How about I teleport you to your room, and then Xavier can bring Vanity while Saxon finds his cousins and grabs the blood rose chalice?”

I look at my two mates, and they seem to agree with the plan.

“Magenta, I want you and Vanity to come see me when you are done. I want to make sure your body makes the same kind of adjustments that Lila’s did, just to be sure,” Link orders her, and she agrees.

“I’m sorry lunch was a bust. Can we try again soon?” I say to Susie, who is standing off to the side with both Mark and Aarin. She gives me a smile. “Of course,” she replies before giving Magenta a thumbs-up. “Get some,” she says, cheering, and Magenta laughs.

“Oh, I plan on it.” I take her hand, and we teleport to her bedroom, Xavier following behind us with Vanity.

It doesn’t take Saxon long to find his cousins and grab the blood rose chalice. I release Vanity from her frozen state and get her to calm down long enough to explain what needs to happen, but she already knows, so we leave them to it.

“How exciting,” Musette gushes as we walk down the corridor of one of the residential levels. “I have hope for us now.” She gives her sister’s hand a squeeze, and Mehira nods.

“Yes, I wish we could go around cutting people, which is an acceptable way of testing someone on Vilax, but I’m pretty sure that won’t fly here.”

“You think?” I say dryly, looking at my cousin-in-law.

“Don’t forget that someone who smells especially good to you has a higher chance of being your blood rose,” Saxon reminds them.

“Yes, and you could always ask them if they would mind being tested,” I suggest, and they seem happy with that.

“What are you two doing now?” Musette asks, and I look at my watch. “I missed lunch, and I’m starving, so grabbing a quick bite before I go for a swim, and then I need to get ready for a thing tonight,” I tell them.

Musette wrinkles her nose. “Of course, we will leave you to it.” The two of them take off without a backward glance.

“Was it something I said?” I ask the guys.

Xavier chuckles. “You said ‘a quick bite.’ I think they thought you and Saxon were going to bury your fangs in one another.”

I giggle and shrug. “Well, I wouldn’t be opposed,” I reply with a wink.

Xavier doesn’t hesitate. He reaches out with both hands, putting one on each of us, and we tumble through space, landing at the base of his bed.

I squeal as the two of them lunge at me and throw me on the bed. I do enjoy a little afternoon delight.

T hat evening, I’m waiting in the green room of Orion’s Belt. Apparently, the bar only has adult entertainment twice a week, and tonight is the first time it’s been advertised since the ship left Skarr because, well, there are no strippers on board.

Xavier had to tell Sully and Tully the truth, but then he made it so they couldn’t share that truth with the whole ship, which also means he had to return their previous memories. They apologized profusely to me for the previous Madovian, but I assured them not one of us held it against them. After all, she had fake documents that said she was a Filani.

I adjust one of the veils that are wrapped around my body. I have to dance around on stage, removing veil after veil. We discussed what I was going to do when I got down to the last few. I can’t very well put on the same show the last one did—it was horrifying—but apparently I can hypnotize them all to believe they are seeing a Filani. I watched a video of what that actually looks like and practiced earlier on Xavier. If I can fool him, then I can fool anyone. He claims it worked, and he better not be lying to me. He says he saw large, bouncing boobs, a skinny waist, and an enticing cunt, which is the opposite of the hot mess of a Madovian I’m pretending to be.

The snakes that are my hair writhe in agitation, and the tiny wings at my back flutter with expectation. I pace back and forth, wrestling internally with the monster that wants to basically set fire to the world. I kind of feel sorry for these women. It must be exhausting being them. No wonder they hire themselves out for violence and mayhem. I would too if I constantly felt like a raging hormonal psychopath.

“Are you ready?” Xavier enters the room, and I lunge and hiss at him, and he puts up a quick barrier between us. “Fuck, Lila, calm yourself.”

I smack against the invisible barrier and yelp as my face stings. That has me regaining some sense. I rub my nose slits, and I feel a trickle of blood run down my chin from where my fangs cut into my lip.

“Sorry,” he says, and I wave him off.

“Actually, it helped, thanks,” I tell him, grabbing a tissue and blotting at the damage. “I can think a little clearer now.”

“Well then, you’re welcome. Saxon, Brannock, and Tirrian are in the audience, and I will join them. They are invisible like we were for Silac’s wedding, so you won’t see us, and I’ll be glamoured as a bouncer.”

“That’s good. We don’t want to spook the mole. If they saw the four of you, they would be suspicious since you’re supposed to be happily mated and off the market—not that I care if you want to go see strippers. Everyone likes some pretty entertainment. I know I do.” Susie and I went to see the Magic Mike show back on Earth, and it was extremely entertaining. Who am I to judge the guys if they want to do the same? As long as there is no touching involved, I don’t care.

“Do you suspect anyone in the crowd?” I ask, and he nods.

“A couple of the bridge crew are in to see the show. Any one of them probably could have made it so the alarms didn’t sound or the sensors didn’t pick up a ship hiding in our shadow. We made a list for Link and Silac, and they are going to do a deep dive into their backgrounds—way more than we do for regular employees. We’re going to check accounts and see if any of them have been paid unusual amounts recently.”

“Good thinking. I hope it’s someone getting paid and no one with a grudge against the circus.”

He winces. “I guess we need to look at family members as well. There are many reasons someone could be working for the Syndicate—grudge and payment being just two of them. It could be blackmail as well. Look at Brannock.”

I start to feel annoyed again that someone is betraying us, and the snakes on my head begin to lunge and snap at the air. “Let’s get this over with. I don’t want to spend any more time in this body than necessary.”

He frowns. “Are you going to be okay for the Syndicate meeting?”

I hear his worry, and I nod. “Yes, because there will be an end in sight, and once this is all over, I never have to take this form again. Some of her thoughts make me want to hurl, like how good you would look round and swollen with my eggs, but not as good as you would look nourishing my young, and by that, she means while they are eating you.”

He blanches and steps back. “Ah, yeah, that is disturbing.”

“Make sure I don’t hurt anyone out there,” I say quietly, and he gives me a solemn nod before hurrying out. I follow after him, the four inch heels making me taller and slightly unsteady on my feet.

I stand in the middle of the stage, the lights dimmed, when the music starts up and a spotlight illuminates me. The crowd gasps as I start to undulate sensually, sliding the scarves off my body and twirling them around. I begin with the ones on my arms, then the fabric that hangs over my thighs, and the one wrapped around the back of my body.

I bend and snap, showing them my pert round ass and shaking it for them, all the while letting the hypnotizing magic soak into the people viewing the show. Most of them should be seeing a Filani succubus, but in case our mole has an illusion nullifying pendant, we decided it was best for me to be in the Madovian form. All four of my guys are wearing the same kind of pendant so they wouldn’t be distracted by my performance and could keep an eye on the crowd.

It’s hard for me to see out into it with the spotlight shining directly into my eyes, but when I spin back around and drop to my knees to crawl seductively across the stage, I notice Captain Lester is sitting at one of the small tables near the stage. Behind him are the weapons and security officers. At another table full of jeering, cheering men, I see two of our pilots. Xavier was right, there are a few people we need to look into.

I stand up again, and a hand reaches out to tug at one of the remaining veils. The last two are over my face and the crosscut in my stomach, but a security guard, who I am almost certain is Xavier glamoured, tackles him to the ground, and a brawl breaks out. I take it as my cue to get off the stage. We have our suspects now. We can let Link and Silac do their thing and focus on the raid for Area 51.

As soon as I return to the dressing room, I shed the Madovian form before running to the bathroom and vomiting. Her mind is twisted and sick and not a nice place to be. My own naga form was nothing like that, though she did have the same unhealthy breeding obsession as all of my creatures.

Thank goodness for birth control. If it were up to them, I would be permanently pregnant. We do not have time for that at the moment. I need to finish this thing with the Syndicate and make it through my first season as ringmaster, and then we will reconsider. Maybe by then the grandpas will be happy to come back and help out. I can’t command a circus if I’m stuck sitting on eggs as a dragon or having to hibernate like the nagas do. That is a concern for another time though.

I wipe my face and get dressed, then I head out to see how much damage has been done to the club.