Ovation (Galaxy Circus #9)

Chapter 31

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Brannock

L ila and I open all the doors in this block, and when the doors open, I can’t wait any longer.

“Chloe,” I call, my voice husky with emotions.

“Daddy?” a small voice replies hesitantly.

I spin around to where the voice came from. “Chloe?” I ask, clenching my hands into fists in an attempt not to rip the door off the hinges and barge into the room. I don’t want to scare the people the boy called her foster parents. What is with that?

“Daddy?” My daughter appears in the doorway, flanked by a man and woman. The woman has a baby in her arms, and the man has a hand on Chloe’s shoulder. A growl rips out of my lips before I can stop it, and my spines bristle aggressively. “Daddy, it is you! I knew you would come.”

She throws herself at me, and I pick her up and swing her around. She’s in her human glamour. Her dark hair is in two braids, and her crystal blue eyes sparkle with happiness. Her plump cheeks are round, and I can feel through her clothes she has been well looked after.

“Oh, my baby. I promised you I would.”

I stop swinging her and hold her in my arms, just looking at my baby girl. She looks older in the few months we’ve been separated, and I feel a violent need to kill Relgrael again. Thankfully, Aaz’axian children age at a normal rate and she’s not suddenly a teenager. I’m not sure I would be able to handle that.

She puts her palms on my cheeks. “What took you so long?”

“See the pretty lady over there?” I nod at Lila. Chloe’s eyes shift to her, and she smiles.

“She has pretty hair,” she whispers.

“That’s Lila, and she’s going to be your mom. Her grandpas own a circus, and we are all going to go live with them, but they needed help first, so that’s why I took so long,” I tell her solemnly.

“Did you say circus?” the man from Chloe’s room snaps, and I turn my attention to him.

“Yes, the Galaxy Circus,” I tell him. He’s obviously heard of it.

“Oh my god.” The woman next to him sways, and he wraps an arm around her shoulders and pulls her closer as she mutters something.

I study her, and my eyes widen in shock. “Holy shit,” I mutter, and Chloe slaps a hand over my mouth.

“You need to put a dollar in the swear jar, Daddy,” she says.

I’m not paying attention to her though. Instead, I’m watching her foster parents who are staring at Lila like she hung the sun.

“Liliana?” the man says, and Lila turns to him

“I go by Lila. Liliana is my grandma,” she says, but her words trail off and her golden skin pales like she’s seen a ghost.

“Dad? Mom?” she asks hesitantly. “You aren’t dead.”

Lila’s mom, Alina, gasps as tears stream down her face. “Oh my god, you’re alive.”

“Look at our baby, all grown up,” Lila’s dad, Marcus, mutters, sounding just as shocked as both females.

The three of them move toward one another almost in unison. They collide in a clash of limbs, and I hear a wail as the baby in the woman’s arms starts to cry. They all freeze and look down at the infant.

“You have a baby?” Lila murmurs and runs a finger over the small being’s cheek. It’s maybe four months old, slightly bigger and chubbier than a newborn.

“This is your brother, Bastien,” Alina tells her.

Lila sobs, and tears stream down her face as she stares down at the little boy in awe.

“Why are they crying?” Chloe asks me, dragging my attention back to her.

“That’s Lila’s mommy and daddy, and they have been apart way longer than you and I were,” I tell her, and she frowns.

“That’s so sad, but they should be happy, not crying,” she says, watching them.

“When your emotions are too big for your own body, sometimes crying is the only way to let them out,” I remind her, and she nods.

“I was so sad when I first came here, and I couldn’t stop crying. That’s why they let me live with Marcus and Alina. They would give me cuddles and make me feel so much better,” she explains, and even if these two weren’t my wife’s parents, I would never be able to thank them enough for what they did for my girl.

“What’s going on?” Xavier approaches from behind. “Lila’s emotions are all over the place.” I step to the side so he can see what’s going on.

“Fuck me,” he mutters, his eyes going wide. “Is that Alina and Marcus?”

“You need to put a dollar in the swear jar,” Chloe says pertly, and he turns his attention to her and grins. It’s that grin that no one can resist. I see her disapproval soften, and she smiles back at him.

“I will make sure we have one at home. God knows your new mommy is going to fill it in no time,” he tells her, giving her a pinch on the cheek. “And aren’t you a beauty. I’m Xavier, and you’re going to come and live at our house. We have five more kiddos at home, but you’re going to be the best big sister. Does that sound okay?”

“I’m already a big sister,” she says, pointing to the baby, “but I’m a good big sister, so I will look after the others as well,” she promises and seems no worse for wear despite her ordeal.

Behind us, Tirrian and Saxon explain to all the others what is about to happen before shuffling them all through the complex to the transport.

Lila and her parents talk quietly, but she looks up and sees us watching. We’re the only ones remaining, and we are just waiting for the three of them.

“Mom and Dad, I’d like you to meet two of my mates. This is Brannock, Chloe’s dad, and you might remember Xavier from when we were smaller.”

Alina gasps. “Xavier Colest?”

Xavier gives her a small wave. “Hey, Alina, it’s nice to see you alive. My parents are going to be so pissed with themselves that they didn’t search for you and trusted the police report.”

“That’s another dollar,” Chloe sings, and I smother a grin.

“Two of your mates?” Marcus says slowly. “How many do you have?” He’s frowning, and I chuckle, knowing his fatherly instinct is rearing its ugly head.

“Oh, ah, um… I mean, it’s not that many, right? The other mimic I met had twenty,” Lila stammers, and both of her parents gasp.

“You’re a mimic?” Marcus asks, sounding awed.

“Yup, and I have whisperer powers,” Lila tells them, and they stare at her with pride and amazement in their eyes.

Alina beams. “Our little girl is so freaking powerful!”

“Why doesn’t she have to put a dollar in the swear jar?” I hear Xavier ask Chloe, who shakes her head stubbornly.

“Freaking isn’t a swear word,” she tells him.

“I noticed you didn’t answer my question,” Marcus prompts Lila, and she sighs.

“Twelve,” she mumbles quietly.

Marcus frowns. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I heard you correctly.” He chuckles, looking at his wife. “I thought you said you had twelve mates, that would be ridiculous.”

Alina isn’t laughing, just looking at her husband with pity in her eyes.

“Nope, you heard right. Lila has twelve mates. Come on, there are a few more out in the main area. I’ll introduce you, and we kind of want to blow this popsicle stand. The family lizard is going to torch it for us.” Xavier waves his hand in the direction we need to go.

“Liliana,” Marcus growls as Lila starts to move.

“I go by Lila now, Dad,” she growls back, and Alina sighs. Xavier and I snicker like children, and our wife glares at us.

“Can we maybe do this later? I don’t know about you, but twenty years in this hellhole is long enough. I don’t want to wait until you have a man tantrum to get out,” Alina scolds her husband.

I turn my head and hide my laughter in Chloe’s neck. She giggles. I like Lila’s mom. She’s feisty, just like Lila is. I can see where she gets it from.

“You’re going to be in so much trouble,” I mutter to Xavier as we leave the cell block behind. Chloe is tucked into my side, and I have no plans of letting her go anytime soon. She plays with my spikes and giggles, waving at the others behind us. “Lila’s going to kick your ass.”

“As long as it isn’t Marcus. I remember what his Skarrian powers are, or one of them at least. He has the ability to throw lightning. I bet that shit hurts.” He winces.

“Don’t forget she can do the same thing in her cat form.”

“Fuu… dge,” he finishes, sneaking a side glance at Chloe.

When we arrive back to the first cell block, it’s in chaos. Some of the children are reuniting with parents, and there are tears of joy. Musette and Mehira, along with Tirrian and Saxon, are trying to get them to leave.

In the medical facility, a woman is wailing. Zeydan’s god form is gone, and he is wiping sweat from his sister’s brow.

“Lila, I need you now,” Link yells at her. “Celestian form. I have to do a cesarian. She can’t give birth to this baby naturally. The spikes are preventing it.”

“Chloe’s mom wasn’t able to either. Thankfully we had access to Savannah when it was time,” I say, remembering that dark time and feeling sad. Hopefully Sanshia survives, though even if she doesn’t, she will reincarnate, but then we won’t be able to return her powers to her. Shit.

“Lila, she needs to live so we can deal with the orb,” I remind her as she starts to strip off her clothes.

“I don’t know how to do a cesarian,” she says as her father snaps, “Lila, put your clothes back on now, there are children around.”

She ignores him and changes into her Celestian form, wincing as her wings break through her skin. Xavier waves a hand and clothes her in one of their traditional gowns. She hurries over to the bed, her hands glowing with power.

Her dad just stammers as his wife rubs a soothing hand on his back, her baby cradled against her. I realize he’s in some kind of sling.

“I’m doing the cesarian, I need you to heal her once I have the baby out,” Link says, holding up a scalpel. Next to him, the midwife is waiting with a blanket to receive the baby.

I look around and find Ghosie leaning up against the wall, snoring peacefully. I move over to him. “Chloe, this is my friend Ghosie. He was very tired and needed a nap. Can you look after him for me while I help the others?”

She nods, sticking her thumb in her mouth as I put her down on the floor next to him. “Carebear,” she mumbles around her thumb and climbs into his lap, making herself comfortable. “I’ll watch him, Daddy.”

Secure in the notion my daughter is safe, I hurry over to the bed. “You know the baby isn’t going to look like a human one, right?” I ask the midwife.

“Yes, it’s fine. Some of my charges have alt forms. Sometimes I wonder if I’m raising children or a zoo,” she jokes, and I step out of the way. I wouldn’t want her to drop it in surprise.

“Can I do anything to help?” I ask Link, but before he can reply, Zeydan speaks to me.

“Put your glamour on please. I don’t want Sanshia reliving her trauma.” His tone is terse, but I’m not offended. I just wish I’d have thought about it myself. I change my form to the one I’m most comfortable in anyway after having lived with it for hundreds of years.

“Can you please just help the others clear the base out? We have it all handled, but I would like to move as soon as the baby is born. Sanshia needs more help than this base can give her,” Link requests.

“Don’t let her die, Lila. We need her to return her powers to her, and we don’t have time to wait for years for her to reincarnate,” Zeydan reminds her, and Lila’s eyes widen with panic.

“Okay.” She holds her hands up, at the ready.

“As soon as the baby is out, heal her,” Link instructs. “She’s hemorrhaging from the baby, and she really needs a blood transfusion, but I’m not sure if normal blood will be suitable.”

“Tap me.” Zeydan holds out his arm, and Link shakes his head.

“Not yet. I need you to talk to her and keep her conscious. Brannock, send word to the ship that Aarin and Hurricane need to donate as much as they can.”

I hurry over to the console Silac is still sitting at, and he presses a button. Susie appears on the screen, looking slightly harassed.

“What, Silac? We are a little busy.”

“Susie, Link has asked for Aarin and Hurricane to donate some blood. We have their sister Sanshia here, and she’s hemorrhaging. He’s worried nondivine blood won’t be suitable, and Zeydan is too busy keeping her conscious to donate.”

Susie drops her annoyed look and gives a small nod. “I’ll draw it myself.”

“Tell Mark we are incoming with a malnourished female who has just given birth and will need blood transfusions, IV nutrients, and painkillers. Prepare a bed for her,” Link calls across the room as his blade slides across Sanshia’s stomach.

“Oh my god!” Alina blanches at the sight as Link then cuts through layers of muscle and fat to get to her uterus. He breaks it open and puts the scalpel down before reaching in for the baby.

He grimaces. “Get ready, Lila. The baby has made a mess of her insides. I hope it doesn’t permanently scar her. Hopefully once she regains her full god power, it will all heal as it should,” he says as he pulls out a perfectly formed Aaz’axian baby, complete with all their tiny little spikes and membranes.

Sanshia has fallen silent, and when I glance at her face, I think she might be unconscious.

“It’s a girl,” the midwife announces as she takes the baby and rubs it all over, cleaning off the blood, and the baby starts to wail.

“A girl?” Sanshia mutters, opening her eyes slightly to take a peek.

“Do you want to hold her?” the midwife asks the goddess, but she turns her head away and closes her eyes again. A wave of sorrow hits me, but I don’t blame the goddess.

Lila is busy healing Sanshia, her powers glowing bright white as they work to mend her broken body. First, the internal organs, and then each layer of muscle, fat, and skin until she is whole once more.

Lila is panting by the time she is done, and she stumbles as she steps back. I leap forward to support her.

“Good job,” I whisper and give her a kiss on the cheek.

“We need to move,” Link says, pulling his gloves off. “Zeydan, you get that end of the bed, I’ll take this one.”

They don’t stick around, hurrying the gurney down the corridor to the transporter.