Page 35 of Veiled Vixen

This is not a lie. But it’s only half true. I knew there was a high probability of Nyleena being pregnant when we left Harem six weeks ago, but I don’t know that for sure.

Veila stares at something over my shoulder. But when I turn I realize she’s just staring off into space. Lost. Finally she says, “I’ve been using a chemical.”

“For what?”

“To get pregnant. The Cygnians have a way to make babies in the womb too. And it involves this chemical formula. But the only time it ever worked was with Corla.” Veila narrows her eyes. “Was Corla here with you when you arrived that first day?”

“Of course not. We shot her through a spin node and sent her somewhere else.”

“Where?”

“Who knows? They were her coordinates. Just like ALCOR’s gates were her coordinates too. We didn’t have anything to do with any of this, Veila. We were pawns. That’s all. We did what Corla told us and then, when we arrived here, we did what ALCOR told us.”

She looks at me. “Are you tired of it yet? Or is this how you operate now?”

I shrug. “I’m kind of a go-with-the-flow guy.”

“Boring,” she says.

“Like you’d know. I would not call my life boring at all. It was pretty fucking great, actually. Until Serpint got Draden killed, that is. Then…” But I stop. Because this line of thought feels like betrayal. And I’ve been trying not to let it take over inside my head since Luck, Lady, Beauty, and I came back to Harem for Draden’s memorial service.

Yet here it is again. These thoughts won’t go away so…

“I blame him,” I say.

“Who?”

And when I meet Veila’s gaze she looks… different. Younger, maybe. Possibly even softer. Definitely a lot more vulnerable than I’d ever have suspected.

“Serpint. He stole Corla, got Draden killed, and then…” I shrug with my hands and let out a long sigh. “Then everything changed. And almost nothing good has happened since. And I hate that I blame him, because Serpint… he probably is my real brother. And I should not feel this way about him.”

“Hmm,” she says. “I feel the same way about Corla. She ruined everything for me. Her and her big plans. Dragging me along with her.”

“Wait. What? How do you figure she dragged you along? She was the one in the cryopod on Cetus Station. You were the one in charge.”

“Yeah.” Veila laughs. “Yup. I was. But it wasn’t my plan. This whole thing was her plan. I was just doing what I was told.” Her eyes lift up to search mine, darting back and forth. “Did you know I can shift time?”

“Time? What?”

“Silvers. We can shift time when we…” She flips that stupid hand again. “We take time backwards. That’s why it’s so difficult to get pregnant. That’s why we do the insemination artificially.”

“Sounds like a really terrible reproductive strategy if you ask me.”

She turns her back to me and sighs out the words, “It is.” She pauses, then says, “I’m going to miscarry these babies. Not in a few weeks, but very soon. I can already feel it starting.”

I can’t see her hands because her back is turned. But I’m pretty sure they’re cradling her stomach.

Do I have feelings about that?

No. No, I don’t. They’re not my babies. Why should I care if she miscarries? It’s probably for the best. Who knows what would come out of her if she brought them to term?

But this new Corla revelation? Now that is some news. Because I suspected. Of course, that suspicion was planted by Veila, so… I can’t really rely on it. But it feels very true to me and I have a sudden urge to go back and talk to Crux again until we work it out.

I’m just about to tell her I need to leave when she says, “Those comic books I told you about?”

I furrow my brows. “What about them?”

She turns back around to face me again. “Were the stories about you guys true?”