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But the Syllens didn’t care.

Granted, they were happy that the terrible events that took place helped prevent other species from being harmed or getting exploited in a similar fashion. But as far as they were concerned, out of sight, out of mind. So long as those criminals were no longer here on Mazeria, threatening their world and way of life, the UPO and the Enforcers were welcome to do with them as they pleased.

Epilogue

Taelen

Ten days after we destroyed Procrea’s building, Maeve informed us that they found huge warehouses containing the stolen melia stones. It had been wonderful news considering how long it would have taken the Kalrins to recreate such an insane quantity. Sadly, only a little over half the stolen stones were recovered. But we still welcomed it.

Thanks to the audits we had seriously dreaded, tensions significantly dropped between my people and the off-worlders. As a result, the tribes allowed some of them to assist us in putting the stones back in the caves. Their biggest contribution was bringing soil to the caves to compensate for the missing stones. Using Wonthonnas to bring down the massive quantity required would have taken well over a year. Instead, we completed the work in slightly more than three months.

By then, every member of our respective tribes had fully awakened. The fauna had returned, and the flora was thriving. The world we had fallen asleep in was now fully restored. And soon, we would hold the various festivals where all the tribes gathered in celebration.

Mirella had wonderfully adapted to our world, but she was still missing out on many things she couldn’t explore yet or fully experience. We still had not officially bonded. I had been ready to proceed with bonding right after Procrea’s downfall. Any reservations I might have had as to where her loyalties lay evaporated that day.

As we were dealing with audits and sorting out our relationship with the colony, bonding at that moment wouldn’t have made sense. We didn’t have a very clear timeline as to how receiving my bonding fluids would affect Mirella. Based on how much time it took humans who bonded with Edocits, we suspected my mate would be out of commission for approximately a week. But having her by my side during those first days in the city had gone a long way appeasing the locals.

After that, I kept wondering if she was ready. Every time I thought of bringing up the topic, I backed down, not wanting her to feel pressured to say yes. The days turned into weeks, and then the weeks into months. The more time passed, the less I knew how to broach the subject.

Lily and Athusa bonded then married according to a mix of Syllen and Edocit customs, which only made matters worse. A part of me hoped Mirella would bring it up or show some sort of desire for us to do the same, but she didn’t. My mate seemed totally content with things the way they were.

Shortly after their wedding, Lily took us to the Ungaro Tribe’s maturing chamber where Syllen babies completed their gestation. The secure cave was impossible to see unless you knew exactly where to go. Inside, pod plants with translucent petals sheltered our babies until they reached full maturity. We could connect our veris at the base of the plants to send thoughts to our younglings.

The chamber mesmerized Mirella. So soon after the awakening, only two pods were occupied. Seeing how transfixed she was by the growing babies, I believed this would be it. As she couldn’t talk underwater, my mate waited until we returned to the guest bedroom that night to question me further.

“I suspected that Syllen babies would mature outside of their mothers. But I thought they would do the whole Edocit kangaroo thing, then hop into the same knots you used during the Long Sleep,” she mused aloud.

“Kangaroo?” I asked, confused.

She smiled. “It’s a mammal on Earth. The female gives birth to an underdeveloped baby. It comes out of one of her three vaginas—yes, they have three—and it crawls up its mother’s fur to enter a pouch on her stomach where it will finish maturing. We often compare Edocit females to kangaroos in that they also give birth to an underdeveloped baby who climbs a Mother Tree on its own to enter the knot where they will mature.”

“Aah, I see. We also do the ‘kangaroo’ thing but not with one of the Great Mothers,” I explained with a smile. “Unlike the Edocits, we’re not landbound creatures. We need a connection both with water and plants to properly mature. So our females birth our tadpoles after two months, and they complete the gestation in the pods.”

“That’s awesome!” she said with enthusiasm. “The Syllens truly are an amazing species.”

“Thank you,” I said with a smile.

To my dismay, she didn’t make a comment about our own future babies. When did we want to start working on it? How many did we want? Instead, she mentioned how she would have to bombard my father with questions about the inner workings of the maturation pods. And from there, the conversation shifted to the wonders he’d been teaching her about Mazeria’s flora and their plants for the Botanical Garden.

We settled in our comfortable routine back in the village. As Syllens didn’t meddle in other people’s personal lives, no one questioned the fact that we were still not bonded after all this time. I suspected that most of them assumed it was due to the human tradition of waiting years before crossing that line. I tried to convince myself that it was the reason Mirella didn’t seem in a rush.

But three weeks later, I was losing my mind. Unable to stand the uncertainty anymore, I seized the opportunity to talk to Lily while visiting the Ungaro Tribe to prepare for the first harvest. I took her aside to have a private conversation. As soon as I explained the source of my distress to her, she gave me such an unimpressed look that even my leinis wanted to shrivel up in shame.

“Seriously, you’re both idiots,” Lily said while shaking her head at me. “Then again, Athusa was acting just as silly as you currently are. Since he was tiptoeing around, I told him I wanted us to bond. I could have smacked him for how relieved he was because he thought I wanted to wait a year or two.”

Under different circumstances, the incredulous way in which she rolled her eyes would have been hilarious. I also probably would have teased Athusa to no end about it. Except I had done the exact same thing he did and was dragging it out endlessly.

“But why didn’t Mirella say that to me, too?” I asked, the worry that she was indeed not ready to bond coming back in force.

“Because, like you, she doesn’t want you to feel pressured into taking an irreversible step until you’re ready,” she explained patiently.

“I’ve been ready for months! We’re soulmates!” I exclaimed, as if it was self-evident.

“Yes, but have you made it clear to her that you were ready?” Lily challenged.

“Yes, when we first met—”

“A lot of bad shit went down after you first met,” Lily interrupted. “Did she tell you that she feared you may no longer want to marry her after what you found in Procrea’s labs?”