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Chapter Sixteen
Anungodlyroarpiercesthe air, funneling down the stairs as we reach the top. It’s so loud, it doesn’t dawn on me that it’s coming from outside. But Cal’s striding out the door, pulling me behind him. When we step into the dim light from their crazy eclipsed sun, I glance around, stupefied by the crowd of Orclans.
Cal doesn’t stop. Instead, he scoops me up, pushing through the throng. “What’s going on?” I yell right in his ear.
“I don’t know, but I see Luc and Emma just up ahead.”
I can’t see them. In a crowd like this, I’m sorry, but most of the Orclans look really similar. Within a minute, we’re halfway across the Temple’s expansive lawn that borders fields with what look like crops. There are trees off in the distance, but they look orderly too. Like orchards.
We reach Luc right as I realize there’s a circular space up ahead. When we get to the edge, I see all the trainees holding back everyone with their long training sticks. As soon as we get there, though, they part, allowing us through.
Up ahead, I see Nako crouched over Alexa, who’s sitting in Serlo’s lap. When it registers they’re both covered in blood, I wiggle. “Let me down. Oh, no! What happened?”
Thankfully, I realize an older Orclan I’ve never seen before is studying Alexa, checking her legs. Was she attacked? A wild animal or something?
Malk’s standing formally in front of Serlo with his arms locked to his sides. “I’ll just leave—”
Waving Emma and me closer, Serlo’s booming voice carries easily into my translator. “Malk was just about to tell us something important. I still haven’t explained everything to Alexa. Perhaps now would be a good time to share with everyone.”
Serlo doesn’t even glance at us, keeping Malk pinned until he deflates, sinking onto the ground and moving closer. “Perhaps it is for the best.”
What the fuck? Does this have something to do with Alexa being hurt?
Malk’s large green hand reaches out for Emma’s beside me, and what the grumpy Trainer says is a shock. “I’m sorry, Emma.” His eyes drop to where he’s squeezing her hand. “I was only worried about my son. As a father, I’ve always tried to make the right decisions for my neonates, giving opportunities for their future endeavors whenever I could. It may have seemed excessive to be so unkind, but there’s so much we don’t know about you and where you’ve come from. I had to be certain. Do you understand?”
When Luc growls, Emma elbows him in the gut, replying, “Yes, of course... Malk. Is it alright to call you that?”
“Yes, yes. Thank you for understanding.”
I look at Nako’s serious face. She knows what’s going on, but Alexa shrugs. So we’re the only two who don’t know. I want to interrupt and find out if Alexa’s okay, but Malk’s interrupted by a trainee leaning over him. “That’s it? You told them?”
His eyes are bright and excited, shifting back and forth between Malk and Serlo. “They seem calm.”
Us? I’m almost always calm, but the range of energy bouncing over the surrounding crowd is vibrating at a high tempo. Crazy.
Malk stands, looking out at the Orclans as he answers him. “We actually haven’t told the females about the security breach... yet.”
Emma’s eyes widen as she moves over to Nako and me by Alexa. The doctor who was checking Alexa straightens slowly to standing. “Come by the medical room if anything gives you trouble. It’s clear the blood isn’t yours.” He disappears, dragging the trainee with him.
Malk swallows, moving closer as he stares at Serlo. “Bret was on guard with the High Offering trolled your halls to track you down.”
Serlo nods as Malk shifts from foot to foot. “She was with Offering Vera before heading into your rooms, and he never notified me. Not that I’d have done anything, considering the circumstances. We believe the stolen footage, along with the strongly worded disgust and threat to notify the Ropors, was supposed to be a warning to others. It contained...”
Malk glances around at us before looking back at Serlo. “... wording about... a strange new species... displacing our society, and alluded to the fact that we don’t know what the consequences may be of mating to a new species. It was all very much just a smear campaign targeting you and your appointment here as Torkon. I believe it spectacularly backfired.”
“What stolen footage?” Nako snaps, glaring at Malk.
Alexa holds up her hands before signing quickly. “Footage like a video?”
Luc answers, signing back while he speaks. “The mating, Alexa. The High Offering documented the sexual encounter last night between you and Serlo. The entire mating. Stored by our records, shared with the Assembly, and then released to the rest of the Orclans.”
What? Alexa and Serlo…
No one says anything as Alexa reddens. Her expression goes from confusion to embarrassment in a millisecond. Malk doesn’t seem to notice her flush as he explains. “From there, the record seems to have been passed along to many other male Orclans. They shared it, enamored by... the Human’s uniqueness.”
What the fuck! Out of all of us, poor innocent Alexa is the one that ended up giving a human biology lesson to the Orclans.
Alexa drops her hands to her flushed cheeks as her lips round. Serlo is livid, shaking as the reality of the situation sinks in, but Alexa turns to him, signing, “Oh, fuck, Serlo!” before burying her face in his neck.
