Chapter 33

33

As I watch Darcy report to the council that The Hollow, an evil so horrifying that there are places in the universe that have no galaxies in them because of it, is back, I have to admire the absolute balls (gender neutral) on all the council people to take that information without freaking out. Akile Aristide is the speaker for the council, and as the Avatars come up with a plan, he manages the rest of the council, making sure all the questions and comments happen in an orderly fashion.

I’m hanging out with Edovard, Hassan, and Gregory on the sidelines, and listening to Gregory’s quiet commentary helps both me and Edovard understand what everyone’s talking about while they throw around ideas. The problem really is that the universe is vast and The Hollow could be anywhere. It can hide fourteen billion light years across the universe from us and still send giant insects to my house. It has a very long reach, according to the oldest person on the council, Grissom Brow, who looks like a hunched over granny with dark gray skin, a white bun on top of her head, and a weathered ballsack with three testicles where her chin would be. It even has wiry white hair growing out of it. It’s weirdly off-putting, and that’s coming from a guy who enjoys testicles of all shapes, sizes, and ages and would never ball-shame anyone for any reason.

“It’s distracting.”

Edovard leans hard into me. “The… um… balls?” he whispers emphatically.

I nod. “Exactly.”

He nods with me. “Is it rude to stare?”

“Only when she’s not talking,” I assure him.

“Oh. I thought she was a he,” he confesses softly.

I pause at that, thinking about it. She has boobs and looks like a granny, but maybe my biases are just showing. “Maybe we just assign ‘they’ as a pronoun until we know for sure,” I suggest.

Gregory snorts. “She is a she. Those aren’t gonads on her chin. Those are venom glands.”

“Cool,” Edovard and I say at the same time. I’m glad one of us side-liners knows what is what.

A gavel bangs, wielded by Akile, and we all look over to him as he announces, “Go to the IPPS space station for now and keep us updated on your hunt. When you find The Hollow, the three of you will combine magics to rebanish it from this universe, and we expect the magic will tell you how to accomplish that.”

That sounds vaguely plan-like. “I thought we’d have a more concrete plan by the end of this meeting.”

Gregory huffs beside me. “Did you? The Foxilys aren’t the type for detailed planning.”

“I did get that vibe.” It totally makes sense that we’re more of a by-the-seat-of-our-pants family.

Darcy and Santanos join us on the sidelines while Bellamy talks to Akile and Dakota (he’s also on the council). My man sits on my lap, and Santanos sits on Edovard’s, which puts their knees together. I don’t think either of them notice, and I barely note it before Darcy’s lips press into mine and he hums, a low reverberating sound that vibrates my body and soul.

“The question no one’s answered is why The Hollow would send a bug to kill my sister,” I point out, breaking the kiss as the thought occurs to me again.

Darcy scowls at my lips as he replies, “To get to me, probably. I ain’t invulnerable even with a council ward. I’m more likely to negate the ward and get myself in a pickle than to sit there and let it protect me from all and sundry. Ain’t never died by being drawn and quartered. If that happened, I’d have to be put together before I’d get over dying. That bug could have killed me.”

Immortals die. They just get over it when they do. I have to remember that, because when he talked about dying, my stomach dropped unpleasantly. I don’t like the idea of Darcy dying.

“But why my family farm?” This is a sticking point for me. “It could have sent that thing to your family instead.”

“Harmonia?” Darcy suggests.

“If the theme of the Foxilys holds true,” Santanos drawls slowly, “then it’s likely because you’re a threat to The Hollow, and we should take you with us on this journey to annihilate it.”

Darcy scowls at him. “The three of us are immune to damage as long as we aren’t actively physically fighting something. My mate is completely mortal. Unless you have a quick way to make an immortal, there’s no way I’m taking him hunting for The Hollow.”

Something inside me sparks. It’s not so much a disagreement as it is a full blown rebellion. “Darcy.” I stop him, pulling his chin toward me and looking straight in his eyes. “Darcy.” It’s the only word I seem to be able to get out.

He stares back and fire ignites in his eyes. “No,” he protests firmly.

I blink, forcing him to see the fight inside me. “You have to bring me.”

Darcy growls, turning back to Santanos and shoving a finger at him. “If this was Edovard.”

That’s all he has to say, and Santanos gasps, clutching his mate’s beefy arm. “I would never.”

Darcy rumbles subvocally, causing the building to shiver. “You just did to mine.”

Santanos shakes his head, turning his pretty blue eyes toward me. “You shouldn’t go. You should keep my Edovard company while we’re tracking The Hollow down.”

Bellamy rejoins us, holding up a hand. “No, that’s not right,” he says firmly. “Elijah has to come along.” He grimaces, shaking his head. “No, I don’t think that. That was the magic talking, and I got caught up in the insanity. You shouldn’t come with us, but the magic is saying you should.”

Darcy growls again, hopping off my lap to pace. “This is stupid. Elijah is completely mortal. We can’t take someone who’s going to die, and we’re certainly not taking my mate. I haven’t had him long enough to contemplate putting him in this kind of danger.”

The frustration pours off him in hot waves, and he turns on his heels, pointing a finger at my chest. “You do not get to die yet! Not until I can make sure you’ll recover from it.”

I grab his finger and draw him in. The rebellion in me eases off, knowing that my lover is capitulating. “I promise that if I die, it will only be temporary.” I don’t know if I can promise that, but by the time we find out if I’m a liar, it won’t matter to me if I’m wrong. Death is the end of feelings and opinions, after all. “The magic needs me there. I feel that, and you know it must be strong for someone who’s mostly human to feel magic.”

Darcy yanks his hand out of mine, grabs my shirt, and pulls me down to his lips. “Do not die,” he commands me and seals his order with a kiss.

His kisses make me want to obey, and peace settles over me. I’m not going to die today. Whatever else happens, I’m going to live.

Once we break apart, we collectively head to the portal room, where a portal to the space station where I met all those interesting aliens—Yunkin—awaits us. I clap my hands as I step through and step to the side where Darcy is waiting for me.

“Let’s get some Spacebucks,” I suggest, and he rumbles a deep agreement. It’s been a long enough day that we deserve a little pick me up.

“Lunch first. I need sustenance,” Darcy insists.

Edovard hums his own approval. “I’m hungry. We should eat. Are we in space now? Is there food in space?”

Hassan twines their fingers together, and he pulls Edovard toward the door that leads out to the main corridor. “There’s a nice restaurant here,” the quiet man tells Edovard.

We all follow the two out into the main corridor with Hassan leading us to a restaurant across the promenade from the coffee place.

“This is where you want to eat?” Darcy questions skeptically.

Hassan barely glances at him, striding to the Yunkin at the host’s stand.

Santanos watches Hassan answer the host’s questions with a curious expression. “This is not the restaurant I would have chosen,” he murmurs softly.

Gregory snorts. “He likes the sushi here.”

The host beckons us to follow, leading us to a large round table that easily accommodates the seven of us with room to spare. After a moment, a different Yunkin, who looks like an ant with rapidly fluttering wings, appears at the head of our table with a skip in their step. They have a tiara on their head around their antenna, but their mouth noises actually translate for me. I can still hear the clicking that makes up their language, but the clicks sound like they’re part of the person’s accent in English.

“Welcome to” —the server clicks out the name of the restaurant, and it’s sort of weird that it doesn’t translate to English, considering the rest of the sentence does. “Is this your first time joining us?” they ask, handing out menus.

“I’m new,” Edovard says, holding up his hand.

I mirror him with a wave of my own. “Me too.”

Bellamy also raises his hand.

“Well, we’re so glad you chose us for your dining experience today. Do your friends want to surprise you, or would you like me to explain how our menu and ordering work?”

“Oh, I think it’d be fun to surprise the newbies,” Darcy drawls sardonically.

Hassan frowns, peering at Darcy for a long moment. “I think we need separate tables.”

The server perks up. “Oh, are we going to have two tables today?”

“I’m not sure we have enough room for two tables,” Darcy points out.

The restaurant isn’t busy at all. We’re the only people here since it’s the middle of the night according to the clock on the wall, which tells us the time on the space station and in various places around the galaxy, including Earth’s UTC.

“All of our tables expand with a sleeve insert if needed,” the server assures us.

“Then by all means,” my boyfriend says, waving to the table. “Whatever Hassan wants.”

Hassan sits back, placing one arm around Edovard and one around Santanos. “If it’s Bellamy, we only need one table.”

Bellamy sits up, shaking his head. “I don’t know what y’all are talking about, but I do not volunteer. Surprises aren’t my thing.”

“I like surprises,” I tell everyone. “What do you need me to do?”

Darcy raises his hand to stop the server’s next words. “Wait. Let me give this some thought.” We all pause for about five seconds, and then he says, “No, it won’t work with Elijah because of his leg. This was Hassan’s idea, so I think he should do it.”

Santanos smiles, looking up at the man with his arm draped over his shoulder. “I don’t mind sharing.”

Hassan narrows his eyes briefly as he moves to get up, but Gregory jumps to his feet first. “I’ll do it,” he announces with a grumpy frown. Aww, look at him volunteering because his boyfriend likes the sushi here. What a nice guy.

“Excellent,” the server chirps, clapping their antenna together. “If you will mark on the menu which rolls you’re ordering, we will prepare your table.”

With agreement from the rest of us, the server and Gregory walk away.