“Ichikawa-san, Hayashi-san, I’m really sorry that I can’t grant you an audience right now, but I’m afraid that I’m too far away,” I say to the Japanese Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence through a laptop Taranah is holding in front of them.

“Far away?” they are confused and for a good reason. I’m obviously not somewhere in the clouds above the Celestial embassy flying because my wings are folded and there’s a room behind me.

“A lot happened since our last meeting,” I say slowly. “I’m in Tokyo right now with my father.”

“Tokyo?! And with Haruto Takeda?!” Ichikawa widens his eyes. “How? Where exactly?”

“Nebula headquarters,” I reveal because there’s no point in hiding it anymore. “I apologise for that. I know that we shouldn’t have left Osaka without telling you, but it all happened fast.”

“Why telling us so openly?” Hayashi frowns.

“Because my father’s race decided to come out of hiding,” I proclaim. “These monster attacks aren’t random, there’s a war that’s been going on for two hundred years.”

“A war?” Ichikawa and Hayashi look at each other, startled.

“I assure you that Draconians haven’t started it,” I set the record straight before they get weird ideas. “We’re trying to stop it, but we can’t do it alone. There’s no sugarcoating it so I’ll just say it. We need your help.”

“Aliens need help… from the Japanese government?” Ichikawa shakes his head in disbelief.

“We need help from humanity to be precise,” I correct him. “But you’re the first human government we decided to turn to. My father is prepared to tell you everything.”

“How can we trust you?” Hayashi narrows his eyes.

“You have no choice,” I bet on brutal honestly. “Either you help us win this war or there won’t be a future for Draconians and humans alike.”

*****

“Well, that was…,” Erik is looking for the right words.

“Exactly what they needed to hear,” my father finishes the sentence. “Marvellously done, son.”

“I hope I haven’t overdone it,” I sigh and massage my temples. My head is pounding.

“Your Majesties, the shuttle with the Celestial research team is here,” Nyx announces when her wristband vibrates.

“I’d better welcome them, they will be nervous among so many Divementis,” I slowly stand up. My head spins, but I keep my balance.

“You, my Emperor, are going straight for lunch and then to bed,” Noage frowns. “If we don’t treat your headache now, it will develop into a migraine and that can incapacitate you for many hours.”

“Your doctor is right, it’s not worth overstraining yourself on your second day here, son,” my father agrees. “A Divementis migraine is a nasty thing that can last for more than twenty hours. It’s better to prevent it whenever possible. The Japanese government will need some time to decide how to proceed anyway.”

“Your Majesty, that wasn’t a polite request, Doctor Noage has the right to order you rest,” Liana says strictly.

“Okay, geez,” I roll my eyes even though their overprotectiveness is justified this time. “Let me at least greet our research team and assure them that they are safe here. They must be freaking out.”

I’m allowed just that and nothing more. The Celestial research team is waiting for us, nervously stepping, looking around with alarm and I can tell that they have their spells ready. They relax only when they see me. I greet Rina, Nestelle, Zetraya and others and let Liana and Soren take over.

I expect my father to go his separate way because Nyx and Sythara stayed at the labs, but he silently accompanies us to our apartment. It gets awkward when the maids serve us a late lunch and he doesn’t seem to have any intention of leaving.

“Are you going to watch me eat?” I frown when he sits on the chair in front of me.

“I just want to spend time with you,” he says seemingly innocently.

“Eat, love,” Erik nudges me.

I start eating obediently, but I keep watching my father. I can’t read him, but I can tell he’s up to something. Erik and Gotrid try to pretend that the presence of the Divementis Emperor doesn’t bother them, but they are as tense as me. He left the Divementis guards outside and we still can’t relax.

“You don’t trust me,” he sighs after a while, saddened.

“What are you doing here, father? I mean, really,” I purse my lips.

“I want to try alleviating your pain,” he reveals.

“You can do that?” I raise my eyebrows. “How?”

“I can comfort your brain,” he explains. “It’s a procedure that can be done only with partners or family members. Sadly, your partners aren’t telepaths.”

“They are doing a great job,” I defend them. “It helps me a lot if I can rest in their minds.”

“I don’t doubt that,” he nods at my husbands approvingly. “Still, they aren’t telepaths.”

I don’t answer anything to that and quickly finish my meal. I hope that he takes a hint and finally leaves when I stand up, wish him a good night and head to our bedroom, but he follows me. The Royal Guards and the maids watch it helplessly, not daring to speak up.

“Aefener, please,” he pleads. “Let me help you. If I soothe your brain, there’s a high chance you will wake up fully refreshed and your headache will be gone entirely.”

“No, you’re like a void, I hate it,” I retort. “Unless you open up to me, I won’t let you.”

I don’t expect him to give in to my request so it astonishes me twice as much when he smiles benevolently and his telepathic imprint lights up. The cold void is gone and I can suddenly feel all kinds of emotions coming from him.

Pain.

Regret.

Sadness.

Careful optimism.

Care.

Love.

I’m staring at him, unable to react for a long moment. Does he feel concerned about me? I thought that he saw me only as an asset the Divementis could use to fight the Enemy. He went for the most brutal test at the New York conference that could kill me. It’s hard to believe such a person can genuinely care about me.

“Why bother hiding your emotions when you aren’t empaths anyway?” I ask instead to hide my confusion.

“Because it makes us vulnerable,” he explains. “We can either hide everything or be hopelessly exposed. We build mental shields around our minds, but we aren’t able to distinguish between feelings and thoughts so we lock both.”

“So, right now you’re exposed?” I make sure I understand it correctly.

“Yes,” he answers simply.

“I could… read you?” I gulp, excited about the prospect and afraid at the same time.

“Well, I can still kick you out,” he smirks confidently. “The mental shield is our automatic defence mechanism that’s always on and we don’t even think about. The better the telepath, the more impenetrable. That’s why I feel like a void to you, my defences are perfect.”

I have so many questions for him, but my brain gives me another surge of pain, reminding me that I should close my eyes and mitigate visual stimuli.

“Son, let me help you,” he repeats his offer, this time including the emotions. Care. Care. Care. One can maybe fake thoughts but not feelings. Is it safe to trust him? Ever since I came here, it’s getting progressively harder and harder to stay on guard with him. It’s as if something deep inside of my Divementis part is prompting me to open up to him whether I like it or not.

“Okay then,” I resign. My brain is killing me and I don’t have the energy to argue.

Erik and Gotrid give me startled looks because they didn’t expect me to agree. I take their hands and pull them to the bedroom. My father follows. I release the maids who would normally change me into a night robe, but I don’t want to get undressed in front of my father so I just take the upper embroidered robe off.

I slowly lie down, not sure what to expect. Erik immediately takes the position right in front of me, hugs me and looks at my father defiantly.

“I don’t know what you need to soothe my brain, but there’s no way I’m letting go of my husband after being reunited with him,” I state clearly.

“I don’t need much,” he assures me, sits behind me and… touches my wings.

I get goosebumps. He touched my wings just an hour ago for the very first time, but a lot was going on so I didn’t have time to think about it. I expect to feel repulsed. I want to feel repulsed. I want to shove my repulsion into his face and make him see how much I don’t like him. Instead, my wings relax under his touch. My Divementis part takes dominance and I can’t help it.

“Aefener, you have to let me in, I’m not forcing entry this time,” he says. “This is not training and you’re hurting.”

“What about Erik?” I worry.

“I won’t connect to your partner,” he promises.

I don’t know how much his word is worth, but his emotions aren’t lying. I slowly open my mind, dreading to be invaded by him as I was so many times in a dream state. He enters my mind so gently that it’s almost suspicious. Is this calming presence really my father? Is this the real person behind the imperial demeanour my mom fell in love with?

Physically, I’m snuggling to Erik, but I don’t pull him in as I usually do. Instead, I take comfort in the mind of my father which is so Divementis. For once, I’m not the one who has to take an active role in a telepathic exchange, so I can relax my brain completely. I don’t understand why I trust him. I just do.

I’m sorry that I wasn’t there for you, son, he tells me when I’m almost on the verge of sleep. But I am here now.

*****

I wake up rested as never before. I don’t know what my father did, but he managed to shut the parts of my brain that were always active so I could truly rest. Erik and Gotrid are both sleeping deeply and, judging by the soft light coming into the room, it’s very early morning.

I slept blissfully for half a day, but the same can’t be said for my partners. I fell asleep in the late afternoon, but I doubt they followed me. I bet they were working on their laptops, taking care of some overdue tasks. I kiss Erik’s forehead, then carefully turn around, free my wings and kiss Gotrid’s forehead as well. I was right, they aren’t fully rested yet.

I pass my phone with telekinesis to check the time. It’s only half past five. Both Gotrid and Erik are light sleepers so I have to resort to a trick if I don’t want to wake them up. I caress their faces, send them my love and try to induce a peaceful state of mind that will continue comforting them when I’m gone.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

I don’t think the Divementis can make someone fall asleep if that person doesn’t want to, but if it’s just a matter of comforting someone like a telepathic lullaby, it’s not actually that difficult. I carefully slip from their embrace and I have to laugh silently when Erik automatically grabs Gotrid’s wing and uses it as a blanket. Brilliant, that should take care of it. I hope Erik won’t throw a tantrum when he realises whose wing he’s holding.

“Your Majesty?” the guards are startled when I appear in the hall.

“Shh,” I shush them and close the door behind me. “Let my husbands sleep, they need to rest.”

I hope for a quiet introverted morning so I’m surprised when I find Advin and Nala in the lounge, working already. They are sitting around a low table on cushions in a very Japanese way. Do they have to follow me like a second shadow? Did my father order them to do so?

“Your Highness!” they are taken aback to see me so early and use my Divementis title. They quickly stand up and bow. I don’t like to see my cousins bowing to me, but I don’t think that I would be able to talk them out of it.

“How many hours do the Divementis need to sleep?” I tilt my head.

“Nine, the same as Celestials,” Nala says. “We just went to sleep early last night because we couldn’t be of use to Your Highness.”

“What are you working on?” I eye their laptops.

“The training regimen for you and your partners,” Advin explains.

“My partners as well?” my frown. “They have too much work as it is. With me spending most of my time with my father, they will have to take care of politics and administration.”

“Lord Erik will be spending most of his time plugged in VR,” Nala corrects me. “If you want him to transform as soon as possible, he will be either training in the game or having me alter his perception. You will have to leave politics to the Viceroy.”

“And Gotrid?” I sit down on a cushion and wave at them to do the same. I hope to have a proper conversation with them. The ground is spotless and the carpet under the table is fluffy so I don’t have to worry about staining my wings.

“As your bonded partner, he’s expected to train with you,” Advin says, making himself comfortable. “He might not be a Divementis, but he’s still a Draconian. Our uncle thinks that magical dual-casting has great potential if done with perfect telepathic coordination.”

“I know, I’ve tried that already,” I nod.

“Not only that. We’ve never trained non-telepaths with our methods, but we believe that your consort might help you even on a telepathic level,” Nala reveals. “Acting as an anchor and your balancer in case of telepathic attacks.”

At first, I can’t imagine it, but then I realise that she’s just using different terminology. I do use my partners as my anchors and balancers. Their presence has a calming effect on me, they help me stop overthinking and I know that I can rely on them. Can there be more? I give Nala an inquisitive look.

“We don’t know much about that, though, it’s only for bonded couples,” she admits. “We’re not mature enough to bond.”

“Huh? When is a Divementis mature for a relationship?” I’m dying with curiosity all of a sudden. “Do you date before that?”

“Not before we turn forty,” Nala says. “As for dating, we can do that to experiment and gain some experience, but that’s about it. We can like the other person, but it’s not true love so young relationships never last and are just for fun.”

“But my sis loves human romantic movies,” Advin nudges his sister, grinning. “She’s hooked on them. She even fancies human men.”

“S-stop it, y-you!” she nudges him back and turns red. “As if I haven’t seen you watching those stupid streams of Korean models.”

I can’t help myself and burst laughing. My cousins are pure Divementis, but their interests are so human. No wonder my aunt doesn’t know what to do with them—they are like human teenagers.

“Have any other Divementis apart from my father and me ever fallen in love with a human?” I ask.

“No, it’s proven to be physiologically impossible,” Nala shakes her head. “I might fancy human men, as my annoying brother pointed out, but it’s just fantasy. I wouldn’t be able to seriously fall in love with a human. As for why our uncle could… we don’t know. The Royal bloodline has special qualities and this might be one of them.”

“Still not as crazy as a polyamorous Divementis,” Advin comments venomously.

I give him an irritated look and he flinches. He tries to act nonchalant and cheeky, but is he afraid that I might try to invade his mind? My father mentioned that I create telepathic pressure without knowing when just thinking about a particular person. I wonder what it feels like.

“You stupid!” Nala pokes his brother hard. “Our cousin might be younger than us, but he’s the Royal bloodline and the Celestial Emperor. Stop provoking His Highness or you will regret it. He could fry your brain this easily,” she snaps her fingers.

“What?! I could not,” I frown. Is she exaggerating?

“Well, maybe not right now, but with some training…,” Nala sounds almost optimistic about it.

“I could not!” I insist, horrified. “I’m not a monster.”

“The Enemy is a monster,” Advin shrugs. “I hope you will fry its brain so that we can go home.”

A sudden realisation comes to me. If we win this war, however unimaginable that might seem right now, the Divementis will return to their home dimension. What would it mean for other Draconian races? Would they happily relocate as well? Would we abandon Earth and go to live on Draconia with no humans?

“Your Majesty, why are you up so early?” Ayame appears and she looks like someone who’s just been woken up. Her feathers are dishevelled and she’s yawning.

I give the guards a disapproving look. My guardians are taking shifts as usual, but I didn’t take enough maids with me so we decided to cancel a night shift which I hardly ever need anyway. Seriously, did they have to wake her up?

“Your Majesty, your robe is all crumpled,” she notices right away.

“I didn’t want to change in front of my father,” I explain. “Don’t go to the bedroom, Erik and Gotrid are still sleeping. Don’t you dare wake them up for something as trivial as clothes.”

“Let me get you tea at least,” she offers now that she’s awake anyway.

“Thank you, three cups, please,” I appreciate and turn back to my cousins. With almost everyone else sleeping, I have a rare opportunity to get to know them.

“Nala, do you like Earth?” I decide to ask directly.

“Yes,” she nods. “I was born here and human culture is much more fun. I know that the elders want to return, but young Divementis aren’t so thrilled about the prospect. Still, when the time comes, we will all return. We might like Earth, but we don’t have much freedom here.”

“I see. When you return…”

“We,” Advin corrects me and sounds angry that I’m talking about the Divementis in the second person as if I’m not one of them. “There’s no scenario in which we’re leaving our Crown Prince behind.”

“I thought you especially would love to get rid of me,” I grimace.

“What?! Why would you say that?!” he acts sincerely shocked. “You’re both our cousin and our prince. You’re one of us.”

“His Highness has a bad opinion of you because you’re teasing him too much,” Nala clicks her tongue at her brother.

“I can’t help it, he’s so Celestial about things,” he purses his lips.

“Duh, His Highness is half-Celestial,” Nala rolls her eyes and stares longingly at my wings.

I don’t have to be a telepath to guess when someone is dying to touch my feathers. For a few seconds, I’m considering whether I should indulge her or not. I barely know her, but Nala is my relative and I feel irresistibly drawn to both her and Advin.

“That’s okay, you can touch them,” I allow it in the end and spread my left wing towards her. I would never let a stranger touch me, but Nala is no stranger. She’s family.

Nala eagerly stretches her hand to me, but Advin slaps her.

“He will be able to see everything if you touch him, you stupid,” he hisses. “You might be a proficient telepath, but you have no defence against someone with the Royal bloodline.”

“So what?” Nala retorts. “I have nothing to hide and His Highness is our cousin.”

“I won’t pry into places where you don’t want me,” I promise, full of anticipation. What is it going to be like?

Nala impatiently pushes her brother away and buries his palms into my fluffy feathers. She gasps for breath when my presence enters her mind, but she doesn’t flinch and even tries to relax. I also gasp for breath but for an entirely different reason—it’s the very first time I get to fully experience an inviting Divementis mind. My father last night doesn’t count, it was me letting him in and I was too hurting to pay attention.

I try not to pry and I don’t, but it’s impossible not to read her surface thoughts and feelings. I expect something alien, but it’s the exact opposite. Nala’s mind is soothing and so familiar. Moreover, she’s also a telepath which means that she knows what I’m doing and she’s actively cooperating.

I don’t have to navigate her like I have to do with my partners. I don’t have to be careful about what I’m not supposed to see, Nala simply locks those places and hopes I won’t force entry. The feeling of familiarity deepens and I finally understand why the Divementis family bonds are so strong. They get to share everything on every possible level. My Divementis nature flutters excitedly as something buried deep inside of me opens up.

“Ehm, Your Majesty…?” Ayame speaks up, disturbing our exchange. Nala twitches away which breaks the connection. I come out a bit disoriented and annoyed. It was so comforting.

I want to give the maid an angry look, but I stop myself just in time. Ayala was woken up early because of me and she kindly brought us refreshments. She couldn’t know what we were doing.

“Thank you,” I smile at her gratefully and watch as she puts a tray with a teapot, three cups and some mini sandwiches on the table in front of us.

“It’s okay if you want to return to bed and sleep for two more hours,” I tell her because she’s stepping nervously in one place.

“I can’t change your clothes, so let me comb your hair at least, my Emperor,” she offers, giving Nala a strange stare.

Before I can tell her that it’s not necessary, she quickly digs a comb out of the belt of her robe, sits down on a cushion behind me and starts working. Her emotions hit me when she touches my hair and it’s the most conflicted mixture. Only my partners, Liana, the doctors and the maids are normally allowed to touch my wings and I looked so relaxed with Nala doing it.

I chew my lip. Even the guards got unnaturally quiet and the chill atmosphere suddenly turned sour. Ayame is making it a bit too obvious to my cousins who I really belong to. Nala looks at Advin and I can feel that they are talking telepathically, but their communication is too fast for me to catch. Still, I sense that both Celestials and my cousins feel extremely jealous of each other right now.

“Ayame, something simple, please,” I lament because she starts styling my combed hair into braids. I can tell she’s doing it on purpose so that she can stay longer.

There’s no way I’d start preferring the Divementis over Celestials, I send her my tender reassurance. Nala and Advin are my family, though, and I want to get to know them. I probably won’t have any time during the day so I have a rare opportunity.

Ayame nods, simplifies my hairstyle and stands up. She still doesn’t like seeing me fraternising with the Divementis, but I persuaded her for now. I sent her a ton of love which calmed her down a bit. She knows that emotions can’t be faked.

“Nala, do the Divementis connect to each other daily?” I ask to disperse the moment of awkwardness.

“Sure, but only with family, partners and close friends,” she says. “We don’t like connecting to strangers any more than you like strangers touching your wings.”

“Strangers? Don’t you know everyone here?” I tilt my head.

“How could I? We are almost twelve thousand, Your Highness,” she reveals. “Everybody knows me because I’m the Emperor’s niece, not the other way around.”

“Twelve thousand?” I’m surprised by the number because I expected much less.

The Divementis are still the least populous Draconian race, but if we win this war, reviving the entire species should be possible. I feel immensely relieved—my people have a future! I stretch for a cup of tea and my hand freezes when I realise that I’ve just called the Divementis ‘my people.’

“You should eat something, cousin, I don’t want His Majesty to scold me again,” Advin says.

“It’s only six, I can’t possibly eat this early,” I shake my head.

“Why not?” he doesn’t understand, finishes one sandwich and takes another.

“I’m used to eating around half past seven and, besides, my husbands aren’t awake yet and I always eat with them,” I explain.

“You will have proper breakfast later, this is just a snack,” he pushes the plate close to me. “The doctors clearly said you have to snack from now on.”

I sigh and take one mini sandwich. So now both Celestials and the Divementis will watch over my diet? How bothersome. I bite into it and it’s delicious. I take one more to make my adjutants happy and I have to admit that it isn’t difficult. Celestials were constantly overstuffing me which I hated. Snacking on smaller portions might be a much better alternative.

I almost drop the cup when Nala touches my wings again, this time without prior asking. She seems so fascinated by my feathered limbs and Advin probably as well, but he’s too proud to admit it. I relax and stretch both my wings comfortably over the fluffy carpet. I catch Advin looking at my wings with a badly hidden desire to touch them.

“Gosh, Advin, just swallow your stupid pride,” Nala shakes her head. “The prince’s wings are so soft; you’re missing a lot.”

“I’m not having my mind read,” he refuses adamantly.

“Your loss then,” she smirks and continues petting me.

I half-close my eyes, enjoying both petting and the telepathic connection between us. Nala’s mind just feels like family. I feel so safe in her presence. Yesterday, I felt safe in my father’s presence for the very first time as well. Are Divementis family bonds something I can’t resist? Advin might be teasing me, but I like his company as well.

I felt something deep inside of me open up just a few minutes ago so I go to explore that feeling. I have two natures in me, but they aren’t clashing. My Celestial Emperor’s nature seems to be in perfect harmony with my Divementis royal bloodline nature. I shiver with joy when I discover that I have room in my heart to love both Celestials and the Divementis.

“Oh, t-that’s…,” Nala widens her eyes, astonished. “Is this what projecting emotions feels like? Can you do it with anyone?”

I open my eyes again. I realise that I’ve just sent her my love without knowing. I couldn’t help myself. I do it with my partners all the time and Nala feels like… home.

“Only Celestials and people I like,” I say. “I can’t project a loving emotion towards someone I’m indifferent to or I straightforward don’t like.”

“So, does it mean you like me?” Nala blushes.

“I can’t explain it, but you and Advin feel so familiar,” I also blush a little. “I barely know you, but it’s as if we’ve known each other for a long time. Is it normal among the Divementis?”

“Perfectly normal, Divementis family bonds are very strong and we naturally feel drawn to similar genes,” she nods. “Advin might tease you, but he can’t help it either. By the way, bonded partners, even though not sharing the same genes, feel the same to us. That’s why I didn’t hesitate and volunteered to transform Lord Erik.”

I’m happy to hear that; it means that Nala won’t have a hard time connecting to my beloved. I nonchalantly spread my right wing to Advin, pretending to stretch, in case he might want to pet my feathers after all. However, he sees right through me and frowns. Stubborn, I get it. Still, he doesn’t sit away even though my wing is super close to him which I consider a good sign.

“Do we expect the Japanese government to visit Nebula premises today?” I ponder.

“Hard to say, the Japanese always take their time when making important decisions,” Advin shrugs. “I bet they haven’t calmed down yet since yesterday and are still freaking out. Moreover, they were invited to meet aliens at their secret base. They must be scared shitless.”

“Figures,” I sigh. “What do we…”

I don’t get to finish that sentence because Erik and Gotrid storm into the room. At first, it looks like Erik just wants to complain that he woke up holding Gotrid’s wing instead of mine and Gotrid doesn’t look thrilled either about being used as a blanket.

However, they don’t manage to voice their protest because they freeze when they see me sitting on the ground with my Divementis cousins. Nala is still petting my left wing and my right one is so close to Advin that I’m almost hugging him.

I can feel panic growing inside of them. It turns into bewilderment, jealousy and then fear. All that in just a few seconds. Seeing me sitting comfortably next to my cousins and looking so relaxed in their presence does something to them. They start to feel seriously afraid that I might prefer the Divementis in the future.