Scaled Heart: A SciFi Alien Romance (Project: F5 Book 2) by Jade Waltz (ereader android .TXT) 📕

patients who were strangers. The lives of their son and his nestbrother lay in our hands. It was up to us to save them.

Usthu’s familiar sapphire mental thread brushed against my mind's shields. Reluctantly, I accepted it, already knowing what he had to say.

"Where are you?" Confusion laced his voice, reflected in the worried orange tinge of his mental thread. "I’m surprised Kaica beat you here. Stars, even Oeta woke from her slumber to greet our guests alongside the princes. I thought you would be excited to be united with our past mentors."

"I had to check on the infirmary," I replied as I crossed the sanctuary in a rush. Sunlight beamed through the glass dome, almost blinding me as I made my way to the front doors. I have never understood why no one used them but me. Why travel through the warehouse and garage when you can skip all that and traverse outside along the driveway? I walked outside whenever possible because I had been stuck inside since Selena’s disappearance and hardly ever caught a break. I longed for a chance to enjoy nature while the twin suns hung in the sky. “I’m almost there.”

Rounding the corner, I nearly tripped as my foot caught on the incline I had missed. How could I pay attention to the ground when I was unable to pull my gaze away from the way the bright suns reflecting off of Kaica's long, translucent hair?

It was unnatural, and yet, stunning.

If the Yaarkins had done one thing right, it was the utterly unique appearance of each demihuman. Though demihumans spliced from the same species shared similarities, each coloring was individually unique.

Kaica was no Circuli nestqueen, making my communication with her unnatural, I had grown to respect the Fab Five member since we settled here.

I somehow found her easy to converse with and be around, especially when compared to her siblings and Selena. Whether she was naturally quiet or always focused on her work, she rarely spoke unless someone addressed her. It was relaxing to work in such a professional environment for once, unlike—

Stars, I had done it again.

No matter what I did, my jealousy was like an itch in my scales on a dry day; guaranteed to reappear.

Stepping between Kaica and Oeta, I glanced at my gathered teammates, acknowledging those who met my gaze.

Usthu and Ayces flanked Kaica, clearly surprised by my delayed arrival. Oeta shook her head in disappointment as her fuchsia wings tightened around her body, settling down after the ship's landing.

Suddenly, a soothing wave flooded me, as if I had stepped into a warm pool and let my body slowly sink beneath the surface.

Surprisingly, Prince V'dim's influence felt dimmed. Had the stress of Selena's disappearance and the condition of his nestbrothers already affected his leadership?

Ayces noticed my concern and nodded.

Thank the Stars the Abyssal Fire hadn’t lowered its ramp door yet. I didn’t want to give our guests the impression I was irresponsible. Or, Stars forbid, offend them at a time when they had been summoned to aid their dying sons.

The group’s auras shifted between worried orange and nervous brown. Oeta was the only one with a peaceful blue aura, seemingly unconcerned by the day’s events.

“No,” Oeta’s sharp mental voice interjected, halting my wandering thoughts. “I don’t believe in wasting time on what-ifs. I’m reserving my energy to solve our predicament. Worrying about the future or dwelling on the past won’t fix the present. If you want to be productive, fix whatever has come between you and Kaica, because both of your clamoring thoughts are too loud to ignore.”

“Kaica?” I shot a glance at the female in question. Her hands fidgeted nervously, her hair matching the nervous yellow and worried orange of her aura. “Why is she so concerned?”

“First impressions matter,” Oeta replied, her face stoically focused on the ship before us as if we weren’t communicating at all. She was better versed in mental conversation than most mature Circuli. “It’s her first time working as a medical researcher, leading the effort to heal her master’s nestbrothers. She has far more on the line that you do.”

I felt her withdraw from my mind, leaving me to ponder her words.

Watching Kaica, distraught and fiddling with her hands, concerned me. What happened to the confidence she had always displayed?

She was a Fab Five agent, known for deadly precision. Each sibling had a specialty, and Kaica’s primary skill was medicine.

On the kind of missions the Fab Five were assigned, dying patients should have been common.

While my professors at the medical academy taught me to handle patients I knew personally, I wondered what training she had received. I’d heard a rumor that the Fab Five had taught themselves everything they knew, using datacubes and whatever knowledge they could get their hands on. If that was the case, then Kaica had more theoretical knowledge than hands-on experience, as her siblings' self-healing capabilities eliminated the need for medical intervention in most cases.

Perhaps we weren’t so different after all. I vowed again to make time to speak to her alone. Maybe I could help ease her struggles after I apologized for my earlier behavior.

I winced as a hiss pierced the air, instantly diverting my attention to the Abyssal Fire. Slowly, its ramp lowered, revealing four worried Circuli males.

The fathers hurried forward, halting in front of the princes.

Saluting as one male, the green one with gray stripes, stepped forward.

“Where are our sons?”

Three

KAICA

“They are currently stable, and unconscious in the villa’s infirmary,” Z’fir replied, his voice hardened in the princely demeanor I had often witnessed Z take on when discussing business. “I assure you, we have been working hard and tending to them around the clock.”

“Who is monitoring them right now?” A charcoal Wudox male with magenta and teal splotches along his scaled skin scanned the gathered medical team behind the princes. “I count your whole staff amongst us.”

“That is irresponsible of you.” A dark-purple Ulax male with seafoam-swirled skin gripped the upset Wudox’s shoulder.