Chaos Heir

Chapter 1229 Late

Relocating captives and supplies from such a large ship was a lengthy ordeal, but Carlos and his crew somehow managed to complete it in no time.

The somehow wasn't that mysterious. Khan's mere presence put everyone on their best behavior, making the entire crew overperform. Soon, Carlos and his underlings gathered on his ship, letting the autopilot comply with Khan's latest directives.

Needless to say, the crew wasn't free to roam the ship. Tamara's pheromones were a significant issue, and her terrifying, cold guardian could spew complicated orders through mere glares. Liiza made everyone gather in the cargo area, placing the captives in the living quarters while staying with the young Nele on the bridge.

"Will Khan be fine?" Tamara asked, worried while looking at one of the screens on the bridge.

"Of course," Liiza reassured, holding the little Nele tightly in her arms. "He'll come back in no time."

"But," Tamara muttered, watching the rectangular ship grow more distant on the screen. "The humans said the engines didn't work."

"Don't worry," Liiza chuckled, caressing Tamara's hair. "My husband isn't someone space can defeat. He'd cross an ocean of stars on foot to return to us."

Tamara didn't understand what Liiza meant, but looking at her expression reassured her. Liiza was also inspecting the screen, showing no fear or doubt. Even if ancient horrors tried to get in the way, Khan would still manage to return to her.

A change in the screen attracted Tamara's attention. The scene on the device flickered, becoming unstable and unclear. It also went completely dark for a second, only to restore itself, showing how much it had transformed.

The rectangular ship was no more. Orange and blue explosions expanded spherically on the screen, pushing away a rain of scorching metal debris. Something had wiped that vessel out of existence, and it soon showed its face.

Space had no winds or air that could create them, but gales blew anyway, creating an opening at the center of that array of explosions. A figure stepped out of it, calmly strolling through the black nothingness to head toward the cumbersome ship.

The figure was too small for the scanners to highlight his features, but it approached the cumbersome ship quickly. Eventually, Tamara was able to recognize Khan, and her big purple eyes widened in amazement.

"Woah," Tamara gasped. "Khan is cool."

Liiza's gaze snapped down, but helplessness filled her mind when she saw Tamara's enchanted expression.

"You are lucky you are cute," Liiza whispered, slightly lifting Tamara to claim her attention. "Shall we welcome Khan back?"

Tamara nodded eagerly, and Liiza caressed her hair again while heading out of the bridge. She had to cross the living quarters to reach the entrance, but the women there kept their distance from her. They were still too scared and traumatized to realize they had been saved, and Liiza's cold, unapproachable aura didn't help.

The autopilot had kept the ship's doors open, containing the internal atmosphere through a mana barrier, and a figure crossed it as soon as Liiza and Tamara reached the area. Khan landed inside, wearing nothing but ragged trousers, and the artificial illumination flickered at his arrival.

Khan's presence had intensified even more, and Tamara shook in Liiza's arms. Yet, the latter promptly approached Khan, white mana gathering on her fingertips.

Liiza traced some of the red symbols, her fingers leaving a thin layer of ice in their trail. Khan let her do her thing, and his presence gradually waned, contained by the new tattoos.

"I'll have to remake them after all," Liiza sighed, taking another look at Khan before leaning in for a quick kiss. "Welcome back."

Tamara relaxed alongside the waning interferences. She looked up in time to catch the end of the kiss, but a protective blue light soon enveloped her.

"Have you been a good girl while I was away?" Khan asked, patting Tamara's head.

"Yes!" Tamara swore. "I've always been with Liiza!"

"Good girl!" Khan beamed, ruffling Tamara's hair before leaning toward Liiza's ear.

"[You have been a good girl, too]," Khan whispered in the Niqols' language.

Liiza scolded Khan with her eyes but bit her lip to reveal the opposite feelings. She had always loved Khan's protective side, and seeing him get all fatherly with Tamara almost pushed her over the edge.

"[Finish what you have to do]," Liiza whispered, caressing Khan's cheek. "[I'll hold back on jumping on you until then]."

Khan chuckled but didn't forget to address the other issue. "[For Tamara's pheromones, there might be some supplies that deal with that, but …]"

"[But you don't want to put it on Tamara]," Liiza completed Khan's line. "[I'll make something for the crew and the captives. I won't give anything to the kid]."

Khan opened his mouth, but the joke in his mind only escaped his throat after he gave Liiza another kiss. "[Did I already tell you that I love you]?"

"[Yes]," Liiza said, her emotions on the verge of bursting, "[But never stop saying it. Now go before I show you how I feel]."

Tamara couldn't understand the Niqols' language, but Khan and Liiza wore expressions that transcended language barriers.

"Is that how I'll be once I find my one?" Tamara cutely asked, seemingly eager for that moment to arrive. Nevertheless, that enthusiasm triggered something unexpected inside Khan's mind.

"Listen up, young lady," Khan scolded, getting strangely serious. "It's way too early for you to think about this stuff. We can discuss it in a few decades. Actually, let's make it half a century."

Tamara was confused, but a dark blue hand covered her eyes while a cold arm lifted her even higher.

"Let's leave Khan to his thing," Liiza whispered to the girl in her arms. "He has much to do."

Khan spread his arms to question Liiza, but she just smiled sweetly, leaving him in the room while she headed back to the bridge.

"Did Khan get angry at Tamara?" The young Nele asked once her confusion waned.

"Of course not," Liiza reassured, giggling while lowering her head to get closer to Tamara's face. "He just gets overprotective with the people he cares about."

"So," Tamara beamed, "Does he care about me?"

"Very much," Liiza confirmed. "He'd do anything for you."

Tamara smiled happily but pursed her lips when the previous confusion returned.

"But," Tamara muttered. "Isn't finding the one a good thing?"

"It's a beautiful thing," Liiza stated, but Tamara remained confused, forcing Liiza to change her approach.

"Do you want to know a secret?" Liiza questioned, and Tamara immediately nodded.

"Khan still doesn't know it," Liiza uttered, "But we'll raise our kids according to my species' customs, which I heard are similar to yours. He will complain, especially if we get girls as cute as you, but he can never say no to me."

Tamara giggled, somewhat understanding that girls talk. Still, her innocence made her follow with a rather troubling question.

"Are you having kids soon?" Tamara happily wondered.

The question startled Liiza, who couldn't help but peek behind her shoulder. She had reached the bridge by then, and its door was closed, leaving the two completely alone.

"Do you want to know another secret?" Liiza asked, her glowing gaze lingering on the closed door. "But this is something that must remain between us. I don't want to give him false hopes until I know for sure."

Tamara was still a child, but something in Liiza's voice and face told her that the conversation had become more serious. She nodded even if Liiza didn't look at her, grabbing onto her hoodie to announce her oath. "I promise."

Those serious words brought Liiza's gaze back to Tamara, and her cuteness triggered a sweet smile.

"I'm a few days late," Liiza explained. "It normally wouldn't be alarming, but I'm never late. I can't be late after what I did to my body."

Liiza's gaze wandered over the bridge, never focusing on anything specific. Luckily, she didn't know for sure, so she had managed to keep those thoughts away from the mental connection, but Khan would eventually notice something.

"I want it to be true," Liiza sighed, "But we are quite unique, both individually and together, and he could make my body behave oddly even ten years ago."

Liiza lost herself in her thoughts before recalling where she was. She looked down, only to find Tamara tilting her head in confusion.

"Late for what?" Tamara innocently asked.

"It's nothing," Liiza chuckled, hugging that cute girl tightly. "Why don't you help me for a bit? I'll only need one strand of your hair."