Draconia Offline vol. 2

97.1. Triple Heritage - Part 1

"Your Majesty, please," Nyx points towards a futuristic-looking bed that's been prepared for me. It's surrounded by numerous medical equipment whose purpose I don't even dare to guess.

I slowly look around and gulp when I realise that more than five Divementis doctors are going to oversee the process and there are quite a few high-ranking Divementis who came just to watch. Their emotions are leaking and it's pure curiosity. They can't wait to find out how peculiar a Celestial-Divementis hybrid is.

"It's so fascinating, Your Majesty!" Noage is here as well, his eagerness overflowing. "The Divementis let me explore their DNA overnight which means that I can finally assess your genes properly. Let's uncover all the wonders of your body!"

"Noage, not helping," Gotrid frowns and he has to trap me in his wings or I would run away. I'm on the verge of a panic attack.

I want to send my mind to Erik because feeling his presence has a calming effect on me. He's not that far away, I could do it with a bit of effort. Something stops me, though. I finally come to a painful realisation that I rely too much on him. I mean, I've always known, of course. It just never hit me this hard.

With Erik gone, I still have Gotrid. I have Liana. I have all my subjects. Who does Erik have? Becoming the Royal Consort had cut him off completely from his human friends and his family. Even if he wanted to leave me, he would have to live under the constant watch of a security service. I ruined his chances for a normal life.

"Love...?" Gotrid caresses my feathers, sensing my mental struggles.

I look at him, then I look at Liana. I think about all the Celestials who rely on me. I also consider the Divementis. Whether I like it or not, I am their Crown Prince. When I think about Erik and the possibility of him leaving, my heart aches. Still, I make a resolution that whatever Erik decides in the end, I'll support him wholeheartedly.

Once again, I need to grow and become stronger. For Erik and Gotrid. For the survival of my species, both of them. But, first and foremost, for myself. And I need to start with this damned medical examination.

I take a deep breath and gently push Gotrid away. I inspect the bed again and see that it looks comfortable enough even for a Celestial—it's quite spacious and they didn't forget about wing rests.

"Do I have to take off my clothes?" I ask shyly.

"No need, my Prince, our scanner has no problem going through the fabric," Nyx shakes her head with an encouraging smile. "The only thing we need you to take off is any metal in your hair as we will be thoroughly scanning your brain."

"Right, the maids didn't take that into account," Gotrid says and helps me with the hairpin.

"Try to relax, Your Majesty, it won't hurt at all," Nyx assures me when I lie down because I can't stop shivering. "Your husband can hold your hand if it soothes you. We'll take a sample of your blood first."

Gotrid rolls up my left sleeve and I look away when one of the Divementis doctors pins a needle into my vein. It stings a little, but there's no pain. Then the doctor puts sensors on my temples and some sort of headband.

"Now, we'll be scanning your whole body," Nyx tries to explain the process to me step by step. "It should take an hour during which we ask you to be as still as possible. We will try to find out which parts of your body are Celestial, which are Divementis and which are a combination of both."

"Feel free to use your telepathy, though," my father adds. "We're interested in your natural brain activity. Once we're done with the scan, Doctor Noage will take over. The Earthborn have always been best at this kind of thing."

"We're starting," one of the doctors announces.

I twitch, surprised, when the doctors release tiny drones that start hovering above my body, mapping me a millimetre after a millimetre. A few minutes into the scan it becomes obvious that it's going to take a while, so I finally relax and close my eyes.

Gotrid? I connect to my husband.

Yes, love?

Thank you for being here with me, I say simply. I want to tell you how much I appreciate that you're always there for me. I hate that work is getting in the way of our relationship and that we don't have much private time.

I knew what I was signing up for, hon, Gotrid assures me. I accepted that you wouldn't belong just to me and that I would have to share you not only with Erik but with our entire race. I accepted that my role is to support you unconditionally so that you can work for the benefit of Celestials as our Emperor.

You chose that, but Erik didn't, I say, broken-hearted. I bonded with Erik long before we knew what it meant.

Erik has the same resolve as me, Gotrid claims firmly. He's been with you despite so many adversities. There's no way he's quitting now just because you turned out to be the Divementis prince and might be immortal on top.

"Astonishing brain activity," I hear muffled whispers from the Divementis doctors who are glued to the screens just a few metres away from me.

I try not to let it stress me and decide to meditate instead. I haven't done it for several weeks and I know that I shouldn't underestimate my mental hygiene—now more than ever. I manage to calm down my slightly erratic breathing after a few minutes of taking steady long breaths and Gotrid's mere presence is doing wonders as well.

"We're done with the scan," Nyx announces after an hour which passed relatively quickly. "Doctor Noage, can you please take over?"

I open my eyes and see Noage's thrilled expression. I guess the Earthborn really can't help it, they are just super excited about exploring unusual genes and I'm probably the best test subject an Earthborn could hope for.

"It will be much different this time, Your Majesty," Noage boasts. "I know what the Divementis DNA looks like now."

"Do your thing then," I sigh resignedly and close my eyes again.

Having an Earthborn fully connected is the strangest thing, especially for a telepath. Not only I can feel him rummaging through my body—I can pick up his thinking process. Noage doesn't use a verbal internal monologue much, though. He's thinking in genetic formulas, scents and cell structures which are undecipherable for me. No wonder the Earthborn are so difficult to understand.

"Oof, o-okay," Noage finally lets go of my arm. He surely took his sweet time, longer than the Divementis examination. "Admittedly, I'm overwhelmed and I need some time to process all the information I just gathered."

"So do we," Nyx says. "At least two hours for us to present the early results of the scan."

"I guess His Highness could go for a flight now?" Advin suggests. "He's been asking me about it in the morning.

"That's a good idea," my father agrees. "We have to think about the Celestial needs of my son and his entourage and not torture our allies by keeping them on the ground for too long."

"How do we go about it?" Liana asks. "Advin mentioned that we shouldn't fly higher than the highest building."

"That's right," my father nods. "Once you fly higher than ten metres above the highest building on the premises, you risk becoming visible. That's the scope of our cloaking device. Please, son, try to behave."

"Emphasis on the try," Advin comments and his mother slaps him slightly.

I jump down the bed, excited that the examination is over and I'm allowed to fly sooner than I expected. I quickly send my mind to Erik to check up on him, but it seems he and my uncle are far from being finished. Hopefully, a flight will take my mind off worrying for a short while.