I send my mind to the outskirts of the building and hover there. I feel at my current limit, stretching further would be unpleasant. I want to return, but my father's consciousness gently nudges me to continue.
You went through the rift, this is much easier than that, he tells me. You're just afraid because you don't want to expand the radius of people whose feelings you perceive. I assure you that's not the case. Long-distance telepathy requires effort and proper concentration.
Love, I'm here, Gotrid assures me. I know that you feel far away, but I'm right next to you.
That gives me some courage and I dare to venture further. Every time I want to stop, thinking this must be my limit, my father nudges me again. Before I know it, I reach the border of Nebula's base.
I don't want to go further, there are humans, I refuse to budge no matter how much my father tries to encourage me.
Fair, you need to put up smarter defences first, he stops pushing me. Just remember that this isn't your limit and we will be working on expanding it.
What's your limit? I'm curious.
Approximately a radius of two kilometres, he boasts. That's for general telepathy, though. If there's a Divementis attuned to me, we can communicate even at a distance twice as far.
Will I be able to do it with my partners who aren't telepaths? I ask eagerly.
I could do it with your mother, so there's no reason it wouldn't work for you, he says encouragingly. Now, try to explore the Divementis premises but don't go after anyone specifically. We don't want to startle our people.
Will they feel my presence?
They will, but unless you go after a specific individual, it shouldn't bother them, he explains. I do it regularly to check if everything's okay.
I stretch without opening my eyes and clutch Gotrid's hand. It's only thanks to his calming presence that I was able to venture so far. Ever since I can remember, I've been always desperately suppressing my telepathy. Now, I'm supposed to do the exact opposite. It will be hard to break that habit.
"Love, your stomach has been rumbling for quite a while now," he says aloud. "We should take a break."
I pull my mind back and slowly open my eyes. It's not as if my mind leaves the body for long-distance telepathy, but it dulls the perception of my surroundings.
"You did well, son," my father opens his eyes as well and stands up. "Your husband is right, let's take a short break."
Gotrid and I stand up supporting each other and we devote a moment to stretch our wings. I hope it will be possible to fly in the afternoon. I explicitly asked Advin to squeeze it into our schedule somehow. However, when Advin storms into the room with a bewildered expression, my hopes get crushed.
"The Japanese government finally reached a decision," he blurts out. "Ichikawa-san wants to meet both Your Majesties in person. They also demand to visit our headquarters."
"Aren't they afraid to enter the Divementis premises?" Gotrid raises his eyebrows. "I figured they would insist we return to the Celestial Embassy."
"The Earth is being invaded by monsters, so meeting telepathic aliens pales in comparison, hemaya," my father shrugs. "Besides, we're on the same side and they know it."
"What did you just call me?" Gotrid tilts his head.
"Hemaya is the Divementis term for one's children's partners," he clarifies. "It means 'bonded into the family.' You might be a different species, but since you're bonded to my son, you feel the same to me as a Divementis spouse would."
Gotrid feels proud about that and grins.
"Your order, my Emperor?" Advin coughs.
"We will welcome them, of course," my father decides. "Let's invite them for tomorrow so that we have some time to prepare. Advin, take my son and his husband to get some rest, I'll take care of the Japanese government in the meantime. I met the Prime Minister in person several times, so I'd better be the one to arrange it."
Advin nods and leads us into a lounge that's been vacated just for us. Ayala is here already, preparing drinks and snacks. We get comfortable on a sofa and I'm surprised to see Uriel helping out.
"Your Majesty," Uriel's eyes get wet when seeing me.
"What's wrong?" I get startled even though I don't feel anything bad coming from her.
"She's just happy to finally get reunited with Your Majesty," Ayala waves her hand and serves us coffee and sandwiches. "She volunteered to help around the Royal Quarters until she levels up and rejoins the Imperial Guard."
"Right, Uri used to be one of the guard captains," I realise and watch her as she's serving us a plate of cookies. Gotrid immediately goes for one and stuffs it into my mouth.
I almost choke on it when I notice a group of Divementis staring into the lounge through the glass. My guards don't want to let them inside when I'm here, so they start arguing with Vermiel. At first, it looks like they are just unsatisfied that their staff room is currently occupied because of me. Then the argument becomes more heated and it doesn't look like a simple misunderstanding anymore.
Your Highness, please, let us talk to you! I get a desperate telepathic message. Alarmed, I quickly get up and hurry to the door.
"Ehm... why do you want to talk to me?" I ask uncertainly and order Vermiel to stop blocking the entrance.
"We just want to talk to our Crown Prince," one of them steps forward, speaking Divementis. "His Majesty proclaimed that there won't be any official audience in the near future which we strongly disagree with. You should meet your people, Your Highness."
"Please, use English," I say because Gotrid and the others can't understand a thing and I don't want them to feel awkward. "As for audiences, I'm here to train my telepathy before the Enemy strikes the Earth for real. We don't have time for unimportant things."
"Unimportant?!" the Divementis whom I finally make out to be a woman shakes her head violently. "My Prince, I know that you didn't grow up among us, but this is of utmost importance. You have to bond with your people! It's unprecedented for a prince of the Royal bloodline not to do so immediately after reaching maturity."
"Bond?" I'm confused now.
The woman wants to explain, but my father storms into the room. He must have sensed that something was wrong so he hurried here despite his meeting with the Japanese representatives. My aunt Nyx is with him.
"What's the meaning of this?" he gets angry and releases a threatening telepathic wave. "I told you that the Crown Prince is not giving audiences."
The intruding Divementis shudder, but they don't retreat.
"As the Crown Prince, His Highness has to undergo the Bonding Ceremony," the woman insists bravely.
"Father, I don't understand," I frown. "I've bonded with Erik and Gotrid already. I don't care if the Divementis have a special ceremony for it."
"Tell him, Althorion," Nyx sighs resignedly. "He needs to know and our people should get a clear statement."