It only took a couple of seconds for Candi to begin struggling.
"Aahhh. Dante, you're too heavy. I can't breathe. Get off me!" She screamed with a strangled voice.
"Sorry Baby Girl," Dante laughed as he hoisted himself off her body.
With a single flex of his muscles, his wings retracted and his face returned to the human visage she knew so well.
"You turned into a bat." Candi breathed with amazement.
"At the moment of release, I cannot control my body. It was all I could do just to keep my claws from extruding and hurting you."
"So this human form is not your real form?"
Dante blinked. How could he explain this to his new bride in a way that was not so alien and foreign that it repulsed her.
"We bats have a dual nature within our bodies. We can pick and choose to be either human or bat. Unfortunately, the bat nature is very animalistic and tied to instincts that are hardwired."
"So when you are in rational control, your human side is what I see and when you lose control and your urges and instincts take over—"
"That's right. I become a humanoid bat."
"I wonder why I only have a single nature inside my body. All I can ever be is human."
Dante dropped a kiss onto her face. "You're not a hybrid, that's why."
"Are we…" Candi bit her lip. How should she ask this. "Are we compatible? Can we have children even though you and I are biologically so different?"
Dante smiled. "Of course we can have children. The whole reason why the Avgo chose you was so that your genetic material could be used to strengthen the royal Bat lineage."
Candi looked away. That was the part she had not really thought about much.
"What if I get pregnant from this?"
Dante cradled her head in his large hands. "That would be a happy occurrence, Baby Girl."
"But we're not exactly married yet. Would the child be considered—"
"Hush!" He placed a finger over her lips. "You have agreed to be my wife. I will not allow you to back out of that."
"No, what I mean is that we just barely talked about it, but we're not exactly married yet, so would that make the child illegi—."
Dante laughed, a pure sound of delight.
"No child of mine will ever be illegitimate. The moment you said yes was the moment you became my wife."
"Oh. I thought it was the legal papers and such."
"Legal papers have to do with inheritance and succession of the throne. Whether you are someone's wife or not is the acceptance or rejection of a serious heartfelt request."
He turned his serious green eyes at her. "I am the Crown Prince. If I told everyone around me that you are my wife, who will argue with me?"
"But will there ever come a time when another woman takes precedence and become 'official wife', as opposed to one that you picked?"
"Not going to happen." He shook his head. "If there is something you haven't figured out about me by now, it's the fact that I don't kow-tow to anybody, not even my father."
She nodded. It was true. Dante never cared what the Emperor said. He just did what he pleased.
They bathed together and made love several more times before their bodies were satiated enough to allow them to rest a bit.
At one point in their lovemaking, Dante accidentally scratched Candi's arm with one of his claws and they had to stop so he could heal her.
Thereafter, they learned to pause at the moment when his wings emerged so he could safely tuck in his talons before continuing with the lovemaking.
It was a learning experience for both of them, and eventually, they began to learn each other's rhythms and each other's likes and dislikes.
By evening, they finally emerged from their secluded room in search of food and the rest of the brothers.
Empress Anastasia's Palace in Heliopolis was once a magnificent hotel. It had been acquired and then remade into a palace fit for an Empress of the galaxy.
It was one of many things that the Emperor did to assuage the hurt that Anastasia felt at the moment she knew that another woman would take her place as Empress even though she was carrying Rex' first-born child.
As such, the bones of the hotel showed through the palace reconstruction. There was a dining room that was once a famous restaurant within the city.
The entire staff had been retained but the restaurant no longer catered to the general public and was, instead, for the exclusive use of the royal family.
The dining hall was deserted save for a couple of servers waiting to assist any royal member who happened to be wandering down for dinner.
They chose a tiny table near the window and Dante seated her before taking his own place.
"Bring us a couple portions of whatever is best from the kitchen," he said to the serving maid as she poured their wine.
"No wine for her." He waved a dismissive hand.
"Would juice or tea be acceptable Darling?" He asked Candi.
Candi gasped. "I can't have any wine?"
Not that she ever drank any, but he had never intercepted any alcoholic beverages from her before.
"No. What if you're with child?" He raised his eyebrows in consternation.
She laughed. "Oh Dante. It doesn't happen that fast, silly man."
Dante narrowed his eyes and gazed at her through half-veiled lids.
"You never know. You could be pregnant at this very moment."
"Impossible," she smirked.
"Give me your hand." He commanded.
Candi covered her mouth as strange thoughts pervaded her mind. Did she have to pee on his hand to get accurate results?
"Don't tell me you are a walking pregnancy test."
He smiled. "If there is a life within you that has just started, I will be able to detect that small spark of life. Give me your hand." He reached out his hand towards her.
She reached out with hesitant fingers, not sure what exactly he was going to do.
Dante grasped her fingers with his own and covered her wrist with his large hand.
In seconds, his entire hand glowed as he probed her body through the hand he was gripping.
Candi's jaw dropped as she felt the sudden heat that exuded from his hand as he began probing her body.
It was very different from the healing touches which she had also felt from Slate and Leonardo. It was more exploratory, more generalized, and not focused on any one location.
He stilled his body as he concentrated on his search, but then his eyes widened and he released her hand. It had only taken a few minutes for him to make his determination.
"What? What's going on?" Candi asked as she saw the subtle change in his face.
He cleared his throat. "You—you have conceived but are not yet impregnated."
"Con—conceived but not pregnant? What does that mean?"
"It means, my love, your egg has been fertilized by my sperm. It just hasn't implanted to your womb yet. Once that happens, you will be pregnant and we will be parents."