-Karen-Nathan’s presence woke me up later in the day. I looked up and saw him looking down at me with a somber look on his face. What’s that look for? I started to get up when he stopped me. “Rest.” He ordered simply. “We do need to start working on getting you prepared but it won't do any good if you’re this exhausted… It will make it harder, and you won't remember anything important.” I snuggled back down into the warm blanket.“Thank you…” I murmured tiredly. I’m so worn out… I could sleep for two more days easily.“I want to talk to you about something that’s been on my mind for a while now.” He said quietly. I watched him as he sat down on the edge of the bed. He was quiet for several minutes as he looked at his hands. “Prince Conor…” Oh boy… “He really loves you, Karen… And I can see that in everything he says and does. He reminds me so much of myself when I was young…” Nathan recalled softly. He reminds you of yourself? “I have been talking with him at length… At first it was
-Karen-Nathan looked back over at me with the saddest look I had ever seen from him. “I lost the woman who made my soul shine. And I still had to figure out how to go on for our beloved Lizette. I couldn’t let her lose both of us. It took me many years to be able to function as close to normal as possible. I drank that pain away for a long time… I didn’t know what else to do to help end my own overwhelming pain that her loss brought. I was only a lower tiered Advanced Mage when that happened. Six years later, I finally got it together for Lizette with Winholt’s help. I promised Lizette that I would be there for her. Whenever I saw her, I saw Melissa staring back at me and it hurt so much for the longest time.” He shook his head again. “Lizette and Monica used to be so close when they were growing up and then Monica ran away. She fell in love and married a doctor a few years later. Lizette chose to stay close to Delia and was a pillar of strength for all of us. She became the rock th
-Karen-“I’ll still do those things.” Conor said from the opening of the tent. I snapped my gaze over to look at him nervously. Did he hear all of that? I watched him as he walked over and climbed on the bed next to me. He pushed a lock of hair behind my ear and said, “I’ll always be here for you, Kay. Even if you scream that you hate me when you’re angry. Nothing means more to me than you and Alex.” I rushed into his arms and cried as he held me tightly. “My world is right here in my arms, Nathan. I know we’ve talked a lot in the last week but I’m serious about all I’ve said to you. I’ll do whatever I have to in order to protect her and Alexander. She’s the woman I want my family with- I’m not like other Zargans… I never have been.” He kissed my forehead and hugged me tightly. “I love you more than you will ever know, Kay.” “I was an outcast from the beginning… And then I met Bart and found out I wasn’t alone. My cousin, Joanne, had been forced to bed men that would hurt her until I
-Karen-I looked over and saw Nathan, Aaron and Arthur approaching us. Aaron went and stood next to Joanne making funny faces at Alexander who squealed loudly and reached out to him. He pulled something out of his pocket. “Look at you causing a scene Mighty Mage Lord! Be good and you can have this pacifier that your awesome Uncle Aaron grabbed for you.” Aaron said as Alexander grabbed onto his nose with on hand and a lock of his hair in the other. He squealed and then cooed as we all chuckled. My heart felt light and happy at the sight. Take care of my baby Aaron… “Look here Mighty Mage Lord- That’s not being good.” Alexander giggled and squealed again at him.I turned my attention to Nathan and Arthur. “Ready to go?” Nathan asked us. “Time to get to work.”I nodded as the three of us followed behind him towards the large clearing that we first entered the camp through. Nathan summoned a large portal, and we follow him through to a place I had only been once before. It looked exactly
-Conor-“Eldon wants to talk to us, Conor.” Nathan said as he watched Karen fall asleep. Conor carefully got up from the bed and they walked out of the tent leaving her to sleep. What the hell does that jerk want? “Follow me.” Nathan instructed summoning a portal to his own tent. Eldon was there holding Karen’s stone. Arthur and Aaron were also in attendance. “It’s unusual for a Mage to shatter their jewel so many times like that.” Eldon started out holding up the pale lavender stone for everyone to see. “Her power is much vaster than the jewel can actually handle and that’s why it keeps breaking. At this rate, I figure that she is going to have to die at least seven or eight more times, if not more, before it will be large enough to contain the proper amount of power she needs to shatter that barrier.”“Really?!” Aaron and Arthur asked in shock giving Eldon a mortified look. Eldon nodded in amusement.“Why not just make it bigger on the next death?” Conor asked pointedly. No point i
-Karen-I woke up, falling off the bed and smacking my head on the cold, hard ground. Ugh… Damn that hurt. I slowly got to my knees and looked around the tent. What day is it? It was empty save for me and our bed. I stumbled out of the tent and looked for Conor and Alexander. I want snuggle time from my two favorite men. Or at least one of them…“Duel!” Aaron shouted at me. I raised an eyebrow. “I want to duel!” He walked up to me and handed me a bowl of soup. “After you eat though.” I chuckled taking the bowl and eating quickly. Mm! So yummy! I can taste so many flavors. I have to learn to cook like this!“I want to duel too, Karen!” Arthur said walking over to us. “Two on one. I think you can totally do it.”“You really want to challenge me?” I asked mid-bite. They nodded eagerly as Nathan and Conor walked over to us. Nathan was holding Alexander. Alex squealed happily as soon as he saw me. Awe… My mini hunk. I walked over and kissed his soft cheek as he cooed. “My sweet baby… Stop
-Karen-I woke up back in the tent feeling extremely exhausted and weak. Arthur was next to me holding my hand. “I don’t feel well Arthur.” I whispered wearily. “I feel terrible…” Worse than I can remember in a long time.“You’ve been unconscious for a few days. Aaron and I have been taking turns trying to get you back to where you need to be… You depleted your energy reserves entirely with your last try.” He replied giving me a small hug. “I know this is hard Kay and I know this is only making you depressed, but you’ll get it. You’re going to bust that barrier soon. It took me a couple weeks to finally bust that damn barrier… You can do this. I know you can!” Arthur let go of my hand after a few minutes. “Are you hungry?” I nodded twice as I tried to stay awake. I wanna eat but I really wanna sleep more… “I’ll get you some ham and beans that Joanne made this morning.”He left in a portal as someone came through the tent flap. I was too tired to even look over to see who it was. “Hey!
-Karen-When I woke again I was alone with several blankets on top of me. What is wrong with me? I felt angry with myself for being this tired still. As soon as I stood up, I felt fine. That’s… unusual. I left the tent quickly. I walked out and saw the camp was completely empty. “Where is everyone? And what is that terrible odor?” As I walked to the cooking pit, the smell got worse. I lifted the lid and saw Alexander cut up into pieces. I felt the lid drop and my heart stop at horrific sight. After a second, I let out with a shrill scream.I jumped out of bed and fell on my face covered in a cold sweat. Alexander! Was it- Was it just a nightmare?? I heard Conor get up quickly and pull me to my feet as I burst into tears. “Karen, what’s wrong baby?” He asked sleepily as I clung to him sobbing. “Did you have a nightmare?” I couldn’t answer but I nodded as he tried to soothe me. “It’s okay, honey. Everything’s okay.” No! I have to be certain! I need to hold my baby! I have to! I broke aw