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Chapter 62: The Interview
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Laurel pulled Ellis's hair back from her face and clipped it at the back of her head, and then applied Ellis's makeup with a light, deft touch.
Logan hated it. He peered at her face curiously and then rubbed his finger on her cheek, examining the smudge of makeup. “Why do you have paint on your face?”
Laurel dabbed the spot he had touched. “To counteract the strong lights,” she explained.
"Her lips are not normally that color," Logan said. "It is deceptive to paint her different colors than she really is." He tilted his head, his brow furrowing. "What did you do to her eyelids?"
“Trust me on this,” Laurel insisted.
They had set rules for the interview. It was to be conducted in the Palace with Logan and Nin in attendance. (Logan still didn't trust the man completely, despite his apparent conversion.) There were to be no questions regarding religion, or miracles, or Ellis's deification.
At breakfast, Ellis
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The technical noises started and everyone apart from her seemed unfazed. The engine roared and the ship shook and rattled. Ellis watched Nin in amazement as she swayed with the motion of the ship to stay upright, as perfectly balanced as she was on the ground.And then Ellis could feel the lift-off. She slammed back against the seat, a giant, invisible force pinning her down. She tried to lift one of her fingers but didn’t have enough strength.And then the rattling stopped. The roar of the engine died down to a soft hum. Logan clicked open parts of Ellis’s harness so she could move her heads and hands. She relaxed a little. “You won’t want to get up. The weightlessness can make you feel disoriented.”“Is there a window?” Ellis asked.Logan reached down and pushed a panel. Beneath it was a tiny porthole, Ellis peered out into the empty blackness, littered with glittering stars. She saw Zothea and was staggered by
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Nin acted as their taster, despite Ellis's reluctance. The President looked offended, but Logan insisted. Just like the Kolns at home, Nin placed the food in her palm before eating it, but unlike the Kolns, she could eat vegetables, though Ellis might have gotten a small, vicious pleasure out of making Cecilia taste them for her.Ellis only picked at her food, listening as Logan and the President struggled to make polite conversation. Ellis had never been one for small talk, so she couldn't think of anything to contribute. Ellis knew the President's name was Abe, but he never gave them leave to use it, so they were forced to refer to him by his title, making the conversation even more stilted and formal.The President, it seemed, enjoyed gambling and had just invited them to a bout the next evening. Ellis didn't hear Logan’s reply over the pounding of her heart.The meal finally ended, but instead of rising to leave, the President clapped his hands. A grou
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“He essentially said that if I had sex with him, he would go along with our proclamations without a fuss.” She hung her head.Logan jumped to his feet, a ferocious growl ripping from his throat, murder in his eyes. He charged for the door but Ellis grabbed his tail, clinging to the swaying bed. “Don’t!”“How dare he? Let go of my tail, Ellis,” he snarled.“No, Logan. You’ll make things worse. You’ll play into their plans. Let’s just go home, okay?” she pleaded with him. “He wants you to attack him, to give him an excuse to cause you trouble. Cecilia tried to set me off over abusing her Koln and Abe would try to enrage you by propositioning me.”Logan froze and she could see him thing carefully. She dropped his tail. “You are right.” He cupped her face in his palm, stroking his thumb over her cheekbone. “What would I do without you?”“Do
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