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Chapter 65: Facing Danger Together
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2021-02-22 20:35:08“The situation in the second planet is deteriorating fast,” Dorian exclaimed over breakfast the next morning. “The senators introduced a secession legislation last night,” he huffed.
Logan looked shocked. He hadn’t thought his authority would be disputed. “That is treason! How was it received?”
Dorian hung his head. “They didn’t reject it if that’s what you wanted to know. Not immediately,” his tone was grim. “I thought Ellis’s video would help…”
Logan shook his head. “It’s not about the emancipation of the Kolns, Dorian. It is an excuse to revolt. They had been unhappy with the Empire since my father’s reign. Perhaps resentment has turned them into this.”
“The sponsors of the bill have made a statement that they don’t want to join the rebels, but they don’t want to be part of the Empire, either.”
“Claimin
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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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Cecilia was friendly. And she was human.Ellis had been prepared for hostility, but instead was met with a welcoming demeanor. It took her by surprise. Her husband had stood in front of the temple to stop the Koln wedding, so she had expected Cecilia to take cues from that behavior.Instead, Cecilia didn’t even mention politics. She chattered, leading Ellis to a room with low divans and a small table between them.Ellis took a seat on the divan that Cecilia offered and Nin knelt at the head of it, silent as always. So far, Cecilia hadn't even acknowledged her existence, which Ellis thought was a little odd. Most people were curious about Nin because it wasn't common to see her kind with a human.“Where is Logan?” Ellis asked. She took a plate of fruits and sampled one of them after seeing Cecilia eat, to ensure that it didn’t need to be peeled or pitted. She also thought about having a taste test for poison before she took them.
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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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Micheal was waiting for them at the space port when the ship landed. This time Ellis didn’t drink anything lest another bladder mishap put a stain on her good name.Ellis inhaled the Zothean are deeply and felt at home, finally. When had she come to love this planet like her own? She wasn’t sure, but she felt it now: a deep, powerful connection to this world and its people.“Glad you are home,” Micheal said. “I was worried for your safety.”“The President’s mate was desperate for us to stay until morning. I’m certain they had something planned for us during the night,” Ellis said slowly. Logan added the story about the poisonous lizard, making Micheal growl.“They threatened your mate? You would have been within your right to kill them both.”Logan tickled Ellis’s neck with the tip of his tail. “See? I’m not the only one who thinks that way.”She
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“Take the children and go to the basement,” he commanded Ellis. He was already punching buttons on the communicator.“I’m coming with you.”“No, you’re not,” Logan retorted. “It is not safe. Please… I won’t be able to keep my mind on the fight unless I know you are safe. Nin?” he glanced up.“The Emperor is correct,” Nin spoke, oddly calm. “You must stay here where we can protect the children.”Yes, Ellis sank. She had to protect the children.Logan was speaking frantically into the communicator. “We’re under attack. Launch everything. It if flies, it needs to be in the air.”Another explosion. This time, it was in the opposite direction.Laurel ran to the window. “It’s the space port!”Leo and Dorian ran through the connecting closet into their apartment. Ellis could see them head directly and pe
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Understanding and shock dawned in Laurel’s eyes. “Ellis…” she whispered.Ellis tried to smile.“What about you?” Tears streaked Laurel’s face.“There’s another pod on the other wall,” Ellis lied. “Just go.” She suddenly understood what Logan had felt when he demanded she go to the underground city.She shoved Laurel toward the pod and heaved her up inside of it. Laurel began to fasten the restraints as Ellis scooped the babies up, tarp and all, kissing each one before she dropped them in Ellis's lap and covered them with a pillow. Then she pulled the hood down and snapped it shut. She stepped back, giving Laurel a little wave, hoping Laurel couldn't see the tears in her eyes, and hit the launch button with the palm of her hand. The pod shot up the track so fast that it seemed to simply disappear.The pod was designed to fly on autopilot to the space port in orbit above Zothea.
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She gave a sideward glance at Ellis and then walked away behind the creature. Ellis knew that Nin would fare better if she didn’t need to protect Ellis. She could finish off these things and then come back to her side.Ellis crouched down beside Leo, trying to shake him awake. Despite multiple times, he could only open his glazed eyes and babble.“Ellis,” he whispered. “You have to go.”“I can’t leave you here!” she said. She glanced up and saw the reflection of the flames was closer.“You have to! Logan—”Ellis shook her head and said nothing."Glad I... didn't win you," Leo said. "Empire… needed you ... more."“Please try…” she whispered.“Done for…” he said, closing his eyes. “to be safe.”Ellis nodded. “I promise. I will be safe.”“Thank…”She waited,
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Technology had advanced, but Ellis and Cristine still waited for the day when they could travel to their timelines and see their parents for one last time. To ensure them that they weren’t in a hopeless state, dead or have run away from home.But the technology never allowed it. There were basic rules of the planet that couldn’t be breached.So, they plotted.Cristine had used all her free time to learn how to operate Zothean ships. She was adept at aeronautics and engineering and negotiation, so Ellis and Logan had leaned heavily on her in their negotiations. It could be said that the Empire was in a time of peace under their rule.One day, Cristine came up with the idea.“These jumpers travel to the universes all the time without breaking the fragment of the universe. The only rule is to not meet yourself or members of your own family after you have been pronounced dead, right?” she asked.Ellis nodded. “Yes,
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He hadn't seen her again until it was over until the city was in ruins and the palace itself was leveled to the ground. The underground city had been hit; Mitch must have known that Logan would try to send his family there. As he made his way to the ruins of the temple, he hoped and prayed that Ellis had disregarded his directions.So many had perished. So much had been lost.The Goddess lay back and propped her head on her hands as she looked up at the stars. "Perhaps someday, I'll show you Ellis's memories of it. She never told you the entire story of what she went through that day. I'll just say that she made me proud again for being so brave and resourceful."His mind was drawn back to the moment he had found Ellis in the rubble of the temple, his relief at finding her safe so deep and intense that he couldn't even form a proper prayer of gratitude.He had wanted to give her a shake when she told him of sending Laurel and the babies away in the escape
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Isabella drove out the Council members and the cameras, her manner so brisk and officious that no one dared question her, and shut the door firmly. She sat down beside Logan and drew him into her arms, just as she had done when he was a little boy and hurting from his parents' neglect. He was too large now to snuggle into her as he once had done, so he laid his head on top of hers and wrapped his tail around her arm."It can't have been him," he said. "It can't."She pulled back to look up into his face. Her eyes were soft with compassion. She said nothing. She didn't have to.Logan buried his hands in his hair and tugged. The pain was the only thing that felt real. But Isabella gently reached up and tugged his hands away. He wanted to scream, to attack something with his claws and shred it to bits. The pain was swelling within him to the point where he thought he might burst if he couldn't let it out in some way.Isabella pulled him back into her arms an
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He was twelve and Isabella had taken him to the market with her to buy herbs. Logan wandered over to the next stall, which sold jewelry. There was a set of jewels that his eyes kept being drawn back to as he examined the merchant's wares. It was a headband of red-black stones with a matching bracelet and ring.He imagined giving that set to his mate. Would she squeal in delight the way his mother did when his father presented her with jewels? Would she throw her arms around him and press her mouth to his? (The latter Logan thought was a bit disgusting, but Micheal had said humans liked "kissing.")Last night, he'd asked Micheal, his voice low and shy, for this question meant much to him: "Micheal, what will my mate be like?" He knew she'd likely be human. Though Earth had been one of the later additions to the database, the majority of their matches now came from its people."She will be the most beautiful creature you've ever seen," Micheal said, and his eyes t
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Despite Laurel's reassurances, Ellis didn’t leave Logan’s side until the doctor arrived. Laurel held her, gently stroking Ellis's back, murmuring soft, soothing nonsense."He has it, doesn't he?" Ellis asked the doctor after he'd run his reader over Logan's prone body. Logan's tail twitched at the sound of her voice, but he didn't react otherwise. He mumbled unintelligible words."Yes, Empress, he does," the doctor said. He looked exhausted, but his eyes were kind."Oh, my God," Ellis whispered. Hopelessness set in."There's no reason to panic," the doctor said firmly. "As long as we can keep his fever under control and keep him hydrated, he will be fine. Zotheans rarely die from this."It was all reassurance.Ellis nodded. She knew that. Logan had explained it to her when the outbreak first began, and the talk videos said the same. Just like the human common cold, there was no cure for it, and it simply had to run its course. Bu
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The king brought Izzy breakfast in bed the next morning. She sat up groggily and accepted a cup of tea. She had to admit being impressed by his courtesy and thoughtfulness. She really needed the tea. She had stayed up late into the night and was no closer to an answer than she had been when she first lay down.She spent the day with the king, taking him to see some of Zothea's museums and cultural institutions. She was pretty sure that it was Drake who was following them all day. Once, she saw him duck behind a tree, and a tail with light hair poked out to the side. The bodyguard knew that Drake wasn't a threat and the king's bodyguard seemed to have decided to ignore him. The king, for his part, seemed to agree with them and didn't question the very large man trying to hide behind fence posts, but it made Izzy's heart ache. If the king was the one she chose, this would be Drake's life, lurking on the periphery of hers.The king was as he described himself: easy to get
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Drake was already gone when Izzy and Ellis came back to the dining room and her heart ached that she wouldn't be able to say goodbye to him, but maybe Micheal and Isabella had decided that Izzy would only get more upset. She gnawed on her tail as they passed through the room to where the king was waiting for her in the hallway outside. He had been seated on a bench and he stood politely when she joined him. Another of his kind stood behind him, his skin as green as the forest leaves."This is my bodyguard," he offered. The bodyguard in question ignored Izzy, but sized up her female bodyguard and apparently wasn't impressed with what he saw."Follow me," Izzy directed. The king walked down the hall beside her and Izzy noticed that she was at least a foot taller than he was.She arrived at her nest room to find that all of Drake's things had been cleaned out already and she felt a piercing ache in her heart. She sat down on a cushion beside her table, despondent.
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Logan put out an announcement that tonight would be a state dinner and so the temple dining room was packed with people, all of them speculating as to the cause. He and the empress rarely had them and when they did it was usually for a special announcement. The last had been to announce the empress was expecting Prince Edward and the one before that, to announce that Nessie was being appointed to the emperor's Council.Izzy ate mechanically. She wasn't hungry, but Aunt Cristine was right: she had to make sure the baby got what it needed. Drake was alight with excitement and impatient for the meal to end. The entire extended family was seated around the table, all of them wearing their finery. Her mother wore the glow stone tunic she'd worn to her own mating ceremony and Aunt Laurel was dressed in a purple tunic so bright that it hurt the eyes to look at it. Leo kept flirtatiously tickling Cristine's neck with his tail and then looking away innocently whenever she looked up fr
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"I saw a doctor less than an hour ago." Izzy unwound her tail from her leg with effort and gnawed on the end of it anxiously.Her father stood and without a word, headed for the door."Daddy, wait, please!" Nessie pleaded. "I'm so sorry! Talk to me.""I can't." Logan's eyes were on the door and his tail lashed in either agitation or anger; she couldn't tell which."Please," Izzy pleaded. "I need to know what you're thinking. Do—do you still love me?""Of course, I do," Logan said tightly. He twisted the doorknob."Don't leave," Izzy begged."Sweetheart, your father just needs a little time," Ellis interjected. "Let him go, and we'll all talk over this later."Goddess, didn't her mother understand that her anxiety was increasing exponentially every moment? She wouldn't survive a wait of a few hours. "Daddy… please.""You want to know what I'm thinking?" Logan turned from the door and marched back to stand in
