Ellis shuddered. She had no clue what money this deranged woman was talking about.
“And then I thought, I had a chance with Leo. If Logan died, he would be the next king. But that didn’t happen either!”
Ellis remembered the day Nadia had come down the hall to bump into Leo, stinking to high heaven. “You thought if you didn’t bathe, your scent would be stronger and he would focus on you as a match,” Ellis commented.
“What? Oh, yeah. That. It’s your fault that I couldn’t get him to notice me. He was mooning over you, thinking you were his mate and whatnot.”
“You should have told me,” Bella tried to keep her voice mellow. “I would have helped you. I still can. We can get Leo to notice that you are his true mate.”
Nadia bit out a laugh. “You wouldn’t help me. You don’t give a fuck about anything apart from yourself. But I don’t need your help. On
When Ellis opened her eyes again, the woman was seated beside her once more. She didn't say anything and Ellis didn't either. She stared at the sketches instead.“Are you hungry?” the woman asked.“No, thank you,” Ellis said automatically.“Thirsty?”“Yes, I am.”Ellis heard liquid splash into a glass and the woman was at her side, slipping an arm beneath Ellis’s shoulders to hold her upright. “You almost died,” she said conversationally. She held the glass to Ellis’s lips and helped her take slow sips of water.Ellis almost wished she had. A black pall hung over her and she couldn't bring herself to care much either way. She understood how the Zotheans could die of grief. It was tempting just to lie back and wait for death to take her. As weak as she felt, it probably wouldn't take long.Logan… his name flitted into her mind.She could not go. If fo
"My mother and I came from a land of slave-owners, and I grew up in this galaxy where Koln slavery was an accepted part of life, so it never occurred to me to question the order of the world. I admit I was one of those shallow people who don't care about issues unless it personally affects them.”“The moment I laid eyes on my mate, I was certain I was in love, blinded by the stars in my eyes. He was handsome and sophisticated and an important man. I fancied myself fortunate.” She fell silent for a moment and reached forward to stir the stew before she continued with her tale. She tapped the spoon on the side of the pot and laid it atop the lid. “The infatuation died swiftly. I don’t think he ever loved me, either. We were too different but I really thought he was at least fond of me.”“It took a while for me to get pregnant but I had fun with all the attention I received. Those sycophants treated me well for who my husband was.
“Logan?”It was a while before Dorian's voice penetrated the thick haze of agony. He raked his claws through the ashes. Have to find her. Four days he had searched this site. Four endless days without sleep or sustenance. Four days without a reprieve from the pain that ate through him like acid."Logan?"Logan reluctantly dragged his eyes from the ash and looked at Dorian without much interest. But Dorian's eyes were shining, his tail dancing with joy behind his head. He turned his communicator around and showed Logan the image playing on the screen, a video of Ellis, speaking to a woman he did not recognize. A blazing sword of pain plunged through his chest and he looked at Dorian uncomprehendingly.Why would Dorian show him Ellis's image when he was—He froze. His eyes widened. He checked the date stamp. Checked it again. Looked up at Dorian without being able to breathe, to blink."She's alive," Dorian said. The two most
“Laurel and the children are perfectly safe,” Logan told her. He had told her the same thing last night, but Ellis needed to hear it again. She needed to slowly believe that all of this was real and they were alive and well. “Leo was wounded but not severely.”"I think I'll wound him myself when I see him," Logan said with a little growl."Why, what did he do?" Ellis asked. Knowing that he was safe, whatever outrageous thing he had done didn’t have any adverse consequences."He apparently thought we meant it literally when we told him to lead the troops. He was in front of every charge and it's only by the mercy of the Goddess that the damn fool wasn't killed." Logan shook his head in disbelief.“Hah!” Ellis snorted. "This from the man who rushed out to fight on the day that Zothea was attacked?" Ellis said to Logan. He gave her a wry glance and popped another piece of meat into her mouth."That's different
"I will," Mitch said, "but not for the reasons that you would. If you fall, I want to watch her suffer, and watch your children grow up without a father, just like I did."Logan’s eyes flashed. “Micheal was always there for you,” he retorted.“No, Logan. He wasn’t.” Mitch stared off into the distance. “You took him from me. You're not even of his flesh, but he always preferred you as his son. I cannot begin to count the number of times he told me to try to be more like you, to follow your example. And Isabella! She gave my hugs and kisses to you."Logan was silent for a second. “Micheal wasn’t as harsh on me as he was on you because you were his son. He wanted the best for you. I was someone else’s. He was an excellent father-figure, but he was not my father. He was yours. He treated me that way because I would someday be the Emperor, but you were the one he placed all his hopes on. You were his little
Surn was mostly covered by water, a blue planet wrapped in a garland of pearly-white clouds. What little land there was dotted the water’s surface, small, irregularly-shaped islands. Ellis watched through the tiny porthole as the planet got closer, seeming to swell until it blocked the sight of everything else.Beside her, Logan was asleep, his head pillowed on her lap, his tail firmly wrapped around her leg. She tried to remain as still as possible because every time she moved, his eyes would fly open.His wounds were healed courtesy of a doctor they had met in the city before heading to the spaceport. Mary had wrapped his wounds in cloth bandages after applying a layer of sticky tree sap that stopped the bleeding and would prevent infection.She had refused to come with them, though they promised her protection from her mate and a home of her own on Zothea. "This is my home," she said. "And here I'll stay." She had also refused the gifts of money that th
Ellis found Nin in the children's room, bending over their nest, singing softly to the sleeping babies. Ellis stood there for a moment, gaping, before she was able to blurt, "Nin! What are you doing here? You're… dead!"She had a hard time saying that out loud.“Am I?” Nin responded with a raise of her brow. “In some ways, probably,” she said, “But I needed to see you one last time before I moved on.”"Are you really here, or is this a dream?" It had to be a dream, she concluded. They were in the palace, and she knew that was gone. Even the rubble had been removed for the construction of the memorial government buildings.“Can’t it be both?” Nin asked, tilting her head with a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth."Cryptic as always," Ellis laughed. "I miss you so much.""And I miss you, little queen, more than you can know.""I'm so sorry," Ellis said. "I distr
“Ellis…” Logan patted her cheeks. “Please, Ellis. Please wake up!”"I am, I am," she said woozily, trying to pry her lids open. The sight of his face jolted her into instant wakefulness. "What is it? What's wrong?""I couldn't wake you," he rasped. He stroked the tears from her cheeks. The poor man ... she must have been crying and babbling like a lunatic."I'm sorry," said Ellis. "I'm sorry I scared you. I'm sorry for many things."“You have no reason to be sorry,” he swore.“I do. I've neglected you and I've neglected the Empire.""Your heart aches," he said loyally, defending her even against herself.“As does yours,” Ellis replied. “And I have been so wrapped up in my own grief that I didn’t pay attention to you or yours.”He buried his face in her neck. “The doctor came by today… I don’t think you noticed. He said that he coul