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Chapter 98: Building a New House
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2024-10-29 19:42:56“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
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"Captain, you have a call from the Admiral," said the communications officer. "He says it's urgent and delicate, ma’am."“Send it to my room,” Christine responded curtly. “I will speak with him there.”“Understood,” the communications officer nodded.She got up from her chair on the bridge of the star ship. She nodded to her first officer to tell him she was leaving. He barely acknowledged her, but then again, he never did.She knew he was bitter about being passed over for the command of his own ship and under her leadership. Striding across the bridge, she used her thumb to open the door of her room, the office just off the bridge.Walking a little slower, she sat down at her desk and turned on the terminal. The waiting communiqué was blinking on the screen. Pressing the screen, she saw the face of her father appear. "Admiral?" she asked."I just received your report on the last mission we s
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They stepped inside the temple sanctuary. Logan kissed Ellis's forehead and went off to the altar of the Goddess, pulling a strip of paper from his pocket. Ellis smiled as she watched him go. She sometimes wished that she was able to find faith, but despite everything that had happened, it still eluded her. Micheal said it ultimately didn't matter whether she believed in the Goddess or not, as long as she could believe in herself. And maybe she'd never reach that point, either, but she did believe that with Logan at her side, she could do anything, face any hardship, meet any challenge.She went back to the living quarters behind the temple, following the sound of familiar voices. "No, Izzy, you spelled autocratic incorrectly. Athena! Are you passing notes to Elizabeth again? Give me that!"Poor Isabella sounded exasperated. Ellis pushed open the door and saw the children were seated at their desks. Little Isabella chewed on her tail, deep in thought. Ellis pitied her;
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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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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
