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
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
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
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
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
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,
Ellis sat under the blistering heat of the sun, basking in its glow, and wondered why she felt that way. She had set out her supplies.An unsent message to her parents telling them she was moving far away.Check.Her suitcase filled with all the stuff she had in her room.Check.A backpack filled with food for the journey.Check.All her identification and paperwork.Check.The beauty of the sun shining over the sea had always comforted her soul. She drew her knees to her chest and hugged them. On the horizon, the sun was setting, painting the sky red. The purple filtered through, making the clouds dance in the fiery sky above. Closing her eye, she savored the sound of the waves and the cries of the seagulls, the scent of salt permeating through her senses. She felt mildly sticky but didn't pay much attention to it.She had felt the happiest here since she was bo
"Ah, alien abduction. I would laugh but my head is killing me." She waited for the other to reply."It's not a joke," Nadia deadpanned.A small smile cracked on Ellis's lips and she nodded. "So, what happens next? Do I get anally probed and my chest cut open to see what is inside? Is a lobotomy due?" Well, this is what the people who were kidnapped by aliens said, right? Not that she believed in it. "Can I leave after that?"Nadia's smile didn't falter as she shook her head. "Sorry. You can't leave." At that point, Ellis was sure that the smile was plastered on the woman's face. If she truly were an alien, it would be comparable to the white-faced monsters people often fantasized about."So, what do I do after the probing?" Ellis asked blandly. This joke was getting sour quickly."We've retrieved you because you are a perfect genetic match for the Emperor of EN-4396. Therefore, you are going to become the new Empress."Sure, little old
The first thing she saw when she awoke again was Nadia's face. Another round of palpitations plagued her. Her senses seemed to be drowned underneath water and she was staring at this other human's face who had little sympathy for her."Deep breaths," Nadia commanded. "Come on, breathe through it!"Though the voice sounded faraway, Ellis followed it. After a few minutes, she felt her racing heartbeat slow to a near-normal pace."Why me?" she asked finally. "Out of all other people in these universes, why was I picked to be the Empress? Surely, the Emperor would prefer to marry someone of his own race."As awkward as it sounded coming out of her mouth, she knew it was not derogatory. Marrying another species wasn't the norm when she was on Earth, so she couldn't see why it would be so anywhere else."Well, Zothea, the planet you will be living in most of the year, is actually much more advanced than humans. They found species that are gen