“Nelacos? Sister? Are you there?” Mitzie squinted to open her eyes. The voice sounded familiar, like the woman Etheria from her dream the previous night. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. This is not the same place she’d been in her previous dream. This place was dark, very dark, and Mitzie could feel an evil that drenched the very fibers of the darkness. The only light was the brief flickers of what could have been candles. Mitzie realized she was sitting on a cold hard cobblestoned ground. Wherever she was looked to be some sort of medieval prison, as it was frosty and smelled of death. The thought that she could be in an actual dungeon somewhere sent chills down her spine and caused her to wrap her arms around herself. She tried to take a deep breath but wound-up choking due to the putrid odor. The smell was so bad she threw up a little of her breakfast at the repulsive scent. Who cares if she puked on this wretched floor in this forsaken chamber. She needed to figure out where sh
Mitzie felt like her feet were made of lead. She couldn’t move, barely felt like she could breathe, and was now scared out of her mind. Her breaths were extremely labored, and she knew this wasn’t good for her baby. “Don’t stress yourself or Darius. I am now activated to protect my wife and the next king of Etherios. Please have a seat so I can explain to you what is going on, and what we will need to do at this point,” he calmly encouraged. As hard as Mitzie tried, she could not move. She thought she was doing good to get the small breaths in that she was getting. She knew there was no way she could talk at this moment, yet her mind was moving at a rate faster than she could keep up. “Please, my love. Come, sit. There is much that I need to tell you so that we can protect our child and king,” he said in a soothing voice while patting the cushion on the seat next to him. “What in the entire fuck is going on, Alford?!” she somehow managed glare at him and yell. “Or is that even yo
“Who…who are the others?” Mitzie stuttered adjusting to where her ham and cracker snack sat on her legs that were elevated on the couch. “Our two honorary shareholders with Damos Corporation. Stanley and Maria, also known as Elshazar and Malshavez” he began. “That does not surprise me,” she responded. “I’d never met a driver that is as dedicated as Stanley, or…Elshazar… nor had I ever met someone as fiercely protective of children as Maria, or rather, Malshavez,” she spoke tapping her lips with her index finger. “Elshazar and Malshavez served alongside my parents when they were both killed in battle. I was a child at that time, so the story of me being an orphan is true,” Zara recounted with tears glistening in her eyes. “Fucking Japheth had taken over the Sulari kingdom and thought merging with their army would help him conquer Etherios,” she exclaimed, her countenance changing from mournful to murderous at mentioning Japheth. Her voice softened as she spoke again. “Elshazar and
Just then, Emma entered the office with a rolling tray of what smelled like pure deliciousness. As good as the aroma was coming from the cart, Mitzie’s appetite was not meeting the same enthusiasm as her nose. “Well, that explains why you’re always bowing to us, now,” Mitzie chuckled at Emma. Emma gasped while shooting a stunned glare at Alford. “She knows, Emma. You can relax,” Alford giggled. “Please see that the princess and the king eat, as we will be gone for a while. Trouble has brewed, and we’ve not much time,” he said with his face changing from playful to serious. He gave Mitzie one final glance as he and Zara departed the office. Mitzie sat staring at the empty doorway. What the hell is really going on with her? She knew she was awake, but she still felt as if she were in a dream that she was unable to wake up from. “Your Highness,” Emma spoke softly. “I can imagine that you are in shock right now, and you may not have much of an appetite, however, I would like to keep
She’d heard it said that women tend to marry men that are like their fathers. She had to admit, she certainly had. Alford displayed all the qualities that she saw her father to have. Roger was always patient and supportive of Mitzie, no matter how outlandish she could be. So was Alford. No matter what was going on in his life, Roger always made time for Mitzie. So does Alford. Roger was dedicated to working hard to be a provider for and protector of his family. Another characteristic of Alford’s that Mitzie admired. The list would go on and on, and Mitzie knew she hit the jackpot when Alford entered her life. Mitzie would never forget how nervous she was when she took Alford to meet her parents for the first time. Alford had been insistent that he believed in the old-fashioned way of seeking her father’s permission to date her. She’d dated men before, not a lot, but she’d had her share. They were all casual relationships, nothing serious enough to take home to her parents. Sure, she
The man’s voice startled her, and she gasped loudly as her eyes flew open to see who the voice belonged to. “Doctor Spandau! What are you doing here?” she asked, surprise thick in her voice. The man that was Mitzie’s Obstetrician chuckled as he stood in the doorway to her office leaning against the frame with his arms crossed. Mitzie took in his appearance and could see how he was a warrior. He was about the same height as Alford, and was built remarkably similar to Alford, only Dr. Spandau’s muscles were not as defined. After knowing that Marva and Dr. Spandau were married, Mitzie guessed him to be in his late sixties, also, however, he didn’t look any older than middle 40s. She didn’t know if it was simply good genes, or if it was because he trained regularly as a warrior. He had just a sprinkle of grey hair around the temples of his close cropped otherwise brown hair, and his crow’s feet only appeared when he smiled. Mitzie sat forward on the couch and tried to gather her tho
Alford could hear the sorrow in Zara’s voice. “Commandant,” she started, “I should have reported to you when Luceron and Seraphine were late for the warrior briefing in the bar area at the hotel the day of the benefit dinner. Seraphine told me it was because of last-minute arrangements and changes with the dinner, and while I wasn’t quite sold on the excuse, I couldn’t argue it.” Alford let out a frustrated sigh and scrubbed his hand over his face with one hand while keeping the other on the steering wheel and his eyes on the road. “You aren’t the only one that missed signs of something aery, Preticus,” he spoke in an assuring tone letting her know he placed no blame on her for this. “I’ve had my suspicions about something being off with them for quite some time; ever since the Ervilan spy was caught trying to sneak into the Milky Way. I should have dug deeper into the spy’s getaway since they were the two who sighted them. Something changed in both of them after that, but I was cha
Mitzie squinted at the light as she slowly opened her eyes. She could hear voices, ones that sounded like Dr. Spandau and Mara, and another that she’d not heard before. “And we’ll make arrangements for her transport,” she heard Marva annoyingly say. “And what makes you so certain that she hasn’t mind-linked Orthos already?” it sounded like a female, one that had smoked too many cigarettes and was losing her voice. The sound irritated Mitzie like Marva’s voice, and Mitzie winced at the thought of having to hear both of these women speaking. “Because I told Orthos that the mental stimulation of trying to open mind-linking abilities on the virgin brain of a pregnant woman could cause harm to her unborn child,” Spandau asserted. “He’s not educated enough in the medical field to know that rule would not apply to an Etherian princess.” Mitzie knew they were talking about her. What is this mind-linking ability they were talking about? It was starting to become clear to her now how she’d n