《Chosen Bride of the Seven Dark Princes》


 Chapter 1 - The Thief

    [BOOK ONE: THE AVGO GEMSTONE]


    Under the dark LA sky, a grapnel hook swung onto the balustrade and locked into ce.


    From the right side of the building, a figure swung over to the left andnded on the rooftop of the lower building.


    She was a dark shadow, covered from head to toe in a tight-fitting ck bodysuit.


    It hid her identity, but it couldn''t hide her heat signature, nor could it hide the shadow figure her luscious tight body threw on to the wall across the street.


    She ran across the rooftop to the far edge of the building and with a flying leap, jumped across the expanse to the next building.


    It was a done deal. Her getaway helicopter was waiting for her. Two more minutes and she would be up and soaring away from the sewer beast that was LA.


    As her legs reached out for the ledge of her target building, something dark flew at her from the right side.


    "Ooooofff!!!"


    She grunted as her body was mmed in midair.


    Suddenly, she found herself caught in viselike arms, soaring above the pitch ck sky.


    WHAT THE FUCK!!!


    "Aaaahhhh!!!" She screamed and quickly regretted it as a vice band whipped over her throat, almost cutting off her windpipe.


    For a moment, she thought about fighting her captor, tooth and w. But then sanity hit her upside the head as she realized something horrifying.


    She was high up above the city, looking down at the twinkling lights of the buildings below.


    Fighting and wing at the captor would only result in either being dropped at that height and dashing into pieces on the ground, or worse yet, being squeezed to death by what felt like hard iron bands that were squeezing the life out of her lungs.


    She was being carried from behind, like a raptor carrying its prey. Her arms were locked in ce, and so was her neck. She could not turn to see who her captor was.


    In this position, all she could do was catch glimpses from the edges of her peripheral vision; glimpses ofrge powerful wings soaring on the night wind.


    She couldn''t tell if the wings were bird-like or bat-like, but at the very least, she could determine with some uracy that the body and arms of her captor were at least human.


    Male even.


    Her back was shoved up against arge broad expanse of rock solid chest muscles. He was definitely male.


    She grimaced.


    There was no give to his chest at all. It was almost as if the man was made of rocks!


    She nced down at the arm that was squeezing the life out of her diaphragm and making her gasp and fight for every little breath she could take in. It was a strong muscr arm like a huge tree trunk and just as gnarled.


    Unable to take in anything more than a few gasps of breath, she was starting to ck out.


    Fight it girl! Don''t ck out! Don''t ck out or you will die!


    Just when she thought she would die of asphyxiation, hended on top of a tall building and threw her onto the hard concrete surface of the rooftop.


    "Aaaahhh!"


    She gasped as sheid there, gasping and heaving, trying to catch her breath.


    Her face scrunched up into a grimace. Her hip had mmed into the hard ground and her head had also hit pretty hard.


    She reached out and touched her head. It didn''t feel as if it was cracked or anything, but it hurt like hell!


    She nced up at the man who had carried her to this godforsaken ce. His face was in shadows but she could see his wings gleaming in the pale moonlight.


    There were no feathers.


    No feathers meant he was no angel.


    This was some demon with dark leathery looking bat wings. The thumbs of those wings were huge ws that looked like the scythe that the Grim Reaper carried.


    His body was over-muscled but he at least was wearing something akin to clothes. She gave a thankful sigh.


    It would have been far worse if she had to look upon the ugliness of a bare-butt naked demon with all his parts hanging out.


    Before she could do or say anything, six other demons appeared from the cover of darkness.


    "Who are you people?" She tried to scream, but her throat had been constricted so it came out as more of a hoarse gasp.


    "So this is the thief?"


    "Yes. I saw her taking it and then making a run for it, so I grabbed her."


    "Hmmm. It is indeed a woman."


    "Yes, very much so. She did not put up much of a fight though."


    "Were you surprised? You carried her up into the sky. Why would she fight to get away from you? She would have never survived a drop from that height."


    As the demons talked amongst themselves, it was almost as if they had forgotten that she was still on the ground, still gasping for air.


    If she moved quickly, she could make a run for it.


    But then she dropped the idea. Where could she run to? She was on top of a sky scraper.


    "Woman." One of them turned to her. "Who are you working with?"


    "No one." She spat. "I work for myself."


    The demon came closer.


    She held her breath and stared into the dark void of his face. She didn''t know what she was expecting.


    Didn''t demon faces have lumps and bumps? Wasn''t it red and gnarled with hooked noses or pointed chins? It definitely wasn''t this ck void that showed no features.


    She swallowed her fear down.


    If these demons wanted her dead, she would have been dropped from the heights as they were flying above the city, or hacked and wed to death as soon as shended on top of this building.


    The fact that she was still alive meant they wanted something from her.


    "What is your name?" The demon asked. His voice was deep and gravelly, just as she expected a demon''s voice to be.


    "Can¡ªCandi."


    "So. Cancandi. Out of all the baubles in that exhibit, you knew exactly what to take. What do you know about it?"


    "Candi."


    "What?"


    "My name. It''s not Cancandi.. It''s Candi."

 Chapter 2 - The Seven Demon Princes

    For a moment, the demon leaned back, saying nothing.


    Then all seven demons beganughing.


    "Hahaha! Did you hear that? Any girl would have died of fright by now, but not this Candi girl."


    "Okay then Candi. How did you know that this one gem was the only one worth taking?"


    She took a deep breath. She could not tell them the truth. She had to make up something quickly.


    "It was a deep pink color and I liked it."


    Another demon approached her. This one peered at her with curious eyes before speaking.


    "You are lying. Your eyes give you away."


    He turned back to the first one who had carted her off.


    "When you first saw her make the heist, did she look around at all the other gemstones?"


    Tree-trunk arms shook his head. "No. She went straight for the Avgo. She knows its significance."


    The demon who asked the question turned back to her.


    "You still have the Avgo, yes?"


    "Yes."


    He stood up. "We''re done here."


    He reached out and passed his hand over her face, phasing her into oblivion.


    ???


    When Candi came to, it was morning.


    She was lying on the floor of her tiny apartment on the neenth floor of a high rise building in the middle of bustling LA.


    Candi sat up and immediately gasped as a shrieking pain hit her. She was still fully dressed in her ops clothing.


    Within the arm of her jacket was a hard lump the size of the gem she had stolen the night before. Why she still had this thing, Candi had no idea.


    The seven demons had returned her to her home, along with the very item she had stolen from them.


    She pulled off her ski mask and a tumble of honey blonde hair fell from its restrictive. It cascaded down past her shoulders to the middle of her back.


    She gripped her head and swallowed. Her throat hurt. Her chest hurt too, as if she had fractured a couple of ribs.


    She tried to stand up and nearly fell back onto the floor. Her right hip was aching so badly, it almost felt as if she had broken it.


    "Aaaaaahhh." She groaned as she crawled to the bathroom. She needed to soak her body in some very warm water.


    Within fifteen minutes, Candi had stripped herself of the ck bodysuit and thrown a couple handfuls of epsom salt into the water.


    She lowered herself into the steaming water and gasped as the heat caused her body to ache even more.


    Candi looked down at her battered and bruised body and winced. She almost looked like a ck and white Holstein cow!


    As she rested within the water, the events of the night before shed before her eyes.


    She grimaced and recoiled from the memory of the ck featureless faces of the seven demons with huge ck leathery wings.


    Candi reached out and touched the areas where the rock hard bands of the first demon had clutched her.


    He had not been gentle, but what did she expect? She was a thief and he had caught her. She was lucky he hadn''t killed her!


    What Candi was really surprised about was the fact that she was still alive and back in her safe little apartment, soaking her wounds.


    By rights, she should be on top of that sky scraper, torn to pieces by those seven demons.


    Candi took a deep breath and tried to clear her mind of the horrors of the night before.


    She had no idea who or what those demons were, but if she didn''t believe in angels and demons beforest night, she surely believed in them now.


    She was still soaking in the now cooling water when her mobile rm rang. She had run out of time to nurse her wounds.


    Candi got out of the water and quickly got into her field clothes, a pair of jeans, white cotton button-down shirt, and a light jacket.


    Within fifteen minutes, she had exited her apartment and taken the elevator down to the lobby.


    No time to think about whatever supernatural event that had just happened to her. She needed to focus on the convention that was about to ur.


    Candi stood out in front of the apartmentplex and punched in the code on her mobile device for a driverless pod.


    Within a few minutes, a small white pod stopped in front of her and she stepped in.


    The interior was cool and smelled faintly of mint and sandalwood. It reminded her of something.


    As she closed her eyes, the frightful vision of those dark featureless visages once again appeared before her.


    The fourth demon, the one who had said that she had lied, that her eyes had given her away. He smelled like mint and sandalwood.


    She quickly opened her eyes.


    She could not sink back into that abyss. It was too scary to dwell upon.


    Within twenty minutes, the pod deposited her in front of the San Lorain Hotel.


    She had barely stepped out when a porter appeared at her side.


    "Miss Candace Farrah."


    She gave him a startled look.


    The man was not asking if she was Candace Farrah. He knew exactly who she was.


    Perhaps the organizer of the event had given this porter her personal details. She wasn''t exactly an unknown. She had done quite a few of these fundraising events in the past.


    "This way, Miss Farrah." He took her arm and led her through the double doors that had swung open.


    Candi pressed her lips together and apanied him.


    Obviously, they were expecting her.


    It was also obvious that there was no backing out of whatever it was that would be waiting for her.


    He took her to the elevator and slid into the interior with her.


    As the elevator door slid shut, he stuck a card into a side slot and punched a few buttons on the panel.


    Once the elevator began to move, he started humming a little tune that sounded like ''C''est si Bon''.


    "You''re French?"


    "No." He grinned. "I just like this song."


    "Ah."


    In no time at all, the elevator had "stopped.


    The porter held the door and bowed. "This way please. The Princes are waiting for you."


    "Who?"


    The porter smiled and indicated for her to step into the hallway.


    As soon as she had stepped out, Candi knew this had nothing to do with the event organizer. She turned back around, but the elevator doors had closed.


    There was nowhere to go but forward. The little hallway was not so much a hallway as it was a foyer.


    From the foyer, there was only one set of double doors.


    Candi gritted her teeth and walked towards the doors. Even before she reached the threshold, the doors had opened for her.


    The first thing that hit her eyes was the bright blue sky showing from every single ss floor-to-ceiling window in the entire sun-drenched room.


    As she narrowed her eyes to the brightness of the space, she could hear voicesing from one side of the room.


    "Ah. There she is. The Cancandi girl."


    Candi turned in the direction of the sound.


    Seven beautiful men of great height and varied colorings stood around a seating area.


    Two of them were identical twins. The others looked as if they could be brothers, but their hair, skin, and eye colors were so different that it would have been difficult for them to have the same set of parents.


    They were dressed in expensive looking suits and looked like exceptional specimens of human males.


    But Candi knew better.


    These were the seven demons who had haunted her the night before.

 Chapter 3 - Run!!!

    It only took two seconds for Candi to make a run for the double doors. They had already begun to close but she wasn''t a trained athlete for nothing.


    Sheunched herself through the rapidly closing gap between the doors and found herself back in the foyer as the doors thudded shut behind her.


    Candi''s head whipped right to left. There had to be another exit other than the single elevator that stared at her from across the wide expanse of oriental carpeting.


    She ran for the elevator and banged on the button to call it up.


    Too slow! There had to be a stairwell.


    She ran to the left side of the foyer, where she could make out a stairwell door recessed between two pirs.


    Candi yanked on the door and found herself looking at the darkened interior of the stairwell.


    Without hesitation, she plunged through and began running down the stairs.


    The penthouse was at the top of the skyscraper. To reach the bottom, she had to run down fifty stories.


    Her feet began, on their own ord, pattering down, down, down, as she made the twists and turns at the end of eachnding.


    Even as physically fit as Candi was, by the time she reached the midway point, she was starting to run out of steam.


    By the time she had reached the bottom set of stairs, she was dripping in sweat and shaking with adrenaline.


    She grabbed the final door and pushed through. Then she copsed on the floor, breathing and gasping to get enough air into her lungs.


    She had to find her way back to the lobby area and find the organizer of the event.


    In a busy crowded area, those seven winged-demons would not spring up and carry her off to snack on her skinny bones.


    At least she hoped they wouldn''t.


    Candi looked up into the darkened hallway she found herself in.


    Left or right.


    She took a deep breath. It didn''t matter left or right. It only mattered that she kept moving.


    On a whim, Candi took the left side and began looking for the doorway that would take her out into a more public crowded area.


    To her right, a set of double doors appeared.


    Finally!


    She burst through the doors and raised a hand over her eyes as bright sunlight hit her face.


    She cautiously opened her eyes to survey the room she found herself in.


    The bright blue sky could be seen from every single ss floor-to-ceiling window in the entire sun-drenched room.


    "Well that was quick." A familiar gravelly voice greeted her.


    Candi gritted her teeth and shut her eyes.


    She was back in that damned penthouse atop the skyscraper.


    She turned around and grabbed the handles of the doorway, tugging at it to try another escape attempt.


    This time, the doors would not even budge. She was effectively locked in with these demons.


    Candi whipped her head around.


    The seven demons had begun gathering around her.


    She stifled a shriek and scampered to her right, squeezing in between two of the demons.


    Intellectually, she knew there was no escape avenue within the penthouse other than the now-locked double doors.


    Instinctively, however, she needed to put some distance between herself and these demons even if there was nowhere for her to run.


    They were already turning towards her.


    She took a running jump onto the cushioned settee that was between her and the piano at that end of the room.


    Vaulting into a perfect grand jet¨¦, Candi sprang from the settee onto the shiny ck top of the grand piano.


    She reached over and grabbed the heavy crystalmp that had been set with care on a side table next to the piano. Ripping the shade off with a careless hand, she turned the heavy base around, wielding it as a cudgel.


    Then she turned back to face them, waving themp cudgel at the demons.


    From this height, she had the advantage of looking down upon the seven demons.


    "Don''te near me or I swear, I will bash your heads in with this!"


    The seven demons stood there gazing up at her.


    One of them rubbed his jaw with bored fingers. "You can put thatmp down now, Cancandi."


    It was the first demon who had spoken with her the night before. "It is an old heirloom that I''d like to keep intact."


    In the bright glorious sunshine, he did not look as menacing as he did the night before.


    His long tinum blond hair glistened in the light like a golden waterfall, framing a ssically beautiful male face with aquamarine eyes so clear and warm, she could be forgiven for thinking he was a tenderhearted kind person.


    But he did not fool her. She could remember hisrge dark figure, his faceless visage, and those horrifying ck leather wings that were twice his size in length and width.


    Her hands shook. There was only one of her and a singlemp base.


    There were seven of them and they were all veryrge demons with supernatural powers.


    The demon sighed with barely concealed impatience and took a step towards her.


    "Stay where you are, Blondie!" She waved themp base at him.


    The other demons began chuckling at her choice of words.


    "Hear that, Blondie? She told you to stay where you are. Hahaha."


    She nced at the demon whoughed at Blondie.


    He was the tallest one, with a shock of spiky blue hair that almost touched the top of his shoulders and sparkling green eyes.


    But of course, he was not a human. None of these demons were.


    "You too, Spiky Blue." She hissed at him.


    The men continuedughing.


    "Do we all get cute nicknames too?" A demon with soft pinkish blonde hair and deep amber eyes chimed in. "Please don''t call me Pinky."


    A roar ofughter rippled across the seven males standing in front of her.


    "We can stopughing at her now. You lug heads are scaring her to death." Another demon spoke up.


    This one seemed familiar to her. He had deep raven ck hair that was tied back at the nape and the most intense, dazzling blue eyes she had ever seen.


    "You!" She pointed the crystalmp cudgel at him.


    "You''re the one who nearly killed mest night!"

 Chapter 4 - Sealed Lips

    The demon with the smooth raven hair stood there with those same familiar tree-trunk arms folded across his rock hard chest.


    "Woman, if I truly wanted to kill you, would you be standing there waving that priceless heirloom around after having destroyed an irreceable French silk shade?"


    Another demonughed. "I''m jealous! Out of all of usst night, the only one she recognized was you."


    "That''s because he was the one who carried her to the tower and then back to her home." Another demon chimed in.


    The two who spoke looked identical. They had the same green hair that was bound back with gold metallic bands and mischievous brown eyes.


    "Everyone calm down." Thest person to speak was the red-haired demon with startling reddish brown eyes.


    "You," he turned to gaze into Candi''s eyes. "Put themp down and get off the piano."


    Candi crouched on the piano in a fighting stance, her makeshift cudgel still in her hands.


    She was effectively cornered. If she was going to do something, now was the time to do it.


    "Aaaaaarghhh!!!" She screamed and took a flying leap towards them, swinging themp with all her might.


    Red-haired demon flicked a finger and a strong power gripped her in midair, leaving her body dangling as an invisible force kept her levitated above the floor.


    "Aaaahhhh!!! Let me go you monsters!!!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. "You big bullies! Let go of me!"


    The demons ignored her as she continued to scream at them.


    Blondie plucked the crystalmp base, rescuing it from her wild swinging grasp.


    He carried it back to the side table and redeposited it back on its stand.


    Then he picked up thempshade and gave it a quick tap, restoring the ripped fabric to its original glory. He dusted it with a quick flick of his fingers and reattached the shade to themp. With a final snap of his fingers, themp lit up.


    "Ah. There we are. No real harm done." Blondie muttered to himself even as Candi screamed and struggled and fought the invisible binds that held her aloft in midair.


    Tree-trunk Arms reached out and touched her mouth with his hand, sealing her lips with his magik.


    "Hmmmm mmmm mmmm hmmmm!!!" She screamed inside her throat.


    "Smooth. By doing that, you just pissed her off even more." Pinkyughed at Tree-trunk Arms.


    "She has very strong vocal cords. My eardrums were getting hammered and I was starting to get a bit of a headache." Tree-trunk sighed.


    He turned back to Candi. "If I take the seal off your lips, will you stop yelling?"


    "Hmmmmmm mmmmmm mmmmmm." Candi struggled and bobbed her head around.


    Tree-Trunk Arms reached out and touched her lips.


    "You damn bastards! I''m going to rip your eyeballs out and stew them in curry! How dare you seal my lips!!! Who do you think you¡ªHmmmmm mmmmm hmmmmm mmmmmm."


    Tree-Trunk Arms reached out and resealed her lips as the othersughed with wild abandonment.


    Red-head stood silently gazing at her as if to assess the situation. Finally, he tapped on Tree-Trunk''s shoulder.


    "Why don''t you take her back to her home and let her rest a bit. She''s not going to be able to handle the event today."


    Event? Were these demons the event organizers?


    "Hmmmmm mmmmmmm hmmmmmm!!!" She struggled as she tried tomunicate with the demons. If she did not show up to the event, Madam Broussard would terminate their agreement!


    But of course, since her lips were sealed, there was no way she could say this to the demons.


    Stupid lug nuts!


    Tree Trunk Arms regarded her for a moment. He reached out with a single finger. As he brought it closer to her face, Candi''s eyes grewrge.


    Oh God! He was going to poke her eyes out! Tears began streaming from her eyes and she shut her lids hard.


    He blinked with confusion and touched her forehead.


    The next thing she remembered was waking up in her own bed with the sun streaming in through the window.


    Candi gasped and sat up, clutching at herforter.


    She looked around. There was no one in the room with her.


    She swung her head down and checked under the bed. Nothing there but some dust bunnies.


    Then she swung her feet down and padded over to the door.


    Cautiously, she cracked it a tiny bit and peeked through the slit. No one was in the hallway.


    She opened the door and slipped through the tiny hallway into the living room. It didn''t look like there was anyone there either.


    Candi covered her face with her hands and heaved a shuddering sigh of relief. Maybe it was all just a bad dream.


    Wasn''t she supposed to be part of the archaeological panel that was supposed to be on-hand at the fundraiser auction of ancient broken pieces of pottery and such?


    What time was it anyway?


    She was about to return to her bedroom to grab her mobile device when she heard a sounding from the kitchen.


    Candi gasped. She was not alone after all.


    She reached out and grabbed the closest thing she could reach, a cheap imitation ming vase, and crept over to the kitchen.


    Arge dark figure lunged out at her.


    Screaming with fright, Candi closed her eyes and swung the vase as hard as she could.


    The vase hit its intended target with a thud and flew from her grasp.


    Crash!


    It hit the opposite wall and shattered into a multitude of blue and white shards,ing to rest on the jute rug below.


    "Woman, will you calm the fuck down!!!" A very familiar voice growled out.


    "You!" She opened her eyes and stared at a very angry Tree-Trunk Arm. "What are you doing in my kitchen??? What are you doing in my house???"


    He scowled, holding onto his arm which looked like it was bleeding.


    "I took you home, remember? I didn''t want to leave you alone because you looked like you were afraid, so I stayed to watch over you."


    He turned back and indicated at the stove. "I was making something for you to eat when you got up. That''s why I was in the kitchen."


    Candi stared at him.


    He thought she was afraid to stay by herself, alone? Didn''t he know that she was actually afraid of him? The thought made herugh, but she sobered as she saw the gash on his arm.


    "I''m¡­sorry about that.. Let me clean and bandage it for you."

 Chapter 5 - Tree-Trunk Arms

    Tree-Trunk Arms raised an eyebrow at her for a moment but then he proffered his bleeding arm to her.


    She led him to the kitchen where she gently washed the wound and then applied antibacterial ointment on it. Then she ced a cloth bandage over the entire area.


    "There you are. Good as new again."


    He gave her a strange look but said nothing.


    She rose and went to the closet and began yanking at various things.


    "Now what are you doing?"


    She pulled out the vacuum cleaner. "My vase broke into shards. I have to clean it up before someone gets hurt."


    He threw her an exasperated look and pointed at the vase shards. It rose up into the air, whirled around a couple of times and reunited into a perfect, unbroken vase.


    "Where do you want this thing?"


    Candi rubbed her eyes and shoved the vacuum cleaner back into the closet. "Just put it on the table."


    "Candace, you cannot just throw random things everywhere. It takes precious energy to restore broken things like this."


    "It does?" She looked up at him with wide vague eyes. "But it''s just a cheap $1 vase I got at the dor store. You didn''t need to restore it."


    Tree-Trunk Arm flicked a finger and the vase gently set itself onto the coffee table.


    "Well it is now worth a lot more than that. It has been imbued with the power of a Shadow Prince."


    She closed the closet door and turned to give him a curious gaze. "Does the Shadow Prince have a name, or do I keep calling you Tree-Trunk Arm in my head?"


    Tree-Trunk Arm''s bright blue eyes sparkled with merriment.


    "Tree-Trunk Arm? How did youe up with such an unusual name for me?"


    "Remember the first time you met me?"


    He nodded.


    "All I remember is two huge arms the size and roughness of tree trunks, snatching me out of the air and squeezing my diaphragm until I almost died forck of air."


    She scowled. "You left some serious ck bruises on my body too!"


    He had the audacity to look ashamed. "My apologies. I had no idea who you were. I just knew you were a thief of my family''s jewels."


    Candi''s face turned hot with embarrassment. She had been caught red-handed stealing something of great importance to his family. She had no right toin about him tackling her to get it back.


    "No. I should be the one who apologizes. I did a bad thing and I deserve what I got. I''m sorry. I will return your gem."


    "No need to. The gem was the whole reason for the event. Since the gem wasn''t there, the event was cancelled."


    Candi swallowed. "I''m truly sorry. If I return the gem, could you reschedule the event?"


    Heughed. "No need. There would be no point."


    Candi wasn''t sure what he meant by that since the whole point of the fundraising auction was to raise funds.


    But what did she know.


    She looked up. "What''s your name?"


    "My name is te."


    "te." She repeated. "Just te?"


    "Just te."


    "You have no family name?"


    Heughed. "I am still a single man, so no family name yet. Are you offering to be my mate?"


    "Huh?" She scratched her head.


    Since when did a man have to wait to marry a woman before gaining a family name? Didn''t the man provide the woman with a family name?


    But then sheughed.


    He was a demon. His ways were different from hers.


    Most likely, he probably thought that a woman having to wait to be married to obtain a family name was just as daft.


    His face turned stiff and he looked away.


    Candi pressed her lips together. He must have mistaken herugh for something else.


    "Ummm. Thank you for bringing me home."


    "Show me your bruises." He mumbled.


    "It''s okay. It will heal soon enough."


    "Show them to me." His voice broke no arguments.


    "But they''re in ces that are a bit on the¡­private side¡­" she mumbled thest part. It flew right past te''s head.


    "I want to see where the bruises are."


    Candi bit her lip. It wasn''t as if she was a prude or anything. She also did have underwear on and they were the sports kind that covered everything quite well. Better than most swimsuits did in fact.


    She slowly raised up her loose tee shirt to the bottom edge of her bra. From that point, down to her belly button, the ck marks showed quite vividly.


    te''s eyes narrowed. He reached out and touched the areas that were ck-and-blue.


    Suddenly Candi gasped as something that felt like a hot molten liquid coursed out of his fingertips and touched the areas where her blood had broken from their tiny vessels.


    Where they touched, the blood vessels healed. The flesh areas under her skin began to regenerate. Her skin had returned to that pale luminescent color prior to her injuries.


    Her jaw dropped.


    Forget this modesty bullshit!


    She stripped her jeans down to her underwear and showed him the dark bruises on her hip. "Can you fix this one too?"


    His lips pressed together as he tried to hold back a smile.


    Reaching out, he touched her hip and once again, that hot molten feeling hit her skin.


    She gasped.


    It truly was an ufortable feeling although it wasn''t the kind of hot that was scalding and extremely painful.


    It felt simr to a heat that was just a tiny bit above the normalfortable temperature that she liked in her warm showers.


    "Oh, here too." She pointed to her elbows. They had gotten scraped to hell and back after she had hit the ground.


    "And here." She pointed to more dark spots.


    "Oh, can you take care of this part too? It hurts super bad." She turned her back and showed him some more ck and blue spots.


    "Anywhere else?" His bright blue eyes were now genuinelyughing.


    "Yeah. My head. I think there''s a bump there." She lowered her head and reached up to touch a tender spot.


    For a moment, nothing happened.


    Candi blinked, waiting for the hot healing heat from his fingertips, but it was not forting.


    She was about to look up to see if he was in some kind of trouble from having expended so much energy healing her when she felt something like a soft kiss nted on her sore head.


    Her eyes widened. Did that demon just kiss her head?

 Chapter 6 - Custodian Of The Tower

    Before she had a chance to ask, the now-familiar hot molten energy was pouring over the bump on her head.


    She shook her head. It must have been just her imagination running away with her.


    She looked up, and as she did, she noticed the bandage that she had ced on his arm.


    "I guess I didn''t need to bandage your arm, did I?" She turned away, feeling embarrassed about her pathetic attempt at healing his wound.


    His method was instantaneous healing. Why did he even allow her to put a stupid fucking bandaid on his arm?


    te ced a protective hand over the bandage. "This made me feel much better. Thank you."


    Candi bit her lip. He was probably just saying that to make her feel less useless.


    "Are you hungry?"


    Candi looked up with shining eyes. "What do you have?"


    He smiled. "I was going to make some eggs for you. I saw you have some in the refrigerator."


    "Do you¡­ummm eat?"


    He smiled as he took the eggs out of the refrigerator and grabbed a pan that was hanging on a hook over the kitchen sink.


    "You''re asking me if I need to take in nourishment for this body?"


    "Yes that''s what I mean. You''re obviously not human. You look different right now fromst night when you had, umm." She reached out her hands in a vague motion to describe therge wings behind his back.


    Heughed and began frying the eggs. "I do need to eat, but not as often as humans do." He paused as he flipped the eggs. "Last night, you looked different too."


    Candi scratched her head. "That was just my ops outfit, for when I need to go out and do some special work¡ªohhh. It''s the same for you too, isn''t it?"


    "Yes. We turn into the forms that we need to be so that we can do what we need to do. In our daily lives, we prefer to be in our natural forms which is what you see here." He indicated his body.


    "Sost night, when you had no faces, was it to hide your identities?"


    He nodded. "It was just a mask. If I recall, you were also wearing a mask."


    Candi nodded. "Ski mask. Also to hide identity just in case someone happened to catch a glimpse of me."


    "So would you considerst night to be your true form or as you are now?"


    She thought about it for a moment and then grinned. "Does it matter? It''s both me at the core."


    "Likewise," he responded with augh and pushed a te of warm scrambled eggs towards her.


    "Eat. Then I need to take you back to The Tower so we can discuss a few important things."


    "Ummm. Will the other men be there as well?"


    "My brothers? Of course. They have been waiting for you to recover from your escapade. There are many things to discuss so we need to get moving quickly."


    After her impromptu breakfast, she showered quickly and got dressed in a white summer dress.


    By the time she was done, te took her down to the lobby of the condominium where a ck limo was waiting to take them back to the hotel.


    Once the limo arrived at The Tower, te escorted her back up to the penthouse at the top.


    As soon as she and te walked through the double doors of the penthouse, they were immediately greeted with six crystal vases, each holding several dozen fresh roses in various colors.


    The vases were ced on florist stands nking the entry, as if waiting to greet them as they walked in. The scent of all the roses were at once sparkling and heady.


    "Ah, there is our little Cancandi." Blondie gave a bright smile as he saw the two of them enter through the double doors.


    Candi''s jaw dropped as she looked around. They had changed the ce out a bit. There was now a round table at the center of the room, with ten chairs surrounding its diameter.


    Six of the demons had already taken their seat and te helped Candi to sit before taking his own seat next to her.


    "Wee back, Candi." The demon sitting on her other side greeted. It was Red Hair.


    She smiled and thanked him perfunctorily. She didn''t know what to say to any of them. Thest time she had met them, she was basically a screaming banshee.


    "Ah. Everyone has finally gathered I see." A voice called out from the doorway.


    Candi turned her head. It was the porter who had taken her up to the penthouse the day before.


    She smiled and waved at him, d to see a friendly non-demon face.


    He grinned at her and approached the table.


    "I see you are doing well my dear." He took a seat at one of the two remaining empty chairs. "I hope these seven boys have treated you well."


    Boys?


    "Let''s get started shall we? How about we formally introduce everyone to you."


    The porter indicated his hand at Candi. "I''m sure you all know by now. This is the beauteous, gracious, most brave Candace Farrah."


    He then went around the table and dropped a name to each of the men seated at the table.


    "The red-haired one is the eldest of this group of degenerates so he gets the dubious distinction of keeping them in line. His name is Byron."


    "Next in line is Dante who heads various businesses in this area," he pointed to the demon with the spiky blue hair.


    "Then we have Lucas, the only show monkey of the group." He indicated at the demon with the gold and pink hair.


    "And thenes Leonardo. He takes care of sick people even though sometimes, he''s the one who puts them in the hospital to begin with." He smirked and pointed to the man with the bright blond hair.


    After him are the twins, Jason and Jared. They call themselves fashion creators, whatever that means." He waved a dismissive hand.


    "And of course, you''ve met the baby of the family, te."


    Candi nodded at each, trying to remember all the names.


    "What does te do?" She turned to the dark-haired man sitting next to her.


    The porter grimaced. "He''s the warrior of the group. He does what needs to be done."


    "And you, sir?"


    "My name is Ray Torra. I am the Custodian of The Tower. I''m here to make sure everything is as it should be."


    His eyes turned dark. "Yesterday, we ran into a bit of a snafu even though I PERSONALLY took the time out of my busy schedule to escort you to the top of The Tower."


    He bared his fangs at the men, which suddenly grew long and sharp.


    A chill hit Candi''s spine. Was this the same friendly porter who had whistled ''C''est Si Bon'' in the elevator yesterday?


    "There was supposed to have been an important Event." Ray''s voice grew dark and menacing.


    Candi''s heart jumped and caught in her throat. His face was starting to change. He was no longer looking so jovial and friendly.


    As the Custodian looked around the room, a twin set of red mes appeared within the pupils of his dark eyes.


    "Any of you boys care to exin to me what happened?"

 Chapter 7 - The Clasp Of A Mummys Hand

    Dante''s red eyes grew even redder.


    "We met up with Candace the night before, as she was making her great escape after filching the Avgo."


    "So you boys caught her red-handed, eh?"


    Dante pointed at te. "He did. He messaged us to meet him at the top of The Tower, so we got intobat gear and found him with her up there."


    Combat gear?


    Candi shivered. Was that what they called their demonic appearances?


    "You appeared in front of her inbat gear?" Ray Torra stood up, blue sparks crackling from his fingertips.


    The seven men froze. This was not looking good. Their eyes darted at the suddenlybative Custodian of the Tower.


    "I was already inbat gear." te''s gravelly voice rumbled out in the silence. "It was my job to protect the cache."


    "Aside from te, what did the rest of you boneheads think that would aplish other than scaring her witless???"


    Dante said nothing.


    Ray Torra turned back to Candi. "So you are the proud owner of the Avgo."


    Candi pressed her lips together. "I would like to return it, if I may."


    She reached into her pocket and pulled out the deep pink gemstone. She ced the stone on the table in front of her with gentle hands.


    It sat on the table, shining like a golf-sized pink heart. Its reflective and refractive light scattered in a radiant burst of colors.


    Ray Torra shook his head with an evil grin. "Toote for that, my dear. You should have thought of that before absconding with the Avgo. You are stuck with it now."


    Candi looked at it with a grimace. She didn''t even want to have anything to do with it, now that it was clear that it was associated with demonic beings who were effectively holding her hostage.


    What had begun as a simple heist had gone grievously awry. Not only had she not been able to reach the waiting helicopter to take the gem to the rendezvous point, she still had not been able to contact Madam Broussard about the Event.


    No show, no call was the kiss of death.


    By now, she probably no longer even had a job. Not showing up for what was supposed to be an important event that she was partly in charge of was a major offense.


    But she could survive that. What she could not recover from was the failure to deliver the gemstone to the head of the organization.


    This alone was enough tond her butt on the streets to join the throng of the unemployed if she was lucky.


    At this point, they probably thought she had decided to keep the loot for herself. This was tantamount to stealing from the organization. Never mind the fact that it was never theirs to begin with.


    "Please take it back. You don''t know how sorry I am that I even found out about this stone. I was not expecting such¡ª"


    "How?" Leonardo interrupted.


    "Sorry?" Candi looked up at the blonde male with the aqua eyes.


    "How did you find out about the stone?"


    Candi waved her hand in a vague gesture. "I read about it in some obscure book I found."


    The men looked at each other.


    Dante leaned forward, regarding her with a strange quizzed expression. "What''s the name of the book, and where did you find it?"


    Candi scratched her head. Should she tell them the truth, no matter how bizarre it was, or should she tell them an easily digestible lie?


    Truth won.


    "The book''s name is written in an obscurenguage so I''m not exactly sure what the meaning is behind the title."


    "What does it say?" Dante interrupted with impatience.


    "It''s called Ellipsoidal Macrocosm." She frowned.


    It didn''t make sense to her, let alone a room full of demonic beings with the physical appearances of male swimsuit models.


    But their eyes didn''t narrow with confusion. Their demeanors never changed. It was as if they were expecting this. As if they knew what the name of the book was.


    "Where did you find it?" Dante repeated his question.


    Candi pursed her lips into a duck pout. "I stole it."


    "Hah!" Lucas spat out augh. "The professional thief strikes again!"


    Candi cleared her throat. "Something like that."


    Jason grinned. "She''s not a greedy thief though. She''s a VERY discerning one."


    Jared nodded in agreement. "Out of all the exquisitely valuable loot, the girl picks up an old battered book and a gem of dubious value, leaving behind the huge diamonds and rubies and emeralds behind."


    Jason waved a finger in protest. "It''s not valueless. It is an exquisite pink sapphire and would look stunning on her."


    "That is true." Jared rubbed his nose in thought. "She has that warm honey blonde hair and those color-shifting hazel eyes. This pink sapphire would make a splendid diadem."


    "Stop sabotaging the discussion with your incessant need to tie everything to your design job!" Byron shot them a warning nce. "This is the Avgo we''re talking about, not someme gem that you can use to create a head gear with."


    Dante shook his head. "Professional thieves are never loners. They ALWAYS have an organization they work with."


    He turned razor sharp eyes at Candi. "Which organization do you work for?"


    Candi took a deep breath. She was alone inside a room with eight demonic beings.


    She might as welle clean with them. There was no such thing as loyalty to an organization that would just as soon ditch her for her failure to deliver what they ask for.


    "I am an archaeologist. It''s my job to procure valuable things from my digs and hand them over to my Head Supervisor."


    Dante crossed his hands over his chest and gave her a nted look. "So you''re an over-educated grave robber."


    She looked down miserably at her fingernails. "You could call me that."


    "But the Avgo that you took was not from a grave or even an archaeological dig." te chimed in. "It was from our collection of rare and unusual gemstones."


    She turned to te with guilty eyes. "Yes I know. It wasn''t the gem that was taken from a gravesite. It was the book."


    Ray Torra harrumphed. "How did you find it?"


    "It was¡ª" she paused.


    "Yes?" Ray gave her a piercing look.


    "It was in the sp of a mummy''s hands."

 Chapter 8 - A Thief Among Thieves

    "You¡­you dug up Grandma?" Lucas'' eyes grewrge.


    The rest of the men guffawed and chuffed.


    Candi stared at Lucas with horror-stricken eyes.


    te patted her on the shoulder. "He''s just messing with you, Candace. She''s not our Grandmother."


    Candi closed her eyes. This was getting more and more out of hand.


    "Look, I get paid by my organization to dig up antiquities to be restored or kept from further damage. The gemstone is an anomaly."


    "What do you mean?"


    "I don''t normally steal from private collections. I steal from other organizations."


    "And do what with the stolen objects?"


    "I hand them to my Head Supervisor. I don''t hold onto anything¡­except for that book." She ended the sentence with a barely audible mumble.


    "te." Ray Torra waved his hand.


    "I''m on it."


    Candi looked up. "Wait a moment. What are you going to do?"


    te turned his brilliant blue eyes in her direction. "I''m going to have your Head Supervisor join uster for a brief...meeting. It seems as if there are some things that we need to discuss."


    Candi stood up. "Look, can you please let me go? The gemstone is back in your possession. The book is in a locked vault within the archaeological building a few miles from here. I can get that for you."


    te pulled a book out of thin air. "You mean this one?"


    Candi nced at the familiar yellowed scroll with the barely legible title on the front and nodded.


    She did not need to ask te how he was able to extract something that was ced within such a highly secured area. Even she could escape with that book and she was a mere mortal.


    She looked down. "I don''t have anything you want. Please let me go." She looked up into their collective eyes.


    "I promise I''ll never say anything about having ever met you. I promise I willpletely forget about your existences if you will just allow me to leave."


    Leonardo smiled. "Darling, you have just mentioned the very reason why we can never allow you to leave."


    "That''s right," Jason shook a finger at her. "You are not allowed to forget us. EVER."


    Candi swallowed. Perhaps she had said something wrong. These were demons after all. Perhaps what they needed was to be remembered.


    "Absolutely!" She turned her position around on a dime. "I will never EVER forget any of you. If you allow me to leave, I will set up seven shrines and light incense for each of you every day until I die."


    Pffffttttttt!!!


    HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!


    The men roared withughter yet again.


    Ray Torra shook his head. "I''m afraid it''s toote for you, Candace Farrah. You''ve been pulled into this maelstrom and there is no way out. You have no choice but to go through."


    "Please let me go."


    "We can''t let you go, Candace." te''s gravelly voice resonated within her ears. "The heads of your organization will never forgive you for stealing the book and the gemstone and then running away."


    "But I didn''t¡ª"


    te threw the book on the table in front of Candi and picked up the gemstone. With inordinate care, he ced the gemstone on top of the book and pulled out a mobile device.


    In an instant, he had taken a photo of the book, the gem, and Candi''s stricken face.


    "You''re quite pale, but still beautiful."


    He tapped on the screen and the photo disappeared.


    "What did you just do?"


    te leaned in, close to Candi''s face. "I just proved to your organization that you are their best thief. You just stole two extremely valuable items from an organization that prides itself on being the thieves of thieves."


    "No!" Candi cried. "What have you done. They will hunt me down and will not rest until I''m dead. You might as well kill me now."


    te growled with something akin pleasure. "Are you offering yourself to me? Because if you are, then I ept your sacrificial offering."


    She grabbed her head and sank her face down onto the table. "My life is over. My career is ruined. Nobody is ever going to hire me to do anything ever again."


    Dante chuckled. "Come work for me. I have a dozenpanies for you to choose from."


    Candi lifted her head. Was he for real?


    "What kind ofpanies?"


    "You name it, I run it. I have a mediapany, an exportpany, an importpany, a chain of hotels, a luxury cruise line, and I own my own phonepany because I got tired of dropped calls."


    "So you''re a CEO?"


    Dante shook his head. "No, Darling. I''m the CEO of the CEOs."


    Candi sighed. "Thank you for your offer. Unfortunately though, I''m not good with doing much except digging through grave sites and reading ancient manuscripts."


    Leonardo''s eyes gleamed. "Aren''t you also a good thief?"


    Candi nodded. "Good enough, as long as te here doesn''t body m me to the ground."


    Ray Torra stood up. "Candace Farrah. You say you can read ancient manuscripts. Prove that to us." He pointed to the almost crumbling book on the table. "Read the first few pages of that book."


    Candi nced around the table.


    The demons looked eager, as if they wanted to see what she could do.


    She cleared her throat. "Okay, but just so you know. I don''t really know how to pronounce all the words in thatnguage. I just pull out the ones I do know how and trante them into English."


    "Do your best." Ray Torra prodded with a gentle look.


    Candi took a deep breath. He had turned back into that nice friendly porter she had first met.


    Reaching out with hesitant fingers, Candi removed the pink sapphire stone and picked up the book. She opened up the first page and began to trante in halting English.


    "And so it was written, that reality was one. And the one reality, forck of excitement¡­" she looked up. "Sorry, that word is not excitement, it''s more along the lines of interesting-diversions."


    Ray Torra nodded and indicated for her to continue.


    "And the one reality, forck of interesting diversion, began to splinter itself. What was one dimension turned into many dimensions. What was many dimensions turned into¡­"


    She grimaced. "I think this next word is something like ''exponential'' but it is depicted as multiples of multiples multiplied."


    The men nodded. Their eyes guarded.


    "What was many dimensions turned into exponentials of dimensions and¡­" She scratched her head. "Exponentials of fractals were created."


    She looked up. They were looking at each other with eyes that spoke volumes.


    "You guys think I''m making all this up, don''t you?"

 Chapter 9 - On A Wing And A Prayer

    Candi sighed.


    She couldn''t me them for being suspicious and thinking she was pulling stuff out of her ass to make it look as if she was really reading the words.


    The strange curlicue writing was so foreign and alien, it even surprised her that she was able to make anything of them.


    The reason why she had been able to read up to that point was that it had taken her a painstaking ten months to learn enough from a type of ''Rosetta Stone'' tablet she had found within the ruins of the grave to begin the arduous task of actual trantion.


    Byron stood up. "Well, I think I''ve heard enough."


    "Why? I like the sound of her reading voice. It''s so sweet and calm." Leonardo gave a smile filled with mirth.


    "It may be sweet and calm but we don''t exactly have a lot of time to sit here and listen to this entire boring book being read in halting English."


    "He''s right you know. You boys have only a short amount of time to do what needs to be done." Ray Torra waved a dismissive hand. "No time like the present."


    Byron pped his hands together a couple of time.


    "Alright men. Let''s go." He turned back to te. "Give her a ride, Little Brother."


    Everyone stood up, including Ray Torra.


    He stuck his hand up in the air and waved as he headed out the door.


    "Bon voyage."


    Beside her, te was already putting away the book and gemstone.


    "Let''s go."


    "Wait," she held out her hand. "Where are we going?"


    "Home."


    "You''re letting me go home?" Her eyes held a glimmer of hope.


    te didn''t even nce in her direction.


    "Not your home, Candace. My home."


    The hope died in her eyes.


    "Wait. Please let me go." She clutched at his arm.


    te turned back to her.


    "At this very moment, your boss has sent people tob through your house looking for the book and the gem. If you return to your home, they will kill you."


    "But, but I don''t have the book or the gem. You took them!"


    "They don''t know that. All they know is you sessfully stole the gemst night, and today, there is a photo that''s been circted with you, the book, and the gem in the same image."


    "You did that to me!"


    He nodded. "That''s right. If you want to survive, stay by my side. I will protect you."


    He took hold of Candi''s arms and led her towards the doorway. The rest of the motley crew had already passed through.


    "Ready?"


    Candi frowned. Ready for what? They were just going to head on out to the hallway.


    The double doors opened up.


    Candi looked out onto a bright blue sky without end.


    "Wait¡­where''s the hallway?"


    "Come."


    "What?" She poked her head through the doorway opening. It was as if she was in a hot air balloon, looking down at small green carpet squares of agricultural farnd!


    Even therge puffy whitish grey cumulonimbus clouds were billowing up from below them.


    "No! I don''t want to die!" She cried, grasping with desperate hands at the side of the door.


    "You can''t die with me here. Come." His strong fingers pulled her from the edge of the doorway and with no advanced warning, te stepped through the double doors.


    "AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!" She screamed, climbing onto his torso as she felt gravity pulling on her body. They fell straight down without any resistance.


    As they fell, tears sprang from her eyes, flying back with the strong wind gusts. She clutched his head and whimpered with fright as she buried her face into his neck.


    teughed and folded her body into his chest.


    With a whoosh, hisrge dark wings unfurled.


    FWOOMPH!!!


    Now that it was daylight, she could see the true extent of his transformation.


    His wingspan was double his height on either side. It was leathery looking, without any hair growing on it. Up close, she could clearly see the details, warts and all.


    His face was masked in a dark brown leathery covering that covered everything except two eyeholes and his nostrils.


    They began gliding on the wind, soaring through the skies as te flew through the air.


    "You can open your eyes now," he murmured. "I won''t let go, I promise."


    Candi opened one eye, peeking out. Immediately, she closed it again. "I can''t look. We''re so high up. If your wings fail, we''re toast."


    teughed. "Why do you underestimate me so badly? These wings are just to take advantage of the wind gusts. We''re levitating on my powers alone. Open up your eyes."


    She opened her eyes and tried not to look down. She didn''t realize she was that afraid of heights. "How is it you''re able to talk to me with your mouth covered in that mask?"


    Heughed. "I''m not actually talking through my mouth. You''re hearing me from your mind''s ear."


    Candi nodded and cautiously lifted her head to peek out at her surroundings. It looked as if they were heading for the distant mountains ahead, but just when she thought they were getting closer to the mountain ridge, he shot upwards, past a bank of clouds.


    Her heart shot into her mouth as she realized where he was targeting.


    There was a small spaceship hovering above the lenticr clouds around the mountain top and the spaceship was hidden within the cloudyers.


    te headed for the side of the ship and it opened up, as if ready and waiting for his arrival. He slowed his speed and hovered through, still holding onto her.


    The door sealed shut behind him leaving no trace of a seam. Hended on the floor of the ship and eased up on his grip of her body.


    She gasped as she looked around at the pristine white interior that was devoid of anything that looked even remotely like furniture or even a ce to sit. It was quite sparse.


    "Is this your home?"


    teughed as his wings retracted and then shrank away to nothing. His leather mask melted away to once again reveal his handsome face.


    "Why would I live in this tiny transport vehicle? We are just using it to get to my home."


    "Where are the others?"


    He waved a dismissive hand. "They have their own transport vehicles. This is my personal pod."


    She opened her mouth. "You have your own spaceship?"


    He smiled. "I have several." He turned towards the interior.. "Come. Let''s get out of the ''parking garage'' and into the living quarters, shall we?"

 Chapter 10 - Demon Massage

    te''s ''living quarters'' on the transport pod turned out to be almost as sparse as the ''parking garage''.


    Aside from two egg-shaped console chairs with a small side table between them, there was nothing else. The chairs faced a huge expanse of ss that, at the moment, showed nothing but a grey swirling mist that was the lenticr cloud cover it was parked within.


    "Have a seat." He pointed to the chair on the right.


    Candi mbered onto the seat and within seconds, the automatic safety harness slowly lowered, locking her in ce.


    He took the seat to her left and began tapping on a side panel. She looked down at her armrests. It had the same type of side panel with strange markings that lit up with the cadence of his tapping.


    Candi quickly pulled her arms back not wanting to touch anything that she didn''t understand.


    "Don''t worry about touching your panels, Candace. I''ve locked them so you don''t inadvertently tell the system to kill us while we''re inflight."


    He settled back onto the seat as his own safety harness lowered over hisrge body.


    "Jezebel. take us home."


    From within the bowels of the transport pod, there was a barely audible hiss. The transport pod shot up straight into the sky, all pretense of cloakingpletely obliterated.


    The ss panel in front of them went from a murky greyish cloudy fog to one of clear blue skies.


    As they continued to climb out of the atmosphere, the blue thinned into a dark violet. Then the dark violet turned in darkness, but it was hardly pure darkness.


    There was too much light in the sky for it to be a ck void.


    There were billions of tiny pinprick lights twinkling and pulsing all around them, as well as a bright blue orb below.


    "Wow." Candi breathed. "This is gorgeous!"


    "You think so?" He turned to gaze out at the darkness of the Void. "It''s not as beautiful as the blue and green world we just left, but it has its own beauty."


    "I''ve never seen space like this before." Candi covered her mouth with shocked fingers.


    "Your people are and-locked race. You need to explore your back yard a bit more. There are twelve others for you to visit, not to mention a couple of rogue entric orbital ones."


    "I can''t wait." she turned to him with excitement only to find him looming above her.


    His deep raven ck hair had escaped the tie that normally kept his long hair neatly back and was now tumbling down his shoulders in a dark shiny cloud.


    He leaned closer, drowning her with the intensity of his dazzling blue eyes. She could smell verbena and the musky scent of his skin. Thebination was heady and made her slightly dizzy.


    For a moment, Candi could barely think. She leaned back trying to put a little distance between them but her back was already up against the chair. There was nowhere else to go.


    "You''re¡ªaren''t you supposed to be strapped in for the ride?"


    "For the entire 24 hours? Hardly. We just needed to be strapped in for the lift off."


    He reached out and touched a tab on the side of her chair. Instantly, the safety harness retracted.


    As he leaned back, Candi breathed a sigh of relief. He was just releasing her from the chair.


    And here, she thought he was¡­


    "Come. It''s morefortable here." He swiveled her chair around so that it faced the center of the ship.


    The center had risen up, revealing a perfectly round bed with cushions scattered about.


    "It''s¡ªthat''s a bed."


    "Very perceptive. Come."


    He led her over to the bed.


    "Have a seat."


    She sat down, feeling like amb being led to ughter.


    He began reaching for her feet.


    "Wait. What are you doing?"


    "You are wearing shoes. I don''t want shoes on my bed."


    Her lips trembled.


    "I can take them off myself."


    "Just sit." His tone broke no arguments.


    As te''s fingers began undoing herces, Candi pressed her lips together. He had very strong fingers, but they were so very gentle.


    With slow gentle motions, he slid her shoes off her feet and then he began massaging them, one toe at a time.


    "Umm. Haha." Candi gave a nervousugh. "No need to do that. My feet aren''t cramped or anything."


    "Your feet are cold." He responded with gentle patience.


    His fingers moved towards the arch of her feet. With a gentle motion, he shot a small warm electrical current into her foot.


    "Haaah!" She gasped.


    Her feet were tingling with the energy he sent into her arches, but it did its job. Her toes had warmed up considerably.


    "You are so tense, it''s amazing you can stand." He whispered. "Rx, Candace."


    Candi grimaced. I''m tense because you''re rubbing my feet, you big lug! She wanted to say that to him, but she couldn''t because she could barely breathe.


    He was already reaching up to gently rub her calves.


    "Oooooh. That''s not¡ªnot my feet, te." She breathed.


    "No, it''s not, but your calves are also very tense."


    He ced his palms on the calves and applied an even amount of heat energy throughout his palms as he continued to rub her legs.


    "Aaaaah." She exhaled. "I¡ªI think I''m good. You, you can stop now." She reached out her hands to push him away.


    That was a bad move.


    Her hands hit up against those rock hard pectoral muscles and suddenly, she remembered them pressing up against her body the first night he took her up into the sky.


    She quickly withdrew her hands, feeling her face turning hot with embarrassment.


    te''s dazzling blue eyes crinkled up in amusement as he saw her blush to the roots of her hair.


    That first night she met te, she was sure he was going to kill her. He was sorge and dark and dangerous, and she had nearly died of fright and asphyxiation.


    But now that same man was kneeling in front of her. Hisrge hands were kneading her legs in that warm gentle motion and his bright blue eyes were gazing at her as if he wanted to consume her.


    And then his hands slipped up into her white summer dress, wandering up towards her thighs.


    "Hold on! No need to massage there. Haha!" She gave a nervousugh and pushed his hands away.


    "I''m really loose and not tensed up there at all!"


    "Your whole body is tense, Candace. Every part of you need massaging."


    He leaned forward, one hand easing her body back onto the bed, the other hand sliding under her back.


    In one quick smooth movement, he had levitated her up and moved her towards the center of the bed.


    Candi blinked. How in hell did he manage that???


    Oh duh¡­he''s a demon!

 Chapter 11 - Demon Kiss

    [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT]


    Before she could say anything, his hands had begun caressing her thighs.


    "It would be easier for me to heal your muscles if you took this bit of cloth covering off." He muttered into her ear and began pulling at her little summer dress.


    "No, no. I can keep this on¡ª"


    "I will not do anything to harm you, Woman. I want to finish what we started at your home."


    "Wait. What did we start at my home?"


    He roared a deep rumbling growl inside his chest as if frustrated by her.


    "I was healing your bruised muscles, do you remember?"


    She crossed her hands over her chest.


    "Why do you need to see my body to heal my bruises?"


    He tilted his head, looking confused.


    "I have seen your body without clothing. Have you forgotten that you yourself took it off and asked me to heal you?"


    "Yes, but¡­" she paused.


    She couldn''t argue with that. She had stripped down to almost nothing in front of him, pointing at all her various contusions and asking for help.


    So why was it different this time around?


    "You still don''t believe me?" Heughed gently.


    "Not in the slightest."


    He gazed at her with gentle eyes.


    "Why would I hurt you? You are the woman who holds in your hand the Avgo. You are most precious to me."


    Candi gazed at him uprehending. What in heck did that pink sapphire have to do with anything?


    He reached out and touched her face with gentle hands.


    "One day, you wille to trust me. For now, lie down and getfortable. I will heal the remaining areas of your body where you are hurt."


    Candi bit her lip. He really was a good healer. Maybe if she let him work on some of her deeper aches and pains¡­


    She sat up and pulled off her summer dress, leaving only her bra and panties.


    "Okay. But if you try anything funny, I''m going to clobber you!" She shot him a warning look.


    te smiled and reached out for her shoulders. Levitating her a bit, he shifted her until she was on her stomach and then he began to rub her back.


    At first, his fingers barely grazed the surface of her skin. Everywhere he touched, she tingled with pleasure.


    His hands were magic and they released a warmth that felt like the sweetest honey.


    She was drowning in the tingly sweet feeling when she felt the snap of her bra release with a single touch.


    Within seconds, her entire bare back was his to do as he pleased.


    His touch became firmer as he put more strength into his fingers.


    He was gentle but firm. Where he felt knots in her tired muscles, he released a warm electrical current from his fingers, targeting those areas with his healing touch.


    She stretched her body out, luxuriating in the feel of his healing hands.


    As he worked his way down to her waist, he paused for a moment.


    Curious, she turned her head to look at him and for the first time, saw te shirtless.


    The butterflies in her stomach began to flutter.


    His upper torso was rock hard. She could see his sculpted muscles gleaming in the soft glow of the transport pod''s warm lights.


    "Why¡­" She looked up into his eyes.


    They were warm and gentle and filled with something akin to adoration.


    "I want to feel you, skin-to-skin." He whispered as he leaned forward and flipped her over onto her back.


    With a flick of his finger, he tossed her bra aside and covered her body with his.


    Candi''s heart began thumping so hard she could feel her pulses racing like a wild mare.


    As he rubbed his body onto hers, her breasts throbbed with pleasure, pressed as they were against his chest.


    She felt his moist tongue licking her neck, his lips kissing her skin. He moved his lips upward, his hot breath tickling her face.


    Gently, he suckled her cheeks, and then he moved his lips'' exploration upwards to her eyes. His tongue darted out, tickling her lids.


    Hershes fluttered and she closed her eyes. She could feel his tongue trailing kisses up to her temple, and then towards her forehead.


    "You are so beautiful to me." He whispered into her ear.


    Unable to hold back, he grabbed her around the waist. With barely suppressed desire, he buried his face into her skin, rubbing his nose into that sensitive space between her shoulder and her neck.


    She opened her mouth to say something but at that very moment, his warm soft shapely lips had covered her mouth.


    As his tongue thrust in between her lips, she quivered uncontrobly. Letting out a soft whimper, she surrendering herself to his kiss.


    "Hmmmm."


    He pushed his tongue deeper into her mouth, tasting, caressing, suckling. It was as if he could not get enough of her taste.


    His hands moved across the expanse of her shoulders, down to her waist and then her hips. Waves of desire reverberated from the area where his fingers met her body.


    Where the waves hit, her body responded.


    Her nipples hardened. Her petals moistened.


    He moved lower.


    Candi gasped. She could feel his wet tongue flicking and licking her erect nipple.


    Then, he cupped both mounds and began an almost unbearable onught of sucking and licking, first one aureole, and then the other.


    Quivering with the intensity of pleasure, she could barely breathe as he kept up his onught on her breasts.


    The sensation of his lips on her nipples sent a thrilling jolt of electricity directly to her womb, opening up a floodgate of wetness that gushed out from between her legs.


    For a moment, radiant streams of blues, golds, pinks, and purples burst from her visual cortex streaming outward into the periphery of her field of vision. The kaleidoscope of colors radiating outward made her dizzy and unable to orient herself.


    And then her soul exploded outward in a hot gush of brilliant light, propelled along by some huge raging hurricane of energy.


    "Haaaah!!!" Her breath expelled with force, jolting her body in spasms.


    te held her as she shook with waves of pleasure.


    "You are a very sensual and warm woman." He whispered with satisfaction.. "We''ve barely just begun to kiss."

 Chapter 12 - Do Not Touch

    Candi was about to respond when an rm red out.


    "WARNING. APPROACHING INTRUDER. WARNING."


    "Uh oh." te turned towards the ss front. "It looks like we''ve been spotted by one of your military space force."


    Sure enough, a space vehicle wasing straight at them. It was growingrger andrger as it got closer.


    Candi''s eyes grew round. "Oh no! What do we do? I hope they don''t shoot at us!"


    teughed. "Don''t worry. I have a force shield around us."


    His eyes narrowed.


    "Usually they just leave us alone. Not sure why this one ising directly at us. Hang on. Let me do a bit of evasive maneuvering."


    te threw his white linen shirt back on without even bothering to button up the front. He strode over to the Command tform where he sank down onto the control seat and tapped a flurry of things on his armrest.


    Then he sat back and simply watched.


    Candi quickly threw her summer dress back on and padded barefoot to her chair. She took a seat, tucking her legs up under her for warmth.


    As she stared at the spaceship that wasing closer, she noticed that te''s transport pod wasn''t doing anything evasive in the least.


    "Why does it feel as if we''re just hanging here doing nothing?"


    te chuckled. "That''s because we are. I put us on cloak-mode."


    "What does that mean?"


    "To that ship out there, we''ve just suddenly disappeared. They probably think we slipped into another dimension or something."


    Candi''s eyes grewrger. "I think they''re getting ready to shoot at us."


    "No! Really?" te rolled his eyes.


    "Yes, really!" Candi pointed at the oing ship.


    Sure enough, a beam of light emitted from the ship, heading straight for them.


    Candi winced, expecting arge explosion.


    ping.


    The light pinged off the transport pod''s force shield. No damage was registered, but it gave away their location.


    "I think they can see us!" Candi gasped. "It didn''t matter that you put us into whatever cloak thingy you did."


    "Hmmm. I''m afraid you''re right. They actually spotted us." He rubbed his jaw. "I have two choices. Fight or flight."


    "Run!!!" Candi screamed.


    He turned back to her with a curious nce.


    "You know my transport vehicle massively outguns them, right?"


    She turned back with pleading eyes.


    "I don''t want anyone to get hurt. Can we just run away, please?"


    "We''re going to look like scaredy cats, Candace," he beganughing, "especially since they don''t even stand a chance against what I can do to them."


    "Please¡­" she begged as another round of weapons began hitting the transport pod''s shields.


    ping. ping. ping.


    "Shields at 75%." The system''s voice called out.


    "Okay fine. But Shhhhh!" He put a finger to his lips. "Don''t tell anyone I ran away. I''ll be theughing stock of my brothers."


    "I won''t tell!" She promised, her eyes pleading desperately.


    te turned back to the ss window. His fingers began tapping on the armrest once again. This time, there was a slight huming from the belly of the pod.


    One moment, they were staring at a warshiping directly at them.


    The next moment, they were staring at a purple green world, with three moons orbiting around it.


    "Wee to Nirovium."


    Candi''s jaw dropped as she looked at the alien world with the swirling royal purple clouds over a noxious looking green expanse of some murky liquid world.


    "Is this your home?"


    teughed.


    "No, no. This is just the first stop. Remember I told you it will take 24 hours to get to my home? That''s actually 24 Earth hours."


    He waved a hand into the air.


    A clock count down appeared in midair and began counting backwards showing around 21 hours left on its face.


    "We''ve only been in flight for 3 hours. We have a bit of a ways to go before we get there."


    "Are we stopping at Nirovium for anything?"


    "Not in particr. It''s just a rest stop in case you get tired of looking at nothing but darkness."


    "That''s really pretty though." She sighed, looking out at the world before her.


    "You really don''t want to be around those purple clouds, Woman. That''s mostly potassium permanganate."


    She turned back and grinned at him.


    "What do I have to worry about? I have you here to make sure I don''t die."


    "Indeed." He smiled.


    He got up from the chair. In two bounding steps, he was by her side.


    "We could continue where we left off."


    Candi waved a hand. "I''m good. I''m all healed up. Thank you!"


    He reached out to touch her hair.


    "You''re good, but what about me?"


    She cleared her throat and tried not to stare at the hard sculpted expanse of his chest and pecs, clearly visible between the gap of his unbuttoned shirt.


    "You look healthy enough. And besides," she held up a finger. "I don''t have any power in my fingers to do the electric zap thing that you do."


    "I don''t need electric zap finger, Woman." He growled and pulled her into his arms. "Just regr female fingers in the right ces will be more than enough to set me on fire."


    "Wow, your skin is really hot¡­" she gasped as she touched his chest.


    "Hmmm." He nodded. "See what you do to me?"


    He leaned down and touched his lips to hers.


    BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.


    "Son. Answer me or I will send a squadron of fire bats to find you."


    te sighed and pulled away from Candi, but not before nting onest kiss on her parted lips.


    As he turned away, he began buttoning his shirt.


    "Father. Fancy hearing from you, only three hours into the flight."


    He waved a hand and the 3-D image of his father appeared within the confines of the transport vehicle. The man was just asrge as te but far older, with silver in his ck-purple hair.


    "I have been calling you for thest two hours. How is it that you are just now answering me?"


    te sighed.


    "I was trying to evade a human warship, father. It was shooting at me."


    te''s father raised an eyebrow at that news.


    "That is interesting. Did you pulverize them?"


    te shook his head.


    "I didn''t want to engage them since I wanted to get back immediately. I did a quick hyper jump to Nirovium."


    "I will send someone to find out why the human warship fired upon my son''s transport pod. Meanwhile," he gave te a knowing look. "Do not touch the Avgo female."


    "Of course, Father. We are now just about ready to leave."


    "Go. Remember. Do not touch the girl."


    "Yes, yes." te nodded and disconnected the visuals.


    He turned back to Candi.


    "Looks like for the next twenty hours, all we are allowed to do is talk."


    And he had the nerve to look dejected and mopey.

 Chapter 13 - The Girl With The Universe In Her Hand

    te narrowed his eyes as if in thought.


    Then he turned back to Candi, a smile once again forming on his sensual shapely lips.


    "Never mind that. Where were we?"


    He reached out and coiled a lock of her honey blonde hair onto hisrge finger. Then he gently pulled her back to him.


    "We were¡ªumm¡­we were talking about how hot your skin was." She reached out to uncoil her hair from his finger.


    "I think you''re cool now so we can move onto the next subject." She gently extricated herself from his grasp.


    "I like the old subject better." te grasped her fingers and touched them to his lips.


    "As I recall, we were talking about female fingers touching the right ces¡­"


    Candi shivered with delight as his lips touched her fingers. Those very same soft lips that had kissed her everywhere.


    The thought of his lips on her breasts brought a deep rush of heat to her face.


    No no. This was too dangerous. She needed to get some space between them.


    "Didn''t your father say ''Do not touch the female''?"


    "Hmmmm. He did say that yes, but it was a bit after the fact, wasn''t it?"


    "No no. You did say that we are only allowed to talk for the next 20 hours. I think that is a great idea!" Candi announced with false gaiety.


    "That''s a terrible idea." He chuckled, reaching out to touch her cheek.


    She jumped back to put a bit of distance between them and pointed her finger at his face.


    "No more stalling for time. I need some answers now."


    te smiled, his dazzling blue eyes making her stomach quiver.


    "Everything you need to know will soon be clear."


    "I need it clear right NOW!" She forced herself to be strong.


    "Candace. Have a seat and I''ll tell you everything you need to know."


    "Uh-uh. If I get too close, you''re gonna do your¡­your ''thing'' again and I won''t get any information at all."


    "My ''thing''?" teughed gently. "You weren''tining that hard about my ''thing'' when I was healing you awhile ago."


    Candi grimaced as she thought once again, about his lips on her body.


    "That was not exactly healing and you know it. Tell me." She scrambled around her flustered mind for a good question. "Why am I being kidnapped."


    "You''re not being kidnapped. Your organization is looking for you because you stole a book and the Avgo stone from them. I am taking you to a safe ce away from them."


    te took one step towards her.


    She vaulted backwards and jumped onto the bed.


    "Stay there." She held out a hand. If she let him get close to her, she was going to be lost to his sensuous touch again.


    "Tell me why your father called me Avgo woman. What is that and why am I being taken to your home."


    te motioned with his hand.


    "Candace. Come down from there and I will tell you." He took another step towards her.


    Candi flipped backwards and jumped down from the bed so it was now between her and te.


    "Stay on that side of the bed!"


    He began making his way around the bed to get to her.


    She ran around the circr bed to the other side.


    He sighed and waved a finger. Instantly the bed dropped down into the floor and disappeared.


    Between them was once again, an empty expanse of white floor.


    At her look of panic, he sighed.


    "Rx. You can stand over there and I''ll tell you anything you want to know." He crossed his arms across his chest.


    Candi shot him a suspicious look.


    "You promise?"


    "Yes. I''m not so desperate as to push myself on a woman who doesn''t want me."


    Candi frowned and looked away. It wasn''t that she didn''t want him. It was that she wanted him too much.


    But¡ªhe wasn''t even human!


    She turned back to face him.


    "Tell me why I have to go to your home world."


    "Because you are the Avgo female."


    "What is the Avgo female?" She gave him a suspicious look.


    "The Avgo is an egg. You''re the female with the egg."


    Candi shook her head with confusion.


    "That doesn''t make any sense at all. Don''t all females have eggs? That''s the whole definition of a female."


    "Yes, but you also happen to be holding onto the Avgo gem."


    Does any female holding onto the Avgo gem get taken away?"


    te regarded her with a piercing look.


    "Let me ask you this, Candace." He took a deep breath. "What was so special about the Avgo that you had to steal it? Were you aware of its special significance?"


    Candi nodded.


    "Of course it''s significant. In that old ''Ellipsoidal Macrocosm'' book, it details that the pink sapphire in the shape of an egg was the most valuable thing."


    Her eyes grew dazed with wonder.


    "The book says the gem is supposed to bring to the holder, the entire riches of the universe!"


    teughed.


    "You''re missing something very important."


    "Pray tell."


    "The choice is not up to you. There are seven other candidates. You are but one of seven."


    Candi pursed her lips. One in seven chances to gain the riches of the universe. Those weren''t bad odds!


    "So when do I meet up with the candidates, and if this is apetition, what do I have to do?"


    "What are your abilities?" te tilted his head in question.


    She chewed on her lip thoughtfully.


    "If it''s a talent contest, I do know how to do a few things."


    She began listing them on her fingers.


    "I''m a good ballet dancer!" She looked up at him with enthusiasm. "I also learned how to h dance when I went to Hawaii. I''m a decent pianist too, and I can sing if you have a karaoke machine."


    He gave her an exasperated look.


    "What? Those aren''t good enough talents?" She scratched her head. "What exactly are you looking for?"


    "How strong is your magic?" He asked.

 Chapter 14 - Beauty Pageant

    She scrunched up her face and gave him a caustic look.


    "Magic?"


    What the heck did that mean? Did he want her to do a magic show?


    "I can do a few magic card tricks." She waved her hand in a vague helpless manner.


    te shook his head and rubbed his eyes with a wearied hand.


    "You will be going up against six other females, some of whom will have very strong magic."


    She snarled in disgust.


    "You know that I am human!" She swung her arms wildly.


    "Yes."


    "We don''t do magic! That''s not our thing! Why would you even set up apetition that will guarantee that I lose?"


    "I didn''t set this up, Candace. This has been going on for a very long time."


    He gave a furtive smile.


    "The seven Avgo stones show up where they want. All we do is follow their magik signature and bring the Avgo female back to our home world when we locate her."


    He tapped her forehead.


    "The day of the event was when the Avgo was supposed to have been presented to the Avgo female except you had stolen it the night before."


    Candi gasped.


    "But you caught me. You could have just taken it back and given it to the real Avgo female!"


    "Don''t kid yourself Candace. You are the real Avgo female."


    "How do you know?"


    "We had been trying to locate thest Avgo female for awhile and finally tracked it to Earth. That stone hid itself until you came along and that was when it showed itself to you."


    "If we had taken it from you and given it to someone else, that stone would have simply vanished and be back within your possession almost immediately."


    She cursed under her breath.


    "So that''s why you told me to just keep it."


    "Yes. The stone chose you. If it didn''t want you, you would have never been able to hold onto it for more than a few minutes before it disappeared."


    Candi mulled over his answer for a bit before other questions began bubbling upward.


    "You say this has been going on for a long time. Has a human ever won before?"


    te stared at her for a moment and then gave a reluctant shake of the head.


    She bit her bottom lip. "So that means I''ll automatically lose."


    te regarded her with those startling blue eyes. "Don''t throw in the towel just yet. Magic is only one of seven criteria and it''s the least of those."


    "Least?" She mumbled.


    "Easiest. It''s the easiest of the seven to pass."


    Shit.


    If magic was the easiest to pass and she had no magic at all, there was no chance for her.


    Her face must have shown pitiful dejection because his eyes softened.


    "It''s okay. I could show you a few things you can use to at least pass the initial magical examination."


    "Really???" Her hazel eyes recovered their animated excitement.


    "Yes, but you have to get some rest before we get there or you will most certainly fail the first test."


    "What''s the first test?"


    "It''s a physical."


    "Physical?" Candi''s eyes regained their sparkle. "I''m a dancer, a martial artist, and a trained athlete! I am physically at the top of my game!"


    Candi leaped up into the center of the empty room. Her arms and legs pivoted and spun gracefully through several difficult ballet twirls and jumps ending with a leap directly into his arms.


    He caught her with deft hands and gently deposited her back on the console chair; his brilliant blue eyes crinkling with appreciation.


    "I can pass physical. I''m quite strong. I can lift a decent amount of weights, and I can run and jump!" She crowed with augh.


    Of course, she did not add that a cat burr needed to be in great physical condition.


    "Tch. Tch. That''s not the physical I mean." te held up a finger and waggled it at Candi.


    "Then what is your definition of physical?"


    "First criteria for Physical is beauty."


    Candi reached up and touched her face.


    "Oh. So the first talent criteria is a beautypetition."


    "That''s right. Why do you think I was healing your body of bruises and cuts and giving you massages? Your body must be in perfect condition."


    "That was more than just a massage." She looked away, embarrassed.


    "You were so tense, I simply helped your body to¡ªrx a bit." He grinned wolfishly.


    Yeah right.


    She sniffed, turning back to face him.


    "Are the other candidates¡ªhuman like me?"


    "No. You are the only human."


    She grimaced. How was she supposed topete with non-human beauty? That was like having a dog show and bringing in cats and rats and bats topare tail lengths and fur color.


    "If you trust me, I can help you pass the criteria to have a chance at winning thepetition."


    Candi pondered over his words.


    She was already speeding away from Earth, to an unknown destination. She had no idea what she was getting into, so having him as a guide was super helpful.


    "Okay te. I''m going to trust you, but no funny business! You have to be upfront with me." She lifted her head and stared up at him with as much intensity as she could muster.


    He nodded and stood there regarding her with narrowed eyes, one arm crossed over his chest, the other hand rubbing at his jaw.


    "First things first. Although your breasts are nice handfuls," he opened up his hands in demonstration, "you''re a bit on the skinny side everywhere else."


    Candi scowled with embarrassment.


    "It''s called a dancer''s body, okay?" She quipped.


    "You need to eat more." He snapped a finger and a round table and two chairs rose up from the floor.


    A few more waves in the air and a circr tter filled with covered dishes lowered from the ceiling onto the table.


    For the first time, Candi looked up.


    The ceiling wasn''t just a ceiling. It was an actualmand console!


    It was covered with discrete patterns of dots and dashes and when te was waving his hands in the air, he was manipting the console and controlling it!


    "Eat. I had Jezebel make food that I know you humans love to eat."


    He approached the table and pulled the lids off the tters.


    Candi''s eyes widened.


    There were mounds of steamed rice,yers of ribs, and tes of colorful vegetables. There was curry and vegetable stir fry and steamed fish and arge bowl of soup in the center.


    There was a stack of hot crusted bread with a pot of butter, and slices of fruit tarts and strawberry shortcakes. There was tea and coffee and fizzy soft drinks.


    "te. There''s enough food here to feed ten people!"


    te gave her a desultory gaze.


    "That''s my normal breakfast."


    She blinked and wisely kept her mouth shut. Men did eat quite a bit after all. He was also ratherrge¡­


    "Sit." He led her to one of the seats and made sure she was settled before taking his own seat across from her.


    Despite the fact that Candi didn''t feel all that hungry, by the time they had finished eating, she had eaten her fill of many dishes on the table. As promised, te polished off most of the food.


    Once they had finished eating, he waved a hand and the table disappeared into the floor.


    He gave another gesture and arge round bath tub rose up.


    "It''s time for our bath.." He smiled with greed.

 Chapter 15 - Bath Time

    "I''m not bathing in that thing." She stood there, staring at the tub.


    "Why not? I can make the water whatever temperature you wish."


    He moved to the edge of the tub and stuck his finger in. Within seconds, steam began to rise from the water.


    "Come. Touch it and see if it''s warm enough for you."


    "No." Her eyes were daggers.


    "You should bathe now. It will help you to fall asleep so your body can be in perfect condition. That way you can win thepetition."


    Candi stewed. So now he was bringing thepetition in to the conversation every time he wanted her to do something.


    "I''m not taking off my clothes with you in this pod."


    te rolled his eyes and stared at the ceiling and heaved a big theatrical sigh.


    "Candace, I''ve seen your entire body."


    "Not." She pursed her lips.


    te sighed.


    He made a few quick gestures and a circr panel extended downward, encircling the tub. It was made of some thin frosted white material that gave her at least some sense of privacy.


    Candi lifted her head up, chin in the air, and marched in through the opening.


    Behind her, te stood with a curious gentle smile on his face that he hid behind his hand.


    The circr panel was not exactly closed off, but it was better than nothing. She stripped and quickly got into the tub hoping to have a bit less exposure.


    The water was steaming up in nice billows of heat. He really heated it up so nicely with his finger.


    She blushed, thinking about all the ces on her body he had touched with that finger and how it had warmed her up, from the soles of her feet all the way to¡­


    Candy shut her eyes and sank under the water, wetting her hair. A few secondster, she rose from the warm bath water and began sshing around.


    Asrge as the tub was, it could have easily held four people. As it was, she was all by herself and it made for a wonderful hot tub.


    Her only issue was the clearness of the water. It was rose scented and warm, but there were no suds.


    Unfortunately, unlike all themercials she had ever seen where there were mounds of bubbles that could hide any parts of her body that was supposed to be hidden, this water was crystal clear.


    "Do you have any bubble soap, and maybe some shampoo?" She called out.


    "Just lie there and rx," she heard a voice behind her.


    Candi''s eyes bulged! He was right behind her!


    She gulped a lungful of air and sank under the water, hugging her knees.


    Immediately, she felt hands pulling her back up out of the water.


    "Candace! Are you okay??? What''s wrong? What happened???" She heard his insistent voice next to her ear.


    "I''m taking a bath! Why are you in my bathroom???" She yelled back at him, eyes tightly shut, arms still hugging her knees.


    "You asked for soap. How am I supposed to give it to you if I don''te in here?"


    She cautiously opened her eyes.


    He was on his knees in the water, holding her up above the waterline. His glittering blue eyes held¡­panic?


    "This water is only up to my neck even when I''m seated." She mumbled, not taking her eyes off his. "There''s no way I can possibly drown unless¡ª"


    te exhaled, releasing her body back into the water. She was stark naked in his arms but he was not looking anywhere. He was looking straight into her eyes, searching for reassurances that she was unhurt.


    "Unless what?"


    "Unless you push me under and hold me down until I drown."


    His mouth worked for a moment.


    "Why would I do something like that? I was holding you up!" He exhaled harshly.


    "I thought you had suffered some medical condition that caused you to slip under water."


    Candi shook her head.


    "I was just startled and¡ªand embarrassed."


    te closed his eyes.


    "Candace. You have a beautiful body. A beautiful face. Why are you so embarrassed about it?"


    "I just." She curled up into a small ball, hugging her knees up to her chin. "I don''t know you well enough to befortable parading my body about."


    te nodded.


    Without a word, he reached out into empty space and magicked into being, a ss vial holding an amber liquid. He took off the stopper and poured a small amount of viscous liquid into the water.


    He kissed his fingers and waved it into the water, heating it back up to the temperature it was when she first entered.


    As if by magic, huge amounts of bubbles began to rise, covering the surface of the water and spilling out onto the sides of the tub.


    "Turn around. I''ll wash your hair."


    "It''s¡ªit''s okay. I can wash my own hair."


    "This is to ensure you win thepetition. Turn around." His voice broke no arguments.


    Candi pressed her lips together and turned her back to him.


    It was at that moment when she could not see him at all that she could feel him all around her.


    He was the billowing scented steam swirling around her. He was the soft gliding water that streamed around her. He was the millions of scented foam that tickled and kissed her skin with each tiny air-filled bubble.


    His fingers were softly gathering her hair and caressing her head as the mounds and mounds of soap floated around her and melded into the mounds and mounds of soap spilling over the sides onto the pristine white floor.


    She closed her eyes, feeling the gentle pressure of his fingers on her scalp as he rubbed the soap into her skin. Then he ran his fingers through her hair, gently spreading thether around.


    "Keep your eyes closed," she could hear his voice softly reverberating around her.


    There was a cascade of clear warm water that came sprinkling down from the ceiling, as if a tropical rainstorm had just blown through.


    His fingers worked at her hair until the water ran clear. Then he gently picked her up and folded her withinrge sheets of soft warm towels.


    With unspokenmands, te made the tub disappear and the bed reappear from the floor, rising up in a swirling circr pattern, like an exquisitely frosted white cake.


    "We have taken up several hours eating and bathing. There are only about fifteen hours left until we reach our destination."


    "Get some sleep so you will bepletely rested by the time we get there."


    Candi nodded. She had no strength left.


    He gently deposited her onto the circr bed and drew the covers up over her shoulders.


    With a touch of his finger onto her forehead, she sank into a dreamless sleep.

 Chapter 16 - High Level Dangerous Criminal

    When Candy opened her eyes, she could see a green and blue world beyond the horizon of the ss window.


    It was so beautiful. It looked like Earth from above, but the continental shapes were different. It was most definitely not Earth.


    te was sitting on his egg-shaped seat staring out the window, his long ck hair flowing all around him, glinting in the light of the world before him and spilling onto the arm rest.


    Candi sat up, rubbing her eyes.


    "Are we there already?"


    te swung his seat around. His eyes were bright and sparkling as he took in her disheveled sleep-tousled honey blonde hair.


    "We reached Erenveil a short time ago. Since we still had plenty of time, I let you sleep for awhile longer.


    "You didn''t sleep at all." It was not a question. She could see the weariness in the cast of his shoulders.


    "I had to make sure we got to Erenveil. For some reason, there was a starship that kept trailing us from one space hop to the next."


    Candi looked at him with startled hazel eyes.


    "From where?"


    "Earth."


    Candi gasped.


    "Was it the same one that was able to see through your cloaking and shot at us?"


    "No." He shook his head. "This one was different. A much more advanced technology."


    "How could you tell it was from Earth? We don''t have the kind of technology that can follow you all the way to Erenveil." She scratched her head. "Do we?"


    te gave her a strange look and shook his head. His dazzling blue eyes stared through her, as if he was thinking about something.


    "You shouldn''t, but it has your world''s g colors on the side of the starship. There was no mistake."


    He stood up.


    "We don''t have a lot of time. Let''s get you fed and dressed, and then I take you down to join everyone. You are thest Avgo female and nothing can start until you arrive."


    Asrge as dinner was the night before, breakfast was only a few slices of toast and some eggs, piping hot. Then she was given a few minutes to wash and dress in a stark white bodysuit with some boots of the same color.


    Candi threw it on with the same familiarity that she did with the ck bodysuit she normally wore to do her cat burr heists. It was as if it had been created especially for her body.


    As she was getting ready, the transport pod was taking them down to the below.


    As she took her seat, te strapped her in and the transport pod flew through the atmosphere, spiraling downward in a curve that took advantage of the natural shape of the.


    In no time at all, it approached arge t expanse that looked suspiciously like one of the tabletop mountains on Earth.


    "Wow. This looks like Table Mountain in Africa!" She gasped as she looked down at the vista below.


    "It''s made in a simr way." teughed. "We sliced the top off the mountain so we could have a t ce tond."


    "So this is like a spaceport for you?"


    te shook his head. "No. It''s just anding field for small transport vehicles like this one."


    Suddenly, he leaned forward.


    "Oh you gotta be shitting me!"


    He began hammering on the panel, pulling back up into the sky, even as the transport pod was starting tond.


    "What''s wrong? What''s going on?" Candi clutched at her armrest with rm.


    "That starship from your world is on thending field ahead of us. How it got here I have no idea."


    As the pod sailed back up into the azure sky, te was hammering at the panel.


    "Father." He called out. "Are you there?"


    The familiar face of the Emperor of Erenveil appeared in front of them.


    "Son. I just saw youing in for anding and suddenly you changed trajectory. What''s going on?"


    "Father, what is that Earth starship doing on thending field?"


    "I''m not certain, Son. The Earth Viceroy said you had picked up the wrong Avgo female, so he had to transport the real one to Erenveil."


    "Father. You know as well as I do that we do not actually choose the Avgo female. It is impossible to have a fake Avgo female."


    te''s Father raised an eyebrow.


    "Are you telling me to doubt my own Viceroy on Earth? Does the female in your pod have the Avgo?"


    te turned to Candi.


    "Where is the Avgo?"


    She blinked for a moment trying to remember where it was.


    "I think it''s in the pocket of my summer dress but I don''t know where the dress is."


    te shook his head.


    "The Avgo will follow you wherever you go. It will not be in the summer dress. Call out to it."


    "Call out? Does it have a name or do I just say something like: ''Hey Avgo! Show yourself!''"


    In the blink of an eye, the pink egg shaped sapphire appeared in front of her, twirling in midair, catching the light and reflecting it around like a mini disco ball.


    te turned back to his Father.


    "Do you see the Avgo, Father? Do you see her calling to Avgo and it obeys hermand?"


    "Hmmm. Yes. I''m just telling you that the Viceroy is here demanding to meet up with you. He says the female with you is the thief who stole the Avgo from the real female who is supposed to be the Earth Avgo female."


    "Father, the Avgo cannot be stolen."


    The Emperor of Erenveil harrumphed.


    "You know that and I know that, but try telling that to the Viceroy. He is adamant that the thief must be caught and persecuted. Meanwhile, he has brought what he considers the real Avgo woman to our world."


    "I don''t care." te grounded. "Send him back to Earth. He does not deserve to be here. He was the one who sent that first ship to fire at me."


    "He said those were warning shots, fired to stop you from taking a high level and dangerous criminal out of Sol System."


    te narrowed his eyes and leaned forward.


    "What, pray tell, is her crime?"


    The Emperor''s eyes grew cold.


    "Theft of the Avgo and Earth''s only copy of ''Ellipsoidal Macrocosm''." He sniffed. "They even have an image of her with the book and the gem."


    He raised a finger and the image of Candi''s pale face showed up next to the pink Avgo egg sitting proudly on top of the ancient bound book.


    te startedughing as Candi lowered her head into her hands.


    It was the image that te had taken of her and sent to her boss.

 Chapter 17 - The Prime Warrior Of Erenveil

    "Father. I was the one who took that photo as a memento of being the first male who found the Earth''s Avgo female." te chuckled as he informed his father.


    "I was the one who sent it to the organization that hired her to steal the Avgo and the ''Ellipsoidal Macrocosm''. How is it that she is the criminal and not the organization that sent her to do the deed?"


    The Emperor cleared his throat.


    "It is none of my concern who is the criminal element here. As you are aware, we do not involve ourselves with regional conflicts."


    "Father. The Avgo Female''s position is far above all of this. It is our job to protect the Avgo Female from all these regional conflicts."


    "Well, be that as it may, you still cannot be flying off with her. You need to bring her to the Coliseum for the initial screening."


    te growled a deep guttural animalistic sound deep within his throat. It gave Candi chills that ran up and down her spine.


    "If that Earth starship gives us any trouble, I will not hesitate to destroy it."


    The Emperor nodded, a glint of pride shining from his eyes.


    "You are the Prime Warrior of Erenveil. Do what you need to do."


    te narrowed his eyes.


    "We have barely just arrived. She will need a bit of time to prepare for thepetitions."


    "She has no more time." The Emperor gave te an ominous look. "I don''t care how you do it. Get her to the Coliseum. NOW!!!"


    With that final order, the Emperor''s face disappeared from the virtual screen.


    te pounded on the arm rest panel with furious fingers. He said nothing, but Candi could tell he was incensed.


    "We have to turn around andnd this transport pod." He turned to look at her. "Get ready for some fun. They''re waiting for us."


    As the pod returned to Table Mountain Landing Field, te''s face became colder and colder. They circled around to find a goodnding spot and finally settled the vehicle on the ground.


    "Come."


    He reached out for her hand andmanded Jezebel to open the external hatch.


    There was a whooshing sound and the hatch opened up from what was a seamless span of wall. Immediate the hot and humid heat buffeted into the cool interior, scattering their hair in all directions.


    "Stay behind me," hemanded and took the lead.


    As the steps materialized and led down to the ground, they emerged from the transport vehicle into a bright zing summer afternoon.


    "Step away from the girl!" A voice called out.


    Immediately, te stepped out in front of her, blocking her view of the world below.


    Hisrge body shielded her from the heat of the brilliant summer sun. It also blocked her view so that she could not see what the situation was, but she knew one thing.


    te would never step away from her.


    There were soundsing from below. te tensed up. His body began to change, bulking up twice the size of his human form.


    Candi''s eyes widened.


    The gentle considerate man with the dazzling blue eyes and the long thick ck hair was standing with his back to her.


    Before her eyes, he began to morph into something that should have been alien and frightening.


    From those gentle fingers that had caressed her hair and body just the night before, sprang long ck wicked ws that were so sharp they could easily tear a man in half.


    His body was dark. His face was even darker.


    Gone was his handsome face. Gone was his sensuous lips. A dark featureless mask covered everything in a maleficent chilling visage.


    His shoulders grew twice in size, tearing his white shirt into tattered shreds.


    WHOOSH!!!


    Large dark leathery bat wings sprang forth from his back muscles. He spread them wide, sheltering her behind their enormous dark spread.


    Suddenly, she could hear a barrage of weapon fire discharged directly in their direction.


    POW POW POW POW POW


    The weapons hit an invisible wall in front of him and dissipated harmlessly.


    "Stay here." He whispered into her mind and jumped from the top of the steps where they were standing.


    His wings spread wide and he began gliding to the ground like a dark raptor, after its prey.


    Uponnding, he took a few quick running strides directly towards the men.


    Seeing that their weapons were ineffective, the men threw their weapons to the ground and scattered like rats. The huge ck bat without a face was swooping down upon them, his raging energies palpable.


    With a twist of his body and a loud thunderous roar, he threw out his hand and let loose a huge tornado, flinging them into the air like so many spent match sticks.


    Candi flinched as she saw te''s tornado suck the men into its swirling maelstrom. She heard their screams of terror as they were whisked away.


    With the force on the ground annihted, he turned towards the Earth starship in the distance.


    "How dare you shoot your inconsequential weapons in my direction!" His roar could be heard even from where Candi stood.


    "You have in your possession a very dangerous criminal element." A loud booming voice could be hearding from the Earth starship.


    "She currently has an arrest warrant against her. Release the suspect to us and you will avert a gctic-wide incident."


    teughed. It was a loud boomingugh that sounded like a bellowing furnace from hell.


    "You have vited intergctic codes of conduct by firing weapons upon a Prince of the Shadow Realm. Your penalty is death!"


    He raised his hands up above his head and called down a hail of exploding fireballs the size ofrge boulders.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The fiery boulders began raining down onto the hapless starship without letting up, hitting the ship''s shields in a relentless barrage.


    The starship staggered up into the sky in a desperate attempt at self-preservation. It shot away, partially damaged and unable to defend itself against such overwhelming power.


    te turned back to Candi, still in his bat warriorbat gear. He took a running leap and flew up towards her.


    "Candace!" He reached out his hand.


    Without hesitation, she took a flying leap and jumped into his arms.


    He caught her with ease and carried her up into the bright sparkling summer sky.

 Chapter 18 - The Eighth Contestant

    "Hang on tight. I''m going to take you directly to the Coliseum."


    Candi clung onto his neck and tried not to close her eyes. This would be the third time that she traveled in his flying arms.


    "Is this how you and your guests normally travel from the Landing Field?"


    Heughed.


    "No. Usually we take a hover pod from there to wherever we need to go, but we also don''t normally get shot at while attempting tond."


    "Why were they shooting at us?"


    Heughed.


    "They know they can''t hurt me with their puny weapons. It was just to stall for time."


    Candi nodded, not quite understanding what he meant by ''stalling for time'' but she was too distracted by the view below her to ask.


    From the air, his world was an orderly grid of greens and blues, with yellows and pinks interspersed.


    They were flying low enough so she could see the rectangr plots of what she supposed were agricultural farm grids.


    There were also dense tree tops which looked amazingly like densely clustered broli heads from her vantage point.


    It was a short flight.


    The agricultural and forestednds gave way to perfectly aligned streets that were grids of squares and rectangles up until it got to the coliseum. Then the streets spiraled towards the circr opening of the coliseum, looking like spokes on a round wheel.


    "Hang on. We are going to drop directly in through the top."


    "Why?" Candi protested. "Can''t we walk in through the doors like normal people?"


    "We''re out of time. Look. All seven contestants are already standing on the dais."


    Candi''s eyes grew round with amazement. The bowl-shaped coliseum waspletely filled with spectators! At the center was a huge round dais upon which a small group was standing.


    The noiseing from the spectators was almost deafening. They were cheering and hollering at the seven who were standing there.


    "Looks like their n was to way us long enough to disqualify you from the initial qualification round."


    "What¡ªwhat does this round require me to do?"


    "Oh this is not even part of the sevenpetitions. This is just to check credentials." Heughed.


    "What credentials?" Candi gasped. She didn''t have her wallet on her with all her identification papers from Earth. How was she supposed to prove her identity?


    "Your Avgo credentials. When the judges ask you for it, call to the Avgo and have it hover over you in the same way you showed my father."


    They were approaching the top lip of the coliseum and te began to shift her body from his grasp.


    "Hang on. I''m going to drop you down into the dais to join the other women. Get ready."


    te banked around the coliseum and swooped down.


    As he soared over the heads of the contestants, he lowered Candi to the ground. Once her feet touched the dais, he let go.


    At the speed they were traveling, she had to run a few steps and then drop into a roll to slow her momentum down.


    Once she had stabilized her body, she sprang back up and stood, waving up into the bright blue sky at te to indicate that she was perfectly fine.


    He waved a hand in acknowledgement as he continued spiraling above the coliseum on hisrge bat wings, casting a dark shadow over everyone below.


    The crowd went wild!


    Above the sound of the whooping and hollering of the crowd was the announcer.


    "Oh My Stars! I can''t believe we have another contestant! Ladies and Gentlemen! It looks like we have an eighth and final contestant to join the group on the stage this beautiful summer day!"


    More cheering, more pping, more stomping of the feet.


    It was the kind of cheering that spectators and audiences gave to their favored teams. They were here to watch an exciting show and this most definitely started the show with a BANG!!!


    "Wow! What a stunning turn of events!"


    The announcer projected his voice above the roar of the crowd in the coliseum as the visuals zoomed in on all eight contestants on the dais.


    The faces of the 8 women began rotating around the coliseum in extreme closeup.


    Candi saw her face among the eight on the huge virtual screens and struggled not tough.


    The women standing around her were coiffed and prepared with exquisite care from the tops of their heads to the perfectly manicured tips of their toes.


    And here she was, with her windblown and wild looking blonde hair, no makeup, and wearing a white burr cat suit that was anything but morous.


    Thank goodness this was not the beauty contest or she would have been disqualified immediately.


    "This is turning into a wild hot development, People! What was supposed to have been only seven contestants has turned into a spectacle!!!"


    He growled with excitement, the sound reverberating throughout the entire coliseum.


    "The EIGHTH contestant drops down from the sky in the arms of none other than our very own Prime Warrior of Erenveil, Prince te!"


    WAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!


    The crowd screamed in adoration, waving their arms in wild anticipation.


    "What a lucky girl! What a once in a lifetime opportunity to be that close to one of our devastatingly handsome Princes! Oh My Stars!!!"


    "Now that all the contestants have arrived, let''s introduce each one, so you can begin to pick your favorite candidate! Of course, the final judging is in the hands of the judges, but we can still have a public favorite contest, yes we can!!!"


    The announcer began to joke and chat with the audience.


    The spot where Candi stood was, identally, at the front so the visuals paused on her quite often. Being literally dropped from the sky also boosted her visuals quite a bit.


    She looked around at the audience. They were mostly humanoid in shape but there were quite a few that definitely did not look human.


    There were shes of lights and columns of colored smoke spiraling upward into the blue sky. The cacophony of noise and smoke and lights was dizzying and dibobting, but it was also energizing and awe-inspiring.


    The round white dais she was standing on along with the other seven contestants had seven small round tforms, all of which was upied by a contestant. She was the only one standing in front of them without a small round tform to stand on.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen! Here is the run-down on the contestants of the Avgo. This is not, I repeat, NOT their rankings since we have not yet started the judging process. This is simply the order in which they arrived onto the dais."


    "Are we ready???"


    YEAAAAHHHHH!!!

 Chapter 19 - Lorem Ipsum

    The announcer stepped out in front and began chatting with the crowd as if he was in their living room.


    He was a long-legged white faun dressed in a perfectly tailored ck suit and bow tie. His cloven hoof toes peeked out from under his pants, unshod.


    His horns were impressive, jutting back behind his skull in an arc that was genteel and wicked at the same time. His silvery white goatee was curled and gelled into a perfect question mark which reached the top of his chest.


    He reached out both hands and greeted the entire audience with a dazzling show of blue and pink electric sparks shooting from his fingertips.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen, my name is Lorem Ipsum and we are going to start this pageant by introducing to you all eight contestants."


    Lorem waved a hand and eight virtual screens the size of a huge billboard began to slowly rotate around the center of the coliseum above the contestants.


    "From this point until the end of the pageant, there will be face shots of each contestant on rotating visual disys so that you get to know each of them well. After all, one of the seven will be supremely important to all of us."


    The noise level of the crowd rose as the faces of the females on stage began to move around the dais in a slow leisure swirl.


    It didn''t matter whether they could see the contestants from where they sat. With virtual screens thatrge, zooming in on each contestant''s face, they could see all the women clearly from every seat in the house.


    Lorem gave a loud regalugh.


    "Each woman is so unique, so marvelous in depth and breadth that I cannot wait to delve in further and find out more about them. However!"


    He held out a perfectly manicured w, painted in whorls of carmine and fuchsia to resemble floral petals.


    "Before we can do that, we need to clear up this situation with Earth''s duplicate entrant. Meanwhile, I will do brief introductions of each woman so we can at least get started."


    He waved a hand and a gold scepter with a round ball attached to the top appeared in his hand.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen, I will start with Jenna Natoli, from the jungle world of Calend!"


    He waved the scepter and the small round tform that she stood upon rose so that she was half a body higher than the other contestants.


    A huge roar erupted from one side of the coliseum. Her fans and followers from the world of Calend hade out to support her, en masse!


    Jenna Natoli was a spotted jaguar with the body of a human goddess.


    She was golden-haired with a pattern of swirls and spots on her full-breasted body that was sleek, sexy, and downright dangerous!


    Herrge nted cat eyes were the color of bottle ss. She had a cute pert pink nose above the glint of sharp fangs that could be seen every time she opened her mouth and licked her lips with a pink tongue.


    Her body was quite human, if one could ignore the swish of a golden tail behind her, swirling up and coiling like a snake.


    The announcer waited until the audience had calmed a bit before moving onto the second contestant.


    "Next up, Ladies and Gentlemen, is Valeria Marakesh from the tropical world of Peoria!"


    He waved his scepter and Jenna''s tform lowered as Valeria''s rose from the dais.


    There was a general fluttering of winds and loud raucous screechesing from the side of the coliseum that hade in support for Valeria Marakesh.


    Valeria Marakesh was part raven part human.


    She had a small white face withrge pale blue eyes. Her huge dark feathered wings rose up above her in a graceful arc, flowing down into a regal plumage.


    Her body was not voluptuous like Jenna''s was. She was thin and waif like. Her skin was baster, her legs long and slender, ending in three forward pointing bird toes and one pointing backwards.


    Lorem Ipsum waited until the crowd had settled a bit. Then he waved his ball scepter and Valeria sank as the next contestant rose into prominence.


    "Third to arrive upon our beautiful world is Ana?se Paroles from the sandy world of Haribou!"


    One corner of the coliseum lit up in the same pale blue that Ana?se Paroles radiated with cool intensity. It was a silent support but it was a very bright silent support.


    Ana?se Paroles smiled and raised her arms up, waving with regal authority. She was strangely made of clear pale blue ice! Or at least to Candi she looked like ice.


    Upon closer inspection, Candi gasped as she realized that Ana?se Paroles was actually made of silicon ss!


    Ana?se was not only transparent, she also glowed a pale blue light that was at once otherworldly and technologically advanced.


    She wore nothing to mar the absolute perfection of her perfectly clear pale blue crystalline body.


    Lorem Ipsum smiled at her with appreciative eyes and then turned back to the crowd.


    "We''re more than halfway through with introductions, Ladies and Gentlemen!"


    He cast his scepter again. Ana?se Paroles went down and the contestant next to her rose on her small tform, with arms waving.


    "In Fourth position is Helene Cordara from the water world of Emporia."


    A loud shout of support came from another corner of the coliseum. There was obviously a huge following for Helene Cordara.


    Candi stifled a smile.


    Helene was part fish that wanted to be a bird.


    Her entire head was covered in a blue and gold headscarf twisted into arge knot, at the top of which a huge white plume of ostrich feather stuck out at an angle. The feather bounced with every move she made.


    Helene Cordara''s body was covered in a tight-fitting blue and gold outfit that looked like fish scales. The ''tail'' split and then extended past her very human legs, trailing behind her like a long fish tail.


    Her few precious minutes of fame quickly ended as Lorem Ipsum waved his scepter and Helene sank back down to the dais and the woman next to her rose.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen, the next contestant is Bethany Dresden from the moons of Coraline!"


    Bethany raised her hands to her red lips and blew a kiss.


    She threw the kiss out into the crowd and it turned into a bright little red bird that flew from her hand, twittering and chattering.


    The crowd oohed and aaaaed, crowing with delight.


    Bethany''s outfit was a simple little ck dress that ended mid-thigh, but she did not need to dress conspicuously. She was covered in red feathers!


    Her headdress was a full covering that had a dozen golden antennas spreading out into a fan shaped crown. Candi could not tell what kind of bird she was but it looked as if she was another variety of bird human.


    "Oh that was quite a spectacle! Bethany is a very special phoenix in deed!" Lorem Ipsumughed as he waved his scepter, bringing her back down to the dais.


    "Our next contestant is Olivia Faraday from Laroche Gardens!" He announced as she rose up on her small tform.


    Olivia was the only insectoid of the group. She was, in fact, a humanoid monarch butterfly!


    Her body was encased in a full-length ck body suit that showed off to perfection, her orange and yellow wings. It was trimmed with ck edges and red out behind her, showcasing her brilliant beauty.


    As she faned her wings, she dropped into an elegant curtsy that made the crowd swoon with delight.


    Lorem Ipsum chuckled and then turned to thest woman standing on the tform. Then he turned to look at Candi.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen, the next position should have been thest contestant." He turned back to the audience.


    "but we have two contestants who will be battling for thisst position." The announcer held up two fingers into the air.


    "Since we have two contestants from Earth, I will introduce them side-by-side, as only one of them will be able to remain on the dais by the end of this initial round."


    Once again, he waved his gold balled scepter.

 Chapter 20 - Like A Hurricane!

    The final dais rose up from the tform. It held the seventh contestant.


    Lorem Ipsum cleared his throat.


    "The first of the two is Dahlia Halloway, from the azure world of Earth!"


    A loud cheering came from another section of the coliseum.


    Dahlia Halloway was tall, stately, and looked every inch a super model. Her long red hair fell in waves radiating around her shoulders, entuating her bright green eyes and lush full lips painted in a deep red color.


    She wore a long sheath dress that entuated every curve. On her feet were red stiletto heels, giving an extra four inches of height to her already impressive six feet tall figure.


    If there was a perfect female representative of Earth, it was very likely her, or someone like her.


    "However!" He held up a hand to pause the whooping and hollering that had started up again. "We also have a second contestant from Earth. Her name is¡­"


    He paused for a moment. "Just a moment, Ladies and Gentlemen. Due to the nature of her arrival, I haven''t quite gotten her name yet. Please give me a moment."


    In several long strides, he had made his way to where Candi was standing.


    "Hello Dearie. Mind telling me what your name is?" He leaned over and whispered good-naturedly into her ear.


    "My name is Candace Farrah."


    "Candace Farrah. Candace Farrah¡­"


    He mumbled it under his breath a couple of times to get the pronunciation correct and then turned back to the crowd.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen, I have the name of the mysterious final contestant for Earth''s position in our Avgo pageant. Her name is Candace Farrah, from the azure world of Earth!"


    He waved his scepter again and Candi felt her own body rise into the air from her position in front of the other women.


    Her eyes widened as she realized that Lorem Ipsum was actually using his own levitational powers to raise and lower the small tforms. They were not mechanical levers at all!


    Her body naturally responded to the invisible levitational force. Her arms rose of their own ord and her toes pointed, executing a perfect ballet fifth position releve.


    As she hung in midair in her white catsuit, looking like some ballet dancer standing on a music box, the loud cheer came up from another side of the room, chanting out the word ''Earth! Earth! Earth! Earth!''.


    Since Candi was fairly certain she had no fans who would have made the arduous journey toe to an alien world and sit in a coliseum to cheer her on, it was most definitely loud endorsement for the woman named Dahlia Halloway standing behind her.


    As he finished introducing all the candidates, horns red and strange otherworldly music began to y from a side tform that was to their right.


    The band was an instrumental only band. There were no live yers. The instruments were ying themselves, some bright happy tune that invigorated the crowd.


    Within minutes, Lorem Ipsum had lowered Candi back down onto the stage. He moved towards her and whispered into her ear.


    "We''re getting another tform for you so you can join the other contestants. When it gets there, just stand here and I''ll levitate you onto the tform."


    She nodded and gave him a grateful smile. He was treating her so kindly that she felt much more at ease, standing alone in the front by herself.


    True to his word, another tform was brought out and ced next to Dahlia Halloway.


    She stood and waited as he brought his hands up and levitated her body towards the tform. Once she had been gently deposited onto her very own tform, she was now part of the lineup.


    The music finished its bright happy tune and the spotlight once again shone on the white haired faun standing onstage.


    "And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, the moment we''ve all been waiting for. The initial qualification round is officially starting as of¡ª"


    He raised a hand and brought it down.


    "NOW!!!"


    Suddenly, a ss cylinder appeared around them, encapsted the round dais along with the women standing on it.


    Lorem Ipsumughed as a light gust of wind began to stir between his fingertips.


    "Anemos!" He roared.


    The wind hit the sides of the cylinder and began spinning, forming an invisible vortex.


    All the women began looking up and around. The wind was now no longer a gentle zephyr. It was growing stronger and stronger.


    The first thing to be whipped around the wind tunnel was the white ostrich plume from Helene Cordara''s head. It spun around and around, going higher and higher until it disappeared into the blue sky above.


    Suddenly, the women gasped as their hair and loose jewelry began to whip around. Pieces of nes and loose gemstones flew from the women, spiraling upward.


    The gentle zephyr was slowly turning into a hurricane-strength cyclone!


    The women all turned horror-stricken eyes at Lorem Ipsum. They gasped with terror as the wind began to whip their fragile wings, sending red and ck feathers and bits of yellow butterfly wings upward to join the long white ostrich feather that had been sucked up.


    Since Candi had no wings, no fancy jewelry, and her hair was already windswept, it did not really affect her much, but beside her, Dahlia was in trouble.


    Immediately, a round gem appeared and floated above each of them, sheltering their bodies with its glow. Everything began to be subdued and calmed as the winds lessened in severity to a gentle breeze.


    Candi looked up above her and saw her little pink sapphire shining its scattered reflective light down onto her head. It had somehow appeared, without her summoning and it was protecting her from the gale storm.


    Beside her, Dahlia Halloway was struggling to remain standing on the tform.


    "Ahhhh! Help me!" She cried, reaching out as the wind began picking her up.


    She was the only one without the protection of an Avgo stone.


    In desperation, she reached out and tried to grab at Candi''s Avgo gemstone but her hand passed right through it.


    Candi''s eyes grew round with amazement. The physical stone was not really there, it was merely a projection of the actual stone!


    Beside her, Dahlia Halloway''s body began to be lifted by the wind.


    "Aaaaaaahhhh!!!" She shrieked and reached out wildly, catching onto Candi''s arm.


    "Candace, help me!!!" She screamed.

 Chapter 21 - Bruised And Bloodied

    By this time, Dahlia''s red stiletto heels had been ripped from her feet.


    The red shoes went tumbling and swirling around, ttering against the ss cylinder. They quickly got pulled up into the bright blue sky and disappeared from sight.


    The only reason why Dahlia had not flown away was because she was clutching onto Candi''s arm with both hands in a death grip, her legs iling upward as her body began to be sucked skyward.


    In any normal circumstance, Candi would have most likely been dragged along with Dahlia up the wind tunnel because Candi was physically much smaller than Dahlia.


    The Avgo gemstone however, was far stronger than any wind of this nature. It kept her anchored on the tform and protected her from the wind.


    Meanwhile, Dahlia was crying desperately. Her clutch was so strong that Candi could not pull her arm away even if she wanted to.


    "Help me!!! Please!!!" Dahlia''s eyes were desperate and tearful.


    Candi looked at Dahlia. She turned to Lorem Ipsum who stood there with a smirk on his lips. He was unaffected by the wind.


    She stared at him, aghast. He was trapped within the same cylinder as she was but why did it not affect him?


    Even his perfect silvery white goatee, which was curled and gelled to perfectiony untouched on his chest.


    Candi looked around.


    Aside from all the wind noise and the women around her squeaking and squawking as they tried to deal with their own hair and clothing and wing disturbances, it was strangely anomalous.


    Obviously, the wind was fake!


    Once Candi saw that the wind was fake, she could not unsee it.


    "Avgo. Shut down the wind!" She called out.


    Instantly, the wind stopped.


    CLUNK!!!


    Dahlia dropped like dead weight beside her, crying and sobbing and clutching onto Candi''s ankles for fear of being lifted by the whirlwind again.


    Candi scowled at Lorem Ipsum as she clutched at her aching arm. He no longer seemed as nice and friendly as he did when she was standing on the stage next to him.


    This was all his doing.


    He could have simply asked for all the women to produce the Avgo gemstone in their possession and the ones who had it would have it. The one who didn''t could simply be disqualified.


    What he did instead, had damaged their hair, their clothing, their fragile wings and scales, and turned them into clowns for the public to gawk at. It had certainly destroyed any sense of pride that Dahlia had.


    She scowled, looking down at her arm.


    Damn that hurt! Underneath her long sleeves were most likely bruises that would match Dahlia''s red-tipped ws.


    Those would most definitely not be fake!


    She sighed.


    te was going to be super mad about the bruises!


    Lorem Ipsum raised his arms up into the air.


    With a wave of his hand, he called out a loudmand and the items that had been taken from the women fell back down from the sky, ttering onto the stage like so much glitter debris.


    Even Dahlia''s red shoes had dropped onto the stage with a tter, breaking off one of the stiletto points.


    Dahlia stared at her broken red shoes lying among the heap of loose jewelry, ck and red feathers, and broken butterfly wings. Her face was streaked with ck tears as her eye makeup ran down her cheeks.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen, I hope that was as entertaining as it was enlightening. We now have the real seven contestants and the stage will be adjusted ordingly."


    He waved another hand and two people approached the tforms. They made their brisk way to Dahlia who was still on the floor, clinging onto Candi''s ankles.


    Without a word, they extricated her grasping fingers from Candi''s legs, picked her up and carried her off the stage, kicking and screaming.


    Everything happened so fast, Candi did not even have a chance to think about an appropriate response. All she could think of was her bleeding ankles.


    Dahlia had dug her fingernails into her legs, not wanting to leave the stage and had gashed her up pretty good.


    As she stood there on the stage, bleeding on the tform, the people screamed and cheered and the perfectly and beautifully coiffed goat man stood in front of seven disheveled, torn, bleeding women and yed up the crowd.


    Candi closed her eyes.


    This was going to be a rough and bloody pageant, from what she could already see. She was starting to really hate that old goat.


    As the crowd went wild, the dais lowered into the floor, leaving behind the noise and lights of the coliseum. Once the dais had sunk down to the floor below, the ceiling closed and they were inside a chamber that only had one exit.


    The women stepped off their tiny tforms and began streaming out through the opening. Not knowing what to expect next, Candi followed all the women towards the exit point.


    Immediately beyond the chamber, she found te, back in human form and leaning against a support column waiting for her.


    He took one look at her and his eyes grew hard and cruel.


    Candi was about to give some off-handed excuse for looking so bad when he strode to her side.


    "What happened to you? Why are you all bloodied???"


    Candi sighed. He looked really mad.


    "The old goat set up a whirlwind inside that ss cylinder and blew everyone around."


    He crouched down and began gently taking off her shoes. Then he touched her ankles with healing power.


    "I saw the Avgo test." He growled. "I''m talking about your bloody ankles. Didn''t I tell you that your body had to be perfect for the physical?"


    Candi grimaced.


    "That Earth woman got sucked upward by the whirlwind and she grabbed onto me. What was I supposed to do?"


    "You could have kicked her off instead of letting her damage you like this." He looked up, brilliant blue eyes fierce with rage.


    Candi sighed.


    "She is huge te! The woman is six feet tall, and she had her long w fingers dug into my skin. She was gripping me so hard, I would have bled no matter what I did."


    He stood up.


    "I''m taller than that. If I ever hurt you like this, kick me. Hard!"


    Candi shook her head.


    "It was not on purpose. The woman was afraid for her life and was just clinging onto me."


    If I had been under water and she was dragging me under, I would kick her," she grimaced. "But in this case, I wasn''t really in any danger. I just got a little bruised and bloody is all."


    "Bruised?" te turned to me, anger once again ring in his eyes. "Where are you bruised???"

 Chapter 22 - Never!

    Candi stared at his dark angry face.


    "te. Why are you so mad?" She frowned. "It happened so fast I couldn''t avoid it. I''ll just be more careful next time."


    te turned his glittering blue eyes at her.


    "I''m not mad at you." He growled under his breath. "I''m mad at them for hurting you."


    He picked Candi up with care as if she weighed nothing.


    "I could never be mad at you," he said as he took her through the main hallway out to a hover pod.


    "Where are we going?"


    "To my home. I have to make sure you are not more seriously injured."


    Candi nodded. He seemed to be worried about the physical test more than any other, and here she was, nervous and concerned about the magic test!


    The ride to his home took less than ten minutes.


    Apparently, all the princes lived around the main pce for ease and convenience of being summoned at all times of the day and night by their father.


    te''s house was a literal castle. It had multiple spires built out of pale white travertine stones with ck rooftops, rising up into the sky like a huge white mountain.


    "You live here?" Candi gasped, staring up at the castle''s stone front.


    He shrugged as if it was no big deal.


    "It was convenient. I didn''t feel like building something new so I just took over an old castle."


    Candiughed.


    "Are there old castles just conveniently lying around for you to take over?"


    te nodded.


    "There are plenty of castles all over various worlds. I just pick the one I want and have it transferred here."


    "Transport?"


    "Magical transport."


    "Of course." Candiughed. "What was I thinking."


    The hover pod took them through the main gate to arge front garden filled with colorful tropical flowers and stately palms.


    Past the garden was an arch way which took them to the front of the castle.


    They stepped from the pod and without hesitation, he picked her up from the pod.


    "I can walk, you know te." Candi mumbled.


    "You hurt your ankles. I need to look at them more closely." His tone broke no arguments.


    In a few short strides, he had reached the doorway.


    Immediately several serving people stepped out to greet te. They bowed at the waist and ushered him into the house.


    te carried her through the doorway and up the stairs until he reached the master suite. The double doors swung open at hismand.


    The room was stately, filled with exquisite hand-carved furniture that looked as if they should belong in a museum.


    "Is this your bedroom?"


    te carried her through the doorway.


    "This is my home. They are all my bedrooms."


    Fair enough.


    te strode to therge king size bed and set her down.


    "I''m going to have a warm bath drawn for you." He pulled a robe from a trunk and handed it to her. "Take your clothing off and put this on."


    "What are you going to do?"


    te gave her a hard edged look.


    "I need to check the condition of your body."


    She sighed, watching him as he opened another set of double doors which led to the adjoining bathroom.


    The bathroom was almost the same size as the bedroom. Within it was a bath tub the size of a hot tub that could fit five people.


    A female attendant was already within, filling the tub with steaming water that billowed smoke up into the marble walls.


    She poured something into the water and a delicious flowery scent filled the air. Then she nodded and stood aside, awaiting further instructions.


    "Come." He beckoned to Candi.


    No longer hesitant, she jumped off the bed and stepped into the bathroom. He''d bathed her before so she knew what to expect.


    She stripped down and slipped into the bubbling bath.


    "I see where the bruises and contusions are." He shook his head. "That woman did a lot of damage to you."


    He took hold of her hands and inspected the bruises with a grim face.


    With more healing magic, he removed the bruises. The heat of his fingers poured molten energy through her limbs causing her to feelnguid and sleepy.


    "Arms and ankles. It looks like those are all the damage that was inflicted on you." She heard him say as he continued to heal her body.


    His touches were light, feeling more like caresses rather than healing touches.


    "Everything feels so much better. Thank you for helping me."


    He said nothing, continuing with his ministration. His touches began to move away from her injured areas to ces that were perfectly fine.


    Candi nodded dreamily as he continued to bathe her body.


    "te."


    "Hmmmm?"


    "Why are you taking care of me?"


    For a moment, all Candi could hear was the sound of sshing water and his deep steady breathing. She opened her eyes and saw that he was pouring an amber liquid into his hands.


    "Your hair needs to be washed again because of that windstorm. That old goat is going to have to do a lot of exining to me what his motives are."


    "You''re not answering my question."


    "We only have today to heal you up and get you ready for the physical tomorrow. Focus on that."


    Candi reached out and touched his arm.


    "What is there to focus on? It''s a physical. Other than stand there and let them judge my body, what else am I supposed to do?"


    "You were only supposed to present your Avgo stone today to prove qualification for entry and look what happened."


    Candi nodded. He was right. It was a squirrelly pageant where strange things happened. Still, what he said and what she asked were two different things.


    "I will be careful at the physical. So please tell me why you are taking such good care of me."


    His eyes softened.


    "All the other contestants have teams of people taking care of their every need to get them ready for the Avgo Competition. In your case, you have nobody but me."


    "Because I was not a legitimate Avgo choice since I stole the Avgo?"


    He chuckled and shook his head.


    "No. It''s because once the Avgo appeared on Earth, the other female, that Dahlia woman, had been predetermined by the Earth''s ruling factions as the candidate they would endorse."


    "Fools." He scoffed. "They had been warned that we would only ept the candidate that the Avgo chose but they decided their will was above that of the Universe."


    He squeezed a washcloth with suds and began rubbing her face and body with a gentle circr motion.


    "What will happen now that Dahlia has been disqualified?"


    "I expect them toe seeking you within the next few hours. They will expect me to hand you over to your people and allow them to take care of you for the duration of this contest."


    te sighed and ran his fingers through her hair.


    "I don''t want to go with them." Candi grimaced. "What if they kill me off in hopes they can transfer the stone to Dahlia?"


    te poured more of the amber liquid soap into her hair and began working it through with gentle fingers.


    "My only job was to deliver you safely to the coliseum. I have done that requirement."


    "Are you going to let them take me away?" She furrowed her brows and looked up at him.


    His fingers paused.


    He leaned down to kiss the hollow at the base of her neck.


    "Never."

 Chapter 23 - The Twins Of Erenveil

    After the warm bath, she got back into her robe and came back to the bedroom to find a table set up by the window filled with warm foods.


    "You didn''t have much of a breakfast on the travel pod and it''s almost supper time so I had the chefs make you an early dinner."


    He seated her at the table and lifted the lids on shrimp and pork and beef with vegetables on the side.


    Candi gasped.


    "That''s a lot of food. Are you going to help me eat?"


    He shook his head.


    "I already ate. This is your meal."


    "Why so much food?"


    "The chefs didn''t know what you could and could not eat so they made a bit of everything."


    At his behest, she tried a bit of everything and proimed it delicious. By the time she was done, there was a knock on the door.


    te smiled.


    "Right on time."


    Candi looked up, not sure what his ns would entail.


    The servant opened the double doors.


    "There you are!" A voice called out.


    "Looking good!" Another voice joined in.


    Candi looked up. It was Jason and Jared.


    They stood near the entrance, taking up most of the space with their tall muscr bodies d in their warrior bodysuits.


    Their long green hair were loose, flowing behind them like a pale green waterfall and they smiled at her with warm honey brown eyes.


    te stood up.


    "d you two are here. I have to make a quick visit to an old goat. While I''m gone, don''t let anyone take her from this ce."


    "If they want to take our tiny dancer, they''ll have to go through us first!" Jason harrumphed.


    "Give the old goat a little extra loving from us." Jared winked.


    te nodded with a snarl.


    "I''ll double the extra loving and say it''s from the two of you."


    Jason gave a thumbs-up gesture and turned to Candi with a wink, his soft brown eyes warm and adoring.


    "How is our beautiful dancer doing today?"


    "I''m doing great, thanks to te." She sped her hands together. "How did you know where I was?"


    "How could we NOT know where you were!" Jaredughed.


    "Yes," Jason injected. "Everyone saw you drop down from the sky at the Avgo Premier, and then everyone saw you get whisked away by a Prince of Erenveil."


    "You''ve turned into the darling of the show, all with a single magicmand. Oh my stars!"


    Magicmand? Candi was about to ask the twins what they meant when they gave each other high fives and snapped their fingers.


    Suddenly, a stream of people came through the double doors.


    They pushed and pulled in various tables and chests along with arge carved armoire and something that looked like an apothecary cab with a dozen small drawers covering the front. There was even a gilded oval mirror ced next to Candi.


    Once they were done, they all bowed and left. Within minutes, there was no one left in the room but Candi, Jason and Jared.


    "Perfect. Our equipment is here." Jason rubbed his hands with glee. "Now we can have fun!"


    "What are you going to do?"


    Jared grinned.


    "We are going to y with you, dearest tiny dancer."


    He opened one of the chests and pulled out a bolt of pale green brocade, cing it in front of her.


    "Hmmm. No. Her eyes are hazel and this thing turns it too green. I want hazel fabric to keep her eyes hazel looking."


    Jason pped his brother over the head with a sheaf of drawing paper.


    "There is no such thing as hazel color fabric, you idiot."


    Jared smiled.


    "There will be when I''m done."


    "Focus on her hair. It''s a rich honey blonde." Jason pulled out a gem that looked like a deep yellow topaz.


    "Oooh. I like that. Let''s make buttons out of that stone." He waved his fingers in the air.


    "No!!!" Jason cried, but it was toote. In his hands nowy a dozen topaz buttons the size of pennies.


    "Jared, you idiot. It took me forever to find a stone that color and that perfect size. I was going to make a pendant for her with that!"


    "Oh stop being such a cry baby. I''ll find you another yellow topazter. For now, dry your eyes and take a look at this beauty. You can use this for your pendant. And you''re wee."


    He pulled from his pocket a stone that was green and ck. He moved it around in his hand and the ck parts turned green while the green parts turned ck.


    Jason''s eyes widened.


    "You like?" Jared grinned.


    "Yes!" He held out his hand and the stone flew from Jared''s palm into his.


    Between the two of them, going back and forth at each other, Candi felt almost dizzy.


    They made her stand. They made her sit. They measured her height, weight, width, head shape, bust shape, butt shape, thighs, calves, hands, feet.


    They even measured the distance between her eyes!


    And then they built a model of her body out of magic.


    It floated in the air, spinning back and forth at their whim while they tried this and that and the other. It also allowed them to make perfect fittings without requiring Candi to do anything.


    At one point, Jared stuck a blonde wig on the model because he needed to match her hair color with someplementary shades.


    Not to be outdone, Jason also stuck hazel eyes on the model so he could see how his jewelry creations would look with her eyes.


    "We''re going to need three outfits, Jared." Jason was muttering as he worked the delicate filigree metals with tiny sparks of energy from his fingertips. "You know what that means?"


    "Yes. That means you need to create three different jewelry ensembles for the three outfits." Jared responded as he cut fabric into shape with aser beam shooting from his finger.


    "Don''t forget her shoes. I have some jewels to affix to the shoes too."


    "You don''t even have twenty-four hours." Candi breathed. "How are you going to be able to get all that done?"


    Jason crinkled his eyes.


    "Magic."


    She sniffed. It was always the same answer with those men.


    te returned several hourster and called for ate night snack to be brought into the room.


    The twins refused food and continued their frantic work while she and te sat by the window, munching on fresh fruit and sponge cake.


    "So what did you while you were out?" She tried to tease the information out of te, but he was mum.


    "Never you mind." He smiled with mischief.


    He was sharing a strawberry shake with her when the servants knocked and announced that a delegation from Earth had arrived at the front door.


    "Send them away," Jared threw at them even as he was sewing together the flounces of a skirt.


    "My apologies, Prince Jared, but they will not leave."


    "Are you mice or are you men? Throw them out on their ears!" Jason was not mincing words. He was cobbling the shoe jewelry onto one of the shoes.


    "Prince Jason, they have a decree."


    "Decree? What decree?" te stood up, his blue eyes stormy and fierce.


    "Your Royal Highness." The servant bowed. "The Earth delegate hasid ims on the Lady Candace Farrah."


    "What ims do they have?" Jared interjected.


    "Your Highness. They insist that since she is a citizen of Earth, she must stay within the boundaries of the Earth Embassy and cannot be allowed to roam outside that area."


    "She''s just a tiny woman. What the hell are they afraid of?" te spat with indignation.


    The servants looked at each other.


    "Defection, Your Highness."


    "What???" All three men yelled in unison.

 Chapter 24 - Tiny Dancer

    "Defection?" Jason and Jared both uttered at the same time.


    "That''s ridiculous! What do they think Earth is, a prison?" Candi scoffed, arms akimbo.


    te pursed his lips.


    "Unfortunately, there have been quite a few cases of people trying to flee Earth for various reasons, so now they are keeping a tight reign on those who are traveling outside of Earth''s habitation zone." te rubbed his head in frustration.


    Jason sighed and whacked onest bang on the heel of Candi''s new shoe.


    "te, can you please go out and deal with the Earth delegates? Under no circumstances are they allowed to have anything to do with our Tiny Dancer."


    te nodded and stood up.


    "Thanks Baby Brother," Jared grinned.


    te scowled and moved towards the door. The servants gave a brief bow and followed him out.


    Jason turned to Candi.


    "I have a pair of dancers shoes for you so you can maneuver through those ballet moves without hurting your toes."


    He smiled and held out the shoes.


    "Want to try them on and dance a bit to test them out?"


    Candi''s eyes gleamed. She jumped up and ran to where Jason stood.


    "Yes!" She cried with excitement.


    Jason stood looking down at her from his 6''3" height. His hands held up a white pair of shoes, with rows of topaz stones affixed to the vamp, far above her reach.


    "What''s the magic word?"


    "Yes, please!" Candi responded.


    "Wrong magic word." Jason waggled a finger at her. "It should be, ''Yes, My Love."


    "Don''t listen to him!" Jared threw a stone button, hitting Jason in the forehead.


    "What is wrong with you!" Jason frowned at his brother, rubbing his head.


    "Hand her the shoes and let her try it out. We don''t have time for your nonsense, ''My Love''!" He jeered.


    Jason sniffed with feigned hurt and handed her the shoes.


    "I only wanted to hear her say that one time, just for me."


    He turned back to her with a cheerful smile.


    "Dance for me, Tiny Dancer."


    Candi grinned with excitement and pulled on the shoes. She jumped up and began dancing.


    Going through battement and arabesque was fairly routine but when she tried to do a ciseaux, at the point where she kicked out her legs in an aerial split, her shoes flew from her feet and banged against the walls with a tter.


    "Ooops!" Candi''s face reddened. "Sorry!"


    She ran to pick up her shoes as Jason and Jared covered their mouths with their hands and tried hard to hold in theirughter.


    "Ahem," Jared cleared his throat. "We will need to rethink the shoes part. You need the kind ofces that can keep her from kicking her shoes off when she dances."


    "Oh, you mean like those ballet pointe shoes?" Candi ran back to them.


    Jason rubbed his chin.


    "What do they look like? Can you describe pointe shoes to us?"


    "I can draw them for you!" Candi announced with cheer.


    Jason gave her some paper and a pen and she began sketching out the pointe shoes.


    "It has to be like this, with this, and this." As she drew, she muttered to the two of them.


    "Oh I see. Yes. I can most definitely do something like that."


    "Do you have dancing wear that will match those shoes as well?"


    Candi grinned. Her hands began sketching out the tried-and-true ballerina outfits.


    "There''s this type, and this kind. And also something like this¡­"


    "Oh, those are cute!" Jared murmured as he watched her draw out the dresses. He snapped his fingers and ran to one of the chests.


    "What do you think about this?" He began pulling out tulle and variousces in different patterns.


    "Ugh, I don''t have the right colors!"


    Jason grinned and flicked a finger, changing the white color of the tulle to a sage green.


    "How about that?"


    Jared grimaced.


    "No, no. More like this!" He waved a finger and the color changed to aquamarine.


    It took several more changes between the twins before they finally settled on a sea foam greenish gray.


    They were going over bodice designs with Candi when te returned.


    Jared and Jason looked up. As soon as they saw te''s expression, their eyes grew cold.


    "Don''t tell me. You couldn''t fight the decree."


    te strode in and threw his arms over his brothers'' shoulders.


    "Tell me, brothers. What can I do when the decree ising from our very own Dear Old Dad?"


    "Since when," Jared scoffed, "have YOU ever listened to Dear Old Dad?"


    teughed.


    "Since never."


    "So why start now?" Jason cracked a grin.


    Candi stared at the three men, bewildered by the scheming looks on their faces.


    They began scratching their heads and rubbing their faces and squeezing their fists in thought.


    Suddenly, one of them snapped his fingers.


    SNAP!!!


    The ephemeral dress mannequin that had beenzily floating at the center of the room turned solid looking and sank to the floor.


    The mannequin stood on her own two legs and turned her head to look at them.


    Candi gasped and nearly had a apoplectic fit. It was her; only not really her.


    "Get her dressed and I''ll take her out to meet her Earth delegates." te cackled with glee.


    The twins chortled and chuffed with mirth as they dressed her in a basic bodysuit and led her over to te.


    "Here you go, Baby Brother. Your new bride." Jason guffawed as te grinned with mischief.


    Jared began packing up their things.


    "Meanwhile, we will take the real Tiny Dancer to our house and finish getting her ready for the event tomorrow. When you''re done taking care of the Earth delegates,e join us."


    "Yeah. We need you." Jason grimaced. "Those Earth people are scary. We need a warrior protecting our Tiny Dancer at all times."


    te waved his hand.


    "Take her out the window. Leave the things here and I will have the servants take it to your home."


    The twins nodded and turned to Candi.


    "We have to leave now." One said.


    "Ready?" The other chimed in.


    Candi nodded.


    Before her eyes, the twins began changing into their demonic bat selves.


    The masks formed over their visages, rendering them faceless. Their shoulders and backs bulked out, and dark leathery wings began sprouting behind them.


    One of the demons scooped Candi up while the other opened therge window and hopped onto the sill. He turned back and held out his arms.


    Candi was then redeposited into that demon''s arms.


    With one quick jump, she and the first demon ascended into the sky, with the twin demon following quickly behind.

 Chapter 25 - Double Kissed

    Jason and Jared did not live in a traditional home. They lived on a floating ind.


    The floating ind was way up in the sky and the only way to reach it was to fly up. Anyone who didn''t have wings or a hover pod could never visit them.


    Since it was dark, Candi could not see much detail, but as soon as they reached the floating ind, there was plenty ofndscape lights scattered about for her to see the grassy clearing and a small rocky hill upon which a small crooked house was perched.


    There were trees of varying sizes growing in profusion all around the edges and a small pond towards the center.


    Theynded on the grassy clearing and gently deposited Candi down. She looked around, eyes wide with appreciation.


    "Wow. How do you get an ind to float in the sky like this?"


    "Magic." They both chorused in unison and reverted back to their human forms.


    Candi nodded. Of course it was magic. What else could it be?


    "Come in. The house is tiny, but it''s veryfortable." Jason said, leading the way.


    She followed them on a small lighted stone paved path that meandered through clumps of daffodils and jonquils, towards the rose bushes.


    "Here we are. Home atst." Jared reached out and opened the door.


    Ooooofff!!!


    Arge animal with long floppy ears came bounding out and jumped on Jared, knocking him to the ground.


    Even in the darkness, it was easy to see the unmistakable shape of a short-legged basset hound.


    "Stop it Bug! Get off me you dummy!" Heughed and wrestled with the very excited chubby dog, finally managing to regain his footing.


    The dog panted and ran to Jason, licking his knees and looking quite pleased with himself.


    "His name is Bug?" Candi gasped.


    "It''s actually Bugaboo, but we all just call him Bug." Jasonughed and reached down to pet the dog before leading Candi into the interior of the house.


    The interior was warmly lit and far more spacious than the exterior led her to believe because most of the house was built into the mountainside.


    It was sparse.


    There was not much in the way of furniture, but what was avable was of the highest quality. These men were not Princes for nothing.


    The crystal chandelier hanging at the center of the room looked to be worth a fortune. It radiated light around the chamber, twinkling and sparkling with its own built-in magic that made everything a little bit warmer, a little bit rosier.


    The walls were covered with rich brocade fabrics in deep golds and greens. They made a perfect setting for the huge mirrors with gilded frames hung in strategically spaced areas along the walls.


    On the creamy marbled floors, scattered brown shag rugs brought warmth to the room. Bugaboo ran over to his little shag rug by the side of the hearth and snuggled into a round doggie shape.


    Up against the walls were several teak wood divans covered withrge plump cushions and soft looking throws.


    The twins led her to one of the divans and sat her down.


    "It''s veryte. Why don''t you lie down and rest a bit. You have a full day tomorrow and you need energy to get through the day." Jared plumped up a pillow and ced it behind her while Jason took her shoes off.


    "Oh but isn''t there something I can do to help?" She protested.


    They gently pushed her back onto the pillows.


    "Of course. When te gets here, you can help him with things he need you to do."


    She nodded. She wasn''t sure what kind of work te needed her to do but she was ready, whatever it may be.


    Once they got her settled, they began reconstructing the ephemeral mannequin that had been taken from them to be used as a decoy for Candi.


    As promised, within a matter of minutes, a full entourage of hover pods hadnded on the grassy clearing.


    A group of servants spilled out and began hauling trunks, chests, and wardrobes into the interior of the house. By the time they left, the entire ce was filled with equipment.


    The twins continued their work unabated as Candiy on the divan trying hard not to fall asleep. It was gettingter andter and te still had not arrived.


    "I wonder what''s keeping te," she mumbled, yawning.


    "Why don''t you rest a bit and when hees, we will wake you up." Jared came and sat down next to her. "He''s just out hammering down a few things that are a sticking out a bit."


    "You promise you will wake me up?" Candi yawned again as she slumped over onto the thickrge pillows. They were so soft.


    "Close your eyes, Tiny Dancer." He whispered and pulled a quilt over her shoulders. Then he leaned over and dropped two soft kisses onto her face, one on each eyelid.


    His soft sensuous lips must have beenced with some kind of sleeping magic because she could not keep her eyes open after that.


    Hershes fluttered and closed as she drifted off to sleep.


    Morning came with the twittering of birds and the sound of a babblingughing brook as it sshed its way down the mountainside and into the pool below.


    Candi shifted her body and found herself pinned on both sides by tworge bodies.


    She opened her eyes and found the twins gently sleeping next to her, one on each side. Their soft even breathing filled her ears with a soothing rhythmic cadence.


    The twins'' sleeping faces were so close to her, she could see their soft pink shapely lips and their long darkshes resting against sculpted regal cheekbones. Their long green hair was syed out like silky sea foam on therge cushioned pillows.


    In their sleep, they had wound their arms so tightly around her that she could barely move.


    Her breathing quickened. They were under the covers with her, their legs thrown over her body as if she was a dakimakura anime body pillow.


    Her slight change in breathing tipped them off and their soft brown eyes slowly opened.


    "Hmmm. Tiny Dancer woke up." Jason murmured and began kissing her corbone.


    "You must have snored too loud and awakened her." Jared turned his nose into her neck and inhaled deeply the scent of her hair.


    "I think you must have kicked her in your sleep." Someone''s hands began wandering about, touching her breasts.


    "No, I think it was you I kicked." Another set of hands began rubbing her stomach.


    "I can''t move," she murmured.


    "Yeah, Jason. Ease up a bit on Tiny Dancer." Jason''s tongue began licking the pulse point between her cor bones.


    "Of course I will." Jared smiled and pulled her even closer to him as he began nibbling on her jawline.


    "The both of you stop smothering her!" A familiar voice called out from above.


    "te!" Candi called out.

 Chapter 26 - Fairy God Twins

    She was still tightly wedged between the two green haired twins that she could not do much more than cast a weak smile at him.


    "Help!" She mouthed a single wordless plea.


    "Move!"


    te growled and threw his arms out, separating the twins from Candi with the force of his magic powers.


    Their bodies rolled away from Candi from the strength of te''s magic.


    One banged into the wall with a loud THUMP and the other tumbled onto the floor with a CLATTER.


    They both turned towards te, their droopy down-turned brown eyes still half asleep.


    "What is your problem, Baby Brother?" Jason scowled, rubbing his head where it had banged into the wall.


    "You and Jared are not allowed to touch her. Dear Old Dad has specificallyid this out!" te pointed at her.


    "Didn''t you touch her already?" Jared sat on the floor trying not to grimace as he rubbed at his buttocks where theynded on the floor.


    "He most certainly did not!!!" Candi retorted! "Well¡­we kissed a bit, but we did not do anything more than that!" She blushed.


    "Whooo! I told you, didn''t I?" Jason whooped. "I could tell that she''s still a virgin."


    "Did I argue with you? No. It was quite obvious to me as well." Jared retorted with a smug look on his face.


    te scowled and pointed at both of them with a warning finger.


    "You two are not allowed to touch Candace. I''m warning both of you!"


    "Alright, alright. Sheesh." Jared rolled his eyes with a chuckle.


    "Jealous, aren''t we?" Jason crinkled his eyes but then he turned serious.


    "You can rx. We had been working all night and werepletely exhausted. We just crawled up next to her and fell asleep. We barely shut our eyes when she awakened."


    "I woke up because you were both on top of me and you''re too hot!" Candi protested.


    The twins threw their heads back andughed.


    "Aaaahhh. I can die happy now. She just called us hot." Jason guffawed. "Hey, te. Tiny Dancer said we''re hot!"


    Jared wiped tears of mirth from his eyes.


    "I bet she never called you hot, eh te?"


    te stood there, legs apart, arms folded across his chest staring at the twins with furious eyes.


    "We have exactly two hours to get Candace to the Sky Walk." He informed them in no uncertain terms.


    "Bring her wardrobe there and watch over it yourselves. Don''t trust any of your underlings and don''t leave it alone even for a moment," te warned. "Nothing must happens to her wardrobe."


    "Brother dear, you take care of security for us, as you''ve been doing and we will handle the wardrobe. That is where your part of the job ends and ours begins."


    Jared snapped his hands and three young maidens dressed in white entered the house from outside.


    Candi''s eyes widened.


    She did not remember seeing any people on this ind. In fact, the only living entityrger than a bird or a bunny was Bugaboo.


    "These are flower nymphs. They will help you prepare for the event. Go with them."


    The young maidens took hold of Candi''s hands and led her outside.


    Now that the sun was shining, Candi could actually see that the floating ind was truly a mound of dirt held together by tree roots and magic.


    The nymphs said nothing, merely held her hands and led her through the tiny sun-warmed stone path that led into the shallow stone paved pool.


    They waded into the cool water with her and indicated for her to sit on a stone ledge within the pool.


    As Candi sat down into the pool, it began to warm up considerably.


    She could see one of the nymphs touching the water surface with her palms, transferring magic to the water.


    Where she touched, steam rose. In a short time, the pond water was as warm as bath water.


    When the nymphs were satisfied with the temperature of the water, they remove her bodysuit and submerged her into the water.


    Another nymph held up a white lily blossom and poured some scented oils onto her hair. The flower vessel held something that was sudsy and aromatic and they began to wash her hair and body with the floral nectar.


    Once they were done, they led her back out of the water and wrapped her with a warm thick towel.


    They bowed to her once and their bodies began to wilt. Within seconds, on the ground beside her were three wilted stems of white lilies.


    "Oh no!" She gasped and picked up the stems. Then she ran back into the house.


    te was nowhere in sight and only the twins remained.


    "Jared!" Candi ran up to him and deposited the three wilted flowers into his hands. "The flower girls died! What do we do???"


    Jared stared at her horrified tragic eyes and looked down at the three flower stalks.


    "Darling, they are flower nymphs. Their lives are short because I only needed them to bathe you. Once they did their jobs, I sent their spirits back into the flower de where each of them will be reborn again as another flower."


    Jason smiled gently.


    "Don''t be sad, Tiny Dancer. Such is their short transitory life. They need toe back many more times before they can graduate to be even a tiny animal."


    Candi bit her lip.


    "I see. I was just sad to see them die in front of my eyes like that."


    "They will return, when you next visit us. I promise." Jared smiled. "Now. Let''s get you into the entrance outfit, shall we?"


    He and Jason pulled out a gown that looked almost like a ballerina wedding dress with a hugging bodice and long white tulle skirts reaching the floor.


    They dressed her in the frilly outfit andced up her ballet pointe shoes.


    "These are NEVER going to fly off your feet, Tiny Dancer." Jason nodded with satisfaction.


    Once they were happy with her dress, Jared pulled a small cushioned bench.


    "Sit here and let us get you ready."


    For the next hour, Jared worked on her makeup while Jason styled her hair and worked on her nails.


    While they worked, they chattered to each other and sang little songs to keep her entertained.


    "Look up for me Baby. That''s right. We need to add a bit of powder right here." Jared muttered. "And this shade of lipstick is perfect for the first outfit!"


    He pulled out a gold pot that had a dark pink paste inside and touched his pinky to it. Then he gently touched her lips, transferring the color on in tiny careful touches.


    Jason''s eyes grewrge.


    "Hmmmm. That color is gorgeous! Her lips look so luscious, I want a taste!"


    He leaned over and was about to touch his shapely lips to hers when Jared plonked him over the head with a brush.


    "Don''t you dare touch your mouth to hers. You''ll mess up her lipstick!"


    "Well you have a whole tub of that goop. Just put it back on her!"


    "Stick with your hair designs and leave my makeup creation alone!" Jared fussed.


    "Speaking of which," Jason turned back to his work. "Her hair is so thick!"


    He rolled the ends of her blonde tresses through his fingers.


    "It''s almost too thick, but we are notining, no we''re not." His fingers moved on their own ord as he arranged her hair into whatever fantastic ideas he had in his head.


    "Where did te go?" Candi asked as darted her eyes around, unable to move her head.


    "Oh he went to take care of some security details." Jared replied as he concentrated on drawing her eyes with some colored powders.


    "Apparently the fake Candace Farrah had a bit of trouble with anything that was moreplex than a yes or no question." He chuckled.


    "I''m sure te spent all night trying to keep her from turning back into a dummy." Jasonughed. "Meanwhile, the real Candace was sleeping in our bed and we were too busy to join her."


    "We did join her. For just a little while at least. It will have to be enough for now." Jared sighed.


    Suddenly, he looked up.


    "There he is. Just in time."


    From below the ground, a hover pod rose up and flew to the clearing out in front of the house.


    It was arge faceted clear crystal with touches of gold and pink, hovering in the morning sunlight.


    Slowly rising above the hovering crystal pod was therge dark Prime Warrior Prince, his wings wide open in a protective stance.


    "Your chariot awaits, dear Tiny Dancer," Jason crooned.

 Chapter 27 - The Physical Pageant

    te swooped down andnded onto the clearing. As he strode up to the house, his wings disappeared behind him and his dark mask melted away, revealing his breathtaking handsome face.


    As he got closer, Candi could see his brilliant blue eyes gazing upon her face and body with unveiled hunger, zeroing in on her lips that Jason had wanted to taste mere moments before.


    "Keep your sharp fangs in your mouth, Baby Brother. I know she looks delicious, but you''re not allowed to eat her." Jared chided, crinkling his eyes with pride at the effect that his creation was having on all the men around her.


    "We''re going to follow right behind you with the rest of her wardrobe." Jason reminded him. "You just make sure she gets to the Sky Walk on time."


    "Yeah. None of that swooping in at thest minute and dropping her onto the stage." Jared berated. "I do not want Tiny Dancer having to roll around on the floor to regain her bnce."


    te ignored his brothers and went straight to Candi.


    Without a word, he leaned down and picked her up. As he turned back to the crystal hover craft, his bat wings once again emerged from his back.


    FWOOMPH!!!


    He took two steps and they ascended. The crystal opened up like a m shell allowing him to deposit her into its hollow interior. Then, it slowly closed up again and she was safely encased within the faceted ss sides.


    Candi looked around.


    The interior of the hovercraft was entirely made of a clear soft cushiony type of material not unlike silicone. It only seemed as if she was inside an airtight crystalline structure but there was a soft cool breeze blowing into the cabin, bringing with it a faint scent of summer flowers.


    Above her, te''srge wings shielded her from the brightness of the sun as they moved away from the twins'' floating ind to the ce they called Sky Walk.


    It didn''t take long to get to Sky Walk.


    As they got closer to the structure, Candi''s eyes grew rounder and rounder.


    It was literally, a walkway in the sky!


    The walkway was made of ss and wandered in a wide S-shaped arch. It started from a round ss tform hovering in midair and ended at an identical ss tform in the middle of arge pond filled with orange koi fish and white lotus flowers with pink tips and gold centers.


    At the top of the Sky Walk, several women were already posing for the camera in contrived and artificial stances as if they were at some photo shoot.


    The hovercraft lowered onto the round ss stage and opened up, holding perfectly still so she could disembark.


    Candi heaved a sigh. She had no idea what to expect but how hard could it get?


    This was just a physical. All she needed was to show up and join a beauty contest.


    Although the twins never ced a mirror in front of her to show her their final creation, her confidence in their efforts were assured by the way they looked at her.


    It was as if they could barely keep their hands and lips off her. Candi was confident she could hold her own among these beauty goddesses.


    As Candi stepped out onto therge ss tform, the four women who were there ahead of her turned and stared, but they weren''t staring at her.


    They were staring at the Prime Warrior of Erenveil who had just apanied her to the Sky Walk.


    The spotted cougar, Jenna Natoli turned to look at Candi and bared her fangs in a smile.


    "Look who''s here. The skinny human in a fluffy white gown." She jeered.


    Candi barely nced at her as she took her position on the seventh ss dais that was ced on therge round ss tform.


    It looked as if the other women had taken their positions in the exact same order that they had at the coliseum.


    Helene Cordera, the fish-human womanughed.


    "This is the first time humans have even been allowed at the Avgo Contest. And now we know why."


    Ana?se Paroles, the clear silicon woman turned and gave Helene Cordera a cold stare.


    "Worry about yourself, Fish Tail. You didn''t do so well at the Introductory Pageant."


    Helene Cordera sniffed and looked away.


    The dark winged raven, Valeria Marakesh stood on the second raised dais and continued to pose with extended arms and wings, ignoring all the women who were there.


    It seemed as if the two dais between Candi and the fourth contestant, Helene Cordera was empty.


    Around therge pond, people were already starting to gather. Within a matter of minutes, the gathering grewrger andrger until there was nothing but a sea of people everywhere she looked.


    There was only five minutes left and the two dais between Candi and Helene Cordera were still empty.


    They were missing the red phoenix bird Bethany Dresden and the butterfly Olivia Faraday.


    As if on cue, a deep red faceted gemstone hovercraft flew towards the ss tform. Itnded and opened up to reveal the red phoenix bird Bethany Dresden.


    She quickly took the fifth dais and held her head high, her golden antennas spreading out into a perfect fan shaped crown above her head.


    Bethany Dresden truly looked like a queen.


    The clock was ticking down and Olivia Faraday, the sixth contestant, was still missing from the tform.


    Meanwhile, the crowd was getting denser and denser as more people began filing into the enclosure through the gates.


    Suddenly, a familiar booming voice called out into the crowd.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen! Wee to the Physical Pageant for the Avgo Female of the Universe! I am your host, Lorem Ipsum!"


    The crowd went wild, cheering and yelling out Lorem Ipsum''s name. He seemed to be a celebrity announcer in his own right.


    A white hover pod swooped in front of the contestants from behind the tform. It looked like half a ping-pong ball with Lorem Ipsum sitting in the middle of the base with his arms raised out like a champion chariot rider.


    He turned and smiled at each of the contestants onstage.


    When his eye lit upon Candi, his eyes turned hard and mean.


    She stared back at his face and had to choke back augh.


    His silvery white goatee that had been curled and gelled into a perfect question mark had been plucked clean!

 Chapter 28 - Braving The Sky Walk

    "Ladies and Gentlemen, we only have three minutes left before the pageant begins. There is still one contestant left who has not shown up."


    He turned and indicated at the empty dais behind him. Immediately, every singlerge virtual monitor showed the empty dais between Bethany and Candi.


    "If she does not arrive at the designated time, she will forfeit the contest and will be immediately disqualified."


    A discontented buzz suddenly sounded among the audience. The huge group that had shown up to support Olivia Faraday rose in an uproar.


    "Something is wrong! There''s foul y behind the scenes!" Someone from the crowd yelled out.


    FOUL PLAY!!!


    FOUL PLAY!!!


    FOUL PLAY!!!


    The crowd began chanting. They got so loud that not even Lorem Ipsum could interrupt their chanting.


    Candi smiled.


    The crowd was buying time for Olivia Faraday to arrive. She had, at most a few minutes leeway. Any more than that and even the crowd couldn''t save her.


    It was fortunate then that at first strike after the hour, a hover pod came zipping in.


    This one was not the fancy crystal faceted hover pod that the contestants rode in. It was beat up and looked rather grungy, but it was fast.


    Whooshing in at thest second, it stopped in front of the contestants and the top opened up to reveal a disheveled and battered monarch butterfly.


    She got out on shaky legs. One of her golden wings had been torn into tattered shreds. Her golden-brown hair had loosened from their crystal pins and was fluttering in the breeze.


    The insectoid crowd gave a loud cheering for their beloved butterfly as she took her spot in between the red phoenix girl and Candi.


    Olivia looked like something the cat dragged in. If this was a beauty pageant, she was surely going to lose.


    Considering the way she and Bethany Dresden were shooting daggers at each other, it was more likely that she had been dragged around by the red bird.


    "What luck! Our final contestant finally made it to the pageant, Ladies and Gentlemen! Let''s get started then, shall we?"


    Lorem Ipsum raised his hands and a burst of fireworks bloomed in the sky.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The crowd roared.


    "Today''s theme will be ''Musical Chairs!''" He announced with cheer.


    "I would like to point out to the audience that we have seven dais upon which seven women are standing." He indicated with his hand.


    "Please take a look, if you will, at the tform down below that''s on theke."


    All the visuals zoomed in on the empty stage.


    "As you can see, there are only six daises set up there. This means only six women can move forward from this point."


    Ooooooohhhh!!! The crowd gave a collective gasp.


    "The contest will start as soon as each woman draws a number. The number will determine the order with which she will descend the Sky Walk."


    Woooaaaaahhhhh!!! The crowd howled.


    Lorem Ipsum pulled a box out from his ping-pong hover craft and flew towards the women.


    "If you will, please take one and then change your positions ording to the number that you''ve pulled."


    He smiled and extended the box.


    All the visuals zoomed in on Jenna Natoli as she reached into the box. Her hand came out with a round white ball with the number 4 printed on it.


    Then Valeria pulled out a 5, Ana?se picked up a 6, Helene got the number 1 spot, and Bethany got 3.


    By the time the box reached Olivia, there were only two balls left.


    It was a toss up. Olivia would get either 2 or 7. Either way, Candi would get thest leftover ball since she was the one standing on the seventh dais.


    Olivia looked up at Lorem Ipsum and then she nced over at Candi.


    She reached out with shaky fingers and reached into the box.


    The visuals zoomed into her face and split screen on her hand disappearing into the box.


    The crowd went silent.


    She pulled out a white ball. It clearly had the number 2 printed on it.


    The crowd went wild.


    Lorem Ipsum smiled withplete satisfaction and extended the box to Candi. His eyes gleamed with joy.


    Candi smiled and reached into the box to pull out thest ball.


    It was of course, the ball with number 7 printed on it.


    As the women changed ces on the dais to reflect the numbers on their balls, Candi remained standing on her number 7 dais.


    If all the women took their turns and managed to descend the walkway safely, she would remain on dais number 7 without even a chance for an attempt.


    "And there we have it, Ladies and Gentlemen. Fair and Square, we have a drawing where each woman got a chance to pick the most desired number."


    Of course, he did not say that Candi really didn''t get a chance to pick anything since there was only one ball left by the time the box reached her.


    This was simply understood, and the crowd epted it as just random bad luck that she was inst ce.


    He extended his arms.


    "First up. Helene Cordera!"


    A voice over began reading the background for Helene as her dais moved forward towards the front and began spinning around so that everyone could see her physical beauty.


    "Helene. Are you ready to take a walk down the Sky Walk to get to your position at the lower tform?"


    "Yes." She smiled with full confidence.


    "Ready when you are." He extended his hand towards the Sky Walk.


    Helene Cordera, in her stately outfit made of sparkling scales of teal and gold, began her high fashion walk towards the Sky Walk.


    At the top of the tform, she stood there looking down the ss walk way and suddenly began shivering.


    The top tform towered above the pond, with only a 30" width of ss Sky Walk connection.


    There were no guard rails.


    Candi looked at Helene Cordera''s sparkling 4" heels studded with champagne diamonds and held her breath. There was no way those heels would be able to make it down that ss walkway.


    Apparently, Helene Cordera realized the same thing because she reached down and took off her shoes.


    With one shoe in each hand, she took her first step onto the ss walkway and began teeter-tottering back and forth. Her arms began waving wildly as she tried to regain her bnce.


    Her feet took several frantic steps as she slipped and slid, pitching forward headfirst down the skywalk.


    With her belly t against the ss Sky Walk, she began sliding uncontrobly downward, her body skittering around.


    Helene threw her diamond-studded shoes away and grabbed onto the sides of the Sky Walk to stabilize herself.


    SPLASH! SPLASH!


    The shoes hit the pond and sank into the murky depths.


    Panting and wing at the sides of the Sky Walk, Helene slowly slid down from the top all the way to the bottom of the tform.


    With no dignity left, Helene Cordera tottered onto the first dais and stood, shoeless and shaking with dyed panic.


    Her entire front was drenched in sweat. The fabric was threadbare and missing much of the teal and gold scales from her breasts all the way down to the bottom where the gown split at her knee.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen! The first beauty contestant, Helene Cordera, has reached her designated tform!"


    The crowd pped and cheered.


    Lorem Ipsum turned back to the remaining contestants.


    "Next up is Olivia Faraday! The contestant holding ball number 2."

 Chapter 29 - Walking The Walk

    A loud roar came from the crowd. Apparently, the butterfly was a crowd favorite.


    She stepped down from the dais and walked over to the edge where the tform met the Sky Walk.


    Olivia didn''t have to take her shoes off. She wore ck suede boots that matched with the ck bodysuit she wore. They were much better suited for walking down the ss Sky Walk than Helene Cordera''s high heels had been.


    Olivia took a deep breath. She brushed her golden-brown hair back, squared her shoulders, and stepped onto the Sky Walk.


    Olivia had better bnce than Helene did. She had made it almost half way down the Sky Walk when a gust of wind from out of nowhere hit her.


    It would not have been that disruptive except that Olivia had butterfly wings that caught the gust like a sail and threw her off-bnce.


    In any normal situation, she could have just fluttered back into ce, but her right wing was torn and she was unable to fly.


    Left with a single wing, fluttering uselessly in the breeze, Olivia iled about and fell onto the walkway. The force of her fall catapulted her over the edge of the ss Sky Walk.


    As she fell, Olivia reached out and, with one hand, caught onto the ledge. She swung her body and tried to catch the ledge with her other hand but missed the connection.


    Unable to hold her body with mere fingertips, she lost her grip and fell.


    "Aaaaaaahhhhh!!!" She screamed as she fell from mid-height directly into the pool below.


    SPLASH!!!


    Her body sank deep into the pool.


    For a moment, there was silence as the audience watched with horror.


    A minuteter, her body rose up. Her face broke through the surface and she gasped for air.


    The crowd drew a collective sigh of relief as a group of workers rushed over and helped her out of the pool.


    Drenched andpletely disqualified, the bedraggled Olivia Faraday was escorted to a chair nearby, her remaining wing dragging behind her, broken and useless.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen. It is with great regret that I must dere Contestant number 2 disqualified from the Physical Round of the Avgo Pageant. However, we still have five remaining contestants."


    He turned back to the six still on the tform.


    "Our next contestant is Bethany Dresden, the red phoenix!"


    The crowd roared its approval. This woman had alsoe with her own groupie.


    Bethany Dresden stood on her dais, preening and posing for the visuals which focused in on her every feature. Her body was d in a gown made of the softest red feathers. Her feet were ck bird ws.


    From her glittering red eyes to her glorious mane of red hair crowned with a dozen golden antennas; she looked every inch a beauty queen.


    "Bethany. Are you ready to take a walk down the Sky Walk to im your position on the tform below?"


    "Absolutely." She said with full confidence.


    "The stage is all yours." Lorem Ipsum replied.


    She stepped down from the dais and walked over to the edge where the tform met the Sky Walk.


    Without hesitation, Bethany stepped on. Her face was triumphant and confident. For anynd-lubber, this would be terrifying. For a bird like her, this was like child''s y.


    She had strong bird wings, in any case. There was no way for her to fall from this height.


    At the moment she got almost half-way down, the same gust of wind that caught the butterfly Olivia also hit her.


    Candi nced around. That was the spot that jutted out away from the shelter of the building next to the Sky Walk. There would always be a gusty breeze because it was unsheltered.


    Bethany pped her red wings to regain equilibrium and hovered for a moment as she fought the strong wind gust. With a forward diving motion, she broke free of the wind andnded safely back down.


    The remaining part of her saunter down the Sky Walk was uneventful and she stepped off the walkway onto the tform with a big grin.


    The crowd gave a loud cheer. She was the first one to step onto the tform with the grace that a beauty queen needed to have.


    As Bethany took her ce on the second dais at the bottom, all visuals returned to the tform at the top.


    "Next up, we have Jenna Natoli!"


    A voice over began reading the background for Jenna as her dais moved forward towards the front and began spinning around, showing her body at all angles.


    "Jenna. It is your turn to take a walk down the Sky Walk. Are you ready?"


    "Yes." Jenna gave a snarl, swinging her fist into the air.


    "Take your position." He extended his hand towards the Sky Walk.


    Jenna leaped from her dais andnded directly onto the edge of the tform. Without bothering to preen or pose, she slumped onto all four paws and ran down the Sky Walk at quick sprint.


    When she hit the one spot where the wind gust blew through, she turned her body into the wind, giving it her aerodynamic profile.


    The wind passed around her harmlessly and she growled with triumph, leaping forward onto the second half of the walkway.


    Again, the crowd went wild. The cougar was beautiful to behold, walking down the Sky Walk and the crowd loved her.


    With the ease of a lean and muscr predator that lived on tree limbs, she moved forward and stepped off the Sky Walk, taking her ce on the third dais next to Bethany Dresden.


    Once again, the visuals returned to the top of the tform and zeroed in on Lorem Ipsum''s face. Without the distinguished silver goatee, he looked a bit odd, but he was merely the announcer. The real talents were the women of the pageant.


    "The next contestant is Valeria Marakesh!" Lorem Ipsum announced amidst the cheering of the crowd.


    The voice over began reading the background information for Valeria as her dais took her forward and began spinning in front of the audience.


    She held herrge ck wings out in a grand and glorious backdrop, showing off her gorgeous figure in a pale white form-fitting sheath.


    "Holding the number five ball, she is ready to join her pageant sisters down at the bottom tform."


    Valeria Marakesh was a raven. As such, she had the same advantage as Bethany Dresden. They both had wings and were not thrown off by the height of the Sky Walk.


    Without waiting for Lorem Ipsum to ask if she was ready, she stepped off her dais and went straight for the Sky Walk.


    Thispetition was made for one such as Valerie, with herrge wings and affinity for heights.


    Plus, with Olivia eliminated so early in the game, there really was nopetition for the dais. All the remaining women had a spot. The only thing they had to do was walk down and im it.


    Without hesitation, Valeria Marakesh walked down the Sky Walk in the same manner as Bethany did.


    At the point where the Sky Walk jutted out, she folded her wings and tucked them tightly to her body so they did not catch the gusts and throw off her bnce like it did for both Olivia and Bethany.


    She had learned that from seeing therge cat brush off the wind gust with her sleek body.


    In no time at all, she had joined the other women on the dais below.


    Once again, the visuals swung back up to the top.


    "The number sixth spot goes to Ana?se Paroles!"


    The same monotonous voice over began reading the background information for Ana?se Paroles as her dais swung her forward and began spinning.


    Her semi transparent body gleamed in the sunlight, causing everyone to oooh and aaah''d, even as part of the crowd lit up in blue lights to show their support.


    "Ana?se will attempt to make the Sky Walk. Are you ready Ana?se?"


    Ana?se Paroles nodded and stepped off the tform. She made her way to the Sky Walk with a steady determined stance.


    Candi observed her walk with interest.


    Ana?se Paroles wore no clothing let alone shoes. Her bare feet had to be able to grip onto the ss walkway, but ss on ss was a difficult feat.


    Candi had no idea how she was going to attempt this.


    Apparently everyone else was also quite curious, as the visuals began zooming in on her feet rather than her face.


    She stepped off the tform as all the other contestants did, but then something curious began to happen.


    Her first step sounded like a crackling hissing sound, as if ice was melting. As she picked up her foot, she left a clear imprint onto the ss walkway.


    She was, in essence, melting a slight topyer of the ss with her own silicone feet to maintain traction.


    The crowd ooh''d with delight. This was a novel method for walking down the Sky Walk and it impressed the audience.


    It was ingenious.


    Since Ana?se''s feet were stuck to the ss walkway with each step, there was no issue walking downward. She quickly joined the other five women on the lower tform, taking the fifth spot.


    There was only one dais left on the lower tform.


    The visuals swung up and zoomed in on Candi''s face. Without wings, four paws, or ss feet, she seemed to be a candidate that would have the same issues as the fish-human Helene Cordera.


    It would be, at the very least, entertaining to watch.


    The visuals panned back over to Lorem Ipsum''s face. He grinned, showing off all his fangs.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen. We have a final contestant for the Avgo pageant. She is a unique one. This is the very first time that a human female has ever been allowed entry into the very exclusive Avgo pageant."


    "Coming in at number seven, we have Candace Farrah!"


    The visuals zoomed back onto Candi''s face.


    The crowd went wild!!!

 Chapter 30 - The Nutcracker

    Candi barely listened to the background announcer who was chattering about her background and about Earth. She was barely even listening to Lorem Ipsum.


    "¡­are you ready?"


    She nodded.


    Once Olivia got disqualified, it was no longer apetition to wrestle the remaining spot from another contestant. All she needed to do was walk down a ss walkway and make it to the bottom where she could take her ce on the seventh tform.


    Candi could just hug the side and crawl down there on her belly like the fish girl Helene Cordera did, but that would damage the beautiful dress that Jared had made for her.


    She could walk down the Sky Walk like Ana?se but since she did not have the ability to melt ss with the soles of her feet, she would not be quite as sure-footed.


    Candi exhaled. She would just have to pretend she was doing a heist and do it her cat burr way.


    Taking a deep breath, Candi stepped onto the Sky Walk.


    Immediately, she could see why the fish girl Helene was so scared.


    From afar, the ss Sky Walk looked solid, but in reality, it vibrated and swayed from every wind gusts.


    The sounds were nerve-wracking. It twanged and cracked, sounding as if it was ready toe crashing down at any moment.


    Walking the Sky Walk would be almost like walking on a tight rope, except the tight rope was a t wide thirty-inch walkway.


    Piece of cake, right?


    Candi steeled her nerves and squared her shoulders. Her eyes zeroed in on the footprints that the silicon girl Ana?se left behind.


    It would provide enough traction to keep her feet from slipping and sliding on the ss.


    The only problem was the fact that Ana?se was a foot taller than Candi was. In order to step into the same footprint Ana?se left behind, she would have to do a leap to reach each step.


    Throwing her hands out for bnce, Candi began leaping¡ªballet style, down the walkway.


    This was not for show but for bnce; however, the crowd didn''t know that.


    From the audience perspective, they were looking at a graceful bride wearing a white wedding gown made of gossamer silk and cotton candy fluff skirts.


    Her honey blonde hair was styled in a sweeping updo that looked ssic and elegant, yet young and fresh. On her feet were ballet slippers that were tied with pale pink satin ribbons onto her shapely legs.


    As she leaped from one footprint to another, it looked as if she was dancing ballet down the Sky Walk.


    Her dance training had given her the one thing she needed most in this Sky Walkpetition: bnce and agility. She did it unconsciously, in the most practical manner possible.


    From her vantage point, she could see the Sky Walk extending downward and then curve to the right into an ''S''. It was the first curve that was where the wind gust hit.


    If she could bypass that curve, she would be able to avoid getting hit by that windpletely.


    She had to time it just right.


    There were four steps that Ana?se took which brought her into the area where the wind surged.


    All Candi had to do was jump right before the first step, andnd on the fifth step which curved downward and back on itself.


    Here it came.


    Four


    Three


    Two


    JUMP!!!


    She reached with her legs and body, performing a grand jet¨¦ onto the walkway below,pletely bypassing the jutting S curve.


    The crowd gasped.


    BAAM!!!


    She hit the fifth step.


    The momentum was carrying her body forward. Unable to stop herself, she vaulted into a front flip and ran the rest of the way down. She twisted her body and pirouetted onto the stage,nding with her arms outstretched in a final bow.


    The crowd went wild!


    Suddenly, there was loud cheering and feet stomping. They were calling out to her.


    "TINY DANCER!" (Stomp. Stomp).


    "TINY DANCER!" (Stomp. Stomp).


    "TINY DANCER!" (Stomp. Stomp).


    Candi looked out into the audience andughed as she saw the green haired twins riling up the crowd. They were truly her biggest fans.


    They looked up, saw her and began waving wildly and jumping into each other''s arms in celebratory dance.


    "Oh my goodness!" The sound of Lorum Ipsum filled the airwaves. "Earth''s very own Tiny Dancer just danced her way down the Sky Walk as if it was her very own choreographed dance routine!"


    He hovered downward as she took her position on the sixth dais.


    "Congrattions to the six of you." He began moving amongst the contestants.


    "You have all won your way to the nextpetition. It will be held tomorrow morning in front of the Palisades. Don''t bete!"


    He hovered over to each of the contestants and handed a single red rose. By the time he reached Candi, as he handed the rose to her, he whispered a single word.


    "Careful."


    Before she could ask him what he meant, he had hovered back to the front area and was starting to interact with the audience.


    Behind her, the pageant workers ushered everyone off the tform and into the back area where their groups and entourage were waiting.


    As before, te stood waiting for her. He looked calm and cool with his long ck hair tied back, wearing a white button-down broadcloth shirt and casual ck cks.


    He saw her entering through the open entryway and was about to make his way to her when a group of people intercepted her, only yards away from him.


    One moment, they were within arms reach of each other and the next moment, she had been swept away by the horde that descended upon her.


    "te!" She screamed, trying to reach towards him.


    Four human men descended on her and caught her around the waist.


    Without thinking, she whipped her elbows out and whacked two of them in the faces.


    It barely slowed them down. They were going to take her away, whether she liked it or not.


    Candi DID NOT LIKE!


    She wasn''t trained in martial arts for nothing.


    Her body twisted of their own ord and she broke free from their grasp. She spun to the ground and mmed her fists into the crotches of the two men in front of her.


    "Aaaahhhh!!!" The two who got crotch-mmed screamed like little pigs.


    Taking advantage of the chaotic situation, she kicked out with her powerful dancer''s legs, catching the other two in between the legs.


    All four strong men dropped to the ground, clutching their testicles and howling with pain.


    The remaining dozen surrounding her were swept aside by a ferocious man with scythe-like ws that descended upon their heads.


    "Candace!" He roared.


    "Behind you!" She screamed as more men descended upon them.


    te did not have the chance to change into his bat man outfit, but it didn''t mean he was not strong. He threw off three men who had jumped on top of his shoulders and ran to where Candi was.


    She jumped up and grabbed onto his arms as she kicked her body upward, swinging her legs out.


    THWAPPP!!!, THWAPPP!!!, THWAPPP!!!


    She aimed her powerful dancer''s legs and kicked the men behind him in the head.


    They spun away, spitting blood and teeth.


    "Let''s go!" te yelled and grabbed onto her waist.


    As they ran, his wings sprang from his shoulder des.


    FWOOOMPHHH!!!


    Within threerge strides, they were airborne, up into the deep blue sky of Erenveil.

 Chapter 31 - Crown Prince Of Erenveil

    "You are not going to believe this!"


    A tall muscr man with long red hair and reddish-brown eyes strode into the room.


    Since he had just left the Emperor''s Court, having held court sessions all day, he still had on his purple Imperial robes, his gold crown, and his seal insignia ring.


    He stomped up to the couple sitting at the dining table and mmed a media chip onto the tabletop. It ttered up against the scrambled ostrich egg dish and plopped into the braised redfish.


    The Emperor of Erenveil harrumphed. Braised redfish was his favorite dish and now it was ruined by this rascal son of his.


    "Byron! What could possibly be so important that you must throw things into our faces while we are eating dinner???"


    "My apologies, Father. It slipped from my hand." Byron responded without the least bit of remorse.


    "Dorothy, bring another dish of braised redfish to the table," the Empress called out to the serving maid standing nearby.


    The woman cleared out the tainted fish dish and returned with a new dish along with the cleaned media chip.


    The Empress turned back to the Emperor and patted him on the back.


    "Darling. There is no need to get upset with Byron. I''m sure there''s a very good reason why he is throwing a tantrum at us."


    "rissa. I am NOT UPSET!!!" The Emperor shouted as he stuffed a piece of baked eggnt into his mouth.


    "He is the one who is upset!" The Emperor pointed at his eldest son.


    "Yes, yes." The Empress cated. "Of course you''re not upset, Rex. You''re the calmest person I''ve ever met."


    She tsk tsk and turned to Byron.


    "What brings you storming into our dining hall and throwing things into our faces, Son?"


    Byron''s reddish-brown eyes were livid. He folded his arms across his chest and looked down at his parents.


    "Are you both aware of what is going on with the Avgo contest?"


    The Empress shook her head, wisely holding her tongue.


    Next to her, Emperor Rex waved a dismissive hand.


    "It''s just a beauty contest to choose the next Avgo female. What could possibly go wrong?"


    "It has turned into a bloody battlefield!" Byron announced with righteous anger.


    The Emperor gave a startled look at Byron.


    "What is that supposed to mean?"


    Suddenly, his eyes brightened.


    "Are they making the women mud wrestle? That''s a great idea!" He began cackling. "What a sight that would be, eh Byron?"


    "Oooofff!" The Emperor choked on hisughter as the Empress''s sharp elbow dug into his side.


    He gave a surreptitious smile at Byron.


    "Tell me the situation, Byron. Tell it slowly," and with all the juicy details, he wanted to add, but rissa was sitting next to him and her elbows were quite sharp¡­


    "Mother. Father. It would be far better for me to show you a short segment of what happened, rather than bore you with words."


    He waved his hand and a visual terminal appeared in front of the Emperor and Empress.


    "It all began with the first meeting to determine the validity of the Avgo contestants due to a duplicate entry by Earth." Byron said as the visuals began rolling.


    A iling red haired woman with her legs being sucked up into the air was desperately wing and grasping the woman standing next to her. The screams and cries of all the contestants were ear-piercing.


    The Emperor snorted withughter as eggs flew out through his nostrils spraying everywhere.


    "Oh my! Hahahaha!" He guffawed with tears running down his cheeks.


    Empress rissa grimaced and covered her mouth and nose with her napkin. She pushed her te away, her appetite vanished.


    "Hmmm." The Emperor winked his violet eyes at his eldest son. "That red haired Earth woman looks like a good match for you. You both have simr red hair, a fiery temperament, and look at those long shapely legs!!!"


    Byron gave his father a scathing disgusted look.


    "Do I look like someone who would be suited with such a crude, coarse imposter? She is no Avgo Female!"


    "Right. She can''t possibly win anyway." The Emperor waved a finger. "Continue."


    Byron heaved a sigh and showed the next section where a beautiful butterfly woman fell from the Sky Walk into the water.


    "Ouch!!!" The Emperor winced and turned his head away.


    "Yes." Byron''s eyes were sympathetic. "Both her wings are broken."


    "Permanently?" Empress rissa raised an eyebrow.


    Byron nodded.


    "She can never fly again."


    The Empress shook her head with regret.


    "Send the best mage healers and make an attempt to heal her."


    "Yes, Mother."


    The Emperor peeked over at Byron.


    "Show us the winner of the first round."


    Byron snapped his fingers.


    The visuals panned out on a graceful ballerina who danced down the Sky Walk wearing a white bridal outfit that had the unmistakeable invisible signature stamp of Jason and Jared.


    The magical sparkle suffusing the material was one that only Jason and Jared could give to their outfits and jewelry.


    The Emperor gasped as he watched her perform an aerial split high above a crowd of thousands and safelynded on her feet.


    His jaw dropped as he saw her front flip after the flying leap, and then run down the sky walk.


    "Oh my! She''s the loveliest one I''ve seen yet! How about her? She would make a good match for you!"


    Byron sighed.


    "Father. Please focus on what I''m trying to show you!"


    The Emperor swirled his wine goblet and took arge gulp.


    "What am I supposed to focus on? This looks quite exciting!" He indicated the monitor with his goblet. "The crowd is going crazy!"


    Byron shook his head.


    "Father, this is not what the Avgo contest is all about. The organizers have hijacked an important event and turned it into a ticket-selling game show to make money hand-over-fist!"


    The Emperor sighed. It was all Erenveil Crown money after all.


    "What do you want me to do? We are a Gxy of Laws, and no one is breaking anyws. Making legal money is not a crime. Selling show tickets, advertising time, and Avgo Princess dolls is not a crime."


    "But Father, we''ve interfered with the Avgo process. The Twins have shown their preference by creating a gown for the Earth Avgo Female, and te has been seen several times escorting her to and from the events!"


    He waved his finger and a scene of chaos ensued where Candace Farrah and te were fighting their way through a mob of Earth delegates.


    The Emperor harrumphed.


    "What''s the matter? Are you jealous? I told te to protect her. She is alone. She needs somebody to help her through this process."


    "She''s an Earthian. There is an entire delegation to take care of the Earth Avgo Female!"


    "But the Earth delegates are still trying to recover the gem to give to the red haired female they''ve chosen."


    The Emperor''s eyes narrowed.


    "There has been a warrant sent throughout the Gxy for the arrest of the Avgo Female Candace Farrah. If they catch her, they will strip that gem from her and send her back to Earth in a jail cell."


    "What???" Byron frowned. "That''s ridiculous! First of all, that gemstone can''t be stolen, and secondly, that old book belongs to us, by rights."


    The Emperor nodded.


    "I will just tell them that I''ll be taking the book back now since it was pried from the long dead hands of our ancient ancestor, the Empress Hanaka. That should clear up the issue with the book."


    "As for the gem, I''m afraid she''s going to have to find a way to defend it herself, and you boys are going to have to help her."


    Byron turned to his father with determined eyes.


    "If the Earth delegation is determined to remove her from thepetition, I will lend her my strength."


    The Emperor''s eyes turned serious.


    "You can and should help her, but don''t set your heart on that Avgo Female, Son. It''s still too early to tell who will win thepetition."


    He set the goblet down and stood up.


    "There are six other trials they each have to pass. It only gets harder from here."


    "I understand, Father." Byron nodded.


    "You are the Crown Prince. All your brothers are given their choice from any one of the six non-wining Avgo females¡ªif they so desire."


    "But you, my son. You have no choice."


    The Emperor pointed directly at Byron.


    "To you must go the final Avgo Female, the winner of the Avgopetition."

 Chapter 32 - Freefall In Mid-flight

    The feeling of flying through the air in the arms of a strong male was something that Candi was starting to get used to. It was thrilling in a heart-stopping manner.


    They were up at dizzying heights with the wind rushing through her hair and making her eyes water.


    Most of the times, hisrge body and wingspan sheltered her from the sun''s re. At the moment however, they were flying into the sun so it was shining directly on her face.


    She turned her eyes away from the re and pressed her nose into his chest, inhaling the scent of his maleness.


    As always, he smelled like the fresh scent of leaves and trees with a touch of wild grass mixed with that unmistakeable musk of te-ness. She could recognize his scent anywhere.


    "Uh oh. We havepany." She heard him whisper to her inside her mind.


    Candi looked up.


    From the distance, she could see another fliering towards them. It was most likely one of his brothers, but she could not tell because this man was alsopletely covered in bat-wear.


    The two were talking, she could tell, because he was focused in the direction of the oing winged warrior.


    As they got closer together, he hovered in the wind and waited until the other warrior came closer. They began circling around each other on the wind surge.


    "That''s Byron. I''m going to transfer you over to him."


    "Why? What''s happening?"


    "There seems to be a bit of an issue at my castle that I need my free hands to deal with. He will take you to a safe ce."


    Candi nodded. It wasn''t as if she had much of a choice.


    "Wait. How are you going to¡ªAAAAAHHHHH!!!"


    She screamed as he pushed her away from him.


    In the space of a few seconds, there was no support and she was levitated away from him. Her arms came out and stretched towards him, but he had already begun to move away.


    Suddenly, a new set of arms grabbed her from behind and she was once again enfolded in the arms of another winged warrior.


    She turned into Byron''s arms and squeezed her eyes shut. It was terrifying, those moments where she felt no support at all and was in between the two of them.


    Her fluffy white skirts red out around her as her arms clutched onto Byron.


    Free-falling was not something she enjoyed, especially with no parachute and no lifeline.


    Once Candi was caught in Byron''s arms, she could immediately feel the difference. He smelled differently, felt differently, and did not hold her in the same manner as te did.


    With te, she felt as if tree trunks were squeezing her tightly to his body.


    Byron, on the other hand, held her princess-style. There was less intensity, but it was a bit more rxed and graceful.


    "Hold on. I will take you to a safer area. There were a few more Earth ships that havee into Erenveil."


    "Why? Are they hostile?"


    He shook his head.


    "On the contrary. They are visiting dignitaries. Your heads of states are here. They are insisting that you be released into their care."


    "They''re going to arrest me, aren''t they?"


    "I''m afraid so, and we cannot allow them to do that. I do not want to start intergctic incidences, especially at such an important event as the Avgopetition."


    "What are we going to do?"


    "We are going to avoid thempletely."


    "How?"


    "You areing with me back to the Royal Pce. They will not dare to intrude there."


    He began to soar downward towards a destination in the distance.


    She turned her head and saw the greens and golds of arge walled gardene rushing at them.


    The pinks and blues andvenders of flowers became clearer and within moments, they had dropped down into a garden filled with strange flowers of all colors and shapes.


    As they touched down, a myriad ofdies in green and gold came rushing towards them.


    "Take her to get changed. I wille for her within the hour."


    "Yes, Your Royal Highness." Thedies bowed and ushered her away.


    As Candi walked away with them, she turned back and saw Byron changing from therge dark bat warrior back to the tall red haired male she had met at the top of The Tower.


    His reddish-brown eyes caught her gaze and he nodded with assurance.


    "Go with them. I will see you shortly."


    She pressed her lips together and turned back to thedies who were now surrounding her. There were four of them, all red haired and wearing the same green and gold outfits.


    "This way, Mdy." They led her past blooming camellias and alstroemeria bushes towards a covered walkway. The breeze riffled through the palm leaves, bringing the unmistakeable scent of water and in fact, she could hear the dull roaring of falling water from a distance.


    The walkway led into a building that was made of huge cut chunks of a creamy white stone with flecks of gold glitter. The outer chamber was lined with marble flooring and spacious high ceiling decorated with touches of amber colored lights.


    They moved past the antechamber into the main room with its skylights and various seating arrangements atop huge rugs of a deep shade of blue.


    Past the main room there were several doors. Thedies in waiting took her through one of the doors which opened up onto arge sleeping chamber with a king sized canopy bed in one corner and a seating suite on the other.


    One of thedies went to the bank of windows and drew back the curtains to let in the light.


    Candi''s eyes widened. This room had its very own mini courtyard,plete with tiny trees and bushes, and a tiny sshing fountain at the center, surrounded by colorful flowers.


    They began helping her to undress all the carefulyers of skirts that the twins had put on her and then led her towards a bathing room.


    After a fairly brief bath, she was once again led to the bedroom where she was helped into arge flouncy dress made of some heavy hunter-green brocade material decorated with fancy gold trimmings. It was fancy and quite formal.


    "Am I going to be attending a party or something?" She asked thedies.


    "You will be attending the Royal Lunch alongside the Crown Prince, M''Lady."


    "Crown Prince?"


    "Yes, M''Lady." The Lady-in-waiting nodded as she put her finishing touches on Candi''s makeup.


    They were putting shoes on her feet when Byron stepped into the room.


    He was also simrly dressed in royal robes of the same hunter-green style and fabric that brought out the deep red of his hair and eyes.


    The white of his crisp inner shirt reflected against his rugged jawline and noble nose. His angled cheeks and high brows were elegant and regal; his air, indifferent.


    "I see you are ready." He looked her up and down, his red-brown eyes temperate and satisfied.


    She gave a hesitant smile and nodded.


    He held out his arm.


    "Come."


    She ced her hand on his arm and he led her through yet another doorway which led them deeper into the pce.


    Past several turns and hallways that were almost identical to each other, Candi was not sure she could find her way back to the bedroom that she had upied.


    "We will be dining with the Emperor and Empress of Erenveil. Do not be rmed at their mannerisms. They are rather¡­unconventional."


    Candi was about to ask him to borate when she heard a voice call out to them in loud demation.


    "Well well!!! We finally meet in person, Avgo Female from Earth!"


    She turned towards the sound. It was the same person she had seen within the virtual terminal during the flight in te''s transport pod.


    She was in the presence of the Emperor of Erenveil.

 Chapter 33 - Face And Grace

    The Empress smiled and indicated at the chairs opposite from her.


    "Have a seat, both of you. We are about to start lunch."


    Byron led her to the seat opposite of the Empress and sat down next to her.


    "Father, Mother, this is Candace Farrah, Avgo Female from Earth. She will be staying with us for the duration of the Avgo Event."


    The Empress smiled. Her pale blue eyes regarded Candi''s face with interest.


    "So you are the winner of the first contest. The criteria was ''Face and Grace'' and they chose well."


    Candi blinked. There was a criteria?


    The Emperor roared out hisughter and pounded the Empress on the back. She coughed at his boisterous back p, trying to keep herposure.


    "Look at the girl. She didn''t even know what she was supposed to bepeting for." He turned back to Candi. "You got a bit waid after thepetition so you didn''t get a chance to see the scores, but it was a doozie!"


    He cackled and turned to Byron.


    "Show her what she missed, Son."


    Byron took a sip of his coffee and ced the delicate cup back on its saucer. Then he raised his hand and snapped a finger. Instantly, a virtual screen opened up in midair a few feet away from them.


    Six mini screens showed up, rolling on repeat, each woman''s effort at maneuvering the Sky Walk. The scores were posted at the corner of each screen.


    In first ce was Candi. Second ce went to Ana?se Paroles. Third was shared by Jenna Natoli and Bethany Dresden. In fifth ce was Valeria Marakesh. Helene Cordera rounded out the sixth ce.


    Olivia Faraday was disqualified and didn''t even make the visuals.


    Emperor Rex cackled with hrity and pped the table as he pointed to the screen at Helene''s attempt at walking the Sky Walk.


    "Oh my Stars, just look at that first girl. She''s actually crawling on her fish belly to get down the Sky Walk. Hahaha!" He turned to the Empress. "Wouldn''t you like that fish girl as your daughter-inw!"


    Candi pressed her lips together trying not tough. Beside her, Byron''s regal face was stiff as a stone. As always, he was the perfect politician.


    The Empress harrumphed.


    "I''m sure the girl was terrified." She touched a napkin to her lips. "It''s not even safe to be up there unless you have wings or have learned levitation."


    "It''s not that bad, rissa. The best Erenveil engineers and designers created it." The Emperor said with pride.


    "That is the third Sky Way that''s been reced." The Empress sniffed with disdain. "The first two shattered into pieces as people were walking on them."


    She turned to Candi.


    "I have to admit, Candace. Although you have no wings, you danced on the Sky Walk as if your feet were made of air."


    "Thank you." Candi smiled and gave a slight nod of gratitude.


    "And that outfit. I recognize my sons'' creations. They truly outdid themselves. After you showed up, dancing in that dress, their Couture Houses were inundated with requests for the exact same dress, shoes, and jewelry."


    "Isn''t that bridal wear?" The Emperor pointed at Candi''s visual as it continuously looped onscreen. He turned and stared at Candi with sparkling violet eyes.


    "How is it possible for you to attempt that Sky Walk while wearing a wedding gown???"


    Candi smiled.


    "It''s because Jared and Jason are genius designers. The dress is mostly soft tulle so it looks huge but is actually very light and airy. The shoes are reinforced within so it supports the feet and the toes which allowed me to jump in that manner."


    Candi touched the base of her throat.


    "Jason also glued the ne onto my skin so it wouldn''t bang up against my face as I made the jump."


    The Empressughed.


    "When did they be so thoughtful?" Her eyes grew misty.


    "All the girls who saw you jump and dance on that Sky Walk wants the same dress and shoes so they can do the same. More the fool they are. It takes great skill and training to do what she does. Wearing a dress is not going to do anything to improve their grace." Empress rissa turned up her nose.


    "It won''t do anything to improve their faces either." Emperor Rex howled withughter.


    "The Avgo Gem picks out the creme de creme of the Gxy. All others are chaff." The Empress concurred.


    "Of course, My Empress," Emperor Rex smiled with pride. "You were the winner of one such Event."


    Candi gasped.


    "You participated in an Avgo event as well?"


    The Empress gave her a curious stare.


    "My Dear, are you not aware of what the Avgo Event is?"


    Candi gave her a hesitant look and finally shook her head.


    "Everything happened so fast, I didn''t really understand what was happening."


    "You cannot be serious." The Emperor rubbed his chin. "This is the most anticipated Event of the century! Everyone knows what this is about and every world who has a chance at it prepares for decades."


    Byron spoke up for the first time that afternoon.


    "It is true. When we first met Candace, she was merely stealing the Avgo for the organization she works under."


    "But not to know what an Avgo is, why that''s preposterous!" The Emperor stuttered.


    "Earth has never participated in such an event before. They, and countless other worlds like them, would never know such a thing as an Avgo Gem exists."


    "What is the Avgo Event about?" Candi asked, not sure if she even wanted to know the answer.


    The Empress smiled. It was an enigmatic mysterious smile that caught Candi''s eyes and struck a powerful emotional chord deep within.


    "It is an event to choose a bride for the Crown Prince of Erenveil."


    "Cro¡ªcrown prince?" Candi stuttered and turned to Byron. Her eyes widened with incredulity.


    He slowly turned towards her.


    "That would be me."


    "Huh¡­I thought it was to gain the riches of the Universe."


    The Empress blinked her eyes.


    "My Dear. Where did you get that information from?"


    Candi opened her mouth. She closed it again.


    "I, well. I read it from a book."


    "Book?" The Empress raised an eyebrow.


    "Yes. I read in the ''Ellipsoidal Macrocosm'' book that the gem is supposed to bring to the holder, the entire riches of the Universe!"


    The Empressughed. It was a pleasant tinklingugh.


    "The gem gives you the chance to be the Empress of a Gxy. That is the equivalent of the entire riches of the Universe."


    The Emperor harrumphed.


    "Ahem. Pray tell. You can actually read the ''Ellipsoidal Macrocosm''?"


    Candi nodded.


    "That was how I knew that the pink Avgo stone was the best one. I only picked up the pink sapphire one."


    "Wait¡ª" Byron touched her shoulder. "Was there more than one?"


    Candi nodded.


    "I saw several in different colors. Red, teal, purple, amber. I grabbed the pink one because the ''Ellipsoidal Macrocosm'' specifically stated that it was the most valuable."


    The Emperor''s eyes widened.


    "I wonder whatever happened to the other Avgo Gems you didn''t pick."


    The Empress chuckled.


    "It most likely went back to the other women who thought they had it in their possession."


    "Indeed.. We have always known that the Avgo Gems choose their holders. This is the first time I''ve ever heard of the Holder having a choice from among the Avgo Gems!"

 Chapter 34 - Strength And Vitality

    After lunch, she was taken back to her room to rest, but Candi could not lie still. One thing that the Emperor said resonated with her.


    She was entering a series of contests and she didn''t even know what she was supposed to bepeting for or even what the criteria was.


    She was supposed to show up the next morning in front of the Palisades and she didn''t even know what the Palisades were or what she was supposed to be doing there.


    Unable to lie still, Candi threw back the covers and jumped out of bed. She needed to find Byron. She had to rify a few things with him.


    The Ladies-in-waiting had taken her clothes away and only left her with a soft white sleeping sheath. With no other clothing choice, she padded barefoot across the floor and poked her head out of the room.


    "Excuse me." She called out to the Maid-in-waiting outside the doorway.


    "Mdy," the maid bowed.


    "Could I get something to wear? I want to go find Byron and talk with him about something."


    "Mdy, if you please return to your room, I will bring your clothing immediately."


    Candi nodded and retreated back into the room. Were they expecting her to take a nap?


    It was two in the afternoon. For a modern-day woman who spent an inordinate amount of time digging in the dirt with a teaspoon, she could not lie still and nap.


    She tried the French doors and found that they were unlocked.


    Throwing the doors wide, she found that the tiny courtyard was indeed, her bedroom''s private courtyard since there were no other doors that opened onto the small garden.


    Throwing her arms up, she began her stretches. If she didn''t try to keep up her workouts, it would be difficult to do any of her ''cat burry'' work once she returned from this forced vacation.


    Forck of a bnce bar, she resorted to using the handrail of the tiny bridge that crossed a small koi pond. The bridge made a good span to work on her stretches at the very least.


    She was still stretching when Byron walked through the French doors to find her. He had changed out of his formal robes and was now wearing casual pants and a soft gray pullover.


    "You wanted to talk with me but you are undressed and dancing outside in the garden."


    She looked up at him.


    With a fewrge strides, he reached around her and wrapped a thin robe over her shoulders.


    Candi grinned.


    She was so used to wearing ballet leotards that were even more revealing than this sleep shift that she had felt quite natural as he came out.


    "Byron. You know I have to be at the Palisades tomorrow morning."


    He nodded.


    "What am I supposed to do there?"


    Byron was silent for a few moments as he buttoned her robe down the front.


    "You''re supposed to win."


    "But how can I win if I don''t even know what the criteria is?"


    "You didn''t know the criteria for today''s event either and you came in first."


    Candi shook her head and heaved a sigh.


    "That was a fluke. A huge lucky fluke! I''m not going to get another lucky break."


    "I think you will do well." Byron smiled. "But if you''re really that worried, I can tell you that tomorrow''s criteria will be ''Strength and Vitality''."


    "What does that mean? Aren''t all the contestants strong and full of vigor?"


    "Yes, but how many of those women will be able to scale the Palisades?"


    Candi''s jaw dropped.


    "We''re supposed to climb something?"


    "A sheer cliff, yes."


    "But what if we can''t do it?"


    "Then you get disqualified."


    "But Byron, how could you possibly know if I can do something like that?"


    Byron smiled.


    "Weren''t you scaling tall buildings during your heist?"


    "Yes but I had professional equipment. I wasn''t scaling with my fingers and toes. And I don''t have wings. How am I going topete with women who have wings???"


    Byronughed and tapped her nose with his finger.


    "All those women who had wings couldn''t beat your grace on that Sky Walk, nor could they beat your face."


    Candi wrinkled her nose.


    "I told you. That was a fluke!"


    Byron gave her a slight frown.


    "Are you trying to lose on purpose because you don''t want to marry me?"


    "What?" She nted her hands on her hips. "I didn''t even know until this afternoon at lunch with your parents that you were the final prize."


    "You make it sound so unappetizing."


    She looked at her bare feet.


    "It''s not that. I thought I waspeting for riches of the Universe, not to be someone''s wife."


    "And finding out that the riches of the Universe came attached to a man made you unhappy?"


    "No, not unhappy. I was just overwhelmed. Honestly, I wasn''t even stealing the Avgo for myself. It was supposed to be turned in to my employer."


    "Madam Broussard of Xolstice."


    Candi nodded. She looked up into his guarded red-brown eyes and shivered.


    For a moment, he stood there, silently assessing her, as if he was carefully measuring his words.


    "Listen to me. At this time, you should be more focused on winning the Avgo Event than worrying about what you will win IF you win."


    His eyes grew cold.


    "Understand this, Candace Farrah of Earth. You are currently an escaped suspect and Earth wants you back for questioning. The only way we can keep them from extraditing you is if you are still a contestant of the Avgo Event."


    He leaned forward with ferocious intensity.


    "If you get disqualified, your part is over and you have to go back to Earth."


    A fear tinged her soul.


    "But what''s to stop them from arresting me after I win?"


    Byron leaned back with a shortugh.


    "If you win, you will be a Princess Bride of Erenveil. Do you know what Erenveil represents?"


    Candi took a breath and shook her head.


    "Erenveil is the Capital of this Gxy. They cannot arrest someone in your position. You can simply order them to go home and they will have no choice but toply."


    "Fine. My life and freedom is on the line. I will fight for that." Her voice came in, strong and stead.


    "Good girl." He nodded. "Now. Let''s get you fitted for the next event, shall we?"


    "Fitted?"


    "Of course. You can''tpete in a strength and vitality event dressed in a wedding gown," he looked away from her, "or this sheer, almost see-through sleep dress."


    He snapped his fingers.


    Immediately a trail of Royal Maids-in-waiting came through the French doors with trays bearing an assortment of things.


    Candi''s eyes lit up as she recognized some of the things that were brought through.


    "Some of this is very simr to the tool belt from my burr outfit!"


    Byron smiled.


    "We had someone retrieve your professional items from your home. Those that needed recement, we reced. Those that were usable are here. Your outfit, we recreated with certain modifications."


    "Modifications?"


    He turned to the head Maid.


    "Take her and get her fitted properly. Make sure everything is to her specifications."


    "Yes, Your Royal Highness."


    As the maids ushered her away, Candi stole a nce at Byron''s stiff unyielding back.


    He seemed so closed and guarded, gentlemanly and correct, but his eyes betrayed him at times.


    She wondered what he would be like once she continued to peel away the protectiveyers that surrounded him.

 Chapter 35 - A Kiss For Luck

    In the early pre-morning dawn, a silent figure was scaling the creamy white pce walls. She was a quick and stealthy dark shadow, in a ck bodysuit that revealed more than it concealed.


    From a distance, the men stood watching her move like a spider up the vertical pce walls with admiration.


    "Wow. She''s good." One of them muttered.


    "Yeah. Look at the gorgeous curves of her body!" Another chimed in only to be pped on the head with a fist by one of the men standing behind him.


    "O!" He gave a startled yelp and rubbed his green head. "What?" He turned back and growled. "I only mentioned it because me and Jason had to measure her from top to bottom to get her urately suited!"


    "Let''s hope it''s enough to get her into one of the five slots that''s avable." Another man chimed in.


    "Are you kidding? You think that fish woman can go up the steep slopes of the Palisades?"


    The men were silent for a moment. Suddenly, one of them burst outughing and the rest joined in the infectiousughter.


    ???


    High up on sheer rocky Pce walls, Candi was hooking and grappling in a steady manner.


    She moved quickly, from one tower to another, testing and retesting all her equipment.


    There was little challenge for her, even at this height, because the walls were regr square boulders that jutted out and perfect intervals.


    There were plenty of spaces for hooks and foot holds to wedge her toes in. It was a good ce to test out her equipment to ensure it would hold up on use.


    Candi had no illusions however, to the rigors of a real cliff face, with all of its irregrities and uneven toe holds. She would also have to deal with wind gusts and the heat of the sun beating down upon her equipment and her body.


    The Palisades would not be this simple to scale, that she was sure.


    As the early morning twilight changed from a grayish tinge to a bright crisp dawn, she swung back down to the ground,nding with a gentle thump on the soft grass.


    There was a maid waiting for her at the bottom.


    "Mdy. Breakfast is waiting for you at the gazebo."


    She nodded and followed the maid, hoping there would be something she could eat. It couldn''t be too heavy but it had to be enough to give her energy to do what she needed to do.


    At the gazebo, Jason, Jared, Byron, and te were sitting there waiting for her. They were casually munching on eggs and bacon and various pastries.


    The maid seated her at a spot in between te and Byron and indicated to her te.


    "Your breakfast, Mdy." She bowed and took a step back.


    Candi smiled.


    On her fancy te with gold edges was a single crystal ss of some thick goopy greenish liquid.


    "What is this?"


    "Eat up." te indicated the ss with his finger. "It''s a super concentrated food drink made of spirulina and trehalose. It will give you enough energy to do what you must."


    Candi smiled gratefully. Leave it to Tree-Trunk body builder te to know what a girl needs to scale cliff sides.


    She grabbed the ss and took a sip. It tasted like a fruit smoothie!


    She smiled, threw back her head and gulped down the entire thing in one go.


    Setting the ss back down onto the table, she licked her lips with a pink tongue and announced with a bright gleam in her eyes.


    "I''m done. We can leave anytime you men have finished eating."


    Jason and Jared threw their heads back andughed.


    "Aren''t women supposed to take longer than that to get ready to go anywhere?"


    "Not if we''re in work mode." Candi waggled a finger. "When do we have to be there?"


    "Rx, we have about three hours before you have to be at the Palisades."


    ???


    Three hours flew by quickly and soon, she was seated in a pod with te, hovering towards her destination.


    The pod ride took about half an hour during which time, Candi got a chance to see the entire valley that the Royal Capital of Erenveil was settled within.


    They moved away from the densely popted areas, towards the coastal region where the mountains dropped off straight down into a dazzling sandy beach so soft and white that it looked like ground flour.


    The Palisades was a jaw-dropping line of steep cliffs that faced into the rising sun over a deep blue ocean.


    He pointed to the destination.


    "We''re almost there. That is the Palisades Cliffs overlooking Baria Ocean."


    She nodded, staring at the cliff face. It would be a challenge, even with her current rock climbing skill level.


    The hover craft swooped down to the sandy beach that one section of the Palisades jutted out towards.


    Since there was no space for a huge audience, there were dozens of hover pods with their visual receptors pointing at a round white tform at the base of the cliff.


    There were six small dais on top of the tform, two of which was already upied by Jenna Natoli and Ana?se Paroles. This time, it looked as if they were standing in the positions at which they won from thest contest.


    Ana?se was standing on the second dais and Jenna took the third dais. Although technically, Bethany Dresden was also third-ce winner, it seemed that the early bird got the preferred position.


    "Looks like you get the first dais, Candace." te murmured with a smile.


    She nodded and was about to step out of the pod when he pulled her back with a roughness that startled her.


    "A kiss for luck." te muttered, mostly to himself.


    His fingers wound into her hair as he pulled her body into his embrace.


    Dropping his head, he crushed his lips onto hers.


    Prying her lips open with his tongue, he began tasting every inch of her mouth with his warm wet tongue.


    Taken by surprise, Candi could not hold back as she returned his kiss with ardent fervor.


    With a half muffled groan, he increased his assault of her mouth and senses, devouring her with an intensity that was almost frightening. He suckled her tongue and ate her lips greedily, giving and taking in equal doses.


    It was as if he was starving and needed to assuage his hunger for her taste.


    When it seemed as if she could not even stand on her own feet, te lifted his head. His passion-drunk zing blue eyes fixed on hers.


    "Go, before I make you stay here with me."


    He gently nudged her towards the opening.


    "I''ll be right here watching over you."

 Chapter 36 - Femme Fatales

    From a distance, the white sands was blinding. The breeze blew in from the eastern shores, ruffling Candi''s long honey blonde hair and whipping them around her. She reached up and pulled her hair into a low ponytail as she strode up towards the tform.


    She looked around.


    There was no one around except for Jenna Natoli, Ana?se Paroles, and herself. Without saying a word to either of the candidates, Candi strode to the first dais and stepped on.


    "What makes you think you belong on that first dais, human female?" Jenna scoffed as she stood on the third dais.


    In the sun, Jenna''s ck-spotted yellow coat gleamed with wild ferocity. She extended her cougar ws and cked them together, making an annoying sound that grated on Candi''s nerves.


    Without bothering to look at her, Candi stared into the distant waves rolling into shore.


    "I won thest event, so this spot is mine for now." She responded.


    "We shall see who remains in the end." Jenna growled deep in her throat. "That throne and that man can only belong to me."


    Between the two of them, Ana?seughed a tinkling ssy sound. As always, she wore nothing, leaving her semi-transparent blueish ss body to gleam in the sun.


    "You''ve never even seen the Crown Prince. I have actually sat at the same table at a dinner party with him once, three years ago." Ana?se waved a dismissive hand at Jenna.


    Candi rolled her eyes.


    She wondered what they would think if she told them that only yesterday, te had thrown her over to the Crown Prince, who had caught her in midair and carried her through the air, princess-style, to his royal pce.


    They were saved from all this sordid conversation with the arrival of Helene Cordera and Valeria Marakesh, who both took their positions on the tform.


    Helene poked her head out and smiled at everyone, waving a hand.


    Her long aquamarine color hair fluttered in the breeze, matching perfectly with her blue bodysuit that glistened and gleamed like the scales of a fish.


    Candi wasn''t sure if she was being friendly or if she was joking since all the contestants had been shaking hands with sharp ws extended.


    Still, to be polite, she smiled and waved back.


    "Hi! Just wanted to say, you are a really good dancer!" Helene called out from thest dais towards Candi, who was standing on the first dais.


    "Thank you." Candi nodded. What was this girl up to?


    "I just ordered a wedding dress like the one you modeled on the Sky Walk, with the shoes and the ne too! It''s so hot right now, it will take several months before it can be made for me."


    Modeled?


    Candi gave a tiny smile. That was no modeled outfit. It had been drawn to that specification by the twins with her input and made specifically for her so she could move her body in exacting movements.


    Valeria Marakeshughed with derision. She flexed herrge ck wings and a scattering of tiny ck feathers flew into the wind, hitting Helene who was downwind from her, in the face.


    "Who are you nning to marry?"


    Helene Cordera threw her head back and looked at Valeria with lowered eyelids.


    "The Crown Prince, of course. You all can have your choice of the other princes," she said with magnanimous benevolence. "They''re all extremely handsome, but Prince Byron is mine."


    Jenna and Valeria looked at each other for a moment. Then, they burst outughing with contempt.


    "You do realize you have to win the Avgo Competitions to win his hand in marriage, right?" Jenna sneered.


    "Do you honestly think Prince Byron would want someone like you?" The raven threw back her head andughed.


    Helene Cordera smiled.


    "That''s the n. The winner takes all."


    From above, a squawking cry called out as a red bird with twelve gold antennas on her head flew towards the fourth dais.


    It was Bethany Dresden in her bird form.


    She reached the fourth dais and pped her red wings,nding with a graceful swoop. She was still in her bird form and as the moments ticked forward, it didn''t look as if she was going to change into human form any time soon.


    Valeria turned towards Bethany.


    "Why are you still not transfigured? You know you can''t attempt any of the Avgo events in any form other than humanoid, with two hands and two feet."


    "I can''t!" Bethany Dresden wailed and squawked.


    "Why not?" Valeria huffed. "If you don''t, you will forfeit this round and be eliminated, in which case, lesspetition for me."


    Bethany Dresden screeched and clucked, not responding to Valeria.


    From a distance, the familiar white ping-pong ball hover pod flew towards them. It was almost show time.


    Their Host had arrived.


    His pod slowed to a stop in front of the tform. The domed top of the ping-pong ball pod slid back to reveal the familiar upant of the vehicle, the distinguished looking white faun, Lorem Ipsum.


    For today''s event, he was dressed in a loud green and pink flower print shirt with a gand of white flowers around his neck. A chain of tiny seashells was stretched across his curled horns, catching the sun and glinting with tropical vibes.


    Candi noticed that his underbite chin was no longer so raw and pink now that a fuzz of white whiskers had begun to grow over the bare skin. He was starting to regain his dignified goatly face.


    Lorem Ipsum turned to look at Bethany Dresden.


    "We will be starting in five minutes. Please transfigure to your human form."


    Bethany squawked and tucked her head under her red feathered wing. Lorem Ipsum gave her a frost re.


    "Bethany Dresden. You have four minutes to transfigure. If you don''t, you will be immediately disqualified. This event is apetition that must be done in humanoid form."


    With slow reluctance, Bethany began to transfigure. Her body grew slightlyrger and her arms and legs began to form.


    As her head changed from that of a bird to a female human, a collective gasp came from all five contestants standing around her.


    Bethany''s long red hair had been hacked into uneven lengths with huge bald spots showing everywhere. There were alsorge bald spots where someone had plucked handfuls of feathers from her body and wings.


    The mini ck dress she wore barely covered all the bald areas. It looked like she was molting.


    She was truly hideous!

 Chapter 37 - Let The Games Begin!

    "Oh my Stars, Bethany. What happened to you???" Valeria cried out. As the only other avian-human species in the lineup, there was a connection between the two birds, albeit a tiny one.


    "The bitch butterfly Olivia Faraday cornered me this morning and attacked me!" Bethany shrieked as golden tears fell from her phoenix eyes.


    Candi had heard of the supposedly magical healing properties of phoenix tears, but at the moment, they were not healing Bethany in the least.


    On the contrary, they were making her pathetic situation even worse, as she looked as if she was urinating from her tear ducts!


    Lorem Ipsum narrowed his gaze, not in the least sympathetic.


    "At least she didn''t break your wing in the same manner that you broke hers yesterday."


    Bethany squawked.


    "That stupid butterfly thinks she is better than a bird? We eat bugs like her for breakfast!"


    Lorem Ipsum sniffed.


    "Looks like she ate you for breakfast this morning." He pped his hands to gain attention. "But we have no more time to discuss this matter."


    He turned towards all the others.


    "Are we readydies? Look pretty and perky." He shot a derisive nce at Bethany. "The visuals will begin rolling in five, four, three, two, and¡­"


    He turned his back to the contestants and faced the hundreds of media pods that were aiming their visual instruments at the tform on the white sandy beach.


    Extending his arms wide, he smiled in front of the cameras with svelte elegance.


    "Good morning Gxy! My name is Lorem Ipsum and I am your host for the event of the century, the Avgo Pageant!"


    Canned shouts and apuse came from speakers hidden somewhere around the cliff.


    "Wee to the sixth scheduled match of the Avgo Events, the Strength and Vitality tournament!"


    Again, more canned shouts and apuses.


    The space between the tform and the ocean was separated by a narrow strip of white sandy beach that could hold at most a hundred people.


    How people could possible think that a real audience of thousands was standing in the ocean screaming and yelling, Candi could not understand.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen, behind me stand the six Heavenly Avgo females who are ready to steal the hearts of all you viewers as well as the endless devotion of Crown Prince Byron."


    He turned towards the contestants on the dais.


    "In first ce, Candace Farrah!"


    More canned screaming and apuse rose up as a huge closeup visual of Candace appeared above her.


    "Next up is Ana?se Paroles!"


    Again, the canned screams and closeup popped up above the silicon girl.


    This went on for all the women as he reintroduced each of them to the audience of visual hover pods until Lorem Ipsum reached Bethany Dresden.


    Her face was bright red with embarrassment as she turned away and tried to hide the bald spots on her head with her hands.


    But the canned shouts and apuse had been preset, inadvertently sounding like jeers andughter of a huge crowd of people.


    There was also no way to hide from the closeup visual which hovered over her head. The live visual of a battered and bald red haired woman from the moons of Coraline had been beamed everywhere, exploding into the social media of the Gxy.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen. Might I remind everyone watching at this moment around the Gxy. We havepleted the ''Face and Grace'' event yesterday, where the lovely and graceful Candace Farrah won by a fairlyrge margin."


    He cleared his throat.


    "This event is solely judged upon ''Strength and Vitality'' so the women are free to look as they please. Their only goal is to scale this cliff face and spread out in search of the beast of prey that is specified to them."


    Lorem Ipsum''s eyes grew excited.


    "Each contestant must subdue and bring the detached head of their specific beast of prey to the tform located above us."


    A visual of the empty tform located above the Palisades Cliff appeared above the women.


    "As you can see, Ladies and Gentlemen. There are only five dais on that tform and we have six contestants."


    "Once all five slots have been filled, the event will be closed and the contestant who fails to secure one of the dais will be eliminated from the Strength and Vitality event."


    He turned back to the contestants on the tform.


    "Each of you will be picking out your beast of prey."


    Lorem Ipsum hovered over to the women and as before, pulled a box out from his ping-pong hover craft.


    "If you will, please take one and show us what you picked out."


    He smiled and extended the box to Candi, at first position.


    Candi stared into his eyes and reached into the box. Thest time she had done this, she had no choice because she was inst position. This time, all six choices were hers to make.


    Her fingers found the balls. They all felt the same. There was nothing in there that screamed out TAKE ME!!!


    She randomly grabbed one and pulled it out, holding it up for all to see. The nonexistent audience gave a collective canned gasp, as if they were surprised.


    In her hand was the ball with the image of a king cobra.


    Lorem Ipsum grinned in that irritable manner, as if he could barely contain his delight in watching her dueling to the death with a giant venomous snake.


    Ana?se Paroles, standing next to her reached into the box and pulled out a ball with the image of a grizzly bear. More gasps of surprise and excitement emanated from the imagined audience.


    He moved onto Jenna who pulled out a boar and grinned with delight. Apparently, the boar looked to be an easy kill for her.


    Bethany''s ball showed a lion. She heaved a sigh of relief, as if lions were not a huge challenge for her either.


    Valeria raised her ball into the air with proud deration. The image was of an Andean condor. It would be the only aerial fight of the Avgo event.


    Helene, inst ce, got the remaining ball with the image of a coyote. She stretched her mouth into that familiar easy-going grin which showed all her teeth.


    Of the six predatory animals, it seemed she had gotten the easiest one to handle. To be fair, none of these animals looked easy to hunt and subdue, but some were more difficult than others.


    Lorem Ipsum turned back to the visual pods with excitement in his eyes. He raised his arms in the air.


    "Let the games¡ªBEGIN!"

 Chapter 38 - Fish Girl

    A loud BOOM!!! exploded into the air above them as a huge ball of confetti exploded, sending colorful pieces of paper blooming out in a chrysanthemum blossom.


    The tiny pieces fluttered down onto the contestants, the tform, and the beach, catching the sunlight as it streamed downward.


    Immediately, Jenna and Ana?se jumped from their dais and ran for the cliff face.


    Jenna slumped down on all fours and began jumping onto the cliff, digging her ws into the cliffside. With powerful shoulder and leg muscles, she pulled herself up using all four legs in the only way a cougar could.


    This was her forte, her familiar territory. Her kind wasn''t called mountain lions in some parts of the gxy for nothing.


    Further away, Ana?se reached out with steady measured calm movements and touched each exposed part of rock. As before, she melted the rock face where she touched and built her own small protrusions and toeholds, scaling it with rtive ease.


    Beside Candi, the winged females had already taken off into the sky. This was the least of their challenge.


    Candi was about to head towards the cliff when, from the side of her peripheral vision, she saw something fly at her.


    Ducking with the instinct of a trained fighter, Candi rolled off her dais and sprang up on all fours in defensive mode.


    The thrown object impaled itself onto the tree behind Candi with a solid THUNK.


    She had barely dodged a flying knife, aimed at her gut.


    Helene was still standing on her dais, her face smiling in that gentle sweet smile.


    "Oooh. You''re fast. But that''s okay. There are a few more where that came from."


    Candi clenched her teeth.


    "Aren''t you supposed to save your weapons for that coyote you have to take down?"


    Helene smiled.


    "If you die here, I can take my time and find that coyote. The event doesn''t end until I make it to the final dais." She jumped off the dais and pulled out another knife.


    The two women circled each other. Helene was holding a knife. Candi had nothing in her hands.


    "We don''t have time for this, Helene." Candi warned. "I don''t want to hurt you."


    "Correction. YOU don''t have time for this." Heleneughed in that same cheerful sweet manner that was so diametrically opposed to the evil glint in her eyes.


    Suddenly, Helene lunged.


    Candi dodged the lunge and caught the arm that held the knife. She had already seen the loose way Helene held the weapon. The woman didn''t really know how to knife-fight.


    With a quick twist, Candi bent Helene''s wrist backward.


    Helene howled. The knife dropped to the ground.


    Still working with Helene''s forward momentum, Candi yanked on Helen''s arm, helping to move her body forward. As Helene pitched towards her, Candi raised her knee and jammed it into Helene''s stomach.


    "Uuughhhh!!!" Helene grunted, doubling over.


    At the same moment, Candi brought her elbow down and whacked Helene at the small of her spine.


    CRACK!!!


    "Aaaaaaaahhhhh!!!" Helene shrieked as Candi threw her body down to the tform. Her back was bent at a weird unnatural angle.


    Candi looked up as te''s dark flying body circled around her, casting ominous winged shadows. It had all happened so quickly that he hadn''t even gotten a chance to intervene on her behalf.


    Candi waved at him to signal that she was fine and turned back to Lorem Ipsum.


    "I don''t have time for this. You deal with her. I have to go catch my snake."


    Lorem Ipsum blinked his eyes in rapid session and then made a motion for her to go.


    As she turned and ran for the cliff face, Lorem Ipsum shivered, squeezed his fists together in front of his chest and squealed like a little girl.


    That was such an unexpected thrilling start to what should have been a basic Strength and Vitality event!


    It was too bad it wasn''t a little bit more bloody. Red fluids smeared all over the ss tform would have made an exciting visual disy.


    But no matter. A fish woman with a broken back was just as exciting.


    Out of all the visuals hover pods, there had to be half a dozen that had captured the fight at the right angles for it to be reyed in slow motion and in various exciting sessions.


    All he had to do was get some animation that showed a spine snapping at the joint where Candace Farrah had shoved her strong bony elbow directly in.


    The cracking sound at the point of impact could be superimposed onto the animation and it would be an amazing visual for the audience!


    Ignoring Helene''s loud moans, Lorem Ipsum hovered over to the tree where the knife was impaled.


    Gesturing with his hand, he motioned for a couple of visual hover pods to take a few images there as well.


    When ced together with the visual of Helene''s knife throw, it would eliminate all doubt as to who started the fight.


    ???


    "Disqualify that fish!!!" The Crown Prince raged at his Court Attendant.


    He was standing on the balcony of the Royal Pce, watching the event on a huge virtual screen with a small group of his court aides and the Emperor of Erenveil.


    "Your Royal Highness, it looks as if she is not even able to stand up¡­"


    "Are you arguing with me? I said DISQUALIFY HER!!! How dare she try to hurt my Candi!!!"


    "Yes¡ªyes your Royal Highness. I will send the royal decree immediately."


    Byron''s eyes narrowed as his fists shook with the intensity of his fury.


    "Byron." The Emperor cleared his throat. "Didn''t I tell you not to get too attached to any of the contestants?"


    "Yes, Father." Byron nodded. His eyes reverting back to their calm coolness.


    "It is your royal duty to marry the one who wins the Avgo event, regardless which of those women it is. Don''t forget. You are part of the prize."


    Byron sighed with a heavy heart.


    "Yes, Father."


    ???


    te soared above the tform on outstretched wings with his talons unsheathed. His eyes were frenzied with madness.


    Although he was grateful he did not have to intervene on her behalf, te would not have hesitated to kill Helene Cordera had Candace been in real danger.


    Doing so would have immediately disqualified Candace from the Avgo Event, but he would rather have a safe and living disqualified Candace than a dead or severely injured one.


    At the moment that the fish girl threw the knife, he was ready to throw a bolt of fire and incinerate her, but Candace had reacted so quickly he did not even have a chance to defend her.


    She was an amazing woman. Even as he was racing to reach her, she had swiftly and cleanly taken down her opponent with two solid moves.


    Seeing Candi unhurt and moving onto the next part of her event, te circled around a bit and returned to his pod. There was not much else to see here.


    Fish girl was now lying on the ground moaning with pain and unable to get up, but te could care less. He knew it wouldn''t take long before a medical evacuation crew arrived to take her away.


    He grinned. She was about to experience a whole new hell, but he didn''t have time to witness that. He was leaving to watch over his woman.


    Two of the visual-gatherers were hovering around Lorem Ipsum as he spoke with earnest concern directly to the crowd, rying y-by-y, his first-hand eye witness ounts.


    Meanwhile, the rest of the visual-gatherers had moved onward, zooming in on the remaining contestants of the Avgo Event.

 Chapter 39 - Snake Heads Dont Die!

    Candi raced on towards the face cliff.


    Because of Helene''s interference, she had lost ten precious minutes of rock scaling.


    At the very start, the bird women had soared high into the air andnded on the teau to begin their conquest. By the time Candi reached the foot of the cliff, Jenna and Ana?se had already reached the top and were speeding away.


    She inspected the cliff, looking for the best spots to begin her climb. Her idea of following behind the nubs of rock that Ana?se left was abandoned immediately.


    Ana?se climbed very cleanly, leaving almost nothing on the rocks to cling onto. She had used very little artificially-created hand-holds, preferring mostly the natural rock crevices and protrusions to climb.


    Candi exhaled and flexed her fingers. She was one of the best cat burrs in LA. She could handle this.


    As she feared, the cliff face was uneven and crumbly in various ces. At several spots, whole sections of rocks fell away under her ax and hook and it took all her skills to avoid tumbling down with the tiny avnches of small stones.


    As she moved upward steadily, she could hear the whooshing sounds of the visual-capture hover pods behind her. They were rying every move she made, from every angle.


    Candi gritted her teeth and kept climbing in a slow and steady pace. There was no need to hurry up the face cliff and make mistakes that could cost her life.


    The only thing that she needed to do was to survive this fight and reach the dais to remain in the event. It didn''t matter what order she came in. She had a spot as long as she didn''t die.


    Fifteen minutester, Candi had made it to the top of the cliff face. As she crawled up, she could see the t grassy top of the straight cut rock.


    Twisting her body, she copsed with her back onto the grass, panting and heaving.


    As Candi released her tensed muscles and waited for a moment to catch her breath, the visual-gathering hover pods whooshed above her, keeping enough of a distance to avoid throwing shadows over her face and body.


    The visual pods zoomed in, capturing her exquisite face in perfect detail. This was the face that had won first ce in the previous Face and Gracepetition and they yed that angle to the fullest extent.


    The sun was shining directly onto her as sheid there in the soft green grass. Sunlight burnished her hair into a bright golden halo around her head as she looked up, smiling at the bright blue sky.


    Everyone saw her curious tender smile. No one knew why.


    In truth, as Candi looked up, she saw te''s pod hovering far above. It was the thought that he was watching over her that made her smile.


    With him up there, she had no fear.


    A couple of minutes was all she allowed herself to rest. She was back on her feet and running for the cover of the forest.


    As she ran, she activated the mask that Jared had made for her. It quickly covered her visage, rendering her faceless but still allowing her to breathe normally.


    The visual-gathering pods caught the moment her face went from angelic and bright to dark and faceless.


    As the visuals zoomed out, they saw her dark body suit and suddenly, it was clear.


    Suddenly, she looked like a female version of the Seven Princes of Erenveil, minus the wings.


    It didn''t matter though. Within the dense vegetation of the forest, wings would not have been helpful at all and in fact would have hindered her as she sprinted from one area to the next.


    In contrast to the bright and warm grassy areas by the cliffside, the forest was dark and cool.


    Candi looked about. If she ran around forever to find this snake, she could look for days and still would not be able to find it.


    She needed to call it to her.


    She continued to run, deeper and deeper into the forest. There was no way to know exactly where the snake was, but if she stood somewhere in the middle and called it out, it coulde to her from wherever it was.


    Candi moved on, deeper into the forest. From aerial views projected into her mask, she could see herself as a tiny pulsating green point, approaching the central region of the forest itself.


    Another fifteen minutes of running, and around her, she could also see the blue, purple, orange, and red colored points of the other women in various parts of the forest as they struggled with their own beasts.


    Helene''s teal point of light was still on the beach tform. Half an hour after their fight and she was still lying there waiting for medical assistance.


    A few more minutes of running took her into a small clearing. From the marks on the ground, it looked as if at least one other woman hade to this same spot. There was no sign of a struggle, so perhaps they were just passing through.


    Candi found a rtively isted spot and pulled out her rock climbing ax. She looked around and found a perfect tree limb. Then she began chopping away at it.


    The trunk she had chosen was not thatrge, only about the size of her arm so it didn''t take that long to cut through. She cleaned the excess branches off it and chopped one end into a nice thin wedge, leaving the other end t-topped.


    Then she took the wood wedge out towards the small clearing and pounded the wedge side into the soft ground.


    Once the wedge of wood had sunk one-fourth of the way down, she took her ax andid it t side onto the top of the wood wedge.


    It was time to call the snake out to y.


    Candi grabbed both ends of the ax and began to rub its length onto the t surface of the tree limb. Immediately, there arose a sound that was simr to the gentle warbling of a bullfrog croaking.


    VROOOOMMM VRROOOOOMMM VRROOOOOOMM


    The rubbing of the metal against the tree trunk vibrated the wood and sent the vibrations into the ground.


    The dirt around her began to move with the sound waves. Within a couple of minutes, little pale pink and white worms began to surface.


    Five minutester, the earth worms were wriggling all around her. She ignored them and continued to vibrate the ground. If she was lucky, all the snakes within the vicinity would start to appear.


    Sure enough, four or five snakes began to slither towards the sound of her bullfrog fiddling.


    Candi''s eyes began to dart in all directions. She had to clear out the snakes before the King Cobra appeared or she would be fighting too many creatures.


    So far, the King had not made an appearance.


    A rattling sounded behind her. She reached out and aimed her ax at the sound.


    WHOOMPH!!!


    Her ax cleanly sliced through the rattlesnake behind her.


    Its head flew in an arch over her as its headless body reflexively slithered away.


    Candi jumped towards the ax, grabbing it as she rolled back onto a fighting stance. Three other snakes wereing at her.


    Theyunched their bodies simultaneously.


    She fell back against the ground, and rolled away as they struck each other at the space where she had been. Their bodies twisted into a mess of knotted ropes.


    Raising her ax high, she chopped into the central mess of snake bodies, cutting them cleanly into various parts.


    The snake heads disengaged from their slithering cut body pieces and went after her.


    They joined the decapitated rattlesnake head and surrounded her, their eyes enraged and reddened.


    Candi ground her teeth.


    It was going to take more than a simple beheading to kill these snakes.

 Chapter 40 - The Condor And The Cobra

    Candi knew they were already dead.


    Without the rest of their bodies to support their brains, it would only be a matter of hours before their brains starved forck of oxygen.


    However, until then, they were still alive!


    She had to quickly put an end to their suffering.


    Candi pulled out four star shurikens and threw them at the snakes, impaling their heads with the sharp spikes. She had been saving these for the King Cobra, but at this moment, she needed to survive these snakes.


    As the shurikens left her fingers, she jumped onto the limb of a near by tree and watched as they writhed on the ground.


    The shurikens themselves didn''t have to do much damage. They had been dipped in poison and it would not take long for the poison to affect the snakes'' neurons.


    As Candi watched the snake heads slowly die, she began to notice the small animals around her go quiet. Somethingrge wasing this way.


    It squawked and flew up into the sky, casting arge shadow on the ground.


    Candi''s eyes widened.


    All of her vibrating activities had brought the worms and the snakes to the surface. It had also brought the Andean condor whose favorite food was squirming about on the ground.


    The condor''s appearance brought the colossal King Cobra out of hiding. It slithered its massive body out to the center of the clearing, throwing a challenge at the condor.


    SQUAAAWWWKKK!!!


    The condor screeched and dove into the clearing.


    GROOOOOOOWLL!!!


    The cobra hissed and growled, sounding like a mad dog. It raised one-third of its body up to meet the descending condor.


    As the bird swooped in with talons outstretched, the cobra struck at its belly with fangs exposed.


    The two animals entwined. Bits of feather and blood flew everywhere!


    The bird had been bitten. The cobra had injected its venom into the bird''s body. Unfortunately, its head had been caught within the unyielding grasp of the condor''s ws.


    THUMMPH!!!


    They both dropped to the ground, writhing and .


    From a distance, the raven Valeria Marakesh was flying towards the condor. She hovered in midair, watching the condor and the cobra fighting to the death.


    Raising a hand, she acknowledged Candi''s presence and continued to watch the fight without interruption. She and Candi had the same idea.


    If these two predators could kill themselves, it would save either of them from having to expend too much effort.


    The visual pods hovered between Valeria and Candi, not sure which of them to focus on. They zeroed in on both the women''s faces, keeping them in sharp focus while other pods monitored the condor/cobra fight.


    The condor flew up with its long sharp talons still digging into the cobra''s neck area.


    The cobra pulled back and attacked. It sank its fangs into the bird''s feet. The condor squawked again and rose directly into the sky.


    As it flew, the condor ripped the cobra''s head from its body, flinging it to the ground.


    The cobra''s body, hooked within the condor''s talons, iled about like a limp spaghetti noodle. It looked as if the condor had won the fight, but looks were deceiving.


    The condor was starting to sumb.


    The venom had finally worked its way to the condor''s heart and seized it. It fell to the ground, still clutching onto the cobra''s body.


    WHUUUUUMPPP!!!


    Valeria Marakesh flew to the ground.


    "Good job. Thanks for killing it for me." She grinned as she quickly cut the condor''s head off.


    "See you at the tform. You''d better hurry though. I think the ss girl and the cat has already found their beasts and are finishing up."


    Candi smiled and waved her hand, not bothering to tell Valeria that there was no need to run towards the tform. There were only five of them left.


    As the raven girl flew away with her bloody prize clutched in her arms, she surveyed the blood mess all around her.


    The cobra''s head was still on the ground, its eyes tracking her every move. She knew it was still alive and could still kill her if she got too close to its head.


    Reaching into her shuriken stash, she withdrew one more and threw it directly at its eyes.


    The shuriken flew from her fingertips and embedded itself deep within the cobra''s eyes. It iled and spasmed for a bit and then was motionless.


    After a few minutes of stillness, she jumped down from the tree trunk that she had been sitting on and went to inspect it.


    Then she pulled out a kerchief and bound it around the head, giving enough room to carry it, and she began making her way towards the tform.


    ording to the aerial views projected into her mask, she was an isted tiny pulsating green point within the central region of the forest. Everyone else had exited the forest.


    It would take her another fifteen minutes of hard running to get to the endpoint which was beyond the sprawling forest.


    Candi picked up her pace and headed towards the tform.


    As she got closer, it became more and more obvious to her that something was not quite right.


    The raven Valeria Marakesh was fifteen minutes ahead of her, having picked up the condor''s head and flown off even before she had made it to the ground.


    She was expecting Valeria to be on the tform along with at least a few of the other women who had made quick work of their kill.


    Interestingly enough, the only two points of lights on the tform that she could see from her mask were the blue and orange colored points of Jenna Natoli and Ana?se Paroles.


    As she got closer, Candi saw Jenna''s spotted golden body standing on the first dais. It seemed as if she had quickly imed first position, having subdued her boar.


    Her foot was on its head as she stood in the stance of the triumphant victor.


    Second ce had been imed by the industrious silicon Ana?se. Her blue body glistened like a ss bottle under the bright noon sun.


    Therge grizzly bear head beside her pooled congealed blood like a prized trophy around her feet.


    There was no one else on the ss tform.

 Chapter 41 - The Raven And The Phoenix

    With a quick spring, Candi jumped up onto the tform and strode over to the third dais.


    "Where are the bird women?" She asked as she took her ce on the third dais at the center of the tform.


    "You ask us. Who should we ask?" Ana?se retorted cooly.


    Candi shrugged.


    "I saw Valeria Marakesh flying this way with her condor as I was heading towards the tform. She was fifteen minutes ahead of me."


    Ana?se raised an eyebrow.


    "That is odd. If she was flying towards the tform fifteen minutes ago, she should have been here by now."


    "We have seen neither of the birds up to this point." Jenna Natoli looked away.


    Candi frowned. Something must have urred for Valeria Marakesh to be thiste.


    She scanned the air, looking for any signs of the raven or the phoenix, but aside from the ever-present visual-gathering hover pods, neither of the birds were in sight.


    "Worry about yourself, Woman." Jenna scoffed. "Be grateful you actually passed this portion of the event without killing yourself."


    Fifteen minutester, lethargy began to get to her. As if that wasn''t bad enough, the animal heads were starting to stink in the heat of the midday sun.


    Candi kept her mask on.


    It not only helped to keep the stink down to an eptable level, it also helped keep the sun''s rays from hitting her face directly. She turned to look at the women beside her.


    Neither Ana?se nor Jenna had the luxury of masks. They were getting pounded on by the sun''s rays.


    Suddenly, most of the visual-gathering pods abandoned the close-up visuals of three bored women on the dais and flew towards a figureing out of the woods.


    "Good Heavens! The ck bird is walking towards us." Ana?se muttered.


    "What happened to her wings, for crying out loud?" Jenna asked no one in particr.


    Candi said nothing, noting the peculiar angle of the raven''s left wing. It looked broken.


    Valeria Marakesh was half lifting, half dragging the condor''s head along with her as she trudged with grim determination towards the tform.


    She was bleeding heavily, trailing a line of blood from the forest edge towards the tform.


    By the time she reached the ss tform, she could not even make it up the ss steps.


    Candi sighed.


    There was nopetition for the dais at this point. All five of them should have been able to make it to the tform and this event should have ended half an hour ago.


    She stepped off the dais and jumped down to help Valeria. On the other side of her, she noticed Jenna and Ana?se were doing the same thing.


    With the three of them lifting and dragging, they managed to get Valeria onto the fourth dais with her condor head.


    As Valeria sat on her dais trying to conserve energy, Candi pulled a kerchief and tied it around the raven''s w to staunch the flow of blood. There were other wounds, but this one was the worst of them.


    "What happened after you flew off with the condor head?" Candi asked as she tried to give what first-aid she could for the raven.


    "Bethany was flying around looking for her lion but she wasn''t having any luck finding it. When she saw that I had gotten my condor head, she flew at me and struck me down from the air."


    "Why in the world would she do that?" Jenna stood with her arms akimbo in front of Valeria, trying to provide her with a bit of shade.


    "She was afraid I would make it to the tform before she could find her lion." Valeria rubbed her face with a tired hand.


    Ana?se clicked her tongue.


    "Tch, tch. Attacking an Avgo opponent with all these visual pods flying around capturing the evidence simply gets them thrown out of the event and disqualified. Don''t they know that?"


    "Apparently not. Helene attacked me at the first tform, right in front of Lorem Ipsum." Candi responded with a wry grin.


    "What happened to her?" Ana?se''s eyes widened.


    "I broke her back." Candi said as she finished her ministration of Valeria''s leg.


    "Oh did you???" Jenna''s mouth opened wide with glee.


    "So Bethany didn''t even need to attack me." Valeria turned to Candace, appalled. "Her position was already assured, even if it took her awhile longer to find the lion."


    "Yes." Candi affirmed.


    Valeria''s eyes shed in anger. Her good wing stirred with dismay, even as her broken wing rested on her shoulder, unmoving.


    "You broke your wing." Ana?se muttered.


    "It will heal. I will fly again." She said tiredly. The pain was making her exhausted.


    "Where is Bethany?" Jenna asked.


    "I left her back in the woods." Valeria stared into the depths of the forest.


    "Is she still alive?"


    "I did not kill her." Valeria responded firmly.


    "I''m sure the visual-gathering pods already have all that action captured." Ana?se shook her head.


    "All she needed to do was crawl her decrepit body onto the tform and she is assured a ce in the next event, except she''s gone and disqualified herself. What a stupid bitch." Jennaughed with derision.


    "There were no visual-gathering pods when were were fighting." Valeria shook her head.


    "What???" Ana?se turned to Valeria. "Aren''t those hover pods always around? I can never get rid of them. They fly around me day and night."


    "Same here." Jenna scowled. "So how was it possible for you and her to be fighting without a single visual-gathering pod to capture it all?"


    Valeria narrowed her eyes.


    "She must have bought them all off and told them to keep away so she could get rid of me without any evidence."


    They all looked at each other with disgust.


    Throughout the entire event, starting with the Butterfly Olivia Faraday, Bethany had been quite vicious. For her to turn against Valeria was something no one expected.


    "Well it has caused something unexpected to happen." Candi announced.


    All three women looked in her direction.


    "No visuals-gatherers means nobody knows where she is. It could be awhile before somebody finds her in whatever state she''s in."


    True to her words, it took three more hours before a team of people finally carried the red phoenix bird Bethany to the tform and ced her on the final dais.


    She had no lion head with her.

 Chapter 42 - Broken Wings

    The four women turned to look at her with unveiled disgust.


    By now, the three beast heads were stinking so badly that not even Candi''s mask was helping much. They were also baking in the sun for hours, just waiting on this ragged red bird woman to finally appear and tempers were soaring.


    "What happened to you, and where is your beast head?" Jenna scoffed at the red haired phoenix girl with the bald patches on her head.


    Bethany red at Jenna saying nothing.


    "Your wings are all broken, Bethany." Ana?se scoffed. "Did the lion beat you up and left you to die?"


    Valeria chuffed and turned away. She was the one who had broken Bethany''s wings, but only because she had been attacked out of the sky.


    Bethany would rather die than admit that though. Not only would it mean that Valeria was a much stronger warrior female, it would also mean that Bethany had attacked an Avgo contestant unprovoked.


    Since Valeria had already gotten her own beast head, there would have been no reason for her to attack Bethany.


    Candi did not even bother to nce at Bethany. After Olivia Faraday had been attacked by Bethany and had lost the first event because of her broken wing, Candi hadpletely ignored the phoenix woman.


    The fact that Olivia Faraday had returned the favor by plucking out Bethany''s hair was karmic retribution, and one that Bethany sorely deserved.


    Getting her wings snapped by Valeria Marakesh was something that she brought onto herself in her desperate attempt to win at all costs.


    Candi only wanted this entire sordid event to end as quickly as possible.


    Now that all five of them had made it to the stage, it would not be long before the old goat made his showing.


    Sure enough, Lorem Ipsum chose that moment to arrive, saving Bethany from further heckling by the women on the dais.


    "Ahhh. It looks like all the contestants have finally appeared on the tform!"


    He hovered over to Jenna Natoli.


    "A huge congrattions! You were the first to reach dais number one! The boar head can be stuffed and mounted to celebrate your victory in this round."


    The canned apuse and shouts followed them from the bottom of the cliffside to the top of the teau.


    He moved through the next few contestants quickly, noting that they were all exhausted and needed rest and medical care.


    Ana?se Paroles stood, cool and detached, watching him with indifference as he called out her second ce.


    Candi smiled but said nothing when he congratted her on third ce. She was truly d he did not offer to stuff the Cobra head.


    Valeria Marakesh was in too much pain to even manage a smile at Lorem Ipsum''s bright grinning face. Fourth ce was nothing to celebrate, on top of a broken wing that needed splinting.


    When he finally reached Bethany, at thest dais, he clicked his tongue with feigned sympathy.


    "Tch. Tch. I see you were not able to kill the Majestic Lion within the forest." He sighed. "Looks like it nearly killed you, instead."


    He waggled a finger.


    "We released these beasts into the forest so you would have a Predator Beast to hunt, but since it''s still out there, it looks like we will have to send in the wardens to clear out this dangerous beast."


    "Luckily, since Helene forfeited her spot early on, each of you simply needed to show up on the tform and you would have been assured of a spot to continue thepetition. Nevertheless, you''re all here and safe."


    Upon hearing that, Bethany''s shoulders slumped.


    Lorem Ipsum turned back to the visuals-gathering pods.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen. I hope you enjoyed the Event. This concludes today''s Avgo Competition entitled Strength and Vitality."


    He opened his arms wide.


    "Our next event will be held one week from today, at the Celestial Pantheon. The criteria will be Brilliance and Intellect. We hope to see you then!"


    As the sounds of cheering and apuse rose up into the silence of the forest clearing where the tform was ced, Lorem Ipsum raised a fist into the air, as if he was cheering on the contestants.


    "That''s a wrap!"


    The final sounds came from the visuals-gathering hover pods and they all ascended into the sky as one, returning to wherever they hade from.


    The deep silence of the afternoon forest returned with the departure of the visuals-gathering pods.


    Lorem Ipsum turned back to the women.


    This time, his face was dark and full of anger.


    "No more infighting!" He pointed to each of the contestants.


    "There are five morepetitions to go through. The next person who decides they''re going to go on a rampage is going to be the one that gets kicked out first."


    He turned to Bethany. "Do you understand?"


    The red phoenix bird woman was clearly in the wrong and was barely hanging onto the event by ragged fingernails. The only reason why she was not thrown outpletely was because there was ack of evidence.


    In an event where every second was media gold and all the contestants actions were captured from multiple angles by multiple visuals-gathering pods, there was not a single visual of Valeria and Bethany fighting at all.


    Bethany''s world hadpletely bought out and paid off the entire visuals-gathering media pods.


    Bethany turned her head, looking away into the distance. As long as she survived this round, her people would protect her.


    The various worlds had already begun to descend to pick up the women. Five gleaming brass pods touched down and a dozen cougar humans swarmed out to meet up with Jenna.


    Half a dozen ck pods also flew in with winged raven humans. They brought a stretcher and carried Valeria away into thergest pod.


    The phoenix people had also touched down with their red pods, pulling out a second stretcher for the incapacitated Bethany Dresden.


    Meanwhile, pale blue sslike spheres floated down to pick up the silicon ss Ana?se Paroles.


    Thankfully, the Earth world group stayed away. Candace only had the one pod with the one te. His was among the first hovercrafts tond.


    As soon as she saw therge muscr frame of the Seventh Prince of Erenveil emerged from the craft, Candi grinned broadly and pranced down off the tform, running towards him.


    Her Prince hade for her!

 Chapter 43 - Across The Universe

    One of the event workers tried to call her back to pick up her cobra head from the tform but she ignored the man.


    She could hardly wait to leave that stinky thing behind. At the very least, she was not about to bring it onto te''s pristine white transport pod.


    te had changed from his crisp white shirt and cks into the ckbat bodysuit that matched hers.


    His long ck hair flew behind him as he jumped off the few steps and met her partway across the expanse..


    The women all looked on with jealousy.


    Although he was not the Crown Prince at the end of the Avgo Event rainbow, he was still the hot and sexy, drool-worthy Seventh Prince of Erenveil.


    His gaze held deep concern and a touch of frustration that it had taken so long for the event to end but he said nothing as he took her arm and escorted her into the white hover pod.


    Once the door of the pod slid shut and they had taken off into the sky, he pulled her into his arms and sank his face into her neck. His lips began nuzzling her and his hands gripped her body with the hunger and intensity of a starving man.


    "te. No!" She protested and tried to pull away.


    "Why not? You didn''t protest when I gave you a good luck kiss." te grinned deviously. "This is just a congrattory kiss."


    "te." She pushed at his hard chest. "I''ve been rock climbing and fighting off snakes and cobras. I''m filthy and I stink of dirt, sweat, and snake blood."


    "Hmmmm. Dirt, sweat and snake blood. Why does that sound so tasty to me?" He murmured as he rubbed her back and head with gentle probing fingers.


    "Maybe it''s because you''re a blood bat?" She suggested with a lightugh.


    "Hmmmm. Maybe¡­" he murmured as his forehead touched hers. His nose began rubbing tiny circles on her cheeks.


    "It doesn''t look like you''re hurt anywhere, but I''ll have to double check your entire body to make sure you don''t havecerations or bruises or contusions anywhere."


    "I''m not joking, te. It was pretty intense for a bit there. I''m literally covered in gunk and snake parts."


    He sighed and crushed her into his arms.


    "Candace, I''m a battle-hardened warrior who has gone through so many bloody gory battles in my life. Do you think a bit of ''gunk and snake parts'' is going to turn me off?"


    "But I feel really dirty!" She wailed.


    "Oh you are going to be the death of me!" He growled and rubbed her head with a bit of roughness.


    "I don''t care about how dirty you are. The fact that you pranced through this extremely tough event unscathed against all those vicious women is what''s turning me on, Woman!"


    "Those women are fierce!" Candace grimaced.


    "You scared me so many times today!" He muttered into her hair. "I nearly killed that fish woman. How dare shey a hand on you!!!"


    "Helene Cordera surprised me." Candi admitted into his chest.


    "She''s been banished from Erenveil." te growled a guttural sound deep within his chest. "There was a royal decree from my brother that she is no longer wee on this world."


    "Your brother?"


    "The only brother I have who can issue a royal decree is Byron since he''s the only one working directly for the Crown."


    "Oh? Aren''t you working for Erenveil Empire as well?"


    te stared at her for a moment and the shook his head.


    "I am the Prime Warrior of Erenveil, but it is an entity that is independent of the Crown itself."


    "Why is it independent?"


    "It''s part of a system of checks and bnces. In the event that someone rises to the position of Emperor and turns into a despotic dictator, it''s my job to make sure no autocrat is allowed to destroy Erenveil Empire. I can''t do that if I''m part of the Crown."


    Candi nodded with understanding. If there was a Warrior ss of rulers in Erenveil, then the Crown''s job was most likely a political one.


    "Are we heading back to the Royal Pce?"


    te shook his head.


    "Our Father has decided it would be better if you were to stay elsewhere since it would seem as if we are showing favoritism, allowing you to stay in the Royal Pce when Byron is the winning prize of the Event."


    "About that." Candi pulled away. "I''m not sure how I feel about having to marry Byron if I take first ce."


    te pressed his lips together.


    "Erenveil is not a ce that you could simplynd on and decide you would like to live here. This is a world that only Erenveil citizens are allowed to call ''home''."


    "Is that why the Earth delegates kept saying I was a defection risk?"


    "Yes. After the Avgo event, everyone must return to their home worlds. The only one who is allowed to remain on Erenveil is the woman who will marry into the royal lineage."


    His brows furrowed as he continued his musings.


    "Normally, that is something that is perfectly eptable since Erenveil has plenty of visitors from all over the gxy. In your case, it would not be good for you to return to Earth."


    "Yes, I know. Byron has told me that if I do not win this event, no one will be able to stop the Earth Ambassador from arresting me on all those trumped up charges."


    "Then there is nothing to discuss or debate." te reached out and rubbed Candi''s head. "You MUST win."


    "Would that mean I have to marry Byron?"


    te was silent for awhile. His blue eyes fixed their gaze on some distant object.


    Finally, he sighed.


    "That would be the assumption, yes. The prize is the Empress crown after all, and it can only be obtained by marrying the Crown Prince."


    Candi chewed on her lip as she weighed the possibilities.


    Avoiding deportation and arrest by winning the Avgopetition marrying a Crown Prince. It was just the strangest thing she had ever faced in her life.


    Both choices would tie her down in very different ways, but if she could remain in Erenveil, at the very least she would not be a convicted criminal.


    But that would only happen if she could win.


    "What if I don''t win?" She murmured, looking at the floor.


    te leaned in and whispered into her ear.


    "If you don''t win, I''ll just have to turn into a fugitive and escape with you across the Universe."

 Chapter 44 - The Touch Of You

    [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT]


    Before she could react, his mouth had touched her ear, gently nuzzling her with his warm soft lips. The fragile touch sent thrills down her spine.


    Before she could even react to those gentle caresses, he had entered her ear with his tongue.


    Candi gasped.


    A rumbling began in his throat, moving lower into his chest as he delved the tip of his tongue into her ear, probing and licking that delicate area.


    The ticklish feeling was churning her stomach into mush. She moved her head to avoid his probing tongue but there was no stopping him.


    He cradled her head with both hands and gently bit her outer shell all the way to her earlobe, and as she murmured a half-hearted protest, he began suckling her lobe.


    "Hahhhhh¡­" she gasped.


    How was it possible for te to instinctively know where her most sensitive areas were when even she herself did not know?


    "Hmmmmm. I love the taste of you¡­" he sighed as his fingers reached for the fasteners at her throat.


    "No more. I need a bath."


    te pulled back and gazed at her, his brilliant blue eyes sparkling with anticipation.


    "I thought you''d never ask."


    With a wave of his fingers at the ceiling, the empty center of the transport pod transformed into the familiar round bathtub. There was a sound of water bubbling into the tub as it began to fill.


    "You like flower scented bubbles, I remember that." He smiled as the delectable scent of night jasmine and orchids floated out from the tub.


    As the warm water began to rise from within the tub, steam began billowing from the surface, rising gently into the interior of the pod.


    Another wave of his hand and the lights had dimmed down to the lumens of a handful of candles.


    "You like Earth piano music. That I also remember." He murmured as his hands began roaming towards all the hidden fasteners of the bat body suit.


    From somewhere, soft strains of Debussy''s ire de Lune filled the air.


    As he began undoing them with the swiftness that only one who has worn such clothing regrly would know how to undo, he continued cooing to her gentle reassurances.


    "The suit is fitted tightly so you can do your work, but you must take it off afterwards so your body has a chance to breathe and rx."


    He stripped the suit off her,yer byyer.


    "Come now. Breathe deeply for me Candace."


    She began breathing.


    Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.


    His voice was warm and soothing, and he was making her more and more rxed.


    In minutes, she stood before him, perfectly formed andpletely exposed to his eyes.


    She cast her eyes downward as shyness began to overtake her. It wasn''t has if he had never seen her body, during the times when he was healing her of welts and bruises.


    Without a word, he picked her up and took her over to the tub. Gently, hey her down into the fluffy scented bubbles.


    Then, in one quick move, he had stepped into the tub behind her.


    Candi''s eyes widened with rm.


    "What are you doing?"


    "Don''t be rmed. I''m going to sit behind you and wash your hair. Just rx."


    He eased her body into the water until she waspletely submerged except for her face, and then slowly, he pulled her back up into a reclined position, resting up against his hard chest muscles.


    As he slowly began massaging the soap into her hair and body, Candi felt as if she was melting into the water. It was so warm, and she had been pushing her body to the limit all day.


    Feeling her body rx under his ministration, te began to massage her body.


    In between his deep tissue massage, he began touching her shoulders, and then her neck, dropping kisses in random spots and when she least expected them.


    "te?"


    "Hmmmm?" His voice hummed as he mped his teeth on her skin and suckled hard, leaving a dark mark.


    "te. What are you doing?"


    "You taste so good."


    Suddenly, his movements increased with intensity. His lips and tongue began consuming her skin like a starved wolf devouring his first prey in ages.


    "Haaahhh. Woman, for so many nights, I have been thinking about your sweet flesh. I am starving..."


    He pressed himself against her back and she gasped, feeling a very hard bump pressing up against her body.


    As his kisses hungrily moved over her nape, he made new dark red kiss marks on her shoulders and back.


    His hands found her nipples and began tugging them between his thumbs and fingers, starting a tingling sensation that traveled immediately to her lower body.


    He continued teasing them with a vicious pinch, only to bring about relief with every pull he enacted. The sensation was overwhelming and awakened something carnal from the depths of her womanhood.


    Candi gasped with pleasure.


    "Aren''t you supposed to¡­to not touch me, or something like that?"


    "Not touch you?" He nibbled her ear, grasping her breasts from behind with both hands. "Who said that?"


    Candi gasped. "Didn''t your father say you weren''t supposed to touch me?"


    "Hmmm. Did he say that?" he paused to nt more kisses on her neck. "My brain is a bit foggy at the moment¡­"


    His left hand continued to fondle her breast while his right hand slowly reached downward, past her lower abdomen, into the depths between her thighs.


    As his fingers traced a path into the folds of her flower, he breathed a sigh into her ear.


    "Oh Candace. What are we going to do?"


    He gently slid his fingers across herbia and spread them wide.


    "I cannot hold myself back no matter how hard I try."


    He slowly made his way between the folds of her petals and caressing them, rubbing them up and down several times, just to watch her squirm before finally opening them up.


    te began tickling her, ying with her sensitive bud. His fingers continued stroking, gently at first, but then increasing in tempo as her breathing elerated.


    Candi hissed, closing her eyes as his fingers focused on the sweet spot in between her legs. She held still, trying to keep her body from betraying her with its desire to be loved by this man, but it kept reaching for his touch despite her best efforts.


    She moaned and shuddered, unable to hold herself back from the pleasurable sensation his fingers were creating as he slid his fingers in and out of her body, stimting the juices to begin running.


    "Ah. There is your nectar." He whispered gently into her ear.


    Candi squeezed her eyes shut. His fingers felt so good, she was barely able to keep her mind on their conversation.


    "Why¡ªwhy did the Emperor say you are not supposed to touch me?"


    te froze. His fingers paused mid-y.


    "Because you are not mine to touch," he whispered with frustration.


    "But Baby, I cannot stop myself," he mumbled against her skin, his fingers once again roaming all over her body.


    "Even if I fail and lose everything, I need to feel you, to caress you. Damn it! I need to taste you!"

 Chapter 45 - The Taste Of You

    [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT]


    For a moment, te crushed her body into his, and then with herculean effort, he pushed her away.


    "We can''t stay in the water." te sighed. "I cannot control myself when we are entwined like this. I could drag you under from pure desire and drown the both of us."


    te rose from the water and picked her up.


    As he stepped out, the tub began to drain and within minutes, was slowly sinking into the floor.


    He ced her on the console chair and covered her with a warm fluffy towel as the round bed began to rise from the center of the pod.


    "Let''s take advantage of this traveling time to rest a bit. You''ve had a very long and hard day."


    Candi nodded. She had been up before the sun this morning, testing her gear.


    "Where are we going?"


    "We''re going to go hang out with my brother, Dante."


    Candi nodded as an image of the blue haired man shed into her mind.


    "I haven''t seen him since I got here."


    "He doesn''t live on Erenveil. He has his own moon circling the."


    "How long does it take to get to his moon?"


    "Less than an hour."


    "It''s been far longer than an hour, te."


    "Hmmmm." te began to strip his wet clothes off. "I took the long way."


    She averted her eyes. te had no sense of shyness as he paraded around without a stitch of clothing.


    "Long way? As in all the way around the?"


    te turned and grinned.


    "I overshot the moon by a couple of hours and now we''re turning back around."


    Candiughed.


    "I hope they don''t think we''re in any danger since we''re sote."


    "I''m the Prime Warrior of Erenveil. It''s my job to protect you. They know if you are with me, you are safe."


    He led her to the bed.


    "Come. Get into bed. It will be a couple of hours before we reach Dante''s Moon."


    He pulled the covers and nudged her forward until she was lying almost at the center of the round bed. Then he slipped in between the sheets with her.


    For a few minutes they simplyy there, enjoying the warmth of the covers and each other''s bodies.


    But then te''s hands began wandering and touching her again. His moist tongue began licking her neck, his lips kissing her face. He moved his lips upward nuzzling her cheeks, his hot breath tickling her face.


    "te¡­" she mumbled.


    "Hmmmm?" He mumbled something intelligible as he began nibbled on her earlobe.


    This close to te, she could feel his body temperature. He was feverish and warm to the touch.


    "I thought we were supposed to be resting."


    "We are. This is restful. Isn''t it?"


    She grimaced.


    "Not¡ªnot really."


    te barely opened his eyes.


    "This is just a dream. I can do whatever I want."


    He began caressing her inner thighs. His fingers stroked her buttocks and her legs.


    "This is not a dream." She pinched his arm.


    "Hmmmm. Convince me otherwise."


    He reached down between her thighs and dipped his fingers in between her lips, dragged her juices up and over her throbbing flesh until her swollen petals and bud were covered with her nectar.


    Candi gasped, shivering with ecstasy.


    "Hmmm. My woman''s honey pot is full to bursting. I want a taste of honey." He murmured as he began moving his body against hers, almost as if he could not help himself.


    His swollen shaft was hot and hard against her lower back.


    "te." Candi tried to push his arm away. "You''re not supposed to be doing this."


    "Woman, I am at the end of my limits. I can''t fight it any more."


    He slowly lowered himself until his face was inches from her stomach, his long ck hair, tickling her thighs, his dazzling blue eyes looking up at her.


    She could feel his warm breath in between her legs, drawing ever nearer.


    "What are you doing. te¡­"


    His eyes burned with desire as he pushed her legs wider with his hands. Wrapping his arms around her thighs, he forced her open and lowered his lips onto her swollen bud.


    "You--you ?" She panted furiously. "Is that even legal???"


    In response, his head dipped down and he began dragging his tongue around her tight pink bud in gentle trailing circles. She gave a swift intake of breath as his soft lips closed in, suckling and nuzzling her clit.


    "Ahhhhh," Candi mewled, shivering with delight as his tongue darted in quick sessions, building up waves of desire coursing through her body.


    The more she quivered and moaned, the more insatiable desire built up within him.


    As her hands tugged his hair begging for him to continue and stop all at the same time, he continued without respite, bringing her closer and closer to the edge with each stroke of his masterful tongue


    He paused for a moment as his fingers spread her lips wide, and then his tongue entered her.


    Candi choked back a sob from the ecstasy of his probing tongue, diving deep in between the folds of her flesh. Her hips shook with his every thrust, and her back arched higher, desperately reaching for more as he continued tasting her juices.


    She unconsciously pulled on te''s hair, pushing his face deeper into her folds. "Uhhhhh. M--more. Deeper. " She moaned.


    "Not yet, Baby." he muttered thickly. "You''re still a virgin. I can''t go too deep yet."


    "I want¡­"


    "Not yet."


    He reinserted his tongue and built up the speed of his thrusting inside her.


    Candi gasped in pleasure, her fingers grabbing the sheets in a desperate attempt to keep from falling into the abyss of rapture.


    But it was toote.


    As her thighs shook with the effort, her petals gushed and spasmed, throbbing from his tongue''s intense stimtion.


    She felt his warm breath over her moistbia.


    "Madly, intensely, beautiful." His deep, muffled voice, rumbled from between her legs.


    "My sweet Candi. You don''t know how sweet you taste."


    He rose and ced his body over hers, resting his hard throbbing member directly over her womanhood.


    Her legs were still wide open and she could feel the heat of hisrge swollen manhood tickling her bud, causing her me of desire toe roaring back into a hot burning fire.


    She wanted him inside of her.


    "I want you..."


    "Not yet." He shushed her with a deep kiss.


    "We will consummate our union, I promise you. Just not yet." He sighed, raising his head and gazing deeply into her eyes.


    "I promised my family I would keep you safe and your virginity intact, until the Avgo Event isplete. I did not think I had to keep you safe from myself as well."


    "Hold still for me, just for a few minutes. A few minutes more¡­"


    Then, he gathered her into his arms and held her, whispering gently unintelligible words of passion.

 Chapter 46 - Overshoot The Moon

    Interactions between te and Candi changed after that. It was subtle, but it was clear, at least to te.


    He was no longer the warrior in charge of keeping her safe until she couldplete her Avgo Event. He was the warrior in charge of keeping her safe¡ªperiod.


    In words and in deeds, te could never allow her to fall into Earth''s legal system to rot in some prison for an indefinite number of years.


    As Candace slept in fitful stops and starts, he raised the covers over her bare shoulders threw a robe over his naked body. Then he took a seat at the egg-shaped console chair to set a new course.


    They were already approaching Dante''s Moon, but he wanted to extend flight time by just a little so she could get the rest her body so desperately needed.


    The pod changed its trajectory slightly and began heading off into a new direction slightly beyond Dante''s Moon.


    Dante, no doubt, would be monitoring te''s tiny transport pod to make sure they made it safely to his moon.


    He would have seen the yo-yo effect of te''s pod, overshooting the destination in one direction and then turning around and overshooting again in the other direction. It would seem as if te was either a terrible navigator or his ship had faulty engines.


    te chuckled quietly to himself.


    Dante was his sharpest brother. He would have figured out that te was simply buying some time before delivering the girl into his brother''s care for the week.


    te didn''t care. Dante would be with her for seven days while he would have to go deal with the unpleasantries that none of his brothers wanted to deal with.


    He sighed as the pod swung away from Dante''s Moon. It was starting to get to that point when he needed to feed her.


    He tapped a console and began choosing from the menu, some dishes which looked as if they could be good dinner items. They weren''t of the quality that a chef could provide, but on a ship this size, it was pretty good.


    te cracked a grin again as he thought of Dante''s carefully nned celebratory dinner that was probably, at this very moment, being prepared andid out with care by the best chefs that unlimited wealth could provide.


    All of the Princes were abundantly wealthy, but Dante''s wealth was in a realm unto himself because it was the only thing he sought with single-minded determination.


    While his other brothers went after political power, fame, artistic pursuits, or altruistic callings, Dante went after wealth.


    With that wealth came an istion that was self-fulfilling. Who in the world would acquire their own moon and turn it into a traveling just because they didn''t like to deal with people or transport pods?


    Only Dante.


    "Hmmmm. I''m sorry. I think I identally fell asleep." A small female voice chirped out like a tiny bird on his bed.


    "You''re awake." He turned to her, just in time to see a tiny pale heart-shaped face poke out from under the covers.


    "Yes. Are we getting close to Dante''s Moon? I''m hungry."


    teughed and turned back to the console where he tapped in directions to re-orient the pod.


    He had run out of time. She was awake and hungry.


    It looked like Dante''s celebration party would not go to waste after all.


    He turned to her.


    "We should bending in about fifteen minutes."


    "Eeeek!" She gave a tiny shriek. "I need to get dressed." She looked around the spotless pod. "Where are all my clothes?"


    "You mean the bloody, dirty, torn thing I pulled off you?" te grimaced. "I threw them into the incinerator to be used as fuel for the pod."


    "Aaaaahhh!" She gasped. "You burned all my clothes??? What have you done? I don''t have anything to wear!"


    teughed.


    "Have you forgotten that Jared and Jason made you several outfits? I happen to have them here."


    Candace scratched her honey blonde head.


    "But they''re all ball gown types of clothes for parties and such."


    "That would be quite appropriate since we are heading directly to a party that Dante is throwing on your behalf."


    He gave a gesturedmand at the pod and a panel opened up in the ceiling, dropping down a long bar with a dozen outfits hanging on soft hangers.


    "Let''s see. How about this one?" He pulled out a deep royal purple dress made of creamy velvet with touches of gold on the frilled edges of the neckline and the fingertip length of the generous sleeves.


    "That''s for an evening soir¨¦e."


    "Perfect." te nodded and would not listen to any of Candace''s protests.


    It didn''t take long for them to change into appropriate clothing. To apany her, te had also changed into a dark suit with a purple tie that matched her dress. He had also tied his long ck hair into a low ponytail, throwing the sharp angle of his cheekbones and strong jaws into prominent disy.


    Tree Trunk te had been reced with the sleek and refined Seventh Prince of Erenveil.


    He was sliding the thin gold tiara onto her head when the pod automaticallynded within traction distance of the moon and was captured and pulled within.


    "Enjoy yourself here, Candace." te spoke to her as they waited for the pod to open up and let them out. "It is a beautiful paradise."


    Candace nodded in a distracted manner.


    "You have a week to recover from the physical trauma of the Strength and Vitality Event so you can be at your best for the Brilliance and Intellect Event."


    "Are you going to be there with me?" Herrge hazel eyes looked at him hopefully.


    He shook his head with regret.


    "For the next three or four days, I have to take care of a few important security details, but we have all talked it over and Dante will keep you safe until I return."


    "Why can''t I stay with you?" Candi asked him with furrowed brows. "I would prefer it."


    te sighed and shook his head.


    "Where I am going, it is too dangerous and I cannot protect you adequately."


    Candace looked away, missing the look of deep regret in te''s eyes. He did not want to send her away either.


    From the moment she had met up with them, she had being handed from one man to another every day that she had been in Erenveil. From himself, to Jason and Jared, onto Byron, and now Dante, she had not been in any stable sort of environment.


    What was worse was that she was now an Earth fugitive, unable to return to her home. She was an exquisite dressed and much adored vagabond.


    "Don''t worry too much, Candace." te murmured. "You have five more events to have to survive through. Just focus on the next one."


    Candaceughed with a touch of panic.


    "The next Event''s criteria is Brilliance and Intellect. What does that mean?"


    te smiled.


    "It is most likely the easiest one for you to pass through. The Event measures each candidate''s intelligence level."


    "As in an intelligence test?"


    te nodded.


    "It will be the only Event that you will not bepeting against someone else. Your intellect will be measured."


    "And then what? Another elimination round whereby the stupidest one out of the five of us gets dropped?"


    teughed.


    "Something like that."


    "How do I prepare for this type of intelligence test?"


    te shook his head.


    "You can''t. You will either already have the innate ability to reason through situations or you won''t."


    He held out his hand to her as the pod door slid open.


    "Ready?"


    Candace smiled and took his hand as they both walked out of the transport pod doorway.

 Chapter 47 - Dantes Moon

    Dante''s moon was a curiosity. On the outside, it looked just like Luna from Earth.


    It was a gray almost spherical orb that sported numerous speckled pockmarks from ancient meteorite bombardments.


    But that was where the simrities ended.


    For starters, it was much smaller in diameter than Luna. It was also hollow, with livable spaces embedded within its 200 kilometer radius.


    Furthermore, it was equipped with gravity fields as well as a trans-gctic space drive that could traverse through the universe. It was essentially a space craft that looked like a wandering moon.


    Candi frowned as she tried to recall Dante''s face, but all she could remember was his spiky blue hair. The past few days had been such a blur of activities and he had not shown his face during the entire time.


    "It will be fine. We''re just going to go have dinner." He reassured her, seeing her slight frown.


    Candi smiled and grabbed onto te''s outstretched hand. He had mistaken her frown for apprehension, but after having seen how kind the other brothers were, she wasn''t all that worried about Dante''s disposition.


    She just didn''t want te to leave. For better or worse, he had turned into her security nket.


    As soon as they stepped out of the pod, they found themselves in arge hangar type of chamber where a dozen other transport pods simr to te''s pod were parked.


    They were in a multitude of colors and shapes, some smaller, somerger than the one they had just exited.


    "Dante''s exclusive collection of pods. Impressive isn''t it?" te grinned, looking around.


    Candi nodded, not sure exactly what was impressive about the pods since she knew nothing about them at all.


    A group of men arrived on several hover tforms, thergest of which had soft cushioned cream leather chairs arranged in a circr seating arrangement around a low table filled with fruits and drinks.


    te led Candi towards thergest hover tform and led her up the few steps that extended as soon as they got close enough to trigger the motion detector.


    "Have a seat. The ride should be no more than ten or fifteen minutes. I parked in the closest hangar to the main pce."


    There was more than one hangar???


    The tform began moving swiftly through wide corridors made of white ster with regr steel beam girders. They seemed to stretch out forever in an endless series of connecting tunnels.


    As they traveled towards their destination, one of the men poured hot tea into tiny dainty cups that looked like pink tulips on green leafy saucers.


    te reached out with his tree trunk arms and barely touched the cup with hisrge hands before withdrawing.


    "Damn Dante and his cutesy cups. I need something a little more¡­"


    "Manly?" Candi suggested with augh behind her hands.


    He gave her a wry look.


    "I was going to say more durable. This looks so fragile I''m almost afraid to touch it."


    In response, the server set a rock ss in front of te and held out a bottle. te nced at it and nodded and the server poured some amber looking liquid into the rock ss.


    "This is more my speed." He sighed and picked up the ss. With one toss, he swallowed the entire content of the ss.


    The tform ride ended all too soon and they reached arge internal courtyard filled with trees that reached upwards into a bright blue sky filled with birdsong and a bright sun overhead.


    "What time is it? How could it be high noon?" Candi gasped with wonder as she looked around the lush garden with arge fountain at the center filled with dancing nymphs and arge centaur chasing them around the water sprays.


    "We''re inside a moon, Candace. It can be whatever timeframe you wish." te kept his hand at the small of her back, guiding her through the winding paths as they made their way towards therge gilded double doors.


    As te threw the doors open, the noise within ceased. There were people milling around, all dressed up in ball gowns of all colors and fancy suits that were of the best quality, but they seemed to have paused whatever they were doing and were simply staring at the open doors.


    The silence reached out through the cavernous chamber lit with a dozen enormous crystal chandeliers hanging high above on the ceiling that was painted with a fresco of blue skies and clouds, and cherubs flying about.


    The walls were covered with gilded carved wood and blue brocade fabrics. The floor was a mosaic of a pale blondwood parquet flooring that was shining with the kind of clean hard surface that begged to be danced on.


    Candi was so busy looking around at the sight that she almost missed the hand that reached out for her.


    "Candace." A deep voice called out.


    Candi blinked and turned startled eyes at the tall man with a shock of spiky blue hair that almost touched the top of his shoulders. He had full shapely lips and sparkling green eyes that were gazing at her with amusement.


    "It seems you''ve fallen in love with my dance floor." He threw his arms wide.


    "It''s beautiful! This room is amazing." She gave a nervousugh. Thest time she had seen Dante was at the top of the Hotel Tower right before she left Earth.


    "I''m d you like it. I had it especially prepared for you so you can dance to your heart''s content."


    Candi''s jaw dropped. The ce was huge! It was almost the size of a football field. How in the world was she supposed to dance through a ce thisrge?


    "You two must be hungry. Let''s go to the dinner hall and start the feast." He wound his arm around Candi''s other arm and led her to the dining hall, with te following behind.


    As they moved towards the dining hall, the guests followed them and soon, the dining hall was filled with people.


    He seated her at the head of the table as servers filled her te high with food.


    Dante sat on her right side, plying her goblet with wine while te sat on her left, watching everything with a gentle smile.


    His Candace would be safe here.


    It looked as if there were dozens and dozens of guests at her weing celebratory party but in reality, each guest was a highly trained personal guard; their only job, to keep Candace safe.


    He could leave and go into battle knowing she would be safe.

 Chapter 48 - The CEO Of The CEOs

    "So, Candace. Has my brother informed you of the scores and tallies up to this point?"


    "Scores and tallies of what?"


    "The Avgo contest." He pped a hand and arge virtual screen appeared in front of everyone.


    The visual had charts and graphs, much like what would have been seen in a business boardroom conference.


    Dante stood up and began discussing the information, as if he was the CEO speaking to his VPs and Directors of management.


    "Take a look at the visuals for your scoring, Candace." He waved a hand and the visual zoomed in on a bar graph with eight names.


    "You see where you are, in rtion to the other contestants?" He pointed to the chart.


    The first name, Dahlia Halloway, had a strike-out line at the starting point. Second to be eliminated was Olivia Faraday. Neither Dahlia nor Olivia managed to gain any points on the board.


    The third one to fall off the board was Helene Cordera. She had struggled with the Face and Grace event,ing in deadst.


    Candi grimaced as she remembered striking the final blow and cracking Helene''s spine.


    "It is possible to earn 100 points for each event if you win first ce. Coming in second gives you 90 points. Third gets 80, and so on and so forth."


    He turned back and smiled at Candace.


    "Since you won first ce in the Face and Grace event, you got a full 100 points for thatpetition."


    The room gave a loud apuse.


    "In Strength and Vitality, due to having been dyed at the very start by Helene Cordera, you didn''t get first ce. Still, you managed to snag third position which gave you 80 points for a total of 180 points."


    The room again apuded.


    "At this point, you and Jenna are neck to neck since she won first position in Strength and Vitality, and third in Face and Grace which also gives her 180 points."


    "However," he held up a finger. "Take a look at this."


    He snapped his fingers and the visuals began with the shrieking and screaming of the contestants on the tform.


    A whirlwind of high intensity swirled around a tall cylindrical ss formation that had been magically created around the tform.


    "This is the bonus event that we weren''t even supposed to have."


    The visual showed Dahlia Halloway clinging onto Candace''s legs in desperation as she was being bodily lifted off the tform by the wind surge.


    "Aaaaaaahhhh!!! Candace, help me!!!" Dahlia Halloway could be heard screaming as she clung onto Candi.


    Candi saw herself looking at Lorem Ipsum with something akin disgust. Her voice could clearly be heard over the noise of the wind and the screaming candidates.


    "Avgo. Shut down the wind!"


    Instantly, the wind obeyed hermand, dropping Dahlia like a bag of rocks onto the floor.


    Everyone in the room stood up and apuded.


    "The initial event wasn''t supposed to count since there was an impostor who tried to take over your position." Dante announced with barely suppressed triumph.


    "But that event, the ''Avgo Verification'', was given bonus points due to its spectacr results with the viewing audience. Ratings went through the roof with the Avgo Verification Event and has been rising ever since."


    Dante raised a ss filled with red wine.


    "A toast, to our magnificent and beautiful rising star of the Avgo Event, Candace Farrah. May she soar through the Avgo with the grace of the goddesses!"


    As everyone cheered and drank to the toast, Dante turned back to Candi.


    "In this Avgo event, you won the bonus prize of an extra ten points for shutting down the magic whirlwind, for a grand total of 190 points, as of today."


    He waved his hand and a final image showed her ahead of the pack.


    "Congrattions, Candace. You are the front-runner of the Avgo Event thus far."


    "Thank you." Candi nodded with a smile. She was still a little confused about the entire thing, but luck had held her up so far.


    Dante waved both hands into the air and all visuals disappeared. Instantly, music swelled up from the stage area, where live musicians were ying various instruments, some of which Candi could not even recognize.


    As the party continued into the night, Candi was constantly plied with food and drink.


    She was encouraged to dry a spoonful of this and a bite of that. Everything passed by in a huge blur, none of which she remembered clearly because there was simply too much food and drinksing at such a fast pace.


    Towards the end of the meal, Candi was visibly beginning to wilt. After the third time Candi had to ask Dante to repeat what he was saying to her because she had nodded off to sleep, he ended the meal.


    "I was going to have dancing afterwards, but it looks like the only thing our Candace will dance to will be lubies." Dante smiled.


    "She''s had a hard day." te leaned over and helped her up.


    "I know. I watched the entire heroic struggle, several times and in slow motion." Dante took her other arm and they made their way out of the dining hall.


    As the brothers left her in the care of six female attendants who took her into the bedroom suite that had been specially prepared for her, they moved away, to the adjoining war room.


    The room was not huge. In fact, there was nothing in the room other than a long oval table with 24 chairs around its perimeter.


    Around the walls were ques and war weapons throughout the ages. Double axes, swords, firearms, phasers. There was even a whip and a ball-on-a-chain il.


    "Take a look at thetest item in my collection." Dante pointed to a que holding the head of a giant cobra that was hanging on the wall directly behind the head of the table.


    "Is that Candace''s beast head?" te narrowed his eyes as he peered at its two deep orange mandarine ga eyes.


    "Absolutely. When I saw her emerge from that forest with the cobra in her hand, I think my heart fell out of my chest and ran to her side." He sighed with ardor. "I''m keeping it for her until she decides she wants it."


    "She will never want this thing." te sniffed with disdain.


    "You never know." Dante shrugged.


    "Actually I do know. It''s you, who don''t know her very well."


    Dante smiled with anticipation.


    "I''ll have all the time in the universe to get to know her. I am looking forward to it all."


    te gave a harsh exhale.


    "What is your connection to all this, Dante?" He asked with measured tones.


    "What do you mean?"


    "Viewers don''t care that much about ratings, nor do they have any choice on how much bonus points are allowed. The only people who care are the ones who set up everything."


    Dante smiled.


    "I am a viewer, just as you are. I just have a bit more¡­pull with the organizers, is all."


    "Pull? As in advertising funds?"


    Dante turned back to te.


    "Are you saying I''m setting her up to win?"


    "I don''t know. Are you?" te stared at his brother.


    Dante gave a cold smile.


    "If I had that much pull, I''d set her up to lose. I''m sure if she lost, you would be perfectly happy, wouldn''t you, Baby Brother."


    te said nothing.


    "If she wins, she goes to the Crown Prince," Dante grimaced. "But if she loses, you might even get a chance to be with her."


    He held up a finger.


    "That is, after the rest of us get to pick the woman we want." Heughed.


    "You''re the Baby Brother." Dante leaned in closer.. "You getst choice."

 Chapter 49 - Proxy Body Double

    te gritted his teeth. His handsome face stoic and frozen.


    Dante leaned back with a satisfied chuckle and held up two fingers.


    "Second. Sometimes, being second is actually a huge blessing. Let me tell you something about being second, Baby Brother."


    "It''s very difficult to take first ce." He licked his lips in anticipation. "But it is very easy to get second. Actually, any ce after first is easy to get."


    "You sound like a moron." te scoffed.


    "On the contrary, te. I sound like a man who knows how to ce my bets. How do you think I can gain so much wealth, given the fact that my mother''s family is the poorest of all of our consort mothers? I know where to ce the bets."


    He turned his green eyes at te. "Your mother''s family owns more wealth than all the other mothersbined, and yet, it does note close to what I''ve been able to acquire."


    te narrowed his eyes.


    "Get to the point, Dante."


    Dante crossed his arms across his chest.


    "If it were up to me, Candace can win any ce she wishes except first ce. Just like you, I don''t want her to win first ce. That''s because I''m the second oldest, which means¡ªI get second choice."


    te froze.


    "Dante. If she does not win, Earth will go after her."


    "I can protect her from them."


    "How, Dante? How are you going to protect a fugitive? Even ourws don''t allow that sort of inter-gctic interference."


    "Laws can be changed if you throw enough money at it."


    "That takes time. Meanwhile, Earth is going to throw its armed forces at her."


    "You honestly think they care that much about one female?"


    te turned away, pretending interest in the cobra head behind Dante.


    "Do you know why I have to leave Candace here with you, Second Brother?"


    "Pray tell."


    "The Earth Ambassador has already proimed that Candace is the legal proxy female for Dahlia Halloway. In essence, her stuntwoman body-double. Anything she achieves will go to Dahlia."


    Dante jumped up from the table, his chair flying behind him. He threw a bolt of energy at the wall, causing a huge burn hole that destroyed the sabre hanging on its mounting frame.


    "They don''t dare!"


    te''s blue eyes were frosty.


    "Not only have they dared to do so, they have already done it. In their eyes, Dahlia Halloway is a royal princess. She shouldn''t have to physically do all the rough difficult things."


    "That''s preposterous!" Dante spat with intensity.


    te gritted his teeth.


    "It gets better. To them, Candace is a nobody¡ªa plebeian. To them, it is her duty and honor as amoner to win the event for the Princess Dahlia."


    "We''ve got to do something about this." Dante snarled, his green eyes bloodshot with rage. "Does Byron know?"


    "I don''t think so." te shook his head. "Father has been keeping him away from all of this because he truly has no choice at all. He''s stuck marrying the first ce winner."


    "We need to tell him." Dante yanked at his blue hair with frustrated hands.


    te stared at Dante. No matter what transpired between him and his brothers, Candace''s best interests were always first in their hearts.


    Being cheated of her Avgo wins because her world had legally dered it would go to someone else was absolutely uneptable to all of them.


    te nodded and waved a hand.


    Within a minute, the 3-D image of Byron popped up in front of them. His long red hair was tied up in a high ponytail and he had a band around his forehead.


    "I hope this is important. I''m in the middle of training."


    The visual zoomed out.


    Byron was half naked.


    His sculpted muscr torso was glistening with sweat and oil. Behind him were rows and rows of equipment used for body building.


    "How important is Candace to you?" Dante asked without preempting.


    Byron ripped the ck weight-lifting gloves off his hands and threw them to the ground.


    "What''s going on with my Princess???"


    "She''s not YOUR Princess, Big Brother." Dante asserted. "In fact, she''s not an Earth Princess at all. She''s only the LEGAL PROXY for the real Earth Princess, Dahlia Halloway, who is going to receive all the des and winnings that Candace gets."


    "What?" Byron''s eyes widened with disbelief. "Is that even possible?"


    "No, it''s not." te shook his head. "But it''s always been our policy to not interfere in other worlds'' legal policies as long as they don''t cause damage to any other worlds."


    "But this is affecting Erenveil!"


    "How?"


    "That''s my future wife they''re messing with!"


    "Your future wife is the winner of this Avgo contest," Dante corrected. "They''re not messing with that directive. They''re only saying that whatever Candace wins will go to the real Earth Princess, Dahlia Halloway."


    "How is that not messing with my future wife???" Byron shouted.


    "It means you get a wife, no matter what happens and whether or not Candace wins first ce. It does not affect the Avgo event at all."


    "And the two of you just sat back and allowed this to happen???"


    "Of course not." te scoffed. "My troops have been battling and taking pot shots at Earth warships ever since this Avgo Event started! Had I not done that, she would have been taken away by the Earth Delegates the very first night."


    te''s mouth pressed into a thin line.


    "I''ve been skirting the line between aggressive threats against an Alliance World and starting an inter-gctic war just to try and keep her safe."


    "In fact, there will be a nned skirmish soon and I have to be there to make sure it does not escte into full-blown war. That''s why she''s with Dante in his Moon right now."


    Byron sighed.


    "Good. Keep her within the Moon until it''s time for the next Event, then bring her straight back to Dante. You are our Prime Warrior. Youmand the entire space force of Erenveil." Byron shot te a fierce nce full of concern.


    "You are the only one who has the military power to be able to fight. Do what you must, but be careful, Baby Brother."


    te nodded.


    Byron''s red eyes grew even redder. His rage was so palpable, it was roasting the two brothers on the moon flying high above the Erenveil Royal Pce.


    "How dare they!!!" Byron grounded out. He yanked his hair tie off and threw it viciously to the floor. His hair sprang out in a wild red mane, making Byron look like an enraged male lion.


    te and Dante nced at each other.


    Between the three of them, there was a chance they could fight against this huge threat to Candace.


    Byron scratched his head with frustrated hands, walking back and forth, his body cutting a swathe through the conference table and back at them. He muttered half-swallowed curses of the most vile nature.


    And then he turned back to look at them with wild, untamed eyes as an idea took root within that wild untamed red head of his.


    "LUCAS!!!"


    Before te and Dante could ask him what he meant, Byron began muttering to himself.


    "Lucas is perfect. I have to get Lucas on. Give me a moment."


    Dante and te looked at each other. What did Lucas have to do with anything?

 Chapter 50 - The Royal Movie Star

    It took Byron three tries to get Lucas to answer.


    As it was, Lucas'' face finally popped into view of the three brothers on the threat of sending te to haul his ass back from the world of Lijian to their home world Erenveil.


    His face was covered in makeup and his golden hair with their pink streaks had been styled into a shimmering wave of pinks and golds with brilliant cut white diamonds scattered about in strategic sections.


    Like Byron, hisrge muscr chest and stomach areas were also bare. He wore nothing more than a pair of flesh-colored underwear that blended almost seamlessly with his body, but it wasn''t because he was body-building.


    It was because he was shooting a scene where he was making love to the leadingdy of the movie.


    "I am in the middle of shooting a movie. What in the world is so urgent that it can''t wait a couple of hours?"


    "Lucas. We need your help. Get on a transport pod ande home this instant." Byron snarled.


    "Are you crazy? I''m working right now!" Lucas zoomed out, showing a crowded set. The nude female actress was still on the nket in the sand, in front of an azure beach with gentle waves rolling onto pristine white sands.


    All around them were dozens of visuals crew, holding microphones, lights, and various equipment to create the scene of an isted beach where lovers were having intimate moments.


    "How much are they paying you, Lucas? I''ll triple it." Dante announced. "Get back here now!"


    "It''s not the money, Dante. It''s my reputation on the line. I can''t just abandon a worksite without good cause."


    Dante had no idea what Byron''s reasoning was for pulling Lucas from his job site, but he would be damned if he allowed a piddly thing as a movie to stop Lucas from lending his assistance at such a crucial time.


    "Lucas. You may not realize this, but that entertainmentpany is one small part of my empire of businesses."


    Dante waved a hand.


    "Don''t worry about the schedules. I''ll have Thornton dy it indefinitely. You will be able to resume this movie once we take care of this urgent business."


    Lucas sighed. Thornton was the CEO of the entertainmentpany. If Dante was Thornton''s boss, it was best just to hightail it out of there.


    He threw on a robe as an assistant ced a warm mug of tea in his hands.


    "Since you put it that way, I''m all yours. I needed to put on some clothes and warm up anyway." He shivered and warmed his hands on the mug.


    "How they expect me to act as if I''m having a hot and passionate love affair on a beach in the middle of a Lijian winter, I have no idea. All my male parts have shrunk to nothing."


    te and Dante looked at each other, their bodies shaking with mirth. Even Byron looked amused although he tried to hide it with a loud harrumph as if he was clearing his throat.


    Quickly, Byron detailed the situation that had just transpired between the Earth forces and Candace.


    As Lucas listened, his face began to change. He went from puzzlement to shock to rage and then back to dismay.


    "I''m not shocked that the Earth government is doing this. It''s their first Avgo involvement and they want the candidate of their choice to be a contestant for the chance of ruling beside you on the Erenveil throne." He shook his head with outrage.


    "But they are twisting this so far out of the realm of what is eptable. Do they not realize that the Avgo chooses the candidates, not the people, no matter how powerful the people may be?"


    "Obviously they do not understand this." Byron grounded out. "They want to manipte this entire thing until it turns into exactly what they want to have happen. That is why I need your help!"


    Lucas turned away, his deep amber eyes hooded by his droopy lids.


    "I''m the least of us brothers. I have very little power to do anything." He pursed his lips. It had been stained by the makeup artist to be a pinkish red that made him look good enough to eat.


    Byron sighed and turned to look at Lucas squarely in the eyes.


    "Lucas. You are the best looking one out of all of us. That is your power."


    "I''m just an actor, Byron."


    "Yes." Byron agreed. "You are a multi-world, multi-award-winning actor with billions of fans all over the gxy. Who has not heard of the handsome, brilliant Prince Lucas, the reigning star of the entertainment world?"


    "Few people know anything about us brothers and even fewer know what we look like because we always face the world with our bat masks on." Dante spoke up. "But Lucas. EVERYBODY knows who you are. You''re the face of the Erenveil monarchy."


    "Because of you, all the females in the gxy are in love with the idea of marrying Byron." te chuckled. "They are fighting to win the Avgo because they think all the Erenveil Princes look like you."


    "They just want my body." Lucas grimaced with a heavy sigh.


    Dante gave a shout ofughter.


    "Little Brother, do you not realize that Great Beauty is a super power? You have the lion''s share of charisma and abundant charm. Use it to your advantage!"


    "Fine. What do you want me to do?"


    Byron gave a slow smile as the idea began to cement in his head.


    "I want you to seek that Earth Princess, what''s her name?"


    "Dahlia Halloway." Dante prompted.


    "Yes. Dahlia fucking Halloway." Byron''s eyes glistened with devious intent. "I want you to go find her and sweep her off her feet."


    Lucas looked dubious.


    "What if she doesn''t like me? She''s got her heart set on you and your throne. I got nothing but my body."


    Byronughed.


    "Lucas, you''re an actor. Act!!!" He raised his arms into the air for emphasis. "Ply on your charms and good looks to the fullest. Buy her anything and everything she could possibly want."


    He indicated with his head at Dante. "Dante is going to foot the bill, so make sure you spend it asvishly as you possibly can." He narrowed his gaze thoughtfully.


    "Hell, fuck her if she wants that too. It''s just some physical exercise for you with a bit of a happy ending."


    Lucas grimaced and turned away.


    "Byron. I can''t just turn on my body like that. I can act like I''m interested but if I''m not, it''s going to look like this."


    His eyes were tragic as he pulled his robe apart and showed them a shriveled shrunken male body part that was shivering from the cold wind sting from the beachfront.

 Chapter 51 - A Kiss From A Rose

    The brothers gave pained expressions and looked away. Theypletely understood his reasoning.


    There was nothing physically wrong with Lucas. He just had very high standards. He was not the type of man who went around screwing every hole in the ground no matter how willing that hole was.


    "Okay, then tell her you''re saving each other for marriage. That way she can pretend to be chaste and you don''t have to pretend to be aroused by her."


    Lucas shivered with disgust.


    "I can''t even think about that woman without feeling all yucky, but if Candace is in trouble¡­"


    "Yes. Focus on Candace. She needs your help right now." Byron plied on.


    "And while you''re hanging out with that fake avgo female, if you can throw a monkey wrench in Earth''s ns to establish and insert themselves into Erenveil''s power structure, not only will our world owe you a great debt, you will also be saving Candace from arrest and imprisonment."


    "I don''t get it." Lucas scratched his perfectly styled head, wincing as white diamonds fell from their glued positions in his blondish pink hair. "How will seducing Dahlia help Candace?"


    Byron rubbed his jaw and gazed thoughtfully at Lucas.


    His idea was half-formted and didn''t quite extend to that part. Thankfully, te''s brilliant military mind, came through with the next part of the n.


    "If she insists that she is in love with you and does not want to take Candace''s ce, Earth power forces will be thrown into chaos."


    He threw out his hands.


    "I can then take advantage of that discord and strike with Ereveil''s military force, effectively silencing their dissent once and for all."


    Lucas''s face contorted like a mewling kitten.


    "I hope this works."


    =====


    The gentle strains of Mozart''s Eine kleine Nachtmusik was wafting through therge dance floor of the ball room.


    Within the dimly lit chamber was a single ballet dancer, twisting and turning her body to the music. Her strong legs kicked and twirled as she threw her hands out to embrace the music.


    Above the dance floor on the viewing balcony was a man who was riveted on her dancing form. He watched with breathless adoration as she moved through the music with expressive fingers and toes, throwing her body into the air andnding with grace.


    As the strains of the music died away, he stepped from his balcony and moved towards her with slow easy strides. In his arms was a bouquet of light pink roses.


    "Good morning, Princess."


    She turned to face him with a smile. It was a familiar smile that he had seen so many times on the visuals as she faced the challenges of the Avgo event.


    "Dante!" She called out with cheer, her eyes brightening as she saw the flowers in his hands.


    The Second Prince with the spiky blue hair and a tallmanding figure moved closer, holding the pink roses between himself and the ballet dancer.


    Peering over the top of the roses at her were sparkling green eyes that narrowed with smoky passion.


    Slowly, he leaned down and touched his shapely lips to one of the rose buds. Then he handed the bouquet to her.


    Candi reached out to receive the bouquet, not sure what to say.


    "Thank you. These are beautiful."


    "They''re trying to imitate you, and failing rather miserably, I''m afraid." He breathed as his intense gaze swept over her.


    Candi blushed, looking away. She felt as if he had just delivered the entire universe into her hands.


    He reached out and caressed a rose petal from the bouquet she was holding.


    "It''s still early. I wasn''t expecting you to already be up and dancing on your brand new ballroom floor."


    Candiughed.


    "I needed the practice. I hadn''t had a chance to do any since I left Earth."


    Dante smiled.


    "You dance so beautifully that I had this room created just for you when I found out that you would be staying here for a week. Please use this room to your heart''s content."


    "It''s beautiful." Candi breathed, looking around.


    While she was dancing, she noticed that the floor had been especially prepared for ballet. It had a slip resistant surface and a floating subfloor to cushion her jumps.


    She figured it was not a happy ident that Dante would just happen to have a ballet-friendly ballroom. It had been purposely set up.


    "What was this room before it was turned into a ballroom?"


    "It wasn''t. It never existed before you came into my life." He leaned in closer to her, inhaling the sweet scent of the roses.


    "I cleared out an unused section of solid rock and created a brand new space where you could dance and move around to your heart''s content."


    "But we''ve only just met a week ago. How could this ce be created within a week?"


    Dante shook his head.


    "No Candace. Two days." He held out two fingers.


    Candi''s jaw dropped. There was no way this ce could have been created within two days. It was just toorge of a space, and far too well-designed and decorated.


    "te told me you wereing to stay with me two days ago, so I had this ballroom created just in time for your arrival."


    "How?"


    Dante''s green eyes crinkled with amusement.


    "Magic."


    Candi rolled her eyes. It was always the same word that these Princes used every time she asked how something amazing was done.


    "Where is te?" She bent down to inhale the fresh sweet scent of the roses.


    "He had to leavest night, saying that the sooner he left, the sooner he could return."


    "He didn''t say goodbye." Candi looked away, a bit crestfallen. She had woken up early hoping to catch a sight of him before he left.


    "You were sleeping and he did not want to disturb you, but we could do a visual call after we have breakfast, if you would like."


    "Yes, please."


    Dante smiled.


    "Let''s go have breakfast then, shall we?"


    Candace nodded. Dancing all morning had made her super hungry.


    Outside the ballroom doors, there was a hovering tform which took them clear across the pce halls to the dining area.


    It was a tropical garden filled with hibiscus and azaleas and palms of all sorts surrounding a trickling streaming down from a natural rock enve. Song birds chirped high above, on the willows by the pond while tiny white butterflies fluttered about.


    Beside the small pond, there was an ornate gazebo which encircled a circr dining table covered with crisp white linens, there was a feast that was already being brought out by the suited servers that hovered everywhere around Dante.


    He sat her down and began feeding her from his own te.


    "Try this." He picked up a tiny tart pastry. "It''s the best jam in the universe. It''s made from special boysenberries that were obtained from the Moons of Coraline."


    His eyes softened.


    "Open your mouth." He brought the pastry to her lips.


    "Hmmm. It''s delicious!" She ate the pastry and licked her lips with the tip of her pink tongue. "Isn''t that where Bethany Dresdenes from?"


    Dante stared at her red mouth, mesmerized. He dropped hisshes to hide the hunger that sprang up suddenly.


    "Yes. I import much of the tropical exotic fruits from there."


    He picked up another item from his dish.


    "Try this beautiful flower petal dipped in pink sugar."


    He brought the pale pink petal to her lips. As she opened her mouth, the petal touched her lips and disintegrated.


    "Hmmm. It''s like cotton candy!" She eximed.


    Heughed gently.


    "It''s better. The petal actually contains an ingredient that boosts your energy level so you can stave off exhaustion, at least for awhile."


    Candi smiled. Caffeinated candied flowers! It was better than a cup of coffee!


    Dante continued to ply her with all sorts of foods from his te, feeding her until she could not swallow another bite. Once he was satisfied that she was full, he pped his hands. As the servers began clearing the table, he stood up.


    "Let me see if I can call up te so you can say good morning, at least."


    He waved a hand into the air.


    Candi looked up expectantly. She had seen te do this before and knew that it was a way to activate some sort ofmunication device.


    Nothing happened other than adybug zigzagging as it flew by.


    Dante tilted his head with a curious air. He waved his hand again.


    Again, Candi waited. A couple of song birds warbled high above them, but there was no sign of te, visual or voice.


    This time, Dante snapped a finger. Two attendants came rushing to his side.


    "Find out what''s going on with the Seventh Prince."


    "Yes, Your Royal Highness."


    The attendants began to group together, touching their ears and making contact with various other groups. A few minutester they returned to the gazebo, eyes downcast, head bowed.


    "Your Royal Highness, it seems as if the Seventh Prince has moved out of the range of ourmunication devices."


    Dante red at the attendant.


    "That''s impossible!"

 Chapter 52 - A Princes Ransom

    Dante turned back to Candace. He didn''t want to worry her, but he couldn''t lie to her either.


    "We''re having a little bit of trouble contacting te at the moment. It could be that he is simply cloaking himself to do a stealthy move and can''t answer us right now."


    He rubbed his brows, hoping she would ept thatme exnation.


    Candace nodded, seeming to ept what he said at face value. If only she knew that even with a cloaking maneuver, te should have still been able to respond to Dante, she would not be sitting there so calmly.


    "I need to contact my brothers. Stay here and wait for me."


    At her nod, he moved quickly away from Candace, into another part of the pce.


    "Hey, Byron." He reached out with a quick urgency.


    Byron''s face appeared in front of him. This time, Byron was dressed in royal robes and wearing his crown.


    "I''m just about ready to start court session. Has something happened to Candace?"


    "Not Candace. I can''t get in touch with te. He''s not responding on any frequencies. My men are trying to track him from hisst known position but it''s almost as if he''spletely disappeared."


    "Give me a minute to dismiss court." Byron waved a hand and his visual disappeared.


    A minuteter, Byron, Lucas, Leonardo, Jason, and Jared were all on visuals with Dante.


    "Byron told us you can''t get in touch with te." Leonardo quipped. "When did he leave your Moon?"


    "Roughly ten hours ago. I saw him off and then I went to sleep. I only tried to contact him a few minutes ago, after breakfast." Dante pulled a hand through his spiky blue hair.


    "Have you tried contacting his military Generals?" Byron asked.


    "My men are in directmunication with his men. I''m still waiting on word from them."


    "Can we send a small fleet to go find out what happened in that area of space?" Byron asked.


    Dante nodded.


    "I will send a half dozen first ss warships there as soon as my mene back with some solid intel."


    "You have, what¡­one-fourth the armed militia that Erenveil has?" Byron estimated.


    Dante shook his head.


    "My entire private military is roughly equivalent to 58% of Erenveil''s military forces."


    "You call 58% ''roughly equivalent''?" Leonardoughed. "What would be considered exact percentages?"


    Dante narrowed his gaze as he did a quick mental calction.


    "Exact percentages would be 58.395%, Leo."


    "That''s approaching a sizable number of military, Dante. If we didn''t know you well, we''d think you were trying to overthrow the current regime." Lucasughed.


    "I am only interested in making as much money as possible. I don''t care about running a government." Dante responded.


    Lucas nodded. They all knew exactly where Dante stood. He was above board and beyond reproach, the kind of businessman whose word was absolute gold.


    "Does it take that much militia to run your businesses?" Leonardo''s eyes widened.


    "I have to do a lot of intergctic business," Dante sniffed with disdain. "All my business dealings require protection from all sorts of threats."


    He shot a disgusted look.


    "Between space pirates, greedy corrupt governments trying to steal my products and profits, and gangs that extort ''protection money'' from my various businesses and enterprises, if I didn''t have highly armed private troops watching over everything, I would have been robbed blind."


    The brothers were still talking when one of Dante''s men rushed towards him.


    Dante turned to the man.


    "Speak."


    "Your Royal Highness. We found a dozen warships surrounding the area where the Seventh Prince was right before he disappeared from sensors."


    "From what world?"


    "Your Highness, the warships are from Emporia."


    All six Princes gasped.


    "Helene Cordera''s world." Byron breathed. "What gripe do they have with te?"


    "Your Highness, they have a message to the Royal Crown of Erenveil."


    "Read the message." Dantemanded.


    "Yes, Your Highness." The man waved a finger to ess his documents and read with fluent elegance.


    "To the Royal Crown of Erenveil. You are hereby given notice that you have twenty-four unit hours to hand over the Avgo female Candace Farrah."


    A collective gasp came from all the Princes, as the guard continued to read.


    "She is to be extradited to the Moons of Emporia and charged with assault on the body of the Princess of Emporia, Helene Cordera."


    "You''ve got to be shitting me!" Jason snarled. "Everybody and their grandmother saw that fish woman throw a knife at Candi and nearly killing her! That was self-defense!"


    "Yes. Thanks to that onerous Lorem Ipsum goat who documented everything, including his eyewitness ounts." Jared added.


    Dante and Byron bristled with rage, visibly turning red and then pale as a sheet.


    "There''s more, Your Highness." The guard cleared his throat.


    "Continue." Dante said in his usual brisk manner.


    "If the female Candace Farrah is not surrendered into the hands of the Emporium military within the timeframe given, after twenty-four hours, the Seventh Prince, te of Erenveil, will lose one finger for each hour that Candace Farrah is not turned over to the Emporium Kingdom."


    All the Princes reacted with rage and horror as Dante threw a bolt of energy at a nearby tree, engulfing it in mes.


    BOOM!!!


    "Dante!" A high female voice screamed out. "Dante, are you alright?"


    The five Princes on visuals could see, from a distance, Candace running over to Dante. Her small lithe form was graceful, even as she quickly sprinted to the Second Prince.


    Dante took a deep jagged breath as he fought to quell the rage that burned with intensity inside his body.


    How dare they threaten his Baby Brother with bodily injury! How dare they demand him to turn over his Soon-to-be Bride for extradition on their trumped up charges!


    "Dante!" Candace yelled as she raced up towards him. Reaching out to him with outstretched arms, she searched his face and body for signs of physical injury.


    "How close were you to that tree when it exploded? Are you burned anywhere? Are you hurt?" Her eyes were wide with fright.


    Dante breathed heavily, trying to contain his emotions. Reaching out, he pulled her into his arms and crushed her within his body.


    "I''m okay, Darling." He breathed into her hair. "We''re all going to be okay. You will be just fine as well. We''re not going to let anything happen to you or any of our family members. Right?" He turned to his brothers.


    All were in agreement. They gave nods of affirmative as they too, struggled to contain their rage so as to not scare Candace.


    "Absolutely." Byron nodded with a cold hard glint in his deep red eyes. "Dante. I''m going to go find te. Your job is to keep Candace safe. She is not to leave your moon for any reason."


    "You don''t even need to remind me." Dante heaved a sigh. "While I''m here protecting her, if you need my private militia, takemand of them as well."


    Byron nodded.


    Dante''s green eyes narrowed.


    "Who do they think they''re messing with? First Earth and now Emporia? If they want an all-out war, they are going to get all the fury that Erenveil can unleash on them!"


    For a moment, there was silence.


    "Ahem." Lucas cleared his throat. "Does that mean I don''t have to do that...you know....that thing you guys asked me to do?"

 Chapter 53 - The Emperor Strikes Back

    All eyes shifted to Lucas.


    He stared back, morosely twirling his golden pink locks, his exquisite handsome face downcast, his pink mouth sullen.


    "You must still do what you need to do. That threat was from Emporia, not Earth, and the two are not rted." Byron insisted. "We have to take care of that part of the problem as well."


    Lucas nodded grudgingly.


    Leonardo waved a hand for attention.


    "Byron. I''m going to head back to Erenveil and join you. My fleet of starship hospitals and magic healers can join the battles if you need a team of healers."


    Byron nodded.


    "Good idea, Leo. Let''s pray we don''t need to use your doctors and healers for anything worse than a paper cut."


    Leonardo hardened his aqua eyes. "You know my staff are all trained warriors as well. If things turn ugly, they can fight just as well as any soldier."


    Lucas gasped.


    "I thought that was just a rumor." He touched his fingers to his mouth. "You have a private militia too???"


    Leonardo turned and gave Lucas a desultory stare.


    "Never mind." Lucas waved a hand. "I didn''t hear that from anywhere. I don''t know anything about this."


    He turned to the twins.


    "What about you guys?"


    "What about us?" Jason asked.


    "We don''t have a private military." Jared responded. "All we have are fashion shops across the gxy."


    "No," Lucas shook his head. "What I mean is are you going to head over to Dante''s Moon to help him protect Candace?"


    "Good idea." Dante turned to the twins. "You guysing?"


    Jason nodded.


    "We thought you''d never ask."


    =====


    The Emperor was livid! Of course he was livid!


    How dare Mortimer Cordera kidnap his youngest son and hold him up to get their hands on a mere Earth girl? Did that mean that the Earth girl was worth more than his son???


    Preposterous!!!


    "Father," Byron announced. "I am going to take over the Prime Warrior position until te can return and take up his position again."


    "No!" The Emperor harrumphed. "You are the Crown Prince. That position is one that must be protected and cannot be threatened. You have six other brothers but there is only one Crown Prince."


    "And besides," the Emperor turned to look at Byron. "You cannot take a rank that is lower than your current one."


    "But Father, we need to fight against this atrocitying from Emporia!"


    He gave Byron a steady re.


    "In most instances, it is far easier to fight from your Crown Prince throne."


    "But we need someone who can takemand of the vast fleet that has been under te''s control!" Byron insisted.


    "Hand it over to Leo." The Emperor waved his hand.


    Leonardo, who had barely stepped into the conference room almost ran back out again when he heard his name being bandied about so carelessly.


    "Leo!" Byron strode over andtched onto the man in the white and gold Royal Physician robe. His long blond hair streamed out loose and unfettered in the light like a golden waterfall, framing a ssically beautiful male face with aquamarine eyes.


    "Father. Brother." Leonardo greeted them as he walked in.


    "Leo." The Emperor tapped Leonardo''s shoulder. "Take over the Prime Warrior position and go pick up your brother. Make sure you count all of te''s fingers and toes. I want him back in perfect condition."


    "Father," Byron interjected. "I can go and find him."


    "Sure you can, but we don''t need to." The Emperor turned his back and walked over to the throne.


    "I hope you boys don''t mind. My back has been hurting me and I need to sit down and take a load off." He groaned as he sat down on the gold throne with its thin red cushion.


    "Ughhh." He spat, muttering to himself. "Been sitting on this cushion for so long that it''s getting thin and ragged. It needs some new stuffing."


    "What do you mean we don''t need to find him? He''s missing!" Byron roared, trying to steer him back to the conversation at hand.


    The Emperor gave him a barely veiled look of disgust.


    "I swear, at times like these, I wonder if you''re really able to take over the throne. Your brother is not missing. We know exactly where he is."


    "We do?" Both Brothers turned and stared nkly at the Emperor.


    "Of course we do. Didn''t we get the ransom note? He''s obviously in the hands of the Emporian Kingdom."


    "Father, you are stating the obvious. I want to go there and extract him. We need exact locations from our intel people there."


    "Not enough time to extract anything from any intel, Son." The Emperor leaned back against the throne. "While we''re here dallying and chattering about nonsense, we''ve wasted an entire hour already."


    "We need toe up with a n." Byron mmed his fist into his palm. His face contorted with frustration.


    The Emperor slumped to one side, propping his head up with his shoulder.


    "Byron. You''re still dressed in Royal Robes. Go reschedule Court Session."


    "But Father!!!"


    The Emperor held up his hand.


    "The 290 ships of fuel that were supposed to be delivered to Emporia¡ªkill that order. And while you''re at it, call back the 384 ships of food that are two days away from Emporia and tell them we will return their money as soon as we get the Prince back."


    Byron took a deep breath.


    "Yes, Father."


    "Also," the Emperor stopped for a moment. "Tell them we are no longer interested in buying tellurium from them. We can get it elsewhere."


    Byron''s eyes red and then he nodded.


    "Yes, Father."


    "Oh. And tell them since their Avgo Female has been disqualified, they have been given 24 hours to withdraw from Erenveil space."


    Byron''s jaw dropped.


    "What happens after 24 hours?"


    "After 24 hours, any Emporian citizen who remains on Erenveil will be exterminated." The Emperor''s eyes hardened.


    Byron took a deep breath.


    "Yes, Father."


    The Emperor turned to Leonardo.


    "Leo. You''re the temporary Prime Warrior. Go to Dante''s Moon and take the girl.. Bring her to Emporia and trade her for your brother."

 Chapter 54 - Courtesy Call

    "What???"


    "No!!!"


    The brothers roared in unison.


    The Emperor straightened his spine and sat up on his golden throne.


    "That is an order, Leo."


    He turned back to Byron.


    "And what are you still doing here? Didn''t I just tell you to go call the Court Legitors and Advisors back? Strike at Emporia where they hurt the most. Their money bags."


    Leonardo''s aqua eyes spilled over.


    "Father, I cannot condemn an innocent girl into the hands of the Emporian Kingdom. She has nobody to protect her!" He wrung his hands.


    "Emporia will kill her since she has maimed their Princess. Earth will not intervene since she is just amoner and not one of their Royal Princesses!"


    "She has you boys, doesn''t she? Don''t tell me you Princes aren''t as powerful as the forces on Earth and can''t protect a single female."


    "Father, I am a doctor. I save lives, not send them into danger. I simply cannot do this." Leo mmed his fist into his palm.


    The Emperor harrumphed.


    "Your brother''s safetyes first. He is not just your brother, he is also a Prince of Erenveil. Send her in and retrieve him. Once he is safely on our ship, do whatever it takes to try and rescue her."


    "She is my Bride!" Byron roared. "I will find a way to rescue my brother, but not at the risk of harm to my future Wife!"


    "I am still the Emperor. You have both been given direct orders from me. I expect them to be obeyed immediately."


    "And besides," the Emperor sniffed. "She''s not your bride yet. There are still five other Avgo events that must take ce."


    "Father!" Byron cried. "How can she continue the Avgo Event if she is in the hands of the Emporian Kingdom?"


    The Emperor turned back to Byron with a raised eyebrow.


    "Might I remind you who Candace Farrah is."


    At Byron''s confused looks, he smiled.


    "She is a legitimate Avgo Female. If she is in danger, the Avgo will protect her."


    Leonardo and Byron blinked as they remembered the day of the Avgo Verification event, when all the gemstones protected their charge. The only one who did not get protected was Dahlia Halloway, the fake Earth Avgo female.


    "But Olivia Faraday, Helene Cordera, Bethany Dresden, and Valeria Marakesh have all been injured. Why were they not protected by the gems?" Leonardo asked.


    "Son, they were all injured by other Avgo females. The gemstones can''t protect the Avgo holders from each other. But they can and do protect the Avgo holders from others who are not Avgo females."


    "That means she can still be harmed by Helene Cordera!" Leonardo cried.


    "Tch. Tch." The Emperor waggled a finger at Leonardo. "Helene Cordera has been disqualified and dropped from the Avgo Event. She is no longer an Avgo Female. In fact, she no longer even has the gemstone."


    Leo raised an eyebrow.


    "But I thought that the Avgo winner goes to Byron and the rest of us Princes get our pick of the rest of the candidates."


    "That is true. You boys do get your pick of the remaining females who did not make the cut. But remember, although they are no longer Avgo Females, they''re still part of the cream of the crop. They are top of the line women from all over the Gxy."


    He grimaced.


    "Except for that fish girl. If any of you boys pick that fish girl, I will disown you."


    Leonardo and Byron looked at each other, disgust clearly written on their faces.


    "I don''t think you have anything to worry about there, Father." Leonardo coughed.


    "Hmmm. Good. Now, go carry out your orders." He stared at the two Princes who stood there, frozen with indecision.


    "GO!!!" He roared.


    ======


    "He said WHAT???" Dante bellowed, jumping up from his seated position. "I refuse to hand her over to you. I don''t care if you are the temp Prime and I don''t care if that is Father''s orders."


    The four brothers, Dante, Leo, Jason, and Jared were seated inside the war room, debating the situation at hand.


    "I don''t want her to be taken there either, but Father''s words must be obeyed or we risk insubordination and mutiny charges." Leo sighed. "He is still the Emperor and his word isw."


    "What did Byron say?" Dante''s face was thunderous. "Never mind. I know exactly what he said. ''Yes, Father. Yes Father.''"


    "That would be Byron." Jason agreed.


    "He is such a ''Yes'' man." Dante scoffed.


    Jared snapped his fingers.


    "What if we use our dress dummy and hand that thing over to Emporia? We did that for Earth and it worked!"


    Jason shook his head.


    "Can''t do that, Dear Brother. One of us would have to be there all the time to keep the magic appearance up or the Tiny Dancer dummy turns back into just a dress dummy."


    "Oh. Right." Jared scowled and sat back down.


    "We have only 20 hours left. We have to start heading there soon because it takes two hours to reach the rendezvous point that they have designated."


    Dante mmed his hands onto the table top, making two huge hand-shaped dents into the wood. Along with therge ck burn hole in the wall that he had just created that morning, it looked as if an actual war had urred within the war room.


    "Brother, you need to control yourself. You''ve killed a tree outside and one of the walls inside this room." Jared grimaced. "Looks like you need to rece this table too."


    "Aaaaaaaarghhh!!!"


    Dante gave a roar and mmed his right hand down with force. It broke the table apart, sending Leo, Jason, and Jared scattering back to avoid being hit by flying pieces of the broken table.


    "You''re right." Dante snarled. "It does need to be reced." He kicked the broken table for good measure, sending it mming into the opposite wall with a THUD.


    "And I am going to repeat this onest time. I am not handing my future wife over to you. Period. End of story."


    Jason and Jared looked at each other and shook their heads.


    Dante had always been unnecessarily brutal in his reactions to news he didn''t like. It had always been aimed at inanimate objects but still, it was terrifying at times to watch.


    "Brother Dear." Leonardo shrugged. "Whether she is your future wife or not is still debatable. Meanwhile, your current Father has issued an order to save your current Baby Brother from a bunch of thugs."


    "I will send my entire private military force there and extract te myself." Dante said between gritted teeth. "But I am NOT going to send Candace to them."


    Leonardo shook his tinum blond head with regret, his droopy aqua eyes mournful and apologetic.


    "You don''t understand, Brother. I am not asking you. I merely came by as a courtesy to let you know we will be taking her."


    He snapped his fingers. One of his aides who was standing behind him spoke up.


    "Yes, Your Highness."


    "Is the Earth Avgo Female onboard the ship yet?"


    "Yes, Your Highness."


    Leonardo nodded.


    "I would love to stay and chat with all of you, but duty calls and I am down to 19 hours to deliver the bounty and retrieve our brother."

 Chapter 55 - Moths To A Flame

    "Leo!"


    Dante''s green eyes were murderous and his body was shaking with fury.


    "You dare walk into my home and abduct my woman???"


    "Dante. Get a hold of yourself." Leo raised a finger in warning. "This is not an abduction and she is not your woman."


    "You!!!" Dante jumped at Leo, even as Jason and Jared held him back.


    "Go!" Jason yelled at Leonardo, who turned away with his aide and left the room.


    "Come back here, you asinine cretine! You bastard! Don''t you dare leave with my wife!!!"


    "Chill down, Dante." Jared growled, even as he held Dante''s snarling struggling body back. "Leo''s not a bastard, he''s our Father''s son. And might I remind you once again that Candace is not your wife?"


    "At least not yet." Jason muttered in his other ear.


    Once they were assured that Leonardo had left, the twins let go of Dante.


    He turned back at them with rage boiling in his green eyes. His blue hair stuck out in porcupine spikes everywhere as he ruffled his head with frustrated hands.


    "Aaarggghhh!!!" He roared and strode out of the war room.


    Jason and Jared nced at each other and ran after him.


    Five minutester, he was in the ballroom, shooting at the chandeliers hanging above the high ceiling and ripping up the floors he had so lovinglyid out for Candace.


    CRASH!!! BANG!!! BOOM!!!


    Dante roared like a wounded animal as he destroyed the ballroom within a matter of minutes. Of the elegant stately ballroom, there was not much left but dust and rubble.


    Jason and Jared stood helplessly behind him. It was better to just let him take his anger out on the room than to keep it bottled up inside.


    "Jonas!" Dante called out to his Assistant. "Get all my warships ready. We are making a house call to Emporia NOW!!!"


    ========


    Candi sat on the beige leather chaise lounge that looked almost like an examination chair and stared at the yellow tulips in a ceramic pot on the table in front of her.


    The transport pod that she had been ushered to was very different from the almost sterile empty white transport pod that te always took her around in.


    This one had pale yellow walls and cream carpeted floors, and living palms and fiddle-leaf figs in their own containers with real dirt in it.


    The furniture ced around the pod actually looked like real furniture. There were real Van Gogh paintings on the wall, and the bust of Chopin was on top of a real ck upright piano.


    This was not the clean impersonal white functional piece that te used in all his living quarters. This was like a real room in a real chalet.


    "I''m sorry it took awhile for me to leave. I had to convince Dante to let you travel with me." Leonardo''s voice could be heard as he strode through the open sliding doors.


    Candi stood up with a smile.


    The man with the long blond hair and soft aqua blue eyes who swept into the pod was just as tall as all his brothers and just as handsome in his own unique way, but he had the one distinct difference.


    He smelled of mint and sandalwood.


    "I''m surprised he let me go. I know Dante, Byron, and te had insisted that I remain in his Moon for safety reasons."


    "Well, he finally listened to reason. This is an emergency after all." Leonardo made his way to her and took her over to themand chairs.


    "Let''s strap you in so we can take off. We don''t have much time."


    Candace nodded and followed him to the egg shaped console chair. It was the only piece of furniture in the entire ce that was hover-pod standard.


    "te is in trouble." She said as the automatic safety harness slowly lowered, locking her in ce.


    "I can''t just sit in a safe corner and watch when he needs me. He has rescued me from so many dangerous situations. It''s my turn to be there for him. My turn to protect him."


    Leonardo sat down in his chair and began punching codes into his armrest console. His eyes were downcast as he surreptitiously regarded her from under his long thick darkshes.


    He had not spent much time with this woman, but he was starting to understand why his brothers were all falling over themselves over her.


    It wasn''t because she was breathlessly beautiful. There were so many beautiful women everywhere he looked.


    It was something in the way she moved and something in the way she smiled. It was something in the way she faced the world with so much bravery and heart that attracted them all to her like moths to a me.


    It had started when he first saw her vaulting onto his piano and whipping around that antique crystalmp that had once belonged to Marie Antote. He had also seen how she faced her opponents when things were at their worst.


    And now, her words were like honey dripping into his soul. This little tiny dancer was trying to protect a big strong man like te. It made him want tough.


    It also made him want to cry.


    As hepleted entering the space coordinates into the pod, he turned to her.


    "Just so you know I am not going to send you into the lion''s den alone. My men are going to secure te and then someone from the inside will escort you back out."


    Candi stared at him as the pod rose up into the air and shot out of Dante''s Moon.


    "You have someone from the inside?"


    Leonardo nodded.


    "I''m a physician, but more than that, Imand the entire fleet of starship hospitals throughout the gxy." Leonardo said matter-of-factly and without pride.


    "As it so happens, several of the physicians working on the Emporia starships are part of my staff. They will find a way to escort you back out."


    He turned back to the console with nervous fingers. What he didn''t tell her was that the physicians who were embedded within the Emporian ships were mostly lower-ranked individuals and may not be able to do as much as he needed them to do.


    Still, it was the best n he coulde up with on such short notice. He could not go against the Emperor''s orders. Furthermore, his Baby Brother was in danger and she was the only one who could save te.


    He could only hope her Avgo gemstone was as protective as his father had said it would be.

 Chapter 56 - The Sound Of Her Voice

    Immediately after they had left Dante''s Moon air space, a dozen other transport vehicles went into formation and escorted them to the rendezvous point.


    Two hours of gunning it at maximum speed took them to the perimeter of the rendezvous point on the royal blue world of Emporia.


    Emporia was a water world and as such, had only a fewrgend masses. Most of what was above ground were archipgos and coral reef inds, with a few volcanic protuberances jutting out of the deep blue ocean that encircled the world.


    High above Emporia on one of thend masses was an abandoned sky walk that jutted up out of arge ss dome.


    The dome was an amazing piece of architecture, made of a continuous grid shell supported by 14 ring-like columns and ring beam at the roof''s edge, extending more than 650 feet across.


    Unfortunately, half of the dome had partially caved in from some catastrophic event that destroyed the entire area, turning it into a desertndscape.


    Whatever had caused the destruction of this ss dome had also caused all the life around it to be obliterated. There was nothing around it except desert sand and a few scruffy palm tree heads bravely sticking up above the shifting sand dunes.


    "Wow. It looks deste."


    Leonardo nodded.


    "Twenty years ago, a young Emporian King was murdered here. He was in that dome, waiting to leave the world when it got sted by a weapon from space."


    Candi covered her mouth with shock.


    He pointed to the end of the Sky Walk that allowed passengers to board a small starship from one of the tforms in the sky.


    "We are going to attach this transport pod to the end of that Sky Walk and you are going to have to walk all the way over to the tform by yourself."


    "I understand." Candi steeled herself.


    Leonardo''s aqua blue eyes were sorrowful as he manipted the ship into docking space. "I am so very sorry. I''m not allowed to apany you."


    "What about te? I will not turn myself over to them until I know that he is unharmed!"


    "He will be on that tform and the two of you will exchange ces."


    "How?"


    Leonardo gestured with his head at the ss walkway.


    "You will both walk until you meet in the middle, at which point, we will be able to extract him. They will not allow us to leave with te until you have reached the other tform. That is the agreement."


    "How do you know they will stick with their agreement?"


    "We don''t, but right now, we have no choice. As long as te is in their hands, they call all the shots."


    He pointed to all the Emporia hover pods around them. They massively outgunned the dozen pods that followed Leonardo and Candi.


    "Plus, we are in their territory. I have a dozen ships from Erenveil. They have an entire world of ships all around us."


    As the ship settled into ce, Leonardo sighed with resignation and opened the hatch. All she had to do was walk through the opening and she would immediately be on the walkway.


    Candi nodded and was about to step through the open hatch when she felt strong arms pulling her back.


    "Take heart." Leonardo whispered into her ears with intensity as he sped her in a tight embrace. "I wille back for you."


    She inhaled the sweet scent of mint and sandalwood on his body and nodded. Somehow, that scent calmed her down and gave her an added boost of strength.


    "I am an Avgo woman, not some sacrificialmb." She turned her head to face him about to say something else when his hands cupped her face and his lips descended onto hers.


    It was a chaste quick peck of the lips.


    The quick peck turned a bit deeper as he suckled her gently with his sensuous lips, licking her mouth lightly with his tongue.


    What should have been a quick kiss deepened within seconds as something broke inside Leonardo.


    With a groan of defeat, he gripped her hair with fervent fingers and probed deeply into her mouth with his tongue.


    For a moment, she froze from the intensity of his kiss.


    The unique scent of Leonardo mixed with mint and sandalwood, resulted in an intoxicating aroma that she could barely resist.


    As she began to melt into the kiss, he plundered her lips onest time before lifting his head.


    "This is not the time and ce to make love to you, but there will be a time and ce for us, I promise you this." He released her from his ardent grip.


    Candi turned blindly away from the intensity that was Leonardo, trying to put some distance between them. She could not be distracted by him at this moment. She had to focus on what was before her.


    With one swift intake of breath, she swallowed her fear down and stepped onto the ss walkway.


    High above the ground, the swaying ss walkway crackled and snapped as if at any moment, it would splinter into tiny pieces and plunge her to the ground¡­it was truly terrifying if she gave in to the frightful experience.


    From within the partially sunken ss dome, two men led the unmistakeable form of a powerful Prince of Erenveil up onto the tform.


    It should have been a simple walk across a ss bridge for someone like te, but nothing was ever simple.


    He was dressed in his warrior outfit. His powerful chest and leg muscles dwarfed the two men who led him, but something was horribly wrong.


    They had tied a bag over his head, and his hands were secured behind his back. It looked like he was drugged because he was unsteady on his feet and barely able to stand.


    He was only 150 feet away from where she was standing but it could have been a world away.


    The expanse across from the Sky Walk was a long straight line made of clear ss that had a 100 feet drop to the ground. It was barely three feet across without a single handrail to grip onto.


    One of the men, the short fat one, kicked him from behind and hended on his knees, tumbling forward on the tform, unable to break his fall without his hands in front of him.


    "te!" Candi called out, unable to contain her fright that he would fall off the tform.


    His body stiffened and then perked up as he heard her voice from across the chasm.


    Struggling, te got up onto his knees and then, slowly, he got back onto his feet.


    "te. I''m here Sweetheart." Candi called out to him, afraid to talk too loud for fear of startling him.


    "You''re turned the wrong way, Love. Turn ten degrees to your left."


    He turned towards the sound of her voice.


    "A tiny bit more. Perfect. I''m right across the sky walk from you Sweetheart. You have to walk towards me. I will meet you half way across this sky walk."


    "I promise you it will be okay. Just follow my voice and walk. I will guide you."


    She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders.


    "Take two steps forward. It will take you to the edge of the sky walk."


    He took two steps and stood, poised at the edge of the ss walkway.


    "Good job, Sweetheart. One more step will take you onto the walkway."


    He took one step and hesitated as he could feel the undting vibration of the sky walk.


    "That''s right te. Walk straight to me, Darling.. Follow my voice."

 Chapter 57 - Pale Pink Power!

    He began walking, and as he walked to the sound of her constant encouragement, she began walking towards him.


    As she matched him, step for step, Candi never took her eyes off the sight of a man who bravely walked forward even though he was drugged and was barely steady on his feet.


    He could not see where he was cing his feet because the bastards had tied a bag over his head. He could not even use his hands to bnce himself because they were tied behind his back.


    It didn''t matter. He continued doggedly cing one foot in front of the other with only her clear gentle voice to guide him.


    Her eyes were blurred from the tears that were starting to flow but she blinked them quickly away. This was not the time to give in to emotions.


    "Good job. Keep walking in a straight line. Don''t be afraid Love. I am only a few feet away from you. Just focus on my voice and keep walking."


    She maintained her constant chatter to keep him focused in the direction of her voice. As she talked, she kept the fear and distress from her voice, allowing it to remain pure and strong.


    He needed to be able to hear her to walk towards her and he could not be distracted from anything but the herculean effort of walking across that expanse of ss.


    As they reached the midpoint, Candiughed gently with joy and reached out to touch his face through the bag. She leaned up and kissed where his mouth should be, hugging his body to hers.


    As she released him from the gentle hug, she slipped a tiny weapon into his bound hand.


    "You can cut the binds on your hands with that," she whispered. "After I pass you on this bridge, I will not be able to guide you any longer."


    te said nothing. He nodded once to show he understood.


    "Keep perfectly still. Your brother will extract you from the bridge."


    te stood still, not making a sound.


    Candi took a deep breath and slipped past him, moving towards the tform where the skinny tall guy and the short fat guy was standing.


    She had only taken a few steps in the direction of the tform when she heard the sound of swooshing wings behind her.


    Candi turned back to see Leonardo in full bat form, picking te up from the ss walkway and flying him back to the transport pod.


    She heaved a huge sigh of relief and turned back to the tform in front of her.


    With te safely back in the transport pod, Candi no longer had to hold back.


    "Aaaaaaargghhh!!!"


    She screamed as she ran thest few yards at full speed, charging towards the two men.


    The men standing on the tform gasped.


    They were not expecting Candi to be able to make it across the expanse without falling off. They were certainly not expecting for her to run full-speed at them with eyes full of fury.


    "This is payback, bitches, for kicking an unarmed, bound and gagged man."


    With a shout, she kicked out her legs and spun in midair, whacking both their heads with her feet.


    WHUMP! WHUMP!


    The men collided into each other, tumbling a few feet towards the edge of the tform. As they both struggled to rise, she threw her legs out, kicking them again.


    The tall skinny one screamed as he rolled over the edge of the tform, his arms scrambling at the edges as his body dangled over the side.


    With a loud shriek, Candi barreled her body at the short fat one, knocking him off-bnce. One more kick to his soft pudgy crotch and he was clutching his balls, rolling on the floor.


    Another well-aimed kick in his gut and he fell over the edge, dragging the tall skinny guy with him down to the ground below.


    "Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!" They screamed as they fell.


    There was a satisfying thud as their bodies hit the ground far below. They stopped screaming at that point.


    She turned to hightail it out of there except suddenly in front of her was a team of men in military outfits. One of them pulled a weapon and fired at her, point nk.


    BANG!!!


    The bullet hit a pale pink shield in front of her and evaporated as if it was a puff of air.


    She stood staring at them for a moment.


    The men stared back, expecting her to drop to the ground, but she simply stood there.


    When nothing happened, she darted past them, quick as a squirrel, leaping through the air towards the side of the tform at the exit point.


    The tform was connected to a series of ramps that took her down to the partially imploded ss dome.


    Vaulting down through the center of the various zigzagging ramps, she made it to the bottom before she was shot again.


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    The bullets whizzed past her, not even hitting target at this point because she was moving so quickly.


    "Get her!" One of the men yelled.


    Candi kept sprinting in the only ce she could run to.


    All around her was desert. There was no cover for miles around. Running through the desert was futile and would only lead to death from heat and dehydration.


    Her best bet was to remain within therge ss dome and try to evade them as best as possible until help could arrive.


    Oh please let helpe quickly before she ran out of options.


    As she ran through the partially broken entryway of the ss dome, she could hear the men in hot pursuit. She tucked her body between a life-sized statue of a sea nymph and a merman and pulled out her shurikens.


    The ce was a massive maze of walkways, statues, sculptures, broken fixtures and furniture, and five levels of what must have been huge gardens filled with nts.


    Everything was long dead, but the nters and pots that housed them were still there.


    The men were after her in hot pursuit, and her biggest problem was that there were far more men than she had shurikens.


    Candi clenched her feet with determination. If she was going to go out, she would take as many with her as she could.


    "Spread out! She''s in this room somewhere. I want her caught alive!" She heard the sound of the lead man.


    Immediately, they spread out in all directions.


    Two wereing towards her.


    She fingered the shurikens. Three in each hand would take out six of them but that would betray her position.


    No help for that. It was better than getting caught.


    She now understood how the Avgo''s protection worked.


    All that it could do for her was provide a protection bubble around her. This was why the bullets did not kill her, even at point nk range.


    However, once a person was able to grab her, the protection bubble simply extended around that person. If he was the danger, then she was isted within that bubble with the danger.


    She could not allow them to touch her or Avgo could not do its job in protecting her.


    The two men wereing closer.


    NOW!

 Chapter 58 - The King Of Emporia

    Leonardo carried his Baby Brother back into the transport pod and ced him on the chaise lounge, his eyes full of worry.


    He had barely been able to catch te as he slumped into unconsciousness, almost falling off the skywalk.


    It had taken everything te had just to walk half way across the skywalk. Leonardo had no doubt that it was due to Candace''s voice, encouraging him on.


    "Set a course for the nearest starship hospital." He called out to the transport pod''sputer.


    Immediately the pod took off for the hospital that had just arrived immediately above Leonardo''s transport pod location.


    "Leo! Answer me you Bastard!" A voice called out from within Leonardo''s transport pod.


    "I don''t have time for this Dante!"


    "I saw everything from up here, Leo!"


    "Go save Candace!" Leonardo yelled as he began stripping the bag off te''s head and pulling his gag off so he could breathe. Then he stripped te of all his clothing and began checking his vitals.


    "You don''t even have to remind me. I''m almost there! How''s te?"


    "Not good. He''s fading in and out of consciousness. It''s a miracle that he didn''t faint in the middle of his walk and fall off the skywalk. I''m taking him to my hospital starship."


    Dante cursed up and down.


    "You take care of our Baby Brother. I will go bring Candace home!"


    Leonardo did not respond. He was too busy healing te.


    Within minutes, Leonardo''s transport podnded itself into the hospital entry pad. As soon as the hatch closed, several doctors ran out with a levitating gurney.


    They rushed the Seventh Prince of Erenveil into the medical suite and began working on him with feverish speed.


    Meanwhile, warships with Dante''s famous blue green circle logo began appearing out of the skies. There were so many that they began clogging the skyways and space ways of Emporia.


    Flying as a single unit, they descended on Emporia and encircled the until there was no space around Emporia that did not have Dante''s warships.


    Half a dozen transport pods flew down to the ground andnded. From the pods streamed dozens of men in warrior bodysuits, carrying various weapons in their hands.


    They all ran towards the half-demolished ss dome and entered through the various openings.


    On arge coral reef, within the Royal Pce, King Mortimer Cordera''s face was a livid purple.


    "What the hell is Erenveil merchant guard ships doing in our airspace???" He growled at his Royal Advisor.


    "Your Majesty, Prince Dante is calling. I would advise you to talk to him."


    Mortimer Cordera shook with rage.


    He was already furious about his daughter''s broken back brought on by the Avgo event, and then the sudden icy embargo of all business transactions with Erenveil.


    But to clog up Emporia with thousands of private militia guard ships??? That was an act of war!


    "Put him on!" King Mortimer Cordera shouted, his spit flying everywhere.


    Dante''s furious visage came on the visual monitors disyed within Mortimer''s throne room.


    "What in hell do you think you''re doing, Mortimer???" He shouted at the King of Erenveil.


    "You''re asking me? Why is Erenveil suddenly turning on me?"


    "Are you unaware that your abducted one of my brothers?"


    "WHAT???" King Mortimer Cordera roared.


    In answer, Dante released a copy of the ransom note to the Advisor who read it quickly to the King of Emporia.


    "Who would dare do something so preposterous???"


    Dante stood up from his seat and pointed at the visual of King Mortimer.


    "You merfolk, that''s who!!! Take a look at what is happening at this very moment!"


    Dante switched over to a live shot of a tiny female who was standing across from a bound, gagged Prince of Erenveil with a bag over his head. He looked drugged and was staggering and unsteady on his feet.


    At the distance in space that the visual was being gathered, they could not hear the female''s voice, but it was obvious that she was guiding him across the stretch of sky walk.


    As they reached the center of the ss walkway, she reached out and held his head in her hands. On ballet pointe toes that looked as if she was dancing, she nted a kiss on his covered face and then walked past him.


    From the direction she had left, they saw another Prince of Erenveil fly towards the Prince who was still standing on the walkway and hauled off his brother.


    Suddenly, they saw the girl charging full speed towards the tform. In one swift move, they saw her kick both men in the head.


    Both went down and two secondster, they had both fallen off the tform, plunging to their deaths to the ground far below.


    "Oh my Lord!" King Mortimer gasped.


    If this was the caliber of Avgo women who were in the Event, no wonder his daughter had returned a broken mermaid.


    This girl was no joke!


    Immediately after that, a group of men charged at her. One pulled a gun and shot her in the chest.


    She dispersed his bullet with a pink puff of air.


    "Wow, did you see that?" His Royal Advisor called out in excited tones, pointing to the visuals. "She just neutralized that weapon like it was nothing!"


    The girl stood there for a moment. Then she vaulted over their heads and ran off the tform, towards the partially destroyed ss dome.


    Dante pulled the visual back to his angry face. "That is my future wife you people just shot at!"


    "Your future wife. You mean the one who just kissed that Prince with the bag over his head?" King Mortimer scoffed.


    Dante roared with rage.


    "Get your men off her. NOW!!!"


    King Mortimer waved a hand.


    "I did not have anything to do with this, but I will have my people find out who is behind all this."


    "I''m going down on the surface to escort my woman back. Call your henchmen to back off or there will be hell to pay!"


    He waved his hand cutting off visuals between himself and King Mortimer.


    The King scowled and scratched his head.


    "Your Majesty, there is another call from Erenveil. This one is from the Emperor himself."


    King Mortimer sighed with despair.. It looked like there would be more shit raining down from above.

 Chapter 59 - Captured!!!

    King Mortimer Cordera sighed.


    "Put him on," he rubbed his eyes with resignation as visuals of the Emperor''s face appeared before him.


    "Mortimer." The Emperor''s eyes turned to the visuals and stared directly at the king in front of him.


    "Emperor."


    "I presume you have gotten word of all the activities that have urred."


    "I am still trying to figure out what the heck happened."


    The Emperor sighed.


    "I figured it wasn''t you. You''re not that stupid." The Emperor''s eyes were merciless. "Nevertheless, since this urred on your world, you are ultimately responsible for this mess."


    "Emperor. I am still trying to figure out exactly what happened."


    "Mortimer." The Emperor''s lips snarled, his fangs growing by the second. "My son nearly died. Someone will have to pay!"


    He pursed his lips.


    "And that Avgo Female. She will be my future daughter-inw. If anything were to happen to her, someone will have to pay for that as well."


    "She hasn''t won the Avgo Event yet. How can you be so sure she will be your daughter-inw?"


    "I have seven sons! They''re all fighting over her right now. If she marries any one of them, she''s my Daughter-inw."


    "Right. Right." King Mortimer cleared his throat. "Give me a little time. I will find out exactly who is responsible for this."


    The Emperor harrumphed and shut off connections.


    "Your Majesty." The Royal Advisor spoke up. "I just got word. We found out who the responsible person is."


    "Speak!" King Mortimer screeched.


    "Your Majesty, it''s the former King of Emporia, Mattheus Cordera."


    "Impossible! He died twenty years ago!"


    "He did not die, Your Majesty. He survived it and escaped to Erenveil with his mother, the Queen Dowager."


    King Mortimer''s lips quivered.


    "How old was he when the dome got bombed?"


    "Six, Your Majesty."


    "So that would make him 26 years old now."


    King Mortimer''s mouth worked into a snarl.


    Find him!"


    "Yes, Your Majesty."


    "And when you find him¡ªkill him!"


    "Yes. Your Majesty."


    ======


    Candace gripped the stony hand of the male statue to her right with both hands. It had had fallen off the statue at the shoulder joint and made a good bashing tool.


    Brandishing it like a cudgel, she waited for the men to reach her hiding ce.


    The first one ran towards her.


    She swung the arms, clobbering him in the head with the stone shoulder de.


    "Ugggghhhhhh!!!" He grunted and went down.


    The man next to her jumped back as she swung the arm at him and pulled out his gun.


    BANG!


    He shot her in the face.


    PUFFF!


    The Avgo intervened once again with its signature pale pink shield.


    The bullet evaporated in a puff of air.


    Even though he had seen it happen once before, the man was still stunned at seeing it up close.


    Taking advantage of his momentary frozen state, Candi swung the stone arm at him again.


    THUMP!!!


    He went down without a word, a gash forming on his temple oozing blood.


    All the noise alerted the rest of the men.


    "Over here!"


    "She''s hiding behind that statue!"


    "No shots! I want her taken alive!"


    She heard thundering feet running towards her as they converge on her location. Candi looked up.


    They were racing at her from above and to the left. The three closest men wereing at her on the right side. She could not hide in here any longer.


    Candi jumped out and with a graceful arch of her body, flung three shurikens at them with swift force and dead uracy. The shurikens impaled them in the heart.


    The men clutched their chest and went down with loud grunts.


    The tiny darts were not lethal in and of themselves, but they had been poison-dipped with extremely fast-acting neuro-agents. Even if it didn''t kill the men, at least, they would be incapacitated for awhile.


    Candi stomped on their faces for good measure as she ran out of her hiding ce.


    Three other men had heard the sounds and were rushing over to her.


    She turned back and flung three more shurikens at them as she vaulted towards the inner chambers of the ss dome.


    From behind, she heard the sounds of their grunts as the shurikens embedded themselves, releasing the neuro-agent.


    Their bodies hit the floor with a THUD.


    Candi continued running through the path that was littered with broken debris and ss. Even as derelict as it was, the ce was still cavernous!


    "She''s over there!"


    "Where???"


    "There! She just ran through the aisle!"


    The sounds alerted the rest of the men who began to converge on her.


    She had taken down two out on the tform and eight inside the dome. There were still four men plus their leader in pursuit.


    In her hands were three shurikens. Once those were gone, it would be hand-to-handbat with the knife that was strapped on her thigh.


    Candi kept running. It wasn''t as if there was nowhere to run. The ce was filled with hidey holes!


    She vaulted onto a ramp which took her to the second level of the terrarium. She was half way down the second mezzanine when a dozen more men converged on her.


    Damn.


    She didn''t think more would show up. This was bad. There were too many of them and she was all alone with three remaining shurikens.


    She turned back towards the first floor but another group had run up the ramp in anticipation. She was trapped between the two groups. There was nowhere else to run.


    As both groups ran towards her, Candi flung her remaining three at the closest ones and jumped onto the balustrade.


    She was about to spring to the first floor when she felt hands dragging her body back down.


    "Gotcha!"


    Before she could do anything, she felt the prick of a needle on her shoulder and her vision wavered.


    Oh well.


    It was a good run. On her own, she had managed to kill off thirteen burly guys before they took her down.


    Candi gave a fierce smile as she sank to the floor.

 Chapter 60 - The Once And Future King

    The smell of alcohol was overpowering. Every breath she took, every exhtion reeked of the acrid burning odor.


    "Hmmmm." She groaned as she tried to open her eyes.


    The ceiling was white and there was a light fixture above her so at least she knew she hadn''t gone blind or died and found herself in heaven.


    Heaven didn''t have light fixtures. At least she didn''t think they did.


    "You''re awake."


    A man''s voice came from somewhere to her left. She turned her head and saw a ruggedly handsome man with strong proud jaws, hawkish nose, piercing green eyes, and seaweed in his hair.


    He was dressed in glittering green scale-looking clothes that reminded her of Helene Cordera''s evening gown the first time she saw the mermaid.


    She blinked again and her eyes refocused properly. The seaweed turned into dark green locks hanging down his back and over his hard chest muscles.


    "Who¡ª" she coughed as the alcohol fumes choked her. "Who are you?" She rasped through burning vocal cords.


    The man chuckled.


    "Who I am is not an interesting question. The interesting question is¡ªwho are you?"


    "I''m just a nobody." She managed to choke out.


    "You''re hardly a nobody. I traded a Prince of Erenveil for you, that should tell you something important."


    "It tells me you''re an idiot." She coughed into her hand.


    "What you just said told me you''re clueless as to your real worth." He chuckled and moved closer to her.


    Candi could not respond as she needed to cough again. Whatever they had used to knock her out, it was super potent.


    "Have some water." He handed her a ss.


    "No thank you. Anything you give me is most likely poisoned."


    Heughed and took a sip.


    "There you go. If it''s poison, we can die together, like ancient lovers."


    She red at him.


    "Go die on your own. Leave me out of it."


    The manughed.


    "The water will help your throat to recover from the intubation we needed to put on you."


    "Why did I need intubation?" She snarled. As if she didn''t know.


    "We shot you with a neurotoxin to keep you from killing any more of our men." He said with a regret-tinged voice.


    "It should have been a much lower dose because you''re such a tiny female, but the guy who gave you the dosage used the same amount on you as he did the big guy we traded for you."


    Candi choked again and began coughing in fits. It hid her sudden surge of anger.


    "Don''t be too upset. You killed thirteen of our men, plus I had to put down the dog who over-tranquilized you and nearly killed you."


    He began counting on his fingers.


    "So that makes fourteen big strong men of mine you''ve taken out, all by yourself with your tiny little dancer body."


    He handed her the ss of water again.


    "Drink. It will help your throat recover."


    Candi looked up. She took a deep breath and reached out for the ss.


    At thest minute, she batted it away with a snarl.


    The ss flew from his hand, dashing against the wall with a loud CRASH!!!


    "Go suck on something hard and horny!" She growled.


    The man threw back his head andughed.


    "Hahahaha. Oh my Lord. You''re a feisty one. No wonder you have three Erenveil Princes going after you!"


    He gestured once and a physician stepped forward.


    "Is she well-hydrated?"


    "Yes, Your Majesty. She is receiving intravenous fluids and is well-hydrated."


    "I guess you really didn''t need the water after all. It''s a shame you broke my crystal tumbler." He shook his head and gave an audible sigh. "Now you''ll have to use paper cups so you don''t make a big mess."


    Candi ignored his ribbing.


    "That man called you Majesty. Are you some sort of royalty?" She needed to figure out who he was and why he was interested in her.


    The green haired man gave her a sad smile.


    "My name is Mattheus Cordera. I am the Once and Future King of Emporia."


    She gave him a nk stare.


    Heughed again.


    "Very few people know who I am. You are among the very rare tiny group who know of my existence."


    "I thought the King of Emporia''s name is Mortimer Cordera."


    "Ah. Yes. My Uncle who loved me so much, he tried to kill me and destroyed an entire space port to root me out."


    "So he took over your throne and you''ve kidnapped me so I could go talk to him to try and get your throne back." Candi gave him a dry desultory look.


    Mattheus Cordera''s body shook withughter.


    "I am finally beginning to understand why those Princes are so enamored with you. You''re a barrel ofughs."


    "Get to the point."


    He leaned in closer, his bottle green eyes intense.


    "You are the Avgo that is destined to win thepetition. The man you take as a mate will be the one who stands beside you and rule the gxy."


    Candi closed her eyes and swallowed, trying to keep from another spasm of coughing.


    "You know I came in third in thest event, right?"


    "Only because my cousin Helene was such an idiot and tried to ambush you."


    "There are still five other Events. My chances of nailing all five are super low, especially the magic one."


    Heughed again.


    "You keep underestimating yourself. You worked magic the first time you appeared on the stage."


    Candi shook her head.


    "I have no idea what you''re talking about."


    He leaned back and regarded her with amusement.


    "Weren''t you the one who canceled out the old goat''s magic with your own? We all saw you shut down the windstorm."


    "Yeah but that was¡­". She scratched her head. "That was¡­"


    "That was pure, unadulterated magic. It counteracted against the old goat''s magic so effectively, it killed the whirlwind in less than a second."


    He let out a breath and stood up.


    "I''m just surprised you didn''t use magic to clear out my men when they came at you."


    Candi cleared her throat.


    She could do that?

 Chapter 61 - In Hot Pursuit

    By the time Dante reached the sandy ground, there was no one left up on the tform.


    "Let''s move it!" He waved his hand and several dozen men disembarked and ran towards the derelict ss dome.


    The warm afternoon sun beat down upon the sandy ground even as the winds began to pick up. A storm was heading this way in a few hours and he needed to find her before then.


    Dante passed the two men who had been kicked down from the tform by his brave ferocious woman. They were lying in a pool of blood that had already begun to congeal into a deep red-brown jelly.


    He grimaced and passed them, moving further into the ss dome.


    There were signs of struggle everywhere that resulted in dead men. Candace had put up a tremendous fight, all alone and surrounded by armed militia.


    He nced at the discarded sculpted stone arm with the bloody shoulder that had been used to clobber the two dead men on the floor. That was a ssic Candace move.


    Several other men had fallen where they stood and had been abandoned to their fates.


    Following the trail of dead bodies, he finally reached the second floor where it all abruptly ended.


    Aside from thest three shurikens Candace had thrown at the three dead bodies lying helter-skelter, there was no other sign of her.


    They must have taken her away from this spot, most likely alive. It had cost them a Prince of Erenveil in exchange for this woman. They would not kill her so needlessly.


    There was a part of him that swelled with pride at her bravery and fighting skills. But the part of him that was angry and frightened that she could be injured or worse was at the forefront and in full control.


    Suddenly, there came a rumble and a transport pod shot up from the center of the imploded ss dome.


    "You!" He pointed to one group of men. "Stay here and sniff out the rest of this area. I want to find out exactly what happened here!"


    "The rest of you follow that pod! See where it''s going!" Dante yelled to his men.


    He and the second group ran back to their pods. As his men got ready tounch, Dante was already in contact with the rest of his private guards who were on standby above the.


    "A pod just flew up from this location. Follow that transport pod!"


    A few minutester, word came back from the starship above him.


    "Your Highness. It just docked into a starship."


    "Which one?"


    "It looks like one of Seventh Prince''s Command Starships, the Raptor 437."


    "Damn." Dante mmed his hands onto the armrest.


    This was an inside job. Bio-sensors were required to fly the military crafts. Whoever did this was inside at very high levels.


    "Get me in touch with whoever''s flying te''s Raptor."


    A few heart pounding minutes passed before Dante received the answer he demanded.


    "Your Highness, the Captain of the Raptor 437 is refusing all calls from us."


    "Who is this man, and why is he not responding to me?"


    "Your Highness, his name is Niles Garr. He is the Captain of this Raptor."


    Dante narrowed his gaze. If he remembered correctly, te had boarded the Raptor so he could personally deal with the Earth delegates'' annoying threats. The Raptor''s captain must have betrayed him.


    Dante squeezed his eyes shut.


    Damn!!!


    He could only think of two reasons why all this was happening.


    It could be due to te putting military pressure on Earth warships.


    It could also be Candace injured the Princess of Emporia and this was payback for Helene being eliminated from the Avgo Events.


    Either of these could have triggered this cmity, and in both cases, it all pointed back to the Avgo Events. Whether or not they were connected, Dante couldn''t be sure.


    He had to figure this out quickly and deal with it in a swift decisive manner.


    "Where are all the other Raptors?"


    "Your Highness, Prince Leonardo has given themand for them to follow Raptor 437."


    "Follow the Raptor and surround it but do not fire upon it. I repeat. DO NOT FIRE ON THE RAPTOR. My future wife is on that ship!"


    Dante sted themand out to all his merchant Guard-ships and mmed his hand on the console, cutting off themunication lines.


    Then he jumped up and paced back and forth across themand deck, looking as if he was ready to explode.


    His men sat at their consoles feverishly trying to dock the transport pod with the starship as quickly as possible.


    "Your Highness." The Captain of the Guard-ship Cerberus 86, Don Kassim, strode towards Dante as he emerged from the transport pod.


    "Status." Dante called out, not missing a step.


    "Several of our Cerberus starships are in hot pursuit. They have the Raptor surrounded."


    "Any word so far on what they want?"


    "Not yet. We''ve been hailing them every few minutes, but there still has been no response. They''ve gone silent."


    Dante huffed and stepped into the elevator along with the Captain and his aides.


    "Stop hailing!" He rubbed his blue hair with frantic fingers, making the spikes even spikier. "We''re not trying to send a friendly ''hello'', for crying out loud!"


    "Yes, Your Highness."


    "I want the names of all the officers onboard the Raptor."


    "Yes, Your Highness." The Captain bowed.


    As the elevator''s doors opened, Dante strode over to the Captain''s chair and plopped himself down.


    "How much longer before wee into range of Raptor 437?"


    "Twenty-two minutes, Your Highness." One of the officers on the Command Deck responded.


    "Make it fifteen minutes."


    He turned to the Captain who was standing next to him.


    "How much longer before I get the names of all the officers onboard the Raptor?"


    "It is being popted at the moment, Your Highness." The Captain waved a hand. The virtual monitor popped open and twenty names appeared alongside small images of the officers.


    Dante pointed at Niles Garr''s face.


    "Does he have any family left?"


    Captain Don Kassim shook his head.


    "No, Your Highness. His wife diedst year."


    "No parents? Siblings? Side lovers?"


    "Not that we know of, Your Highness."


    "What of the other officers?"


    "Most of those officers have immediate families, but they are currently living onboard the starship."


    "Then go after their parents and other rtives still living." Dante''s snarl grew more pronounced as his fangs grew.


    Damn it! He needed to control himself. The angrier he got, the more he was starting to crave blood. He could not afford to lose control at this moment.


    "st a message to them that all the officers'' families near and far, will be imprisoned until they return the Avgo Female Candace Farrah safely. Tell them that if one hair on her head gets harmed, their family members will all be bald!"


    Captain Don Kassim gasped.


    He had never seen Prince Dante not follow through with anything he ever said, threat or otherwise.


    "Yes, Your Highness."

 Chapter 62 - Raptor 437

    te was starting toe to after two hours of intensive healing and blood transfusion by the healers and doctors on board the starship hospital.


    His face was pale. There were cuts and contusions that marred his previously wless handsome face. One of his arms was in a sling and his exposed chest had been shed in various areas with something sharp and ragged.


    His surface physical wounds had mostly been healed by Leonardo. The scars, no matter how deep, would eventually fade and disappear with treatments, both magical and physical.


    His arm was in a sling because they had twisted his shoulder out of its socket to prevent him from shifting into his bat form. That would also eventually heal.


    Unfortunately, there were deeper underlying wounds that affected his internal organs. His heart and lungs had been damaged to some extent, and the toxic drugs that had been pumped into him had severely damaged his liver.


    It would require time to flush out the chemicals from his body and it would require time for his organs to recover from the damage.


    The fact that the Seventh Prince of Erenveil came out of his drug-induceda in a matter of hours was a surprising miracle. What was not surprising was his immediate thoughts upon awakening.


    The first word he uttered was a woman''s name.


    "Candace¡­"


    The doctors knew who he was calling out to. Of course they knew.


    Everyone who had seen the clip of the Seventh Prince walking across the ss walkway to her gentle urging knew who Candace Farrah was. There was no sound capture, but theputers had been able to analyze her lips and mouth and had disyed the captions below the video.


    It had made a gxy of people cry.


    As soon as te showed signs of waking from his unconscious state, Fourth Prince Leonardo had been alerted.


    Leonardo hade rushing into the hospital room.


    "te." He reached out for his brother''s hand. "I''m here, Brother."


    "Leo." te whispered, his bright blue eyes feverish. "Where is Candace?"


    Leonardo swallowed. He could not find the words to answer te.


    "Where is my Candace, Leo?" te squeezed Leonardo''s hand with desperation.


    "te. They took her. We''re doing all we can to bring her back."


    "Leo." te fought to sit up. "I have to go find her."


    "You need to lie back down. We are doing everything we possibly can with two huge space forces."


    Leonardo pushed te back against the pillows and beganying his hands, palm down, onto te''s body. Using broad strokes, Leonardo began healing him with molten energy from his own body.


    As he passed his hands over the bruises, they began to lighten in coloration. The deep ck began to turn more violet, the reds turned into deep shades of pinks.


    All these had to be done in stages or te''s body would go into shock. Damaging a body took no time at all. Healing the same body took much more time and energy.


    At the moment, however, te was unconcerned about his own body and more focused on Candace.


    "You don''t understand. They are going to hurt her, Leo."


    "Listen to me te." Leonardo''s voice was gentle but firm. "Dante''s Cerberus Guard-ships along with every single Raptor under themand of the Prime Warrior is tracking the ship that she is on right now."


    te sank back against the pillows, his blue eyes pain-filled.


    "Who is Prime Warrior at this time?"


    "Father gave me temporarymand until you recover enough to take back themand codes. As soon as you are well enough, you can take it back."


    "The Captain of the Raptor, Niles Garr." te''s eyes grew frosty. "Kill him on sight."


    "What happened on that ship?"


    te''s eyes narrowed.


    "I was sitting at the helm when he walked in and at point nk, shot me with a tranquilizer dart."


    He squeezed his eyes shut. "I was in one of my own ships. I was not expecting to get ambushed by my own officer."


    "What happened afterwards?" Leonardo prompted with a whisper.


    "When I came to, I had been tied up." te''s eyes were tragic.


    "They began torturing me for state and military secrets."


    He sighed.


    "I made up all sorts of things so if weird stuff happens around the gxy, you will know that it''s my made up stuff that''s triggering it."


    "Do you remember how long this went on?" Leonardo asked as he continued to heal


    "I don''t remember how long they kept it up. I was shot full of neurotoxins and ced on a ss tform, blindfolded and gagged."


    At this point, his voice broke.


    "I heard Candace''s voice and began to follow her. It was the only thing that I clung to because I knew that if I didn''t, I would die."


    "You did great, Baby Brother. I''m very proud of you." Leonardo breathed and gripped te''s hand. "You did a great job. Leave the rest to your brothers. We will deal with those bastards, I promise you."


    =======


    "How many ss A Cerberus Guard-ships are in the area?" Dante was furiously rubbing his brows.


    "Eight, Your Highness."


    "How many ss A Raptors?"


    "Atst count, at least a dozen."


    "Is there a remote way to disable the weapons system from that Raptor 437?"


    "Yes, Your Highness, but you have to be Prime Warrior to have the codes to disable weapons on Empire warships."


    Dante stared at the Captain for a few moments.


    "Get me in touch with Leo." Hemanded.


    Within minutes, Leonardo''s ssically beautiful face, framed by an uncharacteristic tangle of tinum blond hair sticking out everywhere showed up on the screen. It looked as if he was also tearing his hair out over the situation.


    It somehow made Dante feel a bit better. He was not the only one going out of his mind, sick with worry.


    "I''m here." Leonardo spoke up, not even bothering to look up from what he was doing.


    "Transfer your Prime Warrior title over to me."


    Leonardo said nothing. His fingers shed across the console of his hospital starship.


    "Done."


    It was then that he looked up at Dante, his droopy aqua blue eyes full of fury.


    "te just woke up. It was the Captain of that ship that betrayed him. Go get that bastard and make him pay."


    "My pleasure." Dante drawled and cutmunications.


    He turned back to Captain Don Kassim.


    "I''m the Prime Warrior now. Disable the weapons system from that Raptor. Once that''s done, bring all the ss A ships both private and government and surround that Raptor."


    "Yes, Your Highness." The Captain scurried over to the Communications hub and began rying all themands that the Second Prince was calling out.


    Dante''s eyes were frozen green pools. They couldn''t shoot at the Raptor and blow into fragments or this would have been over ages ago. This required gentle touches. He could not allow anything to happen to his Candace.


    He opened up allmunication channels between the ss A starships under hismand.


    "Listen up." Dante''s face appeared on every single monitor in every single ss A Cerberus and Raptors. "I want every single one of you to coordinate your movements and surround Raptor 437. We''re going to tractor it and tie it down to prevent it from going anywhere."


    He squiggled something into the air above him with a finger and a four dimensional image of the airspace between his Cerberus Guard-ship and the Raptor 437 shimmered into view.


    With quick practiced movements, Dante began moving all the ss A ships that were around that area into the space that he wanted them to be in, and then he drew in the tractor beams from the ss A ships, converging them onto Raptor 437.


    With a snap of his fingers, the space diagrams he drew popped up into the flight deck of all twenty ss A starships.


    "Follow the flight path and make it happen within the hour." He pped a hand. "I want that Raptor tractored back to Erenveil before dinner."


    He stood up and made his way to the Captain''s rest chamber.


    "I have to feed my Candace a good dinner. She must be hungry by now." He muttered to himself. The only person who heard thest sentences was his personal Aide.


    "Sir, what about the ballroom?"


    "What about it?"


    "Would you like for us to fix it so she has a ce to dance?"


    "Oh that''s right." He mumbled and threw himself onto the soft couch with a groan. "Yeah. Do what you can to salvage the ballroom."


    He rubbed his hands through his spiky blue hair.


    "I can''t believe I trashed her dance hall. I was just so upset that she would be so eager and willing to leave the safe world that te and I had created for her just to follow Leonardo."


    "Your Highness. She didn''t follow Prince Leonardo. She went to rescue Prince te. I''m sure if it was you, she would have done the same thing."


    Dante sat up, his green eyes sparkling.


    "You really think she would?"


    "Absolutely, Your Royal Highness.." He bowed his head.

 Chapter 63 - The Broom Closet

    Mattheus Cordera stood there looking down at her for a moment and then he sighed.


    "You are breathtaking. A courageous beautiful woman with a huge heart. In a different world, and a different reality, I would never have coerced you toe to me."


    There was deep regret in his piercing green eyes


    "It would have been a long slow pursuit until you came to me willingly. s. I don''t have that kind of time."


    Candi red at him.


    "You." She took a deep breath. "Can go to HELL."


    Heughed.


    "I''m afraid I''ve been there quite often. I can show you what it''s like there. I''m sure you''d find it¡­enlightening."


    Suddenly there was a lurch that nearly knocked him off his feet.


    "Aaaaah!" Candi yelped. The sudden jerk nearly jousted her from the bed.


    Mattheus'' eyes grew wide with concern.


    "Looks like something is happening. I will be back."


    He turned and strode out of the room with haste.


    Candi stared at his retreating back.


    As soon as the doors slid shut behind him, she yanked off all the monitor cuffs and IV drip from her arms. She had to find a way out of this ce.


    Candi tried to swing her legs down from the bed only to find a metal band that had been ced on her right leg. She had been effectively chained in.


    "Aaaarghhh!!!" She cried as she yanked on the metal chain trying to find a way to free herself.


    "Stop!" The physician in charge of her care ran towards her. "You''re going to hurt yourself. Wait!" He waved a hand as she became more distressed. "At least let me unlock the ankle bracelet."


    Hearing that, Candi took a deep breath and calmed herself. Leonardo did say he would find someone to help her. Maybe it was this doctor.


    He raised his finger and touched the band on her ankle.


    CLICK!


    "Down the hall to the right. There is a broom closet. Go hide in there." He looked away, as if he was telling her that he never saw her leave the bed.


    She nodded with a grateful smile and took off.


    At the doorway, she poked her head out and had to slip back in as a couple of people walked past.


    Once the hall was clear, she ran to the right, looking feverishly for a door that would be marked as the closet but there were no markings on any doorway.


    She had almost run out of hallway when she saw a small blue triangle on the right side of thest doorway.


    This had to be it.


    Candi pulled the doorway and peeked in. It was a broom closet of the most ordinary kind. It actually had mops in it.


    She slipped in and closed the door, hoping against all hope that the doctor would not be punished for allowing her to escape.


    Candi had barely settled into the corner when another lurch knocked her to the floor. The mops fell on top of her, along with something hard and heavy from the top shelf.


    "Ow!!!" She gasped rubbing at the spot where a metal can of some kind of cleaner had clonked her on the head.


    What the hell was happening outside? Was there an earthquake? She wasn''t sure exactly where she was, but it seemed as if she was in some kind of a hospital ward.


    She reached out and pushed the mops off her body, wedging herself further into the corner where they had been stashed. Her only hope right now was to wait until Leonardo coulde for her.


    Please, pleasee back for her.


    There was no one else who knew she had exchanged ces with te except for Leonardo. He had said he would return and rescue her. All her hopes were pinned on him at this moment.


    She sped her hands and prayed to everything holy that he hadn''t forgotten about her.


    A long long whileter, there was a banging outside.


    "CANDACE!!!" Someone was yelling out her name. In fact, many people were yelling out her name.


    She tucked her body closer into the corner. Please don''t let them open the closet door. Please don''t let them see her in here.


    "CANDACE!!! IT''S ME DANTE! WHERE ARE YOU, CANDACE!!!"


    Her eyes widened.


    Dante!!!


    Dante hade for her!


    Mewling and crying with relief, she reached out to open the door.


    Before she could reach the knob, it had been yanked open.


    "Candace???" A man with a shock of spiky blue hair gasped and reached out for her.


    "Oh my God Candace!!!" He pulled her up and crushed her into his body. "Oh my Baby. I finally found you. You scared me so much!!!"


    His body shook as he held her.


    "Are you hurt anywhere?" He pulled back to look at her. "Oh God. You''re bleeding. What have they done to you???"


    Bleeding? Where was she bleeding?


    He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and began wiping her head. Candi tried to protest that it was just sweat since it was a bit warm inside the broom closet, but then she saw the handkerchiefe back bloody.


    "Who hurt you???" His eyes gleamed with a frightening intensity.


    "No¡ªnobody. Wait. It''s. It was just a can."


    But he was not even listening to her any longer. He pushed all the brooms and mops aside and scooped her up off the floor.


    Running down the hall, he yelled for a doctor.


    Within minutes, she was lying on a gurney, with several physicians checking the source of all the blood on her head.


    "Her head has been hit with a blunt instrument."


    "Who hurt you???" Dante asked again.


    "A can."


    "A what?" Dante''s green eyes looked confused.


    "There was an earthquake and a can fell on my head." She tried to gesture how it happened, but he was too distressed to see her hand gestures.


    "Earthquake?"


    She nodded.


    "There was a lot of jerking and quaking. The first quake hit when Mattheus Cordera was in the medic room with me."


    "Ma¡ªMattheus?" Dante gasped.


    "Yes. The second one hit when I was in the broom closet and that was when a can of cleaner fell on my head."


    Dante was halfughing and half crying.


    "A can fell on your head in the broom closet." He reiterated with disbelief.


    She nodded, wincing with the slight pain that it caused. She was starting to get a bit of a headache.


    "There was a doctor who unshackled my ankle from the bed and told me to run for the closet and hide myself. I want to thank him."


    "Oh." Dante''s face fell. "I''m truly sorry Candace."


    "What? What happened to him?"


    "When we were finally able to board the ship, someone had¡­he had¡­"


    "They killed him." Candi finished Dante''s words with finality.


    "They killed him because he helped me escape." Her eyes blurred as tears sprang forth. The poor man.


    She turned towards him.


    "You said you boarded a ship. How was there an earthquake on a ship?"


    Dante shook his head.


    "It wasn''t an earthquake. You''re not even on Earth or any to speak of. This is a Raptor military starship.. We''re in the middle of deep space, flying back to Erenveil."

 Chapter 64 - Cat Burglar Ballet

    As the Raptor flew back to Dante''s Moon, Candi peppered Dante with questions. Where is te? Is he okay? Where is Leonardo? How did Dante get on this ship? How did Dante know where to find her?


    To all those questions, Dante tried his best to answer, but there was one question that she asked which he did not know the answer to.


    Whatever happened to Mattheus Cordera?


    At the point of traction, when all the Empire ships and the Guard-ships had surrounded Raptor 437, several transport pods had managed to escape from the huge starship.


    Dante had sent several of the smaller ships in pursuit because he was afraid Candace might be on one if them but he hadn''t heard back from them yet. Most likely, the man that Candace called Mattheus Cordera was on one of those pods.


    Where the pods could possibly go, Dante had no idea. At this moment, Dante was more concerned with getting Candace back to his Moon and all her wounds tended to.


    A full twenty-four hours passed before Candi was even allowed to get out of bed. For most of that time, both Dante and Leonardo kept wandering in and out of her room just to check on her, and they hovered over her for very different reasons.


    Dante was just a hoverer. He was like a mother hen, wanting to make sure every detail was perfect and she was well-cared for. He also seemed to be a bit anxious of the time she spent with Leonardo.


    Leonardo on the other hand, considered himself to be the quintessential healer and had to make sure all her tiny cuts and bruises werepletely healed.


    He was also struck with an inordinate amount of guilt because he was the one who delivered her into the hands of the former mer king. He had conveniently brushed off the fact that Candi had insisted oning with him to retrieve te.


    After twenty-four hours of their constant ministration, she finally threw them out and told them she needed to sleep and couldn''t do so if they kepting by. The truth was, other than the gash on her head which they promptly healed with their magic, she wasn''t really hurt anywhere.


    By morning, Candi could no longer lie in bed. She needed to get the kinks out of her body and she needed to practice her dancing.


    She quickly got dressed in her bodysuit and twisted her honey blonde hair back into a bun, securing it with a headband. Dancing with all the hair whipping around her face was no joy.


    She made her way to the ballroom. A bit of exercise would do her much more good than just lying in bed for even one more day.


    As she got closer, she could hear the sounds of construction going on at full speed. There were peopleing and going everywhere. Was Dante building something new?


    She padded forward and peaked in through the open doorway. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped with bewilderment.


    The workers had torn up the beautiful parquet flooring and was recing it with floating long boards of a pale maple hardwood.


    Above the ceiling, all the gorgeous crystal chandeliers had been reced with light inserts that recessed into the ceiling.


    The beautiful brocade walls had been reced with gentle pale pinkish cream painted walls that were lined withrge sections of mirrors.


    She tapped one of the workers as he walked by.


    "What happened to the ballroom? Why has it been changed?"


    "Oh, you hadn''t heard?" The worker chuckled. "Prince Dante was furious that his love, the Princess Candace Farrah left with his brother. In a jealous fit of rage, he tore up the ballroom."


    "He was jealous?"


    "Oh my goodness, he was upset! He''s normally a bit hot-tempered, but I have never seen him in a jealous fit before."


    The man raised an eyebrow and lowered his voice.


    "To be honest, I think Prince Leonardo is a better fit for Princess Candace. They''re both blonde, have moderate temperaments, and look good together. Their children will all be blonde since they are both fair-haired."


    The worker leaned closer and whispered.


    "All that blue hair Prince Dante hases from his mother''s side. It''s a dominant color too, so any child that he fathers is always going to have blue hair, and we all know what blue hair means."


    She whispered back.


    "What does blue hair mean?"


    He looked around.


    "Don''t tell anybody I said this, but blue haired folk are a bit on the low-born side. Prince Dantees from the lowermon folk. His mother is not royalty at all. She''s the poorest of all the Emperor''s Consorts."


    He lowered his voice and whispered into her ear.


    "Want to hear something even more surprising? Prince Dante is actually older than Prince Byron by about half a year, but the courts changed it so that Prince Byron, who is the Empress'' son, would be First Born Crown Prince."


    Candi''s eyebrows rose.


    "Ahhh. I see."


    She leaned in closer to the worker''s ear and whispered.


    "You know I''m lowermon folk too." She nodded with a grin as he pulled back and took a careful look at her.


    As his eyes widened with shock, she giggled.


    "Don''t call me Princess. I''m not royalty at all." And she skipped into the ballroom as thest of the cleaners left with their buckets of dirty water, leaving a pristine floor behind them.


    Another of the workers were testing out the sound equipment.


    "Louder," she called out to him. "A little more."


    He nodded and turned up the sound.


    "Perfect!" She called out with a smile and ran into the center of the room.


    With a vault, she began dancing.


    It was mostly her warm up routine, but in the eyes of the casual observer, even a warm up routine looked like something that was nned and extensively prepared in advance.


    As the music continued, Candace began to get into her zone.


    Gone was therge gathering of workers and servants and cooks and gardeners who hade to see a real Avgo Female perform. Gone was the room with walls and ceiling and floor.


    Her focus was solely on the music and on her body''s reach for supreme expression of that music. Everything and everyone else didn''t matter to her.


    As focused as she was, she did not see that intermingled among the group of workers and servants was the spiky blue head of Second Prince Dante as well as Fourth Prince Leonardo.


    Further back were the two green haired Princes Jason and Jared. It was the first time that they had actually been able to see her dance an entire performance.


    For those who had the chance to witness, it was poetry in motion.


    The twins jaws fell to the floor. Leonardo''s aqua eyes were unblinking as he fixed his gaze on her lithe graceful body. Dante was blinking rapidly but only because he was trying to clear the tears from them so he could better see her.


    She danced three full numbers, ending with Adagio.


    As thest strains fell away, her arms were raised into the air, her head falling back, looking heavenward. It was almost as if she could float away.


    A loud cheering and screaming brought her back into the present. The huge crowd that had gathered were cheering her on, pping and yelling out her name.


    CANDACE! CANDACE! CANDACE!


    She blinked and turned towards the crowd that had filled up all the balustrades and the various seating areas around the room.


    They were acting as if she was all made-up and in ballet costume instead of having a fresh-scrubbed face with her hair bundled up in a hair band and wearing her ck cat burr suit.

 Chapter 65 - The Unworthy Prince

    That afternoon, she had lunch out at the garden gazebo with Dante. As the servers came and went with tes of food and


    "I want to go see te."


    Dante sat calmly peeling an orange for her.


    "Do you hear me, Dante? I want to go see te."


    "I heard you, Candace, but you can''t. Not yet." He ced the peeled slices of orange on her te.


    "Have some orange. Ites from our orchards right here inside the moon. I had to ensure the light within the moon was sufficient in everything that was needed to grow oranges. It was quite a challenge."


    "Why I can''t I see him?" Candi frowned as she chewed on the bright sweet orange slices. It had been three days since the incident and te was nowhere in sight.


    Dante sighed with frustration.


    She was sitting here with him and thinking about another Prince even as he was peeling fruit that he had grown himself and peeled especially for her. Wasn''t he also a Prince of Erenveil? Wasn''t he good enough for her?


    He rubbed his fingers through his damned spiky blue hair. It always came back to the plebeian blue hair.


    All his life, Dante had tried to the best of his ability to ovee his mother''s non-royal birth by acquiring as much wealth as he could get his hands on.


    Although he was the son of an Emperor, he had exited his mother''s womb at such a low standing that he couldn''t even secure the Crown Prince position that was his, by right of birth order. Instead, the Empress had seized it and ced it on her own son, dering him the Crown Prince.


    Dante''s mother, unable to fight against the powers of the Empress, retreated into her own tiny world to raise her infant son. Not even the Emperor could entice her to emerge from that cocoon she had wrapped around herself, although of course, he could visit Dante any time he wished.


    It was within that environment that Dante had grown up. He had known exactly what had happened, and he had known why and how everything came to be.


    He did not me his mother on her inability to fight the Empress for his Crown Prince position. His mother''s family weremon goldsmiths, with the blue blood of blue haired peasants running through their veins. She was powerless against the Empress.


    Dante however, had a distinct advantage from his mother. He was born within a royal family which made him a Royal Prince. It was still on him to prove his worth and to gain power, but at least he had a fighting chance.


    To prove that he was just as good as the other Princes who were born from mothers of a much higher caste, Dante set out to work twice as hard in everything, from physical sports and fighting skills, to the higher learning of all the subjects required of a Prince. He had to be twice as good as they were just to be recognized as their equals.


    There was however, something he could do that would allow him to surpass them. It had to do with the power that he could wield.


    Since money corrted very tightly to power, he had set upon himself the goal of surpassing his brothers in wealth. This meant he had to double his efforts since he came from a much poorer Mother.


    His supreme efforts had paid off handsomely.


    He had finally reached a point at which he felt proud of his aplishments and hopeful that he was a strong contender for Candace''s affections. All he had to do now was convince her that he was worthy of her love and affection in return.


    Dante looked at her and doubled the dosage of his masculine charm.


    "te is injured and needs time to heal. You being there is not going to help anything. It will only make him more anxious and dy his healing process."


    "At least let me do that visual thing so I can see how he''s doing. I''m truly worried about his health," she implored. Her hazel eyes were so beseeching and assaulting to his senses that he almost gave in to her request.


    Dante broke his gaze from her face and looked away. He understood why she was anxious to see te. Dante was worried about his Baby Brother too.


    But the truth was, Leonardo and the physicians had been keeping te unconscious to more quickly heal him. The extent of the damage done to him was something that not even Dante was fully aware of.


    Leonardo had covered everything under a thick nket of silence so as to not rm the royal family or to tip off any possible enemy strikes at a time when the Prime Warrior was not able to defend the Empire.


    Dante turned back to face her.


    "You will have to trust me when I tell you that he is improving day by day. Give him three more days of healing, you will be able to meet him in person."


    "Three days?" Candi nced at him.


    "Yes." Dante affirmed.


    Candi nodded, apparently satisfied with his promise.


    Dante had built his iron-d reputation as a man who was as good as his word. It was how he did everything and how he grew his businesses to the empire that it had gotten.


    He could only hope that in three days'' time, he could make good on his promise and it would be possible for te to be well enough to see her.


    Dante threw his napkin onto his te. He could not allow her to continue focusing on this situation. He had to distract her with something else.


    "Be patient for three days. In the meantime, I do have a surprise for you." Dante gave a small mysterious smile.


    That did it. Her eyes glowed with anticipation.


    "If you''re done with lunch, then follow me."


    As the servers cleared away the lunch dishes, Dante stood up and took her hand, leading her away from the gazebo.


    The direction they took led to an area that Candi had never explored before since it had been walled off by a gate.


    As they walked down the stone paved path past the pond and the old gnarled oaks, they reached a brownstone building with a hexagonal sunroom that protruded from the main structure.


    As old as the rocks and hills surrounding it was, the structure looked brand new.


    The two attendants who stood outside the doors bowed to the Second Prince and opened the doors for them.


    Dante smiled at her and led her through, into the darkened interior.

 Chapter 66 - A New CEO

    "Remember when I asked you if you''d like to work with me in one of mypanies and you informed me that you were not good with doing much except digging through grave sites and reading ancient manuscripts?" He asked.


    "I''m an archaeologist by training, yes." She turned back to Dante with a smile.


    "Well, I''ve created a newpany. I named it the Candace Farrah Corporation and you''re the new CEO."


    "What???" Candace turned huge eyes at him.


    "Come. Take a look at your new workspace and office."


    As soon as Candi walked in, she gasped with joy.


    The ce was cavernous, with ten feet tall book shelves that were filled all the way up to the top with ancient books and scrolls of all types.


    Scattered among the shelves were ancient statues and musical instruments. There were perfectly preserved paintings and ancient outfits on hangers to showcase fabrics and styles.


    There was even arge to-scale replica at the center of the room depicting an ancient domed gold gilded pceplete with courtyards and buildings of various sorts. Even the tiny sculpted human figures standing around doing their work were exquisite in detail.


    It was a museum library that she could touch and study without having to do any of the hard work of digging and coting.


    Candi ran around looking at everything with her eyes wide and her mouth open.


    All the work that she had done in her entire career to salvage a handful of books and several dozen items of antiquity were all here in coted and perfect condition, cleaned and showcased for her to look at and even touch if she pleased.


    "Oh wow." She gasped with pleasure and hugged herself as she read the spines of the books.


    Many of them were known to the archeological world as mere reference titles that had been recorded in many other books but the books themselves had been lost or destroyed.


    Dante took in all of Candace''s excitement with pleasure and pride.


    "I had this built for you because I knew you are a specialist of antiquities and this is what you love the most." He muttered, mostly to himself since she was already lost in the wonder of it all.


    What he didn''t tell her was that it had taken considerable wealth and resources, even with his wide reaching capabilities, to gather everything and bring it back within a single week. This library was literally worth a king''s ransom.


    As it was, an entire chamber on one side was still closed off because it was not yet ready to show her. He had wanted to give the workers one more day toplete it, but there was no more time. The second part of the library would have to wait until tomorrow.


    "This library is also important for something else."


    She turned a questioning eye towards him.


    "Your next event will be held four days from today, at the Celestial Pantheon. The criteria will be Brilliance and Intellect." He reached out and caressed a lock of her hair.


    "This library will help you with that Event. You can study antiquities to your heart''s content and not have to do any tomb raiding or digging up ancient things at dusty dirty ancient sites."


    "Well that was how I got a hold of that ancient book from the tomb of that mummy." Candace smiled.


    His eyes crinkled in amusement.


    "I have to admit, I am impressed, not just with your burry skills but also the fact that you were able to read that book. It has to do with the Avgo."


    "Oh, the ''Ellipsoidal Macrocosm'' book?" She scratched her head. "I knew it roughly tranted as ''The Egg-shaped Universe'', but I didn''t connect the book to the Avgo."


    Danteughed.


    "Yes. The word ''Avgo'' means ''egg''. That book talks about the Egg and how the Events came about. If you spent some time and dug deeply into that book, it might help you win the next Avgo Event."


    Her eyes glowed with such brilliance that Dante almost lost control of his heart. It was thumping so hard he could barely breathe.


    He paused for a moment to regain his equilibrium.


    "Let me see your Avgo again."


    Candi blinked for a moment. How did she call it forth again?


    "Avgo,e out,e out wherever you are." She sang jokingly.


    The Avgo sapphire popped out of nowhere. It hung in midair, twirling in the light and casting its pink brilliance all around.


    Dante burst outughing.


    "There is supposed to be a very dignified and poetic way of calling the Avgo, almost like a chant or a spell. And here you are, just calling it out as if it was a child ying hide and seek with you."


    "I was never told I had to say anything special. Thest time I called it out, I said, ''Hey Avgo! Show yourself!"


    "And did it show itself?" He asked with disbelief written all over his face.


    "Of course." She scoffed and pursed her lips.


    Dante emitted a deep rumbling growl. She had such a saucy mouth that he wanted to grab her and suck on her juicy red lips so badly.


    But that would scare her, and he didn''t want to frighten her. He had tried so hard to go extra slow with her. She had been through so muchtely that he wanted the time she spent with him to be gentle and carefree.


    She was oblivious to his sudden hungry eyes as she stared at the gem with fascination.


    "I just can''t get over how beautiful the pink color on this gem is."


    "Absolutely gorgeous." He stared at the pale pink glow of her cheeks.


    Candi nodded.


    "Did you know that many species of people across the gxy can''t even see the color pink?" She intoned with amazement. "Their eyes don''t have the ability to see an invisible color!"


    "Pink is invisible?" Dante asked even as his eyes focused in on her pink lips.


    "Yes. That''s because pink doesn''t even exist on the light spectrum. It''s just something our brain creates to fill in space in a way that makes sense."


    "Hmmmm. Is that so." He suppressed his urge to grab her and taste her deep pink mouth.


    She chewed on her bottom lip thoughtfully.


    "If you took a rainbow and tried to join all the spectrum of colors into a single loop, pink is the color that sits perfectly in the middle of purple and red, but if you look at the invisible space between purple and red, it''s invisible."


    His fingers reached out, but at thest moment, he retracted it and roughed up his spiky blue hair, making it even spikier and crazier looking.


    Dante turned and pretended to be interested in the life-size sculpture of a male with bat wings folded above his head. He had to think of something else other than her lips or he would lose all sense of decorum and self-control.


    He cleared his throat, willing for his voice toe out normally.


    "The pink Avgo can only be seen by the one that is meant to see it. Throughout the ages, it has rarely made a showing. Thest time it showed up was¡­" he paused.


    "When did it show up?" Candi looked at him in confusion.


    Unable to contain himself, Dante chuckled.


    "You''ve actually met her."


    "What?"


    "You know. One of our Grandmothers. The one you dug up. She could see the pink Avgo stone too, and in fact, that''s the exact same one that she had."


    Candi grimaced.


    "The¡ªyou mean the one I took the book from? But te said she wasn''t your Grandmother?"


    This time Dante burst outughing.


    "He''s not wrong. She''s actually our Ninth-Great Grandmother. She died many years in the distant past."


    Candace shook her head in amazement.


    "There is still so much to learn. I could spend the rest of my life inside this library, onlying out to eat and sleep, and I would be a happy woman."


    Danteughed and waggled a finger at her.


    "I''m d you like this library but outside of work hours, you are not allowed to be in here." His sparkling green eyes crinkled with joy.


    "After work, you have to pay for the privilege of spending time within this library. I had it created at great personal expense, so I need some return on my investment."


    Candi pressed her lips together.


    "I am very poor."


    Dante rolled his eyes.


    "Candace, I have more wealth than I know what to do with. What I want from you is not money."


    "Then what is it you want?" Candi gave him a beseeching look.


    I want you to spend some of your time with me."


    "Just my time?" Candi pondered. "How much time are you talking about?"


    "Oh, nothing too stressful. A lunch here, a dinner there." He smiled and added in a tiny voice. "Every day."


    "What''s that?" Candi asked, not sure she heard thest part of his sentence.


    "I said spend time with me and you can use this library for the rest of your life if you wish."


    That wasn''t too bad of a trade-off.


    "Deal!" She smiled and held out her hand for a shake.


    He reached out and touched her hand.


    At the moment they touched, all his resolve melted into nothing.

 Chapter 67 - The Legal Contract

    Candi was merely holding out her hand for him to shake but suddenly, she found herself wrapped up within his arms. He was holding her with extraordinary gentle care, but it didn''t matter.


    Candi could barely breathe.


    "Haaaaahhh¡­" she gasped. The nearness of him was affecting her breathing!


    At 6''4", he was also the tallest of all the brothers, towering over her like a giant.


    "Here in my world, we don''t shake hands for deals this important. We seal it with a kiss." Her ear was pressed to his chest and she could hear his voice rumbling.


    "Wha¡ª" She barely managed to choke out half a word when his lips dropped down and imed hers.


    And for a moment, Candi was breathless.


    As hot-tempered as he was to everyone around him, he was extraordinarily gentle to her.


    He did not ground his mouth into hers. He did not force his tongue into her mouth. He did not make her feel as if he was assaulting her with his hands.


    His lips were feather soft. His tongue glided in with tentative touches, as though he was afraid he would hurt her.


    She could feel his body tensing up. He was shaking with the effort of holding back, but he continued to hold back.


    Then, with great regret, Dante released her. His face stoic and frozen.


    "Consider our deal sealed."


    Candi touched her lips. They were still tingling even though his touch was so extraordinarily gentle.


    "Do you seal all your deals with kisses?"


    He smiled.


    "Only ones that have to do with people named Candace Farrah. For those deals, I will seal kisses as many times as possible. I will even create deals in triplicate forms which must be kissed in triplicates for them to be legally binding."


    "Ahhh. So this is a business deal."


    Dante shook his head.


    "Consider it a legal deal."


    "I don''t understand."


    "Candace, I am an intergctic businessman and what I have found is that most things in life are legal deals of some kind. All marriages that require paperwork are legal deals. So are birth certificates. Bank ounts. School diplomas. They''re all legal documents."


    Candiughed.


    "But surely my staying here and reading old books cannot be considered a legal deal."


    Dante lowered his head down to look at her in the eyes.


    "I''m not sure if you are aware, but Earth has changed its stance in your case."


    Candi shook her head in confusion. What did he mean by that?


    Dante''s green eyes were furious. His body tense.


    "The Earth Ambassador has proimed that they will not be actively pursuing you for arrest and detainment because you are now the legal proxy female for Dahlia Halloway."


    "What does that mean? I don''t understand."


    "It means you will be acting as her body double. Anything you achieve will go to Dahlia. If you win First ce at the Avgo Event, the winnings and the glory goes to Dahlia Halloway."


    For a moment, Candi was ck-jawed with disbelief. She clenched her hands into fists, her body shaking with anger.


    "Who do they think they are??? Is that even legal?"


    Dante shook his head.


    "No, but they will argue that it is because you are a criminal in their system, which means you have no rights other than what is allowed to you by their justice system."


    Seeing Candi''s pale angry face, Dante reached out and touched her cheek.


    "You have nothing to worry about. Trust in me. You are sheltered under my wing and I will protect you."


    He straightened up, and in a dry business tone of voice, stated matter-of-factly.


    "I will throw my VERY SUBSTANTIAL legal team at them to ensure that you will not be legally required to hand over your winnings to that gross Earth Princess."


    "Unfortunately, all legal proceedings take awhile to resolve, so in the meantime, I did something that ispletely legally binding which will allow you to remain on Erenveil regardless of the results of the Avgo."


    Candi breathe a sigh of relief.


    "I thought the only way for me to be able to remain here would be to win Avgo first ce. Is it even possible any other way? What did you do?"


    "I created a shell corporation and ced you as the CEO. In essence, you are currently working in an official capacity for an intergcticpany based out of Erenveil."


    "How does that help me to remain in Erenveil?"


    "Business residents have a maximum of five years to remain in Erenveil for business-rted purposes until they have to renew their legal statuses."


    "Thank you so much!" Candi''s sudden bright smilebined with tears welling in her eyes caught Dante off guard.


    His breath got stuck in his throat and his heart nearly jumped out of his chest.


    She reached out and clutched at his hands.


    "You have done so much to help me through all of this craziness. You even chased after that ship and rescued me from Mattheus Cordera."


    A tear rolled down one cheek.


    "And now you''ve created that fake corporation to help me so I wouldn''t feel so much pressure at the Avgopetition. I don''t even know how to thank you." She took a deep breath.


    "Maybe¡­after five years, I can figure out how to continue to evade Earth''s legal justice system."


    Dante blinked, not quite sure how to respond to her. He leaned down and kissed her tears away, wicking them with a gentle tongue.


    "Candace, it won''t take five years. A couple of weeks at most."


    "What do you mean?"


    "If you win, part of the stiption for Avgo First ce prize is the provision of an automatic marriage certificate. You will automatically be married to the Crown Prince and the title of Crown Princess will be transferred to you within 24 hours."


    He leaned his forehead against hers.


    "If however, you do not win First ce, the Business Residency from your position as CEO of an Erenveil Corporation will kick in automatically so that you do not have to leave Erenveil at the conclusion of the event."


    He pulled back to look into her eyes.


    "But that Business Residency is just to tide us over until I can get the documents together. It buys me enough time to set up marriage documents for you to remain permanently on Erenveil."


    His eyes began to dart about as he began calcting the next stage of his ns.


    "It normally takes about five days to request for an Erenveil marriage contract and another five days to go through the legal procedures. The Business Residency will cover those ten days so you can remain within the protection of Erenveil space."


    "M¡ªmarriage contract? Who am I marrying?"


    Dante smiled and enclosed both her hands in his.


    "Me!" He looked bashful.. "If you''ll have me."

 Chapter 68 - A Prince Awakens

    Seeing the shocked look on her face, Dante pulled back.


    "You don''t have to answer now. Just give it some thought. I know you have a lot to think about, with five more Avgo events to go through."


    "Dante." Candi pulled her hands from his warm sp. She could not think clearly when he was this close to her.


    "Everything is so confusing right now. I don''t even know if I should purposely lose so I don''t have to deal with that Earth Princess."


    He shook his head.


    "Try your best. Don''t lose on purpose. With the Avgo wines so much more than just a chance to remain in Erenveil by marriage. It''s the chance to stand on top of the Gxy as a reigning monarch with your husband."


    He closed his eyes.


    "I would want the best for you, even if it''s not with me."


    =======


    It was another three days before she was allowed to meet up with te.


    True to his word, Dante took her on his transport pod to Leonardo''s floating hospital, high above Erenveil.


    Dante''s transport pod was the mother of transport pods. He didn''t even bother with using one area to do all that was needed to be done. The pod was split up into four sections, each with a dedicated purpose.


    There was the bedroom, with an oval shaped bed that could easily fit two people the size and height of the Second Prince. The walls were a muted grey blue color and the bed and floors were of the same muted blue grey colors. It was very much a man''s room.


    There was a full size bathroom with an oval bathtub the size of the bed. There was also a dining room, with a table that could aodate four people.


    The final space was themand console where the two egg-shapedmand chairs were located. It seemed as if these two chairs were the base standard around which everything else flowed.


    He took her to the chair and made sure she was securely seated before going to his own chair.


    "It''s just a short fifteen minute hop, but once we''veunched, you can move around and take a short rest in the bedroom if you wish, or we can have some drinks in the dining room."


    Candi nodded but she was too anxious to do any of those things. She wanted to see te again and to assure for herself that he was doing okay. They ended up just sitting at the console chairs for the duration of the short flight.


    Upon docking, Dante had barely taken her out of the transport pod before Leonardo had joined them.


    "Where is te?" Dante asked without preamble.


    "This way." Leonardo took hold of Candi''s other arm and led her through a maze of corridors and hallways, past severalrge hubs of activity.


    They finally stopped at a set of double doors.


    "Before you walk in, I want you to understand that te is not fully conscious. I had to slowly bring him out of his medically-induceda because Dante said you needed to see him."


    Candi turned to Dante with shocked eyes.


    "You said in three days!" She hissed.


    "You insisted on seeing him even though I told you he was being cared for by Leo." Dante sighed. "I gave it three days before I contacted Leo and told him you needed to see te."


    "But you said he would be okay in three days." Her eyes teared.


    "Candace. I''m not a doctor or a miracle worker. I said you could see him in three days. I didn''t say I could cure him in three days." Dante ruffled his spiky hair.


    Candi nodded. This was not Dante''s fault. She was the one who insisted on going to see te. They were simply trying to amodate her request.


    "How is he?"


    "See for yourself." Leonardo pushed the doors and walked through.


    te was lying on the hospital bed with monitors attached to his body. His long ck hair had been tied back to amodate all the wires that were attached to his head and neck. His eyes were closed and he was breathing normally.


    He wore nothing except for a sheet over his torso and legs, leaving exposed, his powerful chest and shoulders. There were more monitors attached to the soles of his feet.


    "Oh God." She breathed. "He''s all hooked up with wires."


    Leonardo shook his head.


    "It''s alright, Candace. They are just monitors to make sure everything is normal."


    "This is to monitor his heart." He pointed to the one on te''s chest. "And these monitor his brain waves." He indicated at the wires on te''s temples.


    "What about these on his feet?" She looked at the various wires taped to his soles.


    "Those monitor the central organs such as the spinal column and stomach. Organs like the liver are on the right foot, and others such as the spleen are on the left foot." Leonardo indicated with a gentle finger.


    "His lungs and kidneys are on both feet and his toes are used to monitor brain functions along with the monitors at his temples."


    "I see," she nodded. "He''s still unconscious. Maybe it''s best just to let him sleep. I just wanted to take a look for myself, so I know he''s okay."


    "It''s fine. I will wake him up."


    Leonardo beganying his hands on te''s chest. There was a warm yellow orange glowing from his hands.


    Within minutes, te began toe out of his induceda.


    "Hey there." Leonardo greeted te. "How''s my Baby Brother doing?"


    "Thirsty." te whispered, his blue eyes dull and lethargic.


    "You''re not dehydrated. I''ve been giving you intravenous water all this time. I can give you a little bit to wet your mouth and throat."


    te nodded and Leonardo gave a dropper full of water.


    "Stingy ass." te growled.


    Leonardoughed.


    "Nothing wrong with your spirit, which makes me very happy." He moved back. "I have a visitor here who has been asking about you for days now."


    He motioned for Candi to move into te''s view.


    "Candace." te whispered, his eyes suddenly lighting up.


    She moved closer, reaching out to touch his shoulder. It was the only ce that was bare and not covered with some monitor or bandage.


    "I''m so sorry for waking you up." She choked back tears. "I was just so worried about you."


    "I will be back on my feet soon. Don''t worry." He whispered again.


    He sighed.


    "How many days have I been unconscious?"


    "Three." Leonardo responded.


    "That''s good." te nodded with relief. "I was afraid I would have missed out on her events."


    "You just get well. Don''t worry about a thing. I want to be able to spend some time with you so you have to get better. Otherwise, Dante and Leonardo won''t let me see you."


    "They won''t dare. I will insist on seeing you, even if I have to crawl out of this bed on my hands and knees." His eyes narrowed for a moment.


    "Your next event ising up in four days. I will be there at the Celestial Pantheon cheering you on."


    Candi shot a quick nce at Leonardo. Whether te could attend, or even leave this bed, was up to Leonardo. So far, he was holding his cards close to his chest. She could not tell what he was thinking.


    Candace blew a breath full of apprehension and anxiety.


    "The criteria will be Brilliance and Intellect. I have no idea how to prepare for that."


    The men looked at each other and suddenlyughed.


    Leonardo turned bright aqua eyes at her.


    "I think this one is the easiest of all the events for you, so don''t worry too much."


    She was about to ask him what he meant when a sobbing cry sounded at the door.


    Candi turned towards the sound and found herself facing a tall ethereal pale goddess with long ck hair and eyes the color of a bright summer day.


    "te!" She cried and ran to him.


    Disregarding all the wires that he was tangled within, she sprang towards him and buried her face into his neck.


    te chuckled.


    "Ease up Lyra, or Candace will think I have a girlfriend."

 Chapter 69 - Dead Men Walking

    Lyra turned her bright blue eyes towards Candi, and in one quick motion, flung her arms around Candi''s shoulders, crying and mewling.


    "We all saw what you did on Emporia! You saved my brother. You''re my hero!" Lyra wailed as she rested her head on Candi''s shoulder.


    Candi''s eyes widened as she patted Lyra''s back in an effort tofort her.


    "Lyra, you can let go of her now." teughed as he rasped with a hoarse voice. "You''re too big to be trying to snuggle up on her."


    He turned to Candace with a grin.


    "That''s my baby sister Lyra."


    "Wow. She looks just like you. Tall and beautiful, except she''s female and not like¡­"


    "A tree trunk?" teughed. "We have the same mother and our family tends to run on the tall side." He looked at Leonardo and Dante who both towered over Candi.


    Then he turned back to Candi with a wide grin, looking far better than he did only minutes earlier when he had just awaken.


    "She''s only fourteen and almost 5''10."


    "She''s fourteen?" Candi gasped.


    "I''ll be fifteen in three weeks!" Lyra pouted.


    Candi was barely 5''2" and Lyra was slouched over trying to nestle her head onto Candi''s shoulders. It was almost as if a giant child was trying to hug her.


    "Yes, yes." te grimaced. "Such an old maid. Four more inches and you will be as tall as me."


    Lyra turned back to her brother.


    "I am still growing. I might even get taller than you, Brother Dear."


    te chuckled.


    "Let''s hope not or no man is going to want you for his bride."


    "Hmmmph." She turned her nose up at the suggestion and went back to snuggling on Candi.


    "I loved the way you kicked those nasty men on Emporia, Candace! I am going to learn how to fight, just like you!"


    "How did you know I fought those Emporian men?" Candi turned to Lyra with confusion.


    There was no visuals gathering pods on Emporia. How in the world did this girl see what had happened on the surface of the mer world?


    Seeing Candi''s confused face, Dante spoke up.


    "I was monitoring from space and beamed the entire thing to the Brothers and they sent it everywhere. Theputers had even managed to lip-read what you said and captioned everything."


    te''s eyes glowed with excitement.


    "All that was captured on visual? Show me!"


    "I don''t think it''s a good idea," Leonardo shook his head. "It might trigger some hidden trauma in you, te."


    te waved a dismissive hand.


    "I am a warrior. I''ve been through far worse than this. Show me. I want to see Candace kick butt."


    Dante nced at Leonardo who shrugged. He waved a hand and activated a virtual monitor that picked up at the moment where Candi emerged from Leonardo''s transport pod.


    From a distance, Candi looked like a tiny female standing in front of a veryrge blond male. He stood there as she walked towards the ss walkway and waited.


    Within moments, a bound, gagged Prince of Erenveil with a bag over his head was led up to the tform. He was staggering and unsteady on his feet.


    One of the men kicked him from behind and the bound, gagged Prince fell onto the tform.


    te inhaled sharply.


    "I was drugged out of my mind at that moment. They had gagged me and bagged my head. I could barely breathe."


    "We can stop this visual right now." Dante murmured.


    "No." te waved his hand in protest. "I want to see this."


    At the distance in space that the visual was being gathered, they could not hear Candi''s voice, but she was calling out to him and guiding him across the stretch of sky walk.


    The words she called out were captioned below the visual. It made Candi blush and brought a huge grin to te''s face.


    Clearly, under the visuals were the words that she had spoken that day under the Emporian sky.


    "te. I''m here Sweetheart. You''re turned the wrong way, Love. Turn ten degrees to your left. A tiny bit more. I''m right across the sky walk from you Sweetheart."


    They could all see the tears that fell from her eyes, even as her voice continued to remain steady.


    "Good job, Sweetheart. One more step will take you onto the walkway. That''s right te. Walk straight to me, Darling. Follow my voice."


    te waved an excited hand at the visual.


    "You see that? I''m a Sweetheart!" He exhaled with bliss. "This is the good stuff. It helps me heal better than any drug possibly could."


    The visuals continued without pause.


    As the two figures reached the center of the ss walkway, the tiny image of Candi reached out and held te''s head in her hands.


    On ballet pointe toes that looked as if she was dancing, she nted a kiss on his covered face. There was a momentary pause, and then she moved past him.


    te gave a deep sigh of regret.


    "I didn''t even know you had kissed me. I couldn''t see or feel anything."


    "Well, technically, I kissed a cloth bag." Candi pursed her lips.


    te growled. "That''s not fair. I want a recement kiss after I watch the rest of this exciting movie."


    Everyoneughed.


    It was a terrifying moment, but for te to react to it in this manner meant he was psychologically healing.


    After Candace had passed te, a fully bat-suited Leonardo flew towards te and hauled him off like a cord of wood.


    It was then that Candace charged full speed towards the tform where the two men were still standing.


    In one swift move, they saw her kick both men in the head. Two secondster, the men had both fallen off the tform, plunging to their deaths to the ground far below.


    "Wow." Lyra gasped, hugging Candi even tighter. "You''re such a fierce fighter, defending my brother like that. I want to be like you."


    te said nothing. His face was stony. His eyes, deadly.


    He continued to watch as she took on the dozen men who ran towards her. He winced as she was shot point-nk in the chest and then gazed in amazement as the Avgo absorbed the shot with ease.


    Once she ran inside the ss dome, the visual ended.


    "Send me a copy of that visual, please." te turned to Dante, who gave a quick nod. "I need to analyze this footage so I can return to Emporia. There are ces to visit, people to talk to, scores to settle."


    "You go get ''em Brother!" Lyra shouted.


    "No worries. They are dead men walking. They just don''t know it yet." te growled.


    "You are going nowhere until you heal up." Candace murmured in a gentle voice, even as she cast fierce eyes at te.


    He hung his head in acquiesce as Leonardo and Dante nced at each other, smirking.


    They were about to respond when an alert came through. It was the Emperor wanting to talk with te via visuals.


    Candi made a motion as if to leave, but te shook his head.


    "Stay, Candace. I want you to be here so Father can exin to you and the rest of us exactly why he would send you into such a dangerous situation."


    Candi nced at te''s face and quailed with fright.


    He looked murderous.

 Chapter 70 - Get In Line

    The Emperor appeared in all his 3D glory at the center of the room. He was dressed in a ck riding suit and looked as if he had just returned from his morning horse ride.


    He looked very much like an older version of his youngest son. His long ck hair touched with silver at the temples, was hanging loose around his shoulders, framing hisrge body and masculine face.


    Emperor Rex''s violet eyes crinkled with delight as he saw his children clustered around an alert and awake te.


    "Dante, Leo. I trust all is well." At their nods of affirmation, he turned to Lyra.


    "You''ve gotten taller since Ist saw you."


    Lyra rolled her eyes and gave a pout.


    "I just had breakfast with you yesterday morning, Father."


    He bellowed withughter.


    "That tells me you''re growing taller by the day. How am I going to get you married off if the men around you onlye up to your nose? Try to get a little shorter."


    He turned to Candace and fixed his gaze on the blonde female with the mesmerizing hazel eyes.


    "And there is the Golden Child. I am very d you are here."


    Candace smiled.


    "It''s all thanks to Dante. He rescued me." She gave the blue haired Second Prince a grateful look.


    Dante blushed and looked at his toes, even as Leonardo shot a disgruntled look at the Emperor.


    te''s face was stony and unreadable.


    The Emperor''s eyes took in all of this, his face never wavering.


    "I''m sure you must be upset that I gave the order for you to be traded with te." He spoke directly at Candace, but the brothers all spoke up at once.


    "Yes, I am very upset!" Leonardo choked out.


    "In what world does an innocent civilian trade ces with a trained warrior doing his job???" te rasped hoarsely.


    "You have no idea the extent of my rage." Dante said coldly.


    Lyra''s bright blue eyes darted back and forth between all the brothers.


    "Wait. Candace didn''t do this willingly?" She turned back to the Emperor. "You ordered her to go trade ces with te?"


    "I''m afraid so, my Dear. I couldn''t take a chance that te would be harmed far more than he already was."


    "Lyra. Use your brain," te growled. "Did it look like she was being forced to walk that ss skywalk?"


    Lyra shook her head, her eyes widened with understanding.


    te hissed with frustration.


    "Father. I am a warrior. I put my life on the line to protect the Empire day after day." His dazzling blue eyes glittered with the fire of fury.


    "But I cannot do my job if I have to worry that each time I get into a dangerous situation, you will send my woman into danger just to switch ces with me!"


    He turned to Leonardo.


    "How dare you put her in danger??? I would give my life for this woman!"


    Leonardo''s eyes narrowing with barely suppressed anger.


    "I was ordered by Father to take her to Emporia, but even I am not that crass." He turned to Candace with grateful eyes. "She deserved to know the full situation. I came to her andid it all out."


    "I gave her the choice toe with me or stay within the safety of Dante''s Moon. She insisted on trading ces with you, te."


    Leonardo turned to the Emperor.


    "Believe me Father, if Candace had refused, I would never have taken her there, regardless of your Royal Command."


    He took a deep breath. "The bravery of this woman is unparalleled and she has won my heart. Forget the Avgo Event. I want to marry her now."


    "Get in line, Leo." Dante shot him a challenging nce.


    Dante clenched his fists.


    It still enraged him that the woman he had tried so hard to protect had walked away from the shelter he and te had erected around her and headed directly into danger.


    Dante thought back upon his desperate search through the Raptor 437 for her and broke out into a cold sweat. He had been expecting the worst and was not ashamed to admit that he had been scared out of his mind and crying at that moment in time.


    And now the very man who sent her into that danger zone was standing in front of their Father, saying that he wanted to marry her?


    Over his dead body!


    The Emperor eyed each of his children and chuckled to himself. They were all doing exactly as he expected they would.


    Once again, he turned to Candace.


    "I owe you a debt of gratitude for saving my son. I offer my deep-felt thank you. If there is anything that I can do to repay that debt, please speak up."


    Candace shook her head.


    "There is no need. I did not do this as a favor to you."


    The Emperor nodded.


    "Nevertheless, the offer remains for as long as I am Emperor and able to fulfill your request."


    He turned back to his children.


    "The Empress has decided to throw a fancy dress-up ball in three days'' time to celebrate te''s return. She is expecting you boys to be there in your best outfits."


    "te is still not well," Leonardo turned to te with a worried eye.


    "te is the only one who does not need to be there if he does not feel well enough to attend. However, she has extended a special invitation to Candace¡ª"


    "I will be there." te announced without further ado.


    "Well then that''s that. I''ve done my job as invitation announcer, so the Empress can''t keep nagging at me. And oh, by the way."


    He turned to Candace with a smile.


    "All the Avgo candidates have been invited to attend. You will get a chance to hobnob with them before the event the next day."


    "Even the disqualified ones?" Lyra asked.


    "Even the disqualified ones, although I don''t think the fish girl is going to be able to make it." The Emperor shook his head ruefully. "Emporia has been beset with problems, much of it self-inflicted."


    "How so, Father?" Lyra asked.


    "Karma, Child." The Emperor clicked his tongue. "Tch. Tch. It''s all karmically driven. The things you do always end uping back to hit you in the face when you least expect it to."


    "So what do you do?" She asked.


    "Do?" Heughed. "Why, you just do your best to get hit in the face with love instead of hate."


    "Why do the Avgo candidates have to be invited?" te asked with a wearied voice. His body was still weak and he was bing more fatigued, trying to stay awake.


    "It''s so the rest of you boys can get to know the Avgo contestants. After all, you will get your choice of Avgo females once the winner is taken by the Crown Prince."


    "What if the winner does not want the Crown Prince?"


    Everyone turned to stare at Candace with ck jaws. Nobody could believe she had even asked such a crazy question.


    Whoever heard of an Avgo winner ever turning down the Crown Prince? It was the ultimate prize!


    It was like Cindere going to the ball and then turning down the chance to marry the Prince so she could open up a dress shop with mice and birds to help her make dresses.


    The Emperor roared withughter.


    "That''s easy.. Just win second ce."

 Chapter 71 - Old Brown Bag

    Candi stared at the Emperor''s sparkling violet eyes and almost gagged.


    He seemed inordinately amused by it all, it was almost as if he was ying a huge multi-dimensional chess game and he was cing the pieces in all the ces and watching the oue from thefort of his chair.


    Dante cleared his throat.


    "Second ce is the same asst ce. There is no reason to shoot for second ce."


    te shot him a disparaging look.


    "Aren''t you the guy who kept harping on how great second ce is?"


    Dante narrowed his green eyes at te, as if to say ''stay out of this''.


    "There are still five events left." Dante continued, as if te hadn''t said anything. "It is far too early at this point to know who the winner is. Everything is still very much up in the air."


    "Ahem. Yes of course." The Emperor harrumphed. "Well, I have an Empire to tend, so I''ve got to get back to the daily grind. You kids enjoy the rest of your day." He turned to te. "Get well soon, Son."


    And with that, he winked off.


    "Aaarghhhhh!!!" Dante growled after the Emperor had disappeared from view. "The way that man keeps meddling in our lives drives me insane. Why I bother to keep talking to him, I have no idea."


    "Like it or not, he is still the Emperor of this Empire." Leonardo shook his head as he tended to te. "His reach extends everywhere, including this Avgo Event."


    te turned to Candi.


    "Did you mean it when you said you didn''t want the Crown Prince?"


    Candi blinked.


    "It was just a hypothetical question. It seemed to me a bit imbnced that the winner of the Avgo contest doesn''t get a say in who she marries."


    She scratched her head.


    "I mean¡­what if the Crown Prince is a nasty troll with bad breath and a hump back? Is she still stuck having to marry him just because she won a contest?"


    For a moment, no one said anything. Suddenly, all the Princes along with Lyra howled withughter.


    Whatever Byron''s faults may be, bad breath and humpback were definitely not on the list.


    "If you really don''t want the bad breath, humpback Crown Prince, maybe one of his brothers might have a fighting chance¡­" Leonardo turned to gaze into her eyes.


    "Does this have anything to do with what you said to your father?" Candi asked.


    Dante and te immediately pounced on that.


    "Marriage?" te eyed him.


    "What''s that about?" Dante asked.


    Leonardo turned to Candi.


    "I am a simple man and I don''t y games. I know you still have the events to finish, but you don''t have to win the Avgo Events to win my heart. You already have it, if you''ll take it."


    She looked at the tall statuesque man with the long tinum blond hair glistening in the light like a golden waterfall, framing a ssically beautiful male face.


    He was the epitome of what a demigod should look like. His aquamarine eyes were so clear and warm, it showed how tenderhearted and kind he truly was.


    Why did she ever think he was frightening and monstrous just because he had bat wings that could soar into the sky? Leonardo was a healer, not a killer.


    "Thank you, Leonardo." She smiled with gratitude.


    He had shown that he was someone she could count on through any situation to be honest with her, to allow her to make the choices that mattered to her, and he would treat her kindly through it all.


    =====


    For the next three days, Candi''s routine normalized. She would wake up early, have a ss of warm milk and honey with toast, put on her catsuit and be at the ballroom working on her dancing for an hour.


    Most of the servers left her alone to do as she pleased for most of the day but when she started dancing, they would all gather to watch.


    The first day when this urred, she had invited them into the room so they didn''t have to stand outside peeking through the entryway. Thereafter, it turned into a daily show for them, with cheering and pping after each number.


    After the dancing was done, she would go shower and change into her ''museum outfit'', which was a fancy word for a work dress that she begged off one of the servant women.


    She couldn''t stay in her restrictive catsuit all day, and the servants'' clothes were morefortable and suitable for mbering up and downdders to reach books and items that were far out of her reach.


    The servants would bring her meals at regrly scheduled times, which she ate alone in the adjoining suite of rooms that had been built to include a bedroom, dining area, andfortable seating area that she could use to rx in.


    Dante had flown off to take care of his various far-flung corporations. He had left her to the care of his staff, promising to return before the ball. This meant she had the moon to herself for those few days and she spent quite a bit of time exploring a small section of its nooks and crannies.


    The night before the ball was to happen, she was looking through her closet at the three fancy outfits that Jason and Jared had created for her.


    One was the white ballet wedding gown-looking creation. One was a tiny ck dress that was short and sweet. Neither of these two were of the formal ball type of dress, which left thest dress.


    She fingering the royal purple and gold dress that she had worn the first night she hadnded on Dante''s Moon and was double checking it to make sure it was presentable when a handmaid appeared.


    "Mdy. The Princes Jason and Jared are here and waiting at the Main Hall for you."


    The twins! Candi smiled with excitement.


    She hadn''t seen them for a few days either. They were constantly busy with their fashion houses and it was rare when they popped up.


    She ran out to the Main Hall.


    "Jason! Jared!" She called out and ran to them, dropping a kiss on each of their cheeks. "Where have you two been? I haven''t seen you in ages!"


    "Oh my goodness. If I knew that I would get kisses every time I dropped by, I''d being around every hour on the hour!" Jaredughed.


    "And I''d drop by every half hour, on the half hour." Jason chimed in.


    Sheughed at their silliness and was about to invite them to stay for lunch when Jared fingered the brown servant dress she was wearing.


    "What in the world is this ugly thing you are wearing?"


    "Oh this?" Candi looked down at the baggy brown dress that she hadn''t even bothered toce up properly. "It''s just my work dress."


    Jared narrowed his eyes.


    "Has Dante gotten so poor that you''ve been forced to wear an old brown bag?"

 Chapter 72 - On Gossamer Wings

    "Oh no!" She protested. "He doesn''t even know I have this. He''s been away for thest few days. I borrowed this from the handmaid who helps me get dressed in the morning."


    Jared shook his head, clicking his tongue as he surveyed her outfit with a critical eye.


    "This is an abomination! It''s a scullery maid dress that isn''t evenced up properly."


    "I purposely left theces off." Candi grimaced. "It''s just easier for me to move around in this when I''m in the museum working with ancient artifacts and books."


    "You need working clothes." Jared rubbed his jaw. "Why didn''t you tell us? We could have made all sorts of work clothes for you that would have been stylish, beautiful, and appropriate for the Princess of this pce."


    Candiughed. "You''re both so busy¡ª"


    "Never too busy for our Tiny Dancer!" Jason interrupted.


    "Thank you both. You are so very kind. But I''m not really a Princess."


    "My sweet darling. You are far more than a Princess. You are a Queen."


    Candi smiled. They were both so sweet to her.


    "A. Thank you. I really missed you both."


    Jared took a deep breath.


    "It has been a holy hell thest few days. We have been inundated with orders for outfits for Mother''s soir¨¦e and we''ve worked our staff to death."


    "But we did not forget about our Tiny Dancer. You are the High Queen and you will dress the part."


    Candiughed.


    "I was going to wear the purple and gold dress you made for me. It is beautiful!"


    Jared waved his hand in protest.


    "It is beautiful but it''s too dark for this event. This event is the one event that you need to look as if you are a Goddess descending from the heavens!"


    Jason nodded. "With your porcin skin, honey blonde hair, and those stunning hazel eyes, you need something that will floor people and give everyone something to talk about for the rest of this year."


    Candiughed. "I honestly cannot think of anything that would be so stunning that people would talk about for the rest of the¡ªOH MY GOD!!!"


    She choked back her words as Jared and Jason waved their hands into the air and a dress literally fluttered down from somewhere above the ceiling.


    "Candace, do you know why there is a raven, a phoenix, and a butterfly in the Avgo lineup?" Jason asked.


    Candi shook her head.


    "Wings, My Love."


    Jason flexed his chest muscles and FWOOMPH!!! Hisrge dark bat wings unfurled.


    He spread the wings out until they reached their full span and then he raised them above his head.


    Candi stared at the tall, powerfully built man standing before her. His long flowing dark green hair spilled out over his shoulders and onto the wings themselves, turning him into a deity. A demigod. A demonic being full of power and grace.


    "Do you see?"


    Candi nodded, mouth open, eyes wide open.


    As many times as she saw the Princes unfurling their wings, it still made her heart thump so hard she could barely breathe.


    It was a solid reminder that they were not just regr people like her. With their wings alone, they transcended the mortal to be almost immortal.


    "I think I''m jealous." Jared folded his arms and grinned at Candi''s reaction to his brother''s disy of divinity. "Tiny Dancer is impressed with your wings brother."


    Jason smiled.


    "She''s seen them before. I''ve just been keeping them from her because thest time she saw our wings, she seemed a bit afraid of us and I didn''t want to frighten her any more."


    Jason flexed his muscles again and the wings retracted, disappearing into his body. He turned back to her, once again looking like a normal man, or at least as normal as a muscr 6''1" man with green hair could possibly look.


    "Avgo Females with wings are otherworldly." Jason smiled. "They alone can fly and outdistance others in most instances whereas those without wings struggle to remain relevant. More importantly, they look majestic!"


    Candi nodded. The event at the Sky Walk proved without a shadow of doubt that the winged Avgo contestants did better than the non-winged women.


    "But I''m just an ordinary human girl. I don''t have anything that amazing." She bit her thumb nail with a bit of trepidation.


    "So says the woman who has been beating the tar out of the Avgo women as well as eliminating all those mermen on Emporia." Jared scoffed.


    "That''s different." She rolled her eyes. "I just got lucky."


    "No Candace. Don''t downy your brilliance. You have that inner spark that is the hallmark of a true Goddess."


    Jared shuddered as he touched a finger to her dress.


    "You''re just not allowed to wear that disgusting brown bag. Take it off."


    "But¡­"


    "I said take it off." Jared''s brown eyes were serious as he reached out and began untying the ribbons at her neckline and pulling her dress off.


    Toote.


    She remembered the times when they were dressing her at their floating ind. They had manhandled her in the same way they handled their mannequins.


    It was truly professional work for them and they handled it with the intensity of creative geniuses.


    It barely took a few minutes and she was stripped bare, standing before them with nothing on but her bra and panties.


    Jason and Jared began talking to themselves as they normally did when creating something new.


    "Orange?" Jason asked.


    "No. Pink." Jared said.


    "No. Orange."


    "Okay fine. Orangy-pink."


    "No. Pinkish orange." Jason insisted.


    "Just find a shade in between those colors. Or better yet," Jared snapped his fingers. "We can do an ombre!"


    "Yeah. Flow it from orange to pink?" Jason suggested.


    "No. Let''s flow it from pink to orange. Look at her skin tone. You can''t put orange directly at her neckline. It will drown out her coloring." Jared muttered.


    "You''re right. Use pink for the top. I''ll create jewelry with orange gems, to offset." Jason said.


    "That''s perfect, actually. Add some small peridots for green touches."


    Suddenly, they were muttering to each other and arranging the dress that they had brought with them onto her body.


    With a few magic touches of their fingers, the colors began blending themselves onto the dress. Jason added pink touches while Jared added the orange color.


    "And now for the special touch." Jared breathed.


    Jason and Jared looked at each other for a moment. And with a huge grin, touched their hands together.


    They pulled their hands back to reveal a semi-transparent, iridescent gossamer silk which they threw up into the air. It settled gently over her entire body, draping down like a misty translucent veil.


    Suddenly, the fabric dissipated and translucent pink dragonfly wings with orange fringe tips unfurled from the back of her dress, extending outward until it reached a length that was almost her height.


    Candi gasped with delight.


    She had turned into a colorful dragonfly fairy!

 Chapter 73 - The Approved Marriage List

    "Oh wow!" She gasped as the wings began to move, back and forth, at her will. "I can actually use my back muscles to make them flutter!"


    "Yes. They respond to your brain''s control of your muscles." Jason grinned. "It''s as if you have your own set of wings."


    She reached out to touch the gossamer wings and found that her hand passed through thin air!


    "Oh my goodness! It''s just a vision! How does it look so real but doesn''t even exist?"


    Jason and Jaredughed as they gave each other high fives.


    "We''ve been working on this for awhile because we wanted you to have the most awesome dress, and it''s just now good enough to show you.


    "It''s all an illusion, Candace Dearest, for a very important reason." Jason grinned. "In a room full of people, you can''t unfurl wings. They would bang into everything and everyone, and if you''re not careful, will knock things off tables and shelves."


    Jared nodded. "Your wings could also break. That''s what happened to Olivia Faraday and Bethany Dresden. Even Valeria Marakesh couldn''t avoid damaging a wing. It''s their greatest strength, but also their greatest weakness."


    "We will be sending you into a crowded ballroom with illusive dragonfly wings and you will be a spectacr vision, but alsopletely safe. There''s nothing for some upset female to rip off."


    "The dress looks good." Jason finally pronounced. "Take it off so we can make the final adjustments and add the jewels and the trimmings that will make this dress fit for a Queen to wear."


    "You need a new pair of shoes too." Jared muttered as he fussed with a few details at the hem. "We can make another set of ballet shoes that will match this dress just in case you decide you want to dance in this thing."


    "Wow!!!" Sheughed. "I can''t wait! The two of you will also be there, right?" She began struggling out of the dress.


    "We wouldn''t miss it for the world. I heard Dear Old Dad threw this party so we could find our dream wife." Jared said with a wry grimace as he helped her take off the dragonfly dress.


    "Yeah. We could tell him that we already found her but he''s never going to understand." Jason grimaced as he helped her back into her brown bag dress with a grimace of distaste.


    Candi gave them a sad smile.


    "It''s not because he doesn''t understand but because he wants the very best for you both. The Emperor is very sharp."


    Jared shrugged, packing up the dragonfly dress. With a quick flick of his hands, the dress disappeared.


    "What he wants or thinks is best doesn''t have any bearing on what we want. Jason and I may just be younger brothers who don''t have much political pull but we are also individuals who deserve to be with the person we love."


    "I thought all Princes have to marry someone within an ''approved list''. You can''t just pick someone off the street and marry them¡­can you?"


    Jason and Jared nced at each other. Jared shook his head.


    "Not that it matters to us at all, but in this case, it''s not even relevant. All Avgo females are within the ''approved list''."


    "So she''s an Avgo Female!" Candi''s jaw dropped.


    The twins nodded.


    Candi''s eyes sparkled.


    "Don''t tell me. Is it Valeria? Or maybe Olivia? She is absolutely gorgeous, with those butterfly wings of hers."


    The twins nced at each other.


    "No, Candace." Jared shook his head, his brown eyes soft and gentle.


    Candi frowned, perplexed.


    "Who then?"


    Jared opened his mouth, about to respond when Dante''s voice came through the entryway.


    "There you are!"


    Dante was finally back from his trip off-world.


    "Yes, here we are." Jared turned toward Dante as he appeared through the entrance.


    Suddenly, Dante''s Moon was warm and whole again and everything was as it should be.


    Candi was surprised to realize how much she missed his familiar shock of spiky blue hair that almost touched the top of his shoulders.


    She also missed his bright intelligent green eyes as they took in everything and found solutions to all that was not quite right with her world.


    Dante strode in. Those bright green eyes were mesmerized and fixated on Candi''s face.


    "I wasn''t talking about the two of you clowns. I was looking for Candace."


    "Well, hello to you too." Jason sniffed. "I have a serious bone to pick with you!"


    He pointed at Dante''s face.


    "I don''t care how broke you are, you cannot dress our Candace in scullery maid outfit." He pointed to Candi. "Look at her! She''s wearing an old brown bag!"


    Dante was looking at Candace, but not at her clothes. He was staring into her eyes.


    "It doesn''t matter what she wears. She could be in rags and still be my Candace."


    As he got closer, he reached out with both hands and cupped the sides of her face. In a softer voice, he muttered as he looked down upon her turned up face.


    "It''s only been three days but I could barely make it through. I missed you so much."


    Dante looked as if he wanted to kiss her, but Candi could see that self-control exerting itself on him again. With barely veiled annoyance, he turned back to the twins who were ring at him.


    "You''re right. She needs more clothes. This old bag is not what I want my Queen to be wearing, even if it''s just y clothes. Send your people over and outfit herpletely."


    "We''ve already started the process, as soon as we realized you weren''t taking good care of her." Jason sniffed.


    "We have to get her ball gown ready, but I''ll have the staff draw up some new designs for her daily wear and her y wear, as well as work wear."


    Jared turned to Candace.


    "We will be back tonight to bring various items of clothing for you to consider. Meanwhile, go burn this thing for me." He pointed at the brown dress. "It really makes my eyes ache."


    Candi nodded with augh. They really were clowns of the most endearing kind.


    The twins dropped a kiss onto her cheek and took their leave.


    As they disappeared from sight, Dante''s iron resolve snapped. He reached out, and with a sigh of relief mixed with exhaustion, gathered her into his arms and dropped his head to taste her lips.


    His mouth was warm and soft. His full lips fluttered about, tasting her for a few moments in gentle nudging caresses.


    "Ahhh. Forgive me." He groaned and crushed his lips into hers, devouring her with a hunger that was almost frightening.


    Candi gasped as he plundered her with his tongue as if he was a starved man and could not get enough.


    Everywhere was the touch, the taste, the scent of the man. The sensation, sharp and intense; the thrill, sensuous and electrifying.


    Then with a deep breath, he sank his head onto her shoulder, quivering like a child who''d been deprived too long of love andfort.

 Chapter 74 - Princess Is No Big Deal

    They stood there for a moment, in an awkward position where therge man was leaning on the small woman and she was barely able to keep on her feet, he was so heavy.


    "Ugh. I''m so exhausted. Let me borrow your shoulder for a moment."


    Candiughed. She didn''t know if she could hold him up much more than a moment longer.


    "Isn''t that ufortable for you? I''m a bit on the short side."


    Dante was bent almost double trying to rest his head on her shoulder, but he didn''t care. He inhaled the scent of the woman he''d been missing for days and felt a rush of pleasure.


    "I barely slept. Ipressed an entire week''s worth of work into three days and made my aides and attendants work round the clock just so I could return in time to escort you to the ball."


    "I have no sympathy, you party animal, you." She chuckled.


    He groaned. "I don''t care about the party. I just didn''t want anyone else apanying you to that party but me."


    "te is going to be at the ball." Candi reminded him.


    Dante raised his head and gave her a look. Leonardo hadn''t really told Candace the extent of injury that te had endured.


    "te is going to attend only for a short time."


    He led her over to the lounge area and plopped down on therge divan filled with colorful cushions. As heid his body down with a groan, he pulled her with him so that she was supine alongside his body.


    "He''s still in recovery mode. Leonardo is going to let him attend the ball in a hover chair for about an hour and then he has to return to the hospital starship."


    "If he''s still not well enough, why is he insisting on going to this thing?"


    "For the same reason that even though I''m half-dead with exhaustion, I also need to be there. We both need to make sure you are fairly treated and not bullied by all the women who are going to be at that ball."


    "All the women? I thought it was just Avgo¡ª"


    "No, no my Dear." Dante closed his eyes and pulled her into his arms. "It''s Empress rissa''s chance to shine, so she will invite every single eligible female to be paraded at all of us Princes."


    He yawned, trying to fight off sleep.


    "Avgo females are given top priority, but just in case one of us seven Princes don''t like one of the seven Avgo women, and I''m pretty sure nobody is going to be pining for the fish girl, a non-Avgo female has a sliver of a chance of being selected."


    "Selected for what?"


    "To be married. The chance to turn into a Princess of Erenveil."


    "That''s quite an amazing opportunity."


    Dante''s eyes werepletely closed by now. His breathing was steady and regr.


    Just when she thought he hadpletely fallen asleep, he muttered onest thing.


    "Princess¡ªno big deal. Empress¡ªbig deal."


    And with that, Dante fell asleep on the divan, with Candi trapped within his embrace.


    =======


    The next morning was a blur of activity.


    As exhausted as Dante was the day before, he had awakened refreshed and alert, discussing urgent matters with his aides and assistants as they ran about, carrying out his orders.


    Candi was still lying on the divan, sleeping so he covered her with theforter and went about his business. He took his coffee at the small hover desk they had moved next to the divan so he could still work and be near her.


    His normal office was much closer to the inner sanctum of the Moon, isted from everyone, but today, his entire staff was rushing around the cavernous formal living quarters, attending to his needs.


    They tried to be as quiet as they could, knowing she was still sleeping, but eventually, Candi woke up.


    "Wow. I can''t believe we both fell asleep on the living room couch." She rubbed her head and looked around.


    The divan was surprisinglyfortable. It was more like a full sized bed than a couch or a settee.


    "You have half a day to do as you please, and then you have to get ready for the Royal Ball." Dante smiled as he continued working on the stack of documents in front of him.


    She got up from the divan and came closer to him.


    With a sigh, she leaned up agains him and pressed her face to his back, huddling to absorb the warmth of his body. Although the Moon''s temperature was moderate, it was always a bit on the cool side. He had been keeping her warm all night long and and Candi wasn''t too proud to use him for his body heat.


    "I''m sozy. I don''t feel like doing anything." She mumbled into his back.


    Dante smiled.


    "Then don''t. Your body feels cold. Get back in bed and just hang out with me. I''ll have the servers bring breakfast for both of us."


    She nodded and trudged back to the divan. She didn''t n on falling asleep again, but didn''t awaken until the servers came with a rolling trolley, filled with the scent of delicious fooding from domed tes.


    Dante continued to push through his work, even as he sat and ate a few bites of breakfast with her. They didn''t talk much, but the silence wasfortable and warm.


    She spent the rest of the dayzing around as Dante worked, not doing much. It was almost like thosezy weekends when simply existing was all that was required.


    Towards the afternoon, Dante had several maids in waiting take her away to get ready for the Royal Ball which would start that evening.


    The dress and jewels that the twins had created were waiting for her when the maids finished getting her ready. As they helped her into the dress, the wings became activated and began to unfurl.


    "Oh my!" The maids gasped. "You will be the darling of the Royal Ball. I have never seen wings like this."


    "Best of all, it''s just an illusion!" Candi grinned, moving her hand back and forth through the ephemeral wings, to the delight of the maids in waiting.


    Within the hour, she was ready and the maids escorted her back out to the Main Hall where Dante was still working at his desk.


    "Take care of this stack of documents for me Nigel. I need for it to be ready to sign when I get back. Tanner, go talk to the Ambassador of Peoria. Tell him I need to talk to him after the Ball."


    As the aides rushed off to do his bidding, he yelled at their backs.


    "And respond to that nitwit Palmer that I will pay him 7 billion jemals and no more, for that dust ball world he calls a resort."


    Dante stood up and turned towards Candi as she walked in through the hallway.


    "Oh¡­wow¡­" Dante sucked in a deep appreciative breath as he sank back into his chair. "You are a vision of breathtaking beauty. Since when did my Candace turn into a stunning dragonfly Queen?"


    Candiughed.


    "Jared and Jason made it for me. It''s fake wings. See?" She pped her hands back and forth, breaking the illusion.


    The Second Prince of Erenveilughed and shook his head.


    "It''s going to be tough to ensure that my Candace won''t be too ashamed of her escort for the evening."


    "My escort?"


    He grinned and ran his fingers through his spiky blue hair.


    "That would be me."

 Chapter 75 - The Princes Royal Ball

    It took almost three hours for the hand-maidens to get Candi ready for the Royal Ball, but Dante was in and out of the shower within fifteen minutes.


    He came back out of his private quarters, dressed in a ck suit, dark leathers shoes, and crisp white shirt with a ck tie.


    His normally spiky blue hair had been gelled back, revealing his dashing widow''s peak that was normally hidden under all the spiky hair. The long spiky ends that reached his shoulder had been gathered and tied at his nape with a ck bowtie.


    As he came closer, she could smell the mossy woody scent of green grasses and wild heather.


    Candi''s jaw dropped. He looked and smelled good enough to eat.


    "Do I match well enough with you?"


    "You look amazing!"


    Danteughed.


    "Thank you. I can''t allow you to be too embarrassed to be seen with me. I even fixed my hair for you." He pointed to the perfectly styled hair that tamed the usual wild spikes he sported every day.


    Candiughed.


    "You look perfect. Worn this way, I can see how you''d look with long hair."


    Dante smiled.


    "If long hair is what you wish, I will grow it out just for you."


    He reached out and was about to usher her out the door when a patter of feet could be heard from behind them.


    "Your Highness!" One of his aides rushed through the entry, panting.


    "Please wait. Prince Jared just sent this. He said you would need it."


    In the aide''s hand was a small wood box.


    Dante gestured with his eyes and the aide opened the box.


    Within the velvet interior was an iridescent gossamer pinkish gold neck tie and kerchief with arge cushion cut diamond pin.


    Candi gasped. It perfectly matched her wings!


    Dante smiled and turned back to the aide, who quickly stripped the ck tie off him and made short work of recing it with the new tie.


    He pinned the diamond to the tie, keeping it in perfect position and then tucked the kerchief into Dante''s breast pocket. With ast tug to straighten the tie, the aide nodded.


    "You two are now a perfectly matched pair."


    Dante gave a satisfied nod and turned back to Candi.


    "Shall we?" He held out his arm for her to take.


    =======


    The Royal Ball was already starting to get underway by the time Candi and Dante arrived.


    Thest time she was at the Pce, she had been carried in on Byron''s arms so she missed seeing the outside of the castle.


    It truly was magnificent.


    The pce itself was built from a pinkish beige, cleft-cut, textured, fossilized stone. Many bs, split along their natural grain, showed fossilized leaves, branches, feathers, and even bones of small starfish, shells and seahorses.


    From afar, the castle exuded that shining castle-in-the-sky feeling that exemplified the power of the Erenveil Empire. Up close, it embodied warmth, ss, and craftsmanship.


    At the moment, there were pinknterns and sashes of gold and red hung at the entrance to wee the invitees.


    As soon as Dante''s transport pod hovered into ce, they were immediately escorted to the gold carpet where they walked in together, through the throng of people waiting to be allowed in.


    Since Dante was technically not an invitee but rather part of the Royal family, it was not as if he was allowed into the Royal Pce ahead of everyone else. People just assumed he was returning home from wherever it was he normally stayed.


    Candi''s eyes lit up as she walked past the double line of armed sentry standing at rapt attention. At the gate, the Gatekeeper bowed to the Second Prince and opened up.


    Once they entered the outer yard, several people came up to escort them into the inner courtyard where the festivities began.


    If the outer yard was grand, the inner courtyard was jaw-dropping.


    Colored silknterns had been strung across walkways and hung on tree branches, glowing in pinks, oranges, yellows, blues, and greens. There werenterns along the walkways and on the scattered tables. The entire ce was lit up with lights from the outside in.


    "This way, Your Royal Highness and Mdy." More people came to escort them into the Grand Ballroom.


    Suddenly, the scent ofvender and mimosa effused through the air, blending with the smell of lemon oil soap that had been used to clean the ballroom.


    "Ahhh. Your Mother has done an amazing job organizing this Royal Ball." Candace breathed, looking around the glittering ballroom.


    "That would be the Empress, who is most certainly not my mother. Speaking of whom," he gasped. "I want to introduce you to Mother when she gets here. I''ve told her all about you and she is excited to meet you."


    Candi''s eyes glowed.


    "Oh I would love to meet your mother!"


    He smiled. "She doesn''t get out much any more, but she decided toe to the party because all the Avgo Females would be attending, and she is particrly a fan of yours."


    Candiughed. She had no idea she had actual fans.


    They moved to the inner sanctum where the immediate family members were allowed to retreat to.


    There were chaise lounges in convenient locations as well as a table filled with covered dishes of various finger foods along with the attendants ready to serve them if they did not want to partake from the dining table for the rest of the party-goers.


    "Have a seat and I will see if te has arrived." Dante led her to one of the soft cushioned settees as an attendant came by with a tray filled with various drinks.


    She gave a smile of thanks and took a ss with something white in it thinking it was water. One taste revealed that it was white alcoholic beverage.


    She discretely ced it back on the table. No sense in getting wasted before the party even started. Tonight was a night that she needed to be on her toes.


    The attendant saw her rejecting the drink and came back with another ss of clear liquid.


    "Might I suggest this refreshing drink, Mdy?"


    Candi smiled and took the fluted ss. She took a quick sip.


    Chilled water with a twist of lemon!


    She nodded and smiled at the observant attendant. The woman was not much older than Candi herself and was not outstanding in face or demeanor.


    She had brown hair and brown eyes and was dressed in the basic burgundy and gold Royal attendant outfit. In her unassuming manner, Coral simply melded into the background.


    "What is your name?"


    "My name is Coral, Mdy."


    "Are you one of the attendants for tonight''s party?"


    "My mother is the Empress'' personal attendant. I take care of the needs of the immediate Royal family within the inner sanctum."


    "Stay close to her, Coral." Dante spoke up. He had returned to her side.


    "In fact, you will be her personal attendant for tonight''s party. Make sure she is unharmed."


    Coral''s face lit up.


    "Yes, Your Royal Highness."


    Dante leaned over and whispered into Candi''s ear.


    "Coral is an assassin."

 Chapter 76 - A Gaggle Of Women

    Candi winced.


    "Should I be worried? I''m too young to die."


    Danteughed.


    "She''s OUR assassin. Her job is to assassinate those who seek to harm you, and to keep you safe."


    "I see. Thank you, Dante." Candi reached up and gave him a peck on the cheek.


    He blushed and cleared his throat.


    "I spoke with Leo a few minutes ago. He and te will be here within the hour. He does not want to bring te too early because te is only allowed to be here for about an hour before he has to return to the hospital."


    "That is smart. Does that mean Leonardo will only be here for an hour as well?"


    Dante nodded. "Leo''s not really a party animal either. And he has no skin in this game."


    "What skin are we talking about?"


    "He''s already made it known to Dear Old Dad that he wants to marry you, so his choice has been made clear. He won''t be looking at any other marriage candidate, Avgo or not."


    "I am interested in seeing the choices that the other Princes will be targeting."


    Dante tapped her on the nose.


    "You already know what my choice is."


    =======


    The Royal Ball began promptly at the seventh hour mark. All the invitees along with their attendants and partners had arrived and were mingling in groups, waiting for the Royal Family to make an appearance.


    All the women were dressed in gowns of every color under the sun. The fabrics and jewelry were decadent and showy, a grant disy ofvish wealth that the nobility prided on having.


    Here and there, Candi was surprised to find that she could actually recognize some of the twins'' signature clothing and jewelry. After all, she did own quite a few pieces of their clothing that were specifically designed for her.


    By the time Dante took her out of the inner sanctum, into the main ballroom, te and Leonardo had appeared.


    Candi saw them enter through the main entrance and her eyes lit up.


    Leonardo wore a turquoise blue suit thatplemented his aqua blue eyes. His tie was a darker shade of aqua and his long blond hair was tied at the nape. On his finger was a huge Paraiba tourmaline si ring of an exquisite aquamarine color.


    He was walking alongside the Seventh Prince who was sitting on a white hover chair, moving at a sedate pace. te wore a pristine white suit over a crisp white shirt with a mandarin cor.


    The bright white contrasted sharply with his handsome bronzed face and long raven ck hair that he left flowing loosely around his shoulders. He had no jewelry on and wore no other color to break the expanse of white around him.


    The only color to shine from him were his brilliant blue eyes which met hers across the crowded room.


    He smiled and gave her a wink.


    They were bothing towards Dante and Candi.


    "te and Leonardo are here!" Candi said to Dante with excitement and was about to make her way to them when a gaggle of women converged in front of her.


    They all began to crowd around te and Leonardo, introducing themselves and in general, trying to get some of their attention.


    She was pushed backward by the tide of women rallying around te and Leonard.


    "Candace!" She heard Dante call out to her and turned to him only to see another tide of women rushing between Dante and herself as he too was beset by women of every color, creed, and persuasion.


    The Princes were starting to get mobbed.


    "This way." Coral took hold of Candi''s arm and moved her toward the long table reserved for the Royal Family in front of the stage.


    She sat Candi down at one of the ces.


    "If you sit here, you will be safe from the women."


    "Are they in any danger? They''repletely surrounded!" Candi''s eyes darted back and forth between Leonardo, te, and Dante.


    "This is a Royal Ball, Mdy. Other than being surrounded by adoring females, they will be fine. They will soon being this way since no one else is allowed at this table except for the Royal Family."


    "But I''m not part of the Royal Family."


    Coral turned to her with bright eyes.


    "Second Prince Dante has told me to care for you. This means that he has confirmed clearly that you are part of the Royal Family." She sniffed with pride. "I only take care of Royal members."


    Candi nodded, not sure what that meant. She cast her eyes back to the groups of women who were still hovering around the Princes.


    She gasped as she saw Leonardo trying to move towards the Royal Banquet Table where she was seated, with Coral standing behind her in attendance.


    He wasn''t making much progress, but beside him, moving in the same sedate fashion was te in his hover chair. He continued advancing in her direction, irregardless of who was in the way.


    As the women made a hasty retreat from te''s advancing chair, Leonardo followed immediately behind, taking advantage of the chair''s movement to clear the way for him.


    te plowed forward, uncaring if someone in front of him would get plowed over or not. He was not moving swiftly and they could jump out of the way if they did not want to get knocked down and stomped on by the other women around them.


    On the other side of the room, Dante was having the same problem of being inundated with females. He was, however, not as gentle as Leonardo was to the women around him.


    Raising his hands up into the air, blue sparks crackled from his fingertips.


    "If you don''t want to get shocked, keep your distance from me." He warned with a growl.


    Arge-chested woman with a huge blonde beehive hairdo disregarded his warning and gave a sudden lunge.


    Dante turned to her and threw his hand in self-defense, aiming an energy bolt at her body.


    She reached out, iling as her fingers caught onto his iridescent pinkish gold neck tie, ripping it off his pristine white shirt.


    The tie tore off in her hand, sending therge diamond into the air.


    Twinkling with brilliance and fire, the stone flew above everyone''s heads andnded in the middle of the gaggle of women.


    They screamed and began scrambling for the diamond, not because it was a diamond but because it was the Second Prince''s diamond.


    Dante''s face was frozen into a mask as he stood there ring at the woman who had just torn his tie off¡ªthe precious tie that spoke out loud who he was escorting to the Royal Ball.


    The woman stood with her painted red mouth wide open, clutching at a scrap of the iridescent pink orange tie that she had ripped off his body.


    A hush enveloped the entire ballroom. This was not going to end well for the buxom blonde. The Second Prince was famous for one thing.


    His bloody temper.

 Chapter 77 - The Scent Of A Woman

    Everyone looked in horror at the sight.


    The woman''s eyes widened with sudden fear. She had not expected to have had even the chance to get near him, let alone have a piece of him.


    Yet, here she was with a scrap of his tie in her hand and nowhere to hide.


    With a growl, Dante snarled and bared his slowly lengthening fangs, his green eyes glittering with rage.


    His blood boiled as it raced through his body. It was pounding into his temples and shouting at him to strike his prey and devour her blood.


    He began to advance on her, sparks snapping and sizzling from his fingertips.


    Suddenly, six Royal Attendants sprang to his side.


    Everyone froze. Then, a melee ensued as the guests scrambled to put a distance between themselves and the Royal Attendants. Everyone knew what the appearance of Royal Attendants meant.


    They did not hesitate to strike down anyone who looked as if they could be a threat to the Royal Family.


    As two of the Royal Attendants held him back, the remaining four advanced towards the hapless blonde still holding onto the tattered rag that was once Dante''s pride possession.


    "Arrest that woman for attempted theft of the Royal Family Diamond, the Taralei." One of the Royal Attendants pointed to the hapless woman.


    "No, No! I wasn''t trying to steal the diamond. No!" She began yelling as the Royal Attendants converged on her.


    As she was pulled from the ballroom, kicking and screaming, all the other women backed away.


    Stealing from the Royal Family automaticallynded a person in the royal dungeons for at least a couple of decades. The woman had also torn the Second Prince''s tie off, which would be considered assault on a Royal person, most likely earning her another twenty years.


    She would be an old woman by the time she was allowed to see the light of day, but at least she was lucky enough that the Royal Attendants had arrived when they did or she would have been a bloody stump on the ground.


    The guests murmured among themselves as they looked at Prince Dante, still standing there. The Second Prince was not someone to get close to if one valued his or her life.


    Dante stood alone in the middle of the ballroom, quivering with barely suppressed rage. This was his Empress Mother''s Royal Ball. He had to try to control the rage and the urge to devolve into that bloodthirsty animal that sought blood in any form.


    The perfectly dressed Prince was disheveled. His shirt was ruffled at the point where the tie had torn. The sparkling Taralei Diamond was several feet away, looking abandoned and forsaken on the hardwood dance floor.


    "Hmmmphh!" Candi jumped up onto her feet, bristling with indignation.


    How dare that woman attack Dante like that and destroy the outfit he had so carefully worn for this Royal Ball!


    She could not leave him alone on the ballroom floor like that.


    As Candi rose from her seat and crossed the floor, the guests quickly noticed her pink and orange ombre dress with the glistening gossamer dragonfly wings of iridescent pinkish orange spread out behind her. In her blonde hair was a tiara of gold, and on her neck was a choker with a pink stone that looked suspiciously like the Avgo gem.


    She was a vision of beauty, something that could not possibly exist on the ne of the ordinary. Those amazing wings perfectly matched with the damaged tie on his neck. This woman was obviously Prince Dante''s escort for the night!


    Not only that, the woman looked familiar!


    Could it be???


    Oh my! The crowd gasped.


    It truly was her! The ballet dancer that was currently holding first position at the Avgo Events!


    But wait! Everyone knew that the winner would be the Crown Prince''s bride. Why was she the Second Prince''s escort?


    This was an anomalous situation that needed to be endlessly debated over teas and coffees and parlor halls. Was she just going after the extreme wealth of the Second Prince?


    Would she purposely lose so that she could be the Second Prince''s bride? But if she were to purposely lose the event, who would be their new Crown Princess? This was important, as that woman would eventually be the Empress!


    The initial silence of the shocked guests slowly turned into a dull roar as they began to specte and ponder over the new turn of events.


    Throughout all of this, Candi waspletely unaware.


    On swift ballet toes, she pranced over to where Dante stood, alone and quivering with rage.


    As she reached the Taralei Diamond, she reached down and picked it up.


    Two stepster, she was standing in front of him.


    "Goodness gracious. This thing doesn''t look too good, now does it." She eyed his bared fangs and his bloodshot green eyes. "Whatever shall we do?"


    He stood there, staring at her, trying to say something to reassure her that he was not upset at her, but nothing wasing out. His blood was still boiling in his brains and he could not turn off the physical transformation that quickly.


    Sensing his difficulty, Candi smiled.


    "Let''s get rid of this thing, shall we?" She quickly pulled the torn scrap of tie off his neck and dropped it to the floor. Then she began straightening his shirt.


    "You are so tall, Dante. You are making my neck ache from constantly looking up at you. Even on my ballet tippy toes, you''re still way taller than I am." She gave a gentleugh.


    Her tender voice and soft touch was calming the beast within him. As the rage receded from his face, Dante''s green eyes began to fill with sorrow.


    He had not only embarrassed his beautiful escort by almost devolving into a beast, he had also inadvertently allowed her colors to be damaged.


    Candi took note of the sadness enveloping him and took a deep breath.


    "Since you''re my escort for the evening, you need to wear my colors so everyone knows I''m your date tonight." She smiled as she whipped the matching scarf off her neck.


    Reaching up on ballet pointe toes, she tied the scarf around his cor in the form of an ascot tie. Then she gently tugged his shirt back into its pristine condition.


    "See, you look perfect again." She looked up at him. "No harm done."


    Dante began to smile. With just a simple action, she had changed what was wrong, to right again. His anger and sadness dissipated into thin air, to be reced with joy.


    He lowered his head and gave her a soft gentle kiss on her lips.


    "Thank you." He inhaled deeply. "This scarf has your perfume on it. Now I will smell like you for the rest of the night."


    "Are youining?" She raised an eyebrow and handed him his diamond pin.


    "No no! I love your scent, woman. It will feel as if you''re hugging me all night." He again inhaled deeply, her scent and then held up the diamond.


    "Thank you foring to my rescue. In return, I offer the Taralei Diamond to you in hopes you will ept it."


    She smiled, nodding.


    It was a grand gesture, and epting such an expensive piece of jewelry was something Candi normally did not do. But Dante seemed to have recovered hisposure and she could not ruin his mood since he''d been so enraged only minutes earlier.


    He pinned the diamond onto the front of her dress and then took her hand and led her back to the Royal Banquet Table.

 Chapter 78 - The Colors Of Love

    The two Princes were already seated at the table by the time Candi and Dante reached the table.


    Leonardo stood up and pulled a chair out for Candi so she could sit next to te. Dante led her to the chair and helped her to sit and then moved over next to Leonardo.


    He tried to be magnanimous about the fact that the woman he was officially escorting to the Royal Ball would be sitting between his two brothers.


    Dante took a swift intake of air and squared his shoulders. Leonardo and te would not be here long so they could sit with her until they left.


    te reached out and took Candi''s hand, pulling her towards him. She leaned over and received a discrete kiss from te.


    "You look like a vision from above." te murmured in her ear. "I can barely keep my heart from jumping around like a little bird."


    "Thank you Sweetheart." Candiughed gently. "You look amazing yourself."


    "I normally don''t even wear anything fancy to these balls, but for you, I will always get dressed up." te looked at her, blushing.


    She looked at his crisp white outfit and suddenly realized that he mostly wore white shirts and his castle and transport pod were white within.


    "I''m starting to notice that white is your favorite color." Sheughed.


    te shook his head.


    "I''m a warrior and I have to go into the bloody grimy battlefield all the time. White is clean. It is the absence of color and it calms me down, but that''s just for me."


    He gazed at the colorful pink and orange gown on her.


    "You are a different story. You bring so much color and joy into my bleak monochromatic life."


    On her other side, Leonardo was pouring something into a goblet and cing it in front of her.


    "I, on the other hand, wear white physician robes every day of my life. I''m so sick of wearing white." Leonardoughed. "Jared and Jason insisted I wear this turquoise outfit to the ball."


    "Because it matches your beautiful aqua blue eyes." Candi responded.


    She picked up the goblet and took a sip. It was red grape juice without a hint of any alcohol, the same stuff te was drinking so that his medicine would not be interfered with.


    "You really think so? You like my eyes?" Leonardo turned to her with joy.


    Candi nodded. "I love your eyes! They remind me of a tropical beach, that perfect aquamarine shade of greenish blue."


    As Leonardo beamed with delight, Dante, on the other side of Leonardo was scowling with a tinge of green vinegar.


    So she preferred Leonardo''s aqua blue eyes, did she. That was obvious since she never said anything nice about his emerald green eyes.


    Emerald green was pretty too!


    Dante reached up, about to ruffle his blue hair with frustration when he suddenly realized it had been slicked back and styled with care. He heaved a theatrical sigh, settling for popping his knuckles under the table to relieve his stress.


    "I swear." He growled to no one in particr. "The crowd gets more and more rowdy each year. It didn''t use to be this bad."


    "There is a ball like this every year?" That caught his Candace''s attention. She gave him a wide-eyed nce.


    Dante nodded.


    "Usually there are two balls, one at each of the Solstices. This year''s summer solstice won''t be here for another five weeks, but the Empress moved it forward so it would coincide better with the Avgo Events."


    "Speaking of the Empress," te made a motion with the foot of his champagne flute. "Here shees, with Father and Byron."


    Candi turned to look and had to hold in a gasp.


    Thest time she saw the royal pair, they were sitting around eating lunch. As stately as they were at that casual setting, it paled inparison to the couple dressed in their regal outfits walking through the grand entryway.


    The Empress was tall and willowy and had the kind of body that super models strived for. Her long curly red hair was kept in check by the elegant jewel-studded crown she wore on her head.


    Her pale blue eyes swept across the ballroom, making a note of the guests, attendants, and decorations. This was a woman who was a stickler for details, a true perfectionist.


    Beside her was theckadaisical jokester Emperor with the long raven hair and a face that looked so very much like an older version of te.


    His crown wasrge and heavy, and his scepter was a morning star mace looking affair that was both decorative and weapon like.


    He walked with a swagger andughed at everything and everyone in a loud boisterous voice. He wasrger than life, with aedic clown exterior that belied a sharp calcting streak that ran through his violet eyes.


    Following behind was the tall stately proud bearing of the Crown Prince. He also had red hair but that was the only thing he shared with his mother.


    His straight thick hair was a much darker red, and he had a simr looking face to te since the two most closely resembled their father.


    The Royal pair, along with the Crown Prince made their way in through the door amidst moring and loud announcements from the announcers.


    The three wore white robes trimmed with gold tassels. Along with the traditional crowns of the Erenveil monarchy, they also wore si seal rings on their fingers that symbolized their power to ratify, endorse, and createws for the entire gxy.


    As they began their stately walk on the gold carpet, winding their way through the ballroom, majestic music began to swell up from the orchestra on the left side of the main stage, where the musicians were situated.


    Empress rissa looked around and spotted Candi and the three Princes already seated at the Royal Banquet Table. She smiled at them as the Royal procession came closer.


    "Oh thank goodness, it''s you." She spoke up and held out her hand to Candi. "I was worried it might be the other Earth woman." She shivered with distaste.


    She rose and kissed the Empress'' outstretched hand before bowing to the Emperor.


    To Byron, she was about to extend another bow when he leaned over and kissed her cheek.


    "You are so beautiful.." He whispered into her ear before straightening back up and resuming his half-bored Crown Prince look.

 Chapter 79 - The Taralei Diamond

    The other Princes rose to their feet except for te who was stuck in his hover chair. Dante and Leonardo reached out and pressed a kiss onto the backs of the Empress'' hand.


    "You are stunning as always, Empress Mother." Dante greeted.


    "You look younger and younger every day, Empress Mother." Leonardo spoke up at the same time.


    Empress rissa nced back and forth Between Dante and Leonardo. "All my boys look so handsome. I heard a fight broke out among the women trying to get close to you all."


    She turned to te.


    "And you are looking as if you''ve almost recovered! I''m so d." She breathed. Reaching out, she patted his hand. "I have been praying every day for your recovery, my son."


    "Thank you, Empress Mother." te nodded.


    The Emperor cleared his throat.


    "I see we have the Earth Avgo Female here at the Royal Banquet Table tonight." He raised his eyes in feigned fright. "I was afraid it would have been the other Earth Avgo Female."


    "Father, there is only one Earth Avgo Female and that is Candace." te retorted.


    "Yes, but we had dinner with the other Earth female a few days back," the Empress cleared her throat, and stared at the ten karat emerald on her finger. "Lucas brought her to the pce for a few days."


    "She was so tacky." The Emperor grimaced. "Wasn''t she, rissa?"


    "Don''t say such things in polite society, Rex." The Empress gave a mild frown at him.


    The Emperor bared his fangs.


    "Well you were the one who said she was tacky!"


    "Oh hush." She turned her head and took a chair that Byron had pulled out for her.


    The Emperor made a disgruntled face behind her back and promptly sat down next to her.


    "Speak of the devil." Dante murmured, looking out across the ballroom.


    Through the doorway, they could see the Third Prince of Erenveil walking into the ballroom apanied by Dahlia Halloway.


    Lucas was a mega star. His blond hair had been highlighted with pink waves that made him look visually striking on visuals.


    In real life, he was even more stunning. His face was that of a beautiful god who just happened to be frolicking down where the mortals lived.


    As amazing as he looked from his neck up, he wore basic ck robes with no decorations, all the way down to his basic ck leather boots.


    His escort Dahlia Halloway was tall and stately, with long red hair falling in waves that radiating around her shoulders.


    She had bright green eyes and lush full lips painted in a brick red color. Her deep green ballgown entuated every curve and made herrge breasts evenrger.


    On her feet were ck heels, giving extra height to her already impressive six feet tall stature. Although Lucas was no slouch, at 6''1", she towered over him with her heels,ing in at 6''4".


    The Emperor saw the height discrepancy and began cackling as he pped the arm rest of his chair.


    "What a tacky girl. Hehehe." The Emperor wiped tears of mirth from the corners of his eyes. "Couldn''t she just wear some ts for the night so Lucas wouldn''t have to look up at her?"


    "Behave yourself." The Empress mumbled at the Emperor and turned towards the couple as they made their way to the table.


    "Lucas! Dahlia! So d you both could make it!"


    "Empress Mother." Lucas mumbled and kissed the Empress on the cheek. He nodded at his brothers and shot Candi a quick nce before looking away.


    "Have a seat here, Darling." He touched Dahlia on the arm and pulled out a chair immediately across from Candi.


    Dahlia sat with the regal air of a queen and ignored Candi''s proffered smile.


    She, of course, was the de facto Princess of Earth, so she had been trained in the ways of what Princesses should do at an event of this magnitude, which obviously did not include hobnobbing with themoners.


    But Lucas was not having any of this.


    "I''m sure the both of you met already, on the first day at the Avgo Event, but formal introductions are necessary if we are to have a good time."


    Candi almost chuckled out loud. Of course they had already met, and in the most extenuating of circumstance. This was the woman who had torn up her ankles trying not to get pulled into the maelstrom whirlwind.


    "This is the front-runner Avgo Female at this time, Candace Farrah." He indicated at Candi. "And this is Dahlia Halloway, my escort for the evening."


    "Hello Dahlia." Candi smiled. She was seated at the Royal Banquet Table. She needed to extend at least a modicum of civility, even to one such as Dahlia.


    "Candace." Dahlia muttered with disinterest, looking away as if she did not want to waste her time on such a nobody.


    The Empress sniffed, disdain written all over her face. Seeing the Empress'' haughty exterior, Dahlia gave a discrete smile. Even the Empress did not want to have anything to do with this plebeian.


    She turned to Lucas.


    "Is there any red wine?"


    In answer, Lucas snapped a finger at one of the Attendants who came and began serving Dahlia.


    "Wait a moment," the Emperor raised up his hand. "Is that the Taralei Diamond on your dress?" He pointed at Candi''s dress front.


    Candi looked down at the huge diamond pin that Dante had ced on her. She wasn''t exactly sure if this was a taralei diamond but it seemed to be rather important.


    From the other side of the table, Dante spoke up.


    "You have sharp eyes, Father. That is, indeed the Taralei Diamond."


    "How did this Earth Avgo Female get her hands on it? Don''t tell me she stole that one too, just like she stole the Avgo gemstone." The Emperor roared out hisughter and pounded the Empress on the back.


    She coughed at his boisterous back p, trying to keep herposure.


    "Darling, you know the Avgo cannot be stolen. It is a physical impossibility." The Empress cleared her throat.


    "It''s not an impossibility." Dahlia corrected the Empress. "The girl actually stole it from the event where it was supposed to have been presented to me."


    The table fell silent at Dahlia''s insulting tone at the Empress but she was oblivious to the sudden frosty res that all the Princes shot her.


    The Empress ignored Dahlia''s outburst, looking away.


    Dahlia gave a half-lidded look at Candi, her lips turned up in a satisfied sneer.


    "It is tolerable, I suppose, since she is allowed to keep it for the duration of the Avgo Events. Once it concludes, all her earnings wille to me." She turned and eyed the Taralei Diamond with a coveted look. "Including that huge bauble on her dress."


    The Empress'' face nched even as the Emperor roared withughter, banging on the table with his meaty palms.


    "Hahahahaha!!!" He guffawed.. "You hear that Dante? Your Mother''s huge bauble, the Taralei Diamond is going to be forfeited over to that Earth woman Dahlia Hollow-something. Hahahahaha!!!"

 Chapter 80 - Consort Anastasia

    Dante''s eyes glittered with what Candi now recognized as suppressed rage.


    This was not good.


    She turned to the Emperor with a winsome smile.


    "My pardon. I did not realize this was Dante''s Mother''s jewel. I will, of course, return it to the Second Prince at the end of the Royal Ball."


    She turned back to Dante.


    "Thank you so much for lending it to me tonight. You''ve been so very kind."


    Dante''s face grew even darker.


    "I did not lend it to you. I asked you to ept it and you agreed. Just as there is no such thing as taking the Avgo gem by force, there is also no such thing as returning the Taralei once it has been given."


    "You hear that?" Dahlia''s voice held a ring of triumph. "You cannot return that diamond so you might as well hand it over to me at the end of tonight. It will belong to me after this Avgo Event anyway."


    Dahlia sniffed. "Where you are going, you won''t need any jewelry."


    "Keep your filthy paws off the Taralei Diamond." A voice called out from behind Candi.


    She turned, looking up into the face of a breathtakingly beautiful woman with thick blue hair that hung down past her waist. Her eyes were the bright green color of ss and her countenance was that of a tall stately Queen.


    Hermanding voice brought everyone to their feet except for te.


    Candi stood as tall as her 5''2" would allow, feeling short and inadequate next to this blue hair goddess. As beautiful as the Empress was, her beauty paled inparison to this woman.


    Dante rose from his seat and quickly made his way to the woman. It didn''t take a genius to see where he got his devastating good looks, his blue hair, and his height.


    "Mother!" He reached out to her and hugged her. She returned the hug with intensity.


    "I''m so d you could make it. I wanted to introduce you to¡ª"


    "The future bride. I see her." She turned back to Candi. "The Taralei Diamond looks beautiful on you, Child. Don''t let anyone take it away."


    "Thank you, Your Royal Highness." Candi bowed. "I will protect it with my life."


    "Anastasia!" The Emperor stood up, his eyes glowing. "You actually came¡­"


    She turned to the Emperor with a wan smile.


    "Of course I came. There was someone important I wanted to meet." She reached out and ced her hand on top of Candi''s head. "The new holder of the Taralei Diamond."


    "Well, no matter what the reason, I''m still d you came." The Emperor gazed at her with sad eyes full of longing.


    The Consort Anastasia turned away from the Emperor.


    "Empress. You are looking well."


    "Thank you." Empress rissa smiled. "You are beautiful, as always."


    Consort Anastasia nodded and turned back to Candi.


    "Now that I have met the bride, I will be on my way."


    "Mother. Have a seat and talk with us for a bit." Dante pushed at Leonardo''s shoulder, indicating for the Fourth Prince to vacate the chair.


    Leonardo grinned and stepped back.


    "Mother Anastasia. Please take this seat and grace us with your presence for a little while. I have missed your bright smile." Leonardo gestured at the chair and bowed.


    Consort Anastasia turned to Leonardo and nodded.


    "I supposed I could stay for a few minutes. Where is Crystabe?" She looked around.


    Lucas turned to her with a winsome smile.


    "Our Mother could not attend." He turned to Leonardo. "Which hospital ship is she currently on? I want to visit her after this Ball."


    Leonardo shook his head.


    "I tried to convince Mother to join us but she is working with a group of physicians on a pressing cure for some strange disease that has been sweeping through one of the far-flung worlds. She is currently on the Theta Blue ship, "


    "She is always working. I supposed that is better than having nothing constructive to do." Consort Anastasia sighed and sank down on the chair that Leonardo had just vacated.


    Leonardo poured more of the grape juice into a new flute and ced it in front of Consort Anastasia.


    "Mother Anastasia, please try some of this. It is very good."


    Consort Anastasia took a sip, proimed it great, and drank more of the grape juice.


    The Emperor, seeing her pleasure at the drink Leonardo brought, gestured at the Attendant behind him to quickly bring more bottles so that the Consort Anastasia would not run out of the drink she liked.


    He began plying Consort Anastasia with food and drinks, his eyes never once leaving the Consort''s face. It was as if the Empress sitting by his side no longer existed.


    Empress rissa sat there chatting with Byron, uncaring of his sudden fixation on the blue hair woman across from the Emperor. Anastasia was, after all, one of the Emperor''s legal wives. If he doted on a wife, it was his right to do so.


    "Where are the twins?" Consort Anastasia asked.


    "They will be here very soon." Dante responded. "I heard they were inundated with requests for ball gowns because the Royal Ball got moved up a few weeks ahead of normal schedules."


    "Well, we needed to do this and the Avgo schedule was so random that we had to fudge the dates a bit." Empress rissa gave a tinkledugh.


    "All we can do is our best, rissa." Consort Anastasia agreed.


    "Yes, and even then, sometimes our best is not enough." The Empress sighed.


    "What are you talking about? The Royal Ball is a smashing sess! Everyone is having a great time!" The Emperor indicated at the guests. "And now that Anastasia is here, everything is perfect!"


    "It would be more perfect if the twins were here." The Empress noted duly. "We can''t start without them."


    As if on cue, the two green hair Princes trooped in through the front entrance. They wore deep cream and moss green royal robes, with thin bands of gold on their brows.


    The women swooned at their dapper stylish fashion as they marched up the winding gold carpet all the way to the front of the stage where the Royal Banquet Table was situated.


    The twins greeted everyone and quickly took their ces at the Royal Banquet Table as the lights began to dim, signaling the start of the event.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen! Wee to the Royal Ball of the blessed Erenveil summer!" A very familiar voice announced above the general low din of the ballroom.


    Candi''s lips twitched with amusement.


    Lorem Ipsum was here.


    He went through the usual shpiel of introductions and chattering aimed at engaging the audience, and then he went to the heart of the matter.


    "As you can see on the stage, there are two long tables. One of them is gold and the other is white. If I can have all involved parties to please take the stage, we can promptly begin."


    te squeezed Candi''s hand and leaned over to whisper into her ear.


    "I think he means us. I have to go to the gold table. Look for your name on the white table and take your seat there."


    "What is this about?"


    te grinned.


    "Don''t worry. It''s just a meet and greet so that we Princes get a taste of what our future bride will be like."


    He surreptitiously licked her ear. "In my case, I''ve already licked my bride everywhere so I know exactly what you taste like."


    Candi''s face heated as her womb began to throb. She steeled herself and took a deep breath. This was not the time to be thinking about that.


    She leaned back, putting some space between herself and te.


    The show was just about ready to start.

 Chapter 81 - The Egg Queen

    Lorem Ipsum was at his usual bombastic best.


    His silvery white goatee had regrown and was now long enough to afford, if not a full blown question mark on his chin, at least ama of a curl.


    He was dressed in a stripped ck and white outfit that looked as if he had draped a zebra over his goat body, and hisrge horns, coiled on each side of his head, was buffed and oiled until they shone with reflected light.


    The effect was at onceical as it was magnificent.


    The Princes names were all announced and one by one, they made their way across the stage and took their ces on the raised tform.


    It didn''t take long for the Royal Princes to all take their seats at the gold table.


    "And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, I will be announcing the Avgo Females. Since this is a Ball for all the Avgo women, I will simply announce them in the order of their ranking."


    He turned to the stage.


    "In first ce, Candace Farrah, of Earth!"


    Since this was the Royal Ball, there was no loud screaming and shouting for favorite Avgo contestants. There were only polite pping for everyone.


    Candi moved across the stage, slowly and with grace, and took her ce at the long white table. At first position was a card with her name on it so she did not need to guess where to go.


    Next to arrive onstage was Jenna Natoli.


    She looked like a lean and sexy spotted jaguar with the body of a human goddess, forcefully shoved into arge cream colored ball gown withces and frills.


    Herrge nted green cat eyes were looking downright churlish as she held in her hand a fan made of some silk fluff instead of something more appropriate, like a whip or a dagger.


    Candi turned to her with a smile.


    "Hello again." She muttered under her breath.


    "I hate this event." Jenna growled softly, foregoing even greetings. "It''s not even an official Avgo event. Why do we have to do this?"


    Candi chuckled.


    "Don''t you want to meet the Princes? If you win first ce, you will at least know the man you will be marrying."


    "I know what the Crown Prince looks like." She bared her fangs. "He''s that tasty tall red head over there. What else is there to know?"


    Candiughed. She was saved from having to respond to that with the announcement of the next Avgo Female, Ana?se Paroles.


    Ana?se moved across the stage with the lithe light movement of fine-blown ss.


    Her gown was crystalline in structure, of a pale yellow. Where her body showed through, thebination of her blue body and the yellow dress showed a pretty green color.


    It was so striking that Candi could not keep her eyes off the color disy as the light shone on Ana?se''s body.


    "We meet again, Candace and Jenna." Ana?se greeted with a curt nod.


    Candi returned her greeting with a smile.


    "Your dress is beautiful!"


    Ana?se turned and gazed at her, trying to determine whether Candi was making fun of her or was seriouslyplimenting her.


    "Thank you." She muttered and turned away as Lorem Ipsum called out Valeria Marakesh''s name.


    The raven woman walked on stage in a demure soot gray dress, her wings closely moulded to her body like a cloak of feathers.


    Of course, the Avgo members knew the reason why her wings were restrained, but the binding was done so artfully that most people just thought it was a fashionable statement, and not because one of her wings was in a cast.


    Since Valeria was seated a bit further from Candi, she could not say much, merely smiled at her.


    Valeria smiled back and turned to Lorem Ipsum as the next Avgo female''s name was called.


    Bethany Dresden was in even worse shape than Valeria. Both her wings had beenpletely broken in several ces.


    The bindings were obvious. There was no way to camouge or hide such grievous wounds and she could not wear much of anything that even resembled a formal ballgown.


    Gone was her usual gold antenna crown that denoted her position as a Princess from the moons of Coraline.


    Her pale silver hair gleamed in the light with an unadorned gentleness that was not present in her cold and calcting gaze that looked stonily ahead, not meeting anyone''s eyes.


    In her simple pale pink sheath dress, Bethany looked barely eptable to be at a Royal Ball. She could not even walk across the stage and ended up approaching the tform on a hover chair in a simr fashion as te.


    Thest person to approach the tform was Olivia Faraday, first of the Avgo Females to be eliminated from the events. Her chance to win Avgo first ce was gone, but she was still eligible to be a chosen bride for one of the Princes of Erenveil.


    Her gown was a simple ck dress, but elegantly worn and matched well with her chestnut hair that was bound back into an elegant chignon bun.


    Olivia''s yellow monarch butterfly pattern wings had been bound back, just as Bethany''s was, but at the very least, she didn''t have any other wounds and could walk across the tform on her own two feet.


    There was a beautiful tragic look about her that caught at the heartstrings of all those who were there. They all knew she had been the victim of a serious assault on her person at the start of the events.


    Of Helene Cordera, there was no sign, which was just as well.


    Helene herself had been banned from ever returning to Erenveil, along with the rest of her entourage. Furthermore, after having kidnapped and tortured the Seventh Prince, Emporia was on the verge of annihtion.


    Lorem Ipsum was not yet done though, with his announcements.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen, this Avgo event is unique from all the others throughout history in the fact that at the start of the Events, we actually had not seven, but EIGHT Avgo contestants."


    He held up eight fingers.


    "Now, you might ask yourself, how in the world does an Avgo Event have eight contestants when it has always been seven. Well, the answer is, one of them showed up with a fake Avgo gem."


    The ballroom began buzzing with sounds.


    "Yes. The eighth Avgo Contestant is none other than Dahlia Halloway, the Earth Princess who showed up to take the seventh position."


    He turned and gave a stony gaze at Dahlia Halloway. The guests buzzed softly to themselves.


    Someone had cheated, got caught, and was sitting at the Royal Banquet Table with the Emperor and Empress. In fact, both Earth females were sitting alongside the Princes.


    Was there something about Earth that they didn''t know about? Where was it located within the Gxy again? Oh. It was just a tiny far-flung out of the way.


    Dahlia''s face turned white as a sheet. Her green eyes turned venomous. She could not believe he had outed her during a publicly visible event such as this. Did he not want to live?


    With dry uncaring eyes, Lorem Ipsum turned to face the guests.


    "Of course, as you all know, Avgo Gemstones choose their Females, and the Earth Avgo had already chosen Candace Farrah as its Avgo Female, also known as the Egg Queen."


    "Since this Face to Face Event is not an official Avgo Event, technically, I could call Dahlia up onto the tform so that she may also participate in the Face to Face with all the Princes."


    "This would even out the numbers so that it would be easier for the Face to Face Event to take ce."


    He slowly shook his head.


    "However, I have decided that it would serve no purpose since she does not qualify to be considered a legitimate choice for the Crown Prince."


    "So there we have it, Ladies and Gentlemen, at this time, there are seven princes and six remaining legitimate eligible contestants."


    "Since the numbers are a bit skewed and it''s not a one-to-one correspondent," he gave an amused look. "Meaning we have more Princes than women¡­" he paused as the crowd tittered with amusement.


    "We''re just going to have to draw names."

 Chapter 82 - Numbered Balls

    He waved a hand and two assistants wearing skimpy outfits walked out onto the stage, each holding a box.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen, in these boxes are balls. Each ball has a number that corresponds to each Avgo Female on stage."


    He turned and indicated at each Avgo contestant.


    "Since there are only six Avgo Females for seven Princes, each Prince will get to pick the ball of their choice, resulting in the Seventh Prince getting thest ball." He winked at te.


    "The Crown Prince, on the other hand, will get to pick from all six balls. This means one lucky girl will get picked twice."


    The guests gasped.


    He gave a quick wave of his hand and the assistants approached the Princes'' table first.


    Byron reached in and pulled out a ball with the number 5 clearly marked. It was Bethany''s ranking number. This meant Bethany was the one who would get picked twice.


    The second assistant, with another simr box began to offer it to the remaining Princes for their pick.


    Dante got the number 2 ball. Leonardo picked out number 6. Lucas got number 1, Jason got 3, Jared got 4. And te was left with thest ball which was number 5.


    "Princes. Take a look at the ball in your hand. That is the woman to whom you will ask one question. She will not know the question in advance, so her answer will be unscripted and unnned."


    He smiled with that wolf-like grin on his goat face.


    "Crown Prince Byron. Please approach the center of the stage with your numbered ball."


    Byron rose with unhurriednguid moves.


    His eyes looked bored as he made his way to the center of the stage. There was only one girl he wanted on the other side of the tform, and number five was most definitely NOT her.


    Lorem Ipsum turned to the Avgo table.


    "Coming in at number five, Bethany Dresden, please approach the center of the stage."


    Bethany made her way to the center stage in her white hover chair and faced Byron.


    This tall red haired demigod was the man she had been fighting with no holds barred to snatch away from all the other women. And here he was, standing in front of her, about to ask her an important question.


    Byron gave her a stony look without saying a word. The silence stretched on.


    Lorem Ipsum cleared his throat.


    "Ahem. Your Royal Highness. You must ask a question."


    Without moving a muscle, Byron gave a sidelong re at Lorem Ipsum. Then he focused his gaze back at Bethany.


    "What makes you think you''re good enough to be my wife?"


    The crowd gasped. This wasn''t even a real question. He was, in essence, telling her she wasn''t good enough.


    Bethany was unfazed. She had been fighting this battle the entire time with the one unwavering thought.


    All is fair in love and war.


    She was willing to y as dirty as it took to win. There was nothing she would not do to win because winning was the only thing that mattered. Everything else was losing.


    She raised her chin.


    "You are the Crown Prince, with countless advisors and generals at your beck and call."


    She narrowed her gaze.


    "However, at the end of the day, when you are alone and struggling, you need someone to be by your side who will fight alongside you with everything she has to ensure that you win, regardless of the cost to herself. I can be that person."


    Byron stared at her, unfazed.


    "Fair enough. If winning at all costs is my ultimate goal, you would be an eptable bride."


    Lorem Ipsumughed and pped his hands.


    "Good answer to a very good question!" He gestured for the assistants to usher the first couple back to their assigned seats.


    "And now we have Prince Dante with his number two ball, Jenna Natoli. Please approach the front of the stage."


    Candi watched as the familiar tall figure of Dante approached the stage front, even as the gowned figure of the cougar rose from her seat next to Candi and reached the stage before he did.


    "We''re ready any time you are, Prince Dante."


    Dante turned his eyes to look at the strong sexy feline facing him.


    "Unlimited wealth brings with it, unlimited possibilities. If, tomorrow I lose all my wealth and have nothing left, what would you do if you were my wife?"


    Jenna Natoliughed.


    "You are the most astute businessman anyone has ever met in this gxy. Were you to lose everything tomorrow, you will have gained it all back by the following year."


    "It would not be a gamble for me to push the entirety of my world''s vast riches into your fingertips to do with as you pleased. The wealth of my world, Calend would be at your disposal."


    Lorem Ipsum''s eyes lit up. Calend was a mineral and metal rich world that supplied theputerized robotic parts for the vast majority of the gxy. Aside from Erenveil, it stood as one of the wealthiest regions of space.


    Jenna Natoli was not joking when she said she was able to hand over that immense wealth into the hands of the Second Prince. She was no mere Princess. She was one of the Queens of Calend.


    "Ahhh." He pped out loud as the rest of the guests joined in apuse. As the assistants guided Dante and Jenna back to their ces, he was already calling the next Prince.


    "Prince Lucas!" Lorem Ipsum called out. Immediately, a loud cheering came from all sides of the ballroom. This was anomalous. The Royal Ball was not a ce for such vitriol.


    But Prince Lucas was special.


    Everyone knew who Prince Lucas was. His face was so famous, it was a householdmon sight to see him in all visual ces and spaces.


    The bright and shining Prince of Erenveil with the soft blond and pink hair stood up with an engaging grin and moved towards the front of the stage, waving his arms at the guests.


    Standing in the limelight was his forte. Owning the stage was his specialty. He was at his best when all the lights and visuals were aimed at him.


    He was so exquisitely handsome and so powerful an image that everyone forgot for a moment that there was supposed to be another person joining him on stage.


    For a few minutes, he stood alone at the forefront, basking in the des and the attention that his adoring fans poured out to him.


    From behind, Lorem Ipsum wisely gave him center stage for the precious few minutes that he was up there. Prince Lucas was a huge attraction and they needed to milk it for all they could get.


    As Prince Lucas interacted with the guests, Lorem gave a gesture for Candi to join him on stage.


    "Ahem. Prince Lucas seems to be the highlight of the Face to Face event." Lorem Ipsumughed.


    The rest of the guestsughed with him.


    "But we do have the next Avgo Female who is to join him onstage."


    He turned back and gently took hold of Candi'' arm, leading her forward into the limelight.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Avgo Female ranked number one." He paused for effect.


    "Candace Farrah!"

 Chapter 83 - Q&A Of The Princely Kind

    For a moment, the lights blinded Candi.


    She looked out into a sea of faces and felt a little dizzy. But then her inner calmness welled out from within and she regained her stability.


    She turned back to the pink and blonde hair Prince of Erenveil who stood before her.


    He truly was an eye candy Prince, a uniquely pretty Flower Boy. Although she had been up close and personal with all his brothers she had to admit that out of all the princes, he was the most stunningly handsome of them all.


    Lucas turned to her and gave a winsome smile. Candi could not help but respond to his mour magic. This was the only Prince that she had not had an opportunity to spend any time with at all.


    "We meet again, Earth Avgo Female." He greeted her with a gentle wink.


    "Yes. You are looking well, Your Highness." She gave a bow.


    He smiled and reached out to touch her face.


    "I can see why my brothers¡­".


    He stopped and cleared his throat. He still had to keep up the sham with that nasty Earth woman.


    Dropping his hand to his side in a futile manner, Lucas stood gazing at her with an unfathomable look. With a sigh, he asked her the question he had been wanting to know.


    "Candace. If you didn''t have to be at this Avgo Contest, battling all these people for the chance to marry an Erenveil Prince, what would you most like to do with your life?"


    Candaceughed.


    She was expecting some difficult question, designed to trip her up in some way, but Lucas just genuinely seemed to want to get to know her better.


    "Oh that''s easy. I love learning about the past so we can predict the future. I would travel as far and wide as I could and get lost in all the far-flung worlds out there, exploring everything to my heart''s content. I would dance and sing and y piano, and I would live my life with grateful joy."


    Lucas turned back to his brothers.


    "There you are, Brothers. If you cannot provide this woman with what her heart desires, I suggest you leave the line right now, because you''re not going to qualify to be with her."


    Lorem Ipsum raised an eyebrow.


    Since when did this Face to Face turn into a ''Qualify to be Candace Farrah''s husband'' show?


    He made a quick gesture to have the assistants escort Lucas and Candace off the stage. Lordy, let''s hope the next Prince would ask a better question.


    "Hehehe." Lorem chuckled. "Next Prince is Leonardo." He made a flourish and Leonardo stood up. His blonde brilliance shone from his entire demeanor as he made his way to the front of the stage.


    Already waiting for him was Olivia. She stood there demurely, eyes downcast.


    She had no chance left for the Grand Prize, which was the Crown Prince of Erenveil, but the man standing before her was THE Doctor Prince Leonardo!


    He had his own fleet of hospital starships scattered across the gxy. His bright golden hair and aqua blue eyes was at the heart of every girl''s dreamboat.


    Leonardo looked down at the gentle female with broken butterfly wings and sighed.


    It was this damned Avgo event that had damaged her to the point that she could no longer fly again.


    As someone who knew what flying meant to a person who had lost the ability to fly, his heart went out to her. As a doctor, he could not stand aside and just watch a person struggle with such a debilitating injury.


    Lorem Ipsum broke into the silence.


    "Prince Leonardo. What is your question for Olivia Faraday?"


    "Your wings look permanently broken."


    Olivia nodded. She''d had to make peace with herself that she would never fly again. He was breaking her resolve not to cry in front of everyone.


    "I think I can fix your wings. Would you like for me to try?"


    Olivia looked up with huge blue eyes that were beginning to well with tears.


    "I''m¡ªI''m sorry?" She blinked, confused.


    "That is my question for you. Would you like for me to try and fix your wings so you can fly again?"


    Suddenly, Olivia''s face blossomed forth into the beautiful woman she was before the Avgo event. Hope had sprung back into her soul.


    "Yes, if you please." She responded with a breathless husky voice.


    Leonardo nodded. "Check yourself into the Alpha Indigo Hospital. It is orbiting above this at this very moment. I will have my personal staff take a look at your wings and I will prescribe the best course of action."


    "Thank you." Olivia''s tears flowed down her face, even as the crowd gasped and cried with her. The gentleness of this Prince was far above what she or they expected from any of the Erenveil Princes.


    "Go now. The sooner we take a look at it, the better our chances of healing you."


    Olivia wiped her tears with a shaky hand and nodded.


    Lorem Ipsum''s heart warmed.


    It was good for at least one of the Princes to show a more humanistic side. They were mostly known to be a rather obnoxious, angry, cruel bunch.


    One of them had even plucked out his goatee just because he didn''t like the way Lorem Ipsum ran the Avgo Event. What a jerk.


    Lorem Ipsum gestured to the assistants to take Olivia offstage and to escort Prince Leonardo back to his seat.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen, the next couple on our radar is Prince Jason and his ball pick, Ana?se Paroles!"


    The green haired Prince stood up and made his way to the front stage, joining Ana?se who was already there. By this time, everyone knew what to expect.


    Without waiting for preamble from Lorem Ipsum, Jason asked his question immediately.


    "What is the color of your Avgo gemstone?"


    Ana?se blinked. Was this his question to her, or was it just a prelude to something more important?


    Shrugging, she answered in one quick quip.


    "Blue."


    "Let me see it." Hemanded.


    Ana?se took a deep breath.


    "Come to me, Avgo of the deep. Come to me, I beseech."


    Suddenly, an Avgo of a deep royal blue intensity appeared before them, twirling in the space between Jason and Ana?se.


    Jason stared at it for a moment and then nodded.


    "Thank you. I needed to see the exact color so I could create a beautiful diadem for a very special woman."


    Ana?se stared at him with a look that could kill.


    He had made her pull out her precious Avgo stone just so he could see the exact shade of blue it was? What aplete idiot! What a total waste of time.


    Her eyes showed her obvious distaste which made Jasonugh.


    "Do you know why the color of your Avgo is important?"


    Ana?se shook her head.


    "Because an exact duplicate is the only thing you will be able to have of it once the Avgo contest is over. The Avgo will disappear and you will never see it again until the next Avgopetition, at which time, it will be with another female."


    Ana?se''s eyes grew rmed. The Avgo was hers! She would never let it go.


    With a quick motion, she seized the Avgo from where it hovered in space and held it tightly in her hand. She would NEVER let this one out of her possession.


    Jason leaned closer to her.


    "If you ever need a duplicate made,e see me." He smiled and leaned back.


    Without waiting for Lorem Ipsum to dismiss them, Ana?se turned stiffly and made her way back to her seat. What a waste of an evening, and a waste of a question that would have allowed her to show the Crown Prince a different side of her.


    "Errr. Well, thank you both." Lorem gestured for the assistant to help Prince Jason back to his seat.


    "Next up is Prince Jared and Valeria Marakesh."


    With a minimum of fuss, both Jared and Valeria were up at the front, facing each other.


    Lorem Ipsum gave Jared a nervous look as if pleading silently.


    Please Jared, don''t let it be another ''can I see your Avgo stone'' question. Please ask something super amazing for the audience to enjoy¡­

 Chapter 84 - Attack Behind The Curtains

    Jared smiled at Valeria.


    "Valeria Marakesh. The sole Princess of the tropical world of Peoria. Why would you want to leave such a beautiful ce, where you are a pampered and adored Princess and go to Erenveil to marry a man you have never even met?"


    Valeria looked up at the tall green haired Prince of Erenveil with the soft brown eyes and smiled.


    "Do you know how boring being a Peorian princess is? We''re not allowed to do very much other than to learn how to be part of the royal scene."


    Her eyes became animated.


    "I wanted to see more than just Peoria and its surrounding space. All the people around me are avians of one type or another and this was my chance to see other types of people."


    "And to marry an Erenveil Prince?"


    Valeria Marakesh smiled.


    "That would be the icing on top of a delicious cake."


    "Thank you. That is all."


    Lorem Ipsum gave a silent sigh of relief. Jared was at least civil, and asked a nice boring question that could be aired with some interest.


    As Valeria and Jared exited the front, Lorem Ipsum faced the crowd.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen. We have one final Prince to showcase. And of course, the Avgo Female he will be questioning has already been up onstage with the Crown Prince. I cannot wait to see what his question will be."


    He turned to his assistants who had already started escorting te and Bethany.


    It was a strangely paired meeting because they were both in identical white hover chairs, having endured some serious injuries.


    te sat in his hover chair, a brilliant figure in all white save for his long dark hair and his bright blue eyes.


    Bethany sat in her chair across from him, waiting. She was at thest position in the Avgo contest, but unlike Olivia, she still had a chance of winning first ce.


    This was her chance to recover from the previous near-fatal fail. The Prince in front of her exuded so much masculine vibes that she shivered. His clothes could not hide the huge muscles, the strength, and the virility of his body.


    Bethany found herself drooling with desire, even though her body was still in pain from the injuries.


    "Go home." te stared at her with frosty blue eyes.


    Bethany''s eyes widened. What was his question? This did not sound like something she could answer.


    "Even if you win first ce, which is not going to happen because you are the least of the Avgo Females, no Prince will choose you as his mate. Go home."


    te turned his chair and went back to join his brothers, leaving Bethany clenching her teeth and seething with anger.


    Lorem Ipsum made a quick gesture for the assistant to escort Bethany back to the table.


    "Hahahaha. What a jokester the youngest Prince is." He raised his hands into the air.


    "Well, now that you''ve actually met the Princes and the Avgo Females and learned more about them, now is your chance to vote for your favorite couple."


    He sprinkled his fingers into the air and images of the seven Princes and six remaining Avgo contestants hovered in the air.


    "Guests here, as well as all of you watching from home, will get the chance to pick one Prince and one Avgo Female of your choice. You have thirty minutes as of," he raised his hand.


    "NOW!"


    He waved a hand as a timer began to hover in the air, ticking off the seconds of the thirty minutes allowed for the vote.


    "The couple with the most votes will win the People''s Award, brought to you by the Princes'' Fashion House, where you get to dress like a royal and be your fashionably best!"


    "We will announce the winners after the thirty minutes are up."


    He threw back his head.


    "And now, let the dancingmence!" He roared out as the band struck up a happy dance and guests began piling out onto the dance floor.


    From behind him, the curtains closed, shielding the Avgo Females and the Princes from the guests.


    Candi sighed. She didn''t have to pretend to be all smiley and happy, at least for a little while.


    "Don''t rx your stance, Earth Woman." Jenna hissed through lidded eyes. "Everyone sees how the Princes treat you and there is a venomous snake sitting at the Royal Banquet Table eyeing that Avgo stone around your neck."


    Candi nodded and gave Jenna a smile. She had finally figured out Jenna''s behavior pattern.


    The woman was not beingbative or hostile. She was simply trying to warn Candi of the danger that she was sensing emanating from Dahlia.


    She was about to go join the Princes when from behind, she felt something fly at her.


    Jumping with a swift kick, she buffeted the flying object away with her foot, where it thudded into the wall beside the Avgo Female table.


    Had she not moved, she would have been impaled.


    She and Jenna stared at each other, then at the direction the object had flown. From the edge of the hallway, she saw a figure disappear around a bend.


    Within the space of a heartbeat, she and Jenna had sprung into action. They raced after the offender even as the Avgo Females screamed and shrieked all around them.


    On the other side of the stage, the Princes saw what had happened. Several of them sprang up and ran towards the melee but could not even make it to the side where the Avgo Females sat before Candi and Jenna had disappeared around the side.


    Leonardo stayed with te, who punched at his armrest, frustrated at his inability toe to her defense. They quickly made their way to the object embedded into the wall and inspected it.


    It was a star-shaped shuriken, its tips stained with poison. This was no joke. Someone wanted Candi dead and was not averse to doing it in a room full of people, within the very heart of Erenveil Pce.


    Leonardo and te looked at each other. Their eyes murderous.


    Meanwhile, the rest of the Princes had rushed through the hallway in hot pursuit of the perpetrator and the two Avgo Females who had chased after the attacker.


    Candi was slightly ahead of Jenna. She was less powerful than Jenna was, having less dense mass, but she was a dancer who was lighter and slightly more agile.


    "This way!" She shouted at Jenna as she saw the figure moving around another bend.


    As they both raced towards the end of the hall, another figure flew out at them from one of the side halls and tackled Candi.


    Before she could react, he had torn the ne around her neck where the pink gem had been carefully ced by Jason. Apparently it was all he was after because as soon as he had taken the gem, he dashed off into another side hallway.


    Candi hit the ground and rolled, trying to break her fall.


    As sheid on the ground trying to catch her breath, Lucas, the first Prince to reach Candi, picked her up into his arms.


    The other Princes split forces.


    Jason and Jared went after the attacker who had thrown the shuriken while Dante and Byron went after the attacker who had ripped the pink gem off her neck.


    "Oh my God, you''ve been hurt!" Lucas breathed as he held her in his arms. "I''m going to carry you back to Leo so he can take a look at your injury."


    "Hurt? I''m not hurt." Candi protested as she looked down and saw blood dripping from her neck and staining the top of her pink dress.


    The attacker had cut the ne off her using some vicious weapon which had also taken a gouge into her skin and had hit a major artery.


    She was bleeding like a gutted pig.

 Chapter 85 - Sitting On Slates Lap

    "Love!" Leonardo gasped as he saw Lucas run back with Candi in his arms.


    "Oh my God, you''re hurt!" He cried as he took off his outer Royal robe and spread it on the floor in the hallway. "Put her down and let me take a look at her wound."


    Lucas ced her gently on the ground and also took off his ck outer robe and covered Candi''s body. Beside them, te positioned his hover chair so that no one coulde near them or even see what was going on.


    Meanwhile, Candi was still awake and alert. She could feel her hot blood gushing from her neck area but Leonardo had already begun the healing process and within seconds, had stemmed the blood flow.


    Out in front of the curtains, the party continued unabated. Not even Lorem Ipsum had any idea things had devolved to the extent that it had. This was within the inner sanctum of the Royal Pce after all. It should have been one of the safest ces to be.


    "I''ve stopped the blood loss but she needs more healing." Leonardo spoke as he continued cleaning the blood from Candi''s neck. "We have to get her to the Alpha Indigo Hospital."


    "Really, I''m okay." Candi tried to reassure, but none of the men were listening to her.


    "Have her sit with me." te gave a motion with his hand. "This hover chair can take her there quickly. You two follow behind as fast as you can."


    They nodded as Lucas picked her up and ced her on te''sp.


    Candi reached out and grabbed onto te''s neck as he pulled her into his embrace.


    She truly wasn''t feeling that badly. It was just a stinging cut on her neck and it wasn''t even bleeding any more.


    Still, she wasn''t going to turn down catching a ride on te''sp and cop a feel of his muscr body.


    The Princes tucked her extremities in, tucking Lucas'' ck robe around her body.


    As te held her within the shelter of his arms, a clear shield formed around the hover chair, enclosing both of them within its sphere. The chair had turned into a mini-transport pod.


    te extended the harness belt over both of them and gave the mini-transport pod a quick gesture, sending it off to its destination.


    Within seconds, Lucas and Leonardo were looking at the mini-pod as it raced away towards the hospital.


    Without a word, they raced for their own transport pods. To hell with the Royal Ball. Candi was in trouble!


    Alone with te, Candi smiled into his neck. She''d missed him so much ever since he had been on enforced bedrest.


    "How are you feeling?" te rumbled in his chest at her.


    "I''m fine. I told you I was okay and didn''t need to go to the hospital. I just need a change of clothes."


    She looked down, horrified as she realized her bloody dress hadpletely ruined te''s perfect white suit.


    She looked up into te''s eyes with a grimace.


    "Ugh. I got blood all over your white suit. I''m so sorry."


    He reached out and touched her face, as if he hadn''t heard anything as mundane as a dirtied suit.


    "I''ve missed you so much." His eyes focused in on her lips. "I''ve been thinking about nothing but you the entire time we''ve been apart."


    "I''ve missed you too." Candi breathed. "I''m d you''re better."


    "I''m actually mostly healed." te smiled. "We''ve been trying to keep that from leaking out so that we could have a bit of a surprise military advantage."


    His eyes grew bleak.


    "I almost blew that secret when the attacker threw that shuriken at you and you took off to chase after him." He shook his head ruefully. "Leonardo had to hold me back."


    "The Avgo would have protected me from the shuriken. I just happened to have instinctively kicked it away as it was flying at me." She said with a lightness that belied the gravity of the situation.


    "You still got injured anyway." te''s bright blue eyes were tragic.


    He leaned down to kiss her neck where she had been hurt. Leonardo had healed her almost perfectly. There was only a faint red line where it hadn''tpletely healed over.


    "I don''t trust that Avgo power at all. I''d rather protect you myself." He muttered into her ear as he continued his licking and nuzzling.


    His lips continued their exploration, trailing up and ending at her lips.


    "You''re driving me crazy, woman." With a sharp hiss, he took her mouth.


    His crushing mouth assaulted hers, devouring her with greedy lips and tongue. He suckled her tongue and explored every inch of her mouth until she could barely breathe.


    Unable to hold back, Candi returned his kiss with fervor, tangling her fingers into his long dark hair and pulling him closer to her.


    Their kiss deepened until te felt control of his desires slipping. If he didn''t stop now, he would not be able to stop at all.


    He took a deep breath and with great effort, pulled back.


    "We''re five minutes away from the hospital or I would take you right here, right now."


    Candi''s eyes widened as she realized his manhood had gotten rock hard from her sitting on hisp.


    "See what you do to me?"


    "I¡ª" She squirmed around, trying to avoid his hardness.


    "Sit still." He rumbled. "This chair is only meant to hold one person. You''re able to ride on me because you''re such a tiny woman, but there is nowhere else for you to sit."


    He reached out and inteced her fingers with his own.


    "I''ve been thinking of nothing but kissing you the moment I saw you standing there in the middle of the ballroom with your frilly bug wings, wide open."


    He raised her hand to his lips and kissed her sensitive fingers. "Since we''re both in a tiny little pod chair in the middle of space, you''ll just have to put up with my desires for now."


    His voice turned serious.


    "Next time, don''t run after your attackers. We will continue to have guards shadow you so you can let them do their job of keeping you safe."


    Candi bit her lip.


    "Dante had Coral shadow me, but she couldn''t be onstage with me for that Face to Face so when the attack happened, she was too far away to do anything. Next time¡ª"


    "There won''t be a next time. I''ve reced her."


    "Wait. What? No! This wasn''t her fault. She was waiting for me at the Royal Banquet Table."


    "She should have been waiting for you backstage, but there was a huge security breech and there was not a single royal guard in the back. They had all been ced in the front, where all the guests were."


    "But it''s not her fault."


    "You got hurt on her watch even though she had been specifically assigned by Dante to watch over you. She is not worthy to be your personal guard."


    "Please. Let me talk to her."


    te narrowed his gaze and then gave a nod.


    "We''re almost at the hospital. I''ll have her join us there so you can talk with her."


    Candi nodded.


    They hadn''t even reached the third event yet and things had already begun to heat up.

 Chapter 86 - Trouble In Paradise

    Candi turned to look at the looming Alpha Indigo Hospital and marveled at howrge the starship was. In fact, it looked almost like a warship.


    As they entered in through the airlock, te eased the harness off her and she was able to sit up a bit morefortably instead of lying almost directly on top of him as she had been.


    This hospital visit confirmed something that Candi had been thinking about for awhile but could never substantiate.


    Something was terribly wrong with Erenveil.


    For attackers to be able to prate the royal pce in the middle of a ball was something so outrageous that it would have been unthinkable.


    Except it had happened.


    It was also unthinkable for te''s own warship captain to debilitate te and hold him for ransom. Something of that magnitude could have only happened as an inside job.


    But that had ALSO happened.


    Something was terribly wrong with Erenveil and it was getting worse each day.


    The more time Candi spent on Erenveil, the more she realized that the peaceful calm exterior of the world was only a thin veneer that hid much turbulence underneath.


    The three Princes of war, te, Dante, and Leonardo, each held within their control, a huge number of starships that were capable of defending their vast territories.


    Of the three, only te''s star ships were conspicuous warships.


    Dante held his star ships under the guise ofmerce guard ships while Leonardo flew the easily identifiable blue and white medical logo on his hospital ships.


    Still, she had no doubt that in times of war, Leonardo''s ships could easily turn into defensive machinery.


    This Avgo Event was actually a brutalpetition grab for the top power prize. No wonder it was a no-holds-barred fight to the death.


    Kingdoms and worlds jockeyed their women into position for a stab at the prized Empress position in order to obtain half the power of the Erenveil Empire.


    It was a ma for all the turbulence and strife to rise to the surface as greed for power and wealth became the driving factor that propelled the Avgo Event into something that was dark and ruthless.


    She only hoped she could survive it to the end.


    ========


    Deep within the bowels of the Royal Pce, Jenna gave an inhuman spurt of cougar speed, leaping with all her feline might at the attacker.


    She had left the bleeding Candace Farrah behind to pursue the attacker knowing that the Princes were immediately behind her. They could take care of the human female.


    She wanted a piece of this trash.


    "ROAAARRRR!!!" She growled as her long sharp carmine ws extruded from her paws.


    As the attacker looked back, he saw a ferocious cougar with deadly green eyes and sharp glistening fangs descending upon him.


    She was wearing a fluffy creamycy ball gown which did nothing to hamper the speed at which she wasing at him.


    Her ws were outstretched, their tips razor sharp.


    "Aaaaaaaaarrrgggghhh!!!" He screamed as she swiped her nails across his face, raking up his cheeks and exposing his teeth and mouth cavity.


    Those same bloody ws were now around his throat.


    "Who sent you?" She growled.


    He choked as urine leaked from his pants, staining her creamycey ball gown.


    "Speak!" She tightened her ws on his throat just as Jason and Jared arrived on the scene.


    "Em¡ªEmporian Princess." He muttered.


    Jenna raised her eyes up at the twin Princes.


    "You heard that, right?" She asked.


    They nodded.


    She squeezed her ws, crushing his windpipe.


    "Kaaaaachhhh!!!" The attacker choked and fell back as Jenna released her choke hold of his throat.


    Jenna stood up and, with one swipe of her sharp ws, tore the skirt of therge ballgown off.


    Jared and Jason winced and looked away.


    "What?" Jenna scowled.


    She pressed her lips together as she realized she had bared herself in front of two Princes of Erenveil, dressed in nothing but the bodice of her dress and her bikini panties.


    "He peed on my skirt." Jenna snarled, looking away.


    Jason and Jared tried to hold back their chokingughter.


    "Thank you for catching the attacker." Jared took off his outer robe and ced it over her shoulders. "We owe you our thanks."


    "We also owe you a brand new outfit." Jason added.


    ========


    While Jenna, Jared, and Jason were flying down one end of the hall, Dante and Byron were dashing down the other hallway after the attacker who had shed Candi and robbed her of the pink gemstone around her neck.


    The hallway was too small for them to transform into their bat wings or they would have caught him sooner.


    Nevertheless, a thug for hire could never possibly run from two powerful Princes of Erenveil, especially after they had witnessed the attacker injuring their woman so grievously.


    Within a few minutes, they had jumped on the thug and mmed him to the ground.


    Dante was behind him, twisting his arms out of their sockets while Byron had his foot on the man''s head, grinding his face into the hard te floor of the pce hallway.


    Dante''s fangs were extended and his eyes had turned blood red. Unlike before, on the ballroom floor, he was no longer even trying to hide his transformation. He was out for blood and he was not leaving until he was satiated.


    As he pocketed Candace''s pink jeweled ne, Dante yanked hard on the attacker''s arm for good measure.


    "Aaaaahhhh!!!" The man squealed in pain.


    "Who sent you?" Byron asked.


    "Aaaaahhhh!!!" The man screamed again.


    "I guess he''s not going to talk, so I''ll take one of his arms. The one that hurt my Candace. Was he right-handed or left-handed, Byron?"


    "Hmmm. I think he''s right-handed, but I''m not 100% sure."


    "Right arm it is."


    "Aaaaahhhh!!!" The man screamed in panic. "I''ll talk, I''ll talk!!!"


    He huffed and puffed with pain.


    "Earth. Earth Ambassador wanted the pink Avgo to be returned to him because it had been stolen. I''m just taking it back from the thief who stole it AAAAHHHHHHH!!!"


    THUNK THUNK


    Two arms promptly got detached from the shoulder joints and fell to the floor.


    "AAAAHHHHHHH AAAAHHHHHHH AAAAHHHHHHH"


    Dante took a delicate signature handkerchief and rubbed the blood from his razor sharp ws.


    It was nasty bloody work, but s. He didn''t have a sword on him at the moment, so out of necessity, he had to dirty his finger nails.


    He grimaced at Byron and dropped the handkerchief on the bloody stumps of the man who was still alive and howling in pain.


    "I couldn''t tell if it was the right hand that hurt my Candace or the left hand, so I took both."


    "Good call." Byron nodded.


    They both turned away, leaving the man on the floor to bleed to death in the hallway.


    By the time Byron and Dante returned to the backstage area, Lucas and Leonardo had already left for the Alpha Indigo Hospital, right behind te and Candace.


    There was no further reason to stay at the Royal Ball so they took off for Dante''s Moon to await the return of their Princess.


    Meanwhile, Jason and Jared had taken Jenna into their private transport pod to get her changed into something more appropriate.


    Once they emerged, Jenna was more appropriately dressed in a sleek ck sequined dress that made her cougar spots pop with visual appeal.


    She seemed to be far morefortable as well and held her head high as she walked back to the area where her group was located. She was, after all, wearing an exclusive design that the Twin Princes of Erenveil had created just for her.


    Once the twins had ensured that she was cared for, they returned to the Royal Banquet Table to keep an eye on the Royal family.


    It seemed as if nobody else knew what had happened behind the curtains. The festivities and revelry continued on throughout the night without stop.


    By this time, the Princes had regrouped via visuals and exchanged what they had gathered from the two attackers.


    It did not take long to see that both Earth and Emporia were partners of the same crime, but for very different reasons.


    All the Princes were of one mind about one thing.


    It was time to clean house.

 Chapter 87 - Lucandace Ship

    Byron rubbed his chin.


    "Are you sure it''s Emporia that''s behind this? I just can''t see King Mortimer Cordera pulling off something like this. Could it be Mattheus Cordera causing trouble for Emporia again?"


    te shook his head.


    "Mattheus went through a lot of trouble to take Candace alive. He even used me as ransom to get his hands on her. He wouldn''t want her dead."


    "But there is someone else who would have a motive." He raised an eyebrow. "Helene Cordera."


    Lucas rubbed his chin. "What about Earth? I was with that Dahlia woman for a week and I know one thing about her. She doesn''t want Candace dead. She''s not interested in going through the events."


    "Why?" Jared asked.


    Lucas rolled his eyes.


    "She doesn''t have what it takes. Not smart enough, not strong enough, not beautiful enough, not agile enough¡­she''s just not enough of anything."


    "She would rather Candace win everything and then hand it over to her so she doesn''t have to do anything to get the prize. She told me this herself." Lucas grimaced in distaste.


    "So if it wasn''t Dahlia who tried to kill Candace, could it be the Earth government so they can hand the Avgo stone to Dahlia?" Leonardo suggested.


    "It''s a distinct possibility. They''ve been trying to retrieve that gem from the start and they truly don''t care about Candace at all." Jared said.


    "So it''s a distinct possibility that Helene Cordera and the Earth delegates are together behind this." te pondered out loud.


    Dante narrowed his eyes in suspicion.


    "But who would be audacious enough to send attackers into the Royal Pce?"


    "And more importantly, who would have the power and authority to send all the Royal Guards away from the back area so the attackers could have ess to Candace?" Byron scratched his head.


    The Princes all looked at each other, not daring to voice the one thought that suddenly appeared in their minds.


    Could it have been an inside job done by someone who had ess and control of the Royal Guards? Someone they knew personally?


    Amidst the shocked silence of the Princes was the noise and mor behind Jason and Jared. Suddenly, the visuals shed the hottest news of the moment.


    Chosen by the trillions of people across the gxy was the winner of The People''s Choice award for the Cutest Couple of the Gxy.


    stered across huge visual banners were the faces of the Third Prince of Erenveil, Superstar of the entertainment world Lucas, alongside the People''s Choice as his perfect mate, Candace Farrah.


    "What the hell is going on behind you guys?" te snarled at the twins.


    "What? Hang on let me look." Jared turned and saw at the huge visuals of Lucas and Candace.


    "Hahaha!" He cackled and pped Jason on the shoulder.


    "Tiny Dancer and the Flower Boy just won the People''s Choice Award for ''Cutest Couple of the Gxy''."


    Jason turned to look at what Jared wasughing about and nearly fell over.


    "Holy macaroni! They''re now called Lucandace! Hahaha!" Jason guffawed as tears sprang from the corners of his eyes. "They actually look hot together!"


    "Cutest Couple of the Gxy?" Byron repeated, unable to believe his ears. "Whose horrible idea is this?"


    Lucas looked away, barely able to hide the pink tinge emerging on his cheeks.


    He had never thought about Candace as someone he could be with.


    Although he was Third Prince, even if she did not win first and go to Byron, the chance of him being able to approach her AFTER Dante rejected her was absolutely zero. Dante had fallen hard for this woman and would waste no time making her his woman.


    Lucas was also under no illusions about his chances. He was just an actor with no great wealth or skills. Added to that was the fact that he was a bit shy around her and it was hopeless from the very start.


    Dante scowled. "What the hell is a Cutest Couple of the Gxy?"


    Jason pursed his lips and had the temerity to look guilty.


    "It was my idea. We wanted a big ssh tounch our next fashion collection and we thought maybe we could use one of the Avgo Females and one of our brothers to help model our newest clothing line¡­"


    His voice trailed off as he caught sight of te''s furious blue eyes.


    "And?" He sounded furious.


    "So me and Jared came up with the idea for The People''s Choice Award for Couple of the Gxy."


    "I honestly never expected¡ª" Jason paused, turning away from te''s frosty stare.


    Lucas'' lips were pressed into a thin line as he stared at the visuals above him. The announcers were already starting to create memes about them and calling them the Lucandace couple.


    He was trying hard not to smile as he saw images of himself merged with images of Candace.


    The merges were so wless that the images portrayed them as if they were a solid couple who were deeply in love and were simply waiting for the right time to announce their rtionship.


    For a moment, Lucas dared to wish that it would somehow be true. But then he heard his brothers talking around him and that dream popped like the pipe dream that it was.


    "Jason." Dante''s face was a dark fury. "You know Lucas is famous across the gxy. He''s a mega star! Of course people are going to vote for him!"


    "And you also know thatpared to the rest of the Avgo Females, Candice''s beauty is beyondpare." Byron grounded. "Of course they are going to vote for her!"


    "Yes, yes. We realize that now." Jason stared miserably at Jared.


    When looked at it in that light, it was almost a foregone conclusion that the Gctic public would support the Lucandace ship.


    It was unfortunate for Lucas that Byron, Dante, and te were at this moment, fuming at him. Leonardo didn''t say anything. He hadn''t said much the entire time, but Lucas could feel Leo''s disapproval.


    "What???" He turned back and red at his brothers. "You guys are acting like this is my fault. I have nothing to do with this. I''m a victim too!"


    "Don''t you dare y the victim card." Jason snickered. "I saw you smiling at that image of you and Tiny Dancer. You''re really enjoying it, aren''t you?"


    Lucas sighed.


    "I''m the one who has to escort that damned Halloway woman around while the rest of you get to spend real quality time with Candace. And you''re begrudging me a few faked photo ops?"


    The brothers looked away. They couldn''t argue with that.


    "So who is the person that has the ability tomand royal guards and would benefit the most if she died?" Leonardo grumbled, growing more frustrated.


    te closed his eyes.


    "When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."*


    ===========


    *Arthur Conan Doyle

 Chapter 88 - The Big Kahuna

    "Do you know who the Captain of Raptor 437 is?" te posed the question to his brothers.


    Jason and Jared shook their heads and Lucas looked confused. Leonardo''s face was uncaring.


    Dante and Byron however, gave swift intakes of breaths.


    te nodded.


    "That''s right. Do you think just any random person walking down the street could be a Captain on one of my Command ships?" te snarled with barely suppressed fury.


    "Niles Garr was made Captain because he has very deep and strong ties to our family and nobody thought he would ever betray us."


    Lucas scratched his head. "Are you telling me that your ex-ship captain wanted Candace dead?"


    te shook his head.


    "He has a younger cousin whomands the Royal Guards¡ªthe same guards who were responsible for security at the Royal Ball. His name is Joshua Darvin."


    te''s eyes grew frosty.


    "Niles betrayed me. Joshua is highly suspect."


    "Why have we not rooted this man out once Niles was shown to have been a traitor to the Crown?" Dante scowled.


    "Because Dante. Do you remember who his mother is?" te raised an eyebrow.


    "Oh that''s right!" Dante gasped. "The Empress has a twin sister. He''s the Empress'' nephew!"


    Byron pressed his palms to his head. "He''s my maternal cousin. His mother is my mother''s twin sister."


    te stood up.


    "I''m going to go confront him now."


    Leonardo pulled him back down.


    "Sit. You''re supposed to be an invalid right now."


    "But Josh needs to be¡ª"


    "I''ll take care of Joshua Darvin." Byron''s eyes glittered with something that was far more than rage.


    It almost seemed personal.


    Leonardo turned to te. "Candace is just about done with the physical examinations from my doctors. Let''s just go get her and you can spend some time with her."


    He turned back to Byron. "I''m sure our eldest brother can handle Josh."


    "With pleasure," Byron grated through gritted teeth.


    ======


    Candi was sitting up on the bed, bored out of her skull when te finally appeared. She gave him a broad smile and patted the side of her bed.


    "You''re finally here to take me home!"


    "Home? Where is the home that you want me to take you to?" te asked with a grin as he approached her bedside.


    Candi blinked. She hadn''t thought about it much, but obviously, home was no longer her apartment in LA. She was now a wanted fugitive there.


    The only ce that seemed to be home to her was the set of suites that had been carved out for her inside Dante''s Moon, along with the museum and dance hall.


    "I don''t really have a home any more, do I?" She looked up as he sat down next to her.


    te reached out and gathered her into his arms. This time, he was reserved andposed and didn''t seem as if he was starving to death for her touch and taste.


    "Your home is anywhere Erenveil has amand presence. You are my queen and wherever you go, that is home."


    Candi smiled into his shoulder. te always said the nicest things.


    "I''m actually healed. I feel just fine so we don''t have to remain in his hospital any more."


    "I''m d you''re healed, but we will remain here for a bit longer. "


    "But tomorrow is the Avgo Event," she gave a mild protest.


    te pulled back to look at her.


    "Yes, but that''s tomorrow. For the rest of tonight, the doctors will want you to remain in this room so they can keep an eye on you."


    "My room is across the hallway from yours, so I won''t be too far away just in case you need me for anything." His blue eyes sparkled with hope and anticipation.


    "But I don''t have anything to wear to the event." She looked down at her hospital gown.


    te smiled and tapped her forehead.


    "Do you think the twins are going to allow you to appear at any function without wearing one of their creations? Jason and Jared will bring your outfitter on so you will be able to depart directly from this room to the Celestial Pantheon for your Brilliance and Intellect Event."


    Candi sighed. The Brilliance and Intellect Event. She absolutely had no idea how to prepare for this one.


    Somehow, reading just one more book wasn''t going to make her any smarter, and rubbing more lemon on her hair was not going to make her look any more brilliant.


    te leaned over and kissed her cheek.


    "Don''t worry too much. The Brilliance and Intellect Event is very low-impact. You won''t be asked to climb up cliff sides or fight off snarling beasts. You will do just fine."


    Candi nodded. She could only trust that it would be something she could surpass with little preparation.


    But something in the pit of her stomach kept churning. It was like sitting in a very important examination and not preparing anything at all for the test.


    Dinner that night was a muted affair.


    te had joined her at the dining table that had been wheeled into the hospital room by the staff and was trying his best to get her to eat something.


    Candi was not a picky eater. She truly gave an honest effort to swallow down the meal, but partway through, she gave up. Hospital food was normally not that tasty due to dietary restrictions of patients, and it was no different here.


    She was staring at her dish of nd looking rice porridge when a knock on the door sounded.


    "Just in time." te threw his napkin down and went to open the door.


    In trooped Jason and Jared along with their two assistants, carrying bags and boxes of things.


    "My Dearest Tiny Dancer!" Jared announced as he approached the dining area.


    He took one look at her meal and gave a disgusted look.


    "Is Leo trying to poison my Tiny Dancer? Get rid of that stuff." He motioned at one of the assistants.


    Jason smiled. "It''s a good thing we brought some food along."


    He ced a stacked basket of steaming dumplings of all varieties, shapes and sizes.


    "Ahhhh!!!" Candi shrieked with excitement and picked one out with her fingers.


    "Ouch!" She threw it back and forth between her quick fingers. "Hot! Hot!"


    She promptly stuffed it into her mouth, burning her tongue in the process. But Candi didn''t care. It was soooo good!


    "Ummmmmm." She smiled at the dumpling''s hot savory taste.


    The Princes allughed and watched as she ate with gusto. Meanwhile, Jared had already begun to pull out the outfit they brought along.


    "Since you will not need to do any strenuous physical activities for this next Avgo Event, we have decided to dress you in our family''s traditional outfit."


    Jared began pulling the paper tissue wrapping from the outfit. With a flourish, he pulled thest of the white tissue to reveal a full length dress of the finest gold muga silk.


    It had arge cor that was worn off the shoulders and gathered at the waist, with flounced skirts that fell in voluminous folds all the way down to the floor.


    At the center, where each end of the cor met, the pink Avgo gemstone replica that had been forcibly taken from her was now back in ce.


    Next to the dress, Jason had also produced the finest Princess diadem and bracelets that would go with the pink Avgo gemstone.


    Candi''s eyes rounded.


    "Your family''s traditional outfit?" She gasped. "Wait, but you''re royalty."


    "Yes. This is an outfit that a Princess from our royal lineage would wear. Only the royal women of our lineage are allowed to wear gold muga silk." Jared grinned.


    Candi grimaced.


    "But I''m not royalty."


    "Then I suggest you take it up with the Big Kahuna. He was the one who ordered it to be made for you."


    "Big¡ªwho?"


    te''s eyes crinkled with merriment.


    "Big Kahuna is what we call our father when we''re teasing him."


    "Wait.." Candi held up a hand in protest. "The Emperor ordered this dress for me?"

 Chapter 89 - If You Need Me, Come To Me

    [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT]


    After the twins had left the night before, leaving the dress and jewelry with her, te had also returned to his room.


    ''If you miss me,e to me'', he had said, but her mind was in such a whirl, it was as if she needed the time and space to be alone, to rest, to not even think.


    She turned this way. Then she turned that way. Then she turned on her tummy. But then her neck began to ache, so she flipped onto her back.


    It was impossible to sleep. Her mind kept whirling with everything that had happened and she could barely contain her tumultuous thoughts.


    Her life was such a huge chaos at the moment. All her carefullyid ns for bing an archaeologist and traveling the world to study ancient civilizations seemed to have belonged in a past life.


    It was barely two weeks ago, but it seemed so long ago and far away. she could barely see what wasing next.


    Candi endured another hour of restless twisting and turning and finally, she gave up. Throwing her covers back, she slid to the floor and padded to the door.


    Poking her head out into the hallway lit with cool blue lights, she nced this way and that. No one was around.


    She quickly moved across the hall and stood flushed against the entryway. Reaching out with a hesitant hand, she gave a gentle rap against the door.


    Within seconds, the door opened. Candi felt herself being picked up and carried inside by a pair of very familiar tree trunk arms.


    "What took you so long?" A deep husky voice sounded into her ear. "I was starting to think you no longer cared and had forgotten about me."


    He sounded forlorn and woeful as he nuzzled his head into her neck.


    The room was dimly lit and she could barely see him after having emerged from the bright hallway, but she could smell the familiar faint musky vani scent of his male skin.


    She reached out to touch him, feeling his familiar hard tree trunk body.


    "Were you waiting? What if I''d fallen asleep?"


    te picked her up and took her over to his bed where he sat both of them down, with her settled on hisp.


    "Then I would have stayed up until morning, and then I would have invaded your room and demand just payback for making me wait all night in vain."


    He began nuzzling her neck with soft warm lips even as he rubbed his thumb over the tip of her right breast.


    "I have missed you so much. We''ve been apart for so long that my body is going into withdrawal for want of your touch."


    Candi gave a swift intake of breath as the sweet sensation from her nipple blossomed throughout her body. Her nipple hardened and became erect within seconds, poking from behind the fabric of the hospital gown.


    He smiled at her reaction and reached out with both hands, cupping her breasts and squeezing them gently. Then he lowered his head and pushed his face into the space between her breasts, breathing deeply.


    "You smell so good Candace, like sweet summer fruit wine. I am trying to contain myself because you''re not mine, but I cannot help myself. I am starving." He whispered into her bosom.


    "What happens if you cannot control yourself?"


    He paused for a moment.


    "I''m not sure, but I know this. If it wasn''t for this damned Avgopetition which binds you to its ancient marriage dictates and stiptions, do you honestly think I would allow for any other man to have a chance to be with you?"


    Suddenly, with the growl of a beast, he grabbed the neckline of her hospital gown with both hands and tore the fabric apart, exposing her entire front.


    Her pink ares peeked out at te, making him smile with anticipation. His fingers curled around the soft mounds, kneading and ying with them.


    Leaning closer, he began rubbing them against his face and his lips. "Ahhhh. I can''t get enough of your breasts. They drive me insane."


    Candi leaned her head back, her pink lips parted as she breathed in the scent of his body and hers, intermingling.


    She could hear the uncontroble wanton sounds that her throat was making, a mewling gasping choking sound that incited te more and more. Her body trembled from the sweet tingly sensations he was causing on her nipples.


    He cupped her breasts and sucked hard on the milky softness, creating red kiss marks. Then, he returned to her nipples and concentrated on them, licking and sucking, first one then the other.


    He continued licking and sucking at her erect nipples until she could no longer sit still.


    "te¡­" she mewled.


    "Use your words, Candace." He whispered. "If you want me to stop, tell me now because I am close to reaching the point of no return."


    "Aaaahhhh, te." She gasped "Don''t stop¡­"


    "Hold on, Baby Girl." He whispered.


    He shifted her body until she was straddling him on the bed, and then slowly, he reached under her gown. The fabric was so thin that it might as well have been nonexistent.


    He pushed the front of the fabric up until he could see her underwear. His fingers reached in and he began gently tickling her bud from the outside.


    The sensation of his touch was electrifying. Candi gasped, twitching her body.


    He grabbed her jaw and brought her mouth back to his. As his fingers yed against the cloth fabric of her underwear, he began plundering her mouth with his tongue.


    The intery of the two stimulus points was more than she could handle. Candi sobbed and mewled, the sounds caught in her throat.


    Her underwear had gotten soaked from his touching. With one quick movement, te hooked a finger into the fabric and with a sharp extended w, tore it from her body, setting her womanhood free from the constraints of the panties.


    Then he retracted his w, exposing the soft tips of his fingers. Reaching down, he began swirling and rubbing against her nub, dipping into her moist sensitive crevice, ying her like a sweetly taut instrument.


    "Aaahhh! Haaahh haaaahhh," she gasped. Her toes curled with the intense sensation. Her fingers reflexively reached for him.


    "I want to---haaaah---touch you too¡­" she blindly grabbed at the front of his robe, pulling apart the ties and reaching in to touch his chest.

 Chapter 90 - The Taste Of A Demigod

    [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT]


    te''srge body trembled at her touch. He could not hide the raging desire wracking through his body.


    Candi fondled his male nipples until he shivered with delight. Leaning forward, she began tasting and nuzzling his male nipples, causing him to hiss and groan with pleasure.


    Then she slowly moved her hand lower, touching each ne of his muscled torso until they touched his lower abdomen. The muscles of his stomach quivered with anticipation.


    He was still wearing his pajama bottoms and he was far too heavy for her to remove them. She also didn''t have the kind of ws he had to just tear into them and rip them off him.


    Seeing her struggle with the front of his pants, te shifted his body from her and pulled at his pants until they slipped to his feet. With a swift kick, they were on the floor a few feet away, and then he was sitting naked on the bed.


    Hisrge swollen member was now free and wide open for Candi''s ministration.


    Her hand continued moving down until they touched the edges of curled hair on his groin. And then her hand reached down to grab the base of his erect member.


    te threw back his head and hissed.


    She slid down to the floor onto her knees and leaned forward. His shaft was hard and hot, standing in erect attention. It was waiting for her eagerly with its one weepy eye.


    Candi wasted no time. She parted her lips and covered the tip of his erection with her mouth. Her tongue darted about, licking and tasting the juice running out of the little weepy eye.


    Then her tongue ran under the base of his shaft, tickling the raised underside tube which ended into his sacks.


    With her hands still grasping onto his rock hard member, she began licking each individual pearl, tonguing the soft undersides of his pouch. This caused te''s breath to increase, so she paused, and then licked it again.


    He began growling softly.


    Candi smiled. She had found a sensitive spot.


    Her tongue darted out and she began licking the base of his testicles and gently suckling on one of his spheres.


    He began to quiver uncontrobly. She moved onto his other testicle and took that into her mouth, rolling it around with her tongue.


    "Aaaaagghhh." He groaned with pleasure, his shaft pulsing several times as his muscles spasmed.


    Slowly, she lowered her head, even as her eyes continued to gaze into his passion filled face. He stared at her through half-lidded blue eyes that widened as he saw her open up her mouth to take the head of his length inside.


    Slowly, she moved her head down until she could feel it hitting the back of her throat. She pushed further down and began swallowing the head of his shaft into her throat.


    Then, slowly and with steady strokes, she began to pump his shaft into her mouth.


    As she stroked him into her throat, he groaned and shook with the effort of trying to control himself. But there can be no control when he was already so close to the edge.


    "Aaaaaarrgggghhhh!!!" He roared and gasped as his body hit the zenith of his desire.


    Clutching her head, he pulled her hard into his crotch. His shaft pulsed and throbbed as spurts of hot desire filled her mouth and spilled from her lips onto his body. There was so much semen that he drenched the bed where theyy.


    For a moment, it was all te could do just to gasp and fight for his breath as his body quivered and shook with the spasms of ecstasy. It took a few moments, but he was finally able to regain his senses.


    "I''m so sorry, Baby." He whispered, still panting. "Did I hurt you?"


    "No. You didn''t hurt me at all." She smiled, wiping his fluids from her mouth. "How are you feeling?"


    "It felt so good my sweet adorable Baby Candace. I can''t hold onto my self control when you do that. Come back up here and let me make love to you."


    As he lifted her up off the floor, te gentlyid her on the bed and rolled over her, his long dark hair falling down around him, his brilliant blue eyes looking down at her like a male demigod.


    "You have to be at your best for tomorrow''s Avgo Event so we can''t take this entire night to make love, but at the very least, we can slow down a bit."


    He took a deep shuddering breath.


    "With the way you kissed me just now, I am elerating too far too fast." He leaned down and touched his lips to her forehead.


    "Let''s take it slow."


    Lowering his head to her breasts, he began to kiss her nipples again, fondling them between his fingers. "You are so soft¡­" he muttered. "I love your unique scent."


    "I have a unique scent?"


    "Yes. You have a unique scent, Candace. I am addicted to your smell. When you have no perfume on, your skin naturally smells like fresh milk...and I am so hungry for your milk!"


    He began suckling her once more. First one breast, and then the other. He could not get enough of her, licking both breasts in turn and suckling like a newborn babe.


    Candace forgot to breathe.


    She could barely take a breath, as the sensation of his wet tongue flicking and swirling around the tip of her nipple caused her loins to gush with moisture.


    His fingers continued to torment her body.


    "You are so wet. I want a taste so badly."


    Sliding down, he reached with his hands and spread open her thighs. Her flower opened up before his eyes, pink and moist.


    He reached between her legs and separated the lips of her petals. More nectar gushed out, in anticipation of his touch.


    "Candi baby, your scent is driving me insane." He lowered his lips and dipped his tongue into the separated petals of her womanhood.


    "Haaaaaahhh." Candi gasped as she felt his hot wet tongue sliding in and out of her opening. Her legs shivered, but he grasped her thighs and kept them spread wide open, giving himplete ess to her body.


    He continued prating her lightly with his tongue until it seemed as if she would explode from the sensation of his licks inside her body.


    And then he backed off her fleshybia and moved upward, onto the tight hard bud that had swollen to the size of a small bean.


    "Oh Woman. You taste so good." He nuzzled her clit with his lips.


    "I love the scent, the taste, the feel of your female body. The more I suck, the more you gush."


    He lowered his head and continued suckling her bud until Candi cried with ecstasy.


    His tongue flicked, gently and quickly at first, but then as she rose higher and higher, he slowed his licking down and took her entire bud into his mouth, suckling it gently, rhythmically, skillfully.


    It was so exquisite. So elegant. So deliciously rapturous that she could not help but tremble and shiver with a delight so pure that tears sprang from her eyes. The more he sucked, the higher she flew.


    She began to convulse, her body trembling, trying to reach the climactic point, which was about to happen. It was so close¡­so, so close.


    And then Candi saw a sh of light exploding from her eyes.


    "Haaa! Ahhh! Ah!" She shrieked, clutching onto his head and shoving his mouth into her womanhood.


    The sweetest sensation gushed and pounded over her as she shook in cascades of orgasmic release.


    As Candi fell back onto the sheets, te moved up, taking her mouth with his, letting her taste the nectar of herself, mixed with his own saliva.


    "Let''s run away from here." He muttered into her mouth. "Let''s go somewhere far far away where nobody knows who we are."


    Candi sighed.


    "You''re a Prince of Erenveil and I''m an Avgo Female. We''re not exactly incognito. Everyone in the gxy has seen us. Everyone knows who we are. Where can we go?"


    te sighed and rested his head on her body. He had fallen in love with this woman so hard that he could not see himself living without her.


    But the truth remained.. She was not his to im.

 Chapter 91 - The Golden Couple

    It was past midnight when te finally carried Candi back to her room and tucked her into bed. The Avgo event would start soon and she needed to sleep as much as she could to be mentally ready for it.


    As it was, Candi was up and about early in the morning.


    The twins had arranged for their assistants to arrive that morning to help her bathe and dress for the event, but she was so full of nervous energy about the Avgo Event that she had already taken her bath and was sitting there waiting for her hair to dry.


    By the time she had gotten dressed in the heavy gold royal dress, with her hair styled and jeweled with the tiara, Leonardo hade knocking on her door to escort her off the Alpha Indigo Hospital.


    Her mouth dropped when she saw Leonardo.


    His long golden blond hair had been tied back in a neat ponytail, revealingrge aquamarine eyes, high cheekbones and a noble nose. His ssically beautiful male face was heart-stopping.


    Men should not be this beautiful!


    His lush shapely lips curved in a beautiful smile as he saw her.


    "You are a goddess," he breathed as he stared at her, mesmerized.


    Candace was checking him out at the same time.


    He was dressed in royal robes of the same gold silk muga fabrics she wore. On his brow was a royal band denoting his rank of Fourth Prince of Erenveil. On hispel, the blue and white insignia of a First ss Physician.


    As he moved closer to her, she could smell that familiar mint and sandalwood scent that was so very unique to Leonardo.


    "We have matching outfits!" Sheughed.


    Leonardo grinned.


    "Each of the royal children have a set of this exact same gold outfit to be worn at the winter solstice event each year. Father has weed you into the family. In his mind, you are already a Princess of Erenveil, and who is going to argue with the Emperor?"


    Who, indeed? Sheughed again nervously.


    He looked at her with appreciative aquamarine eyes, .


    "But to be honest, it doesn''t matter what you wear. Your spirit shines through so brightly that I can barely breathe." Leonardo reached out and touched her cheek.


    "Thank you, Leonardo." She smiled up at him.


    He bowed and extended his arm. "If you are ready, we can leave for the Celestial Pantheon for your Brilliance and Intellect Event."


    ========


    The Celestial Pantheon was a white marbled columned structure with 18 giant scantily-d carved figures holding up the roof line of the portico in front, and a round domed structure attached at the rear.


    It was built on a floating ind that was above the scattered cumulus clouds and looked like a castle in the sky.


    Once she and Leonardonded on the circr pavednding pad, hundreds of media pods that were aiming their visual instruments at the front of the portico began to converge in on Candi and Leonardo.


    Virtual screens popped up around the floating ind showed their images as they walked on the paved pathway across the green scape towards the front of the portico.


    The images were a dizzying kaleidoscope of green grass and gold royal outfits, with closeups of Candace''s and Leonardo''s faces and their fair golden hair.


    Candi''s hair was a slightly darker shade of honey blonde than Leonardo''s spun pale gold hair, but theyplemented each other so beautifully that they looked like the Golden Couple of Erenveil.


    Suddenly, new memes began to spring up everywhere around the gxy as the Leonandace ship began to sail.


    Once they were safely inside the Pantheon, a waiting attendant took them through a side aisle and up a set of stairs.


    Leonardo was shown to a waiting area that had been set up with food and drinks and plenty of seating that was arranged so that it had a clean view of the stage area at the back of the Pantheon.


    "Good luck." He whispered and leaned down to give her a kiss. It was a gentle kiss, brief but full of promise, and the media pods caught every angle of that kiss, sting it out everywhere for the gxy to see.


    She was then escorted to a very familiar looking ss tform at the back of the circr chamber.


    There was arge lush deep carpet of a pale champagne color on the ss tform and a kidney shaped brown leather couch that was set on top.


    Around the back area was a series of cream panels that were erected, causing the tform to seem as if it was enclosed within a room.


    Seeing no one around, Candi went to the leather couch and sat down.


    Although Candi was about five minutes early, she was surprised no one else had shown up. Jenna and Ana?se should have been here by now. Those two were always early to a fault.


    Five minutester, she was still sitting there, alone on a ss tform, staring out at a cavernous chamber of apletely empty Celestial Pantheon.


    As she sat, her eyes took in her surroundings with a touch of suspicion. Something was not quite right.


    If it hadn''t been for the fact that she had arrived with Leonardo and had been escorted to this room by an attendant, she would have thought she was herepletely alone.


    She was about to go look for Leonardo to find out what was going on when one of the panels disappeared.


    Behind it was a table with an assortment of items. A hammer, some pliers, a pair of scissors, a knife, and a bundle of rope.


    Ah. Finally. They were going to be tested on how to use tools.


    She got up from the sofa and went to the table to take a closer look at the tools.


    As she approached the table, a panel to the right of the tools table opened to reveal a bloody, beaten Leonardo, chained to one of the marble support columns that surrounded the ss tform.


    Candace gasped.


    "Oh my God!" She ran to him and quickly unbound his gag. "Can you speak? What happened? Who did this?"


    Candace ran her fingers around the chains that bound him to the column. There was no obvious lock mechanism she could pick and there was no way she could break the column apart.


    She pushed his long blond hair from his face to check on his physical condition.


    Leonardo was barely conscious. His aqua eyes were bloodshot and dted and he could barely focus on her.


    He whispered one word. "Bomb," and fell unconscious, his long gold hair tumbling over as he grew ck against the chains.


    Bomb? She looked around Leonardo seeing nothing.


    She had to unchain him from the column, but the chains wererge iron links that could not be removed with the few pitiful tools that were at the table.


    What could she do with a hammer, some pliers, a pair of scissors, a knife, and a bundle of rope?


    As her eyes darted back to the tools table, another panel opened up to reveal arge metal box. It had a timer set on top for five minutes, and that timer was rapidly moving down.


    So that was the bomb he had spoken about.


    And this stupid Brilliance and Intellect test was to see what she would do in a crisis situation, with a Prince''s life on the line.


    Candi groaned.


    Wasn''t this supposed to have been an easy no-stress situation where she was just supposed to answer some math or logic questions?


    How was she supposed to handle a crisis situation like this, stuffed like a turkey into a heavy gold royal dress?

 Chapter 92 - Leonandace

    Candi eyed the tools table.


    There was a a hammer, some pliers, a pair of scissors, a knife, and a bundle of rope. They were the usual generic tools that could tackle most any situations.


    Unfortunately for her, this was not one of those situations that could be fixed with a hammer or a pair of pliers.


    On one side was a bomb with less than five minutes left to go.


    On the other side was a chained Prince of Erenveil in desperate need of medical assistance.


    There was no way to cut through the iron chains.


    The hammer would be useless. Even if she used it to beat down on the knife to see if she could shatter one of the iron links, there was still the matter of time.


    There was not enough time to extract Leonardo from his chains before the bomb exploded. It would take too long to even break a single link of that iron chain.


    She nced at the doorway on the other side of the Pantheon.


    If she ran really fast, she could easily make it out of the Pantheon before the bomb exploded, but that would mean leaving Leonardo behind to die when the bomb exploded.


    She could never do that.


    Candi turned back to look at the bomb. It was set up in the normal way, chained to the box with the same type of chain that was used on Leonardo.


    She leaned in closer to look at its timer mechanism. It was a simple set-up.


    There were two obvious wires that connected the timer to the bomb. One was pink and the other was yellow. The wires were even pre-exposed for her to choose.


    Candi looked at the tools table.


    She had a pair of scissors that she could use to cut one of the wires. The problem was, there would be no way to know which wire to cut. Snipping the wrong wire would mean she and Leonardo kissed this life goodbye.


    The other option would be for her to drag the bomb away from Leonardo.


    A quick nce at the table threw that idea out the window. Not only was it was bolted to the hard concrete floor, it was also too heavy for her to lift.


    Dragging it using the rope was no good either. She wouldn''t make it past the stage area before she ran out of time. With only three minutes left to go, Candi was quickly running out of options.


    She gritted her teeth and ran to the tools table.


    Reaching out, she grabbed the pair of scissors. Wasting no more time, Candi ran back to Leonardo.


    Damn.


    He was bleeding all over the floor from the cut on his head.


    She leaned in closer to him and checked his breathing and pulse. He was cold to the touch, but his vital signs seemed to be functioning.


    "You''re going to be fine, Leonardo. Don''t worry Honey. I''m right here." She leaned closer and kissed his cheek.


    Blood from his head smeared onto her hands and face but Candi disregarded the mess. The most critical part of his injury was his bleeding. She had to try and stem the blood loss.


    She grabbed one section of her skirt and snipped a few sections of the fabric. In quick motions, she tore long strips of the priceless mugo silk into bandage sized sections.


    With deft hands, she bound his head with the silk, effectively stemming the tide of blood that was flowing from his head injury.


    A quick nce showed that she had less than a minute left of time before the bomb exploded.


    Taking a deep breath, she called out.


    "Avgo, get your ass out here!"


    Instantly, the pink Avgo hovered above her, refracting its deep inner brilliance and throwing its faceted light around.


    With fierce eyes, she raised herself onto her toes and wrapped her arms around Leonardo, sheltering his head into her shoulder and covering his ears.


    "Hang on Honey!" She called out to him and closed her eyes, bracing for the impact of the explosion.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    BOOM!!!


    The st was so loud, for a moment, she could not hear anything. She could feel the force of the heat that the st generated, but it was a diffused heat and not one that would be able to kill her.


    The pink Avgo gemstone had done its job by throwing a force shield around her, and because she was holding onto Leonardo so tightly, it had also protected him from harm.


    "Oh thank heavens." She muttered, rubbing at his golden head that was still sheltered within her embrace.


    "And there you have it, Ladies and Gentlemen! That concludes our exciting Brilliance and Intellect Event!"


    The sound of Lorem Ipsum reverberated through the Celestial Pantheon as the cheering and pping rose to fevered pitch.


    Candi opened her eyes and saw Leonardo''s aqua blue eyes gazing down at her full of love and adoration.


    Was this all a fake unfunny joke?


    "You''re not hurt." She mumbled, still in shock.


    "Thanks to you, I''m perfectly safe, My Love." He leaned down and kissed her with a desperate fierce intensity that he had never shown before.


    Leonardo found himself falling into the abyss with no way out, and he was weing the fall with open arms. If there was ever any doubt that she was heaven sent¡ªthe perfect woman for him, it hadpletely been dispelled.


    This was a woman who disregarded her own safety to protect others around her. She had shown that when she ran into danger to save te.


    She exemplified it again today, when she used her own body to shield him from the effects of the bomb st.


    He muttered a couple of words, disengaging himself from chains that fell away at his magicmand.


    Reaching out, he picked her up and carried her to the center of the ss tform.


    The st had damaged everything within the vicinity, but it did not damage the tform itself.


    He spoke another powermand and reality shifted. Suddenly, Candi could see the interior of the Pantheon.


    It was filled with people!


    Lorem Ipsum was standing on a small floating tform among the crowd, smiling at her and Leonardo. He waved a hand and a virtual screen showed the close up image of Leonardo holding onto Candi, their faces mere inches apart.


    They were both bloody and disheveled, their clothing torn and ripped, but they were apparently unharmed.


    From everywhere, the audience began a chant which sounded suspiciously like Leonandace.


    "LEONANDACE!!! LEONANDACE!!! LEONANDACE!!!"


    "What''s going on?" She murmured into his ear.


    "It looks like you did well at this event," he turned to look at her with aqua eyes as warm as a summer day.


    "You saved me, Cancandi.." He whispered as he once again leaned down and kissed her in full view of the entire audience.

 Chapter 93 - Jennas Test

    Candi''s ears were still not functioning properly, but she could see that Leonardo was fine. He kissed her and picked her up from the burning wreckage that was all around them.


    Then, she saw lightse on everywhere.


    "What''s going on?" She tried to ask him.


    He responded with something, but her ears were still ringing from the st and she couldn''t quite hear what he said.


    He leaned down and kissed her a second time and then turned and carried her into the back waiting area of the Pantheon.


    "Leonardo. I can''t hear very well. What''s going on?" Candi reiterated, still reeling from the shock of all that was happening around her.


    He gave her a worried frown and took her to a settee where he ced her down. He reached out with healing fingers and touched her ears.


    In seconds, her hearing was restored.


    "Can you hear me better now?" His voice was worried.


    Candi nodded.


    "I can hear again. Thank you." She sat up and touched his head with a worried frown. "You were bleeding so heavily, I was so afraid."


    "I''m fine. It''s stopped because you took such good care of me."


    Candi blinked and looked down. She had been in shock, but now that she was returning to normal, she could distinctly see the Pantheon full of people.


    She had seen Lorem Ipsum as well¡­which meant the entire thing was faked.


    "Liar. You were never hurt." She looked up, her eyes full of recrimination.


    Part of her felt relief that he was not badly hurt but part of her was upset that she had been so terrified she was bandaging him in a way that would make his head wound even worse.


    "You scared me so much." She gritted her teeth as angry tears began to fall from her eyes.


    Leonardo reached up and brushed her tears away with gentle fingers. He sighed and pulled her into his arms.


    "You took such good care of me, my little Cancandi girl, that I never once felt afraid even though at that moment, I truly was bleeding quite heavily."


    He touched the makeshift bandage on his head.


    "You tore the one thing that assured your visible deration of royalty, your royal dress, to save me. I will ensure that for the rest of your life, you will never have to rely on a dress to ensure royalty status."


    "I don''t give a shit about a stupid dress." Candi sniffed, pushing him away. "I was scared that I wasn''t bandaging you properly and causing your head wound to get worse."


    She looked at him with a scowl.


    "But it seems you''re okay and all I did was make a fool out of myself in front of all those people."


    "No, no Love. Nobody out there thinks any less of you for acting as you did. They''re all cheering you on. You came in first ce again, for this event."


    She sniffed and looked away. He couldn''t fool her again.


    "You''re lying to me again. None of the other Avgo Females were even there. We haven''t even started the event yet."


    Leonardo pressed his lips together and stood up.


    "Listen to me." He looked down at her. "I''m sorry I had to act as if I was very injured and take part in the event. It was required of us Princes and we all did what we had to do. But you flew through that with such ease and elegance that I could barely contain my pride."


    Seeing her petnt face, he reached out and cupped her face in his hands.


    "The Event is over. The scores have been tallied. You came in first ce. I''m not lying to you." He waved a hand and a virtual monitor appeared.


    The monitor showed an empty tform that had the cream rug and the brown leather sofa. It was the same space that she had walked into not long ago.


    From one corner of the room, Jenna came through. She sat down on the sofa, just as Candi had done, waiting. The virtual screen sped through fifteen minutes of her just sitting around waiting for the other contestants to appear.


    The moment the Event officially began, the center panel disappeared revealing a table holding all the same tools that Candi had been given. There was the same hammer, pliers, scissors, a knife, and a bundle of rope.


    Jenna stood there pondering over the tools for a moment when a panel opened up to her right. A Prince had been tied up onto the column with chains but this time, it was Byron.


    He was also bleeding, but this time, from the chest and looked half dead.


    Now that Candi knew it was all an act, she rolled her eyes at his yacting, but Jenna didn''t know that.


    The cat was frantic. This was the man she had set her heart on to marry and he was dying in front of her eyes.


    She saw Jenna run to him and tried various ways to unshackle him, but of course, she could not remove the chain.


    It was at that point that the bomb appeared.


    Jenna took one look at the bomb and ran to the tools table. The one item she grabbed was the scissors, but for a very different reason.


    Approaching the bomb table, she looked at the bomb with a critical eye. After using up half of the allotted five minutes on the bomb timer, she took the scissors and, with a deep breath to calm herself, made a final cut.


    BOOM!!!


    The bomb exploded.


    The force of the bomb threw her half way across the room, but because the orange Avgo was protecting her, she was not badly hurt.


    Byron, on the other side of the tform, got the full brunt of the st. Candi gasped and covered her eyes.


    Even though she knew it was a test, it was still horrifying to see that happening to one of the Erenveil Princes.


    As the fire roared through, burning everything, she could see Byron emerge from the mes unscathed.


    He called out a singlemand and the fires subsided. Then he calmly walked over to Jenna and picked her up from where she had fallen.


    She was right on top of the bomb when it exploded.


    Even with the Avgo''s force shield protecting her, it could not stop the st from flinging her across the room. Jenna had been knocked unconscious from the fall.


    Without waiting for Lorem Ipsum to say anything, Byron had carried her into the back area to get medical assistance.


    "Where is Byron and Jenna?" Candi jumped up from the settee.


    Leonardo gently pressed her back down.


    "Rx. They''re in different Celestial Pantheons."


    "Different? How many of these ces are there?"


    "As many as there needs to be. We make duplicates of the real one and float them wherever we need a quick Pantheon for various functions."


    "Like a¡ªa disposable theater?"


    Leonardo shrugged.


    "Something like that."


    Candi covered her mouth.


    "I hope Jenna is okay."


    "She will be fine. My staff have all been on standby just in case there were injuries." He smiled.


    "Would you like to see how well Ana?se Paroles did?"

 Chapter 94 - Ana?ses Test

    Leonardo did not wait for Candi to agree.


    With a flourish of his hand, the virtual monitor shed to a different view. It was another empty tform with the same cream carpet and the same brown couch.


    Ana?se Paroles didn''t even bother to sit on the sofa. She wandered around, taking note of everything that was in the room.


    Her eyes nced up to check ceiling height and the walls on all sides. She even checked the stability of the sofa and flipped up the underside of the carpet to check for anomalies.


    Candi was impressed.


    This was a woman who was thorough with all her preparations. If anyone would win a Brilliance and Intellectpetition, it would be Ana?se.


    The moment the Event officially began, the center panel disappeared revealing a table holding the hammer, pliers, scissors, a knife, and the bundle of rope.


    Ana?se grabbed the rope and hung it on her belt, along with the pliers, scissors and knife. The hammer, she picked up and held in her hand.


    If there was need for any of these tools, she would not have to run back to the tools table to pick anything up. Candi shook her head, impressed at the way Ana?se''s brain worked.


    What a smart woman.


    Candi was smiling at the ingenuity of the silicon blue ss female when the right side of the room opened up showing te tied up and bleeding from an open wound on his torso.


    Even knowing it was fake, Candi could not hold in a sharp hiss. He looked badly hurt, which brought back very recent memories when she had seen him badly hurt before.


    Beside her, Leonardo reached out and gave her a reassuring hug.


    She leaned against him, drawing in his warmth andfort as she continued to watch the virtual screen.


    Like Jenna and herself, Ana?se ran to him, checking his pulse and breathing. As soon as she had assured herself he was not in imminent danger, she began trying various ways to extract him from the chains.


    The one advantage Ana?se had was the ability to work with rocks. She began melting parts of the marble column, and had she been given another twenty minutes, Ana?se would have been able to shape enough of the marble to loosen up the chains and pull te out.


    Unfortunately, the bomb appeared a few minutes into her marble sculpting attempt.


    Ana?se ran over to the bomb and studied it from various angles. Her fingers flexed and clenched as she stood there thinking through the problem.


    At one point, she looked at te, and then at the scissors on her belt. But then she shook her head. There was no way she could use any of these tools.


    She threw the hammer to the ground and began rubbing her hands.


    At first, her rubbing was slow. One minuteter, she had increased her rubbing that her hands were starting to glow a white yellow color. The faster she rubbed, the whiter the color became.


    With only two minutes left on the bomb timer, Ana?se began building a ss bubble around the bomb. Suddenly, all around her, the marble floors were starting to melt. She was taking marble from the floor to build the ss bubble around the bomb.


    Candi''s jaw dropped. This woman''s rock magic was so amazing she could not believe her eyes.


    One minuteter, a strong ss bubble had epassed the bomb, and Ana?se ceased her ss magic. She turned to look at te, as if wishing him good luck, and then made a mad dash for the front door.


    It seemed as if Ana?se felt that she had done all she could to try and contain the st with her magic. She could not extract te in the amount of time given.


    There was no other choice. She had to save herself


    Thinking it through in a logical fashion, the percentage of his death was very high whereas the percentage of her death was extremely low if she simply ran from the building before the bomb went off.


    She had already calcted the time it would take to reach the front doors and had allowed the timer to roll down to the final second to give the ss bubble as much strength as she could fortify it.


    As Ana?se raced through the double doors of the portico, the st roared through, sting her onto the grassy area in front of the Pantheon.


    Because she was far enough from the center of the st, Ana?se was able to roll through the force andnded back on her feet after the roll.


    The monitor split screen showed the fire raging through the tform, engulfing te where he was chained.


    Candi''s eyes watered, but of course, once the fire blew past, he emerged without a scratch.


    Pulling on his chains, he threw them down onto the floor and stood at the front of the tform, staring out into the bright sunshine.


    From outside, the crystal blue figure of Ana?se stood in the grass, looking back at the partially destroyed Celestial Pantheon.


    It was too dark within the Pantheon for her to see him, but there was no need. Two assistants were striding up to Ana?se and escorting her off the floating ind on a transport pod.


    It was then that the visual of Ana?se Paroles ended.


    "Oh wow. She ran away." Candi choked out. It was something that didn''t even cross her mind to do. All the Princes were supremely important to her, and she would have never abandoned them to face death alone.


    "Yes," Leonardo took a deep breath. "Her Prince died in her care."


    Candi turned to him with a quizzed look.


    "I don''t understand. Are each of us given a Prince that we''re supposed to protect? Is that the end goal? Is that the real test?"


    Leonardo smiled.


    "My Darling, the real test was to see what each of the Avgo Females would do given the exact same situation. Based upon each of your personalities, we had some ideas of what you might do, but of course, there were surprises."


    "Surprises?" Candi asked.


    Leonardoughed.


    "Watch what happens to the next Avgo Female."

 Chapter 95 - Bethanys And Valerias Tests

    Bethany Dresden was seated on the brown couch waiting, just like Candi had done.


    Her red hair had been cut and styled into a short bob to minimize the damage that had been done to her from the previous fight with Olivia Faraday.


    She was not feeling well and it showed. Her feathers were dropping everywhere in tiny red fluffs, drifting about on the tiny currents of air that blew in from the vents above.


    The cream carpet looked as if she was bleeding in small droplets all over the area where she was sitting. The brown couch hid it a bit better, but there were feathers all over the leather as well.


    She was still very beautiful, but there was no hiding the fact that this Avgo event was very hard on her.


    At this point, she was no longer even trying to hide the fact that she was molting.


    Five minutes into the wait, she was prowling around the perimeter of the ss tform, looking around and poking at everything, much in the same way as Ana?se had done.


    Bethany was not as thorough as Ana?se was, nor did she do it in a calcting manner.


    For her, it was not so much scoping out the ce to determine best courses of actions depending on the possibility of the oues.


    She was just bored.


    Bethany was so unengaged that when the panel opened up to show the table full of equipment, she wasn''t even aware that it had happened because she was staring at her red painted fingernails.


    It was a fluke that she was looking in the direction of the panel when it suddenly opened up to reveal a Prince with pinkish blonde hair looking anything but princely.


    He was chained to a marble column and had open gashes all over his arms and legs. It also looked as if he''d been blinded in one eye. He was bleeding all over the floor and seemed as if he would expire at any moment.


    Bethany squeaked out a tiny scream, her hands covering her face in shock and terror.


    "Oh my God. Lucas looks terrible!" Candi breathed.


    Leonardoughed.


    "He''s the only real actor out of all of us. Of course he''s going to look the worst."


    Leonardo never took his eyes off the virtual screen at the red haired woman who was standing transfixed in one spot, staring at the horribly mangled man before her.


    "You!" She pointed to him. "You''re Prince Lucas. What happened to you?"


    Lucas opened his one remaining amber eye and whispered a single word.


    "Help¡­"


    Bethany stared at him, horrified. In a moment of panic, she turned and ran for the doorway.


    As her footsteps ttered on the marble floor, Lucas opened his damaged eye and heaved a theatrical sigh. He winced as the doors opened and then mmed shut with a BANG!


    Bethany had exited the Celestial Pantheon without even knowing that there was a bomb that would explode. She had never even stuck around long enough to give it a chance to show up.


    Lucas looked out into the darkened interior chamber of the Pantheon with a disgusted look. He spoke a singlemand spell and disengaged the chains from himself.


    As he walked out onto the front of the tform, he held out both his hands and made a single gesture.


    Both his thumbs were pointed down.


    Leonardoughed.


    "Poor Lucas." He shook his head with a sigh. "He always gets the losers."


    "Losers? What losers?"


    Leonardo rolled his eyes towards her.


    "Never mind. You wouldn''t understand. It''s a guy thing."


    "Guy thing, huh?"


    Leonardo leaned over and pressed a kiss onto her forehead.


    "Let''s take a look at thest one."


    "That would be Valeria." She smiled.


    Leonardo nodded and waved his hand. The virtual monitor cked out and the same image of the cream carpet and the brown couch reappeared.


    Valeria Marakesh was moreposed, more elegant as she sat on the brown sofa waiting for the other Avgo Females to show up. Unlike Bethany, she was not molting everywhere and she still had her long lush mane of shiny raven blue-ck hair.


    As the moments ticked away, Valeria continued to sit quietly waiting. She seemed unconcerned that she was sitting in an empty chamber with no one about.


    The table with all the tools was the first to appear. Valeria sat there looking at them but did not make a move to inspect the tools.


    She continued to wait, her eyes calm and unperturbed.


    When the panel on the right disappeared to reveal a bloody beaten chained man, Valeria''s only outward sign of distress was her rapidly blinking almond brown eyes.


    It was a severely injured Dante with a gash above his tortured green eyes. The gash wasrge enough to show white bone underneath and the bleeding was severe.


    Valeria stood up and quickly went to Dante.


    "Oh my God, Prince Dante!" She called out as she reached his side. "Are you okay? Can you hear me?"


    Dante looked at her with pain-filled eyes and muttered one word.


    "Bomb." And Dante sagged against his chains, his head lolling to one side.


    "Bomb?" Valeria repeated with a confused frown.


    At that moment, the panel to her left opened up to reveal therge metal box that housed the bomb. Its timer had already started ticking down its five minutes.


    Valeria''s head turned back and forth, from the bomb to the Prince, and back to the bomb again. She nced at the tools table but did not even consider anything on that table worth another look.


    Her thought process was simr to Candi''s as she quickly pulled a white handkerchief from her pocket and tied it around Dante''s head.


    Once his head was no longer bleeding profusely, Valeria raised her hands and muttered a power word.


    The chain ttered to the floor, releasing Dante body from its restraint.


    She tried to catch Dante as he was falling but she was not much taller than Candi while Dante at 6''4", was much heftier than she was.


    Hisrge framended on top of Valerie sending both of them to the floor.


    "Aaaahhhh!!!" Valerie screamed as shended on her broken wing.


    She pushed his body off and crawled onto her hands and knees. All of that effort took three minutes which meant she only had two minutes left.


    She turned back to Dante and reached out for his arm. Gritting her teeth, she began dragging him across the ss tform.


    It was slow going. He was quite heavy and she was not that strong.


    Another minute flew by and she had barely gotten him past the brown sofa. Her eyes flew towards the ticking time bomb. Toote, she finally realized she was not going to be able to save Dante in the manner that she was doing.


    In desperation, she dropped his arm, abandoning Dante on the floor and ran for the doors.


    Unfortunately, she had waited too long to make her escape.


    Two-thirds of the way towards the door, the bomb exploded.


    BOOM!!!


    Valeria was a bit of a distance away, but she was still knocked off her feet. She flew towards the door and banged hard against it, dropped to the floor as the fire roared past her body.


    Behind her, Dante stood up, looked at her crumpled body by the doorway and shook his head. He made his way to where sheid and picked her up.


    The purple Avgo had saved her from the bomb''s deadly fire but could do nothing to prevent the st from flinging her into the doorway, knocking her unconscious.

 Chapter 96 - The Only Winner

    The visuals ended at that point and Leonardo waved a hand, dismissing the virtual monitor.


    Candi took a deep shuddering breath.


    "I hope she and Jenna are not badly hurt."


    "They have been healed and returned to their delegates. Speaking of which," he stood up and took her hand.


    "We''re still here at the First Celestial tform. I need to get you back to your delegates. They''re all anxiously waiting for you."


    "My delegates?" Candi shook her head. As far as she knew, she had no delegates. She''d been trying to avoid them for weeks.


    "The Erenveil Princes." Leonardo chuckled as he led her back out into the sunshine of the front gardens where his transport pod was waiting for them. "They have a surprise for you."


    Leonardo did not take her back to Dante''s Moon or te''s Castle. He brought her directly to the Royal Pce towards a section that she had never been to.


    It was a tropical paradise that had been recreated under a ss dome the size of a small sports stadium. At the moment, the dome waspletely opened to allow sunlight and the warm ambient air to enter.


    The tall tropical palm trees and huge showy hibiscus, heliconia, bird-of-paradise and climbing bracts of bougainvillea flowers that had been nted everywhere lent their tropical air to the ce.


    Misters had been set to shoot cooling streams in various ces, increasing the humidity level of the tropicals and lending extra water for the various wild orchids that were growing all around them.


    There was a series ofrge sparkling swimming pools connected to a main waterway with a very deep pool.


    Around the shallows were structures at the center where servants were waiting to serve drinks and any variety of snacks a person could want.


    "Ah. There''s the Brilliance and Intellect''s only winner!" A voice called out.


    From between the pink hibiscus bush, a very muscr Emperor Rex strode out, wearing nothing but a pair of swim short and a bright smile showing all his gleaming white teeth.


    He held out two long-stemmed flutes of some pinkish yellow concoction topped with a wedge of pineapple and handed one to each of them.


    "You both are looking smashingly inappropriate!" He eyed Candi''s blood-smeared torn gold muga silk dress and then turned over to a bloodied bruised looking Leonardo with blood-encrusted royal robes.


    "As much as I like muga silk, I think you both are a bit overdressed for this event."


    He pped his hands and two attendants emerged from around the hanging fuchsias.


    "Take these two delinquents and put them into swim gear. And hurry it up. The boys are almost done with their barbecuing and I''m starving!"


    Leonardo grinned and took her hand.


    "Let''s go!"


    Ten minutester, she was ''appropriately dressed'' in a baby pink two-piece bikini with a gand of perfumed pink and gold plumerias around her head.


    Feeling like a Hawaiian h girl, she followed the attendant out to where the rest of the royal family was hanging out.


    "Candace!" She heard te''s familiar voice ring out. As she turned to greet him, two bulls in a china shop ran to her and picked her up, carrying her on their shoulders.


    It was the green haired twins.


    Candiughed and held onto their necks with nervous hands.


    Please don''t drop me, she silently prayed. But of course, they had her legs gripped tightly and would not let her down until they reached the barbecue area.


    "The goddess arrives!" The Twins announced with joy, as they came through, parading her around for a bit longer.


    Everyone called out her name in greeting as they stopped whatever they were doing to wave and smile at her.


    Candi looked around.


    All the brothers were here, dressed in various colored swim shorts and nothing more.


    They had obviously been swimming as they waited for her because their hair was either damp or downright dripping on their tight muscr bodies glistening with the oils they had rubbed on themselves.


    te and Byron were manning the barbecue pit while Dante and Lucasid out the tes and silverware on the table that had beenid out.


    Since she had been carried in by the Twins, the only Prince who was still missing was Leonardo.


    He showed up minutester, also dressed in some tight swim trunks that showed his entire taut body in relief.


    From the swimming pool area, the Emperor and Empress emerged, dripping wet.


    Behind them were several girls of varying ages. They smiled brightly as they saw Candi, surrounded by the seven Princes.


    Candi bowed to the Emperor and Empress, who waved their hands in greeting.


    Before anyone had a chance to say anything, one of the girls ran towards her, arms outstretched.


    "Candace!"


    "Lyra!" She smiled and gasped as the tall girl swooped her up and swung her around like a rag doll.


    "Put her down and let me talk with her!" A small girlish voice called out.


    Lyra set Candi back on her feet and turned to the little girl who had called out to her.


    "You''ll get your turn. I just wanted to greet my sister."


    The little girl was no more than seven or eight and had short blonde curls framing an angelic cherubic face with pale aqua eyes and a cupid bow''s mouth.


    "Can I give you a hug?" She gave a shy smile.


    As Candi dropped to her knees in the grass, the little blonde girl reached out and hugged her. The scent of sunshine and wild flowers enveloped her as the little girl clung onto her neck.


    "Thank you for saving my brother."


    Candi murmured something appropriate in response, feeling a bit like a fraud. She truly hadn''t saved Leo at all since he never needed saving to begin with. But the little girl was insistent and fierce in her hug.


    "I didn''t know Leonardo had such a sweet beautiful sister." Candiughed.


    Leonardo tapped the little girl on the head.


    "That''s enough, Daisy. Loosen the grip a bit so Candi can breathe."


    Everyoneughed as the little blonde clumsily stepped back, away from Candi.


    "You''ve met Lyra, te''s little sister. This one here is Daisy." Leonard pointed to the blonde. "And that one with the teal pig tails is Ariana."


    "Is she Jason and Jared''s sister?"


    "None other." Jason grinned as he yanked on the girl''s pigtails. She looked to be no more than about ten or eleven and stood, staring at Candi with bright cheerful curiosity.


    The Emperor and Empress hung back until introductions had been done but Emperor Rex had been swimming and he was now starving.


    "Enough of the chit chat. Let''s eat!" The Emperor called out.


    "I''m starving and it''s been awhile since I''ve eaten any food my own boys cooked for me. Let''s take this conversation to the dining table, shall we?"


    He turned bright gleaming violet eyes to Candi.


    "Congrattions again, Candace Farrah, on being the ONLY winner of the Brilliance and Intellect Event."

 Chapter 97 - Royal Family BBQ

    What was he talking about? Only Winner?


    Candi followed the royal family to the dining table and sat down where the twins ced her. Lyra and Daisy promptly sidded up next her and became her best buddies.


    Ariana followed behind the Empress, sitting next to her and across from Candi. The girl continued to gaze at her with shy light brown eyes, even as she held onto the Empress'' arm.


    The Emperor sat next to the Empress, chatting about court things that Candi didn''t understand.


    The Princes never really sat down anywhere. They moved about, serving the family the meats and grilled vegetables and corn cobs as they wereing from the grill cooked to perfection.


    Of the servants, there were none. The Princes had sent them all away, insisting on being the ones to serve the family with their own hands.


    They weren''t hurting for food at any rate. The men stuffed their faces as they stood around the grill talking about whatever it was that royal Princes wearing tight colorful swim shorts talked about.


    "So, my dear Candace," the Emperor said as he munched on the grilled corn on the cob. "Have you thought about what you will showcase for your next Avgo Event tomorrow?"


    Candi shook her head. She hadn''t even thought about what the next event was supposed to be.


    "Your Majesty, I¡ª"


    "Ack! Don''t call me that. It makes me feel like I should put on my work robes. Call me Father. You might as well get used to it since it looks like you''re going to be married to one of these bums."


    He pointed at the seven tall Princes who were still at the barbecue grill talking andughing to themselves.


    "So tell me My Dear." He chortled. "Which of these gutterpups of mine have you set your sights on?"


    "It''s a little early yet to be talking about choices, Rex." The Empressughed a light tinklyugh. "There are still four Avgo events left, and if she wins, it will be Byron she marries."


    "Right, right." The Emperor chuffed, patting the Empress on the shoulder with his greasy food-stained hand. "At this moment, she is far far ahead of the others which means she''s getting closer to bing the Crown Princess."


    The Empress gave Candace an excited smile, even as she surreptitiously wiped her shoulder with a napkin.


    "Have you had a chance to take a look at your rankings for the Brilliance and Intellect Event yet My Dear?"


    "Not yet, Your Royal Highness." Candi looked down at her hands. She hadn''t had a chance to do anything, as the Princes had been dragging her from one ce to the next.


    The Empress smiled. "You are doing a fantastic job. Keep it up my dear and you will definitely win First ce prize."


    "Yes! Haha!" The Emperor banged on the table with his fork and knife. "Speaking of whom¡ª", he hollered towards the barbecue grill.


    "More ribs, Byron! Stop eating them all and bring some here to the table. Your future wife hasn''t even had a piece and the seven of you have eaten most of them!"


    The Empress closed her eyes and shook her head.


    "You''ve eaten the entire te of ribs that the boys brought to the table. If Candace didn''t get any, it''s because of you!"


    "Oh hush. There''s plenty more. They just need to cook faster!" Heughed to himself and took thest rib on the serving te.


    From the grill, Byron brought another tter of ribs to the table.


    "Who''s been eating up all the ribs that I made for my future wife?" He pretend-scowled as he picked up a juicy piece and ced it on Candace''s te.


    "Your Father," the Empressughed.


    Byron tossed his red head and sniffed.


    "You''re getting too fat, Father. Save some for the children." He poked at Ariana''s thin frame. "Look how skinny your kids have be!"


    The young girls giggled at their brother''s foolishness.


    "Seriously though. I can''t believe how far from the pack Candace has pulled just from the one event." The Empress shook her head in disbelief.


    "That''s because she was the only one who managed not to kill my son!" The Emperor roared. "Do I want a Daughter-inw who is not willing to live and die by her husband''s side?"


    Byron nodded with a grin.


    "From a total of one-hundred points, she received the entire amount for Brilliance and Intellect."


    He turned to look at Candi.


    "Let''s take a look at the visuals for your scoring, Candace."


    He waved a hand and a virtual screen appeared. Another wave of his finger and the visual zoomed in on a bar graph with the original eight names.


    There were several names that had a line drawn through them.


    Candace''s jaw dropped when she saw that Bethany Dresden had joined the ranks of the disqualified and dropped, alongside Dahlia Halloway, Olivia Faraday, and Helene Cordera.


    Only Candace, Jenna, Ana?se, and Valeria were left on the scoreboard.


    All the girls stared at the monitor with rapt attention. Byron smiled and pointed at the master score chart.


    "See there? It is possible to earn 100 points for each event if you win first ce. Coming in second gives you 90 points. Third gets 80, and so on and so forth."


    Byron turned back and smiled at Candace.


    "Since you won First ce in the Brilliance and Intellect event, you got the full 100 points for thatpetition. Add that to your previous score of 190 and your new grand total is 290 points."


    He turned back to the scoreboard and pointed at Jenna''s score.


    "Jenna went into this event at a healthy 180. Not running away and trying to solve the issue earned her 50 points."


    "Unfortunately, she failed to keep her Prince alive," he raised an eyebrow and tapped at his chest. "That would be me, so she doesn''t get the full amount. 50 added to 180 equals 230."


    "She''s getting farther and farther behind you, Candace." He smiled at Candi.


    "And what of the others?" Lyra asked.


    "Aside from Jenna, who received fifty points, the others got nothing." Byron indicated the scoreboard with his finger.


    "Nothing?" Lyra''s eyebrows rose.


    Leonardo chuckled.


    "Well, one of them got less than nothing. Bethany got tossed from the Avgo Events, Ana?se is stuck at 170, and Valeria is still 160."


    He shook his head. "In my opinion, she should have been tossed from the Avgo Events when she couldn''t even bring her lion head back from the forest."


    The Emperor leaned forward, cackling with hrity as he eyed the selections on the table.


    "I''m d that ugly molting red bird got thrown out." He reached for arge slice of watermelon.


    "I couldn''t believe she took one look at Lucas'' ugly mug and ran away. Hahaha!!!"

 Chapter 98 - Space Pirates

    Lucas, hearing his name spoken out loud by the Emperor came over to join the discussion along with Dante, leaving te and the twins to man the barbecue grill.


    "Excuse me. That was due to my perfect execution of a severely injured man."


    "Maybe she wouldn''t have run away if you were your normal handsome self," Daisy grinned looking up at her brother.


    Lucas looked down and rubbed her golden head.


    "That''s what you call a fair-weather friend. They only stick around when things are good, but they will be the first to run away when you''re half dead and you need them most."


    His eyes were grim. "Looks aren''t everything when you''re searching for friends or a life partner."


    Daisy nodded, taking in her brother''s advice with a grin. This was the man who had been voted Most Handsome Bachelor of the Gxy three years in a row. It sounded as if he spoke from experience.


    As the family chattered around him, Dante was staring at the score board with a calcting look.


    He reached out and gently rubbed Candace''s shoulders, pressing firmly at a sore knot that he found and sending warm beams of heat from his fingers.


    "The next event is Abilities and Expertise. It will be happening tomorrow at the Space Amphitheater. Any thoughts about what you n to do?"


    Candi closed her eyes as she reveled in his gentle ministration of her aching shoulders.


    "Does Abilities and Expertise mean what it sounds like?"


    "Yes." Dante grinned. "Yes it does. You pick an ability or expertise you''re good at, and you are given a fixed time onstage to perform."


    "I''m going to put in my vote for a ballet dance routine from you." Byron said in between bites of his chicken wings.


    "Yes!!!" Jared injected,ing in from behind her. "Everyone loves to see our Tiny Dancer''s moves!"


    te approached the table with another te of grilled steaks and chicken wings.


    "You know, Candace can do more than just dance ballet. She also sings and ys the piano." He set the tes on the table and sat down, joining the rest of the group.


    "Perhaps after this meal, I should take her back to my Moon and give her a chance to practice in her dance hall." Dante mused, his fingers continuing their work on her shoulders.


    Leonardo leaned forward. "You y piano also?"


    Candi looked up at him, suddenly remembering the piano she had jumped on top of the day she met them at the penthouse Tower. She wondered if it was his piano she had mbered onto.


    "That''s right. You have a piano."


    Dante cleared his throat. "I can get a piano brought up into the Moon."


    Leonardo shook his head. "It would take an entire day to get such a heavy thing to your Moon. By the time you get it all set up, she will have lost half a day of practice time."


    He turned back to Candace.


    "Come back to my hospital ship. I have a very high quality Steinway in the living quarters you can use to practice with."


    "What is a Steinway doing in your hospital?" Sheughed.


    Daisy chortled, her tiny cupid lips parted with joy.


    "My brother Leo is a very good pianist. He''s the only musician out of all my other brothers." She looked at Lucas. "Except for Lucas. He''s a singer of sorts."


    The ''singer of sorts'' who had won multiple awards for both acting and singing turned to Daisy with a silly grin.


    "Thank you for not forgetting me." Lucas gave her a misty-eyed look.


    Daisy scampered off her seat next to Candi and mbered onto hisp. He seemed to be her favorite brother.


    Taking advantage of the empty seat that Daisy had just vacated, te slid himself in between Candi and Leonardo and grabbed a bottle of beer. As long as he had a chance to be near his woman, te could not ask for anything more than that.


    The family ate andughed around her as the sun shone down upon the sparkling blue pool water and heat up the paver stones. The flowers bloomed and the butterflies fluttered about. It was just about as perfect a day as it could get.


    Candi wanted to push the pause button and enjoy that time for as long as she could, but eventually, the barbecue came to an end.


    As the family began to scatter in different directions to go back to their work and various duties, she found herself being shuffled over towards Leonardo''s transport pod.


    "We''re going to move the Alpha Indigo Hospital closer to the Space Amphitheater so when it''s time for you to leave, it will only take a few minutes to get you there." Leonardo said as he strapped her into the podmand chair.


    As they shot up into the sky, an alert came onto the virtual screen in front of them.


    "Leonardo. Divert! I repeat. Divert! Your hospital is under attack!"


    A vivacious woman with deep set violet eyes and red hair popped up onto the screen.


    "What the hell!" Leonardo cursed . "Poppy, where are you?"


    "I''m about thirty minutes away from Alpha Indigo Hospital. Where are the guys?"


    "Hang on!" He waved his fingers and four of his brothers came online.


    "te, Dante, Lucas, Byron! The Alpha Indigo Hospital is under attack!" The red haired woman informed in no uncertain terms, her violet eyes stormy and filled with fury.


    te and Dante rose from where they were seated.


    "We''re on our way. Take Candace back to the Royal Pce!" te shouted as he took off running.


    "Don''t take her there. They will attack the Royal Pce because she''s their target!" Dante yelled out. "Take her to my Moon. I have a bevy of guard ships surrounding it! I''ll be there waiting for you two."


    Without hesitation, Leonardo switched courses.


    "Why me? Why am I the target?" Candi breathed.


    "Because you won thest event, pushing you closer and closer to being the Avgo winner." He turned his aqua blue eyes and gave her a worried look.


    "The audience doesn''t understand because all they see is the mour of the Avgo Events, but there is a nasty underside to it. The Avgo event has never been fun and games. There is so much power at stake here that people will do anything to ensure their side gets the best chances to secure that power."


    "But what could they possibly do with me if they take me hostage again?"


    "Darling, some people don''t want to take you hostage." Leonardo sighed. "They want to eliminate you from thepetition."


    He turned back to the visual monitors and made a few more adjustments.


    "Unfortunately, the more you win, the more of a target you be. If you are eliminated, then the other Avgo Females'' worlds could stand a chance of winning."


    Candi nodded. She had already figured as much.


    "Who was that red haired woman who called you? She looks familiar¡­"


    Leonardo smiled fondly.


    "That''s Poppy. She''s Byron''s maternal cousin. They were born around the same time. She looks familiar because she is the daughter of the Empress'' twin sister."


    Candi frowned. "I thought the Empress'' twin sister only has a son, what''s his name?"


    "Joshua Darvin. He''s Poppy''s younger brother."


    "What? So why would Poppy be warning you of danger, while Joshua sends in the attackers to eliminate me?"


    "That''s because Poppy had a falling out with her family. There was a huge fight between her and her parents and she left her family when she was sixteen. She can''t stand her mother and she can''t stand her brother."


    "Where did she go?"


    Leonardo shook his head.


    "We lost track of her for a couple of years. Turns out, she joined a space pirate starship and became a pirate. One day, Dante''s guard ships caught her pirate ship trying to attack one of his cargo ships. She was sent to Dante''s holding cell."


    "Dante recognized her immediately and pulled her out. After that, she began working for him, eventually bing captain on one of his ships."


    "So that was one of Dante''s ships calling you?"


    Leonardoughed.


    "Remember I told you that I also have my own warships?"


    Candi nodded.


    "She''s the Admiral of a fleet of my warships. Dante transferred her over to me when sheined about having to fight pirates all day long." He shook his head in disbelief.


    "Apparently, she has a soft spot for pirates."

 Chapter 99 - Butterfly Abduction

    Back on board Dante''s Moon, Candi changed into her cat suit and went back to the dance room.


    As she was warming up, her mind wandered to the attack that was happening on board Leonardo''s ship.


    She couldn''t help but notice that these attacks always happened wherever she went, and it all started even before she left Earth Space. Even te was surprised that they were willing to fire upon his Erenveil Empire craft to stop her from leaving, something that had never happened before.


    They wanted her dead.


    Then, the moment shended on Erenveil, again, it was the Earth people who wanted to arrest her and to get their hands on the Avgo. If they couldn''t get the Avgo, they were willing to use deadly force to ensure she did not participate in the Events.


    This was most likely due to the mistaken assumption that Dahlia''s fake Avgo would make it through the Events unchallenged. te had to destroy an entire squadron of armed Earth men just to keep her safe.


    It was obvious that Earth wanted her dead.


    Not long after that, te was the one who was targeted and kidnapped, but then in the end, they traded te for Candi because it wasn''t te they were after but her.


    This group, surprisingly, wanted her alive.


    Then, at the Royal Ball, the shuriken was aimed at her and not any other Avgo Female. Although flying weaponry would not be able to hurt her due to Avgo''s protection, the attacker did not know that and tried to kill her anyway.


    Someone here wanted her dead.


    When she ran after the first attacker, a second attacker showed up and went after her Avgo replica but did not try to kill her.


    This guy wanted her Avgo but not her life.


    Since she had been assigned as Dahlia''s proxy, they no longer had an incentive to kill her, but that also meant someone else was after her Avgo since Dahlia had stated to Lucas that she did not want to be a part of the grueling events, she merely wanted the prize at the end of the rainbow.


    It was most definitely an inside job, from what she could reasonably deduct.


    It would make sense then, that whoever was after her would have known she was at the Alpha Indigo Hospital. They''d been following her around and most likely had eyes and ears in the highest ces.


    The only thing that didn''t make sense was that the Alpha Indigo Hospital had been attacked during the time when she and Leonardo were not even there. It was as if¡­


    Candi was in the middle of a difficult jump when her mind fixated upon that thought. Shepleted her jump and then stood, transfixed at the center of the floor, even as the music continued without her.


    "Leonardo!" She yelled as she ran out of the dance hall.


    Several attendants ran after her.


    "Mdy, the Princes are in the War Room."


    "Take me to them!"


    "Yes, Mdy."


    As they all ran to the War Room, Candi''s brains continued to race through all the possible connections.


    "Right here, Mdy." The attendants showed her the doorway of Dante''s War Room.


    She ran up to the door and pounded on it.


    "Dante! Leonardo!"


    The door quickly opened, revealing the two Princes within the room.


    Dante moved quickly towards the door and pulled her into the room.


    "Darling. What is it?"


    "The attack on the Alpha Indigo, it''s not me they''re after. It''s Olivia Faraday!"


    She turned to Leonardo. "She was admitted by you to treat her wings the day of the Royal Ball."


    Leonardo looked at her.


    "We know."


    He sighed and stood up.


    "Olivia had been a target, even from day one. Insectoids as a group are not favorably looked upon by other groups in the universe. Birds have traditionally viewed insects as prey, even to this day of supreme enlightenment."


    "But insectoids are very strong." Candi


    "Yes they are. Although they can hold their own when they are within their hive, when they are singled out, as this Avgo contest had done with Olivia, they are easy picking for strong alpha females like Bethany. "


    "But Valeria never treated Olivia like easy picking."


    "Valeria is of the corvid family. She is different from Bethany who is part of the ibis family."


    "Wait. I thought she was a phoenix."


    Leonardoughed.


    "They call themselves that because their plumage is red, and it sounds better than ibis, a wading bird, but the woman most certainly cannot be reborn from the ashes. Once she dies, she''s dead."


    "That''s right." Dante nodded. "The Empress is also an ibis. When she was younger, her red hair was much brighter and when she transformed into her bird self, she was quite spectacr."


    "Ohhh, so Byron is also an ibis."


    "Well, only half." Leonardo smiled. "We Princes are all halflings of one sort or another."


    "Is Olivia okay?" Candi turned a worried eye at Leonardo.


    "We don''t know." He waved once to activate a virtual monitor. "We were going to call te and Poppy to get an update when you burst in through the door."


    Candi looked away in embarrassment.


    "I''m sorry."


    Dante reached out and touched her head.


    "Don''t be. We would have included you in this meeting if it wasn''t for the fact that you were practicing for the Avgo Event tomorrow. That''s more important than this."


    She was saved from having to answer when both te and the red haired woman named Poppy showed up on a split screen.


    "How is Olivia?" Leonardo jumped in without preamble.


    "The Princess has been taken." Poppy responded in the same brusque manner.


    "Were there any other injuries?"


    "No. It looks as if she is the only one they were after. They were waiting for you to leave the Alpha Indigo before attacking."


    Leonardo rubbed his eyes with weary hands.


    "Any calling cards?"


    "None, but motive-wise, the only person who has a vendetta against her would be the Princess Bethany Dresden." Poppy shook her head.


    "Immediately after she was tossed from the Avgo Event, she went after Olivia Faraday with a vengeance."


    "Olivia Faraday came to the Alpha Indigo Hospital with an entire entourage of her people from Laroche Gardens. Where were they?"


    "They''ve all been taken as well."


    "Who did the extraction?"


    Poppy sighed and closed her eyes for a moment.


    "The Devolu Pirates took her. They were probably hired by whoever wanted her taken from the Hospital."


    te sighed and leaned back.


    "I could send my troops to overtake the Devolu Pirate ships."


    "No." Poppy held up a hand and closed her eyes. "Let me handle them. I may be able to get Olivia back without anyone getting hurt."


    "Poppy, they abducted her." te''s voice was stern.


    "They''re just doing a job. It''s not personal."


    "That still does not excuse their behavior." te insisted.


    "I know, but at least let me try first, before you send all your men into Pirate space."


    "You have twelve hours to extract Olivia Faraday." te informed her. "After that time, I will go in personally and recover her myself."


    "Understood." Poppy responded with a stead gaze.


    te nodded and turned to Dante.


    "I need my codes back."


    Dante nodded and, with a sigh of relief, tapped a few things on a virtual pad in front of him.


    "There you are."


    te did something on his end and nodded with satisfaction.


    "I''m back on track."


    "I''m d you''re the Prime Warrior again, Brother." Dante smiled.. "It''s good to see you back to full fighting strength."

 Chapter 100 - Good Guys Vs Bad Guys

    "How is your practice going?" Dante turned back to Candi once te and Poppy had signed off.


    "I couldn''t really practice," Candi admitted. "I kept thinking about all the dangerous situations that have been happening around me."


    "It is true that much of the dangerous situations have increased dramatically since the Avgo Events started, but that''s been true each time the Avgo showed up."


    "What causes the Avgo to show, or don''t show?"


    Dante shrugged.


    "I had always thought it was just to keep the royal family from getting too inbred."


    He and Leonardoughed.


    "I''m not sure if that''s the real reason," Leonardo shrugged, "but it does achieve that purpose. All the royal families would rather just to keep things nice and tight. No hybrids or halflings allowed in their family."


    "And here''s the Emperor''s lineage, repleted with all sorts of people of every race known in the gxy."


    Dante turned to Candi with his warm green eyes. "And now we will have human blood mixed into the family gene pool."


    Candi grinned.


    "You guys make me sound like a breeding sow."


    Leonardo grinned.


    "It''s really not that way. There are so many of us brothers that the chance of the Empire not having enough candidates to run the throne is very low."


    Leonardo gazed at her with adoration. "But the man you marry will want to have children with you."


    Candi smiled. "You''re assuming I''m going to win First ce."


    "No Candace." Dante waggled a finger. "It doesn''t matter what ce you take."


    =======


    For the rest of that evening, Candi spent the entire time inside the dance studio. Whatever was happening with Olivia and Poppy and te, she could not afford to focus on.


    Dante had immediately called for a piano to be delivered to the Moon, but even with his considerable resources, it would take more than a day for one to be transported.


    A piano would not be in the cards for Candi''s Avgo''s Abilities and Expertise event.


    Six hourster, an alert came through Dante''s War Room.


    Even though it was past midnight and Candi had already turned in for the evening, he was still working in the War Room and had been waiting for this call.


    "Speak!" He barked at the virtual screen.


    "I could not retrieve Olivia." Poppy bluntlyid out.


    "Of course you couldn''t." Dante harrumphed.


    Poppy''s violet eyes were stormy.


    "We always need to start with diplomatic efforts before we pull the big guns out."


    "Of course we do. Has te left for Devolu Space?"


    Poppy nodded. "He left fifteen minutes ago with several starships in pursuit of the renegade Devolu Pirate ship."


    "Were you able to get any word on the condition of the Princess of Laroche Gardens?"


    "They assured me she is being treated with kid gloves. They do not want to deliver damaged goods." She sneered. "It''s bad for business."


    "Have you found out anything more about the people behind Candace''s attackers?"


    Poppy pressed her deep burgundy lips together and gazed at him with a strange expression.


    "For someone who''s a plebeian¡ªin fact a lowestmon denominator female, from a no-name that only has one im to fame, its guerri no-holds-barred war tactics, Earth seems inordinately interested in getting its hands on her."


    "Are you sure she''s not of royal birth?" Dante pursued.


    "Absolutely. I dug back over twenty generations. Her family is peasant level all the way back for hundreds of years."


    "Then exin to me the Avgo''s preference for Candace Farrah." Dante''s green eyes glinted in the semi-darkness.


    Everybody knew that Avgo gemstones only fell into the hands of royalty.


    Or did they?


    Poppy''s eyes narrowed in thought.


    "Could it be that the Avgo gemstones have a different criteria for seeking out the possible Avgo contestants?"


    Poppy shrugged. "There is also the possibility that Candace is someone like me."


    Dante put a finger to his lips.


    "Shhhhhh." He shushed Poppy. "All in due time, my dear. All in due time. Patience is your only virtue right now."


    Poppy nodded. If there was anyone she trusted to do exactly as he said, it was Dante. This was the one thing that delineated Dante from everyone else that she had ever met.


    He always said what he meant, and he always meant what he said. Furthermore, he had the ability to turn what he said into reality. In essence, his words were worth the weight of his financial empire.


    Once Dante finished his conversation with Poppy, he ced a call to te.


    "What is it?" te''s face looked grim.


    "I hear you deployed your troops into Devolu Space."


    te nodded. "I don''t like invading Pirate Space, but when they invade our territory and prey on our people, they should expect swift and retaliatory responses."


    "Especially if it''s the Princess of Laroche Gardens."


    "Olivia''s is in an uproar over this. If we cannot get this resolved, we could see a serious intergctic war over this incident."


    "That could be what they''ve been angling for all this time. War ships from the moons of Coraline have been taking pot shots at Laroche Gardens all this time, and you saw how Olivia got attacked by Bethany even before the first Event began."


    te''s blue eyes glowed with fury.


    "The birds are trying to start an intergctic war with the bugs, using the Avgo Events as an excuse. When their Princess was still in the running, they held back because they did not want to damage her chances of winning."


    "But now that she''s been kicked off the ss tform, they don''t have to hold back any more." Dante finished the thought.


    "We have to nip this in the bud before it deteriorates any further." te voiced his agreement.


    Dante nodded. "I concur. If you need any of my guard ships, just let me know and I''ll transfer theirmand codes over to you."


    te nodded.


    Once Dante finished his conversation with te, he leaned back agains the seat and heaved a huge sigh. They had too many enemies from too many directions.


    Control of the Erenveil Empire was slipping day by day and the Avgo Events were, in and of themselves, catalysts for further change.


    With a huge show of reluctance, Dante ced a third call.


    "I''m here." Leonardo''s face appeared onscreen. He looked as if he''d been up and waiting for this call the entire time.


    "It''s time, Leo."


    "Are you sure?" Leonardo furrowed his brows.


    "Yes. Switch all the hospital ships over to full-fledge Military warships."


    "What of the Avgo Event tomorrow?"


    "It will continue as scheduled. Everything must still remain as normalized as possible until the Avgo is concluded." Dante''s eyes red with intent.


    "We have to give Candace every opportunity to win, and we have to give our enemies every opportunity to strike first. Remember what I said."


    "Yes." Leonardo nodded grimly. "The side that strikes first loses the ability to dere self-defense as their excuse for massive warfare."


    "Yes. It''s all perception. Good guys versus bad guys. We never want to be seen as the ''bad guys''.. We have to rule the gxy after the war is over and it''s easier to be seen as the good guys who won the fight against evil."

 Chapter 101 - The Nearness Of You

    Morning dawned upon Dante''s Moon with the harshness that sunlight in outer space hits all objects with no atmosphere. The rocks began to heat up to 230 degrees Fahrenheit on the surface.


    Inside the moon, however, it was a glorious golden morning touched with a bit of crisp cool air.


    Candi was already up and dressed in her ck cat burr suit, ready for the talent show. She wascing up her ballet shoes when a tap on the door sounded.


    "Mdy!" A voice called out. It was one of the attendantsing around to help her get ready for the event.


    "Come in!" She called out.


    The door opened and the attendant came in carrying something red. It was a tiny red thing with a ballet bodice attached to long sheer red skirts that fell to the ground.


    It had slits that went to her hips, allowing full motion of her hips while showing off her strong muscr dancer''s legs in semi-transparency. There was no neckline and no sleeves, so sheer red gloves were included with the dress.


    "Wow. Where did thise from?"


    "This came for youst night Mdy, from the Princes Jason and Jared. They did not want to bother you as they saw you were busy practicing for the event today so they left it for you."


    Candi''s eyes teared. The twins were always so good to her, and never asked for anything in return.


    She reached out and touched the dress. It truly was a signature J&J piece.


    "Please tell them I said ''Thank you!''"


    "You can tell them yourself, Mdy. They will be in the audience cheering you on."


    Candi nodded as she got into the red dress with the attendant''s help.


    The attendant was putting finishing touches to her hair and makeup when Dante poked his spiky blue head in through the half-open doorway.


    "Ready? Wow!!!" He whistled with appreciation, his green eyes sparkling. "I''ve never seen you in red before. I think my heart just died and went to heaven."


    Candiughed. "You''re so silly."


    He walked through the doorway, a tall imposing aristocratic figure wearing a ck tuxedo suit with tails.


    "You''re looking mighty sharp yourself."


    Danteughed.


    "Thank you." He held out his hand.


    "I''m your escort for the evening, Princess. Your pumpkin chariot awaits." He gave a bow.


    Candiughed again. He was just too funny.


    The ride to the Space Amphitheater was short and sweet, with Dante teasing her all the way there, making herugh until tears sprang from her eyes.


    "Stop! You''re making my eyes water and ruining my makeup!" She cried out at one point, holding her stomach from the slight ache ofughing too hard.


    "You can always say it''s part of the makeup for the performance. Red ballet dress, ck tears. That is perfect harlequin looks!" He came back at her, causing moreughter and more tears of mirth.


    The Space Amphitheater was arge bowl-shaped spaceship covered by a clear ss dome. It was mostly used for huge concerts and sporting events so there were plenty of seats all around the bowl, rising up to the nose-bleed level.


    It was called Diamond in the Sky because it floated high above Erenveil''s atmosphere, sparkling like a diamond when the sun hit the ss dome and the light refracted back to the ground.


    The Space Amphitheater was not as far from Erenveil as Dante''s Moon was, but it was most definitely within the region that was formally ssified as outer space.


    After entering through the docking bay, Dante took her to her private backstage suite located at the top of the dome, where there was a full view of the center green field surrounded by hundreds of rows of seats.


    All the seats were filled with people and the revelry had been going on for awhile with opening acts. At the moment however, thest opening act had cleared the stage.


    In to the middle of all that vastness, the ground opened up and the ubiquitous ss tform that Candi would forever identify with the Avgo Events rose up from its depths.


    A huge cheer roared from the stands. This was what they hade to see. Aside from the very first introductory event, all other events had been visuals only.


    This would be their very first chance to see, in person, the final four contestants who would all most likely be married to one of their Princes.


    "There is a lot of people here." Candi murmured as she pressed her hand onto the ss window that separated her from the crowd below.


    From behind, Dante had spread his legs a bit to shorten himself so that he could rest his chin on top of her head.


    He folded her body into his and they both stood behind the ss, gazing out into the crowd. The woody spicy scent of his body mingled with hers, creating an unforgettable heady mixture that caused Candi to almost forget to exhale.


    "Don''t forget. You''re the front runner by arge margin." Dante muttered into her ear.


    "It''s still scary. What if I¡ª"


    "You will win," he interrupted her fears. "But remember this, Candace. It doesn''t matter what cement you get or what your score is. You will always be Queen."


    He nuzzled the back of her ear and dropped a kiss on the back of her neck.


    "I don''t want to ruin your stage makeup or I would kiss you properly," he said with regret-tinged voice.


    "We haven''t really had a chance to be more intimate, but I promise you this. I will move heaven and earth to give us that chance to be together. Just trust in me."


    Said the man whose words were worth his entire intergctic fortune.


    Candace smiled and absorbed the warmth and gentle kindness from his body like a flower absorbing the light and energy from the sun.


    He had always been such a soft sweet person to her that she wondered why people kept saying he had a terrible personality and anger management issues.


    At the moment, he was murmuring in her ear, a deep sensual rumbling tone that vibrated through her body.


    It was as if he was murmuring sensual love words. All she had to do was not listen to what the words meant and it was as if he was making aural love to her.


    "Normally, the Avgo Female in the lead will get to go first."


    The words being formed from his sensual shapely lips created gentle puffs of air that tickled her ear.


    "For this event, however, the least of the Avgo contestants starts the show."


    Dante paused and gave a shuddering sigh, as if his heart could barely contain the words he spoke.


    "And you, my heart, will be the star of the show. You will emerge after all the riff-raff have done their thing and you will show them what a real Avgo Female Queen is."


    He paused to press a deep kiss onto the crown of her head.


    "Take a look, my love." Dante whispered to her, his voice husky with love.


    He was telling her to look but his eyes were closed and reveling in the heady nearness of his woman. He could feel sparks tingling all over his body, and all he was doing was holding her body from behind.


    "The old goat has arrived onto the tform.. The Abilities and Expertise Avgo Event has officially begun."

 Chapter 102 - Valeria The Musician

    "Ladies and Gentlemen! Wee to the Avgo Abilities and Expertise Event. I''m your host, Lorem Ipsum!"


    The sound of trumpets red out, ying a cheerful thundering sound to pump up the crowd.


    "Today we are going to be witnessing the Avgo Females at their best! They will be showcasing for us to enjoy, their wide range of abilities and expertise!"


    The crowd went wild as they heard his voice piped into speakers that were located in all directions.


    A tiny figure wearing all white ran up onto the ss tform from a side ess.


    His gait was a half run half gallop on a pair of cloven hooves and his long white hair was flying in the artificially-created wind swirling around on the tform area.


    Above their heads, huge virtual monitors began zooming in on his iconic face with his famous curled horns as he stood before the crowd doing his usualedic monologue before the event.


    "And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, the moment you have all been waiting for. The fourth contestant in the Avgo Events, the beautiful Raven Princess from the tropical world of Peoria, Valeria Marakesh!"


    The crowd roared their approval.


    From high above, the heavenly sound of young angels humming a harmonizing sound could be heard.


    Descending from above was a tform that had been shrouded in invisibility magic. It was as if a goddess wasing down from heaven to share with the mortal beings something of the divinity.


    On the tform were four instruments of a harp-like quality. Thergest one was taller than the figure of the female standing beside it and the smallest one was norger than arge book.


    The virtual screen zoomed in on the breathtaking Beauty with therge brown eyes.


    Valeria''s baster pale face was instantly recognizable, with her deep ruby lips and pointed chin. Her long wavy raven ck hair fell in thick shiny waves from a pronounced widow''s peak that made her look ethereal and otherworldly.


    Her wings were bound behind her to resemble a cape of shiny ck feathers, and on her head was a silver crown with arge amethyst to resemble the purple Avgo gemstone she had in her possession.


    For a moment, she stood there, silent andposed, looking regal and majestic.


    The crowd held their breath.


    In one fluid motion, her arms raised and she began plucking on the strings of thergest harp.


    Strains of heavenly sounds, amplified by hidden microphones echoed throughout the entire amphitheater.


    She threw a magic spell that allowed thergest harp to continue ying the riff she had started and went onto the second harp.


    Again, her fingers moved across the midsize harp with ease and rity, setting off yet another series of riffs which she yed in perfect rhythm to the firstrge harp.


    Her second magic spell kept the midsized harp ying while she fondled the small harp, teasing out higher notes to join therge and midsized harps.


    As the third magic spell kept the small harp ying its part, she picked up the tiny harp and stepped out from the row of harps.


    Her body began to sway as she caressed the tiny harp, teasing out the highest sounds.


    It tinkled out crystal clear notes at the top of the harmonic strings,yering its sound waves over therger harps that were plucking themselves from the magic that she wove.


    Throwing her fingers around, she shot purple and pink and green lights at the various instruments. Within moments, the colors began wavering and dancing in the air along to the sound of the music.


    The crowd gasped with astonishment and delight. This was harp ying at a level that approached the unreal.


    Smoke of varying colors rose in rhythmic releases. The sounds of the harps heightened in intensity as she continued to y until Valeria threw her hands back, distorting the soundspletely.


    Suddenly, the sound of heavy metal reverberated throughout the Space Amphitheater, bringing the crowd to their feet! They cheered and hollered as she brought the sounds to decibels that were ear-splitting.


    With a thundering explosion, she ended the harps in abrupt silence.


    For a moment, there was no sound. Even the audience held their collective breaths.


    Then a roar called out as everyone thundered their feet and screamed out her name.


    VALERIE!!! VALERIE!!! VALERIE!!!


    "Wow." Candi breathed as Valerie exited the stage in the same way she came¡ªstraight up into the dome before disappearing from sight using her magic.


    "That''s going to be hard to top."


    "Oh, I''m sure my Babe will win this one." Dante growled within his chest.


    Lorem Ipsum howled with delight along with the rest of the audience.


    "Oh my Lawd! What a musician!" The old white haired faun whooped. "I never would''ve thought Princess Valeria Marakesh was such a musician with such amazing showmanship!"


    "And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, as we clear the stage for the next contestant, I''d like to remind you of next week''s Avgo Event."


    Lorem Ipsum paused for effect.


    "This one is the most anticipated Event of the Avgo. All seats were sold out within an hour of it being offered. If you were not able to obtain a ticket, the only way to see this show, Ladies and Gentlemen, is through our Visuals Team."


    He extended his hands at the dozens of hovering visuals gathering pods flying around the stadium. The crowd yelled and cheered in support.


    Ladies and Gentlemen, mark your calendars! This time next week, we will be offering you, the one, the only¡ªMAGIC AND ILLUSIONS EVENT!!!"


    The crowd went wild!


    Lorem Ipsum allowed them a few minutes to calm down before he continued.


    "This event will showcase the time-honored reason why these Princesses have been chosen by the Avgo. They are our modern-day, contemporary goddesses!"


    AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!


    More screaming and yelling emitted from the crowd. They werepletely riled up with excitement for the show next week.


    "Throughout our gxy''s long history, the chosen Princesses used their magical abilities to protect and shelter the people of the gxy."


    From behind him came a stream of Avgo winners of past Events, going back into antiquity. The faces of the women were strong, beautiful, and full of vigor and noble strength. Last of those faces was the Empress herself.


    As her beautiful majestic face appeared on all therge visual monitors around the amphitheater, Lorem Ipsum continued speaking, his voice ringing through the auditorium bringing tears of pride to all those who were listening.


    "This is the keyponent to what makes an Avgo Female the ultimate goddesses of all our races of sentient beings. They are willing to extend themselves to protect the gxy of beings."


    "Please support with your time and energy, our Avgo Princesses. This will be a time for our Avgo Females to show off their magical abilities!"


    WOOOOOOAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!


    The audience howled with love and joy.


    Lorem Ipsum stood there smiling.


    His was the magic of oration, and the reason that he was the sole announcer for each and every Avgo Event. He was the mouthpiece of the Erenveil Empire.


    "And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, our next Avgo Contestant to showcase her talents. Please give it up, for Ana?se Paroles from the sandy paradise of Haribou!!!"

 Chapter 103 - Ana?se The Sculptor

    From a side entrance, Ana?se Paroles came hovering into the center of the amphitheater on a clear ss pod.


    Candi gasped with surprise.


    Ana?se was usually a clear light blue shade of ss but at this moment, she was a colorless ss woman riding a colorless ss hover pod.


    Herck of color was visually stunning. She looked like sculpted ice!


    The visuals zoomed in on her beautiful clear ss face. Ana?se''s familiar cute pointed nose and small mouth came into view. Herrge ss eyes blinked and looked around as she waved to the crowd.


    The audience pped and cheered as she emerged. They could hardly wait to see what she was going to wow them with!


    A thick ss block the size of an 18-wheeler truck descended from somewhere above and settled onto the tform. It looked like a block of clear frozen ice, saw ded into a perfect rectangr form.


    Ana?se''s hover pod took her to the ss block and dropped her off on top. She stood there for a moment, still and unmoving.


    Candiughed. Ana?se looked like a tiny ice woman sculpture on top of the huge ice block. What in the world was this woman going to do?


    Suddenly, the sound of Strauss'' Voices of Spring emanated from the speakers.


    For the first few strains of the song, Ana?se stood still. As the song began to build, she started prancing around on top of the ss.


    It was not a dance per se, and she was not trying to dance. She was moving around the ss block with precise motions and practiced ease, using it as her medium to sculpt her art piece.


    Her hands worked their magic, pulling here, pushing there, and stretching the clear ss into all sorts of fantastical shapes. She was treating the ss as if it was taffy candy and creating a new environment from the very spot she was standing on!


    As the music continued to y, Ana?se continued her sculpting with precision. There was no wasted motion and no mistakes.


    From her fingers, mountains began to form on either side, as valleys began to sank in various spots. She made rocky cliff ridges in the back with pine trees andrge boulders. In front, she ced smaller trees and a few houses scattered on the valley floor.


    Taking a gob of ss, she ran across the block, draping it down onto the lowest areas to create a brook running through the valley between the tiny houses.


    Her skillful hands created a waterfall from the top of thergest mountain, captured in a frozen single moment of crashing down onto a small pond at the bottom of the cliff face.


    From her hands grew willows and bushes along the pond andke area. There was even a tiny bridge across on small section of the brook.


    "Oh wow, she''s good!" Candiughed and pped as Ana?se continued to work.


    It was a marvelous sight to see an artist as precise as the ss woman was, working such a huge project in such a short amount of time.


    "Hmmmmm." Dante rumbled in his throat, keeping his lips as still as possible on Candace''s nape so she would not realize that he was surreptitiously kissing her.


    He was not even bothering to look at Ana?se''s art work. His focus was all on Candi and her cute and funny expressions and sounds of surprise and joy as she watched the ss being sculpted.


    Candace had not moved away from his embrace, which was encouraging to him.


    He was grateful to find that she was epting and even weing to his few restrained advances on her but he did not do much more than hold her as she watched the show unfolding below them.


    Dante was clear about one thing. He was here to support her, not to make things more dibobting for her and fluster her right before her big event.


    There would be a time for them, Dante promised himself, but he had not achieved the kind of sess he had by rushing into something without a n.


    Now was not the best time or ce for him to make love to this ravishing woman.


    She had to maintain her focus for the event which would being up soon, and Dante respected that single-minded focus. It was also how he did his best work and he wanted to give her every chance possible to seed and achieve her goal.


    Before them, Ana?se had created a ss masterpiece. As the music reached itsst section, she hopped upon the pond she had created and began pushing with her feet until it was t as a mirror.


    And then, as the music moved into its finale, she began skating on the pond as if it was winter time.


    By the time the music reached its crescendo, she was at the center of the pond, twirling like an ice skater spinning on ice.


    As thest thundering sounds of Fr¨¹hlingsstimmen op 410 died away, Ana?se lowered her body into a skater''s bow, ending with her arms outstretched and prostrated.


    WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!


    The crowd roared. This was simply amazing and something they had never seen done before in their lives!


    She was not just a woman who could work ss. She was a sculptor who worked in real time and with the kind of speed that only an aplished mage artist could do.


    Of course, ice skating like that was the cherry on top of what this woman was capable of doing and the crowd loved it!


    "Oh WOW!!!" Lorem Ipsum''s voice could be heard above the roaring of the audience.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen! This was truly a remarkable aplishment! What a master artist our Avgo Female Ana?se Paroles is. I have never seen a ss sculptor at this skill level before in my life!"


    As Lorem Ipsum continued to work the crowd, he moved back into the limelight, chattering and throwing jokes to make the audienceugh.


    Behind him, the event workers removed the ss sculpture in the background, with Ana?se Paroles still prostrate on the pond and looking like part of the frozen sculpture.


    Her time to shine was over. The ss tform was now cleared and ready for the next Avgo Female.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen! I am seriously looking forward to the next Avgo contestant who will be joining us shortly." Lorem Ipsum held up a hand.


    "To take advantage of this momentary pause, I''d like to remind you again to tune in next week for our Magic and Illusions event."


    The crowd cheered in anticipation.


    "Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen. It is the one most anticipated event of the Avgo, although to be honest, we''ve seen quite a bit of magic here today!"


    More cheering. More yelling.


    Lorem Ipsumughed, waving his hands up in the air and shooting purple sparks into the sky for added special effects.


    "And now, without further ado, Ladies and Gentlemen. Please give a warm wee to our second finalist, Jenna Natoli, from the jungle world of Calend!"

 Chapter 104 - Jenna The Singer

    Jenna''s entrance was rtively unremarkable, considering Valeria had ascended from the sky and Ana?se had hovered in on a crystal clear hover pod.


    Under the bright lights of the Space Amphitheater, a ck pod took her to the round ss tform and hovered as the elegant cat stepped out and onto the stage.


    Jenna walked to the center of the tform, wearing a long sleek gown that went to the floor and continued behind her, trailing in a fairly long train.


    The gown itself was not that remarkable, as far as the cut of it was concerned. It was, however, a chameleon fabric.


    Where Jenna had ck spots, the dress also showed the ck spots. Where she was golden, it was also golden.


    The effect was as if she wore nothing although she waspletely covered in fabric from the top of her neckline all the way down to the shiny ck high heels on her feet.


    On her head was a small tiara. A small microphone was affixed to the tiara, capturing every sound and breath she made.


    "Good morning, everyone!" Her husky feminine voice sounded out from the speakers nted everywhere in the Space Amphitheater.


    "I am so excited to be here today. I wanted to take a few moments to thank you all for being here and sharing this beautiful space with me today."


    The visuals zoomed in on Jenna''s ck-rimmed up-nted green cat eyes and her button nose and small mouth. Her beauty was legendary


    The crowd cheered and stamped their feet. It was so rare to hear an Avgo Female actually speaking directly with them that they were loving this unique aspect of Jenna''s performance.


    Jenna smiled.


    "I don''t have anything fancy or colorful to share with you today. All I have is a simple song that I wrote especially for this Avgo Event, and I want to share with you."


    Sheughed. It was a rich melodious sound that was like a sensual instrument getting warmed up.


    The crowdughed along with her. If sheughed so beautifully, they could hardly wait to hear her singing voice.


    "I don''t even have a band to back me up but I''m going to do my best because this song is dedicated to each and every single one of you."


    The crowd AWWWWED, touched by her simple and honest straightforward way of connecting with them. Then, they quieted down to listen to her.


    Jenna took a deep breath.


    The crowd hushed, straining to hear.


    A soft sound began to emanate from her throat. It was low-pitched but most definitely very feminine.


    As her voice strengthened in volume and strength, the pitch began to rise.


    The melodious sound of her voice meandered through all the jazz notes with unerring uracy until it rose higher and higher, reaching out towards a pitch that was almost unreal.


    AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!! The crowd reacted to the sound.


    "When evening falls from the realm of lights


    And the hoot owl sounds its lonely flight


    Through misty fog and gossamer skies


    I think of you, my Edelweiss¡­"


    Jenna''s voice floated up, a cappe and unadorned.


    It needed no adornment. Her tone was so pure and elegant that it struck the hearts of everyone who was there.


    "When dreams unfurl like silkence


    And scattered on the winds of fate,


    It changed and bloomed with gentle grace


    When I first looked upon your face¡­" **


    As she continued to sing, her simple lyrics fused with her melodic voice, changed into poetry infused with the power of a voice that was so magical, it needed nothing.


    It simply existed on its own, shining with its own rity and light.


    Lorem Ipsum stood in his hover pod with tears in his eyes. He understood exactly what Jenna was doing because he too had been gifted with the magic of vocal evocation. They just used it in different ways.


    He moved the audience with his spoken words and his oration and she moved the audience with her lyrics and singing voice. They were both tapped into the same magic muse.


    Jenna''s voice continued, soaring into the space contained within the Amphitheater.


    As she sang, her arms opened wide, embracing the audience sitting in their seats. Embracing all the viewers across the gxy who were watching their virtual screens.


    Her voice rivaled that of the best singers throughout the gxy but she was far, far above them. She was no mere singer. She was an Avgo Princess who was reaching out to be their Empress.


    The crowd wept to the sweet sound of her voice and sighed with heartfelt emotions at the evocative lyrical words.


    Even Candi''s eyes welled up as she listened to Jenna''s singing.


    "Shhhhh¡­darling. No crying before the Event." Dante cooed as he carefully dabbed a handkerchief to the corners of her eyes.


    "I''m not crying. She just has such an amazing voice that I can''t help respond to it."


    "Yes, but we can''t have you looking like a roon about to go out there and perform for the entire gxy to see."


    He blew on her eyes to dry her tears and then dropped a kiss on her brow.


    "You have to go up next, so we need to get you into ce." He gave her a steady look. "Are you ready?"


    Candi nodded.


    "Let''s go then." Dante smiled and took her hand.


    They had exactly five minutes between the end of Jenna''s performance and the start of Candi''s.


    Although he could see that Candi wanted to hear the end of Jenna''s performance, he had to get her to the pod so she would not bete for her own performance.


    As they walked down to the entranceway leading into the central field, he made several hand waves of what seemed to be random gestures but were actuallymands.


    The double doors opened, revealing a gold hover pod waiting at the doorway. It was ready to take her to the center tform.


    He opened the pod door for her and stood, holding her hand.


    "In you go, Darling. Stay inside the pod until the old goat calls out your name. Don''t emerge too early or your magnificent entrance will be spoiled."


    He leaned in closer and pressed a kiss onto her hand.


    "Remember, you are The Queen, no matter what happens."


    She nodded with a nervous smile and squeezed his hands onest time before stepping into the pod.


    As the pod door closed, Dante sighed.


    "Good luck." He whispered to himself. "My love¡­"


    ============


    ** This is actually not a song that Jenna wrote.. It''s my own creation. :-)

 Chapter 105 - Dance Of Death

    Candi took several deep breaths to instill calm into her mind.


    She had done these dance moves all her life. There was nothing that was crazy difficult for her and she did not want to attempt the truly ridiculous Olympic level moves.


    Apetition like this, where she was that far ahead of thepetition in points meant she did not have to risk her lead by trying to do more than was necessary.


    All she had to do to hold her lead by NOT messing up and not stumbling or falling or making mistakes.


    From outside the pod, she heard Lorem Ipsum cracking a few jokes, and then he raised his voice, clearly calling out her name.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen. The moment we have all been waiting for. Please give all your love to the front runner of the Avgo Event thus far, the one and only, the beautiful and talented¡­CANDACE FARRAH!!!"


    AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!


    The crowd yelled and screamed.


    Her name had been announced. She could now exit the pod, as Dante had told her to do.


    The pod lowered itself to the ss tform.


    Candi had barely cleared the pod and moved to the center of the ss tform when the familiar pale pink shield appeared around her.


    Six shurikens flew at her and was instantly absorbed by the Avgo force shield.


    What the hell???


    Suddenly, from all sides surrounding her, six men dressed in ck with their faces covered appeared.


    They were not part of the performance, and after sneaking shuriken attacks on her, they certainly were not props that had been sent to make her dancing more lively.


    But she was supposed to be performing, which meant the audience thought this was all part of her performance!


    Not even Dante knew what she was going to be doing onstage! The fact that he was noting to her rescue also meant he thought these men were nned by her as part of the performance!


    Aaarghhhhh!!!


    As the men began to converge on her, Candi threw away her hopes of winning this Avgo Event and mentally calcted her next few moves.


    To hell with the Avgo performance! These men were out to get her and she could not afford to think about anything but surviving this attack.


    She eyed the closest two. They wererge men, easily a foot taller than she was.


    They wereing at her fast and she needed to keep a distance between them. She could handle a couple, at close range, but six all at once would overwhelm her.


    With calctions flying in her head, she began vaulting around, never staying in one spot for long.


    The crowd gasped. This show of athleticism from the top ranking Avgo Female was intense!


    Candace led them chasing her around the ss tform, springing away quickly as soon as they got closer.


    She was smaller, faster, and far more agile. She could dance around this tform all day long and not feel tired.


    If she could get one or two of them to be fatigued, she would have at least a fighting chance. She knew that the only thing she had over them was speed and agility.


    If they caught her, it was GAME OVER.


    A couple of men were starting to pant. One of the men who was starting to fade had begun to get frustrated from trying to chase her darting body around.


    He suddenly whipped out a knife, brandishing it around.


    The crowd yelled out her name.


    CANDACE!!! CANDACE!!! CANDACE!!!


    She gave a hand gesture at him, inviting him toe closer to her. The others backed off. They wanted to see what she could do against one of their own.


    She was all alone on the stage, a tiny unarmed woman wearing a frilly little red dress. What could she possibly do against a man who had a knife?


    They would give her a chance to fight him and see what she was capable of.


    As the man roared out his challenge and came running at her, Candi lowered her body and waited for the perfect moment.


    NOW!!!


    She sprang up, whipping her body into a rotation and kicked his head, even as his hand reached out with the de.


    "Uuggghhh!" He flew to one side, teeth falling out of his mouth.


    She jumped on his arm, pinning it to the ss tform and ripped the knife from his hand. In one swift upward slice, she had shed his throat.


    The crowd went wild.


    CANDACE!!! CANDACE!!! CANDACE!!!


    One down, five to go.


    She looked up at the stunned men. They thought she was easy picking. They thought she was toast.


    But she had taken down one of their burliest, meanest, most aggressive men in a split second!


    Without waiting for them to recover from their stunned silence, she threw the knife at the nearest man, aiming for his face.


    The de hit him straight between the eyes, going all the way into his brains. His hands convulsed, grabbing blindly at the handle of the de.


    But it was toote. He was already a dead man.


    As his body came thundering down onto the tform, Candi could hear her name being chanted yet again.


    CANDACE!!! CANDACE!!! CANDACE!!!


    Two down. Four to go.


    Reaching down, she yanked off the long silken skirt at the waist and ran back to the center of the ss tform.


    The twins had designed it so that she could remove it quickly if she deemed that a long silk skirt was too restrictive for her to do what she needed to do onstage. Smart twins!


    They wereing for her again, but at four to one, she actually stood a chance against them.


    All four howled their intent and began charging at her. Whipping her body around she kicked out at the closest one, nailing him in the crotch.


    CANDACE!!! CANDACE!!! CANDACE!!!


    The crowd cheered again. This was so exciting and the action looked so real! They could hardly believe it was all just a show!


    As the man slumped over with pain, holding his crotch, she elbowed him in the neck, bringing him all the way down.


    CRACK!!!


    She broke his neck in the same way she had broken Helene Cordera''s back.


    Three down. Three remaining.


    Springing up, Candace began running again. The remaining three were clumped together in one spot. She had to separate those men.


    As if in answer, one of them charged at her. Candi braced herself.


    Here was her chance.


    Quickly side-stepping his advancing body, she threw out one end of her red skirt at him like a whip, looping it around his neck.


    Launching up, she vaulted over his head. As her body passed over him, she grabbed the other end of the red sash and gave a hard yank, twisting the fabric into a noose.


    The man choked as his head was caught into the red sash. As her body''s momentum moved away from him, his neck was yanked backwards, caught in the noose that she had made.


    His bodynded on the tform with a loud THUMP!


    At the moment of impact, she twisted her body and gave his head a hard swift kick, knocking it off alignment with the rest of his body.


    CANDACE!!! CANDACE!!! CANDACE!!!


    The crowd was on their feet, screaming and yelling their excitement.


    Oh my God!!! This looked so real!!!

 Chapter 106 - The Second Princes Woman

    The moment Dante realized that it was not a show was when she killed the first man.


    He had returned to the dressing room for a better vantage point to watch her perform when her name was announced by Lorem Ipsum.


    At his distance, he could see the six men dressed in ck approaching the center of the tform just as she was emerging from the pod.


    Dante had been so busy helping Leonardo switch over the hospital ships to warships that he hadn''t had the chance to watch her practice. Perhaps these men are part of her ballet performance.


    They looked fairly uniform in shape, and all were dressed in the same ck outfits that would be a good foil for her red dress and blonde hair to show up.


    He saw the men running towards Candace and was expecting her to join them in whatever dance she was about to do when she darted out of their reach, vaulting away in a defensive maneuver.


    Dante had seen her fighting stance. He knew that she was an aplished martial artist but for some reason, he thought she was going to perform a ballet dance today!


    So she was going to showcase her fighting skills at the Avgo Event. This would be a good choice, and also quite easy for her to do a great job.


    But then right before his eyes, one of the men pulled out a knife, brandishing it around.


    The crowd yelled out her name in thundering voices.


    CANDACE!!! CANDACE!!! CANDACE!!!


    Candace was waving at him toe at her.


    Dante watched in horror as the other men backed off. This was ssic rumble position where the alpha got a chance to duel with his opponent, one on one.


    He jumped up and mmed his palms onto the ss.


    Something was terribly wrong. If this was an exhibition of her martial arts skills, the knife would have never been something that would be used.


    Before Dante even had a chance to move, the man had roared out his challenge and began charging at her.


    He saw his beloved Candi lowered her body, waiting for the perfect moment to spring at him.


    And then like a perfectly coiled spring, she bounced up, whipping her body into a rotation, kicking his head and knocking him to one side.


    "Uuggghhh!" He iled as his head whipped to one side, his teeth flying from his mouth.


    The crowd roared and screamed out her name.


    CANDACE!!! CANDACE!!! CANDACE!!!


    Candace jumped on his arm, pinning it to the ss tform and ripped the knife from his hand. In one swift upward slice, she had shed his throat.


    She had taken that man down so quickly that Dante barely even had a chance to figure out what the hell was going on.


    Fuck them all!!!


    Dante threw off his ck tuxedo jacket and tore his white shirt off his body.


    FWOOMP!!!


    His wings unfurled from behind as he began running out the door and through the hallway. He needed to reach the ss tform like NOW!!!


    As he ran, for the doorway of the entrance, Dante calcted the distance that it would take to fly towards the ss tform.


    Three goddamned minutes!


    It was going to take three fucking minutes of flying time to get to her side. He prayed that she could somehow stall them enough to give him time to get to her.


    By the time Dante emerged from the hallway, she had taken out four men.


    He leaped into the air, flying straight at her.


    Within those three minutes before he could reach her, he saw Candace take a flying leap at the two remaining men and began serious hand-to-handbat.


    He had only seen her fighting skills via visuals but it was nothingpared to seeing it in person. Candace targeted the most vulnerable spots and mmed them with unnerving uracy.


    She was small, but her techniques were deadly. Combined with the Avgo''s protection abilities from flying weapons like bullets and shurikens and she suddenly seemed invincible.


    He had almost reached the ss tform when she nailed one of the men through the heart with his own knife and had quickly thrown her legs around thest man''s neck.


    A final twist of her flying body and her strong thighs had twisted his head, snapping it from its stem.


    AAAAHHHHHHH!!! The crowd roared,ing to their feet.


    Swooping down, he caught her small body and flew up into the air with her.


    "Dante!" She cried out and threw her arms around his neck.


    She was acting as if he was her rescuer and knight in shining armor when all along, she had done all her own rescuing in the most spectacr manner!


    Dante gathered her into his arms and flew her out of the central area, directly to the waiting transport pod. They were getting the fuck out of this Space Amphitheater, regardless of the status of the Avgo event.


    Behind them, the crowd cheered and roared.


    They had just witnessed Prince Dante, in all his half-dressed glory, swooping in at the conclusion of the heart-stopping martial arts exhibition.


    He had picked her up, right out of the air and flew her away from the ss tform!


    For an Erenveil Prince to be part of her performance was nothing short of amazing, and this would be the second Prince of Erenveil who had been a visible part of her Avgo Events.


    The Princes were well-known for being sequestered and private, not showing much to the world of what they looked like, but Dante had actually bared his gleaming torso for the world to see!!!


    Oh my God! What a delicious male body! Look at those pecs! Drools for the abs! Oh those sexy velvet wings! That gorgeous blue hair.


    AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!


    All the women in the audience swooned and cried, fainting with religious ecstasy. He was their demigod!!!


    Dante''s appearance at Candi''s Avgo Event had made blue hair suddenly the hottest thing EVER!!!


    Suddenly, all the hair stylists got moring calls from their male clients for appointments to get their hair dyed blue and cut into spikes, just like the Second Prince of Erenveil!!!


    Of course, at this very moment, Dante could care less what people thought.


    His first instinct was to ask Candace what had happened, but this was not the time.


    She was clinging onto him without saying a word. It was obvious that she was just as shocked as he was.


    For something of this magnitude to ur in the middle of a widely viewed event was a catastrophic failure on the part of the entire organization, from top to the bottom.


    His only question at this time was how and why.


    He was also intensely interested in knowing WHO THE FUCK DID THIS.


    And when he found out, they were going to wish they''d never messed with the Second Prince''s Woman!!!

 Chapter 107 - Dantes Wrath

    "We''re done here." Dante announced into the air at the two dozen panels of people who had appeared within his war room.


    These were the top of the top, the cream of the crop, the CEOs of some of thergest corporations in the gxy.


    He threw a sheaf of paper onto the oak table and mmed his palm onto the surface. Instantly, smoke curled up from where his hand was ce.


    Within a few minutes, tiny blue tongues of mes were licking around his hand.


    He looked up at the double rows of virtual screens in front of him and lifted his hand. On the sheaf of paper was a charred hand print that had burned all the way down to thest sheet.


    "Our agreement is hereby nullified." He announced with finality.


    "But Dante¡ª" a man spoke up.


    "No buts. We''re done. I''m canceling the rest of the Avgo Events."


    "Dante, surely we cane to some moderate agreement. Some middle ground¡ª"


    "You want middle ground? Fine. Tell me exactly who ordered those hitmen to take out Candace Farrah and we''ll talk middle ground."


    No one said a word.


    Dante stared in to their collective faces with sizzling green eyes.


    If looks could kill, they would be writhing on the ground at his feet. Who the hell did they think they were dealing with? Did they not know the kind of man he was?


    His anger was not just legendary, it was very well-deserved. If ever they doubted this, they would soon have a chance to witness the absolute cruelty of his actions.


    He had no doubt that most of them were clueless, but there was a handful within this group who knew exactly what was going down.


    "Now is the time for all of you toe clean with me. If you know something, you tell me now or I swear, you will regret it for the rest of your EXTREMELY¡ªSHORTENED¡ªLIFESPAN." He red at each person.


    The silence in the room was palpable. No one dared even breathe.


    "There is no doubt in my mind that this is absolutely an inside job. That is how those men were able to get into the Space Amphitheater and onto the Avgo tform."


    He stared each of the twenty-four CEOs down. None of them responded. None looked at him.


    "Every single person who had anything to do with thest event is currently sitting inside one of my jails awaiting questioning. I''ve sent my personal team of inquisitors in."


    "Dante!" They all protested in rm.


    "Surely we can figure out another way to approach this!" Another woman squawked.


    "Pray tell. What is your ''way''?" He eyed the woman. She bit her lip, not knowing what to say.


    "Well? I''m listening."


    "We could have a formal investigation done by our peace keeping forces." She muttered half-heartedly.


    Dante nodded.


    "That''s not a bad idea." He turned cold green eyes at her.


    "They''re the slowest pokiest investigators I''ve ever seen. It will take them at least a year or two to get any real answers."


    He leaned closer with razor sharp eyes.


    "We can just postpone the Avgo Events until they figure out who sent ASSASSINS TO KILL THE AVGO FEMALES!"


    "Can''t we just continue the events at the same time that they are investigating?"


    "Ha!" Danteughed. "You really think I''m stupid don''t you?"


    "No! That''s not what I¡ª"


    "You think I''m so stupid that I''ll let another team of assassins have three more chances to kill an Avgo Female."


    "But Dante, your inquisition team." A man nched. "They''re¡ªthey work with hardened criminals! These low-level workers are mostly innocent."


    Everyone had heard of Dante''s team of inquisitors. They were the stuff of nightmares.


    "Well if you''re so worried about the innocent low-level people, why don''t you speak up now and save them from having to go through my inquisition team?"


    Silence.


    Dante smiled. It was a smile that did not reach his eyes.


    "Everyone from the attendants to the food prep cooks are going to be asked the questions that need to be asked, and they will be asked until they say something we need to know."


    He narrowed his eyes.


    "If they don''t know anything, we will move onto their managers. If their managers don''t know anything, we''ll keep moving on up to their manager''s managers."


    He began tough.


    "We''ll keep moving up the food chain until we get to you people."


    "Nobody is going to know anything. Why would you do that to people?" A woman cried out.


    Danteughed.


    "Why?"


    He raised his hand and waved a finger.


    Suddenly, every single visual monitor blinked out for a moment to be reced by a soft glowing image of a breathtakingly beautiful blonde woman with hazel eyes.


    She was looking at the person in front of her and smiling with joyful excitement.


    On her body was the traditional Erenveil royal dress made of the finest gold muga silk. On her head was the diadem of a Princess of Erenveil.


    Resting in between her breasts was the pink Avgo gemstone, shining in all its beauteous glory.


    "You people tried to kill my Heart and my Soul."


    Dante''s gravelly voice dropped lower in pitch, causing the hair on their necks to stand.


    "Whichever of you are responsible for this, I promise you this. I''m not going to rest until I find you. And I will find you! And I will destroy you and all those around you."


    Said the man whose words were worth his entire intergctic fortune.


    He punched the console in front of him with a furious fist. Every virtual monitor went dark and disappeared.


    For a moment, there was only silence.


    With a hoarse cry, Dante threw out his arms. His fangs lengthened and his eyes grew red. His face no longer even looked human.


    Large dark wings unfurled tearing his shirt into shreds. His long ck ws extruded from his hands.


    With an inhuman roar, he flew into a rage and threw himself at therge conference table inside the war room. It flew into the opposite wall, splintering upon contact.


    "Aaaarrgghhhh!!!" He roared, smashing all the chairs and consoles around the room. Not even the various collection of weapons on the wall were spared.


    The only thing he did not touch was the precious cobra head that belonged to the woman he loved. But everything else waspletely destroyed.


    By the time all the terrifying noises had subsided, it took several of the most stoic servants to enter the War Room to check up on Prince Dante. Everyone else was too scared to go in.


    No one wanted to interrupt the Prince''s tantrum but they had to pick up the pieces and restore it to the clean and orderly room that it once was by dinner time.


    The other six Princes would be arriving to have dinner with Prince Dante and Princess Candace within a few hours.


    Out of desperation, the servants went looking for Candace Farrah.. If there was anyone who could reach the Second Prince, it would be her.

 Chapter 108 - Beauty And The Beast

    At that moment, Candace had changed out of her red outfit and back into the brown bag dress that the Princes hated. After such an action-filled morning, she was more than ready to immerse herself within the calming atmosphere of antiquities.


    She was standing on one of the tall attacheddders, looking at a grouping of scrolls on one of the top shelves when the servant came in.


    "Your Grace." The servant bowed his head. "Please, may I have a few moments of your time?"


    Candi turned to him.


    "What is it?"


    "Your Grace. Prince Dante¡­"


    She dropped everything and bounded off thedder.


    "What''s going on with Dante? Take me to him!" Shemanded.


    They both took off running.


    The War Room was quite a distance away from the Library Museum, but it did not take long for Candace to reach the War Room doorway.


    The servant indicated the doorway with nervous eyes.


    Candi gave him a steady look and pushed the door in. Whatever happened, she could not allow Dante to be by himself.


    As soon as she stepped into the War Room, Candace realized why it was called the War Room.


    It looked as if a war had been fought within its walls!


    The stench of fire was everywhere, mixed with the smell of fresh blood.


    There were terrible w marks on the walls and ceilings as if a demon had rampaged through the ce. Someone had also taken a torch to the ce because scorch marks were everywhere.


    Therge heavy oak table had been kicked into the far wall by some superhuman strength and was now partially embedded into the sheet rock and broken into shards.


    Heavy oak chairs had been tossed around, mangled beyond repair. The console tables and side chairs no longer even looked like furniture, they had been ravaged so badly.


    Lights on the ceiling were broken, and the wood floors had gouges on them that looked as if a dinosaur had ripped up the floor boards with ws the size of harvesting scythes.


    In one corner was the quivering mass of leathery wings and matted fur, battered and bloody from the intensity of his rage.


    "Oh honey¡­" she whispered and ran to him. "I''m right here."


    Uncaring of his physical transformation, Candi gathered him into her arms and held him, even as he inadvertently recoiled from her touch.


    The smell of fresh blood wasing from Dante.


    He was bleeding from cuts on his body that looked as if they were inadvertent, from the violent wanton carnage he''d wrought to the War Room.


    His quivering body was so heavy, but she held on as he leaned against her, drawing strength from her embrace.


    His face was turned away from her, but Candi rubbed his poor sweat-drenched head and murmured sweet nothings to bring him back from the precipice of chaos.


    "I''ve failed you." He whispered, his voice gravelly and difficult to understand.


    "Oh Honey, you didn''t fail me at all. I''m perfectly fine, and I''m sitting right here with you."


    But Dante wasn''t listening to her. He shook his head violently.


    "You nearly died because I failed to protect you." He ground out, nearly choking with emotions.


    She shushed him and kissed the top of his head.


    "No, no, no. Dante, Honey. I''m much more resilient than you think. We''re both here and are perfectly safe," she murmured gently as she sat there rocking his body.


    He shook his head, unable to respond.


    "You don''t have to struggle so hard." She whispered as she continued rubbing his back. "You''re doing an amazing job and I''m so very proud of you."


    The Dante that was a beast turned to her with heavy-lidded red-rimmed eyes. His face had lost much of what was human about him and had turned beastly. His mouth was fearsome, withrge fangs that had grown many times its normal size.


    If she didn''t know him well and had seen how much he cared about her, Candi would have been frightened out of her mind.


    But she could still recognize Dante shining through clearly from soulful eyes that still managed to retain the bright green of the Dante she knew.


    The windows of his soul were clear and unmistakable, allowing her to look past the visual of his terrifying appearance and recognizing Dante for who he was.


    He breathed deeply, the sweet scent of her body and convulsed with something akin pain.


    "Turn your eyes away. Don''t look at me."


    "Why not?" She searched his bloodshot green eyes, looking for the answers. Perhaps he was shy because he had turned into a human bat¡­


    "Would it help you if I closed my eyes?" She suggested hopefully.


    He reached out with his wickedly curved razor sharp ws and paled as he realized he was about to touch her face with something that could rip her wless soft cheeks to shreds.


    In one swift motion, his ws retracted, once again revealing his pale human hand.


    He sighed with hopeless despair and reached out once again to touch her face with tender fingers.


    "I''m not fit to be in your presence at this time." He whispered throatily. "Stay away from me Candace."


    "I''m not going anywhere." Candi ground out. She turned into his hand and kissed his palm. "Don''t be afraid. I''m here and I''m not going anywhere."


    Dante turned away, into the wall.


    He was too weak to even push her away and it wasn''t because he didn''t have the physical strength. It was because his soul was so hungry for the nearness of this woman that he could not bring himself to push her away.


    He was starving to death for her love.


    In response, Candi jammed her body in between the wall and Dante. She was perched in such a precarious position that he had to reach out and grab her so she would not fall.


    "Don''t touch me. I''m grotesque right now and unworthy of being in your presence." He growled, barely able to speak with any rity due to therge fangs that had grown out of his mouth.


    "It''s okay." Candi whispered. "It doesn''t matter how you change or what you look like. You''re always going to be my precious Dante."


    She leaned into him and gently kissed his beast mouth.


    Within seconds, his face began to change back to the Dante that she recognized.


    He fell backwards, onto the floor as his wings retracted, taking her with him.


    As he was lying on the floor looking up into her warm hazel eyes and her long honey blonde hair falling all around him, Dante felt as if an angel had plucked him from hell and pulled him up into the bright glorious heavens.


    Thank God she was not hurt. He was so grateful that nothing horrible had happened to her.


    He shuddered as he relived the moments when he realized the six assassins where converging in on Candace. It was the same horrible feeling that he had felt when he ran through the starship Raptor 437 looking for her the day she was kidnapped.


    That panicked horrifying feeling that she might be badly hurt and he was unable to reach her or to save her¡ªit was the most terrifying feeling he had ever felt.


    At that moment, Dante finally understood why he was so terrified. Tears began streaming from his bright green eyes as the answer came to him like a bolt of thunder and lightning.


    HE WAS COMPLETELY AND HOPELESSLY IN LOVE WITH HER!

 Chapter 109 - At The Tiki Bar

    When Dante called an in-person meeting of all the brothers, everyone dropped what they did and rushed to Dante''s Moon to make the meeting.


    The Princes of Erenveil arrived one by one, alone and unapanied by any attendants or servants.


    Jason and Jared were the first to arrive. They had a shorter distance to travel since they had been floating their ind immediately underneath Dante''s moon the entire time. They had wanted to be near Candace should she need them, so it was a quick transport pod trip straight up.


    They were standing around the tropical garden tiki bar having Mai Tais and chatting quietly to themselves when Lucas appeared.


    "Yo, Bros." Lucas called out.


    "Wow. You''re looking mighty raggedtely," Jared noted Lucas'' non-movie star looking face with the blonde evening shadow starting to grow around his mouth and on his jawline.


    "Since when did you let your blond roots show?" Jason gave a wry grin at the slowly fading pink streaks in his blond hair.


    Lucas grimaced. "Ever since Dante took me off the movie set I was working on, I''ve just been loafing around." He blew strands of pink hair from his eyes.


    "That''s because you have another acting gig." Jasonughed. "How''s the bit part of acting like Dahlia''s boyfriend going so far?"


    Lucas''s amber eyes deadened just a little.


    "If it wasn''t for the fact that I''m a very good actor, she''d have realized just how bored I am to be around her. That woman has just about as much personality as a toad. She''s just as ugly too."


    Jared clicked his tongue. "Tch-tch. Has shee around at all to favoring you over Big Brother?"


    Lucas nodded as he epted a pi?a cda from the attendant at the tiki bar.


    "She''s starting to warm up to me. Unfortunately, she''s also gotten the strange idea in her head that once Candace wins first ce, she can marry Byron and keep me around as her no-tell lover."


    The twinsughed again. Poor Lucas.


    From around an Areca palm, Leonardo was the next to arrive. He looked tired, as if he hadn''t slept much.


    "I swear," Jared took a sip of his Mai Tai as he looked Leonardo up and down. "You two look like wrecks."


    Leonardo called for a mojito from the bar attendant and turned back to the brothers, rubbing his head with frustration.


    "I''ve been running into some snafus. Do you know how hard it is to tell head physicians that they have to now change over and be warship Captains?"


    "I cannot imagine." Jared shook his head. "If I told my head fashion creators to change into warship Captains, I think they would sew my mouth together."


    Leonardo rubbed his tired eyes, barely hearing what Jared was saying to him.


    "I also have the added problem of needing to find a ce to move all my patients. There are some who are about to die and some who are waiting for invasive medical intervention. What the hell am I supposed to do with all of them?"


    "More will die if you don''t sessfully turn those hospital ships into warships." Byron''s voice could be heard as he approached the tiki bar. "Make me a jungle bird," he called out to the attendant at the bar and turned back to the group of brothers with a grimace.


    "I wonder why Dante''s called this meeting, and why we have to be here in person. Isn''t a visual call good enough?"


    "If I have to fly all the way back from from Laroche Gardens, you can make the short trip from the Royal Pce." te said as he strode up.


    "Ah. You actually managed to retrieve the butterfly." Leonardo greeted te with a p on the back.


    "It wasn''t so much a retrieve as it was a trade." te sighed. "I made an offer the Captain of the ship couldn''t refuse."


    "And that was?" Leonardo asked.


    "I traded three of his young children for one butterfly."


    "Ho ho!" Byronughed. "Are we using children to fight our wars now?"


    te shook his head. "I don''t use children to fight wars. I was simply giving them a free ride to their father''s ship. They were quite excited to see him, and also had fun as they got to ride a real warship. They were treated very well on my Raptor 653."


    Leonardo handed him a mojito.


    "No thanks." te waved a hand. "I don''t drink."


    "Since when?" Leonardo raised his eyebrows in surprise and drank the mojito himself.


    "Since I''m on duty twenty-four hours a day now." te sighed and turned to the tiki bar attendant. "I''ll take a lemonade."


    Dante was thest to appear. He walked alone into the tropical garden, wearing his bat suit, his spiky blue hair no longer as spiky now that he was growing it longer.


    "I swear, you''re looking worse than Lucas or Leonardo. What is up with you men?" Jared shook his head. His fashion sensibilities had been seriously perturbed by his brothers'' increasing grunginess.


    "I just canceled the remaining Avgo Events." Dante announced without preamble.


    He reached the tiki bar and grabbed a bottle of tequ. With a quick twist of the cap, he took a good swig of the golden liquid before mming it back on the bar.


    Jason grimaced. "I was going to order a margarita for you since I know you like tequ, but never mind that now."


    te stared at Dante.


    "Was it because of the failed assassination attempt this morning?"


    "Wait. What???" Leonardo mmed his rock ss on the counter.


    te turned his bright blue eyes at Leonardo.


    "You didn''t watch the Avgo Event this morning?"


    "I was in the middle of an emergency surgical procedure. I just barely got out." He ran a weary hand through his blond hair.


    Byron''s eyes were on fire. He''d barely managed to contain his anger but now it was back, stronger than ever.


    "Six assassins infiltrated the Avgo Event this morning. They cornered Candace right on the Avgo tform."


    His red-brown eyes smoldered with intensity.. If he found out the person responsible for this, he would kill them with his bare hands.

 Chapter 110 - The Avgo Females Mate

    Leonardo''s face lost all color. He turned to Dante.


    "Weren''t you the one who apanied her to this event? How did this slip by your people?"


    Dante sighed. "I flew to her as quickly as I could, but by the time I got to her, she had nailed every single one of those bastards to the tform."


    te''s dazzling blue eyes were filled with admiration.


    "I was watching it all on my Raptor 653 and I couldn''t tell you if I was more scared or more proud of my Candace." He rubbed his chest in dismay as he recalled the moment when he realized she had been surrounded by assassins.


    "That woman has moves that are so precise and so deadly, I cannot believe that we have viewed her all this time as just a Tiny Dancer, or a reader of antique books."


    te shook his head. "I don''t even think that most of my warriors could outfight that woman. She''s that good."


    "That''s my girl." Leonardo breathed a sigh of relief as the rest of the men nodded in agreement.


    Dante''s bright green eyes were scary fierce.


    "She did a spectacr job in defending herself against unexpected violence, but this is not going to quietly go away."


    He snarled as his fangs began to lengthen as that old familiar rage began to slow boil within him.


    "I''ve got my inquisitors digging into it all right now and they will turn over every single rock looking for the perpetrators. By the time they''re done, those responsible will have been turned into ground beef."


    Leonardo patted Dante on the shoulder and handed him a mojito. He grabbed the drink from Leonardo and downed it in one go.


    "Ugh." He grimaced. "How can you drink this vile concoction? It''s so damn sweet!"


    teughed. "It''s just some fancy limeade with some rum in it."


    Byron watched his brothers clown around with the alcoholic beverages and clenched his fists.


    He was so tired of being the one who had to hold himself above the foray. So tired of acting impartial and non biased, while being stuck on the sidelines watching all his brothers enjoying themselves as they escorted Candace around.


    Punishing the perpetrators was one thing. Canceling his chance to marry Candace was another thing altogether.


    He wanted this Avgo event to be over and done with so that he could finally show Candace just how much he cared about her. She was his bride, but he could not im her until she had officially won.


    "If we cancel the Avgo Events, how is Candace going to win first ce?" He growled at Dante.


    "First ce is not important." Dante retorted with a cool eye. "Keeping Candace alive and healthy is my only concern."


    "I''m afraid I have to agree with Dante." te crossed his arms across his chest. "This Avgo event stinks to high heaven of interference from a very high ce, and most of it, targeted at Candace."


    Byron shot te an intense look. "Do we actually have some idea of who''s behind all this?"


    te''s blue eyes burned a deep silent anger.


    "If you eliminate all those who are incapable of carrying out these attacks, the ones who remain are the most likely suspects."


    te and Dante gave each other knowing looks.


    "But you can''t just stop the Avgo events!" Byron shouted his frustration. "That''s unheard of!"


    He would be damned if he let them take his bride away from him.


    "She''s in first ce, and after this Abilities and Expertise Avgo Event, her lead has grown considerably!"


    Byron leaned in closer to Dante''s face, his eyes narrowing.


    "I''m not going to let you take her win away from her."


    Dante shook his head. He knew Byron would be the most vocally outspoken against his decision to cancel the Avgo Events. Byron did have the most to lose, after all.


    "We can''t actually stop the Avgo''s events." His voice was conciliatory. "It will continue regardless of what we do and whether or not we build round ss tforms in fancy stadiums across the gxy."


    "I was wondering about that." Lucas scratched his head. He did not pretend to understand all that was going on.


    "How did the Avgo Events take ce in the distant past, before all this huge brouhaha and money-making multi-world effort to organize it for viewership ur?"


    Dante sighed. This had been his burning question ever since he became aware that Byron would be marrying the winner of the Avgo Events.


    Before he met Candace, he didn''t care. Now, it was his burning goal to find out more about the reason behind the arbitrary designation of an Avgo-dictated marriage to the Crown Prince.


    Dante turned to Lucas.


    "The organized Avgo Events are an artificial construct that was built around the Avgo''s innate actions to find prime candidates to continue future generations of sentient life."


    "That''s right." te nodded. "Somewhere along the way, it became subverted into something that resembled a high-stakes beauty pageant that was used to find a bride for the ruling ss."


    He shook his head. "That was never its intent."


    Lucas gave te a confused look. "What do you mean?"


    Danteughed and pped Lucas on the shoulder.


    "Little Brother, the Avgo does not care who the Avgo Female marries."


    "Really? Then what''s the point?" Lucas rubbed his eyes. He was truly confused about the whole thing.


    "Hahaha." teughed. "The point is that there is no such thing as an Avgo Male. There is only the Avgo Female."


    "And?" Lucas stared at him with a nk look. Was te trying to be Captain Obvious?


    Leonardo rubbed his eyes. Lucas was older than he was and they had the same mother and father, but it sometimes struck Leonardo that aside from taking the lion''s share of the looks, Lucas seemed to have left some of his extra brain cells behind to make room for all that good looks.


    "It''s got to do with basic biology, Lucas." Leonardo tried to exin to him. "In the animal kingdom, females have to carry the bulk of the responsibility for continuing life."


    "It''s very costly, in terms of energy and time, for females to have babies. They only have a limited number of infants they can carry. That''s why in the natural world, it''s their choice and they try to choose only the highest-quality males."


    "Wait, wait." Byron held up a hand. "Isn''t the Avgo Events something that is held for the Empire to choose the highest quality FEMALE for the Crown Prince, whoever he may be?"


    teughed. "It seems that way, doesn''t it? But the truth is, the Avgo Events have been subverted."


    "What do you mean?" Byron looked at him with suspicion.


    "He''s right." A voice called out from beyond the bird of paradise bushes.


    All the Princes turned their heads with joy at the sound of Candace''s voice.

 Chapter 111 - The Pink Avgo Gemstone

    "Candace!" The twins jumped up and ran to her side as they each took one of her arms and escorted her back to the Tiki Bar.


    Suddenly, their world was sparkling and joyous again. Their muse and the source of their artistic inspiration was here!


    "Cancandi!" Leonardo breathed. Leave it to his woman to grasp the intricacies of biology that his own dunderhead brother failed toprehend.


    They say that the brain is the biggest sex organ in the body and Leonardo could not agree more. There was nothing more exciting to him than an intellectually brilliant woman.


    te smiled. "There''s my girl," he murmured under his breath as his body began to respond to the mere sight of her walking across the garden.


    te could not control his reaction to her. The woman physically aroused him merely by walking into the room!


    Images of their lovemaking began to appear before his eyes and he had to look away before he embarrassed himself in front of his brothers.


    Lucas smiled as he saw her walking towards them. Her eyes met his and he looked away as shyness rose on his cheeks like the bloom of a virgin rose bud.


    He knew that she was too high above him to even think about having a chance with her but nobody could take away Lucas'' right to hope and dream that she might think of him as someone she could be with.


    Byron stared at the woman destined to be his bride. His throat tightened and his chest swelled with emotions that he could not put a name to.


    He had no doubt in his mind that she would be the winner of the Avgo. In his mind, she was already his wife.


    He had been preparing since the start, his mind and soul to receive her into his inner sanctum, to be his mate and the mother of his children. The thought gave him such a thrill that he could barely breathe.


    Dante''s green eyes glinted with something that looked suspiciously like tears. He turned away, and when he turned back, the momentary reflection of light that bounced off his bright green eyes were gone.


    No one knew of his emotional break down but Candace and his servants. He had always been too emotional, felt too intensely about the people and things he cared the most for.


    The depth and breadth of his emotions was something that Dante wrestled with every day of his life. She was like the balm to his tortured soul and the medicine he needed to control his mental and emotional demons.


    He needed her to survive this crazy world.


    Escorted by the noisy and chattering green-haired twins, Candace waspletely unaware of all the internal turmoil of the Princes. She turned to all of them standing around the Tiki Bar and waved with an excited grin.


    As she came closer, the attendant made a drink and ced it on the bar for her. She frequented the Tiki Bar quite often and he knew exactly what she always asked for.


    Dante smiled and picked up the drink, intending on bringing it to her, but then he raised his eyebrows as his nose picked up the scent of the drink.


    "Water?" He asked the attendant.


    "The Princess always asks for water, Your Royal Highness."


    Dante nodded and brought the drink over to Candace.


    "I''m d you could join us." He handed her the ss.


    Candace took the drink from his hand and took a sip.


    "Hmmm. How did you know I wanted this?"


    Dante indicated with his head at the attendant on duty.


    "I hire excellent help, and they all only have one duty¡ªto take good care of you."


    "So tell me," Dante asked as he led her back to the group, with the twins following behind. "What did the Ellipsoidal Macrocosm say about the Avgo?"


    Candace sipped her water and sat on the bar stool they pulled out for her.


    "I don''t know if I should say anything. I''m sure you all are far more knowledgeable about the Avgo and the Ellipsoidal Macrocosm than I am."


    "Don''t be too sure," Leonardo''s aqua eyes twinkled. "Most people have never even read the book although it is supposed to be required reading for all ages."


    "I''m guilty of that. I''ve actually never read it." Lucas blushed and looked away.


    "I don''t me you," Jason''s face fell. "It''s a rather boring book that only philosophers read. I think I scanned through it once just to be able to say that I read the thing."


    Jared turned to Candace. "But we are curious about what you were able to gather from it. It could help shed light on this whole confusing situation."


    Candace looked at the men. They seemed to be intensely interested in what she had learned.


    "Well," she cleared her throat. "It starts off sounding like it would be some creation story about the universe and all, but that''s not the bulk of the material."


    She narrowed her eyes in concentration as she tried to recall the words as closely as she could.


    "If you read carefully, the Ellipsoidal Macrocosm talks about the Avgo in very poetic detail."


    "In chapter six, section ten, the Avgo Females who are chosen from among the myriad of females across the gxy are selected for specific traits."


    "Such as?" Byron asked. His eyes opened wide with wonder. This woman was quoting a book from an ancientnguage and notating the specific section and chapter.


    "Well, the desired traits change throughout the ages. Sometimes, it''s for traits that have either been lost due to active gic pruning or inadvertent inbreeding."


    "At other times, it''s desirable traits that have sprung up independently from the general trends on some far remote corner of the gxy."


    "Ahhh. Is that why sometimes the pink Avgo shows itself? Is it looking for someone specific to its¡­spectrum?" Dante mused.


    Candace scratched her blonde head.


    "Well, we all know that the color pink doesn''t actually exist on the visible spectrum of rainbow colors. Maybe the trait of being able to see the color pink is one that''s targeted."


    "Of course the color pink exists." Lucas touched his pink hair. "I color my hair this way because it attracts the visuals and the crowd."


    Byron held up his hand.


    "Wait. I don''t see any color in your hair other than the pale blonde color that you and Leonardo both have."


    Lucas turned to Byron, his eyes wide open with astonishment.


    "Byron. Don''t tell me you''re partially colorblind!!!"

 Chapter 112 - Unexpected Turn Of Events

    Candace turned to Byron. "You''re color blind to pink. This could be the reason why it''s important that the gene trait to see pink be introduced back into the royal family''s gene pool."


    "Wait. Why female? Why not male Avgos?" Lucas asked.


    "The book says it''s because the Avgo is trying to develop high quality gic material". Candace grinned. "Females are natural repositories of gene material because we have two X chromosomes."


    "Why is that important? Don''t we all carry genes inside our bodies?"


    "Yes, but you guys only have one copy of the gene. We women keep double copies of every gene. Just in case one of the genes is faulty or damaged, there is a spare to fall back on. Men don''t have that back-up."


    "Ohhh." Lucas scratched his head. This woman was smart! She was smarter than he was, that''s for sure.


    "So just because women have double chromosomes, they get to be Avgo and we guys can''t?" Jared chewed on his lip.


    Candace shrugged. "There is also a matter of choice."


    "Come again?" Byron asked.


    "You guys don''t have to be choosy. You spread your genes out far and wide, and then you can walk away if you wish. We females HAVE TO BE THE CHOOSY ONES because we''re the ones expending all the effort of giving birth and caring for the children."


    She took a sip of water and continued.


    "Since the Avgo Females are the choosers, their mate choices can direct the course of evolution. Over an long evolutionary timeline, it has generally yielded fitter and better offspring."


    She ced her ss down with finality.


    "The reason why the marriage to the Crown Prince is the prize for the Avgo females is because you," she pointed at Byron''s chest, "are NOT the one choosing us."


    She grinned. "We are the ones choosing you."


    The Princes were speechless for a moment. Candace hadid it down in such a bare manner that they could barely believe their ears.


    Candaceughed. "Didn''t you notice that you''re not actually given a choice between us Avgo women? That''s because it has never been your choice."


    She stood up and took a step towards Byron. He was so tall that she had to crane her neck to look up at him.


    "We Avgo Females are fighting amongst ourselves to be the dominant alpha female. This gives us the opportunity to choose the top male of the empire."


    She turned away from him with a smile at the rest of the Princes.


    "Traditionally, top male has always been the Crown Prince. It was so consistent that the Crown Prince began to be turned into the prize for the winning Avgo Female."


    "But what''s the reason for all this?" Lucas shook his head.


    "The ultimate goal of the Avgo gemstones is to guide the ongoing development of increasingly higher quality people over a very long evolutionary time frame."


    teughed. He had guessed this all along. It was wonderful to be given corroboration from the woman he most admired.


    "And that''s why the Avgo Female should be the one who chooses her mate, not the other way around." te gave a slow p.


    "So if you had to choose, Candace." Lucas asked the one burning question all the men held in their heads. "Which of us would you choose?"


    Candi shook her head.


    "I don''t know. I haven''t really thought about it." She looked down at the ground. "It''s taken all my energy just to stay alive these past few weeks, which brings me to a very important conclusion."


    She looked up. "There are people out there who are trying to kill me. I can''t choose any one of you and put you in danger like that."


    "What???"


    "No!!!"


    "As if!!!"


    "That''s ridiculous!!!"


    "I dare them try!!!"


    "I''ll protect you!!!"


    The men all howled their protests. Did she think they were scared? Did she think they could not handle the dangers?


    Byron ced his hands on her shoulders.


    "Candace. The whole reason you''re in so much danger is BECAUSE of the Avgo Events and what it means to win. The Crown Princess position is what all those women are fighting so hard to obtain."


    Dante gave a nted look at Byron. Isn''t that what he''d been trying to tell Byron all this time?


    Byron didn''t even see Dante''s pointed look. In fact, at that moment, he could see no one but Candace.


    He leaned down and kissed her forehead with solemn intent.


    "You say that the purpose of this Avgo Event is so that you can gain the opportunity to choose the Crown Prince." He took a deep breath. "I am right here in front of you, Candace."


    He reached out and took hold of her hands.


    "If you choose to marry me at this very moment, then in an instant, all the reasons to harm you will no longer exist. We can shortcut the entire process and bring the Avgo Events to their conclusion without having to do a single other event."


    He kneeled to the ground, suddenly bringing his great height down to the point where he was looking up at her.


    "Please marry me, Candace. Be my bride, my wife, the mother of my children. Be my Empress."


    Candace stared down at Byron, unable to say anything.


    The other six Princes were momentarily stunned by Byron''s actions. They stared at Candace. Her next words would determine the fate of the entire empire.


    Candace opened her mouth and suddenly coughed as her throat constricted. She was so shocked she didn''t know what to say.


    She tried again.


    "Your Royal Highnesses!!!" A scream came out from behind the pink and white oleander bushes.


    "Your Royal Highnesses!!!" The attendant ran to the Tiki Bar and stopped as he saw Byron kneeling in front of Candace.


    Oh shit!


    The attendant''s face took on the look of a man who knew he was already a dead man.


    Dante gave the man a withering look.


    "Speak!"


    "Your¡ªYour Royal Highnesses. The Princess Ana?se Paroles. She¡ªshe¡ª"


    "Spit it out you moron!!!" te roared.


    "SHE''S DEAD!!!"

 Chapter 113 - N’est Pas Si Bon

    A silence hit that was so profound, nobody knew how to break it.


    They were in the middle of talking about the Avgo''s intentions and reason for being and suddenly, the unthinkable had happened.


    The first person to speak was Dante.


    "To the War Room."


    "Wait, Your Majesties." The hapless attendant intervened. "It is still being remodeled. There is the Astrb that is usable."


    He turned to Candace. "There is also the Princess'' Library, which is close by."


    "Library is off-limits to anyone but Candace. I do not want any of her treasures to be damaged." Dante waved a hand of protest.


    "Take us to the formal dining room." Dante bade. "Have the kitchen begin serving us dinner as soon as it''s done. We can discuss further events from there."


    "Yes Sir."


    "Oh. One more thing." Dante called the man back. "Take the cobra head and find a ce for it in the museum. I don''t want it identally damaged."


    "Yes Sir."


    The attendant took off, his face full of relief that he had not been called out for having interrupted what looked to be the Crown Prince proposing to the Avgo Female.


    Wait¡­the Crown Prince was proposing to the Avgo Female???


    The Princes and Candi quickly made their way to the formal dining room. It was two hours too early for dinner, but at this point, dinner was the furthest thing on their mind.


    Therge dining room held arge rectangr linen-covered table that could hold ten people.


    At the head of the table, a 3-D image of someone sat among them.


    It was Ray Torra, the Custodian of The Tower on Earth.


    At the moment, he looked more like the undisputed ruler of the universe and not just some low-level building custodian.


    "Boys." He greeted the Princes and then turned to Candi. "Long time no see, Beautiful Woman. I''m d these beasts have been treating you well."


    She nodded her greeting and they all took their seats, fiddling with their suddenly too cheerful, too colorful tropical drinks.


    As the Custodian looked around the table at the Princes, a twin set of red mes appeared within the pupils of his dark eyes.


    "You all know I''m here to make sure everything is as it should be. When I''m not around, everything is as it should be."


    His fangs began to grow longer, the mes in his eyes grew more intense.


    "When you see me, everything n''est pas si bon."**


    He waved his hand and a virtual monitor appeared at the far end.


    For a moment, it showed nothing more interesting than the outline of several tall buildings. But then Ray Torra flicked a finger and the view zoomed in on one of the buildings.


    At the top of the building, there was a small group of people.


    The visual zoomed in closer. They were all wearing the same ck outfits of the men who had attempted to assassinate Candace earlier that morning.


    In between them was the all-too-familiar ss figure of Ana?se Paroles. She was struggling with them as they handled her with inordinate roughness.


    Suddenly, before their shocked eyes, the men picked Ana?se up and threw her over the edge of the building.


    Candi gasped, unable to look away as the blue ss figure of the Avgo Female iled in the air for the few seconds that it took for her to fall.


    The visual was low quality with no sound, but it was still good enough to capture Ana?se''s body as she hit the concrete ground below, shattering into thousands of blue ss shards.


    The shards bounced up, catching the light and spreading outward in a stunning glittering disy of brilliance.


    And just like that, she was gone from the world.


    There was no sound in the room other than Candi''s breathless sobs.


    The Princes looked at each other between the heavy silver candbras unable to say anything.


    The servants moved with silent efficiency, setting the table with them already seated in their ces.


    Ray Torra shifted in his seat, looking as if he was actually seated at the dining table with all of them.


    "Exin to me exactly what happened here. How is it possible for this to happen on your watch?"


    "This happened because I cancelled the events." Dante finally broke through the silence.


    "Come on Brother. You don''t know that for a fact." Leonardo shook his head.


    "No. I do know that." Dante stared at the white roses in the bowl between them.


    "The Avgo Events were originally bloody fights between the Avgo Females." His eyes hardened. "Thest one standing went on to dominate the entire empire, bing the Empress. To her went the spoils of the gxy."


    Candi nodded. "That was what the book meant when it said, ''the gem is supposed to bring to the holder, the entire riches of the universe.'' It was literally that."


    "Yes." Dante nodded and looked up at Leonardo. "In an attempt to make the Avgo fights less¡­bloody, not to mention more profitable, people began to organize the fights into recognizable events that pitted the women against each other for specific attributes."


    "It still didn''t cut out all the violence, but it did bring civility and a certain sense of esprit de corps, a feeling of pride andmon loyalty shared by the members of each Avgo Female''s world or species."


    te set his ss down with finality.


    "Listen Dante. This is not your fault. All that broke down with this Avgopetition because Earth refused to back the legitimate Avgo Female."


    He turned to Ray Torra. "This meant we had to keep protecting Candace over and over again."


    He waved a hand and another visual screen appeared beside the one that Ray Torra had called up.


    This one was of a much higher quality since it was shot from multiple angles and specifically for the purpose of transmission for viewing purposes.


    Candi''s eyes widened as she saw herself, surrounded by the same type of ck-d men who had just killed Ana?se Paroles.


    There was energetic music ying in the background, as well as many close up and slow motion action shots of her nailing the men, one after the other.


    Tears streamed from her eyes as she realized that the visuals team had turned her desperate struggle to stay alive into something exciting and fun to watch.


    As she nailed a man in the heart with a knife and twisted the head of thest man, the visuals panned out to show arge pair of bat wings swooping down and carrying her away in a finale that was befitting of a victorious warrior woman.


    The music thundered and the audience was on their feet roaring their approval.


    They had no idea how scared the bat Prince was when he swooped off with Candace, and they never saw the fact that she was literally in shock and crying as she clutched onto his body as a lifeline.


    "I cancelled the events because what happened to Ana?se is just thetest of a string of incidents that were already urring with Candace as the target."


    Dante stood up and stared Ray Torra in the eyes.


    "No matter what happens, I will protect this woman with my life."


    All the Princes stood up at this point.


    "So shall we."


    ======


    ** n''est pas si bon = not so good.


    The first time Candace meets Ray Torra, he was whistling the song ''C''est Si Bon'' because everything ''was all good''.

 Chapter 114 - The Avgo Queen

    Ray Torra narrowed his eyes at the seven Princes standing before him.


    "Sit. I have something I need to share with you all, and you might as well befortable while I talk about it."


    He waved a hand at them, indicating for them to take their seats.


    The men sighed and sat down. Ray Torra was a scary demon, but he was a reasonable man.


    "Let me tell you boys something."


    Ray Torra pulled from somewhere out of sight, a ck pipe which he began filling with a clod of dried tobo. A me appeared at the end of his index finger and he lit the tobo as he puffed on the end of the pipe.


    The Princes rolled their eyes as they waited for him to take his first few puffs.


    He looked up from his pipe, gazing into each of the Prince''s eyes.


    "The Avgo is all fun and games, all braggadocio and point-scoring to everyone." He cleared his throat and made a quick gesture with his pipe. "until someone died¡ªa very crucial someone."


    A chart appeared in front of everyone, coting the scores of thetest Avgo Event.


    Candace had taken first ce in the event, gaining 100 points, which brought her grand total of 390 points.


    Second ce had actually gone to Ana?se, giving her 260 points.


    Jenna took third ce, resulting in a still very respectable 310.


    That left Valeria in fourth ce which meant her total score was 220.


    "The scores came in not too long before the ss girl fell to her death. She was someone who had actually won second ce at the Abilities and Expertise Avgo Event just that morning."


    "The result of this event pushed Valeria Marakesh out of the running, resulting in three finalists." He took another puff of his pipe.


    "We have Candace, Jenna, and Ana?se, in that order." He shook his head. "Correction. We HAD Candace, Jenna, and Ana?se. We now only have Candace and Jenna."


    He cleared his throat and looked away.


    "The Gctic Organization has petitioned the Board of Directors to include Valeria Marakesh as the third contestant because Ana?se has died."


    "What???"


    "No!!!"


    The Princes all began protesting, talking at once and not making much sense because none could be heard over the other.


    "Shut up and sit down!" Ray Torra roared.


    The Princes reluctantly gave up their stances and sat, just in time for the various servers to return to the dining room with trolleys of covered dishes.


    As they began to be served, Ray Torra began to sing. He did not want to discuss anything while the servers were still in the room.


    "C''est si bon


    De partir n''importe ou,


    Bras dessus, bras dessous,


    En chantant des chansons.


    .


    C''est si bon


    De se dir'' des mots doux,


    Des petits rien du tout


    Mais qui en disent long."


    By the time he finished singing his song, the servers had cleared the room.


    "You all should eat while I go over what has happened during the time the Avgo has been in y." Ray Torra sighed.


    "You have to understand that this Avgopetition goes far beyond just getting a bride for Byron."


    Byron looked up, his red-brown eyes ring.


    "Even as the Avgo was starting, there were already border skirmishes between the birds and the bugs. It spilled into the Avgo when Olivia Faraday was hurt by Bethany Dresden, since obviously, Olivia is a bug and Bethany is a bird."


    "What does the bird-bug altercations have to do with a girl made of silicon ss?" Byron stabbed his steak with a vicious jab.


    "It has to do with the fact that the sandy world of Haribou provides much of the weapons which the bug world uses against the birds. Now, Haribou is a neutral world. They will provide weapons to whoever has the funds to pay for those weapons."


    "So why didn''t the birds pay for the weaponry from Haribou?"


    "They do, but if you look at the demographics, there are far far more insects in the Universe than there are any other type of life forms. In fact, insects represent over half of all known living things in the Universe." **


    "The insects outspend the birds ten to one in weaponry." He red at the Princes. "You have to ask yourselves why they are not the dominant rulers of your individual gxy."


    "Take a look at the current rulers. The Emperor is a bat and the Empress is an ibis."


    "So?" Byron shook his head with confusion.


    "There were two birds in the Avgo Event this time around, Bethany and Valeria. That would have been a two-in-seven chance, or 28.57%, that a bird would have won and be the next Empress."


    "That chance dropped to zero this morning when Valeria fell out of the ranking.


    "The remaining candidates were a silicon girl selling deadly weapons to the insectoids around the gxy, a spotted leopard in a jungle world that has been a natural predator of both the bat Emperor and the ibis Empress," he nced over at Candi.


    "And of course, an illegitimate human female on a backwards whose only im to fame is their gori warfare tactics."


    "So the birds want to keep a bird as Empress over this gxy?"


    "The birds were the ones who established the current Empress at thest Avgo Event."


    "How is that possible?" Candi spoke up for the first time. "Isn''t the Avgo won by the best candidates?"


    Ray Torraughed.


    "My Dear, that''s such a naive way of looking at things." He took a long deep drag of his pipe. "If the best candidate had won the previous Avgopetition, Byron here would not have been the Crown Prince."


    "What???"


    "You better exin yourself!!!"


    "Unbelievable!!!"


    "No way. That cannot be."


    "Impossible!" Byron snarled. "Everyone can see the Avgo Events for themselves. Winners and losers have to go through seven grueling events to determine who wins in the end."


    Ray Torra smiled.


    "That is correct. We all saw who won thest Avgo Event."


    He waved a hand and the shining moment of the past Avgo event red up on a new virtual screen.


    stered on therge screen for all the Princes to see was the beautiful face of a very young Anastasia standing on the dais smiling at the crowd, and wearing the unmistakable Avgo crown on her head.


    ==============


    ** Scientists estimate that insects make up to 90% of all species of animals on the Earth and more than half of all living things. This is not fiction.. This is a fact.

 Chapter 115 - A Queens Sacrifice

    Once again, the Princes were shocked into silence. The only sound was Candi, choking on her bite of asparagus.


    "That''s (cough-cough) That''s Dante''s Mom!!!" Candace hacked out.


    Dante''s face was pale but he did not look surprised. The other Princes however, looked as if they were ready to fall out of their chairs.


    "You already knew, didn''t you Dante." Ray Torra chuckled.


    "Of course I knew.'' Dante''s deep voice grew hoarse. "I''ve always known because Mother made sure to drill into me every day that I was the child who was supposed to have been the shining glory of the empire."


    He nced over at Byron with emotionless eyes.


    "I was born before Byron, to the Avgo winner, but always had to take second ce to him because of my mother''s lowly social status."


    Byron''s eyes were confused and hurt at the same time.


    "Dante¡­" He sighed and sank his head into his hands.


    "Dante. I never knew. I would never have taken anything away from you. We''re blood brothers."


    "Of course, I know that you didn''t know." Dante''s eyes were tragic. "None of this has anything to do with our generation. We were simply the products of all this chaotic mess."


    He looked over at Ray Torra.


    "All the visuals show rissa as the Avgo winner. How did you get your hands on that visual?"


    "This is the original." Ray smiled a smile that didn''t reach his eyes.


    "The one that got dispersed and shown to the trillions and trillions of people across the gxy are the ''fixed'' ones where Anastasia was taken out, to be reced by rissa."


    Dante''s eyes narrowed. "And Mother agreed to be reced?"


    "Of course. She agreed to that because she had no choice." Ray Torra pointed at Dante.


    "You see, Dante, she was already pregnant with you when she started the Avgopetition and the rules of the day was that an Avgo contestant cannot be pregnant. The child has to be very clearly the Crown Prince''s spawn, AFTER their marriage."


    Lucas mmed his hand on the dining table.


    "That''s absurd. We all know Dante is our blood brother. He is our father''s child!"


    "Tch. Tch. I never said he wasn''t." Ray clicked his tongue. "He is absolutely Rex''s child, and in fact, is the Emperor''s first-born son."


    "But to qualify to win the Avgo event and be Empress, Anastasia would have had to abort the fetus, which meant YOU," he pointed to Dante, "would have never been born."


    te pped his forehead. "So that''s why Father told me not to touch the Avgo Female. He knew that if she were to get pregnant, she would have to either abort the child or forfeit the crown."


    "And why would Father have to say that to you, te?" Jared turned an using eye at te.


    "Because he knows te is the horniest beast out of all of us brothers." Lucas rolled his eyes with a small sadugh.


    te stared at Lucas with a touch of recrimination.


    "I have never done anything to deserve that ''horniest beast''bel. Just because I am ''physicallyrge'' in certain parts of my body doesn''t mean I''m a vulgar person who forces myself on a woman."


    Candi closed her eyes and shook her head. Things were happening so fast, she didn''t know what to think.


    "So the Emperor and the Royal Consort Anastasia must have been lovers even before the Avgo Event started." She muttered.


    "It''s the only exnation that would make sense since Dante was born a full six months before Byron, yes." Ray Torra nodded.


    Leonardo shook his head. "How was it possible for the Empress to change Byron''s birthdate to reflect that he was born six months before¡­oooooh¡­" Leonardo nodded with understanding.


    "What? How?" Lucas asked.


    "Erenveil Birth Certificates cannot be faked, it can only be annotated. She merely switched names on the birth certificates in the same manner we would use to legally change our names. This means¡ª"


    "His birthdate is mine and mine is his. Yes." Dante finished with a grim smile.


    "Wait." Byron held up his hand. "How is it possible for all this to have happened and none of us know anything about this? How is it that Father could have agreed to all of this?"


    Byron looked around at his brothers. "He must have known that a six-month-old son had all of a sudden turned into a new-born and a new-born had been changed to a six-month-old."


    Ray Torra sighed. "Of course he knew. Your Father may be crass and obnoxious at times, but he is not a stupid man. He had to agree to much of the Empress'' demands just to secure a few of his own demands."


    "Demands?"


    "Yes. Empress rissa got the Empress chair. In return, the birds left Anastasia''s world alone, and Dante gets to live and grow up to be the man he is today."


    Ray Torra nodded. "Normally, the insectoids are left alone since they are able to defend themselves, but for some reason, Anastasia''s world is located within a tiny pocket of space that is mostly surrounded by bird worlds."


    "She gave up her crown to protect her world and her son. She is a very noble Queen." Ray Torra finished.


    Byron stood up. "I need to speak to Father."


    Ray Torra took another drag of his pipe and coughed. His eyes shifted over to his right side.


    "You might as well join in the conversation, child. It is time to set straight what all of you kids have subverted all these decades. The young ones deserve an exnation and it needs toe from you."


    Beside him, the 3D image of the Emperor suddenly appeared. He no longer seemed so jovial, so full of bombastic energy.


    "Father. Is it true, all this that Ray Torra said?"


    The Emperor looked at his son and reluctantly nodded.


    Byron''s face paled. And then flushed a bright angry red.


    "So I''m not even the real Crown Prince." He shot an angry look at the Emperor. "Am I even your biological child?"


    The Emperor sat there, silent and unmoving.


    Byron''s eyes grew incredulous. Why was Father not even acknowledging this simple fact?


    "So I''m not even your biological child? How is that even possible???"


    Dante stood up slowly and with purpose. He moved towards Byron until he was within arm''s length.


    "You are his biological child, Byron. Never doubt that.. The only thing you are NOT is Empress rissa''s child."

 Chapter 116 - A Fathers Love

    "How is that possible? Whose child am I then?"


    The Emperor sighed.


    "Understand, Byron, that even I did not know the truth of the whole thing until a decadeter, and you were already almost ten. It was such a tangled web of subversions and lies that it literally rotted from the inside out." He shook his head.


    "I don''t understand Father." Byron shook his head.


    The Emperor sighed again. "You all know that rissa has an identical twin sister." He rubbed his eyes with weary hands. "I can vouch for the fact that it is impossible to tell the difference between them in the dark."


    "What?" The Princes all gasped.


    Ray Torra cleared his throat. "What your Father is trying to say in polite terms is that in order to ensure that a male be born first to capture the Crown Prince position, the twins switched sleeping arrangements on a regr basis, with the understanding that any male child would be rissa''s son, the Crown Prince."


    "So my mother and my aunt switched babies." Byron''s voice was hoarse. "That means Poppy¡­"


    "Poppy is our blood sister, just as much as Lyra, Daisy, and Ariana are our blood sisters." Dante confirmed. "The only difference is that she is a legitimate Princess, whereas you are born to a woman who is not legally married to the Emperor."


    Byron''s eyes watered.


    He had gone from the shining Crown Prince of the Erenveil Empire to a mere illegitimate son of the Emperor.


    "Why Father? Why did you not say anything?"


    The Emperor took a deep breath.


    "Because I love all my children. For me to reveal what I found out, years after everything had already been settled would have destroyed you, and I loved you too much to hurt you."


    "Although I did not marry your real mother, you are still very much my beloved biological son."


    His eyes grew tragic. "Unfortunately, Poppy did not take it well. She disowned her family and ran away from home when she was sixteen to join the space pirates because she knew she had been thrown away by her own mother.


    "I tried to reach out to her but she rejected me too." He sighed and brushed a tear from his eyes. "My poor daughter. She should have been living alongside Lyra and Daisy and Ariana, enjoying her Princess life. Instead, she is out there every day, fighting alongside te and his men¡­"


    "And doing an amazing job, Father." te confirmed. "She''s a better fighter than most of my men. In fact, she trained many of them."


    Byron staggered and slumped back onto his seat. All fight leaving his body.


    "Wait. This makes no sense." Candi waved a hand.


    "How is it that the Avgo contestants aren''t allowed to be pregnant before the Avgo event, but Byron was allowed to have a birthdate that clearly shows the Empress would have had to be pregnant before the conclusion of the Event?"


    The Emperor gave her a sad gaze.


    "Rules are created and maintained by the winners. This is a lesson to you, Child. Once you are safely ensconced on the throne, you can change whatever rules don''t fit with your needs."


    "So Anastasia could have changed that pregnancy rule if she hadn''t given up the Empress crown?"


    The Emperor shook his head. "In the case of Anastasia, she did the only thing that she could do. She gave it up to ensure her world would not be attacked. That goes far beyond the situation with her pregnancy."


    Candi shook her head. "But Ray Torra said that Anastasia gave up the crown to protect her world because the bird worlds surrounded an insectoid world. Does that mean¡­"


    "Where did Anastasiae from?" Candace asked, almost afraid of the answer.


    Dante turned to Candace with a proud look.


    "She''s a beautiful blue butterfly from the world of Nymphalidae."


    Candi almost forgot to breathe. Dante was part insectoid¡­


    Dantepressed his lips as he saw Candace''s shocked expression. Not her too¡­


    She suddenly turned to him. "No wonder you are so beautiful."


    Dante''s heart overflowed and he nearly cried. She didn''t think any less of him because he was part insectoid.


    Candace looked at the other Princes with the same curious gaze.


    "Our mother is a golden blonde lioness." Leonardo smiled.


    "And ours is a mermaid." Jason volunteered.


    Candi''s jaw dropped. She would have never thought Jason and Jared were part mermen.


    She nced over at te.


    "ck Wolf." He grinned.


    Candi''s eyes nearly popped out of her skull. te was part wolf???


    She shook her head. "I don''t understand. Why is it that you all look so human?"


    "It''s the basic biological structure that the royal family is all deviated from." Ray Torra exined.


    "Remember the Avgo rule of having to remain in human form topete? This is the reason why, and part of the reason the pink Avgo only shows up every once in a great while."


    "Once in awhile, the pink Avgo is released to reinforce and re-infuse the royal family''s gics with pure human genes."


    "Royal family gics?" Candi shook her head. This was all so confusing.


    "We''re all blood bats, Cancandi." Leonardo exined. "Bats are the royal gics."


    "Yes." Dante nodded. "We are considered royalty because bat genes are so dominant that any female who bears our children will always and only ever have bat children. This is not true for any other species of humans out there."


    "So if I marry one of you men," she mused out loud.


    "All your babies will be bat babies with golden blonde hair and bat wings that can actually fly." Leonardoughed.


    Candi pressed her lips together, not sure what to think about the idea that her children would be bats.


    "But I thought Earth had never been in Avgo Events before."


    Ray Torra shook his head. "Earth hasn''t. But although there aren''t that many human worlds, you of the human race are spread out far wide and there have been other human females who have been a part of the Avgo, and have even won."


    "The woman whose grave you plundered was one such human." Ray grinned, showing all his teeth.


    "She''s not from Earth?"


    "Not originally, no, but her world is primarily human-based just as Earth is. She was there as a paleontologist to study life springing from Earth when she died due to a freak ident."


    Ray''s eyes were dark.


    "She was buried on Earth because she loved that world so much and had put into her will that it was where she wanted to be buried." He turned to look at Candi.


    "I think she knew that sooner orter, another human female would be chosen, so she took with her, the Ellipsoidal Macrocosm to be given to that new chosen female as a guide book."


    "You dug up grandma and got the guide book before you even got your hands on the Avgo gemstone." Lucasughed.


    "I''m so sorry." Candi sighed.


    "Don''t be. I think this is the first time that an Avgo gemstone was chosen by the female, and not the other way around."


    "So what do we do now?"


    Byron''s somber dejected voice cut through all the chatter about gics.

 Chapter 117 - Conditions For Status Quo

    The Emperor sighed.


    "Dante. How much work have you done on all of this?"


    "Everything, Father." Dante responded. "I have done everything, and everything is in ce."


    The Emperor nodded. "You are aware Son, that your mother''s world Nymphalidae is still in the same strategic space that is almost surrounded by bird worlds."


    "Yes, Father."


    "The same reason your mother gave up her Empress crown still holds true today. If you give any reason for the birds to cry foul, they will attack Anastasia''s world withoutpunction."


    The Emperor shook his head.


    "Once Nymphalidae is attacked, the insectoid coalition will use that as an excuse to swarm the gxy and we will devolve into an intergctic war. It will be the insectoids against everyone else, and they greatly outnumber us."


    "Yes." Dante nodded grimly. "I have internalized what you taught me, Father. But you also taught me that the side that strikes first loses the ability to dere self-defense as their excuse for massive warfare."


    Leonardo raised an eyebrow. This was what he and Dante talked about and why all his hospital ships were turning into warships. But why had Father been teaching Dante this and not Byron?


    "I''m d you understand this concept. If you are to rule the gxy. You must be able to win people''s hearts."


    Leonardo looked at his brothers. None of them missed this very important point that their father was making.


    The twins looked as if this was the first time they''d heard about any of this while his own doofus brother just looked confused and overwhelmed about it all.


    te was strangely uncaring while Byron looked as if he''d been punched in the guts.


    The ''you'' that his father was talking about was not the royal ''you'' meaning all of them. He was speaking directly to Dante.


    "Remember, it''s not enough to charge in with massive weaponry and take over an entire quadrant." The Emperor continued to talk directly to Dante.


    "You also have to build up the perception that they are the ones wearing ck and you are the ones wearing white¡ªeven if you''re wearing blue."


    It was so grantly obvious that Leonardo could hardly believe that he was the only one who noticed it. This indication of wearing blue could only be ascribed to Dante.


    Blue was Dante''s colors.


    The Emperor''s eyes narrowed.


    "The trick of all this is picking the right side to fight on. For thest several hundred years, the birds have ced an Empress on the throne by hook or by crook. They have done everything they possibly could to keep the birds on top, to the exclusion of all other human species."


    "Why have they done this, Father?" Lucas asked.


    "They feel that if this is not done, the gxy will bepletely overrun by insects. The Empire''s throne is theirst chance at keeping the gxy''s swarms of insects in check."


    Lucas scratched his head. "But Candace is not an insect. Why would her win make a difference in the power struggle between the bugs and the birds?"


    the Emperor turned gentle eyes at Lucas.


    He was not a politician or a PhD physician or even a businessman or Prime Warrior who needed to understand intergctic politics to do his job.


    He was an actor.


    It didn''t matter to the Emperor though. Each child had his or her own strengths and each was sessful in the field of their choice.


    "Because Son, she is the catalyst that will cause everything to explode if she wins."


    "So basically what you''re telling me is that there can be no winner of this Avgo Event other than a bird to retain status quo." Byron looked at his father.


    The Emperor turned to Byron with hard angry eyes.


    "The Avgo event was fixed thest time to retain status quo. It''s not the first time it has ever been fixed, and I doubt it will be thest time."


    "So even if Candace wins this Avgo Event, they will do something to subvert it and give the win to Valeria?" Byron''s face was a mask of fury.


    "I''m afraid so." The Emperor nodded. "Valeria will be your wife if no one intervenes."


    "We can''t allow them to take Candace''s Empress crown!" Byron mmed his fist on the dining table, rattling the dishes and the stemware.


    He absolutely did not want to marry Valeria. Candace was the woman he''d set his heart on and the only one he wanted to marry.


    "Are you willing to go up against your own kind?" Dante grinned a strangely malicious grin. "Your mother and your aunt have been scheming all these years to keep the throne in avian hands."


    "I want a fair and honest fight." Byron scowled.


    "Fairness is something that can only be enjoyed by the winners. My mother won a fair and honest fight and look what happened to her." Dante grounded.


    "We have to do something to protect Candace. She cannot lose!" Byron insisted.


    Dante stood over Byron, his full 6''4" height dwarfing the seated Crown Prince.


    "If she loses, you get to marry the winner and make her the future Empress sitting beside you. I will then have my chance to convince Candace to be my bride."


    "And if she wins?" Byron threw back.


    "If she wins, she will still be my bride. I am the rightful Crown Prince and I will fight tooth-and-nail for that position, especially if it means I will lose Candace without it."


    Byron seethed. "So you''re making me choose between Candace and¡­" he waved his hands to epass everything around them. "And status quo???"


    "Why yes." Dante nodded vigorously. "Yes I am. You can have the throne if your mother''s people are so adamant about pushing Candace out of her first ce position."


    He leaned forward, looking down upon the Crown Prince. His dazzling green eyes began to turn red with wicked unbridled malice.


    "Of course, this means you have to actively help them keep Candace from winning to keep your position as Crown Prince."


    Dante''s teeth began to lengthen.


    "You have to continue to look the other way when they do shit like surround Candace with armed assassins, or throw Ana?se off the rooftop. They''re doing all they can to keep your ass on the throne you know."


    Byron stood up, his eyes confrontational.


    "Why are you doing this, Dante?"


    "Because I don''t give a damn about the throne. I only care about Candace. I will only challenge you for the Crown Prince title, which is mine by rights, if that is the only way for her to be my wife."


    The Emperor sighed.


    He had known that this day woulde. The two brothers who yed with each other and cared for each other as children would face off and challenge each other.


    The only reason why Dante had not done so all these years was because he was stillying down his key chess pieces. Once all the pieces were in y, he would make his move and reim his rightful throne, both for himself and his mother.


    The only thing that threw a tiny monkey wrench into his ns was Candace. She was the one thing that was saving Byron from beingpletely overtaken by Dante.


    Emperor Rex turned to Dante.


    "Son. Understand this. If you im the throne, it will be due to your deposing the current Empress and reinstating your mother as Empress."


    "This means that Byron will also be deposed and will no longer be part of the royal family since what you do will also bring to light the fact that he is an illegitimate child of mine."


    "What???" The other Princes roared with discontent.


    No matter what had happened in the past, they were royal blood brothers and had always cared for each other.


    The fact that a woman was the cause of this wedge between them was an unforgivable offense.


    Of course, it was not Candace they were targeting their anger at. She had nothing to do with any of this.


    It was the Empress.

 Chapter 118 - May All The Flowers Bloom

    Byron''s brows furrowed. "I want to talk with Mother and my aunt."


    "And say what?" The Emperor sighed. "I''ve been cating her all these years for one reason. To protect you."


    "I wanted you to have a peaceful carefree life as the Crown Prince because that was what had been set up for you from the moment of your birth. If you confronted her and this whole situation blows sky high, the one hurt the most will be you."


    "But Father, I cannot sit back and watch them harm Candace or take away her Empress Crown!"


    "Even if it means you will not have a chance to be with her?" The Emperor asked.


    "Even if it means I get thrown out of the Royal Pce andbeled illegitimate for the rest of my life. I cannot allow Candace to be harmed by this."


    Ray Torra, who had been sitting quietly listening to all this debate suddenly jumped up.


    "Let''s get the Empress and her sister into this conversation, shall we? I, for one, am all forying everything out into the open and letting the sun shine down upon the world."


    He grinned with mischief. "May all the flowers bloom."


    He waved a couple of fingers and two other 3D visuals appeared, one on each side of the Emperor.


    Empress rissa was obviously the Empress by the extreme opulence of her clothing.


    Her sister, Lady Marissa was far less ostentatious but there was no mistaking the striking simrities between the two women.


    They were like peas in a pod. Same red hair, same blue eyes, same lilting way they held their heads.


    "My apologies for intruding upon your day, Empress, Lady Marissa." Ray Torra smiled. "I''ve invited both of you here today so that¡ª"


    "Mother!!!" Byron interrupted Ray''s soliloquy. "Why???"


    "Why what?" The Empress'' eyes darted from all the Princes to her husband. "What is wrong?"


    "The jig is up, rissa." The Emperor announced without his usual cheerful pomp. "The children all know what happened at thest Avgo event."


    "What do you mean?" She turned to him, her eyes full of concern and recrimination.


    "It had nothing to do with Rex. He kept his promise to you." Ray Torra cackled. "I was the one who showed the kids that video that everyone thought had been destroyed."


    He again waved his hand and the image of Anastasia wearing her crown and smiling into the crowd again showed up.


    The Empress'' face whitened.


    "This may have been true but she was disqualified because she was pregnant. Since I was in second ce, I took over the winning position."


    "Ah, but then that begs the question, now doesn''t it, rissa. Where''s Anastasia''s baby? The one that disqualified her from the Avgo Event?" Ray interjected.


    "He right over there!" She pointed at Dante. "He was the one responsible for his mother losing the Avgo Event. It had nothing to do with me!"


    Dante rolled his eyes. Did the Empress think he was a child who could not see through that baseless usation?


    He didn''t even get the chance to defend himself or his mother. A chorus of voices chimed in from all his brothers.


    "Dante is meless in that!"


    "He did nothing wrong!"


    "He wasn''t even born yet, how can you use him of anything???"


    "That''s ridiculous!!!"


    "Unbelievable!"


    "Boys," the Emperor held up his hand. Turning to the Empress, he gave her a hard stare.


    "You know rissa, I was expecting better of you than that. You are actually using my own son of being the cause of his mother''s failure to be Empress. So then let me ask you. Why is Dante not the Crown Prince?"


    "Because Byron is first born¡­"


    Toote! She recognized the folly of her words.


    rissa herself had hung her own throat using her own words against her.


    "Uh huh." Ray Torra gave an evil wicked grin. "Pray tell, rissa. How was it possible for you to have given birth to a first-born son when you weren''t even pregnant yet at the time when Dante had already been conceived?"


    The Empress rissa said nothing. The jig was truly up.


    And of course, since the jig was up, there was no more reason for the other part of the jig to be fully exposed.


    "She never gave birth to a first-born son." Marissa''s eyes were triumphant. "She never even had a son."


    She''d been wanting to shout this from the roof tops ever since she bore the child but had never been allowed to.


    "Her child is a first born daughter. Byron is my son!"


    Marissa looked around, fully expecting the news to be a huge bombshell.


    Nobody looked as if they cared.


    The Emperor turned cold and angry violet eyes at her. "So tell me, Marissa. Why did you give up your first-born son, and does your husband know about this?"


    Marissa fumed.


    Why was nobody reacting to the one secret she had been carrying within her all these years? She deserved some kind of reaction, damn it!!!


    "I was approached by rissa about trading ces for the duration of a few months so I could also be impregnated by you."


    The Emperor''s eyes grew deadly.


    Of course, he had known this had happened, but he had quietly kept it inside all this time to protect his son.


    He no longer needed to hold it in at this point.


    Marissa continued talking, missing the dangerous glint in the Emperor''s eyes.


    "rissa told me that if I bore a son and she a daughter, she would trade ces with me and I would be the Empress."


    She turned a disgusted stare at Dante.


    "We were doing this for the overall good of the gxy, after all. We cannot allow disgusting bugs to take over our gxy!"


    She turned back to rissa.


    "But then on the night that I gave birth to Byron, she stole him from me and discarded our agreement. I never could prove that he was my son because in his ce was the female child that she had given birth to."


    Marissa''s face turned ugly.


    "I have kept it in all these years because I didn''t want my son to be harmed by this evil woman, but no more."


    rissa''s face turned dark.


    "Lies!" She spat. "Byron is my son!"


    Marissaughed. "You are such an evil woman, rissa. You had your entire team of doctors killed off to keep the silence about your daughter''s birth, but you forgot something."


    Marissa red at her. "My physicians are all still alive and they will vouch for my son''s birth. We have visuals of him emerging from my body, a boy!!!"


    "Mother!!!" A voice shouted from the far end of the room. It was a strong female voice full of fury.


    Striding in was a long-legged red haired female wearing full warrior outfit, including all her insignias and rankings.


    Both rissa and Marissa turned to the sound of their daughter''s voice.


    "Poppy¡­" Byron called out with a hoarse strangled voice.

 Chapter 119 - Angels Dancing On The Head Of A Pin

    "Well, well. The Prodigal Princess returns to the fold." Ray Torra chanted in a sing-song voice.


    "Return?" Poppy retorted with a shrill voice. "I''m the throwaway child, remember? What is there to return to?"


    Ray Torra clicked his tongue.


    "Tch, tch, tch. You have a loving Father, seven loving brothers, and three loving sisters. Why are you allowing one unloving mother to deprive you of the other members of your family who love you?"


    "Poppy." Jason and Jared jumped up and ran to her side.


    "We just now heard about this." They each took her hand and led her into the group.


    As the other Princes reached out to her, Poppy suddenly realized that what Ray said was true. They did care about her.


    Byron turned to her, his eyes full of remorse.


    "I''m¡ªI''m d that we''re not just cousins but actual blood siblings. But I''m so sorry, and I''m sad that¡ª"


    "No!" Poppy punched Byron''s chest. "Don''t be sad and don''t apologize for any of this. None of it is your fault."


    She looked up at him with warm violet eyes that looked so much like the Emperor''s eyes, Byron was amazed that he never saw the connection.


    "I never said anything because I never wanted to destroy your world."


    "Poppy¡­" Byron choked up, and suddenly, they were both hugging and crying at the same time.


    Poppyposed herself and turned back to her parents who were still there. Throughout the entire time, they had said nothing.


    "You both disgust me." Poppy spat. "I can''t believe that both of you slept with the same man just to get a son, and I can''t believe you were both stupid enough to think that doing something like this was going to end well for either of you."


    Marissa opened her mouth, intending to say something, but the look that Byron gave her made her quake and quiver. The Empress wisely kept her mouth shut.


    "The one thing that surprised me the most was how long it took for all this toe to light." Poppyughed.


    "You would think that it would have been very clear once I reached puberty, and rather than growing feathers on my wings, like both my parents have, I grew bat wings instead. Hahaha!!!"


    "Wasn''t that right, Mother Dear," she gave Marissa an evil look, "the woman who sold me into very because you were so afraid that your husband would know that I was not his child."


    "What???" Byron''s face turned dark.


    "Yes. It''s true. She made a hefty amount of money from selling me off, and then she spread the word that I had run away from home." Poppyughed.


    "The Emperor found out quickly and arranged for me to be released, but by then, I didn''t care to leave the space pirates any more because they treated me so much better than my own family did."


    "They didn''t¡ªhurt you?"


    Poppy shook her head. "They saw my bat wings and knew I was a Princess. They treated me like royalty."


    Byron sighed. "I thought space pirates were¡­"


    "Savages?" Poppy shook her head. "There is high honor among thieves and pirates. When te came to escort me home, the Pirate King released me into his care and wished me well."


    She turned to te. "He was the first brother to figure out that I was his blood sister." She turned to Dante. "And second was Dante."


    "Now that we know," Lucas murmured. "You won''t be able to get rid of us. We''ll be hanging around you so much you''ll get so tired of us."


    Poppy''s eyes glistened with unshed tears. Surrounded by her seven brothers, she suddenly felt as if she had finallye home.


    Ray Torra harrumphed.


    "So now that the kids are in agreement that Poppy be reinstated to her rightful ce, what are you adults going to do?"


    The Emperor sneered. "I''ve only been keeping things quiet because I did not want to damage my son. But now that it''s alle out into the open, I need to do what needs to be done."


    He turned to his children.


    "Poppy. I expect no more stubbornness from you."


    Poppy looked down. "Yes, Father."


    He nodded, apparently satisfied by her answer. He looked at his other children.


    "Expect to be hearing from me within the next few days. I will be in touch with each of you individually."


    He waved to his children and winked out of sight. Of the two women beside him, the Emperor did not even bother to acknowledge.


    Ray Torra cleared his throat.


    "Welp. I think you women are done here. Your chickens havee home to roost and now you''re going to have to figure out what to do with the consequences."


    He looked at Marissa. "Has your husband figured out by now that his second daughter is not his?"


    He turned to rissa. "I suggest you go pack your bags. Take what you want from the Queen''s Pce but leave the Empress crown. That''s an ancient royal treasure and if you''re caught with it, punishment is immediate execution."


    With a wave of his hand, the women also disappeared from sight. He turned back to the siblings and Candi.


    "I''m only going to say this once, so you boys, and Poppy too, listen carefully." He put down his pipe.


    "What you siblings have that is most enviable is the fact that you all truly love each other and support each other through the worst of times."


    He cleared his throat and looked down with a grave face.


    "Consider this one of those ''worst'' times. Whether your familyes through this intact or whether you break apart due to the stress that others bring is entirely up to you."


    He turned his eyes on Candi.


    "You, child, are one of the major stresses that they are trying to deal with right now."


    Candipressed her lips.


    "I''m not saying you caused any of this," he shook his head. "But there is no denying that you are a source of contention between the brothers. You will also have to figure out what your best course of action is from this point forward."


    Ray sighed. "There is one more thing you boys must take into ount."


    "Even at this moment, there is rumbling of massive war because of Ana?se Paroles'' death."


    He jabbed the end of his pipe at them.


    "Haribou is threatening to withhold sales of weaponry to whoever is responsible. The side that they will stop selling to is the side that will lose this entire war."


    "Isn''t it obvious that it''s the birds who are backing Valeria Marakesh?" Leonardo asked.


    "Not necessarily. It could also be the bugs who did this to implicate the birds hoping that Haribou will attack the birds, giving the bugs a distinct advantage."


    That''s why right now, the birds are pointing fingers at the bugs and the bugs are pointing fingers at the birds."


    He eyed them with sharp looks.


    "Well guess what. Among you kids, there are two birds and a bug. How you treat each other is going to be indicative of what Haribou is going to do, so tread lightly."


    "There is also the matter of the Crown Prince." He sighed. "The Erenveil Empire has been poised on the head of a pin for the longest time, and we''ve shifted positions back and forth to maintain the bnce."


    "You boys are the angels dancing on the head of that pin.. Whether the Empire topples over or remains bnced on that pin depends on your collective actions at this very crucial moment."

 Chapter 120 - Magic And Illusion

    Dinner was a muted affair after Ray Torra left.


    They talked about everything except what was on everyone''s mind.


    Byron didn''t talk much. He sat there in a daze as the conversation rolled around him.


    Poppy was kept talking throughout the entire dinner as her brothers asked questions about her life and about herself.


    They were making up for lost time since they knew so little about this woman who, until today, was just someone they had considered to be Byron''s maternal cousin.


    Candi sat next to Dante and te, eating whatever they ced on her te and saying very little.


    These two, the youngest and the eldest, were carrying her through the entire meal, allowing her to sit in rtive silence and simply being there for her.


    She had not forgotten that she had yet to respond to the very public proposal that Byron had given her immediately before the shocking news of Princess Ana?se Paroles'' death. It would have to wait until she could get him alone and in private.


    They all tried very hard to stay away from the most explosive of the bombshells that had exploded today, but eventually, the conversations began steering back to the Avgo and Dante''s role in canceling the Events.


    "I''ve already canceled it. I''m not going to call all my CEOs back and say, Oops!" He held up a hand to his mouth inedic style, "my bad!"


    He red at them with such an intense look that the men all whooped and roared withughter. Even Byron and Candace shook with mirth.


    "But Brother," te said in between gasps ofughter. "I think the only way for us to get to the bottom of who is actually responsible for killing Ana?se after failing to kill Candace, is for us to hold the next Avgo Event."


    "Do you honestly think that reinstating the Avgo Events will help flush out the perpetrators?" Dante asked


    "Yes," te nodded. "And now that we know the threat is real to the candidates, we will be much more stringent with security. I will be there myself to protect her."


    "Me too."


    "Yes, so will I."


    "Count me in."


    "That makes seven of us."


    All the Princes nodded in agreement.


    Candace shook her head.


    "I''m absolutely going to fail that one."


    "Why???" The twins both asked in unison.


    "Have you guys forgotten what the next event is?" Candace stared at Jason and Jared. "It''s Magic and Illusion."


    They looked at her and shook their heads, not fully grasping what she was trying to tell them.


    "Guys!" She yelled. "I can''t do magic! I''m from Earth. We don''t have magic on Earth!"


    For a moment, they all stared at her with shocked eyes. And then again, all the men erupted withughter.


    They pped each other on the back and guffawed so loudly that their noise startled the servants who were standing around in service.


    She turned away from them, the colors of embarrassment high on her cheeks.


    Poppy smiled with no malice.


    "Candace. I think my brothers know by now that you have no magic, or at least what''s understood as magic in our definition as such."


    "If they know, then why are theyughing at me? If I try to enter this event, I''ll beughed off the stage." Candace scowled.


    "Darling, we areughing because it''s such a stupid event that''s not even worth holding." Dante reached out and touched her head. "It''s just traditionally been an event that the Avgo women use to entertain the crowd."


    te smiled. "Remember, this is the top three contestants, gold, silver, and bronze. They are winners already so they can rx a bit. This event is all mostly illusion. It has very little real magic in it because truth be told, the real magic has already been exhibited at the very first event."


    "First event? The Face and Grace Sky Walk?" Candi asked.


    "No Babe," te smiled. "The Verification of the Avgo when you all exhibited magic of the highest most ancient form, the Avgo Magic."


    Leonardo smiled. "You actually surprised everyone there bymanding your Avgo to stop the cyclone. At that moment, you no longer had to prove your ability to use magic. You were already wielding it with ss and style and everyone could see it."


    "I was so proud of you at that moment." Dante touched his forehead to hers. "We all were. At this point, if all you did was walk onto that ss stage and simply took a bow, we''d all cheer and you''d get first ce."


    Candi chewed her lip and thought about it for a few moments.


    "So if I just do some illusion show, I''ll be okay and people won''t call me a fraud or something?"


    "That''s right." Lucas grinned. "The Event itself is called Magic and Illusion. Whether you do magic or illusion is not the point. The point is whether you put on a show well enough to entertain people. They already know all of you have Avgo magic."


    "Okay fine. I''ll figure out something. I think I can do a couple of card tricks¡­" she muttered even as the men around herughed.


    "So what about the fact that the Gctic Organization has petitioned the Board of Directors to include Valeria Marakesh as the third contestant since we no longer have Ana?se?" Jason asked.


    "I think we should allow Valeria to take Ana?se''s ce." te said.


    "I think te has a point." Poppy leaned forward, her eyes narrowing in thought. "If we include Valeria into the next Avgo Event, we can observe all the known birds and see exactly what will happen when she loses again."


    "How do you know she will lose?" Jared asked. "Out of all the Avgo Females, Valeria actually has the most magic skills."


    Poppy smiled. "It''s as you said. This event is not so much about real magic as it is showmanship and the ability to wow people with the magic and illusion you are creating."


    The men looked at her with nk stares.


    "You guys!!!" Poppy pped her forehead in mock distress, even as Candaceughed.


    "They don''t see it do they?" Candi chuckled.


    "Obviously not!" Poppy agreed. "They''re dunderheads."


    "What? Tell us what we don''t see!" Lucas sounded tortured.


    "Valeria Marakesh has the least showmanship and stage presence of all the candidates." Candaceughed.


    "Bingo!" Poppy nodded. "She is the biggest stick-in-the-mud Avgo female of the group. She is dull and unexciting, and is so boring to watch onstage, it''s painful."


    Poppy pointed a finger at Candi and gave a big grin. "And what does this event require?"


    "SHOWMANSHIP!" Both Candi and Poppy announced.


    "Once she loses again, the birds are going to try something drastic to get her back into the running." Poppy pursed her lips with finality.. "What that is, we are just going to have to wait and see."

 Chapter 121 - Rightful Heir

    It was almost midnight in Erenveil and yet, the Second Prince was still standing by the firece within his study, staring into the flickering mes.


    The warmth of the fire kept his mind anchored to the reality that he had suddenly found himself. This was one of the most explosive days in his entire life.


    There had been so many things that had been revealed to him that he could barely hold onto his humanity.


    There was the surety and steadfastness of his deep love for Candace. There was also the pride of finally being able to announce to the world that he was a legitimate Crown Prince who had been born to an Avgo winner, no less.


    And intermingled between these two shining thoughts was the sublime satisfaction of seeing his mother''s opponent finally ousted from her position.


    All these things kept shing through his mind in session, making him dizzy at times.


    "Have the visions appeared from the mes? Have you seen any way out of this dilemma you''ve created for yourself?" A voice called out from within the room.


    Dante smiled.


    "Don''t you ever announce yourself when youe to visit, Father?"


    "I didn''t think parents had to ask permission to see their child." Another voice called out.


    Mother!


    Dante''s eyes lit up and he turned around.


    There, in the flesh, was his own parents. This was no visual or 3D call. They were really here!


    The Emperor''s raven ck hair and stormy violet eyes contrasted greatly with his white and gold royal robes.


    Standing next to him was the ethereal Anastasia, looking even more lovely than she did thest time he saw her at the Royal Ball. She was also dressed in the full white and gold royal robes that matched Father''s.


    Dante''s eyes glistening with unshed tears as he caught the dull glimmer of the Empress crown on her head, resting on her long blue hair as if it had always been there.


    Finally. After so many years, Mother had finally been able to take her rightful ce as Empress of Erenveil.


    He made his way to the both of them and held out his hand.


    Mother ignored it and reached out with her entire body, enfolding him into her arms.


    She was a tall Nymphalidaen woman but Dante was a full five inches taller than she was. Nevertheless, there was no doubt he was still the young child she cared for.


    His body shrank into hers as he rested his head on her shoulder while she rubbed his back. It was as before, when she wasforting her only child.


    "I was expecting to speak with at least one of you tonight, but I did not expect for you to be here personally." He whispered softly into her neck.


    "It was important." The Emperor responded in his deep gravelly voice.


    "We needed to discuss this very important situation with you and it must be done in person. This is in regards to the position of Crown Prince."


    "Byron..." Dante sighed and paused.


    He did not know what to say. The position of Crown Prince was always something he knew should have been his, but when he thought about Byron, it had always given him pause.


    Byron was his blood brother. That fact had never changed.


    "Byron has told us he will step down from the position. It is now your mantle to pick up, and in fact, you must do it." The Emperor''s eyes were grave.


    "The Empire cannot be without a Crown Prince. If something were to happen to me tomorrow, it would be chaos."


    He reached out with both hands and ced them on Dante''s shoulders.


    "We need to ensure a calm and peaceful session of the throne by someone powerful enough to maintain the stability of the Empire."


    "Is there any way for him to keep the Crown Prince title?" Dante asked.


    Although he knew it was his title by rights, it still felt as if he was robbing it from his brother.


    Anastasia looked up at him, her bright green eyes, the color of ss.


    "You are my son. If I am to be Empress, you must be the Crown Prince. There can be no other way."


    The Emperor cleared his throat.


    "I have been grooming you to take over the throne for your entire life, Dante. You are the only one I can trust to do this."


    Dante looked at his father, confused. "I don''t understand."


    "Son." The Emperorughed. "Why do you think I''ve been steering you into the role of controlling the vast riches of the gxy?" The Emperor''s violet eyes sparkled like amethysts.


    "Power¡ªreal poweres from the ability to make things happen and do what must be done for your voice to wield the power it needs to be an Emperor. People must quake at the sound of your voice."


    He held out his hands in a grand gesture.


    "To you, my son, I have bequeathed the real power of the Emperor''s throne."


    Dante took a deep breath. He knew much of what he had initially been able to attain had been with the Emperor''s assistance and at his Father''s direction and guidance.


    He had always thought it was because Father felt guilty about not being able to treat Mother as the Empress she truly was and this was the way for him to assuage his guilt.


    It was the first time he had heard his fathere out and state with finality that he had been groomed to take over the throne.


    Dante swallowed a huge lump that was forming within his throat. He didn''t want to cry again but he could not help himself.


    The Emperor cleared his throat and patted him on the back awkwardly.


    This son of his had always been the most sensitive child. Who ever heard of a sensitive Emperor?


    He had to toughen up his son a bit more. Teach him how tough and be boisterous when emotions bogged him down.


    "But what will happen to Byron?"


    Anastasia turned her green eyes and gazed at her son.


    "He is still your brother. That will never change. However, as an illegitimate child of a woman who has been divorced from her husband, he will be stripped of the title of Prince of Erenveil and be given a lesser title of Duke¡­unless I agree to adopt him as my child."


    Dante sighed. So Marissa had gotten a bted divorce for having a child out of wedlock, and Byron would have to step back into that big mess.


    "Please adopt him, Mother." Dante stated baldly.


    Anastasia gave him a hard stare.


    "His mother and aunt have treated us like trash and lesser beings all through your childhood and that treatment has never changed a bit, even after you grew up."


    She eyed him with a searching re.


    "Are you sure you want to give quarter where none was given to you?"


    Dante shook his head.


    "That was rissa and her sister. Byron never treated me badly. Sure, he was a bit pompous and arrogant at times, but he''s like that with all the brothers, and only because he thought he was the eldest brother."


    Anastasia nodded. She had taught him well.


    "Understand that even if I adopt him, he has forfeited the Crown Prince title. Although he will still hold the title of Prince, he will not be able to seed the throne since an adopted child cannot take the Crown Prince title."


    Dante nodded.


    That meant Dante himself would be Crown Prince, and Lucas would, in turn, be the Second Prince, with the rest of the Princes changing their session numbers.


    Those numbers in front of their titles were important designations because they denoted the cement in the line of session to the throne. If something were to happen to him, Lucas would be the next Emperor of Erenveil.


    Suddenly the thought of the shy, extremely handsome Prince taking over Father''s throne made Danteugh.


    Lucas was the least capable of them all to be Emperor and yet, he was next in line right behind Dante.

 Chapter 122 - Bloody Bat

    Morning brought with it a major change that was palpable to hear and see and feel.


    At the moment that Candi woke up, there were several attendants who had arrived to assist her with bathing and dressing.


    Although she could never get used to the idea that these attendants didn''t think she could wash her own hair or clip her own toe nails, she still let them do whatever it was that they did.


    It was just easier to acquiesce than to make a huge protest and end up having to allow them to do whatever it was that they were going to do any way.


    It was a strange morning indeed. They had pulled out a beautiful white and gold dress that she had never seen before and dressed her in it. Then, they had fussed with her hair and makeup until she looked as if she was ready to go to a royal ball.


    It was barely 8 AM. She hadn''t even had breakfast yet. It was also useless asking them the reason for the dress up. They knew even less than she did.


    "This way, please, Princess." They gave a gesture and led her out of her quarters.


    Halfway through the walk, they passed by the library, and as she walked past therge double doors, Candi saw a light through the window of the library.


    "Wait." She held out her hand.


    "Princess, we have been told to take you directly to the Alcove Gardens."


    She turned to the handmaids. "Give me a few minutes."


    They looked at each other.


    "If I am the Princess, you must listen to my request. I need a few minutes."


    "Yes, Your Royal Highness." They bowed.


    "Stay right here. I will be right back." She held out a hand and turned towards the door.


    No one should be in the library at this time. A light within was a serious anomaly.


    Candi poked her head in through the doorway and nced about. There was no one in the anterior of the library. The light was further back, within the section that housed the museum.


    She narrowed her eyes and slowly crept into the central chamber where the art pieces were showcased. The light wasing from between two book cases.


    Slowly, Candi moved forward until she could clearly see the light.


    There in the corner was the shivering form of a bat. He was huddling in between therge impressive life-size stone sculpture of a male Erenveil bat warrior and arge carved omphalos.


    Dante???


    No. This was not Dante. His form was different from Dante''s.


    She moved closer to him, noting for the first time, his long dark copper red hair and hisrge muscr frame.


    "Byron?" She whispered.


    The form that was Byron hid his face into his wings and waved his hand in a gesture that told her with desperation to go away.


    But of course, Candi had never been one to walk away from such pain and suffering.


    She came closer to him and reached out to touch his hand.


    Byron''s body jerked, as if in shock.


    He pulled his hand back, curling even tighter into his shell.


    "Byron. It''s me, Candace."


    "Go away. Leave me alone." His voice sounded muffled and bleak.


    "I''m not going away and I''m not leaving you alone." She moved even closer until she was almost touching him.


    Up close, she could see where he had torn handfuls of fur from his body and where his wings had been shed until they bled.


    It all looked self-inflicted.


    "Oh Byron." She whispered and cradled his body within her own.


    Byron''s bloody gashes and raw patches of skin bled all over the brand new white outfit she had just been carefully dressed in but Candi didn''t care.


    "Sheath your ws Darling," she murmured. "If you identally touch me with them, you will give me puncture wounds."


    Byron''s body stiffened. Slowly, he retracted his ws and reached out to hold her.


    Suddenly, his grip tightened and he clutched onto her like a drowning man.


    "Oh Candace," he choked. "My life is such a huge mess. I don''t know what to do. I''m so ashamed and embarrassed."


    "Hush Darling. It''s okay. It will all work out." She murmured into his ear.


    "I can''t¡ªI can''t face my family and my brothers." He whispered, weeping openly.


    "You know they still love you so very much, and you''re still part of the family."


    "I don''t¡­I don''t know that."


    "Of course you do. You''re still here inside Dante''s Moon, aren''t you?"


    "Of course but what does that¡ª"


    "Dante does not allow anyone inside his Moon unless they are family, or his own people. I''m the exception. I''m not family or his servants and workers."


    "Who said you''re not family? You are wearing the royal robes."


    For the first time, she looked down and noticed the gold embroidered patterns of the Erenveil crest on her white outer robe.


    "I wasn''t sure why the handmaids dressed me in such fancy robes just to go have breakfast."


    "It is because the Emperor and Empress are here. You are dressed in this manner to greet them as their Daughter-inw." Byron closed his eyes.


    "You should go and meet them. Leave me be. I am no longer worthy to be with you." He began sobbing again.


    "I am not the Crown Prince. My life has been a total lie."


    "Byron," she touched his face with gentle fingers. "You are still the Emperor''s son. You are still worthy, and you are still so very valued and loved."


    He crouched there, in that corner, shaking with the grief and pain of loss of dignity. And Candace held him as he worked through wave after wave of grief.


    "I love you Candace." He whispered to her. "And because I love you, I am withdrawing my marriage proposal to you. You deserve a better man than me."


    "Byron¡ª"


    "Hush. Listen to me. As I am right now, I have nothing to offer you. It will take me time to rebuild myself, and once I do, if you are still avable, I will return and I will ask you to marry me again. But for now, the we that was us is gone."


    "Where will you go? Your family is here! Please don''t go anywhere." Candi''s eyes grew rmed.


    He reached out and cradled her face in between his hands. "It won''t matter where I go because you will always be with me here in my heart."


    She sighed. He was not listening to her. She needed bigger guns.


    "I want you to clean yourself up ande have breakfast with me and the family."


    "Candace." He shook his head.


    "Will you refuse to do the one thing I''m asking?" She threw out her chin in challenge.


    Where was the proud Prince of Erenveil that she once knew? He still had to be there somewhere inside this hurt and quivering humanoid bat.


    In frustration, she pulled his face down and gave him a hard fierce kiss.


    With a gasp, Byron''s body stiffened. His red-brown eyes widened as he realized what had just happened.


    The woman he loved and thought he''d lost was kissing him with an urgency that matched how he felt about her.


    He uttered a guttural groan deep within his chest and reached out to cup her blonde head in hisrge hands. Unable to hold himself back, he returned her kiss with an even more intense urgency.


    Oh God. She tasted so good. And he was starving to death.


    Her kisses were healing him from the inside out and staunching the blood flow. His world was no longer so bleak, no longer so damned. His torn and bloody soul was bing whole again.


    It was a while longer that he was able to let her go, once his desperation and hunger was no longer so sharp and acute that it caused him pain.


    Byron sighed and flexed his muscles. In one swift move, his wings retracted and disappeared.


    Once again, the Byron that she knew appeared before her, wearing the ck bodysuit of the Erenveil warrior.


    He stood up and helped her to her feet. Then, he looked her over carefully and began touching the various bloody spots on her gown with his fingers, magically removing the stains. Within minutes, she was spotless as before.


    "You have to heal yourself too." Candace turned and inspected his warrior outfit with a critical eye. "You cannot appear in front of them in such a bloody outfit."


    She touched his ripped and torn bloodstained suit with gentle fingers.


    "We also can''t go to breakfast with you smelling so bloody." She wrinkled her nose. "I wouldn''t be able to eat."


    For the first time since the fallout, Byron began tough.

 Chapter 123 - A New Royal Lineup

    Breakfast was supposed to have started, but everyone was still sitting around, waiting.


    Poppy and her brothers were all seated around arge table making small talk with the Emperor and Empress, trying not to broadcast the fact that they were all waiting for someone.


    Thirty minutester, the Emperor gave a signal. He was hungry and he was no longer willing to wait. Just as he was about to give the order for the food to be brought out, a smallmotion sounded at the doorway.


    "Cancandi!" Leonardo jumped up and went to greet her. "Is everything okay?"


    Leave it to the doctor of the family to think the worst possible thing could have happened to someone who camete to a nned gathering.


    "I''m fine!" She reached out and took hold of his hand. "I just had to spend a bit of time with someone important."


    Behind her, the tall red-head figure of Byron came up from behind. He smiled a greeting at everyone but his eyes were bleak.


    "Byron." The Emperor stood up. "Have a seat Son."


    Now that he understood the reason for Candace''s tardiness, he was thankful that she actually took the time to convince Byron to join the breakfast.


    Another signal from the Emperor and the breakfast items began streaming out¡ªPancakes and eggs, meats and cheeses, cereals and pastries, and a plethora of fruits that were so exotic, Candi had never even seen most of them.


    The twins jumped up and pulled Candi in between them.


    "Here we go. Passion fruit juice for you. And also some water." Jason began pouring her juice and water.


    "Here''s an extra napkin for you." Jared covered herp with another cloth napkin from the stash on the table. "This white outfit shows every little bit of crumb and dirt. It''s a nightmare to clean because magic has to be used on it to keep it this pristine."


    "Yes, will the next Emperor please consider using brown as the royal garb?" Jason eyed Dante whoughed and wisely kept his mouth shut.


    Candi smiled. They were fussing over her as if they hadn''t seen her in ages when, in reality, they''d just had dinner with her the night before.


    Byron took his ce next to Poppy and Dante, his eyes downcast.


    He continued to say nothing as the food was brought out, even as Poppy and Dante were slipping food onto his te.


    They said very little to him and allowed him to sit there among the noisy family, but their actions were clear. They both cared about him, no matter what had happened.


    "Take a look at these fresh fruits and vegetables," te pointed to the table filled with exotics. "These all came from Laroche Gardens."


    "Yes. We have a direct connection with the King of Laroche Gardens after we returned Olivia to her world." Danteughed. "Now, it''s as if the fruits are on a constant stream, thanks to te."


    "I didn''t do much." te cut into a strawberry looking fruit that was the size of a watermelon and began slicing them into smaller servings.


    "Are you kidding? The Princess Olivia Faraday ispletely besotted with te!" Danteughed. "She''s totally in love with him and kept calling him her rescuer and knight in shining armor!"


    te nced over at Candace and shook his head, as if to tell her not to worry about it and that he waspletely unaffected by Olivia.


    Candace smiled. As if she didn''t know.


    te had been secretly trying to find a way to be alone with her the entire time, but with so many people around, he hadn''t even been able to steal a kiss let alone do anything more substantial.


    She smiled into her napkin. He had been looking so frustratedtely, prowling around like a starving wolf¡­perhaps she needed to feed him a bit,ter on tonight¡­


    The Emperor reached out and took a slice of the strawberry and gave te a meaningful look.


    "It wouldn''t be a bad idea, te, if you thought about Olivia as more than just a damsel in distress whom you just rescued. They are one of the strongest insectoid worlds in the gxy and would make very strong allies." The Emperor pursed his lips.


    "Father. I truly haven''t given Olivia Faraday a single thought other than getting her out of the hands of the Pirates."


    te ced slices of strawberries onto the Empress'' te as well as Candi''s and Poppy''s te.


    "You could just fake it like your brother is doing with that Hollow woman," the Emperor smiled at te who merely grimaced in distaste.


    He turned to Lucas. "And how is that going, by the way?"


    Lucas turned beet red. "It''s going well."


    He was not about to go into the details of the sordid situation and what he''d had to do to make Dahlia think he liked her.


    To be honest, Lucas still had no idea what the reason was for wooing Dahlia, but since his brothers hade up with the game n, he was simply doing his part to carry the ball to the goal line and trust that they had a good n in ce.


    "Well, I''m d that we are all here today as I need to announce a few things, as well as rify other situations." The Emperor cleared his throat.


    "As you know, there''s been some changes." He looked over at Byron and Poppy. "I will make an announcement to the gxy that Poppy is my daughter and a Princess of Erenveil."


    He turned to Byron. "I will also be making another announcement that Byron is still my son and also a Prince of Erenveil, but the Crown Prince will now be Dante."


    "Father," Byron looked up. "It is not necessary to perpetuate a lie. I will not continue to live my life under such a hanging sword."


    "You are my son in every sense of the word. Within your blood is the blood that runs true, the Royal Blood of Erenveil. That has never been a lie. The only thing that was ever needed was to legitimize what was already the truth."


    The Emperor rubbed his brows. "Now, since it sickens me to think about marrying your biological mother, the other option I have, which is far more desirable, is to simply adopt you into the Royal Family."


    "Father. Adoption requires¡­" he turned to the Empress Anastasia.


    There was no need for him to say what everyone already knew, that an adoption required the approval of the Empress.


    And what Empress in her right mind would approve of Byron, given the mistreatment that she had suffered at the hands of his aunt and his mother?

 Chapter 124 - The War Between Avians And Insectoids

    The Empress nodded her head gracefully.


    "We are still a family. As far as our children are concerned, nothing has changed."


    Anastasia inclined her head as she looked at each of them in turn.


    "I''ve watched each of you boys growing up over the years, into the sessful and amazing men that you have be, and I am very proud of each of you."


    Turning back to Byron, her green eyes shone withpassion.


    "Byron. Even though a cyclone has ripped through and torn the very fabric of our family apart, I will do everything in my power to mend it and strengthen the bonds of our family."


    "You have always been one of the seven Princes of Erenveil and you will always be one of the seven Princes." The Empress insisted with earnest eyes.


    She turned to Poppy with a bright smile. "The only difference is that you''ll need to get used to having a new sister in the family."


    Byron turned to Poppy. She looked so happy now that she had finally been epted into the family that she was meant to have been a part of, he could not bear to crush her joy.


    He turned back to the Emperor and Empress.


    "I thank you both for your kindness. Erenveil has been the only home I''ve known all my life and I will always think of it as my home."


    The brothers suddenly turned sharp nces at Byron. They did not like where this conversation was going.


    "But I''ve been contacted by the Emperor of the Worlds of Coraline, where my maternal grandparents reside."


    He sighed. "They want me to return to Coraline to help strengthen our ties with them."


    "Of course they do. The new Empress is a butterfly, which is a major threat to them." The Emperor sniffed with disdain.


    "Avians and Insectoids have been at war, both hot and cold, for as long as there has been a record of history," Empress Anastasia sighed. "All we can do is maintain the bnce as best we can so the gxy can continue to exist as a rtively stable ce for our children to grow and thrive."


    Byron''s red-brown eyes glinted. "Father, Mother Empress. Now that my aunt and mother have been sent back to the Moons of Coraline, I am afraid that if my steady influence is not there, the scales will be tipped."


    He turned to Anastasia. "I have gotten word that there are warships already being deployed to your world. Something to do with broken pacts of peace."


    The Emperor stabbed his eggs with a vicious jab. "The pact that Anastasia will give up her Empress throne to maintain peace for Nymphalidae."


    "That was before rissa and Marissa did such despicable evil acts that make my iron-d stomach revolt with disgust. Anastasia reiming her rightful throne was because rissa did something that I should have taken her head for."


    "The only reason why her punishment was banishment and not death was because I did not want to start an inteary incident andunch immediate war on top of all our heads."


    It was true.


    Regardless of what rissa and Marissa had done, they were still Princesses of the Emperor of Coraline. The death of either of these women would have escted tensions into levels that would be irrecoverable.


    War was imminent, but they didn''t have to push the button so soon.


    te narrowed his eyes. "I have a dozen Royal Erenveil warships flying round and round Nymphalidae with the excuse that it is just military exercise to keep the equipment from deteriorating. I could send more there."


    Byron gave him a bleak look. "There are two hundred warships from the Moons of Coral headed there at this moment. They will be there in about a week."


    The Empress'' eyes glistened. The thought that her world would be ground zero, the proxy battle field for the never-ending war between the Avians and the Insectoids was just too much for her to handle.


    "Wait. That is when the next Avgo Event will happen." Dante spoke up. "I have not yet reinstated the events."


    "You canceled the events?" The Emperor gasped, his eyes bulging with surprise.


    "Yes, Father. I canceled it because the most recent murder attempt on Candace had gotten so ring and obvious that it wasn''t even a covert attempt. Someone is truly trying to kill her."


    "But it is the Magic and Illusions Event! That''s the best one of all the Avgo events." His eyes were tragic. "And besides, there are seven of you boys. Don''t tell me you can''t protect a single girl."


    "Of course we can!"


    "Absolutely!"


    "They will not have a chance to touch my Candace."


    "She is off-limits!"


    "I will not allow that to happen!"


    All the men chorused at once.


    Poppyughed. Her brothers were so cute. But cute didn''t quite cut the mustard in this situation. They needed to know exactly what was happening in order to avoid a catastrophic result.


    "We do have an idea who is behind thatst incident, Dante." She spoke up into the rabble of Princes.


    Dante turned to her. His Inquisitors were still working through the huge number of people, but it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.


    "Who?"


    "It looks like something that was instigated by the Gctic Organization." Poppy''s violet eyes narrowed with thought.


    "Wait a minute. That''s the group that petitioned the Board of Directors to include Valeria Marakesh as the third contestant because Ana?se died." Jason interjected.


    "Yes, it is," she nodded.


    "Wait. Why would the Gctic Organization try to kill off Avgo Females but still want to include Valeria Marakesh as a contestant for the next event? That sounds so oxymoronic." Lucas shook his head.


    Leonardo sighed. "It''s because the Gctic Organization wants a bird to win in a legitimate fashion so the next Empress will be Avian."


    "They were trying to kill one of the contestants because Valeria hadpletely fallen off the ranks and the only way to get her back on was for one of the ranking finalists to die an unfortunate death."


    "Right." Jared nodded. "They couldn''t kill Candace so they went after Ana?se."


    Poppy spread out her hands in a gesture of futility. "The biggest problem we have is that the Gctic Organization is made up of hundreds of delegates from each of the most powerful First Worlds around the Gxy."


    She clicked her tongue. "Narrowing down that list is a huge chore, and one that won''t happen within the tiny time frame we have."


    "But Sister, of those delegates, fully half of them are from bird worlds because the birds are so powerful throughout the gxy." te said.


    "So if we eliminate all the non-Avian delegates¡­" Dante suggested.


    te turned to Dante with a nod.


    "Put all your Inquisitors into investigating the Avians. If we concentrate on the Avian delegates, we just might make it in time.." te finished with a powerful reverberating voice.

 Chapter 125 - Lucas To The Rescue!

    "Illusion. Have to focus on illusion. What the hell can I do that''s illusive¡­" Candi muttered to herself as she did her warm up stretches in front of the mirror in the dance hall.


    Dante had yet again remodeled the ce for her because he wanted to give her better lighting, one that could change colors based upon the music as well as her performance.


    He had also added a changing room with a huge shower and a bathtub the size of a small swimming pool so she didn''t have to walk the five minutes back to her suite of rooms to shower and change.


    He had turned it into a ce for her to go and work out her frustrations and also to think things through and she waspletely grateful and amazed that he had even done this.


    It had been two full days since thest event, which meant she only had five days left to n out how to pull off an illusion.


    It had to be some form of an illusion because sure as the sun rises, there was no way she would be able to do real magic.


    Candi leaped into the air, performed an aerial split and came back down into a twirl from which she sank onto the floor and buried her face.


    "Aaaaaahhhhh!!!" What was she to do with this Illusion event?


    "Darling! Did you hurt yourself?" She heard Byron calling out as he ran into the dance hall.


    What in heck was he doing here in the dance hall at this time of the morning?


    "No, no." Candi looked up with some embarrassment. "I was just thinking about the Illusion Magic show and realized that I have no idea how to pull something like this off."


    She looked up at Byron''s mesmerizing red-brown eyes, full of worry and care. "And I was just¡ªjust¡­"


    Suddenly, tears sprang from her eyes. Candi had been so worried about this event for days now, and it seemed as if she had nowhere to turn and no solid n.


    Unlike the other events where she felt at least capable of doing something to pull it off, this was one where Candi felt very far out of her league, especially whenpared to mystical magical women like Valeria and Ana?se and Jenna.


    She was just a mundane Earth female with no magic abilities whatsoever. How in hell was she going to be able to go up against the likes of women who could do real magic?


    Byron picked her up and cradled her into his arms.


    "Hush Darling." He kissed her forehead. This was totally uneptable. He could not bear to see her in such pain.


    "I have an idea. Want to hear it?"


    "Yes, please." She sniffled as she tried to wipe the tears that were truly starting to fall.


    He carried her over to the settee and set her down with care.


    "You just stay here for a few minutes. I will be right back."


    True to his words, in ten minutes, he had returned. Following immediately behind him was Lucas.


    "Here she is, the star of the show. Lucas, Little Brother. You''re an actor. Your new job is to help our Precious Candace perform a spectacr illusion show."


    Lucas'' amber eyes sparkled with excitement.


    To have the opportunity to be with Candace AND do the thing that he loved the most was something that Lucas never thought he would have had the chance to do.


    And here she was, asking for his help to put on a show! This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him to be a director of her Avgo Magic and Illusion show!!!


    "Do you have any thoughts about what you might¡­" At her sad pathetic look, Lucas inhaled deeply, trying hard not to burst outughing.


    She was so funny and cute at the same time, even as sad as she was over something that was so easily remedied.


    "Okay. Let me think for a moment." He jumped up and walked back and forth.


    "Hmmm. Maybe we can try for a starlet look¡­" He shook his head. "No. You''re not a starlet, you''re already a star."


    He banged a fist onto his palm. "An explosive meteorite!"


    Again he shook his head. "No. That''s too dangerous, and besides, you''re not a falling star, you''re on the rise!"


    "Hmmm. Maybe instead of a star, you can be a bird, or a butterfly!" He rubbed his face.


    "No, that''s too boring." Lucas once again rejected his own idea. "rissa is a bird and the Empress is a butterfly. We want you to be different."


    "How about a bat?" Candace suggested.


    Lucas snapped his fingers!


    "That''s PERFECT!!!" He ran around the room, holding onto his head as if he could barely contain all the ideas and inspiration that began to sh inside of him.


    "Hahaha! Okay. I have a good idea, but I''m gonna need a bit of assistance." He turned to Candace and reached out with both hands to cradle her head.


    "Trust me, Darling. We''re going to make you a STAR!!!" He dropped a hard kiss onto her head and ran out the door.


    "Be right baaaack!!!" He yelled as he disappeared.


    Byron turned to her andughed. "What a clown. He''s always been the shiest, most mboyant brother we have."


    "I don''t know how to thank you for helping me," Candi''s eyes again overflowed.


    Byron leaned over and kissed her tears away.


    "Don''t you know that you''re not alone? You have all of us here, ready and willing to help you no matter what time of the day or night."


    Candi blinked. "Speaking of which, what are you doing here at such an early time of the morning?"


    Byron said nothing, merely lowered his head and imed her lips.


    This time, his kiss was not the desperate starving kiss that they had shared inside her library. It was measured, gentle, full of tenderness and promises of much more toe.


    He was a cultured, elegant man, and this was how Byron expressed himself to the woman of his heart. This was the Byron that she hade to know.


    "I don''t have much time left to spend with you, so for thest couple of mornings when you were here practicing, I came to watch you dance so my heart does not miss you so much."


    Suddenly, a lump formed in her throat. She flung her arms around his neck and squeezed tightly.


    "You''re really leaving us?"


    Byron reached out and folded her body into his arms.


    "I have to go, my Sweetness. There is a chance that I may be able to stop this war that is looming in the distance if I join my mother''s side and exert my influence in some way. It is a small chance, but I have to try."


    "But¡­you''re a Prince. Why you? Can''t they send some soldier out to do this?"


    Byron gave a short sadugh. "Don''t you know that we Princes are the ultimate warriors for the empire?"

 Chapter 126 - Warrior Princes

    Candi shook her head, her eyes looking up at him with confusion.


    Weren''t Princes supposed to be leisure royals,nguidly enjoying their days at the pce doing whatever it was that Princes do?


    Byron shook his head, reading her thoughts with unnerving uracy.


    "te is the Prime Warrior. He fights the physical offensive battles every day of his life out there in border skirmishes between space pirates, vigntes, terrorists, and small insurgent groups."


    His eyes glowed with appreciation.


    "Danger surrounds te every day but he makes it look so easy to dance through all the deadly precarious situations."


    "And Dante?"


    "Dante fights financial battles against the business oligarchs every moment of every day. A big part of Erenveil power flows through Dante''s hands."


    "He also has a huge armada of warships that are disguised as business guard ships and everybody knows this. It''s a very loosely kept secret. He''s probably in his War Room at this very moment, ying business opponents left and right. It''s not called a War Room for nothing."


    "That''s so true. I know that Leonardo is a doctor with warships." She added.


    "That''s right. Leo runs the defensive support behind te and Dante. His hospital ships take care of the injured thate out of te''s armed forces. In times of war, and when needed, his hospitals can turn into warships and do double duty."


    "And the twins?"


    "As for Jason and Jared. Those two head up the intelligence division. The twins run it through their fashion industry because it''s easy to send fashionistas and models into ces to spy and nobody is any the wiser."


    Byron''s eyes sparkled with relish.


    "Intelligence is one of the most important aspects of war. You win or lose depending on how good your intelligence is."


    Byron ced a finger to his lips.


    "But keep this to yourself. This is hush hush. Nobody knows of this but the royal family, and now so do you, since you are also part of the royal family."


    "What about Lucas?"


    "Lucas is a famous actor. He''s our Goodwill Ambassador. We send him into ces where tension is a bit high and he charms the pants off thedies who then snarl at the men to back off their cutie-patootie. He''s very good at what he does." Byronughed.


    "And you?"


    Byron sighed and brushed his long red hair from his eyes.


    "I am¡ªor was¡ªthe face of the Royal House of Erenveil. Father is the Emperor, but I take care of the day-to-day running of the Courts and Legitors."


    "And now you''re leaving? Where will you go and what will you do?"


    Byron gazed at her with sad eyes full of longing.


    "I will be going to my maternal grandparents'' world immediately after your next event. I do not want to leave before then."


    "Why do they want you to join them when your family is here?"


    "They have heard of my adoption, which means they know I am a permanent part of the Royal House. They are most likely hoping that if I am there, my royal family here won''t do anything rash."


    "When will you be back?"


    Byron looked at her without answering. How could he give her a timeframe when even he did not know?


    Candi was not having any of that.


    "But you have toe back! You can''t just leave without an exit strategy!" She wailed.


    "You really want me toe back?"


    "Yes!!!" She cried. She could not allow Byron to feel abandoned and forsaken.


    Something deep within Byron cracked and melted. His heart was suddenly in a puddle on the floor at her feet.


    He sank down onto the settee and rested his head on her shoulder.


    "If I promise you I will return, will you stay in touch with me so that I have at least a way to be connected to you? So I don''t feel so alone out there¡­"


    "Yes!!!" She grabbed his shoulders. "How do we do that? Is there a way to connect even if you''re far away?"


    Byron nodded.


    "How?"


    "You know our royal family is a family of blood bats, right?"


    "Yes, and?" She inclined her head in query.


    "Well, blood bats are¡­" he waved a hand in befuddlement.


    Candi raised an eyebrow. "You''re trying to say blood-feeders?"


    "Yes." He nodded.


    "So you have to consume blood, like vampires?"


    He nodded with some reluctance. "Yes."


    "And if you don''t?"


    "We be malnourished. We''re not strictly hematophagic because we do get our nourishment from other sources. However, we do need to consume blood on a regr basis to stay healthy."


    Candi chewed on her thumbnail as she thought about what he just said.


    "So if, let''s say you were hungry for blood, would you look at me as if I was¡­food?"


    Byronughed.


    "No Darling. Absolutely not. We''re not cannibals. We use animal blood for feeding, and even then, we don''t need much. Most of our food is the same as what you eat."


    "So why are you telling me your feeding habits?"


    "Because I need to share something with you which will allow me tomunicate with you."


    "Come again?" Candi frowned.


    Byron scratched his head.


    "How do I exin this so it''s easy to understand."


    "Some, not all," he held up his hand for emphasis, "of us are telepathic, and the telepathy is a result of us injecting a specific part of our gic material into another person."


    "Injecting gic material. I''m assuming you''re not talking about that in a sexual nature."


    "No Darling." Byron smiled "That''s somethingpletely different, and I would love to discuss that with you but not at this moment. Right now, we''re talking about telepathy, not procreation."


    Candi nodded. "I get it. So you basically bite me and inject something into my body to mark me, and then after that we can talk to each other with our minds."


    "That''s right. We can link up in that manner, but I also have to take a small amount of your blood within me as well. This allows me to find you and connect with your specific gic marker."


    Candi narrowed her eyes. She had read about this in various stories before.


    "Will I turn into a vampire if you bite me?"


    Byron smiled and shook his head.


    "Not at all. For the tiny amount of fluids we would be exchanging, it''s not even that big of a deal."


    Candi pursed her lips. If it was that simple, then why not?


    "Okay. Let''s do it now."


    Byron blinked. He was not expecting her to agree so quickly.


    "You don''t¡ªyou don''t want to think about it? Once this happens, it''s a permanent thing. I can''t switch it off."


    "You mean we will forever be able tomunicate telepathically?"


    "Yes."


    Candi thought about it for a moment. The only thing that bothered her a bit was getting bitten.


    "Ae you going to bite me on the neck?"


    Byron nodded.


    The neck had two major blood vessels which were easily essible. He could bite her wrist, but it was much easier and less damaging for him to bite her neck.


    Candi sighed. What the heck.


    How bad could it get for her to be able to stay in touch with a vampire prince for the rest of her life? It would make him feel less isted out there all by himself.


    "Okay." Candi nodded.. "Let''s do it."

 Chapter 127 - Bat Bite

    "Wait!" She held out her hand.


    Byron paled. She had changed her mind.


    He knew it.


    This was something that no one who was not a bat ever willingly entered into. Not only was it irreversible, it was also quite disturbing to one who had never been bitten before.


    "Will it hurt if you bite me?"


    Byron blinked. She was worried about pain?


    "It won''t hurt, I promise. I have natural painkillers that I inject at the moment I pierce your neck."


    Candi took a deep breath. The forlorn look on his face was more than she could take.


    "Okay. Just do it quickly. Do it now." Before I change my mind, she wanted to say but couldn''t. He looked as if he needed her.


    Candi pulled her blonde hair to one side and leaned her neck out at him. Then she closed her eyes and bit her lip as she waited for his razor sharp teeth to saw through her neck.


    Byron saw the soft ivory skin of her neck and trembled with the effort of holding back.


    God he desired this woman so much it was all he could do just to tamp down his growing physical need for her.


    He could not rush this first time with this precious woman. He needed to take his time with her, go slowly and carefully so that she would not be frightened.


    Byron gently folded her body into his.


    As his breathing increased, his skin began heating up. He was starting to be aroused. His shaft began to swell, straining against his pants.


    He concentrated on his physiological responses and brought his temperature back down.


    There was not enough time to make her his in the mostplete sense. Some day they would be together as one, he vowed to himself.


    But at this moment, there was a far more ancient, far more crucial bonding that needed to take ce. This one would allow them tomune as one.


    Not knowing what to expect, Candi clung onto his body and kept her eyes tightly shut as she leaned on his shoulder.


    Byron pulled her tighter into his arms and controlled his breathing, trying desperately to suppress his physical desire as he buried his face, rubbing his nose into that sensitive space between her shoulder and her neck.


    He had to go slow with her. He had promised her it would not hurt and he needed to keep that promise to her. It would kill him to hurt this woman.


    She felt his moist tongue and soft lips licking and kissing her skin. Delicious sensations began trickling up and down her body, settling into her stomach and she began shivering with pleasure.


    Unable to hold back, he grabbed the back of her head with gentle fingers and began suckling her neck.


    Candi''s heart began thumping so hard, she could feel her pulses racing like a wild mare.


    Waves of desire reverberated from the area where his lips met her skin and radiated throughout her body. Oh God. If this was how it felt to be bitten by Byron, she wouldn''t mind getting bitten all the time.


    She shivered in anticipation of what was toe, and wound her fingers into his long hair, clutching reflexively.


    Her mouth opened as she gasped out his name.


    "Byron¡­"


    He bit down.


    "Ahhh!" She gasped, expecting excruciating pain, but Byron was absolutely right. There was hardly any pain at all.


    For a moment, she felt a warm liquid flowing into her body. It started at the point where he bit her and within seconds had raced throughout her entire being, sending shivers of ecstasy running through her body.


    It was like a liquid drug.


    As she shivered with the pleasure of his hematologic lovemaking, she could feel him sucking on her neck, taking her blood into his own body.


    Two gulps.


    Two gulps was approximately 2 ounces of water, or more precisely, forty ml.


    That was all he allowed himself of her sweet intoxicating blood.


    Any more and he would not be able to stop himself from ripping her clothes off and joining them physically. The desire was so strong that he shook with the effort of maintaining still.


    "Did I hurt you Baby?" He muttered huskily.


    "No. I didn''t really feel anything but there was something like a warmth coursing through my body that felt amazing." Candi breath.


    "That was my injection into your body." Byron rasped, his voice thick with desire.


    He lowered his head and licked the few drops of blood that welled up from where he had bitten her.


    Then he reached out and hot molten healing liquid coursed out of his fingertips as he touched the area where he had pierced her skin with his fangs.


    Where he touched, her flesh began to regenerate. Within seconds, her skin had returned to that pale luminescent color without the puncture wound and without the bruising.


    "So how do we know if telepathy works?" She asked as she touched her neck where he had bitten her. It had beenpletely healed.


    ''That''s easy enough. Think of a word and then tell me in your mind and I''ll repeat it to you.''


    Candi''s eyes widened.


    ''Raspberry pie.'' She thought at Byron.


    "Raspberry pie." Byron repeated.


    "Oh my God it works!" She gasped and covered her mouth. "Does this mean you can hear my every thought?"


    Byronughed and shook his head.


    "Thank heavens no, or I''d be inundated and wouldn''t be able to do anything. If you want to say something to me, you have to think those words at me."


    "Also, it''s best to call my name and wait for me to answer. If you try tomunicate with me while I''m sleeping, I won''t be able to receive yourmunication."


    ''Like this, Byron?''


    ''Yes, Love. Just like that."


    Candi smiled. ''I''m d we did this. How far can I reach with this connection? If you go across the gxy, can I still hear you?''


    ''There''s no distance in space that affects this link between us.'' Byron smiled. ''We aremunicating in real time.''


    ''And it doesn''t wear out.''


    Byronughed. ''As I said. It''s irreversible and it''s permanent. This is a method that only the closest bonded family members use to connect with each other.''


    ''Family? So you and your brothers¡ª''


    ''Not that kind of family. It would be more like a husband and wife connection.''


    ''Oh. So¡­what if you get married?''


    Byron grinned.. ''Then it would be absolutely perfect and quite convenient since we are already connected telepathically, wouldn''t it, My Love.''

 Chapter 128 - Fur Colors

    Lucas said he would be right back.


    In reality, it took him over an hour to return, but it was very much worth it because right behind him was Jason and Jared.


    "So our little Tiny Dancer wants to be a Tiny Dancer Bat, huh?" Jasonughed as he strode towards her and picked her up, swinging her around.


    Jared had already begun to pull out his measuring tools, muttering to himself.


    "Bat wings on her body will have to be this size. Do we wantrge hooked thumb nails?"


    "That would make her look wicked awesome." Jason rubbed his hands together. "Hmmm. We could adorn it with jewels or something."


    "We could also paint her wing nails a pretty color to go with the jewelry you''ll be making for her. Do we want to make her a dark olive brown bat like us or do we want a lighter shade of blonde?" Jared asked.


    "Well, we''re all varying shades of brown when we''re in beast mode, so she should be the lightest of the brown shades to match with us." Jason murmured, gazing at her.


    "Yeah. If you look at te, who''s the darkest bat, all the way to Leo and Lucas who are the lightest of the bats, if we make her any lighter than them, she''s going to be almost white¡­" Jared mumbled and turned to Lucas.


    "Hey Bro. Change so I can see the actual color of your hide and your wings."


    Lucas grinned.


    "My pleasure."


    He began unbuttoning his shirt sleeves and chest buttons and in seconds had stripped down to his waist.


    Candi''s eyes widened. The man truly had impable pecs and perfect abs! Holy moley!!!


    Lucas flexed his muscles.


    FWOOOMPH!!!


    His wings sprang out from his back as his fangs began to grow.


    His fur and wings were a tan color, several shades darker than the natural pale blond hair on his head that had been tinted a pinkish gold color.


    "Do you want me in full beast mode or is this good enough?" Lucas mouthed around his fangs.


    "This is fine. I just wanted to see the exact color you change into." Jared scratched his head as he looked at the fur that was on Lucas'' shoulders and back.


    "Hmm. Howe it''s not a pinkish gold like your hair?"


    Jason popped him on the head with a gentle fist.


    "Because, you doofus. The pink is a dye job."


    Lucas grinned. "I could dye my fur and wings a bit pinkish if you need it to be."


    "That''s not a bad idea." Jared scratched his cheek. "Do it."


    Lucas shrugged and began focusing energy on his fingertips. He reached back and began rubbing his wings and shoulders.


    Where he touched the fur began to turn pink.


    "STOP! STOP!" Jason yelled. "You''re making a big pink striped mess of your body because you can''t reach certain areas."


    He reached out with a practiced hand.


    "Let us do it for you."


    In no time at all, under Jason''s ministration, Lucas'' wings and bat fur began matching his pinkish blond hair.


    "Wow!" Candi breathed with a huge grin. "You look like a delicious rose gold lollipop!"


    Lucasughed, blushing at her words.


    So many women had said far more lewd things to him but it never made him feel the way she made him feel because it was all fake.


    They were merely reacting to his external physical image. She was the only real thing in his make-believe world. Everyone else and everything else, except his family, was fake.


    Okay, since Lucas'' hair is one shade lighter than Candace''s hair, should we make her bat outfit a darker shade than his?" Jared asked.


    "No no. He''s a man. He needs to be darker than her, no matter what his hair color is. Even if we have to make her pure white, she has to be lighter than him." Jason responded.


    "I don''t think we need to go that far. A pale blonde is good enough since Lucas'' wings and body are darker than his hair."


    Jason turned towards Byron.


    "I can''t remember, Byron. What''s your natural hair and fur color?"


    Byron stared at him with a disgusted look.


    "This is my natural hair color. I''m a redhead."


    "What shade is your fur again?" Jared asked.


    "What, you guys don''t know each others'' fur colors?" Candiughed.


    Byron turned to Candi with a grimace.


    "We''re guys. We don''t notice that kind of stuff."


    "What DO you notice?"


    "Well, you know." He waved his hands helplessly. "We notice each other''s physiques and¡­such¡­"


    "Oh like howrge each guy is?"


    The men burst outughing.


    "What???" Candi threw up her hands.


    "Never mind Tiny Dancer." Jared turned back to Byron.


    "Can you change real quickly so I can see your exact shade of fur and wing color?"


    Byron threw off his shirt and transformed in the same manner as Lucas. His wings and fur were a deep coppery red-brown several shades darker than his hair.


    "Wow!" She muttered, looking at Byron standing next to Lucas. These were absolutely drool-worthy men.


    Something in her eyes must have shown her delight and admiration because they smiled with pride.


    Instead of being turned off or disgusted by their fur and leather wings, she was actually physically attracted to their beast mode bodies!


    It took another hour before the twins were satisfied with their designs and they left, promising to return within twenty-four hours with mock ups of their designs so that Candi could get a real bat-looking outfit for her Illusions Event.


    "Okay, Sweet Love," Lucas pinched her nose with light fingers. "Let''s go grab lunch while we discuss what we''re going to do." He turned to Byron. "Want to join us for lunch?"


    Byron shook his head. "Father wants to discuss with me various things so I need to get back to the Royal Pce and have lunch with him."


    He turned to Candi with a smile.


    "You take good care of this woman for me while I''m not here."


    "Always, Brother." Lucas responded. He knew Byron loved her. If anything sealed that knowledge, it was the very public disy of affection and the marriage proposal that Byron had given to Candace in front of all the brothers.


    Byron reached out and kissed her forehead.


    "Have fun with Lucas. I''ll be backter this evening to join you all for dinner."


    Candi nodded.


    For now at least, things were quiet and they could enjoy these simple peaceful times together.


    She had a feeling things were going to be much less simple and much less peaceful in the very near future¡­

 Chapter 129 - The Second Prince Lucas

    Lunch with Lucas was inside a perg draped with white curtains on all sides.


    The perg was perched on a small tform in the middle of a small waterlily pond. It was only essible by a small curved stone bridge that was currently being used by the servers to set up their lunch.


    It was barely noon, Erenveil Standard Time, but Lucas had dimmed the lights and lit numerous pir candles, creating a warm and luminous atmosphere.


    Huge bouquets of creamy white magnolias were ced everywhere. They lent an air of softness thatplemented the soft white cushions on the seating arrangement that surrounded a low table filled with food and drinks.


    As she came closer, she kicked off her shoes and sank her feet into the thick shaggy cream carpet that covered most of the perg''s wooden floor.


    "Wow, Lucas. This looks so romantic!" Candi''s eyes widened with appreciation as she took in the inviting environment.


    "I''m d you like it." Lucas'' amber eyes gleamed with excitement as he led her towards the couches. "This was my only chance to have a meal with you so I wanted it to be a bit¡ªspecial."


    Candi smiled and looked away, flustered. He was so handsome it was almost disturbing for her to look him in the face.


    "You''ve been very busy and I haven''t had many chances to talk to you." She sat down on the soft cushioned couch.


    Lucas sighed and sank on the chair next to her.


    "I got put in charge of maintaining vigil over the fake Earth Avgo Female."


    "Dahlia Halloway?"


    "Yes." His eyes were pained. "It''s been rather painful, but it has finallye to an end."


    Candi''s ears perked up. "End? How is it ending?"


    Lucas sighed with relief. "It has to do with Dante."


    "What about Dante? Is he okay?" Candi looked at Lucas with rm.


    He waved a dismissive hand. "Oh he''s fine. It''s just that¡ªwell, ever since Father announced that Dante is the new Crown Prince, he''s been distant and off-putting to everyone."


    "What do you mean?"


    "He''s not a diplomat like Byron who will try to keep up appearances to make things easier for Father to govern." Lucas shrugged. "You know how Dante is. He''s like a lone wolf."


    She nodded. This was Dante''s personality. He was like that to everyone who was not within his immediate cluster that he considered family.


    "Dante is THE Chief Executive Officer of all the gxy''srgest corporations. He''s used to making executive decisions and having them obeyed without needing to exin himself or to schmooze with anyone." Lucas sighed.


    He raised a hand and gave a signal for the servers to begin pouring the drinks and serving the soup and sandwiches on the table in front of them.


    "He''s also made it abundantly clear that he is not going to marry the winner of the Avgo Event unless it''s you. Not ''Earth Avgo Female'' whoever she may be, but specifically¡ªYOU."


    Candi shook her head. "What if I don''t win?"


    Lucas gave her a dry look. "It would still be you, win or lose."


    "I see. So he''s basically thrown this entire Avgo Event thing into chaos. All the women are in it to be Empress. If he refuses to marry them, then will they be willing to continue this?"


    "He hasn''t told them of his intentions yet, so they still think he will be their final prize, but that''s not my concern." Lucas gave a mischievous smile.


    "Dante being himself has done the one thing that has been my salvation." He looked up and breathed a sigh of relief.


    "Dahlia notified me that she no longer wants the Empress position since she does not want anything to do with the cold and calcting Dante."


    Candi gasped. "Oh my! I can''t believe she is throwing away her chance of being with a Prince of Erenveil!"


    "No, no. You''re missing something." Lucas shook his head. "She told everyone that she was dropping out of consideration for Avgo Female to concentrate on being MY WIFE!!!"


    Candi touched her lips with flustered fingers.


    "Congrattions???" She muttered. She couldn''t believe Lucas was¡ª


    "Hell no!!!" Lucas stood up, his amber eyes shing with anger. "I will not marry that woman if she was thest female in the gxy!"


    He turned tortured eyes at Candi. "She gives me the creeps."


    "Wait. Aren''t you her boyfriend? I saw you at the Royal Ball with her."


    Lucas rubbed his pinkish blond hair with frustrated hands.


    "I was asked to apany her and to act the part of her escort until she disqualified herself by demanding to be with me instead of the Crown Prince, whoever he may be."


    Candi raised her eyebrows in understanding.


    "I see. So once she ditched the Avgo Event, you said, ''see ya!'' and dumped her."


    Lucas sank back down onto the cushioned seat.


    "It sounds bad, I know. But we were all trying to keep you safe and it was my only way to protect you." His eyes narrowed. He didn''t want Candi to think of him as a bad person, but the woman truly was horrid!


    "Well, I''m d you''re free of her," Candi grinned. "She can be really nasty."


    "No kidding! This frees up my time so I can focus my attention on you!" Lucas grinned with excitement.


    He was so relieved that Candi was not upset at him for leading Dahlia Halloway on in such a manner, but all was fair in love and war. If that nasty woman wanted to wrestle what rightfully belonged to Candi, then it would be over his dead body!


    "Oh yes!" Candi squealed. "We have to talk about your ideas for the Illusions and Magic Event."


    Lucas cleared his throat. What he had meant was that he was now free to focus his attention exclusively on her.


    If it meant that he would be working closely with her on the next event, then so be it. He would take this chance, fly with it and hope she would notice him just a little.


    "Right. Let''s talk about the next event. Here''s my idea."


    He waved a hand into the air and a virtual screen appeared before them. A round ss tform appeared at the center of the screen.


    "You have to think of the Avgo ss tform as a stage. For this event, it will not be a fighting arena where all sides are open to the viewing public. It will have a front, a back, and two sides, like so."


    He waved a finger and stage curtains appeared around it, leaving only the front section of the ss tform showing.


    Candi nodded. He was truly sounding like a movie director.


    "Within this small space, you will need to tell a verypelling story. This story will showcase your magic abilities using your superb showmanship."


    "I don''t have any magic abilities." Candi shook her head.


    "The magic you will be using is the magic of storytelling. If your story ispelling enough, your audience will be able to see it clearly with their own eyes using their imagination."


    He turned to her with his clear amber eyes.


    "Do you trust me?"


    "Absolutely!" She chortled with excitement.


    "Good! Here''s how we''re going to do it."


    Lucas handed her a bulleted list of action items and began to detail his ns.


    As heid out his thoughts, his eyes grew more and more excited and his hands became animated as he created the various things he was thinking of onto the visual screen.


    And as Candace listened, she began to notice just how exciting Lucas was, immersed in his professional world of acting and putting on a show.


    For the next six hours, the two of them worked together within the perg to the exclusion of everything and everyone else.


    Their food grew cold and was taken away and their drinks were continually refilled and reced.


    As Candace worked with Lucas, she grew more and more enchanted with the level of his expertise.


    It was abundantly clear why he was such a famous actor throughout the gxy. It wasn''t because he was a Prince of Erenveil or even that his looks were drop-dead gorgeous.


    It was because he truly was an extremely gifted prodigy who knew his craft and worked it to the level of artistry.

 Chapter 130 - The Commander In Chief

    "Merde! What the hell is he thinking about!!!" Dante cursed as he thew a sheaf of paper at the attendants who were standing beside him.


    They stood there, stoic sentinels, silently maintaining their stony gazes. As Advisors to the Crown Prince, their job was not to advise, it was merely to transmit information from the Emperor to the Crown Prince.


    "We are NOT giving the dragons any concessions and we are NOT returning the marsupial ambassador until we get our own political prisoner back from them."


    "Your Royal Highness, King Icarus is threatening war if we do not return his ambassador, who I might remind you, is his grandson."


    "Well you can tell that old panda we would like our cousin back. He''s beennguishing in the marsupial jail for two years now."


    "Sir. He''s in there because he got the marsupial princess pregnant."


    "Then allow them to marry! It''s not like the man forced himself on her!" Dante yelled at them, throwing up his hands.


    The Advisors bit their tongue and tried not tough. The marsupial Princess was a stout woman of some heft who had forced herself on the hapless ambassador bat who had been sent there as a goodwill gesture.


    The man had agreed to be home-jailed rather than married to the panda princess.


    Dante squeezed the space in between his aching eyes. His workload had suddenly doubled with Byron having been removed from his position.


    It wasn''t as if Dante could just simply dump all his corporate affairs and take over the heavy load of running the Empire. It had alle raining down on his hapless head.


    Suddenly, he found himself with barely enough time to sleep and no time at all to spend with Candace.


    His beautiful little Candace.


    Dante closed his eyes and nearly sobbed. He missed her so much. He hadn''t had a chance to evene out and see how she was doing.


    He knew that she was working with his brothers to prepare for the next Avgo Event and he didn''t want to disturb her, but goddammit, he missed her so much!


    Maybe if he called a break.


    "Your Royal Highness, here are the documents you asked for." Another aide hade in with a stack of documents the size of a mountain.


    "What is this?" Dante nced at the stack of documents.


    "These are thepanies that you are in the process of acquiring Sir. You need to sign them for the acquisition to bepleted."


    Dante sighed. Break time just got cancelled.


    With great reluctance, he picked up the top folder.


    As much as he would have loved to just rubber stamp everything and push it through quickly, Dante didn''t get to where he was without reading through the documents that he signed.


    Great wealth was hidden in the details of contracts. The loss of great wealth was ALSO hidden in the details of the contracts.


    He had barely gotten through the first couple of pages when a slight flurry of activity appeared in front of his desk.


    He looked up, about to snarl at whoever that was disturbing his peace and quiet when he noticed a vision in white sitting at the seating arrangement at the center of his office.


    "Candace!" Dante jumped up. In a few long-legged strides, he was beside her. "What are you doing here? Aren''t you supposed to be working with Lucas and the twins on your Avgo Event?"


    Candace nodded and reached out, pulling him down onto the seat with her.


    "We took a break so I went looking for you. I hadn''t seen you in over three days so I was worried about you."


    Her eyes wandered over to his table with its tall stacks of documents.


    "Looks like you''re super busy, but I promise, I''ll just sit here, drink my lemonade, and memorize my script. I won''t bother you a bit."


    Dante leaned into her. "Don''t ever say that. You are NEVER a bother."


    He cupped her head with his hands and took her lips with his own, drinking in her essence with greed and hunger.


    His aides and attendants, all ten of them, looked elsewhere, pretending sudden interest in the wall art and the rug patterns.


    "Hmmmm. You taste so good. Like sweet lemonade." He reluctantly leaned back and gazed into her hazel eyes.


    "Did you miss me?"


    Candace nodded shyly.


    He smiled. "I''ve missed you too. I haven''t been able to get away to even see you for a few minutes."


    She smiled. "If you can''te to see me, then I''lle here and spend some quiet time with you. We can work together. You do your thing over there," she pointed to his desk. "And I''ll sit here and eat bonbons and take naps on the couch."


    Danteughed. Since when did he get so lucky.


    "Sir," another attendant had entered his office. "The Gctic Organization is demanding that you approve the petition to allow Valeria Marakesh to take Ana?se''s ce as the third contestant for the Magic and Illusions Event."


    Dante took a deep breath.


    "She has been eliminated. Her score is so pathetically low that she will not be able to catch up with Jenna let alone Candace."


    "In that case, Sir, we lose nothing to allow her to perform onstage. She won''t win any way, but it will appease the Avians."


    "Fine. Let her perform."


    "Yes Sir. One more thing Sir. Ana?se''s people are requesting that in her third ce spot, they be allowed a final memorial event for her in lieu of a public funeral for the Princess of Haribou."


    Dante nodded. "That is appropriate. Make it happen and give them whatever time they need to do so."


    The attendant bowed and left.


    Dante turned to Candace. "You will win and be my bride."


    Candace smiled. "What if I don''t win?"


    Dante cleared his throat. "If you take second ce, I will simply change the rules to state that the conciliatory prize for the second ce winner will be the Crown Prince''s hand in marriage."


    She rolled her eyes. "You can''t do that. You can''t just change the rules on a whim."


    Heughed. "Darling. Watch me."


    They wereughing together about it when an alert sounded.


    Dante''s brilliant green eyes suddenly narrowed. He waved a hand and a virtual monitor appeared.


    "What''s going on, te?"


    Candi turned to stare into te''s dazzling blue eyes. The Prime Warrior was in full regalia.


    "Dante. Two-hundred Avian warships have arrived and are currently in Nymphalidae air space. They are pointing all their arsenal at your mother''s world."


    "How many ships do we have already there?"


    "We have 180 ships in and around the vicinity, ready to defend the Empress'' world. Seventy more areing in from Leo''s armada but they won''t reach this air space for another two days."


    Dante stared at te.


    "Take down a new decree.." He called out into the room. "Let it be known that the new destination for the Avgo Event, Magic and Illusions will take ce on the Nymphalidae, effective as of NOW!"

 Chapter 131 - White Bait Worms

    The day before the event, te arrived at Dante''s Moon in one of his warships to apany Candace to the world.


    At the appointed hour, all the Princes were already present alongside Candace in the hangar, waiting for te.


    His Raptor 600 was docked and waiting as he strode in, apanied by a half-dozen of his men. They were all still wearing their ck battle gear.


    All six of his brothers were standing around the waiting area with Candace, shooting the breeze.


    They were all wearing white body suits with something that looked like a cape on which the gold emblem of the Erenveil crest was embroidered. It was all rather cheesy looking, in his very haughty opinion.


    He gave his brothers a cursory look and zeroed in on his woman.


    She was the smallest one there, with curves in all the right ces and an angel face that looked out of ce among all his demon brothers.


    Today, she was wearing a tiny white miniskirt and thigh high boots to go with the long sleeved white shirt that matched the rest of his brothers'' outfits.


    His eyes zeroed in on the sh of skin between the top of her boots and the edge of her mini skirt. The sight of her stirred a deep longing within the pits of his loins that had only gotten stronger day by day.


    te fought down the instinct to scoop her up and take her away to some secluded ce and make mad passionate love to her.


    "Why are you all in white?" He asked no one in particr.


    "Ask Jared. He''s the fashionista." Dante said as he walked up to te and pped his chest with a solid palm. "And keep your eyeballs in their sockets or you will go blind."


    te''s eyes rolled over to Dante with a barely veiled disgusted look. He wanted to tell Dante that he had seen far more than a bit of thigh and he hadn''t gone blind yet, but te wisely kept his mouth shut.


    "We are trying to project the image of NOT war." Jared responded as he folded his arms across his chest.


    te turned to Jared. "So you''re responsible for this cheerleading outfit."


    "What''s wrong with us cheering for Candace?" Jared turned to the rest of the men. "While you guys have been busy doing other things, Jason and I have been in the audience, being her cheerleader all this time."


    The men looked away, slightly embarrassed. It was true that Jason and Jared always attended the events during the times that they were stuck doing their work elsewhere, but wasn''t that part of their job? They were supposed to keep an eye on everything.


    Jared turned back to te and gave a critical stare at his ck Prime Warrior outfit.


    "What now?" te red at him. "I''m wearing what you and Jason designed for the warriors."


    Jared shook his head. "What you are wearing is very warlike."


    "Isn''t that the point?"


    "Yes, but it''s making us look as if we are going there to wage war." Jared harrumphed and looked over at Jason.


    Jason nodded and waved a hand in gesture.


    An attendant approached te, holding a bundle that suspiciously looked like a white bodysuit with the same cringeworthy white and gold cape.


    "I am not wearing this. I am the Prime Warrior. My whole purpose is to look scary so nobody messes with us."


    "This is the biggest Avgo Event EVER." Jason reasoned. "The final three Avgo Females will be putting on a show for the gxy to watch. You cannot be looking as if you''re staging a battlefield."


    "Even though that is EXACTLY what we are doing." te threw back.


    Candace smiled and came up to him. Reaching out, she touched his face with her warm soft hands.


    "Is the outfit too restricting? Will you not be able to defend me if you wear it?"


    te''s Adam''s apple bobbled as he swallowed something that was caught in his throat. His eyes fixated on her brilliant hazel eyes. When had he ever been able to say no to this woman?


    He looked at the attendant with sidelong nce. With a thundering scowl, he grabbed the bundle from the poor quivering man''s hands.


    "Give me a few minutes to change."


    ===========


    The journey to Nymphalidae, with the help of several hyperspace jumps, only took two hours.


    All the Princes along with Candace were in the main viewing chamber of the Raptor 600, chatting to themselves as they traveled through space.


    They were surrounded by escort warships covering them from all sides.


    "Those don''t look like Erenveil warships." Candace pointed to one of them.


    "They''re not." Byron looked at the escort ships with interest. "Those are Insectoid warship."


    Candace gasped. "Are we in some kind of trouble with the Insectoids?"


    Dante smiled. "The Insectoids are my people. They are here to escort us to Nymphalidae just to make sure we don''t run into trouble."


    "Trouble? From whom?" Candace looked at the men with troubled eyes.


    Dante waved his hands around. "Take a look, Candace. All my brothers along with the leading Avgo Female are in one ship, and we are traveling away from the safety of Erenveil."


    te nodded. "If ever there was a time to attack and wipe out the entire Erenveil royalty, this would be it."


    "So then why are we all converged in one ship?" Candace grimaced.


    te reached out and held her hands. "Remember when Dante canceled the remaining Avgo Events because it was too dangerous for you to continue?"


    Candace nodded.


    "We managed to convince him to hold this Avgo Event to flush out the perpetrators."


    Dante''s eyes were steel green. "Against my better judgement, I''m allowing the rest of the Avgo Events to continue." He turned to te.


    "It is true what te said. The attackers were not obvious with their earlier attempts. They worked in the shadows, coborating with various other groups."


    "Like Earth and Emporia?" Candace murmured.


    Dante nodded. "And various other entities, including the Space Pirates who are basically mercenaries for hire."


    "This whole setup is to lure them out into the open so we know exactly who to target our arsenal and st them into kingdome." te''s eyes narrowed. "We are like the shining white bait worms that are too delicious to pass over."


    Candi nodded, hoping the men had backup ns for their backup ns.

 Chapter 132 - Green Eyed Monster

    Their voyage to Nymphalidae was fairly uneventful.


    From space, it looked as if Nymphalidae wasposed of a series of inds criss-crossing what looked like cid oceans.


    The Raptor 600, along with its multitude of escort warships moved into position alongside all the other warships that had surrounded the on all sides.


    From one side of the Raptor 600, a transport pod flew out and began its descent upon Nymphalidae. It was such a tiny pod that it was immediately lost among the profusion of activity that was happening all around the.


    It looked as if a circus hade to town!!!


    What was once a quiet section of the gxy turned into a ce that was frenzied with activity.


    The Magic and Illusions Avgo Event was to be held in Heliopolis, and with only days before the date, everyone was scrambling to get equipment and people in ce.


    Along with 200 Avian and 180 Erenveil warships swarming about, there were also hundreds of visiting dignitaries from every corner of the gxy along with their entire entourage.


    There were heads of corporations, high profile actors and musicians, as well as sports stars of every type. Suddenly, the butterfly world of Nymphalidae was the hot spot and everyone who was anyone just had to be there.


    Add to that the hundreds of visuals media coverage, the revelry and circus of the four veryrge opening acts, and of course, the ticket holders themselves, and it was a huge carnival!!!


    Nobody gave a thought to the sight of all the warships surrounding the. They all thought it was for the security of the Avgo Females and the royal members and it made them feel even safer than ever before!


    Who in their right mind would attack a ce that had warships swarming from the three most powerful groups in the gxy, the birds, the bugs, and the bats? They were not called the BBB for nothing.


    As the transport pod came closer to one of the inds, Candi''s mouth opened in an O of amazement.


    The inds themselves were not inds in the normal sense. They were octagonal pods that were floating above the oceans. Some pods were domed over while others were open to the skies and the twin suns that were shining overhead.


    "Wow. They''re all floating inds!" Candace breathed with wonder.


    "The bees built this ce originally so it''s rather bee-hive looking." Dante grinned. "We don''t mind. They are, by far, the better builders. The ants do a good job as well, but their structures are more organic, less structured."


    Candi nodded, hoping that once everything calmed down, perhaps she could get a chance to see exactly what an ant structure looked like.


    Therge transport podnded on the surface of one of the floating pods and the group was instantly inundated by visuals gathering pods from the various media corporations.


    All the pods zoomed in on the faces of all the Princes and Candace as they emerged from the pod. Their white outfits were dazzling in the uniformity and it tied all the Princes together to the singr female who was in their midst.


    Candace Farrah, the Earth Avgo Female was thest Avgo contestant to arrive. All the others had made their way to Nymphalidae on the day that Dante had announced he would allow the Avgo Events to resume with the condition that it be held at his maternal world.


    Everyoneuded it as an amazing decision since Nymphalidae was famous for being a tropical paradise where flowers of every sort were the secondary attraction to the number one attraction of this world, thedies of Nymphalidae.


    The blue butterfly females were every man''s fantasy because they were some of the most beautiful women in the gxy. Moving the most hotly anticipated event to a far-flung paradise location was something that could only havee from the brilliant business mind of Prince Dante.


    As all the news casts and streaming visuals were converging in on the group, Candace and the Princes made their way through thending pads and towards another transport vehicle which would take them to to Empress Anastasia''s Pce, deep within the heart of Heliopolis City.


    Candi had barely walked into the set of suites that had been assigned to her when someone walked in behind her and shut the door.


    CLICK. She heard the door lock.


    Candi braced herself, ready to deliver a deathly blow whenrge strong arms caught her from behind.


    "Stand still. Don''t make too much noise or the servants wille knocking." That familiar deep rumbling voice could only belong to one man.


    Candace closed her eyes and exhaled.


    "You dummy! Don''t scare me like that! I nearly knocked your knees out!" She turned around and began beating her fists on his chest.


    Danteughed and picked her up so her face was parallel to his.


    "I have been dying to be alone with you all morning long. Don''t deny me, Princess. I need a little nourishment or I will die of starvation."


    He moved them both to the bed and gently ced her onto the cushions. His green eyes were passion-filled and his overgrown spiky blue hair hung over his face like a lion''s mane.


    He leaned towards her and lifted her chin with a stead hand.


    Leaning in, he took her lips with his own. It was gentle and unhurried, as if he had all the time in the world.


    Candi smiled.


    Dante''s kisses had always been gentle. He was so gentle that she felt as if she could explore him without the expected onught of male testosterone flooding everything.


    Encouraged by his soft and tender touches, her tongue reached into the recesses of his mouth and explored, tasting him and suckling his lips.


    Dante groaned and crushed her into his body.


    He had been trying to be so gentle with her, trying to go so slowly, and she had to go and stir up all the hot mes that were licking around him, threatening to consume his very body.


    Giving in to his primal urges, Dante threw all restraint to the wind and possessed her mouth with his, tasting, licking, suckling in savage need.


    His body began to react to the touch and feel of her, engorging and pulsing with raging desire. As he pinned her to the bed, he gulped in several breaths.


    "I have a good idea. How about we spend the rest of the day in this room, just you and me?" Dante murmured, his chest rumbling with the sound of his deep voice.


    "Hmmm. Whatever shall we do." She murmured into his ear as he began suckling her chin and her neck.


    "Whatever makes us happy, my beautiful bride." He whispered as he began to unbutton the top of her shirt.


    Candace was about to respond when she heard a voice calling out in her ear.


    "Candace. We''re all in the private dining room. Where are you?"


    It was Byron, reaching out telepathically to contact her.


    "Hold on Dante." She murmured. "Byron is trying to tell me something."


    "Who?" Dante''s eyes were still zed and unfocused from the passions that were rising.


    "Byron, your brother."


    "Wait. How is Byron able to talk to you?" Dante pulled back to look at her, his green eyes stormy.


    Candace blinked. Why did Dante sound as if he was upset?


    "Oh, he bit me and connected me telepathically¡ª"


    "He did what???" Dante''s green eyes were furious.


    "He bit me and¡ª"


    "I heard you the first time!!!" Dante roared.

 Chapter 133 - Bite Me!

    Candi pulled back from Dante. His eyes were glittering with rage and he was shaking with the effort of holding it in.


    The fright must have shown in her eyes because he closed his eyes and exhaled a long and shaky breath.


    "Please don''t be frightened of me, Love. I''m not mad at you, and even if I were, I would never do anything to hurt you."


    He opened his eyes. This time, his green eyes held remorse and pain. He reached out and cradled her face.


    "When did he inject his venom into you?"


    "Right before breakfast with your Mother and Father."


    "So that was why you werete for breakfast, and with the Emperor and Empress of Erenveil, no less."


    "Yes. I found Byron. He was a big mess, so Iforted him as best as I could. He told me he was leaving soon so I asked him when he wasing back."


    "I heard about that," Dante frowned. "But my mother just adopted him! Why would he treat her precious gift to him as if it was nothing and just leave?"


    "I think he''s just trying to find himself and figure out what his future holds. His entire world had just been dumped upside down and he was picking up the pieces trying to figure out how to put it all back together again." Candi murmured gently.


    She was still trying to understand why Dante was so upset over what seemed to her like an ingenious and simple method ofmunication.


    "And so he decides to bite you so he could figure out what he wants to do with his life?"


    "It wasn''t like that Dante. He wanted to have a way tomunicate with me once he leaves this area." She murmured softly, hoping Dante would take it at face value, because truly, she had also taken this at face value.


    "And the man doesn''t have ess to a virtual monitor and just call you up like any normal human being would do? He''s never heard of a voice or visual call?"


    Dante threw his hands out with frustration.


    "Heck, if he really missed you, he could just do a 3D call and it would be like having you in the same room. Instead, what does he do." Dante''s eyes were once again raging.


    "He fucking infects you with his venom!"


    Dante reached out and gathered Candi into his arms, shaking with rage and grief.


    "Dante." Candi whispered. "I didn''t think it was such a big deal. It''s just a little bite, right?"


    "It''s not just a little bite. You''re now infected with our family''s venom."


    She pulled back to look at him with fear-tinged eyes.


    "Am I going to die?"


    Dante smiled despite his overwhelming sadness.


    "No Darling. Of course you''re not going to die." He pulled her back into his arms as he fought the waves of rage coursing over him. "I would never allow that to happen."


    He could feel Candace''s hands rubbing his back in a gentle soothing manner, as if she was cating a child.


    Strangely enough, it worked.


    Her warm gentle hands and her soothing aura assuaged his raging anger and calmed his soul.


    He could not believe that this tiny woman was the only one who could quell the avnche of emotions that catapulted around him causing him to lose control and turn into a monster.


    Candi rested her head within the shelter of his arms for awhile, trying tofort him from that which was causing him to be so upset.


    Could it be that he was jealous because Byron could telepathically talk to him and Dante could not?


    What if he could, would that make a difference?


    "Dante," she whispered.


    "Hmmm?" He rumbled in his chest.


    "I have an idea."


    "Hmmm¡­" More chest rumbling.


    "What if you bite me too? That way you canmunicate with me in the same way."


    Dante''s body shook. She pushed him away so she could see his face.


    He wasn''tughing. He was crying.


    "Dante. I''m sorry. Forget I said anything."


    "You don''t understand. Nobody in their right mind, let alone a tiny female like you, would volunteer to be bitten by one of us." He whispered.


    "It''s just¡ªjust a tiny bite to establishmunication link, right?"


    "No!" Dante shook his head. "You don''t get it. The telepathy was a side-effect of mind control, something that was needed to keep the prey in line."


    "Prey?" She looked up at him, horrified.


    "Yes. There''s a reason why we''re called demons by those around us. We''re the only mammals that can fly, and we are the only ones who need to drink living blood to survive!"


    He turned away from her, hiding his face with deep shame.


    "A long time ago, it was normal for a vampire blood bat like me to have a harem of people, both male and female. Everyone hears the word harem and thinks it has to do with sex, but it really wasn''t."


    "No?"


    He shook his head. "Most vampires only have one mate, and most mate for life. The harem was used to feed."


    He shuddered with distaste.


    "The vampire would rotate through the harem, drinking the blood of each person and then giving him or her enough time to recover from the blood loss before the next feeding session."


    "Therger the harem, the longer time they were given to recuperate. In that manner, they were kept indefinitely as a food source."


    "But you''re not like that. You''re not a demon." Candi reached out to rub his shoulder.


    "We might as well be. Our bodies need fresh living blood to sustain itself."


    Candi gave him a dry dull look.


    "Well, I hate to break it to you but my body needs the flesh of animals to sustain itself too. I haven''t gotten to the point where I could just chew on leaves and be satisfied."


    "But you eat farmed, butchered animals. You don''t bite the flesh off living people to survive."


    "No, but Byron did say he used animal blood to keep from being malnourished."


    "Yes. We do." Dante''s face twisted in a grimace. "It''s pretty nasty though, but I had food manufacturers reformte cow''s blood. Once it''s been through a processing nt, it got rid of prions and is also nd enough for us to take internally without gagging."


    Candi''s eyes widened. "Wow. You''re really something. How do you think up all this stuff?"


    Dante gave a short miserableugh.


    "Isn''t that what we''re put into this Universe to do? Improve everyone''s lives as best we can? I''ve even had it formted as a dietary supplemental pill because some people just can''t drink the blood in liquid form, and they get very malnourished."


    "Do people buy it?"


    "Yes. It sells quite well and I make a lot of money off that blood pill." He said with a sad droop to his shoulders.


    "So what you''re saying is you don''t see me as a food source."


    "NO!!!" He gave her a horrified look.


    "So what do you say, hmmm?" She gave him an encouraging smile.


    "About what?" He gave her a wary eye.


    "Bite me.." She leaned her head over to one side and exposed her neck.

 Chapter 134 - Raspberry Pie

    "No." He was stern.


    "Come on. You know you want a piece of me." She tapped her neck with her index finger.


    "Candace¡­"


    "Bite me already!!!"


    She grumbled and shoved her neck into his lips. Now that she knew it didn''t hurt any more than a needle jab for a flu shot, she was no longer hesitant. She was ready for him.


    Dante inhaled sharply as the warmth and scent of her skin touched his lips. The hunger that he thought had waned from his temporary pause suddenly red back up again.


    It was so acute that he could not hold back his need tovish caresses and kisses on the woman he cherished with his entire being. Against his will, he reached out for her.


    He shut off his sharp rational mind and fell into the depths of his emotions as he began kissing her soft creamy neck, suckling it and leaving a dark red bruise mark.


    Candace shivered in his embrace as waves of desire began spreading out from his suckling kisses, expanding outward in radiating rings of ecstasy.


    Dante marveled at Candace''s reaction to his kisses.


    She had no fear!


    And because she had no fear, he took a deep breath and let go of his own fears.


    Candace was right there with him. He didn''t have to be afraid of drowning in that scary ce where emotions overwhelmed him.


    As his fangs grew, his craving for her increased until it was all he could do just to maintain his human form.


    At the moment when he could no longer hold back, Dante closed his eyes and slowly sank his fangs into the warm throbbing carotid artery that flowed through her neck.


    The moment his fangs sank into Candace''s skin, she felt that slight sting which vanished almost immediately from the pain killer that he released into her body.


    And then she could feel the familiar warmth of his liquid venom flowing into her bloodstream. It started at the point where he bit her and within seconds had raced throughout her entire being.


    Candace gasped and moaned with ecstasy as she felt Dante sucking on her neck and taking her blood into his own body.


    She wound her fingers into his blue hair, clutching reflexively. Her body was heating up from the venom and she was shaking with the joy of it.


    Dante pulled back, his lips stained with the color of her blood. He licked her wound clean of blood and then reached out to heal her skin.


    Within seconds, her bruised puncture wound waspletely healed.


    "Was it painful, Love?" He touched her with tender fingers.


    "No. It was very pleasurable." She smiled.


    He shook his head as tears threatened to fall from his eyes.


    "I''m very sorry. That''s also part of the venom''s effect that I have no control over."


    "What do you mean?"


    He reached out and gathered her head into his chest.


    "My vampiric venom has certain¡ªproperties, one of which triggers dopamine which caused you to feel pleasure. The feeling of happiness and pleasure is all chemical and it''s all fake." He choked on his words.


    "Fake?" Candi murmured. It didn''t feel fake to her.


    "Yes. It was evolved to keep prey happy and not struggling while they are being fed upon. I''m so very sorry."


    Candi frowned. "How is my pleasure from you biting me any different than my pleasure from you kissing me, or doing any other intimate things with me?"


    Dante paused as he thought about her question. For once, he was truly stumped.


    "I don''t know. Maybe you being happy on your own is different than you being happy on demand because I injected you with venom?"


    Candi shook her head. "But I was the one who insisted on being bitten. Wouldn''t that be me who was doing the demanding?"


    Dante was silent. The woman was doing it again.


    She was taking what was so very wrong and turned it so very right. How was this possible?


    She reached up and kissed his lips.


    "Don''t underestimate your charms. It''s not your venom. It''s your lovemaking that gave me great pleasure."


    We haven''t done anything but kiss¡­"


    "Well," Candi smiled. "We''ve barely just begun to get to know each other. We could explore and find out more."


    He held her with great care.


    "Listen to me, Candace." His eyes were serious.


    "You are not just some generic prize that the Crown Prince gets, and you are not some random winner of a contest. I have been pursuing you, and ONLY you, since the very beginning."


    He touched her cheeks with tender hands.


    "It didn''t matter if I became the Crown Prince or not, you have always been MY chosen bride."


    "But¡ª"


    He shook his head.


    "There are only two more weeks of the event, after which, win or lose, you will be my bride."


    His eyes danced with promise.


    "At that time, you couldn''t stop me if you tried, but right now, I want you to focus on the next event. It will take all your efforts and concentration so don''t be sidelined by all this other baggage."


    Candi nodded. This was the Dante that she knew. He was back in charge again.


    "Are you less hungry, now that you''ve taken some of my blood?"


    Dante pursed his lips.


    "I didn''t take very much, just a couple of sips. It was only so I could find you and connect with your specific gic marker."


    "You could have taken more. I have plenty of blood."


    "No Candace. You are my wife, not my prey."


    ''Raspberry pie.''


    "What?" He stared at her, notprehending what she said.


    "You heard me."


    "I heard you said Raspberry pie. Are you hungry my love? Dinner is being served at the moment. We should go check it out."


    Candiughed.


    "I was just testing out our telepathy."


    Dante blinked. "I didn''t think to test it out in that manner."


    "Well how do you vampires test it out?"


    Dante blushed and looked away. "It''s mostly something along the veins of¡ª". He turned back to her, his mesmerizing green eyes focusing in on her.


    ''Come to me.''


    Candace found herself unconsciously moving towards him.


    He snapped his fingers and she blinked reflexively.


    "What happened? Weren''t you going to test it out?"


    Dante sighed and shook his head. "Never mind. Just¡ªif you ever need me for anything, I want you to call me, no matter the time of day or night. Will you promise?"


    "I promise."


    He seemed happier once he had been able to extract that promise from her.


    ''Dante.''


    "Yes Love?"


    ''Kiss me again.''


    Dante smiled and lowered her back onto the bed.


    "Your wish is mymand."

 Chapter 135 - Butterfly Kisses

    [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT]


    There was an unhurried calmness to Dante''s kisses this time, as if he knew she was his and he had all the time in the world. With one hand, he held both hers up over her head in a grip that was gentle but firm.


    Dante was so strong that even without using a single binding method, she would not be able to use her hands on him at all.


    His mouth teased and fluttered over her face and lips in feather soft touches, as if he wanted to dy the moment of gratification.


    His tongue darted here and there, tasting in tiny butterfly kisses that both tickled and maddened her. His soft shapely lips poised over hers, moving with deliberate care in a manner that would have been rough and ardent if it hadn''t been on extreme slow motion.


    As his tongue thrust in between her lips, she quivered uncontrobly. He dipped into her mouth for a few seconds, only to retract and move elsewhere on her face.


    He moved on, kissing her earlobes, the corners of her eyes, and the back of her neck with darting, gentle touches that left her crying for more.


    This man knew how to tease!


    Candi wanted to grab his head and shove her mouth into his just to satisfy herself. She''d kissed him before. She knew he could be rough if he wanted to, but he held both of them back in a pace that was maddeningly, teasingly, deliciously slow.


    Dante caressed her body with the same slow steady hands that promised much more that what it delivered at that very moment.


    With leisure fingers, he yed with the buttons of her shirt and slowly unbuttoned them, one at a slow one.


    As the first button came off, he began nuzzling her neck and corbones, concentrating on the hollow between her vicles.


    His tongue began dancing on her throat as his fingers slowly unbuttoned the second button.


    With more exposed skin came more maddeningly slow kisses that covered the area he had just revealed.


    Slowly, he covered every inch of her body with kisses, moving from the hollows behind her jawline to the point between her breasts.


    Dante spent considerable time there, teasing out each individual nerve ending and licking it until it was tingling with desire.


    His hands reached up to cup her breast and he continued his exploration, flicking his tongue back and forth between each pink aure.


    And then with a sigh, he gave in to his need to possess her nipple. As his mouth fixed over the first one, Candi shivered with anticipation.


    He did not disappoint.


    His wet tongue moved with masterful strokes, flicking and licking her erect nipple, running round and round, her aure with precision and control, leaving her gasping for more.


    The feeling of his lips on her nipple sent a jolt of electricity directly to her womb. Her petals began to engorge as wetness gushed from between her legs.


    "Mmmmmmh." She began mewling.


    ''Does that feel good, Baby Girl?'' Dante mentally connected with her, even as his suckling continued.


    ''Haaaaah¡­yes!'' Purring with delight, Candi''s hands began to roam all over his neck and shoulders.


    ''Because if it feels good, I have one more breast to kiss.'' He slowly moved to the other breast and began nuzzling it with his wet tongue.


    "Aaaaaaahhhh," she gasped as he gave a single hard suck to her second nipple, and then went back to teasing it gently.


    Candi leaned her head back. Her lips parted as she inhaled the woody spicy scent of his body. Her body trembled from the sweet tingly sensations he was causing on her nipple.


    From her throat came uncontroble wanton sounds. She was mewling and gasping and choking, causing Dante to slowly lose control of his deliberate love making.


    It was obvious that he was not going slow because he was feeling his way around and not knowing what to do.


    It was because he was extending the sensation of each erogenous zone as long as possible, extracting the most delicious thrills from her body.


    From the hollow of her throat to the tips of her nipples, his fingers danced and caressed, never stopping anywhere to focus on a single erogenous point.


    He touched them all.


    Those feather soft touches stoked her desires to the maddening point, until it was all she could do just to hold back from jumping on him and satisfying her carnal desires.


    And he had barely taken her shirt off.


    ''You are so beautiful.'' He touched her mind with the merest of whispers.


    ''I think you are the one who is beautiful.'' She smiled and responded mentally to him.


    ''I love the color of your hair. It''s such a brilliant blue that I cannot keep my eyes off it.''


    Candi touched his brilliant iridescent blue hair. He had let it grow to the point that it was no longer spiky. It was soft and full, and the color of a blue butterfly''s wings.


    He turned his bright green eyes at her, gazing with adoring reverence.


    ''I know you only asked for kisses, but I''m so hungry for you I can''t control my body responding to you.''


    He took her hand and guided it to therge bulge that was straining to be released from his pants.


    ''This is what you do to me. I need you so desperately but all you asked for were kisses, so I respected your wishes.''


    Candi''s hands began to touch him of her own volition. Through the fabric of his pants, she could feel hisrge hard shaft and his bulging sacs.


    His green eyes darkened with the pain of pleasure.


    ''We could go much further if you wish.'' He whispered inside her mind.


    ''Much further?'' Candi looked up at him and gasped as his fingers began to touch her stomach.


    He breathed softly. Reaching out, he kissed her eyelids.


    ''I know I never formally asked you to marry me, but that was because the Avgo Events were so brutal that I did not want to distract you from it.''


    He kissed her mouth, even has his words continued inside her mind.


    ''I had also not been formally named the Crown Prince, which meant I did not have the right to ask you because at that time, Byron''s right superseded mine.''


    His tongue reimed her mouth.


    ''I''m asking you now. Will you please ept me as your physically, soulfully, and spiritually bonded husband?''


    ''The Avgo event is still not concluded. If Jenna wins¡­''


    ''Even if Jenna wins, I will not marry her.'' He broke free from his kisses to look into her eyes.


    ''I am always a man of my words. Even if Jenna wins, she can never be my wife because I will have changed the rules so that marriage to the Crown Prince is not a given and it must be agreed to by both sides.''


    ''Since I will never agree to being her husband, it will be a given that I will never marry her.''


    ''Everything I am and everything I have is all yours if you will just say yes.'' He suckled on her lips even as his words came through clear and shining inside her mind.


    "Do you love me?" Candi asked with finality.


    It was the first words that had been spoken out loud between the two of them since they began kissing.

 Chapter 136 - Do You Love Me?

    [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT]


    For a moment, Dante was poised on the needle point of either bursting outughing or bursting out crying.


    Did she actually ask him out loud if he loved her?


    He had used every means at his fingertips to ensure her safety.


    He had gathered from every corner of the gxy everything that he could possibly find that she loved, as a precious gift for her.


    He had moved heaven and earth to create a warm andfortable home for her within his Moon because he knew that with the charges against her, she could never return to Earth.


    He had cried so many tears over her every time she was in danger or something bad had happened.


    And on top of all that, he had even done the one thing that he had been hesitant to do¡ªtake on the Crown Prince position and cast Byron adrift just so he could legitimately ask her to marry him.


    He had done all this because he loved this woman to the depths of his core. And now she was asking him if he loved her?


    Did he have to say the words?


    Candi gazed into his eyes, waiting expectantly.


    She could see all that he had done, and it was more than words could ever possibly say. But she couldn''t help herself.


    She was a woman, damn it, and a woman still wanted to hear a man say it out loud. Preferably many times. Many many times.


    ''I love you.'' He whispered inside her mind.


    "Ehhh???" She pulled on her earlobe as if she was hard of hearing.


    ''I love you, Baby Girl.'' He said it a bit louder within her mind''s ear.


    "I can''t hear you." She sing-songed in her sassy voice.


    He growled and pounced on her, pressing her to the bed.


    ''What can you not hear? Is this not clear enough?''


    "Do you haveryngitis? Is your voice broken?" She asked, giggling as he began to tickle her.


    Dante paused, resting his head on her forehead.


    The minx wanted him to say it out loud and not just think the words into her mind.


    Fine.


    He would give her the words she wanted to hear.


    "I love you with every inhale and every exhale. I love you with every drop of sunshine and every beam of moonlight."


    His gravelly rumbling voice reverberated into the space between them, tickling her ears and the depths of her heart.


    "I love you with everything within me that is capable of love. I love you so much that sometimes it hurts my heart because I feel you so deeply inside."


    His deep voice hit so many delicate nerve endings within Candi''s body that she shivered with delight.


    "Hmmmmm." She sighed with contentment.


    "Is that a yes?" He asked.


    "Yes." She responded.


    Dante closed his eyes.


    He didn''t want to shed tears at this moment because it was a happy moment, but his eyes kept leaking. And he never got a chance to dry his tears because his woman had just wrestled him onto his back.


    She was doing something and saying something to him.


    "Didn''t you say we were going to go further if I wished?" She murmured into his ear. "Well, I wish."


    She reached out, and with a decisive movement, pulled his clothing off.


    His rock hard manhood sprang out, unencumbered by the restrictive clothing.


    Dante swiftly inhaled. He reached out, cupping her face with both hands. Leaning toward her, he began kissing her tenderly.


    His hands reached behind her head, gently cradling her.


    What he did not expect was that his shaft would be mere inches away from Candi''s hands, and that she would take advantage of that fact.


    Not wasting any opportunities, she reached out and grabbed his swollen engorged manhood with both hands.


    He winced, resting his forehead on hers, as a sharp hiss of breath expelled from his nostrils.


    Candi looked down at therge warm member trembling in her hands. She licked her lips, staring at the one-eyed love slit that was weeping with all the pent-up desire that he''d had collected within himself all this time.


    Lowering her head, she reached out with her tongue and licked the cleft of his shaft, tasting the slightly salty pre-cum that had begun to ooze from his love slit.


    "Mmmmmhhhh," he rumbled in his deep baritone voice and shuddered. His hands were cradling the back of her head, but he held himself back, giving her the initiative of movement.


    Without wasting any more time, she tucked her tongue and wrapped her lips around his engorged head. Then she slowly began swallowing him whole.


    Therge bulbous tip of his shaft touched the back of her throat...and then it went deeper in.


    "Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh." He sighed with ecstasy.


    She pulled back a bit and took a breath, but his hands were already pushing the back of her head, wanting to go back into that deep darkness of her throat.


    Slowly and with steady strokes, she began to pump his shaft into her mouth. She continued grasping the base of his shaft as she moved her head back and forth, stopping when the head of his penis hit the back of her throat.


    As she stroked him into her throat, he groaned and convulsed, gasping for air.


    Suddenly, he held onto the back of her head as his pelvis thrust hard. He plunged his entire manhood inside her mouth, up to the hilt.


    For a second, Candi was so surprised that she forgot to breathe through her nose. Her throat was filled with the taste of him.


    But then he pulled back slightly and she let out another breath.


    His eyes were squeezed shut. His sensual lips opened as he breathed in ragged breaths.


    He looked grim, as if he was in pain.


    She pulled back, removing his engorged, veiny manhood from her mouth. Precum mixed with saliva dripped in long strands from the tip of his penis to her mouth.


    "Am I hurting you?"


    "Ahhhh...no. Not hurt. It just feels amazing." He swallowed involuntarily. "We can''t do that too much. It feels too good, and I don''t want toe just yet."


    "Then let''s do other things," she whispered as she reached out with both hands and began touching his pecs, rubbing gently his erect male nipples.


    Dante drew in a hiss.


    Candi smiled.


    She had found his secret erogenous zone.


    Her mouthtched onto his chest and she began to lick his nipples. That familiar deep rumbling deep within his throat began to sound.


    She continued licking, enjoying the sounds of his pleasure.


    Before she knew it, she had added a few dark red kiss marks on his otherwise perfect body. They were both starting to get rather spotty, the more they pleasured each other.


    When Dante could no longer handle more of her kisses, he shifted her body so she was lying back onto the bed.


    In one quick motion, he pulled off her skirt and threw it to the floor. His body shifted until he was almost on top of her.


    His rock hard thighs eased her legs apart as he gently rumbled deep within his chest, barely intelligible words of lust and love. Then his mouth covered her lips, and there were no more words.


    Dante held her head in one hand, deepening his kisses as his other hand gently stroked her lower abdomen.


    Slowly, he reached in between her legs.


    As his finger touched her swollen bud of desire, Candi gasped, her back arching upwards. She was already drenched with desire, her juices soaking his fingers.


    Dante began gently rolling her moist bud with his thumb and then dipped a finger into her, separating the lips of her womanhood.


    Reaching into her petals, he gently probed her, touched the intact hymen. Being very careful, he continued touching her with great expertise, knowing exactly how much pressure to exert to make her cry with ecstasy.


    "You are so wet¡­" he whispered.


    Candi looked away, embarrassed at her body''s reaction to his touch.


    He gave a gentleugh and bent down to taste her lips again, even as his fingers continued rubbing her clit and dipping into her depths.


    Her heart beat furiously.


    She could hear the pounding in her ears. She craved Dante''s touch so badly, and it was all she could do to hold back her sudden intense desire to scream out loud.


    She grabbed onto his shoulders with both hands and tried to stifle her moans, but as he continued to build wave after wave of intense pleasure, her soft moans became sobs of bliss.


    Dante did not let up.


    The more she moaned and sobbed, the more he stroked and petted. His fingers continued stroking her outer lips and her clit, drawing circles around her raised nub, and then he began ying with it directly.


    Her body was instantly ovee with intense pleasure. She wracked with pure sensation as an intense feeling of sweet arousal flushed over her loins.


    "Aaahhhh Dante. I want you inside of me." She gasped.


    "I want to enter you too, Baby Girl, but I don''t know if I can control myself." He reached out and pushed back her sweat-damp blonde hair from her face.


    "Let''s go slow."


    "It might hurt you a bit, Love. I can feel your virgin body still."


    Candi smiled.


    "No pain, no gain."

 Chapter 137 - A Blood Sacrifice

    [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT]


    Dante caressed her legs until he reached her ankles. Then he gently pulled her legs up until they propped against his shoulders.


    He tucked a pillow under her buttocks to raise her up a bit until his shaft was resting directly on her womanhood.


    Dante''s hands gripped her waist, and then he began to move his hips.


    Candi let out a moan of pleasure as he rubbed the base of his hot thick shaft on top of her slick open petals and bud. The sweet friction built up the ecstasy she was feeling until she could barely keep from screaming.


    "Dante. I want to feel you inside me," she moaned.


    His eyes closed for a moment, and then he reached down to position the round tip of his member into her opening.


    "I''m going in slowly. If it hurts, let me know."


    Candi clenched her eyes and nodded.


    "Ooooohhhhh," she mewled as the tip of his ns began to prate.


    "Does it hurt?"


    "Yes, a little. You''re too big." She breathed.


    "I''ve only pushed the head in. You''re too tight. Rx a bit." He whispered.


    Candi took a deep breath and rxed.


    He inched forward, not wanting to hurt her any more than he needed to.


    She gasped.


    He withdrew a bit to give her some relief, but then slowly edged himself back in.


    Candi moaned again.


    "Ahhhhhh....it hurts...but it hurts sooo good," she sighed.


    He lowered his head and covered her lips. As he kissed her with tenderness, his hips thrust once more.


    With a single push, Dante had broken through.


    "Aaaahhhh!!!" She cried, tears springing from the corners of her eyes.


    He moved from her mouth to her eyes and kissed away her tears. "Hush love. It''s done. It will be a little easier now."


    Candi nodded.


    She opened her tear-filled eyes and gazed into his crystal green eyes.


    "It hurts...a little." Then she looked down. "And I bled on the pillow, Dante."


    Dante smiled tenderly. "It''s a blood sacrifice you were willing to make for me. I take what you give with gratitude and love."


    He remained motionless to give her enough time to grow more ustomed to hisrge girth, but in a short time, he could no longer maintain his stationary position.


    Unable to hold still, Dante began moving his hips.


    His throbbing member lunged into her in small thrusts. Then he gently pulled out until only his tip remained before gradually sliding back in an almost excruciating manner.


    "Ahhh, ahhh!" She cried out.


    "Are you hurt?" Dante looked worriedly at her.


    "Haaahhhh¡ªno. Feels so good."


    Heughed gently. "Then allow me to be a bit less gentle, Baby Girl."


    At her insistent nodding, Dante began pushing his shaft until he was hilt-deep within her. Then he started in a slow rhythmic rocking motion, pressing himself into her, harder and harder with every passing second.


    Candi gasped every time the tip of his manhood pressed against her womb, sending her closer and closer to the edge of climax. As he continued to push into her body, Candi squeezed down with every thrust.


    Dante could feel his self-control begin to slip. His neck veins bulged as he continued pumping himself inside her.


    He maintained his steady thrusting, gritting his teeth as he felt the sensation building up. The feeling of her soft moist insides clutching and squeezing against his sensitive muscle was almost more than he could bear.


    To maintain his erection without exploding into a million shards of exquisite release, Dante began slowing down. Moving with less intensity.


    As he was desperately trying to control his raging desire, her body began shaking and she moaned with wanton desperation.


    The heat between them was like a raging inferno.


    Sweat rolled off their faces and from their bodies,mingling with the essence of their lovemaking. The smell of their sexual excitement was making him growl like a hungry beast, picking up the sweet heady scent of his mate.


    Candi could feel the length of him pulsating inside her. She began to convulse, her body trembling, trying to reach the climactic point, which was about to happen.


    It was so close¡­so, so close.


    And then¡ªa sh of light!


    The sweetest sensation began washing over her as she squeezed his engorged penis in cascades of orgasmic release.


    "Haaa! Ahhh! Ah!" She shrieked, clutching onto his shoulders, digging her fingers into his skin.


    As she fell back onto the sheets, Dante kissed her forehead and increased the tempo of his thrust, his temperature sky-rocketing.


    He could see the thick length of his hot slick member sliding in and out of her body and he had to quickly shut his eyes because it was such an erotic sight.


    But there was nothing he could do to shut out the intense feeling of all the nerve endings on the head of his shaft, rubbing into that hot wetness that was her love canal.


    Nothing was effective in blocking the sheer electricity that continued coursing through his body through that point of connection that fused him together with his bride.


    In that tiny space and moment, they werepletely joined together as a single entity.


    Dante could feel himself losing his grip on his physical body. He gritted his teeth, trying to keep his ws from springing out of his fingertips and his fangs from growing, but his wings sprang forth as he lost control of his body.


    With the instincts of an ancient beast, he sought out her creamy softness of her shoulder. Unable to control himself, he sank his teeth into her artery, drinking in a gulp of her sweet heady wine.


    As the venom shot into Candi''s body, she again felt the rush of ecstasy coursing through her body. The intensity of pleasure was building up once more.


    Coupled with the rocking motion of his pelvis and his huge member thrusting into her body, she again began to reach climax.


    And then she reached it again.


    "Aaaaaaaahhhh!!!"


    She screamed, clinging onto his body with all her limbs as her body convulsed and squeezed its orgasmic explosion around his swollen shaft.


    Her second orgasm pushed Dante past the point of holding on. He growled a deep rumbling sound that was formed at the base of his throat.


    At the moment of hot release, he held his breath and discharged a torrential flood of himself into her.


    His body wracked with pleasure, quivering with overwhelming sensations of bliss and joy and ecstasy as he gasped for air.


    With the tiny amount of control he had left, Dante sank onto her body, fully formed as a human bat with his wings protectively enveloping them both in a cocoon of possessive protection.

 Chapter 138 - Aftermath

    It only took a couple of seconds for Candi to begin struggling.


    "Aahhh. Dante, you''re too heavy. I can''t breathe. Get off me!" She screamed with a strangled voice.


    "Sorry Baby Girl," Danteughed as he hoisted himself off her body.


    With a single flex of his muscles, his wings retracted and his face returned to the human visage she knew so well.


    "You turned into a bat." Candi breathed with amazement.


    "At the moment of release, I cannot control my body. It was all I could do just to keep my ws from extruding and hurting you."


    "So this human form is not your real form?"


    Dante blinked. How could he exin this to his new bride in a way that was not so alien and foreign that it repulsed her.


    "We bats have a dual nature within our bodies. We can pick and choose to be either human or bat. Unfortunately, the bat nature is very animalistic and tied to instincts that are hardwired."


    "So when you are in rational control, your human side is what I see and when you lose control and your urges and instincts take over¡ª"


    "That''s right. I be a humanoid bat."


    "I wonder why I only have a single nature inside my body. All I can ever be is human."


    Dante dropped a kiss onto her face. "You''re not a hybrid, that''s why."


    "Are we¡­" Candi bit her lip. How should she ask this. "Are wepatible? Can we have children even though you and I are biologically so different?"


    Dante smiled. "Of course we can have children. The whole reason why the Avgo chose you was so that your gic material could be used to strengthen the royal Bat lineage."


    Candi looked away. That was the part she had not really thought about much.


    "What if I get pregnant from this?"


    Dante cradled her head in hisrge hands. "That would be a happy urrence, Baby Girl."


    "But we''re not exactly married yet. Would the child be considered¡ª"


    "Hush!" He ced a finger over her lips. "You have agreed to be my wife. I will not allow you to back out of that."


    "No, what I mean is that we just barely talked about it, but we''re not exactly married yet, so would that make the child illegi¡ª."


    Danteughed, a pure sound of delight.


    "No child of mine will ever be illegitimate. The moment you said yes was the moment you became my wife."


    "Oh. I thought it was the legal papers and such."


    "Legal papers have to do with inheritance and session of the throne. Whether you are someone''s wife or not is the eptance or rejection of a serious heartfelt request."


    He turned his serious green eyes at her. "I am the Crown Prince. If I told everyone around me that you are my wife, who will argue with me?"


    "But will there evere a time when another woman takes precedence and be ''official wife'', as opposed to one that you picked?"


    "Not going to happen." He shook his head. "If there is something you haven''t figured out about me by now, it''s the fact that I don''t kow-tow to anybody, not even my father."


    She nodded. It was true. Dante never cared what the Emperor said. He just did what he pleased.


    They bathed together and made love several more times before their bodies were satiated enough to allow them to rest a bit.


    At one point in their lovemaking, Dante identally scratched Candi''s arm with one of his ws and they had to stop so he could heal her.


    Thereafter, they learned to pause at the moment when his wings emerged so he could safely tuck in his talons before continuing with the lovemaking.


    It was a learning experience for both of them, and eventually, they began to learn each other''s rhythms and each other''s likes and dislikes.


    By evening, they finally emerged from their secluded room in search of food and the rest of the brothers.


    Empress Anastasia''s Pce in Heliopolis was once a magnificent hotel. It had been acquired and then remade into a pce fit for an Empress of the gxy.


    It was one of many things that the Emperor did to assuage the hurt that Anastasia felt at the moment she knew that another woman would take her ce as Empress even though she was carrying Rex'' first-born child.


    As such, the bones of the hotel showed through the pce reconstruction. There was a dining room that was once a famous restaurant within the city.


    The entire staff had been retained but the restaurant no longer catered to the general public and was, instead, for the exclusive use of the royal family.


    The dining hall was deserted save for a couple of servers waiting to assist any royal member who happened to be wandering down for dinner.


    They chose a tiny table near the window and Dante seated her before taking his own ce.


    "Bring us a couple portions of whatever is best from the kitchen," he said to the serving maid as she poured their wine.


    "No wine for her." He waved a dismissive hand.


    "Would juice or tea be eptable Darling?" He asked Candi.


    Candi gasped. "I can''t have any wine?"


    Not that she ever drank any, but he had never intercepted any alcoholic beverages from her before.


    "No. What if you''re with child?" He raised his eyebrows in consternation.


    Sheughed. "Oh Dante. It doesn''t happen that fast, silly man."


    Dante narrowed his eyes and gazed at her through half-veiled lids.


    "You never know. You could be pregnant at this very moment."


    "Impossible," she smirked.


    "Give me your hand." Hemanded.


    Candi covered her mouth as strange thoughts pervaded her mind. Did she have to pee on his hand to get urate results?


    "Don''t tell me you are a walking pregnancy test."


    He smiled. "If there is a life within you that has just started, I will be able to detect that small spark of life. Give me your hand." He reached out his hand towards her.


    She reached out with hesitant fingers, not sure what exactly he was going to do.


    Dante grasped her fingers with his own and covered her wrist with hisrge hand.


    In seconds, his entire hand glowed as he probed her body through the hand he was gripping.


    Candi''s jaw dropped as she felt the sudden heat that exuded from his hand as he began probing her body.


    It was very different from the healing touches which she had also felt from te and Leonardo. It was more exploratory, more generalized, and not focused on any one location.


    He stilled his body as he concentrated on his search, but then his eyes widened and he released her hand. It had only taken a few minutes for him to make his determination.


    "What? What''s going on?" Candi asked as she saw the subtle change in his face.


    He cleared his throat. "You¡ªyou have conceived but are not yet impregnated."


    "Con¡ªconceived but not pregnant? What does that mean?"


    "It means, my love, your egg has been fertilized by my sperm. It just hasn''t imnted to your womb yet.. Once that happens, you will be pregnant and we will be parents."

 Chapter 139 - To Marry A Shrew

    Candi stared at him.


    This was serious and she hadn''t thought about the ramification of being a mother yet, but the only thing she could think about was that there were still two impending situations that needed to be addressed.


    The Avgo and the Crown Prince.


    "I don''t need to continue with the Avgo, do I?" She gave a questioning nce at Dante.


    "What?" He turned to her, his dazzling green eyes questioning.


    "The whole point of me continuing with the Avgo was so that I could marry the Crown Prince to gain legal residency and not have to return to Earth."


    Danteughed gently. "When you put it that way, I feel so used and abused."


    She pped Dante''s arm with mild annoyance.


    "Be serious about this. I''m honestly asking you. What''s the point in me continuing with the Avgo? If you say I''m your wife, it''s really just a formality isn''t it?"


    "Yes and no." Dante drawled with thought. "For us, it''s a done deal. At this moment, you are already my wife, mentally, soulfully, and physically. You are also holding within you, my child."


    He held out a finger.


    "But if you drop out now, the rest of the gxy is going to see that and expect me to marry Jenna since you have forfeited your chance with me."


    He shook his head. "That''s not true of course, but they won''t know that."


    He gave her a wolfish grin.


    "Now, I don''t care what they think, but as Empress, it would be easier for you if the entire Gxy didn''t think that you cheated and got the Empress throne by sleeping with me."


    "Hmmm. Yeah. I can see how that would y out." She bit her lip. "It would just be easier for everyone for me just to go through with the final two Events. If I win them, we don''t ever have to look back on this again."


    "That''s right."


    "So now that you know I have a fertilized egg that could imnt within the next few days or weeks, what are you going to do about it?"


    Dante scratched his chin, pretending to be in deep thought.


    "Hmmm. Looks like I''m going to have to announce to the world that I''ll be marrying my egg''s mother."


    She pped his forearm again. "Is that all I am to you? Just an egg''s mother?"


    Danteughed. "Did I just agree to marry a shrew? I''m getting so physical abused!!!"


    She scrunched up her face and began pping repeatedly on his forearm with both hands as heughed at her love pats and leaned in to kiss her.


    From the entryway, six Princes looked on the open disy of apparent love between the two of them with varying degrees of reactions.


    This was not unexpected. It was in fact, the predestined oue.


    She was after all, the leading Avgo Female ted to win the Events and he was the Crown Prince at the end of that winning rainbow.


    But knowing that this was going to be the end result and seeing her being actively wooed by the Crown Prince himself was something that they had not quite prepared their hearts to ept.


    "When did you agree to marry a shrew?" Byron was the first to break into their y-banter.


    Of all the brothers, he knew that he was the one whose chances of marrying Candace had dropped to zero.


    All he had left to hold onto was a mental link with the woman that he loved. It would be the only thing to sustain him through theing weeks and months.


    Candi and Dante both turned their faces to the group, and as they did, the joy on their faces were so evident that everyone knew there was a major change in status quo.


    There was no doubt that they were now an official couple.


    "Everyone! Come and have dinner with us!" Candi jumped up and waved her hands in excitement.


    The Princes looked at each other, and as one, they all trooped in.


    "Looks like we have to extend our congrattions to the Crown Prince and our new Crown Princess." Lucas was the second person to speak up.


    As someone who had never really even been given the chance to spend much time with Candi, he had always rejected any romantic thoughts that might have bubbled up when it came to Candi.


    Aside from the few minutes of fantasy that came due to the people''s votes for best couple Lucandace, he had never even been in the running.


    "Yes! Congrattions, you two!" Jared and Jason both echoed out.


    Being twins and loving the same woman was a non-starter to begin with. They had already known this which was why they never confessed their feelings to their cherished Tiny Dancer.


    The woman they loved would have to marry both of them for there to be any happy ending for both Jason and Jared, but what woman would want to marry two green haired Princes at the same time?


    Leonardo gave her a grim smile. He had harbored secret fantasies about Candace and himself. He had even spoken to her about his intent.


    But of course, he could not officially ask her to marry him until she lost the Avgopetition.


    At her current ranking, it looked as if she would sweep thepetition with ease which mean he would never even have that right. She was the winning Avgo Female¡ªthat single rare woman who was predestined for the Crown Prince.


    te was the only one whose grim countenance broke through the smiles of the brothers.


    He was the first man who had touched her, the night he caught her with the Avgo gemstone. He was also the first to have kissed her and done much more intimate things.


    As the youngest prince, he had the least chance to be with this woman. Intellectually, he knew that, but emotionally, he railed against the injustice of it all.


    Not only did he have no right to im her, he also had no right to begrudge her to the Crown Prince. This was, after all, what the Avgo Event was all about.


    For a burning moment, te looked at Candace with a single thought.


    If he kidnapped her and flew across the gxy with her, as he had wanted to do the first night they made love, would she give him a chance?


    But then what?


    What kind of life could he possibly give her? They would be fugitives on the run for the rest of their lives.


    te saw what she would give up and his heart bled.


    He wanted the best for her. That was why he had taken her to Dante''s Moon after that first Avgo Event, when he realized she was in serious danger.


    He was the one who had delivered her into the hands of his oldest brother because he knew Dante was the only one with enough power and resources to be able to protect her.


    That was even more true now than ever before.


    There were too many forces going after Candace. The safest ce for her was still with Dante.


    As long as she was safe and alive, and as long as his brother loved her and showered her with everything that she deserved, he would be happy for her.


    So be it. He was going to cheer her on and be her silent protector from afar.


    te nodded at Candace with saddened eyes.


    From across the room, Candi could sense all those mixed emotions emanating from the six Princes and she could not help but empathize.


    For a moment, her eyes misted over.


    But then Dante reached out for her hand and rubbed it with a gentle thumb.


    "You can beat my arm again if it makes you feel a little better," he offered, his deep voice rumbling in between them.

 Chapter 140 - Say Something!

    Dinner was a strained and silent affair.


    The brothers tried to make small talk, but eventually, everything died down to a miserable dribble of polite conversation. By the time desert was served, no one was talking at all.


    Candi felt sad but at the same time, she also felt happy. She was sad that the six Princes sitting around her were sad. She was happy because Dante was on top of the world, and there was a possibility of her being pregnant.


    All these emotions were valid, and she respected them all. Life was like that, and emotions were real even though they were fleeting and changed with the wind.


    She spent that night, alone in her room. Dante had dropped her off inside, kissed her, and left with the promise that he would return the following morning to escort her to the Avgo Event, which would be held at the Abzu Gardens of Eden.


    Since Candace had prepared extensively for this specific Event, she didn''t feel unprepared. What she felt was nervous.


    If it had been a dance routine or a piano recital, or even if it was a schrly presentation of her archaeological work, she would have just snapped her fingers and gone through it.


    But this¡­this was something so far outside her realm of experience that she wasn''t sure it was something she could pull off.


    Candi thew her shoulders back and took a deep gulp of air. She was going to trust that Lucas knew what he was doing. They had practiced and prepared for it all week.


    There was nothing more to do but simply execute the n.


    Morning came stealing through the cracks under the drapes, slowly lighting up the room she was in. Candi had already showered and dressed, and now she was simply waiting for Dante to arrive and take her to breakfast.


    ''Are you awake yet, Darling? I''m walking to your room right now.'' The familiar deep rumble of Dante''s voice called out inside her mind.


    Candi yelped with joy and jumped up to open the door.


    He was still down the hall a ways, but as soon as he saw her poking her head through the doorway, he ran thest three steps to get to her.


    "My, my. You look excited. Is that for me or because you''re super hungry for breakfast?" He called out.


    Of course, he never gave her the chance to respond because his lips had already imed hers. His tongue danced inside her mouth, tasting and suckling her as his hands tenderly caressed her head.


    Five minutes of nuzzling and kissing and sucking and they were still standing outside her door.


    "I''m so hungry, Baby Girl. How about we skip breakfast and just stay inside your room all day?" He muttered as he tasted her lips again.


    "Are we skipping the Avgo Event too?" She licked his lips with anticipation.


    Dante pulled back with a low growl.


    "Let''s go get you fed, you kill-joy woman." He straightened up from his crouch. "There''s a pretty big difference between our heights."


    "Yes. I''m 5''2" and you''re 6''4". That''s a fourteen inch difference!" Sheined.


    "As long as we fit each other in areas that count, it''s all that matters Baby Girl." Dante smiled.


    The breakfast area was empty of everyone so she and Dante ordered a few small items and went to a corner table.


    "Are the guys avoiding us?"


    Dante shook his head. "Lucas, Jason, and Jared are all out taking care ofst minute things for your event, while te and Leo are getting the warships ready for any sudden strikes from the other side."


    "What about Byron?"


    Dante shook his head. "I haven''t seen him sincest night at dinner."


    Candi nodded, hoping the men were all okay.


    "I''m too nervous to eat." She pushed her toast away and concentrated on her coffee.


    "It''s okay Baby Girl. I''ll take you back after your event and feed you a nice fat lunch." He licked his lips. "And then after that, you''re going to feed me your delectable body because I am starving for you."


    "Promises, promises." She smiled.


    ==============


    After their quick breakfast, Dante apanied her to the Abzu Gardens of Eden where he dropped her off inside her dressing room, immediately attached to the stage.


    The Abzu Gardens was a 2,000 acre parcel ofnd that held a stunning disy of flowers that were grouped in artful order of colors, sizes, and scents.


    It was to be expected for a world of butterfly people.


    The stage where the Avgo Event was to be held was a huge stage that was located at the center of the Abzu among all the flowers of the ce.


    Candi was so nervous that she did not look around much and by the time she reached the backstage area, all that she could see were the four in walls of the dressing room.


    Dante bent down and gave her ast quick kiss.


    "Wait here. I''ll go get Lucas and the twins, and I''ll be back."


    She nodded and went to the vanity mirror and sat down on the only chair in the room.


    Since the twins were supposed to bring her stage costume with them, she had on the same white suit she had worn the previous day to get to the.


    The stylists would be doing her hair, so Candi had pulled her blonde tresses back into a high ponytail to keep them out of the way.


    Her unadorned face with those familiar hazel eyes stared back at her in the mirror, tense and anxious as she waited.


    And waited.


    And waited.


    And waited.


    Twenty minutes before the event started, Candi realized something was badly wrong. The twins should have been here by now to help her dress.


    She ran to the door and peeked out. There was no one around the hallways.


    She thought about leaving to go find them but then realized that she had no idea where to go.


    She needed to contact someone.


    ''Dante.''


    ''¡­''


    Candi took a deep jagged breath.


    If he was not responding, it was either because he was sleeping, which was impossible because it was getting so close to show time for her.


    Any other option was not eptable and she did not even give thought to them.


    ''Dante!!!'' She screamed this time, into the silent airwaves between her and the man who was now her husband.


    Why was Dante not responding?


    ''Dante. Don''t scare me Baby. Say something!''


    ''¡­''


    Something was wrong. Something was seriously wrong!


    They would have never abandoned her at a critical time like this, especially when they all had said they would be there for her.


    She breathed in quick sessions to calm herself, and then reached out to the only other person she had a mental connection with.


    ''Byron?''


    Please, please¡­answer me, she prayed to everything that was holy.

 Chapter 141 - Alone At The Avgo Event

    For a moment, there was no answer.


    Candi covered her head and gasped. Oh God not him too.


    ''Byron! Byron are you there???''


    ''Darling! Is everything alright? Are you hurt?''


    ''Oh my God, Byron!" Candi began panting, her fear exploding. He was answering which meant he was not hurt.


    "I''m fine, but the twins, Lucas, and Dante were supposed to be here to help me with the Event. It''s almost time, but nobody has shown up!''


    ''Listen. Just rx. Breathe deeply. Everything will be just fine.''


    Candi closed her eyes and breathed as Byron told her to do. The breathing helped quell down her panic, but she was still extremely worried.


    ''Good girl. Now listen carefully. You only have fifteen minutes left. From the dressing room where you are to the stage is going to take about ten minutes to get to.''


    His voice sounded urgent. Something was truly wrong.


    ''You need to start walking there NOW.''


    ''But Byron, I''m not dressed for the performance!''


    ''What are you wearing?''


    ''My¡ªmy white outfit from yesterday.''


    ''That''s good enough. You looked delectable yesterday so you should be fine. Remember, you don''t have to do much. Just show up on the stage.''


    ''But¡ª''


    ''Start walking Love.'' Byron''s voice was insistent. ''You only have thirteen minutes left to walk.''


    Heaving a cry, Candi ran out of the dressing room and began heading in the direction of the ck and blue arrows that clearly pointed the way onto the stage.


    ''Remember. All you have to do is show up onstage. You don''t really need to do anything and you would still take third position since this is not an elimination event.''


    ''It''s not?''


    ''No. Remember, it was just a talent show for the top three Avgo Females to show off their magical talents. Even if you didn''t do anything, you''d still be fine and in first ce still. Just show up when your name is called.''


    ''Okay Byron.'' Her voice shake, partly because she was running through the corridor and partly because she was scared.


    ''Please go find your brothers. I don''t know what happened to any of them.''


    ''Leave them to me. You just go out there and do your best.'' He responded in a rushed manner, as if he was running himself.


    The halls were twisting and turning. The arrows continued to point, but half way to the staging area, she no longer needed them.


    The noiseing from the stage area was like a dull roar. It sounded as if someone had just finished their Avgo Event.


    ''I''m here at the back lobby area. I can hear the crowd and Lorem Ipsum.''


    ''Good luck Darling.'' Byron said and then there was silence on his end.


    Since she didn''t have ess to any of the monitors, she had no idea who was performing what and how the scores were racking up.


    At this point though, the Avgo was not on her list of the most important thing to think about. Aside from Byron, who sounded as if he was in some sort of distress himself, she had no idea where the others were.


    Candi was gulping down tears as she ran towards the back stage.


    The back lobby area was filled with Lorem Ipsum''s attendants.


    When they saw her running up, one of them ran out to let the old goat know she had arrived.


    The other attendants converged in on her. They looked her up and down without saying a word.


    The top ranking Avgo Female hade with no attendants of her own and looked as if she had been running through the halls to get here.


    "Good morning Princess. d you were able to make it on time."


    One handed her a cup of water and another was wiping the sweat off her brow and dusting something light on her face.


    A third attendant gave a nervous smile as she looked at the white outfit that looked as if it was the same J&J exclusive that Candi had worn yesterday.


    Although it was still clean, it wasn''t exactly appropriate and proper for the leading Avgo Female to show up at the Avgo Magic and Illusions Event in a J&J outfit that was not specifically created for it.


    The Twin Princes would never have missed an opportunity of this magnitude to show off more of their magical creations on this perfect woman who had modeled everything they had made for her to perfection.


    "It''s fine. This outfit is part of my performance." She lied.


    They nodded, as if relieved to hear her say that. Obviously, this was supposed to have been seen twice. It must be the gship outfit.


    "We were told you would be here almost an hour ago to get set up so we reserved a special stage for you, but there''s nothing on it. It''s just an empty stage."


    Another spoke up as he quickly brushed her hair back into some semnce of a sleek blonde ponytail and then sprayed it into ce.


    Candi beamed a bright smile at all of them. Her mask was firmly in ce.


    "Something unexpected came up so I was a bit dyed, but I''m here and I''m ready now."


    The attendants nodded and bowed to her. They had seen this woman in action. Anything Princess Candace Farrah did was always spectacr and stunning.


    What were they worried about? This event would be no different.


    An attendant ran back to the staging area.


    "Get ready, Princess. You''re on next." She called out in a low calm voice.


    Candi looked up at the woman and nodded.


    From backstage, they could hear the sound of Lorem Ipsum''s announcementing up.


    "And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, the moment you have all been waiting for. Please give a big wee to our current top ranked Avgo Female, the beautiful, multi-talented, exquisitely stunning Candace Farrah, from the blue green world of Earth!!!"


    A huge whooping and hollering rose up among the crowds.


    How much of it was real and how much was canned, she could not tell. It was all one huge noise to her.


    Candi took a deep breath and walked out onto the brilliantly lit stage.


    A single spotlight found her small white-d figure walking out through a small sliver of the huge curtained back and began to focus in on her.


    Suddenly, all the visuals pods began training their eyes at her wide-eyed innocent, unadorned face. Her hazel eyes and soft lips popped up on therge screen everywhere.


    Everyone gasped.


    Most of the visuals that had been shown around the gxy was of this woman in carefully created fashions from the Twin Princes Jason and Jared.


    There was also the abundance of still images of Lucandace from the ''Couple of the Gxy'' which showed her in beautiful costumes and a perfectly made-up face standing alongside the most handsome Prince of the Royal family.


    But at this Avgo Event, she looked so fresh and natural! With her shiny smooth blonde hair tied up in a high ponytail, she barely looked seventeen!


    Wait a moment. How old was she?


    Some quick-thinking media expert pulled visuals of her first onstage appearance. It was an up-close zoom of her face as she was being flown onto the stage and dropped from the arms of one of the Princes of Erenveil.


    This was most definitely a natural beauty. She needed no makeup to walk onstage and perform brilliantly.


    On the running text below her visual, it clearly stated her name and her age: Candace Farrah - 22 Earth years.


    She most definitely was past legal age.

 Chapter 142 - Sorry Im Late

    The audience scrutinized the angles and features of her face between the two visuals of the top ranked Avgo Female. The first time Candace Farrah showed up, she was also clean-faced and a bit windblown.


    She had no makeup on then either, but at that time, no one paid much attention to her because the big money was on the other much more morous looking Avgo Females.


    As she began to rise in the ranks, they began to notice her more and more and she became an instant overnight celebrity.


    Her graceful ballet gestures, exclusive designer clothing, and noble regal looks began to be copied by all the great designers of the fashion industry.


    Showing up at this event without any makeup was a huge invitation for everyone to zoom in, inspect and deliberate on her newest style.


    This must be the new trend of wearing makeup that did not look like makeup.


    The Avgo was a huge event. It would be impossible for the two Designer Princes to allow her onstage without makeup on.


    Obviously, this had to be lipstick that looked as if there was no lipstick, mascara that did not look like mascara, the palest color blush possible, and skin-color eyeshadow.


    This was what the top ranked Female Avgo looked like, ''almost'' unadorned. Even her clothes were from the day before.


    But it couldn''t be.


    This was her performance day and that was just traveling clothes. It had to be a simr outfit that was also white.


    So white had to be thetest new craze color!!!


    And even with nothing to enhance her looks, she still looked stunning. Like a fresh young flower that was barely starting to bloom.


    This was their next Empress in all her simplistic glory.


    The crowd roared their approval.


    From the stage, Candi looked out into the re. The lights were so bright, she could barely see the crowd at all.


    She was all alone on this stage that was supposed to have been filled with seven Princes. They had rehearsed this a dozen times together but now it was just her so she was going to have to improvise.


    She could hear the crowd being quieted down by the stage hands, and as she took a deep breath to center herself, the music to the performance began.


    Candi raised her hands above her head and looked up into the ceiling.


    As the first strains of the cello began, she started counting.


    5


    4


    3


    2


    1


    Right on time, the rhythm of the bongos began to beat.


    She began moving to the choreographed patterns that Lucas had created for her to dance.


    At the point where the bongos were joined by a reed flute, Candi reached out and pulled from what should have been stage bushes, the hands of Prince Lucas.


    A lion''s roar filled the stage auditorium, part of the sound effect that had been added to the music that Lucas had chosen with such great care.


    Since Lucas was not there, she improvised, hoping the audience would be able to guess that she had just teased a lion out of hisir.


    From the other side of the stage, there would be another lion. The roaring of that second lion also filled the stage as Leonardo would have prowled towards her.


    Between Lucas and Leonardo, she was supposed to have danced and payed, fighting for dominance.


    Since they were not there, she closed her eyes, visualized their presence and danced her rehearsed steps. The music along with her visualization sent her mind the cues she needed to keep dancing.


    It began to seem real to her, as if they were there with her.


    3


    2


    1


    Another sound began, and the sshing of the ocean could be heard.


    Candi reached out and grabbed onto the phantom hands of the mer-twins as they emerged from their ocean depths. Sashaying through the make-believe waters, she moved with her mer-princes as they frolicked along the wavespping the shoreline.


    Together with them in her mind, she danced, swaying along with the steel drums of the tropical beaches as a golden red sun sank slowly into the azure depths.


    2


    1


    A wolf howled in the distance, along with the distant p of thunder. At the second thunder p, te would have shown up, the manwolf of her fantasy.


    Strong and powerful, he would have tried to dominate her. She continued dancing through the hunt, the chase, and finally, the submission as he grasped her and raised her above his shoulders.


    Since he was not there, she improvised, throwing in ballet moves that looked as if she was dancing with a male wolf.


    2


    1


    Harps began to join in, alongside the tinkling of crystal bells as her beautiful blue butterfly appeared.


    She jumped into the air,nding within his imaginary arms and together they twirled among the flowers, tasting nectar, tasting each other, fluttering, prancing.


    As she danced alone among the imaginary flowers, her eyes began to flood with tears that she could not hold back.


    She was sick with worry about them all but she had to grimly finish this one task.


    She had only a few minutes left of this performance and then she would be done with this Avgo Event called Magic and Illusions.


    It was a joke of an event because she did absolutely zero magic and illusions. All the magic was supposed to have been done by the Princes themselves as they appeared in illusions of their mothers'' lineage and danced with her.


    It was supposed to seem as if she was the one doing the magic, but without them, she had nothing but empty dance moves along with some powerful music.


    3


    2


    1


    From above, there was the phantom red bird that was Byron. He swooped in, fluttering here, fluttering there, touching her on the shoulder, kissing the top of her head.


    She danced with him among the green fields of wheat and barley, soaring on the gusting lc winds. And as the ending built up, culminating into a thundering explosion of sounds, she was supposed to be lifted up into the sky and exit through the ceiling.


    As she reached up for the phantom red bird that was Byron, a pair of hands reached down and pulled her up.


    A real pair of hands!


    Candi opened her eyes and tried to see who it was that had grabbed her hands at the exact moment that Byron had practiced with her.


    She could barely see through her tears, but there was no mistaking the long red hair or his red-brown eyes.


    He was levitating above her using his magic and looking like the red bird that they had practiced.


    "Sorry I''mte Darling," he whispered as he levitated her up into his arms.


    "Hang onto me and let''s finish this dance, shall we?"


    She nodded and gripped her arms around his neck.


    And in perfect sequence, exactly as they had practiced before, he flew with her up and out of the stage.

 Chapter 143 - [Bonus ] Essence Vs Venom

    Immediately, a transport pod moved towards them and Byron''s wings unfurled from his back as he carried her up into the pod. The streaming media visual pods zeroed in on their escape, dutifully recording every minute action.


    The pod flew up into the bright blue of the Nymphalidae sky and disappeared into space.


    It left behind the thundering apuse of the audience who had been able to see everything that she had shown them through the magic of nothing but her incredible gift of story-telling through her dance moves.


    It was magic without the magic and illusion without the illusion. It allowed them to use their imagination in ways that were not possible in a world that was so filled with visuals that they barely could use their own imagination for much of anything.


    But just to absolutely prove that all this was a style choice and not because she had no magic abilities, at the finale, she had used magic to lift herself up and out of the stage with the phantom bird that she had conjured up and danced with.


    Candi missed all that adoration from the audience because she was crying as she buried her face into Byron''s body. His solid presence fractured her ss stage mask and she wept into his chest.


    He carried her to the control chair and sat down, with her still in his arms.


    "What''s going on Byron? Where is everyone?" She sobbed.


    ''Hush, Darling. Hush.'' He spoke into her mind. ''I''ll exin everything in a few minutes.''


    With her on hisp, Byron began to work the control pads. He needed to send the transport pod into a sector of space that was a bit further away from Nymphalidae.


    As soon as Candi saw that he was no longer furiously punching in the pathways for the pod to travel, she asked again.


    "Where are we going?"


    "We have to get you to safety. Aside from the tiny area around the stage where all the movers and shakers are present to attend the Avgo Event, it''s a war zone everywhere else."


    "The fighting has started?" Candi gasped. She knew it was imminent, but she didn''t think it would happen before the event.


    "While the Avgo Event was starting, there were skirmishes that had already begun at the fringes between the various factions."


    "I didn''t know¡­"


    Byron''s eyes were bleak.


    "The fighting started as soon as we touched down onto Nymphalidae. Do you remember the reason for holding the Avgo there?"


    Candi nodded. "It was to draw out the factions that were responsible for trying to kill me AND for murdering the poor ss girl Ana?se Paroles."


    Byron nodded.


    "Well, as it turns out, there are several separate factions that were acting independently of each other. That was why it took us awhile to figure out who did what."


    "Where are your brothers? Where is Dante?"


    Byron shook his head.


    "As far as I can tell, they are all fighting alongside their troops."


    He turned to Candi with desperate eyes. "One of the factions that are in this power struggle is my own maternal family."


    "The Avians?"


    "Yes. They ambushed me early this morning as I was leaving my room to join Jason and Jared for breakfast. I never made it there so I don''t know what happened to the twins."


    Candi cried in distress. Jason and Jared was most likely attacked in the same manner.


    Byron rubbed her back, consoling her as best he could.


    "Listen Darling. I don''t think the twins were harmed. The attackers didn''t hurt me. They just held me in some sort of detention cell."


    "How did you get out?"


    Byron gave a grim smile. "I managed to convince them that I was on their side."


    Candi gave him a questioning gaze.


    "I had them contact my aunt, the one who I grew up thinking was my mother." He rolled his eyes and sighed.


    "It turns out she still thinks of me as her son because she''d been my mother for my entire life. She made them release me and that was how I was able to reach you before the end of your Avgo Event performance."


    He shook his head. "If I''m not mistaken, the bird faction has also taken some of my brothers. I wouldn''t doubt that Lucas and the twins have both been snatched the same way I had been."


    Candi gasped. "How is that possible? Didn''t we have guards and protection in ce?"


    He shook his head. "By stealth and magic. We''re strong but we''re not invincible. Given enough of them surrounding us with magic attacks, they can overwhelm us if we''re alone."


    Candi''s eyes teared up. Her poor Princes.


    "At least I know one thing." He rubbed his eyes with a tired hand. "te and Leo are still in their warships fighting."


    Candi''s eyes widened.


    "Are you able to contact them at all?"


    "I''m taking you to te right now." He answered.


    Her heart jumped into her mouth.


    "Were you able to contact Dante?"


    Byron''s eyes narrowed with worry.


    "I can''t contact him at all. I have no idea where he is." He looked at Candi. "Did you and he connect mentally?"


    Candi nodded, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.


    "Yes. I tried to call his mind but," she shook her head, "he hasn''t responded."


    Byron gave a heavy sigh. "Given that I know how Dante works, the only reason why he would not respond to you would be if he were sleeping, unconscious, or dead."


    "Don''t say that!!!" She began bawling.


    Dante could not be dead. He must have just been too busy fighting or something.


    "Don''t worry Candace. If there is one thing I know about Dante, he''s very resourceful, and very powerful. He''ll turn up soon, I''m sure." Byron spoke with grim determination although his eyes were bleak.


    "Are you able to mind-contact anyone else?"


    She shook her head. "You and Dante are the only ones who I have any mental connection with."


    This seemed to surprise Byron. He gazed at her with an intensity that Candi could notprehend.


    "Besides me and Dante, none of my other brothers have given you their essence?"


    Candi blinked.


    "Essence?" What was he talking about?


    "Our bat essence. What I gave you so that we couldmune and connect with each other."


    "Oh¡­" Candi gasped.. "Dante called it venom."

 Chapter 144 - [Bonus ] Crackled Glass

    Byron shook his head with exasperation.


    "Darling it''s not venom. Venom is used to kill prey. You''re not prey and I would never hurt you."


    "Dante told me that it was used to subdue prey and make them do what you tell them to do."


    Byron shook his head. "That may be true a long long time ago when we were much more animalistic, but in this day and age, nobody uses it for that purpose. It''s easier just to use magic for mind control."


    "M¡ªmagic mind control?"


    "Yes, Darling. I couldn''t possibly go and bite every single opponent that I needed to control. That would be disgusting as I am not one who is willing to share my essence with someone I don''t truly love."


    "You can control minds without biting people?"


    "Hmmm. Yes, of course." He waved a dismissive hand.


    "Done subtly and over a wide swath of poption, it''s called ''charisma and the ability to sway people to your way of thinking''."


    "I see." Candi marveled at the pr opposite viewpoints of the exact same act. It was all just a viewpoint depending on intent.


    Calling something a ''venom'' instantly relegated it to something bad to be avoided. Calling the same thing an ''essence'' suddenly lifted it into something that was desirable.


    "Do you use your mind control to sway people?" She asked him.


    His eyes zed over with exhaustion.


    "Every day of my life, up until recently."


    "I don''t understand. How do you use it?" She asked.


    Byron gave her a dry tired look.


    "Every good ruler or monarch has to have this ability because it has to be used all the time or people start calling us dictators. When I was the Crown Prince, I had to be present in court sessions andwmaking sessions every day and I had to sway people to my way of thinking all day long."


    Candi nodded with understanding. Dante didn''t use the subtle mind control because he never needed to. Businesses were run in a different way than governments.


    As the Chief Executive Officer of all the CEOs, he didn''t need to work magic to issue an executive decision. He just announced it and his people simply followed protocols and did what he told them to do.


    If Dante ran the empire in the same manner as he did his businesses, no wonder he was being called a dictator.


    Byron sighed and leaned back fully on the chair, pulling Candi deeper into his arms.


    "It''s actually quite liberating to no longer be Crown Prince. I can do whatever I want to do and not have to worry about how it will affect the gxy."


    At that moment, the alert sounded. They wereing into traction distance of Raptor 600 and would be docking soon.


    She sighed and got off hisp. They were getting close to te''s warship and she needed to strap down for thending.


    "Thank you for letting me cry on you. I needed your strength for just a moment there."


    She went to the othermand console and strapped herself down.


    Byron looked sad. "I''m always here for you Darling. Don''t ever hesitate to call me if you ever need me for anything."


    Candi nodded.


    Byron turned back to the front monitors and waved his fingers. Instantly, a visual of te appeared.


    "I''m here with Candi."


    te nodded, his bright blue eyes filled with relief.


    "Bring her in."


    His visual winked out and the traction beams reached out to grab the transport pod.


    te was waiting for them when their transport pod opened up. He was standing inside the hangar, wearing his full Prime Warrior outfit.


    There was no doubt that he was dressed for battle. His face was grim but his arms were outstretched as he saw her emerge.


    Candi sobbed and ran towards him. She jumped into his arms and heaved a ragged sigh of relief.


    The most important thing in her mind at that moment was that he was unhurt.


    "Hush Love. It''s all going to be okay." te was shushing her gently. He carried her as the two Princes made their way to themand deck of the Raptor 600.


    As they walked, she could hear te and Byron talking about the war and battles and warship numbers, but their talk was so elevated that she did not understand much of what was said.


    te didn''t need to say anything to Candi. His touch was familiar and reassuring and she was content just to let him carry her to themand deck.


    "Did you get a chance to see the Avgo Events?" te whispered into her ear, even as he continued chatting war numbers with Byron.


    "No," she whispered back.


    "I''m going to sit you down on a console and let you watch the whole thing while I do a little bit of work, okay?"


    He set her down onto amand console egg chair and leaned in, pressing his lips onto her forehead for a long tender moment.


    "Just sit here and rx for a bit and watch the show."


    He jabbed at the armrest and a virtual monitor popped up in front of Candi. The sounds of the audience and Lorem Ipsum began to fill her ears.


    te cupped her face gently with one hand in a gentle caress, and then he moved away to join Byron who was already in deep discussions with a group of Erenveil space warriors.


    The first thing that Candi saw was Ana?se''s memorial service.


    There was a soothing sad song that yed as a group of silicon ss people of various colors walked onto the stage carrying huge white stargazer lilies, white pir candles, and pale blue ribbons tied into intricate bows the size of pomelo grapefruits.


    Several singers stood in various spots singing a cappe as a second group moved forward carrying an open litter that held the shattered blue remains of the Princess Ana?se Paroles.


    The pieces of ss sparkled in the spotlights, looking like precious gemstones.


    They walked around the stage for a couple of rounds and then ced the litter onto the stage floor.


    Those carrying the flowers and ribbons followed behind them and ced the flowers, candles, and ribbons on the floor around the litter.


    They all stepped back behind the litter and began lifting their hands and voices into the sky, as if to lift her soul up heavenward.


    In acquiesce, the tiny pieces of what was Ana?se began to rise upward, sparkling and shimmering as it moved. The tiny shards began to twist and turn, almost seeming to move with its own powers and mind.


    Slowly, the pieces began to merge into the shape of that which looked humanlike.


    Candi gasped as her hand flew to her mouth in shock.


    As the pieces of ss fused, it was taking on the shape of Ana?se.


    Once thest piece of ss moved into ce, the humanoid shape that was Ana?se stepped off the litter and walked to the edge of the stage.


    The crowed gasped and oohed.


    Was this a trick of the lights? Was this really Princess Ana?se Paroles, or was this just some magic that was being used onstage by the grieving pall bearers?


    The spotlights shined on her, scattering a million rays as her crackle ss skin caught the light and bounced it back all around her.


    She looked dazzling!


    "Hello everyone." She said as she threw her hands up into the air, releasing a hovering blue Avgo gemstone. "I''m back!"


    The crowd went wild!


    It really was Ana?se, in all her dazzling glory.


    Her skin was no longer smooth and blue. It was now cracked beyond belief, but she was still the same Avgo Contestant who had been one of the front-running favorites of the audience.


    "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to showcase my magic talents, the ability to be shattered and yet still able to rebound with resiliency."


    As she bowed, the audience stood and apuded. This was serious magic being disyed and it deserved a standing ovation.


    From the deck of the Raptor 600, Candi covered her mouth in disbelief as tears rolled down her face.


    Ana?se was well and unharmed! Oh thank heavens!

 Chapter 145 - The Next Crown Prince

    "Candace! Are you okay? What''s wrong, Love?" te was first to reach her. He dropped to one knee and took her hand in hisrge warm hands.


    "Ana?se." Candi gulped. "She''s back!"


    te heaved a sigh of relief.


    "Yes. You scared me when you started crying." He looked at her with concern. "If you''re worried that she is once again yourpetitor¡­"


    "No, no." Candi waved her hand in protest. "I was just d that she didn''t die in that horrible attack. It didn''t look like a stunt she pulled just to have something spectacr to disy at an Avgo event that wasn''t even an elimination event."


    "It wasn''t a stunt. Someone did try to kill her, and they almost seeded, but the Avgo stone kept her brain cushioned and alive until her people could get to her and help her repair herself."


    Candi breathed a sigh of relief.


    Thank heavens for the Avgo protection power. It wasn''t fail-proof and it didn''t protectpletely, but its power was real. It had saved Candi''s life on more than one asion.


    But from such a height¡­she could only imagine how bad it must have been for Ana?se. The sts that hit the other women at the previous event had knocked Jenna and Valeria unconscious, even with the Avgo stones protecting them.


    "Was the memorial service the only one you got a chance to view?" He asked.


    Candi nodded. "Did you get a chance to see all the performances?"


    te shook his head. "I only watched yours. I didn''t care about any of the others."


    She looked up into his brilliant blue eyes.


    "I nearly missed the whole thing because I was waiting for Dante, Lucas and the twins to show up at my dressing room and they never did. I''m so d that you, Byron, and Leonardo are okay but I''m so worried about them."


    te''s eyes were murderous. "Leo and I are looking for them right now. We''ll find them, don''t you worry."


    An alert sounded from the main deck and te turned back towards the crew.


    "Your Royal Highness," one of the space warriors approached him. "The Emperor is hailing."


    te nodded and gestured for Byron to join them as he waved for the virtual call toe through where he was.


    "Ah. The Prime Warrior in his finest outfit!" The Emperor called out in a booming voice. He looked over at Candi. "I see my Daughter-inw is there too."


    "I am also here, Father." Byron called out as he joined te and Candi, dropping onto one knee on the floor on the other side of Candi''s chair.


    The Emperor nodded at Byron and turned to te.


    "Do you know where your other brothers are?"


    "We are looking for them right now, Father." te responded


    The Emperor growled under his breath.


    "You can stop looking. I know where they are."


    "Where¡ª"


    "The space pirates have them." The Emperor interjected as a tick began working in his cheek.


    "I thought it was the Avians," Candi muttered to herself.


    "You''re not wrong, Daughter-inw. The Avians hired Space Pirates to pick up all the Erenveil Princes they could get their hands on."


    The Emperor turned to te and Byron.


    "Leo and te got lucky. They were in the warships so they couldn''t be touched. The rest of you were with Candace down on Nymphalidae and got scooped up."


    He turned his eyes on Byron. "Had to y both sides to escape, eh Byron?"


    Byron grimaced. "I do what I must to survive."


    "What did you do?" The Emperor asked. "Promise them your first-born son?" Heughed bitterly. Wasn''t that what he himself was faced with?


    Byron gave him a wry nce. "I told them I would take Candace hostage and turn her in, so they let me go."


    He gave an apologetic look at Candi who grimaced and poked him in the arm with her elbow. He grabbed her arm and held it tight against his body, his face full of remorse.


    The Emperor roared withughter.


    "I was close. Not your first-born, just your first love."


    Byron turned angry eyes at the Emperor.


    "Iy all this rot at the feet of your generation."


    "And I ept my failure to protect my children!" The Emperor roared. "You boys are adults and can take care of yourselves, but you are my children, and I am still the Emperor."


    He cleared his throat and looked away.


    "The birds know you are no longer the Crown Prince of Erenveil, Byron."


    Byron lifted an eyebrow in an uncaring gesture.


    "They are willing to trade Dante for you." The Emperor sniffed.


    Byron''s jaw dropped.


    "What? My maternal family wants to jail me?"


    "No Son. They want you reinstated as Crown Prince. Once I formally reinstate you, Dante will be returned unharmed."


    "Why? I''m an illegitimate son." Byron turned and stared at his Father. "I can''t be Crown Prince even if I wanted to be."


    "Because they don''t want Dante to be the Crown Prince since he is part insectoid. Your aunt has us between a rock and a hard ce."


    Byron''s eyes red red. "Does she think she will get her Empress title back again? I hope you told them to go rot in hell."


    "I did." The Emperor threw back his head andughed. "And no, she''s not stupid enough to think that she can bargain her way back into the Empress position. She just wants you back on the path to the throne."


    The Emperor''s purple eyes grew hard and cold.


    "I granted that woman leniency and allowed her to return to her world and she abducts my first-born son."


    His eyes grew merciless. "The next time we meet, I will not be so kind. She may be the mother of one of my children but that does not give her the right to harm another of my children."


    te rubbed his eyes. "So now the birds dered war on everyone?"


    The Emperor shook his head.


    "Not everyone, no. Most of the Merfolk are on their side. So are the Reptilians and the Marsupials. Even that far-flung Earth is on their side."


    Candi grimaced. She wanted to disown Earth. They had been nothing but an embarrassment to her ever since the start of the Avgo Events.


    "The space pirates seem to be with the birds as well." te rubbed his jaw.


    The Emperor shook his head.


    "They''re mercenaries. They''ll kill whoever you tell them to kill if you have enough money to pay them the price they ask."


    "Then they will also return people if the price is high enough. Poppy knows the leader of the space pirates. I will send her to talk with them." te mused.


    "That will work with the twins and Lucas, but it won''t work with Dante. He''s a special case and I''ve already made arrangements for him to be released within a couple of days."


    "Speaking of which." He indicated with his finger. "Who is in control of Dante''s warships right now?"


    "I am." te threw back his head and gazed at the Emperor. "In my hands are 75% of all the armed warships of Erenveil. Leo holds the other 25% that he cobbled together from the conversion of hospital ships."


    The Emperor nodded his head. "And Poppy?"


    "She''s in control of one section of Dante''s armed guards called the special forces, and she reports to me."


    "Good. Good." The Emperor rubbed his head. "I am just worried about the fact that the twins'' intel did not see thising."


    "They did." te responded. "They warned us but we decided to go ahead with ns for the Avgo Events at Nymphalidae to draw out the factions that were responsible for all these acts of war and terrorism."


    "Father, what are your ns to extract Dante?" Byron asked the Emperor.


    "I had no ns. They approached the Empress and gave her an offer she could not refuse." He gritted his teeth. "She had a choice. A dead son or a living one."


    "What was their demand?" Byron''s red eyes burned with a fury that was scary to behold.


    "They want Dante dethroned and the Crown Prince title to be restored to you, but the Empress said that it was widely known that you are an adopted son, which meant you could not legally take up the Crown Prince mantle."


    "So theypromised." He sighed with a heavy heart.


    The Empress has told me to remove the Crown Prince mantle from Dante and ce it on the next Prince down the line."


    "What???" All three of them gasped.


    "The next prince after Dante is¡­." Candi whispered.


    "Lucas???" Byron choked out.

 Chapter 146 - Clueless In Erenveil

    The Emperor nodded. "That''s right. Lucas may not be the best choice to be Crown Prince, but he is at the very least NOT an insectoid."


    "And of all my children, he has the highest charisma which will make it easiest for him to rule properly. People will listen to him because he is extremely good looking and can act the part of a perfect Emperor."


    He sighed. "However, he doesn''t know much about running the gxy so all you boys are going to have to prop him up in every direction so he doesn''t fall over."


    "But Poppy is next in birth order." Candi murmured.


    "She''s a woman." The Emperor sighed. "No one is going to take too kindly to having a female rule the gxy."


    He scratched his chin.


    "I take it back. The only group that would support that decision would be the insectoids. Most of their monarchs are females so they don''t see any issue with having a woman lead the hive."


    "But." He turned to Candi. "This means once you win the Avgo Event, your future husband will be Lucas."


    "Your Majesty¡ª" Candi began to protest, but the Emperor would have none of that.


    "Call me Father. You might as well get used to it since you are my Daughter-inw now."


    "Yes Father." She acquiesced, looking down at her hands.


    "Now, I know it has been a strange situation where you thought your future husband would be Byron, and then Dante, but in this you must do as I say."


    His eyes narrowed and he leaned towards her.


    "You MUST choose Lucas because if you don''t, you will be extradited back to Earth immediately, and we can''t have our Primary Avgo Female taken away from us. The only thing that will protect you from this is the Crown Princess position."


    Candi suddenly remembered the fertilized egg within her. She lowered her head into her hands and squeezed her eyes tight as a welling of protective instinct rose within her.


    At this point, it wasn''t just herself she was protecting. She had to protect her egg as well.


    Going back to Earth to be incarcerated in jail for years was going to doom her child. She could not allow that to happen.


    Misunderstanding her distress for having to marry someone she did not want to marry, namely Lucas, he lowered his voice in constion.


    "Child, you must understand something that all my children have known for a very long time. Royal marriages are not what they seem to be."


    He sighed with deep regret.


    "It''s almost like a curse, marrying into the royal family. There is very little choice in who you marry. It is all up to the throne and what that throne needs to maintain the bnce of power."


    The Emperor cast apassionate look at Candi and turned back to te and Byron.


    "You boys are the only hope of the empire. You win and Erenveil stands. You lose and we vampire blood bats will be chained ves for the next several hundred-thousand years." His eyes were grim.


    Candi opened her eyes. Her egg held a vampire blood bat as well. That child could not be born into very.


    ===========


    A sudden ssh of water rudely woke Lucas from what was a dreamless sleep. He blinked and tried to wipe his eyes but found his arms were chained to the bed he was lying on.


    The chain was not a big deal. Once he transformed into his bat self, it would not hold up to his strength, but a presence standing above him was already unlocking the chains and removing his shackles.


    "Get up, Your Royal Highness. Time for you to go home." A rough male voice called out.


    Lucas turned to the voice and found himself staring at a space pirate mask. It had the ck and green swirls of thergest space pirate group in the gxy, the Vert Noir.


    He narrowed his eyes. If the Vert Noir were part of all this, then it had to be from very deep pockets. Rogue smalls couldn''t afford the rates of the Vert Noir.


    He allowed them to lead him to the transport pod. Father must have negotiated something with them and it was best just to do as they say¡ªfor now.


    He needed to find out what the situation was before he did something drastic.


    The transport pod they led him to was ancient, creaky, and had to be at least two generations old.


    Six masked Vert Noir were already seated around a dpidated seating arrangements at the center of the pod. There was a small dirty white table that a couple of the pirates had thrown their feet on as they slouched on the grimy cushioned seats.


    Lucas stood near the doorway without moving further into the pod.


    "Have a seat." One of the masked pirates indicated a spot across from him with a long slim cigarette holder. "We''re not gonna do anything to you."


    He stuck the end of the cigarette holder into a small slit where his mouth should be and took a deep drag.


    Lucas threw a nce at him and remained standing.


    Aside from the nasty smell of the smoke, there was no reason to get chummy. If they were going to let him off, in the near future, he was going to hunt them down and make them regret they''d ever met up with him.


    The man shrugged his shoulders.


    "Suit yourself. It''s a thirty-minute ride so you won''t have to stand too long."


    Ten minutester, the familiar beautiful face of his sister Poppy came on the virtual monitor.


    "Lucas," she greeted him. "I see they didn''t damage your Flower Boy face."


    "Hey Poppy." He nodded at her. "I was just being a regr Sleeping Beauty for awhile there."


    Poppyughed. "You can rx a bit now. The six men you''re with were hired by me to take you home."


    Lucas frowned. "What''s going on Poppy?"


    She waved a hand as if to indicate that it was not the most appropriate time to talk.


    "All will be made clear once you return to Erenveil."


    "Erenveil? What about Nymphalidae? There''s an Avgo Event that I have to attend!" Lucas gritted his teeth.


    "That Avgo Event is over. Come home and I will exin everything."


    Lucas nodded and disconnected the call with a quick wave of his hand. He was supposed to be with Candace at that event and he had screwed up somehow and left her stranded.


    Lucas squeezed his eyes shut and gave a sad sigh. Candace was going to kill him when she met up with him.


    He turned to look at the masked hooligans who were sitting around the cushioned benches and sighed some more. Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.*


    Within the hour, Lucas had been deposited back into the loving arms of his family''s armed troops. Lucas had sent two dozen men to escort him back to the Royal Pce where his father and the Empress were waiting.


    As soon as Lucas walked into the throne room, he knew something was badly wrong.


    Not caring that his clothing had been slept in and his pink blond hair was tangled and sticking out like a homeless bum, two attendants threw a white cape onto his shoulders and pinned it with a huge gold sp.


    Then they led him to the throne tform where his father and Empress Anastasia was standing.


    There was a chubby priest and several stiffly robed Advisors standing around with dour faces.


    As soon as Lucas arrived, they immediatelyunched into a quick prayer session over him, the details of whichpletely flew over his head.


    Father was never that religious, and as far as Lucas knew, Empress Mother Anastasia wasn''t either. And yet, they were praying over him with solemn faces.


    Lucas was now starting to worry. Was he dying of some rare and terrible disease which he didn''t yet know about?


    Someone handed him a round ball thingy to hold in his left hand and they began sprinkling him with drops of water.


    Wait a moment. Was he getting baptized again?


    Lucas pursed his lips. This was all starting to stink worse than he was.


    He was about to interrupt the incessant chanting of the chubby priest to ask them what in the world was going on when the Advisors began tapping him on the head and shoulders with some kind of wand and chanting some weird ancient words he did notprehend.


    Tap, tap, tap. Chant, chant, chant. Tap, tap, tap. Chant, chant, chant.


    "Congrattions, Prince Lucas." The Advisor advised. "You are now our newest Crown Prince of Erenveil."


    ===========


    * William Shakespeare

 Chapter 147 - Onboard The Raptor 600

    The Raptor 600 was mostly cruising in a small circle awaiting the word to pick up Dante. So far, they had received no word other than a ''stand by''.


    Not knowing how long a ''stand by'' order from the Emperor would take, te took Candi into his quarters to rest while he continued to work with his troops out in themand deck.


    The Prime Warrior quarters was not something that most space warriors ever got a chance to experience.


    There was a spacious set of suites for the Prime Warrior to use while he was onboard. Three full-sized rooms took up a fairlyrge amount of space on the Raptor 600.


    Since it was a warship and not a luxury cruise ship, the luxurious touches within the Prime Warrior''s room were most definitely not standard issue.


    There was a king size bed by the window that looked out onto a field of stars, gleaming in the deep darkness.


    The linens were of the finest fabrics that were reserved only for the royal family and the rugs were deep pile that made the room seem warm andforting, even in the middle of deep space.


    One side of the room had a seating area with cushioned seats surrounding a low table. There was a fully-stocked mini bar that had everything avable to make any kind of drink imaginable.


    There was also another room that opened up into a full-sized office where te could do his work without having to leave his quarters.


    After taking a long hot bath in his bathroom, Candi emerged smelling like his normal woodsy verbena self from the soaps that he used.


    She slipped into a set of standard issue female warrior bodysuit and crawled under the thick quilts, snuggling herself into the pillows.


    And there sheid with her eyes closed and her mind exploding with thoughts.


    After several hours of intense work with his troops scattered throughout hundreds of different Raptors, te returned to his quarters to rest for the night.


    He found Candi in the bedroom sitting on the window bench staring out into the vast ocean of stars shining through the window.


    Her honey blonde hair contrasting against the darkness of deep space beyond, turning her into a pale angel of light.


    "Were you able to get any rest?" He asked as he entered the bedroom.


    Candi turned to him with a smile that did not quite reach her eyes.


    "I''m tired but I''m so anxious about Dante and Lucas and the twins. I know you''re doing everything you can, but it''s still nerve-wracking."


    "I should leave so you can try to get some rest. Although out here in space there''s no day or night, it''s still the resting hours and it''s fairlyte."


    "No. Don''t go." She reached out her hand to him. She didn''t want to admit it, but she did not want to be alone through all this crazy mess.


    te came and sat down on the bed beside her and reached out for her hands.


    Without saying a word, he leaned down and pressed his warm shapely lips to her cheek. His blue eyes were tender and without recrimination.


    Candi bit her lips. She needed to say something to him, but she didn''t know what to say, and the sweeter he was, the more difficult it was for her to say anything.


    "You and I, we''ve been through so much together." She began haltingly. "I¡ªI honestly don''t know what to say."


    She looked down at hisrge hands, holding hers. They were warm and strong, and capable, like tree trunks holding up her sky.


    "There''s no need to say anything, Candace." He sighed and held her hands even tighter. "I understand more than you think I do."


    "I''m d you understand because it''s been very confusing for me." She admitted with a frown. "It''s like, I''m iling in the wind of turbulence and I''m being dragged under the waves crashing over me."


    He leaned over and touched his forehead to hers.


    "Let me see if I can clear things up a bit for you." He murmured gently. "It wasn''t just my father who had told me not to touch you. All my brothers did as well."


    Candi shook her head. Was she that ''untouchable''?


    "We knew you were an Avgo Female which meant you were critical for the sessful continuation of the Erenveil empire. We couldn''t destroy your chance to be Prime Avgo Female by being selfish and iming you for ourselves."


    His eyes were bleak.


    "You didn''t belong to any one of us. If you turned into the Primary Avgo Female, your destiny was to be the Empress Mother of the Gxy, regardless of who the Crown Prince was."


    "As you can see, Crown Princes change with the winds of fate." He smiled a tiny bitter smile. "They are arbitrarily chosen by men, and they change with the direction of political winds."


    "The Primary Avgo Female however, is always the Primary Avgo Female. Avgo Females are chosen by the sacred Avgo gemstones which cannot be stolen by any person, organization, or entity."


    "But Empress Anastasia¡ª"


    "Abdicated her position to the next Avgo Female to protect her world. It was her choice. You do have a choice to take up the Empress throne or transfer it to the next Avgo Female. That''s why there are more than one Avgo Female."


    "But when you first met me, there was no way you could have known that I would be the Empress." She protested.


    "It didn''t matter, Love. The moment you jumped onto Leonardo''s prized piano and waved around his antique crystalmp and screaming at us, I knew."


    "You knew what? That I was a good fighter?"


    teughed. "No silly. I knew for certain that one of my brothers would have grabbed you for his wife, even if you ced deadst in the Avgo ranking."


    He shook his head with sad fondness.


    "You were so adorable and full of spirit, we all fell just a little in love with you that day."


    Heughed, but then sobered.


    "I''m going to confess something that I did which I''m not particrly proud of."


    Candi looked at him questioningly.


    "Do you remember that noxious, Nirovium that I took you to when we were running from the Earth warship?"


    Candi nodded, recalling the alien world with the swirling royal purple clouds over a liquid green ocean. It wasn''t that long ago but it seemed like an eternity away.


    "Nirovium is clear across the gxy. Nobody goes there because it''s just a noxious on the edge of nowhere, but it has three moons orbiting it."


    "One of them is a habitable moon very simr to Dante''s Moon." He gave her a proud smile, "It''s my moon."


    Candi''s mouth opened with surprise.


    "Do you call it te''s Moon? "


    te smiled. "I''m not that vain. Its catalogued name is N532SPR." His sparkling blue eyes turned misty, "but to me, it will always be Candi''s Moon."


    Tears sprang from Candi''s eyes. He looked so forlorn and lost, it broke her heart.


    "At that moment, I had the mad thought of taking you inside Nirovium and holding you hostage there for one full day. That would have caused you to miss the initial screening and you would have been disqualified."


    "And then?"


    "And then I could have just run away with you."


    He shook his head, "I stalled for as long as I could but Father called and forced my hand to delivered you on time to the event. As it was, we barely made it and I had to fly you into the stadium."


    "And after that, you kept winning event after event after event." He shook his head. "I always knew inside that I wouldn''t have the chance to be with you for long."


    "I knew that you were destined for something big¡­far bigger than I had the ability to give you."

 Chapter 148 - Too High Above Me

    Candi gave a shortugh. She could hardly believe her ears. Was he actually saying that she was too good for him? Did he truly believe that nonsense?


    She was just a simple girl from a backwater world on the periphery of the gxy and he was a fricking Prince and Prime Warrior of the Erenveil Empire!


    Who was too high for whose reach???


    "te. Please don''t think that way." She shook her head. "You are the one who is too high above my reach. I can''t even believe we''re sharing the same air space." She waved her hand in amazement.


    "I''m still in a daze about the whole Avgo Event, and the only thing I''m sure of is that life is so unpredictable and things change so fast, you never know for sure what will happen next."


    "I knew for sure." te nodded. "The day you won the Sky Walk Face and Grace Event, Byron had fallen head over heels in love with you. He tried to hide it, but everyone could see it¡­except you."


    He gave a wry grin at the clueless woman he loved so much.


    "Then when the Strength and Vitality Event ended, I knew that you would be Dante''s bride. He had fallen for you hard by then, and I knew that whether you won or not, it didn''t matter to Dante. He was going to marry you at all cost."


    "How did youe to that conclusion?"


    "Because I knew that Dante was the rightful Crown Prince. Out of all of us brothers, he had the highest chance to marry you. He was simply waiting to see if you won or lost."


    "If you won then he would take over the Crown Prince position and gain a throne as well as a wife. If you lost, he would use his position as Second Prince and get first dibs, choosing you as his bride."


    He closed his eyes as a single tear rolled down his cheek.


    "You and I never had a chance. I knew that from the very start. I am the youngest of the Princes which makes you, the Prime Avgo Female, too high above my reach."


    Candi''s heart broke at that moment. For te to shed even a single tear meant that he was hurting badly, and she did not know how to console him.


    He was gripping both of her hands, so she leaned over and kissed his tear away.


    te smiled and reached out to embrace her into his arms.


    "I knew that we had physical attraction at the very start. It wouldn''t have taken much for our rtionship to deepen into something permanent, but I also knew you were not just any normal woman I could be with."


    "You''re the Chosen Avgo Female and I am the Chosen Avgo Guard. All you and I would ever have would be stolen moments while I was protecting you, so I stole as much of it as I was able to steal."


    He sniffed and gave a sadugh. "I''m stealing moments again right now, aren''t I?"


    Candi pulled away to look into his eyes.


    "You say you''re my chosen Avgo Guard?"


    He nodded.


    "Then why aren''t we mentally connected? How am I supposed to call for help if I can''t even reach you?"


    te was silent for a moment.


    "You have no magic. The only way that you would be able to contact me mentally would be for me to mark you with my serum and then possess you."


    Candi nodded. This seemed to work quite well with Byron and Dante. If te was supposed to be her protector, he needed to be able to connect with her as well.


    "Let''s do it then. I need to know that if we''re far away, I can still call you and you would be able to respond."


    "Candace, it''s something that''s only done with a partner or spouse or someone very close to you. It''s not to be entered lightly."


    "te. You''re very close to me." Candi insisted. "Not only that, you are also my chosen Protector. How am I going to call you for help if we''re not mentally connected?"


    te shook his head. "There''s more to it than just mental chatter. There is a dark side to it all."


    "Oh you mean the mind-control part of it?"


    "Yes, it''s¡ªwait." He stared at her with incredulity. "You know about that?"


    "Hmmm. I don''t care though. I trust you not to harm me."


    te rubbed his eyes and shook his head. Of course he would never harm her, but she was just so unconcerned about something that could potentially be so devastating if the wrong person¡­


    He never got a chance to finish his thought. Candace had already pulled her hair back and shoved her neck onto his lips.


    The hunger in te, barely suppressed under a thin veneer of civility red up again.


    He grabbed her and began breathing in her scent, feeling the heady thrill of having her in his arms. She was asking him to bite into her soft creamy delectable neck.


    He licked her skin and almost died. He''d had such terrible withdrawal symptoms every night just thinking about this woman that he could hardly sleep.


    And yet, here she was, offering her neck up for him to sink his teeth into. It was enough to drive a man insane.


    Almost against his will, he began nuzzling his nose into the space between her face and her shoulder.


    As his desire grew, he began licking and suckling on her neck. His powerful lupine nose could smell the delicious scent, his instincts honed in on the throbbing artery that was feeding blood into her brain.


    Just a tiny little bit of her blood was all he needed to establish connection but te was so hungry that he was afraid he would lose control. He was so afraid of taking too much and hurting her.


    She should be very afraid at this moment, but the woman was fearless, even inviting it!


    Almost against his will, his fangs began growing. His control was fast slipping but he reigned in his desire. He needed to remain in control so he would not inadvertently hurt her.


    With care, te''s razor sharp teeth pierced her neck. At the moment of entry, he sighed and bit down.


    Candi gasped as he injected her with his serum. He had been so gentle, she didn''t even feel the slight sting of the initial bite because he had released pain killers prior to the bite itself.


    And then she could feel the warmth of his liquid serum flowing through her bloodstream and racing throughout her entire being. Her body warmed and she quivered with ecstasy.


    Deep in the recesses of her mind, Candi marveled at the thought that te was sucking on her neck and taking her blood into his own body and she was a willing participant in this ancient blood ritual.


    As te took in her blood, he constrained himself to a couple of gulps of her sweetness. He could not take too much blood from her. She was a tiny woman who didn''t have much excess blood to spare.


    te retracted his fangs and began licking her wound to clean it. Once she was no longer bleeding, he healed her with a tender touch.


    ''Raspberry Pie.'' She thought at him.


    ''What?'' He blinked.


    ''I''m testing your ability to hear my thoughts. Say it out loud. Raspberry pie.''


    teughed.


    "Raspberry pie."


    He leaned closer, touching his forehead to hers.


    ''Now it''s my turn to test your ability to hear my thoughts. Say it out loud.. I love you te.''

 Chapter 149 - The Fall Of Nymphalidae

    Candi stared at him with widened eyes.


    "I''m just joking Love." te''s eyes crinkled with amusement. "That''s something you should only say if you mean it, not just because someone else wants to hear it."


    "Did you want to hear me say that I love you, te?"


    "Well, you just did, so I made a mental record of it and now that it''s been said," he smiled craftily, "it can''t be unsaid."


    Candiughed. He was so easy to be with.


    There were no demands and she could just be herself and he would ept whatever and whoever she was as long as she was safe and happy.


    For a moment, she wished that her life was uplicated and things could go back to being simple again, where her most difficult choice was to have macaroni-and-cheese, or baked eggnt for dinner. Or both.


    "te. If I don''t go to the next event, would the winner be Jenna Natoli?"


    "Why would you give up your position? You''re the ted winner." He leaned back and looked into her eyes to discern her reasoning.


    "I just¡­te, I hate this power grabbing and fighting. I just want to be a normal person, doing the things I enjoy and being with people I love."


    te sighed.


    He remembered Lucas'' question at the Royal Ball. It was a brilliant question, and one that mattered the most to all the Princes.


    He had asked Candace, if she didn''t have to be at the Avgo Contest, battling for the chance to marry an Erenveil Prince, what would she most like to do with her life?


    Candace hadughed and answered in such a straightforward manner that it was clearly unmeditated and exactly what was in her heart.


    She loved archaeology and wanted to travel far and wide, to get lost in all the far-flung worlds to explore everything to her heart''s content. And of course there was her dancing and singing and ying piano.


    It was such a simple joyous life she wanted to lead, and yet, the Avgo was forcing her into this role that would restrict her and tie her to the very foundations of the Royal Pce.


    Lucas had turned back to the brothers and stated with force.


    "There you are, Brothers. If you cannot provide this woman with what her heart desires, I suggest you leave the line right now, because you''re not going to qualify to be with her."


    And that was when te knew he had to leave the line. Not that it mattered much since he was at the tail end of that line anyway.


    He was Prime Warrior of Erenveil.


    If he didn''t hold the border skirmishes and keep the various factions from fighting, war would erupt everywhere.


    Once that happened, Candace would never be able to do all the things she loved to do in all the peaceful areas of the gxy.


    te''s heart gave a twinge. In doing his job to provide a safe environment for her and the rest of the empire, he had relegated himself forever to being her silent protector from afar.


    Candi was chewing on her lip again. It was what she did when she was thinking about somethingplex.


    "What if I don''t show up for the next Avgo Event? Could I just forfeit it and go back to being a normal person again?"


    te shook his head.


    "Toote, Love. None of the other candidates have enough points to win even if one of them takes first ce at the next event."


    "What do you mean?" She asked


    "I set the events for you to watch earlier. Didn''t you see the scoring?"


    Candi shook her head. She had barely made it through Ana?se Paroles'' surprising reemergence.


    "At the Magic and Illusions Event, you scored the highest points and the judges called the contest because mathematically, you had won."


    "I did?" She gasped. "How? I went into a Magic and Illusions event and did ZERO magic. How was that possible?"


    te gave her a grimace and waved a hand, calling forth the virtual monitor.


    Instantly, the panoramic view of a huge stage appeared.


    Without preamble or any sshy introductions, Candi''s small blonde head peeked out from between the folds of the curtains.


    And then she walked out, her steps full of the natural grace that dancers possessed in abundance.


    As the music began, she started dancing.


    Although Candace had hinted at her dancing abilities in one or two of her previous events, she had never actually performed in front of such arge audience before.


    Now, armed with the choreographic mad skills of a mega star, namely Lucas, she was merging not just her ssical dance training but also his very modern moves into a dance routine that was at once stunning and historically noteworthy at the same time.


    Candi herself enjoyed her own show.


    She had actually never seen a disy of her own dancing before and if she hadn''t danced it herself, she would have thought she was watching some professional dancer out there on thepletely empty stage.


    It was truly a nk canvas that she had used to paint the scene. Even her own unadorned face and clothing was a nk canvas for the imagination to fill in.


    It was such a stunningbination of ssical and ultra-modern techniques that people around the gxy had already begun to study it and incorporating her style into their dance sses and routines.


    The visual imagery she evoked was so vivid that as a spectator, Candi could easily imagine it all.


    But the biggest surprise was the ending.


    The entire audience could see the tiny white form of Candi magically grabbing onto the red bird that was a phantasm of Byron.


    Right before their eyes, she began levitating upward into the twenty-foot ceiling, disappearing from sight.


    It was the only bit of real magic that had been employed and she had pulled it off in a show stopping spectacr fashion.


    Candi''s jaw dropped. "Wow. I didn''t think I looked like that."


    teughed. "You never think you''re amazing, but we can all see that so very clearly."


    Since this was no longer a live stream, the visual screen shed the scores for the performances.


    First ce had gone to Candi for a full 100 points, with second ce going to the resurrected Ana?se Paroles at 90 points.


    "Thatst bit, where Byron managed to make it to the stage and pull you up off the stage was pure luck, but itpleted the dance with a ssh of magic." te noted with a critical eye.


    "I missed you at that dance."


    "I''m so sorry Love." He turned back to her. "There was a re-up of fighting several hours before the Event. Leo and I were busy ying tag with a bunch of space hooligans who were hellbent on trying to disrupt the Avgo Event."


    She whistled. "Do you think they did that on purpose so our space warriors would be diverted away from Nymphalidae?"


    "So they could swoop in with a and catch Dante, Lucas, and the twins? It looks like that''s what happened."


    "Why was there no guards or warriors left to protect us down on Nymphalidae?" She shook her head in confusion.


    te''s eyes were grim. "When I left to clean out the skirmishes that were blossoming around Nymphalidae space, Dante said he had his people to cover the as well as the Avgo Event."


    "I don''t know what happened after that." He shook his head. "We''re going to have to ask Dante when we see him. I was too busy fighting both the birds and the space pirates, even as the Avgo Events were happening."


    "Nymphalidae is going to fall, isn''t it?" Candi sighed.

 Chapter 150 - The Next Erenveil Empress

    "What happened to Jenna and Valeria?" Candi asked, switching the subject. The war was depressing to think about.


    te shook his head with a grin. "I didn''t have time to watch them. Space Pirates were on my tail and shooting at me."


    "Do you have time to watch it with me now?" She asked.


    te smiled and leaned back against the pillows.


    "I always have time for you, and even if I don''t have time, I will make the time." He patted the spot next to him.


    "Come over here and watch it with me."


    Candi smiled and sidled up agains te, resting her head on his tree trunk arms as he started up the visuals again.


    The first visual that popped up was Valeria.


    Although Ana?se had shown up and taken her rightful spot, there was no way they could eliminate Valeria''s performance. Once Dante granted her permission, it was a done deal.


    After watching for a few minutes, Candace had to admit. Valeria was a very wooden performer.


    At her core, Valeria was a Princess. Her training was focused on the arts and how to be a gracious hostess at political parties. It was certainly not trying to entertain a crowd of trillions of people.


    This was a sad and unfortunate truth, because of all the Avgo Females, Valeria was the mostpetent at magic.


    The Magic and Illusions Event should have been the single event where she showcased her talents in the most stunning manner possible.


    Unfortunately, her delivery of the motions and the acts of magic themselves were so route and clinical, as amazing as the magic was, it felt forced and unnatural.


    Not only was something that was supposed to be magical feel ho-hum and s¨¦, Valeria herself exuded ho-hum and boring vibes.


    By the time she finished her routine, the audience gave a nice round of apuse but everyone knew this would be Valeria''s final appearance at the Avgo Events.


    And then Jenna appeared.


    In a sh of yellow, ck, and orange strobe lights, she popped out of nowhere onto the stage, blinding the crowd with her animal maism.


    The crowd hollered their wee.


    Janna roared back, her feline growl reverberating across the auditorium.


    She waved once to the audience and leaped into the air. As her bodyunched forward, she morphed into her cat body and ran across the stage.


    As she ran, she began creating trees and boulders out of thin air. With a single powerful leap, Jenna bounded onto a gnarled oak tree.


    From the top of the tree, she jumped down into magic water which sshed upward as if it was real.


    It was real!


    The first row of audience got soaked and the crowd went wild!!!


    Jenna had put so much detail into the magic she wrought that it was as if she had imported her entire jungle world onto that stage and shared a glimpse of what her home looked like.


    The jungle sounds of distant drums, the rustling of jungle leaves, even the scent of her world had been skillfully woven into the performance that the audience howled and cheered, begging for more.


    By the end of the performance, Jenna was given a well-deserved standing ovation. It was spectacr in showmanship. She was an amazingly talented magician and no one could ever doubt her abilities to be a magnificent Empress.


    The score shed over her head as she took her final bow, still in leopard form.


    ''DISQUALIFIED.''


    ''DISQUALIFIED.''


    ''DISQUALIFIED.''


    "What???" Candi jerked upright.


    te clicked his tongue.


    "Tch tch. She disqualified herself and got thrown out of the Avgo Events, that''s what happened."


    "How???" Candi turned her hazel eyes at him in confusion. It was a stunning performance that rivaled even her own dance routine.


    te rolled his blue eyes. "Do you remember what one of the rules of the Avgo Events is?"


    Candi started to shake her head but then she gasped and covered her mouth.


    "She had to stay in humanoid form!!!" Candi turned back to the visual.


    Jenna was still prowling around on the stage in her big cat body. "Oh my God. Shepletely transformed into a leopard and went through the entire performance in a cat body!"


    "That''s right. Jenna has been disqualified from the Avgo Events. That means it''s just you and Ana?se left."


    Candi shook her head. "I don''t understand something, te. Why do we have to remain in our humanoid form?"


    teughed. "Because, Love. We were all originally humans. All the various species spread out across the gxy are humanoid in form because a human was transformed by gics and magic."


    "I see. So humans are the standard?"


    "Yes. Although you humans are weaker and less capable than most other species out there, you have one thing that they do not. A pure lineage."


    "Pure¡ªpure lineage?"


    "Yes. You breed true. Well¡ª" he smiled. "You and us Bats. We breed true as well."


    "I see. So my children would be human if my husband is human, or bat if my husband is a bat, but if my husband was a bird or bug or reptile, my child wouldn''t be like him?"


    "There is a chance that they would be, but since birds and insectoids don''t breed true, the variation is veryrge. Many of their babies are stillborn and many others have such terrible deformities that they don''t survive past their first year."


    "But bats and humans have deformities too."


    "Yes, but not to the extent that the other species of humans have."


    "And Valeria? What was her score?"


    te shook his head. "She got no score. Although this is not an eliminationpetition, she had already been eliminated at the previous event. Dante allowing her to perform did not mean she was restored to the lineup."


    "Oh my." Candi shook her head. "Did she know that?"


    "I don''t know, but it was quite obvious. Her time slot to begin was even before the old goat Lorem Ipsum came on stage."


    te raised his eyebrows.


    "If Lorem doesn''t do the introductions, it was because she was no longer part of the Avgo Events."


    Candi sighed, shaking her head. She knew how nerve-wracking performing for the Avgo was.


    For Valeria to have done this much preparation only to have her performance merely considered as one of the many many opening acts before the actual Avgo performances was a huge p in the face.


    te rubbed her head. "Congrattions, Love."


    "Based upon the points alone, you have won the Events. The judges called the contest and ended the Avgopetition. Even if Ana?se manages to win first ce in the finalpetition, she would still be very far behind you."


    He turned his sparkling blue eyes at her.


    "You, my love, have clinched the spot to be the next Empress of Erenveil."

 Chapter 151 - Traitors In Their Midst

    Dante opened his eyes, feeling woozy and a bit dizzy.


    He was lying on a dirty mattress trying not to think about the fact that he had missed his woman''s biggest Avgo Event.


    The fact that they''d gotten ambushed in a ce where he had a supremely tight defense set up meant the security breech was far deeper within the organization than they were even aware of.


    He had been on his way out of Candi''s dressing room, heading towards the side kitchen area near the dressing rooms where he knew his brothers would have congregated.


    It was a meeting spot that the four men had previously agreed upon because it was a convenient area to store some of Candi''s preparations and costume change.


    Nobody should have known about that meeting spot, other than his security detail. There had to have been a double agent mixed within the twins'' group that had given them away.


    One moment, he was alone and the next moment, he was surrounded by masked space pirates.


    Three men immediately grabbed him from behind. All had weapons drawn at his head.


    They had pushed him into the side kitchen where he saw his two brothers also simrly subdued.


    To his right was Jason. His temple was bleeding slightly and he looked sluggish.


    To his left was Jared with a weapon shoved at the back of his head, his brown eyes terrified.


    Of Lucas, he saw no sign.


    "Call your dogs off. Now!" One of the men had called out through his mask. His voice had been magically modted so as to be unrecognizable.


    "My dogs?" Dante questioned, trying to engage them so he could at least negotiate something.


    One of the thugs shoved the weapon into Jared''s mouth.


    "One more question from you and he gets a hole blown through his head."


    "Okay. Okay." Dante held up a hand.


    These guys were hard core. There was no negotiation possible.


    "I need to ess a virtual monitor. I''m just going to do that right now."


    "Voice only. No visual." The thug warned.


    Dante nodded and set up the call as carefully as he could. He knew this type of assassin.


    Any stray signs of suspicion and the terrorists would shoot first and ask questionster.


    Once he got through to his men, he ced themand to back off from the target and stand by.


    The moment he did that, Dante felt the prick of a needle and the world went dark.


    When he came to, he was alone on the dirty mattress in some rank holding cell.


    His time piece showed eight hours had passed from the time he had left Candace. Her Avgo event had passed and he had failed her.


    For a moment, self-recrimination rose within him, causing him to roil with overwhelming sadness and anger.


    He shook to clear his head trying to clear the fog from his brains. He had to work past the emotions to try and figure out what had just gone down.


    As heid there on the mattress, Dante wracked his brains trying to figure out exactly what had urred and more importantly, how it could have possibly happened in such a tight security area.


    The two dozen personal security men he had deployed to surround them were all gone, most likely picked off, one at a time. All others within the vicinity had been called off by Dante himself.


    One thing he knew for sure. The twins had been betrayed by at least one of their own agents. The looks on their faces were clear. They headed the intelligence division and even they hadn''t seen thising.


    "Hey you!" A voice called out. It was a very familiar voice.


    Dante slowly looked up.


    "Mattheus Cordera." Dante drawled. "What brings you to this luxurious beautiful ce?"


    It had been awhile since he''d seen Mattheus, but the man hadn''t changed much.


    He had the same hawkish nose, the same piercing green eyes, and the samenky dark green hair that always looked like seaweed.


    "Haha, you''re so funny. I came to visit my cousins as soon as I heard they were here."


    "What have you done with Jason and Jared?"


    "Oh don''t worry. They are doing well. We may use them for nefarious reason, but we try not to hurt our own."


    Mattheus'' lips curled in a sneer.


    "Too bad you didn''t know that and pulled your security forces away from the Avgo Event."


    Dante narrowed his eyes. At the moment, his brothers were not his only concern.


    He had left Candace all alone in the dressing room. His only hope was that Lucas would have been able to reach her somehow.


    "The judges called the Avgo Events a few hours ago." Mattheusughed. "There''s a new winner and her name is Candace Farrah."


    Dante red at him without saying a word. So that meant she did manage to make it to the stage, even without him and the twins.


    "Hmm. You seempletely uninterested in the new Avgo winner. But you should be. She will be married to the new Crown Prince soon."


    Dante continued ring at Mattheus Cordera. Of course she was going to be married to the Crown Prince.


    The man looked as if he had no idea that he was looking at the Crown Prince.


    Mattheus held out his hand and melted the iron locks. With a quick sudden jerk, he pushed through.


    "Hmm. Right about now, we should have announcements about the Crown Prince. Let''s see what they say."


    Mattheus waved a finger into the air.


    Immediately, a voice began rattling nonstop about the beautiful and dazzling new Crown Prince, the illustrious famed star of the entertainment world, Prince Lucas!


    Before Dante''s horrified eyes, he saw his brother being paraded out like amb being taken to ughter.


    Closeups of Lucas'' face showed amber eyes that were dazed, as if he had no idea what had just happened. This was most definitely not Lucas'' doing.


    And then the announcer moved onto the next piece of breaking news which had to do with the Lucandace couple.


    Dante''s eyes saw red as images of Lucas and Candace, those wlessly merged photos from that asinine contest, rolling through in rapid session.


    They portraying a solid couple who were deeply in love and were simply waiting for the perfect time to announce their rtionship.


    Dante knew it was all fake, but the images of the two of them smiling at the cameras tore through his mind as rage bubbled up.


    The announcer made it seem as though they had nned it all along, not exposing their rtionship until Candace won the Avgo and became Prime Avgo Female.


    They had also made it seem as if Lucas would also announce his Crown Prince position at around the same time so that the two would be automatically married per the Avgo agreements and rules.


    Dante closed his eyes as he heard the announcer releasing the news that the wedding would take ce two weekster at the Royal Pce.


    With a wave of his hand, Lucas cleared the virtual monitor.


    "As you see, the woman that you have been dreaming of day and night is no longer avable. She''s getting married very soon."


    His eyes grew mncholic. "I must admit, at one point I was also enamored with her."


    "She is very enticing!" Mattheus licked his lips. "Such powerful limbs. Such graceful movements. Such luscious lips. Can you just imagine what a woman like that would feel like in your arms?"


    Dante lunged at Mattheus. Immediately, a sharp stabbing pain hit him in the sr plexus and he dropped to the ground.


    Mattheus had thrown a kick so fast, in Dante''s drugged drowsy state, he could not avoid quickly enough.


    The man was no joke. His fighting stance was on par with te, and te was no joke.


    As he crawled on the ground, gasping from the pain, Dante''s only satisfaction was in the fact that what Mattheus was imagining, Dante already knew.


    He knew intimately, the curve of her face, the strength of her limbs, and the softness of her lips.


    For Mattheus to be thinking about his wife in that same manner filled Dante with rage. He wanted to shut Mattheus'' mouth, but he was the one on the floor at this moment and he needed to conserve his strength while he recovered enough to figure out a way to escape.


    He took a deep breath and staggered to his feet. He had to find out exactly what Mattheus wanted from him and why the man was here.


    Mattheus Cordera stared at him with hard glittering green eyes, filled with the arrogance of a man who knew his own worth.


    "Let me cut to the chase here so we don''t waste each other''s time." He crossed his arms over his muscr chest.


    "I know she was supposed to be yours. I know you sacrificed a lot to win her hand. I know you were the Crown Prince of Erenveil for the better part of a week."


    He shook his head, his eyes never leaving Dante''s face.


    "For all this to slip from your hands must have been a terrible shock."


    Mattheus'' eyes softened.


    "Believe me. I do know how it feels. My kingdom was stolen from me as well."


    He leaned forward with a serious look on his face.


    "What if you could get it all back, Dante?"

 Chapter 152 - Dantes Move

    Dante gave him a ''Go to Hell'' look.


    Anything Mattheus proposed would not benefit anyone but the fish himself.


    Mattheusughed. "Don''t give me that look. Hear me out first."


    Dante looked away. He was a captive audience. What could he do other than listen? It wasn''t as if he could stick his fingers in his ears and go '' to drown out Mattheus'' voice.


    Mattheus rocked back on his heels and gave Dante a steady gaze.


    "You know that the Insectoids have TWICE as many warriors as the Avians." He held up two fingers. "In fact, only the bats have more military power than the insects do."


    "But why is it that the birds have always been able to bully and push the bugs around?" He tilted his head in question.


    He turned away and looked out the tiny window that had been barred from the outside.


    "How is it possible that the birds can go around and tell everyone they''re somehow more special than the bugs?"


    He turned back to Dante. "And what I don''t understand is why everyone believes that crap from their bung hole? Because they have feathers? Because they can fly?"


    Mattheus leaned towards Dante with a warning glint.


    "They are even starting to tell everyone that they''re better than mammals, specifically you bats, and that you have been holding onto the top spot of the gxy for just a little bit too long."


    "Now think about it. Why is that possible, and what are their objectives?"


    Dante said nothing.


    Mattheus wasn''t saying anything that was new or that he hadn''t already known. He had been fighting this prejudice all his life because his mother was an insectoid. The real question was what Mattheus wanted from him.


    "What are you trying to gain from all this?" Dante finally spat.


    In order to negotiate, he needed all the cards on the table.


    Mattheus pointed to Dante.


    "You are half insectoid, half bat. The birds are trashing both sides of your parentage. They also hired mercenaries to threaten your mother''s world and the Avgo Event."


    He narrowed his gaze. "You are supposed to be the Crown Prince, but it hadn''t even been a week, and you got reced yet again. Aren''t you just a little bit pissed?"


    "Whether I am or not, it''s really got nothing to do with you." Dante said with derision.


    "Ahhh, but maybe it does. I''m a mercenary. I work for hire. You could easily hire me and I can whack all those people upside the head for you. Reinstate you back on your golden throne."


    "And wait for them to pay you one penny more than I did, so you can turn back around and whack me upside the head? No thanks." Dante sniffed. "Even mercenaries have to have a little bit of honor."


    "There''s nothing wrong with my honor. If it makes you feel any better, I didn''t kidnap you. I actually paid a nice fat sum to take you off the hands of the Corsican Vampires who were paid by the birds to kidnap you."


    "I''m going to ask one more time." Dante growled deep within his throat. "What is it that you want?"


    Mattheus smiled. "I just want a bit of return on my investment."


    Dante gritted his teeth. "What''s your price?"


    "Slow your roll," he chuckled. "I haven''t finished the negotiations yet."


    "Hurry it up. I need to go poop." Dante said even though he didn''t feel like doing anything of the sort. If it would make this asinine fish get to the point, he wouldn''t mind throwing some shit at the man.


    Mattheus cracked a big smile.


    "The Insectoids have been waiting for a leader to take control and pull them out of their funk. They are looking at you to retake the throne and take charge of the Insectoids, but that means you have to fight on their side against the birds."


    "You want me to upset the bnce between the bugs, the bats, and the birds?"


    "The bnce has already shifted, man!" Mattheus ground out. "If you don''t do something now, the birds will take over and we''ll all be fucked."


    "I want you to take over and keep the gxy moving merrily along. I don''t want birds taking over!" Mattheus scowled.


    "And what do you get out of this?" Dante asked again.


    "In return for my help, I want you to depose the current king of Emporia." Mattheus narrowed his eyes with rage. "I want my throne back."


    Dante stared at Mattheus Cordera who had once been the sessor child king of the merfolk on Emporia, at least up until his Uncle Mortimer Cordera had sent hitmen after him and nearly killed him in the attempt.


    Mattheus had wandered the gxy after that assassination attempt, surviving as best he could among the thieves of the gxy. It was quite amazing that he was now a high-ranking member of one of thergest space pirates.


    Dante sighed. He didn''t me Mattheus for trying to regain his throne but there was one important bug in the soup.


    The king of Emporia, Mortimer Cordera, was Royal Consort Fatima''s oldest brother.


    And Royal Consort Fatima was the mermaid who gave birth to the Royal Twins, Jason and Jared.


    "Your Uncle is also Jason and Jared''s Uncle. I can''t do anything until I talk to Consort Mother Fatima and the twins." Dante said.


    Mattheus smiled.


    The fact that Dante was even starting the negotiations was a good sign that they would be able to work something out. Everyone knew Dante was as good as his word.


    Satisfied, Mattheus threw a small packet at Dante.


    "Here you go. Key codes to unlock the cells and to start up the transport pod. Take the one that''s marked with a big yellow happy face."


    Mattheus gave a big grin.


    "I painted it myself so you wouldn''t identally take one that wouldn''t make it more than half way across space before giving up the ghost and stranding you out there in the middle of nowhere."


    "Happy yellow face¡­" Dante muttered. What a clown.


    "Yep. The happy yellow face transport pod is juiced with enough power to take you back to Erenveil. It also identifies you as a friendly so while you are still in pirate space, the space pirates will leave you alone."


    He waved a hand.


    "Leave now. I''ll be in touchter toy out ns on how to get your Crown Prince throne back."


    He turned away and headed for the entrance.


    "Oh, one more thing." Mattheus inclined his head. "Jason and Jared are in the cell next to you. Please take them off my hands." Heughed. "I don''t need two more mouths to feed."


    Dante took hold of the packet that Mattheus had thrown him. With a grim set to his mouth, he opened it.


    Once he epted this offer from Mattheus, things were going to change drastically, and it looked like it would be a very bloody change. This was intergctic war they could no longer forestall.


    But at this moment, he had to get back to Erenveil with the twins. He could not remain here in god-knows where.


    As he pulled out the key cards, he made his way out of the wide open cell door. Mattheus had left it open for him.


    He needed to get to his brothers, but first, he needed to talk to his Baby.


    ''Candace.'' Dante called out in his mind.


    ''Dante???'' He heard her desperate voice and smiled gently as she began peppering him with questions.


    ''Dante where are you? Are you okay? I''ve been trying to contact you for hours and hours! What happened to you? Are you hurt???''


    ''I am unhurt. Listen carefully Love. I don''t have time to exin everything now but tell te to take you away from Erenveil. Go now!''


    ''Haaaahhh.'' Candace was gasping, as if she was crying.


    ''The royal maids have taken over my room. They are getting me dressed to attend a wedding with Lucas! I tried escaping but there are guards everywhere, and anyway, I don''t know how to drive a pod to escape!''


    ''Call te. Tell him I said he needs to take you and run away somewhere safe. DO NOT go through with that wedding, whatever you do.''


    ''Okay Dante.'' Candace sounded much calmer. ''Let me contact te.''


    ''Do it now.. We will talk again very soon My Love, when you are safely in space with te.''

 Chapter 153 - Escapade Across The Stars

    Candace shook with the emotional release of knowing that Dante was alive. It had been nerve-wracking for thest eight hours not being able to call to his mind.


    The handmaiden who was styling her hair with pearls and jewels noticed her trembling body but said nothing. It was most likely just pre-wedding nerves and jitters of a young bride.


    Who wouldn''t be nervous and excited and just a little bit scared to marry the most handsome man in the gxy?


    Prince Lucas was a dreamboat. He was every woman''s dream, almost a religion unto himself, leaving women sobbing on the ground at his feet.


    The Princess Candace Farrah was the luckiest woman alive at this moment!


    The handmaiden sighed and smiled. The couple looked so good together during all their secret rendezvous. All those photos of them together and looking so happy made her teary-eyed.


    She had always thought it was Prince te or maybe Prince Dante who had been the Princess'' choice, but the end result was breathtaking!


    As she was putting finishing touches in the Princess'' hair and makeup, she could see the Princess'' eyes focus on something with fierce intent.


    And then the Princess nodded.


    The handmaiden smiled. Princess Candace was steeling herself to be the bride of Crown Prince Lucas and not be too nervous in front of the crowd. She was talking herself up to take on the challenge.


    In reality, Candace was speaking to te within her mind.


    ''Dante said that?'' te was asking her.


    ''Yes. He wants you to take me and run from this ce to somewhere safe. He doesn''t want me to go through with that wedding.''


    For a moment, te was silent.


    ''Are you telling me you''re turning down the chance to marry a Crown Prince?'' He finally spoke again after what seemed like a long silence.


    ''Absolutely! I don''t care about the title. It had always been about the man and how I felt about him.''


    Candace sighed.


    ''Look, it''s not that I don''t like Lucas. He''s a very nice guy, but I barely even know him. I think I''ve only met him a handful of times. I really don''t want to marry him just because the Avgo winners have always married the Crown Prince.''


    ''You know me very well, Candace.'' te''s voice sounded distracted.


    ''Yes I do. Out of all the brothers, the only ones I know personally are you and Dante.''


    ''When you say ''personally'', do you mean physically?''


    ''Yes!''


    ''How many¡­men have you known personally?''


    ''Two. You were the first, ever.''


    There was a moment of silence. She waited with bated breath hoping she hadn''t shocked him too much with her statement.


    Just when she thought he had forgotten all about her, the door to her room burst open.


    It was te, dressed in his ck Prime Warrior outfit. His long raven ck hair was tied back in the customary neat bundle, his dazzling blue eyes zing with joy at seeing her face.


    ''Let''s go Love.'' He reached out his hand.


    Candi gave a cry of relief and jumped up from the chair she was seated on, scattering the handmaid''s color palette of makeup.


    For the first time, te saw Candace in a pure white, off-the-shoulder brocade wedding dress. There was so much material in her skirt that it piled behind her in a cascade of opulent fabric.


    In her perfectly coiffed blonde hair was a tiara of white flowers and on her neck was the pink Avgo gemstone replica that Jason had created for her.


    His heart skipped a beat.


    He was stealing his brother''s bride on the day of her wedding and running away with her. He would need to go beg Lucas for forgiveness, but right now, her request trumped everything.


    ''You took so long I thought you forgot about me.''


    He took three strides and was by her side.


    ''Your dress is very beautiful, but it will not allow you to walk very fast. Hold onto me.'' He picked her up and carried her out of the room.


    Candace wrapped her arms around te''s neck, as she''d done so many times before.


    In his arms was safety. In his arms wasfort. In his arms was so much love. He carried her as if he cherished her.


    "Your Royal Highness!!!" The handmaidens squealed and chattered. "Are you here to escort the Princess Candace Farrah to the wedding?"


    "Yes. Close this door and do not let anyone in except for Princess Candace."


    "Yes, Your Highness." They bowed.


    ''That should stall for a bit of time.'' He touched her mind.


    ''I thought you''d forgotten about me.'' She whispered into his mind.


    ''What makes you think I could ever possibly forget about you?''


    Truth be told, he thought about her from the moment he woke up until the moment he slipped into a dreamless sleep. And even then, the few times he did dream, it was always about her.


    He walked past half a dozen guards who were snoozing on the ground.


    ''Oh my goodness! Why are there so many guards?''


    ''Father was afraid someone would try to harm you before the wedding. The Earth delegates are kicking up a stink right now, stating that Lucas has to marry Dahlia Halloway because you are simply Dahlia''s stand-in body-double.''


    He reached the main hallway with her and looked around. Several of the guards that had been wandering this hall had all been subdued by him and were sleeping on the ground.


    ''I hope you didn''t hurt them¡­''


    ''I just put them to sleep. I had to clear the way to get to you.''


    ''I''m so d you were able toe for me. I was worried that you might be too busy¡­''


    ''Sorry I took so long. As soon as you called, I spread my wings and flew straight here. And then I had to clear out some of the Royal Guards. They''re everywhere, thick as flies.''


    Not looking back, he ran for the nearest exit with her in his arms.


    As he burst out into the sunshine, te took a running leap into the air, his wings unfurling behind him.


    FWOOOMP!!!


    They began flying upward into the sky.


    te held her in a gentle but firm grip. He had learned to moderate his grip so he would not bruise her. His woman was so very fragile.


    Candi rested her head on his shoulder and tried not to look down. No matter how many times she traveled in this way, it always made her stomach feel a little queasy.


    ''Just rx in my arms. We''re almost at the pod.''


    ''I''m rxed. I know you won''t drop me.''


    teughed. ''I''m carrying precious cargo. I will never let you go.''


    He flew towards the pod that was hovering a short distance away.


    From the ground, there arose a shout as several men sprang into the air with unfurled wings and flew towards them in pursuit.


    ''Oh no! They''reing after us!'' She gasped. They were dressed in ck, with their bat wings outstretched.


    te againughed.


    He flew with her through the open hatch and gently ced her on the egg-shapedmand chair.


    "Come on in," he called out. "And close the door behind you."


    Candi raised herself up from the chair as her eyes widened in rm. te was letting those men into the pod???


    The men who had been in hot pursuit flew into the hatch. In quick order, the hatch closed, sealing shut behind them leaving no trace of a seam.


    With a few practiced taps onto the console by his armrest, te took the transport pod straight up into outer space.


    "Candace!" One of the men called out.


    Their wings retracted and their leather masks melted away to once again reveal their familiar handsome faces.

 Chapter 154 - Elopement

    "Lucas! Byron! Leo!" She gasped and jumped up off the seat.


    They all beamed bright smiles at her.


    "You make such a beautiful bride!" Lucasughed as he reached out for Candi''s hand and dropped a kiss on her forehead. Then he gently pushed her back onto the seat.


    "Stay in your seat, Sweetheart. We''re moving very quickly at this moment." He kneeled down in front of her and carefully strapped her in.


    "You are so beautiful, but this dress is so big, you barely fit into this seat." He grinned as he tucked the voluminous folds around her so the straps and harness would fit around her.


    He turned his bright amused amber eyes towards te.


    "Were you going to elope with my bride, te?"


    te grinned cheekily.


    "I have always been just the delivery service and personal bodyguard that everyone calls on to transport the Princess around. I feel so used and abused."


    The men roared withughter. Wasn''t it te who had insisted on personally doing those duties?


    An alert sounded, interrupting their lighthearted banter.


    te turned back to the screens in front of the chairs.


    "Uh oh. Looks like we gotpany." Leonardo chanted as a dozen pods rose up from the ground and came streaming at them.


    "Have a seat and brace yourselves. I''ll just chat with them for a bit." te waved a hand as three more chairs appeared from the floor.


    The Princes took their seats and harnessed themselves down.


    One more wave of te''s hand resulted in a virtual monitor that appeared.


    A winged trooper''s face came into focus.


    "Donovan. Stand down." te called out to the man.


    "Your Royal Highness. With all due respect, you must return the Princess Candace Farrah. The wedding is about to begin and everyone is waiting for her."


    "I said STAND DOWN!" te snarled.


    "Yes Sir." He nodded and gave a signal.


    Immediately, the battle pods fell back. They looped around and returned to the Royal Pce.


    "Does that mean you justmitted high treason, te?" Byron chuckled.


    "Against who? Father? Lucas?" te gave a wry smile. "I am the Prime Warrior. I act independently of Erenveil''s throne andwmaking body."


    That was true. Candace remembered him saying something about that to her in the past.


    Lucas grinned. "I hereby formally forgive you, Brother, for flying off with my almost-bride."


    "Don''t forget I''m flying off with you as well."


    "She''s the real treasure. I''m just the afterthought." Lucasughed.


    "So where are we heading off to, Brother?" Leonardo asked as he settled onto his seat.


    "When you told us toe with you, I wasn''t expecting a heist with such high value." He turned to Candi with tender aqua eyes.


    "I have to take her to a safe ce. The Earth delegates are in an uproar and they want to exchange her for the fake Avgo woman Dahlia."


    "Over my dead body." Lucas snarled. "That woman is so disgusting I would never allow her to touch me."


    Byronughed. "Did you do anything with her?"


    Lucas shot him a disgusted look.


    "No. I mostly acted as if I had some kind of sexual hangup about doing anything with her before marriage. That kept her off me for the most part."


    Leonardo and Byron roared withughter. Lucas had to be their least sexually hung up brother. He had more partners throughout his illustrious career than anyone they knew.


    As the brothers chattered back and forth, Candi sat back and watched the sky change quickly from blue to violet to ck.


    They had broken through into deep space.


    She was about to connect with Dante to let him know she was on her way out into deep space when the alert sounded, signaling them of an iing call.


    "It''s Father. Want to talk to him?" te asked as he nced at the monitor in front of him.


    "Sure." Lucas rose from his chair and stood next to te. "Put Dear Old Dad on so we can all see him and speak to him ourselves."


    te''s fingers flew across the panel and the Emperor''s face appeared onscreen, his violet eyes charged and stormy.


    "Hello Father," Lucas called out, his deep amber eyes crinkling with mischief.


    "You rascal," he frowned at te. "You''re one of the grooms men. Why are you running away from your duties?"


    He turned to Lucas with a dark scowl. "And you. Aren''t you supposed to be down here to attend your own wedding? Or did you just jilt your new bride?"


    te rolled his eyes and widened the screen so that Candace, Byron, and Leonardo were also included into the visual call.


    "We''re all here Father." Leonardo called out.


    The Emperor huffed and puffed as he stared at all their mischievous twinkling eyes.


    "I can''t believe you all ran away. What the hell am I going to do with all the wedding guests and wedding presents and wedding food???" He roared, his face turning beet red.


    Byron smiled. "Use it, Father. Marry the Empress Anastasia. She never got an Avgo wedding even though she won the Avgo. All she ever got from you was a legal document stating that she was a legal consort."


    The Emperor''s violet eyes lit up. This was a smashing idea!


    But first things first. He still had to pretend to reprimand them.


    Scowling with everything he could muster to appear angry and upset, the Emperor growled at his sons.


    "Do you know what the ramifications for disrupting an Avgo wedding will be? You will all go down in historic infamy! All Avgo events and weddings are documented very thoroughly as part of Erenveil history!"


    He paused and shook his head. "We are going to look like such chumps." He sobbed even as the brothers snickered amongst themselves.


    "If I hadn''t seen it with my own eyes, I honestly would have never believed it." The Emperor rubbed his eyes with amazement. "Are all you boys eloping with her at the same time???"


    Lucasughed. "Why, yes! That"s exactly what we are doing, Father."


    "I was merely jesting." The Emperor cleared his throat. "Whoever heard of one Prime Avgo Female with four Erenveil Princes?"


    "Ummm. I think you forgot a few more." Leonardo grinned.


    "That''s right." The Emperor pounded his hands together. "Have any of you heard from Dante and the twins?"


    te nodded. "I got word that he and the twins are heading this way. We''ll rendezvous with their pod within the next few hours."


    The Emperor nodded, relief shinning in his face.


    "Good. I''m relieved to hear that Dante and the twins are returning to us."


    "Yes Father. Poppy secured their release."


    "That girl¡­I have to make it up to her some day, when she is willing to talk to me again." The Emperor sighed.


    "Just so my mind will be at ease," The Emperor rubbed his nose. "Where are you kids headed?"


    "Nirovium." te responded without skipping a beat.


    The Emperor''s eyes widened with startlement.


    "That noxious out in the wilds? There''s hardly any civilization there. What will you do for supplies and entertainment?"


    Candiughed. The Emperor sounded as if he was talking about some cabin in the woods that was barely essible.


    "It''s not that far from the nearest portal hop, Father. We''re really only three hours away from you."


    "But still. All my kids have left me!" The Emperor pouted.


    "You still have Lyra, Ariana, Daisy, and Poppy."


    "Thank Heavens for little girls," the Emperor nodded.


    "I guess this means I can send the Earth delegates home, now that you kids have all eloped."


    He shrugged and scratched his forehead as if he was a helpless old man.


    "I have to admit, the Earth delegates have been such a pain in the royal ass. But they can''t insist that Dahlia woman marry someone who''s run away, and they can''t insist that Candace be returned when even I have no idea where you kids have run off to."


    All the menughed. The Emperor was more than capable of scorning delegates and sending them packing.


    "I''m curious though, Candace." The Emperor scratched his head. "I know you''re wearing a replica Avgo gemstone around your neck, but do you still have the real one, even though you''ve been named the winner?"


    Candi blinked. She honestly didn''t know the answer to that.


    "Avgo,e on out." She called.


    Instantly, the gem popped up, twirling and twinkling its pink radiance throughout the room.


    Everyone stared with mesmerized eyes. No matter how many times they had seen the gem, it always managed to take their breath away.


    "I thought that with the Avgo finished, the gemstone disappears." Candi murmured as she reached out to touch the Avgo sapphire. It nestled in her hands, warm and vibrant.


    "It leaves you when its job is done. That''s all I know." The Emperor shrugged.


    "So that means its job is not done yet." te mused.


    The Emperor shrugged. "I''m sure you kids can figure this Avgo gemstone out between yourselves, but more importantly, what are your near future ns?"


    "We have a war to fight, Father." te responded as if it was just another Tuesday chicken dinner.


    "As soon as Dante and the twins meet up with us, we will put into ce the next phase of our ns."

 Chapter 155 - 24 Hours

    As soon as the Emperor had signed off, Leonardo turned to te.


    "So, Great Fearless Leader, what pray tell, is the next phase of our ns?"


    te grinned. "I dunno. It just seemed a cool thing to say at the time."


    All the brothers groaned.


    They had been hoping that te would have some grand scheme. Instead, this was turning into a hair-brained joy ride into deep space with no end goal.


    As they chatted with each other about the various things that could be the ''next phase of their ns'', Candi was establishing a mental link with Dante.


    ''Are you there?''


    ''Baby! Did te take you off?'' Dante sounded concerned.


    ''Yes. I''m in his transport pod with Lucas, Leonardo, and Byron.''


    ''Hmmm.'' This threw Dante off-guard. ''So the guys all tagged along?''


    He mulled this over for a few seconds.


    ''Good. Good. Let me contact them.''


    Instantly, an alert sounded of another iing call.


    "Hey, it''s Big Brother Dante!" te announced as he popped up the disy.


    Instantly, the virtual screen showed Dante sitting in a simrlyid out transport pod, alongside Jason and Jared.


    "Hey Bro. Good to see you''re in one piece." te nodded at Dante. "You twins are looking healthy too." He spared a nce at Jason and Jared.


    The twins looked a bit off, but they came alive once they saw their brothers and Candi.


    "Wow. You look beautiful Candace! But what kind of dress is that you''re wearing?" Jason stared at her outfit.


    "You should not be wearing anything but a dress from us!" Jared frowned.


    "Well at least she''s wearing the avgo sapphire I made for her." Jason smiled. "You are so beautiful, my Tiny Dancer."


    "Thank you both." She grinned. "Next time I need a wedding dress, I''ll be sure to let you both know."


    As she and the twins were bantering back and forth in a gentle teasing manner, Dante and Lucas were eyeing each other with wary eyes.


    "Dante," Lucas called out in a gentle voice. "I really had no idea what was going on. You know I would never take this Crown Prince position away from you. I don''t even know how to be one!"


    Byron looked at Lucas with sympathy. He knew how difficult the job was, and Lucas would be in for a tough time ahead.


    Dante stared at Lucas with grim determination.


    "And yet here we are. They kidnapped me and the twins, and stripped me of my title and my bride. How do you want me to react to all this?"


    Lucas looked down at his hands.


    "I got abducted too, and when they released me, I was sent back to Erenveil. Suddenly, they heaped all this onto my head even before I knew what was going on." he moved his hand in a confused manner.


    Dante sighed. He had seen the visuals of Lucas looking confused and unprepared for it all. He knew that Lucas spoke the truth.


    "Father has been ying a pacifist hand for far too long. How many more of us will get abducted for ransom while we sit around and do nothing?" Dante growled.


    "Father was trying to keep the gxy peaceful enough for all of us." Byron sighed.


    "Peace at all cost is no peace at all. It merely makes the aggressors more willing to push the war boundaries and see what they can get away with while we keep pushing the peace agenda."


    All the brothers looked at each other. Dante was right. He was hitting into the heart of the next phase of the ns.


    "Do you have a n of attack?" Leonardo asked Dante.


    "I do. Let''s talk about it over dinner shall we?" Dante gave Leonardo a grim smile.


    Dinner sounded like a good idea to all the men.


    "Brothers." te cleared his throat. "Where are you at, currently?"


    Dante nodded. "We''re about an hour away from the nearest space jump. Where are you heading?"


    te tapped a few things onto the console of his armrest.


    "I just sent you the coordinates. Be there in an hour and we''ll pick you up."


    "I got it." Dante began entering the coordinates into the pod.


    ''You''re so beautiful that when I look at you, I can barely breathe.''


    Candi blinked.


    That was undoubtedly Dante''s deep rumbly voice in her mind, but he was looking upied with something he was doing and wasn''t even looking at her.


    ''I''m so d you''re safe.''


    ''Hold onto good thoughts, My Love.''


    He turned his brilliant green eyes at her. ''We will meet again in an hour.''


    She smiled at his elegant regal face with that familiar blue hair that was now hanging past his shoulders.


    Dante turned back to his brothers.


    "I have to make another call to Father, so we''re going to disconnect now, but we''ll talk again in about an hour." Dante said.


    They all said their goodbyes and disconnected the call.


    As soon as they signed off, Dante began pacing the floor. Only one more hour to get to the jump and he would see his bride again.


    Except he was no longer Crown Prince for some idiotic reason, and this time, it would be much harder to try to wrestle the position back.


    It would be Lucas he would have to seize it from.


    Lucas was a legitimate son of the Emperor. He was also one of Dante''s sweetest brothers.


    The shy young boy with the pale blonde hair and warm amber eyes who once could barely say a word without turning red and hiding behind his mother was now an intergctic star.


    A very sweet and kind intergctic star.


    Dante heaved a heavy sigh and returned to his seat.


    Flicking his hands quickly, he made the call to the Emperor.


    He must have been doing something important because it took almost fifteen minutes for the Emperor to return his call.


    "Boys! You''re all looking well." The Emperor proimed, looking at all three of them in turn.


    "You''ve been busy." Dante responded in way of greeting.


    "I just got married!" The Emperor grinned.


    Dante rolled his eyes. "New bride?"


    The Emperor pursed his lips.


    "No. Same old bride. I just got married again to your mother!"


    "Why?" Dante raised an eyebrow. "Aren''t you two already married?"


    "Of course we are, but the idiot Lucas eloped with his bride Candace and left all these wedding arrangements and food and stuff. What could we do but call it my wedding?"


    "And they were okay with it?"


    The Emperor shrugged.


    "All the guests had arrived with all the gifts and such¡­I couldn''t send them away. Some of those gifts are quite nice!"


    Dante sighed. Four of his sons had just gotten kidnapped and he was focusing on how nice the gifts were.


    "Father. That Crown Prince position was always supposed to have been mine. Why has it been stripped from me yet again?"


    The Emperor heaved a sigh. All signs of his merriment dissipated.


    "I know that you are the rightful Crown Prince, Son, but your mother bargained it away to bring you back safely."


    He pursed his lips.


    "Being alive and the richest man in the gxy but NOT the Crown Prince is much better than being a dead Crown Prince."


    "But Candace is my wife." Dante snarled.


    "Listen to me Son. She is THE Primary Avgo Female. She must go to the Crown Prince."


    The Emperor looked away.


    "The documents have been drawn up.. Within 24 hours, she will automatically be his legal wife, per the Avgo contest rules."

 Chapter 156 - Take A Hundred Wives!

    "Father, she is my bride. I don''t care about the Crown Prince position, but I do care about her. If I have to fight to win her hand, I will throw everything I have into that fight."


    The Emperor sighed. He did not want to mention it, but the truth was that Dante was a top notch CEO. As far as making and growing wealth, he was the absolute best in the gxy.


    Unfortunately, that very same reason which made him such a good CEO also caused him to act like a dictator when he wielded the throne. He ran the empire like it was a business, and it just couldn''t be run in that manner for so many reasons.


    On the other hand, the son that Emperor Rex had thought would never be able to do much other than entertain people, his movie star son Lucas, had far more charisma than even Byron did.


    Lucas could sway people''s hearts and minds as easily as turning his beautiful face to the visual cameras and giving them that winsome smile of his.


    He was actually the perfect choice to be the future Emperor IF he could have the full support of all his brothers.


    "It will be a losing battle son. The entire gxy is cheering on for Lucas as the new Crown Prince. He''s a well-known star, someone they love and fully support."


    "If you try to reim the Crown Prince title, the entire gxy will think you''ve pulled something dirty and they will object."


    The Emperor sighed.


    "Think about all your sessful enterprises and business conglomerations. Your wealth is staggering. Don''t get dragged into something that will cause you to be an outcast and damage your business brands."


    "But she is my wife!"


    "You are the richest man alive. You can have any woman in the Gxy! Take another wife. In fact, take a hundred wives! With my blessing even!"


    "But I only love her, Father. Would you abandon my mother to take on a hundred other women?"


    The Emperor sighed and shook his head.


    Being Emperor meant he had to take on many political wives, but the woman who had taken his heart had always been the butterfly Anastasia. If he had the choice, he would be ecstatic with just the one woman who was Dante''s mother.


    "Understand, Son. You are not just a bat. You are also a butterfly. The Insectoids were rooting for you during the time you were Crown Prince, but the Avians began staging battles and takeovers across the Gxy."


    The Emperor rubbed his forehead as a pounding headache began to erupt. He needed toy it out straight for Dante.


    "They have this knee-jerk reaction against bugs of all sorts. To the birds, insects are the lowest of the lowest life forms and therefore are below their caste."


    The Emperor pointed at Dante.


    "To them, you are nothing more than a bug in a bat costume. To have a bug tantly take over as Emperor of the gxy is something so abhorrent to the Avians that they would rather destroy you by any means possible than to allow what should have been yours by rights of session to happen."


    He gave Dante a dour face.


    "With you as Crown Prince, there will be endless wars, not because of anything you did but because of who you are. You will never know a moment of peace. Do you want your wife and children to be living in a state of constant war?"


    Dante''s eyes grew fierce. "We can''t just let the Avians bully and push everyone around!"


    "And that is why I''ve been sending te out to quell all the fires that have been ring up here and there. But just because we have enough forces to maintain a semnce of peace doesn''t mean they aren''t going to keep trying to subjugate the bugs."


    The Emperor turned to the twins. "Jason. Jared. The Avians even convinced your mother''s people, the merfolk from Emporia, to join in with their schemes."


    Jason scowled. "We know. It was our aunt who betrayed us at the Avgo Event."


    The Emperor gasped. "Which of Mortimer Cordera''s wives dared to do that?"


    "Beatrice, Helene''s mother." Jared responded. "She insisted on meeting us that morning of the Avgo Event saying that it was life or death, so Jason and I agreed to see her."


    Jason shook his head.


    "She took a small entourage of troops with her, which was strange, but we didn''t say much. After all, she is our mother''s sister-inw."


    "And they ambushed you two?" The Emperor''s face began to darken.


    Jared nodded. "She wanted one of us to choose Helene Cordera as a bride, because she is one of the Avgo contestants, and she knew that none of our other brothers would choose Helene."


    "Hmmmph!!!" The Emperor harrumphed. "The nerve of that woman!"


    He held up a finger. "First of all, that girl is your first cousin. It would be considered incest by thews of Erenveil."


    He held up a second finger. "Secondly, I have already told you all not to choose the fish girl. You can marry any female or mermaid you wish, just not Helene."


    "Of course, we understood that, Father." Jared gritted his teeth. "We refused, and once we did, we were overwhelmed by her guards."


    The Emperor nodded. Perhaps it was time to clean house on Emporia.


    Dante leaned back against the seat. He had heard enough from all sides to know what had to be done.


    "I am not going to allow the Avians to bully us any longer. I will be putting into ce, the next phase of my ns."


    The Emperor sighed.


    That was exactly what te had said before he disconnected with his youngest son. Since his boys tended to coborate on most things, he could only assume that the ''next phase of their ns'' was one that they had worked on together.


    Now that is oldest son was saying the same thing, all he could do was sit back and cheer them on.


    =============


    Within the hour, Dante had made the space hyper jump, taking them back into Erenveil space.


    The other Princes and Candace had boarded the Raptor 600 warship and was waiting for them near the portal. Once Dante''s transport pod arrived, the warship''s hatch opened up to receive them.


    "Wow. Your pod looks like it''s ready to be junked." te joked as he looked at the visual of the ancient craft with the happy yellow face painted on the side as it flew into the hangar.


    "I''m lucky I even got something to leave pirate space with." Dante responded with cheer. "Anything fancier would have been attacked and taken away with me and the twins still inside."


    "Wee back, Brothers." te said as he jumped off hismand chair and made his way to the hangar to greet them personally.


    Within minutes, Dante and the twins had joined the rest of the brothers and Candace up in themand deck.


    Dante strode through and went straight for Candace, picking her up from her seat and crushing her into his arms.


    ''Oh my sweet Darling. I''ve missed you so much.'' He spoke into her mind.


    It had only been a little over twelve hours since they''d been apart, but it seemed like forever. And now that she would be someone else''s bride, at least on paper, it seemed that he would lose her forever.


    His heart ached so much. That old familiar rage was back full st. He could feel his fangs begin itching to grow again


    The unfairness and injustice of not being allowed to be the Crown Prince because he was part insectoid, the utter humiliation of fighting for and attaining the Crown Prince title only to have it revoked within a week''s time.


    It was almost more than he could bear.


    But Candace was there, rubbing his back with her strong thin arms, making soft cooing sounds inside his mind.


    ''Sweetheart, you''re doing an amazing job and I am very proud to be with you.'' She continued to soothe his ragged weary heart.


    ''Everything is going to be alright. I am right here and not going anywhere. You have to trust that everything is going to work out, Dante, and that you''re not alone. Just trust in me and your brothers. We won''t let you down."


    She was driving away his fears and rage, one demon at a time.


    As Dante allowed her voice to sink into his soul, he began to let go of his anger and shame.


    She didn''t think he was less of a man even though everyone else in the gxy thought he wasn''t good enough to be Crown Prince. In her eyes, he was worthy enough to be with her.


    That was all that mattered to Dante.

 Chapter 157 - The Amazing Seven Princes Of Erenveil

    Once Dante was in full control of himself, Candace reached out and gave the twins hugs as well. For some reason, they looked even worse than Dante did.


    In their eyes were recriminations, not at anyone but at themselves.


    "We failed you, Tiny Dancer." They apologized profusely. "We all failed to show up to support you through an important Avgo event. That''s¡ªunforgivable."


    She shook her head. "None of this is your fault. The fault lies with those who are responsible for the kidnapping of four Princes of Erenveil.


    "They must be made to pay." Her normal warm hazel eyes grew hard and cold.


    The brothers all looked at each other. She was their inspiration.


    If they''d had any doubts about what needed to be done, she had just blown away all their doubts.


    If Candace said the attackers must be made to pay, they would ensure that she would be gifted with substantial repayment, be it in the form of wealth or blood.


    Or both.


    Since everyone looked exhausted, te found quarters for each of his brothers, sending them off to rest until dinner time. They had all been through the wringer within thest 24 hours and needed rest.


    Candace was taken to te''s more luxurious personal quarters where a female attendant had been assigned to help her to undress and changed into morefortable clothing.


    She was lying on the bed resting when te returned, an hourter.


    He fell onto the bed next to Candace in an exhausted slump, exhaling with relief as his body sank onto the softness of the bed. It had been over 48 hours that he''d had a chance to lie down and close his eyes.


    Beside him, the little female that weighed next to nothing, was squirming under his arm that had inadvertently been thrown across her body.


    "Ughh. te. Why you so heavy!" Candace was struggling to move out from under his right arm.


    te''s body shook with mirth. He removed his offending arm and turned his body towards her.


    "Will you sleep with me?"


    "S¡ªsleep?" Candi''s eyes widened.


    "Yes." He closed his eyes. "I''m exhausted. I just want to lie here with you for a bit and just sleep."


    Candi was going to respond when she realized that he was already lightly snoring.


    His right arm was under him but his left arm was now thrown over her. To make matters worse, he had also thrown his leg over her body, effectively trapping her into his chest.


    With nowhere to go, Candi reached around his waist and cradled him in her arms. She closed her eyes and tried to take a nap but the harder she tried, the more awake she became.


    The nearness of te was disturbing. The memories of all they had shared came flooding back into her mind, making her sad that there was no future for them.


    He had been her constant ind of stability, her rock that she clung to when things went south. The fact that he continued to be her strength even when it was obvious that she and Dante were a couple meant that he cared for her unconditionally.


    He gave her freely and without any strings attached, anything and everything she needed.


    If all he was asking for was to lie there and sleep with her in his arms, she was more than happy to be his dakimakura, hisfort pillow.


    Within his safe warm embrace, Candi drifted off to sleep soon thereafter.


    By dinner time, a small chime sounded, alerting everyone that it was time to eat.


    Within fifteen minutes, everyone had trooped into the dining area where the attendants were serving military-style meals.


    "Everyone seems to be looking much less ragged." Leonardo smiled. "I was starting to get worried about you men, falling to the ground in exhaustion."


    "Please." te scoffed. "It would take more than two daysck of sleep to take me down that hard."


    "I can''t im that," Lucas gave a shy grin. "I got drugged and knocked out for hours, so I guess I got my allotted sleep time."


    Leonardo shook his head. "No brother. Being knocked out does not equate to sleeping and resting."


    "You and the others," he looked at Dante and the twins, "need just as much if not more sleep than everyone else just to recover from all the drugs that were pumped into you."


    "We don''t have time to sleep. We have a fish world to reim." Danteunched into the crux of the situation, even as attendants began serving the first course, a light hors d''oeuvre of smoked salmon on brie crackers.


    "And why is that the first item on our list?" Byron asked as he chewed on the crackers.


    "Wouldn''t mming the five bird worlds surrounding Nymphalidae and saving Empress Anastasia''s home world from being overtaken be the first reasonable action?"


    Dante smiled. "Because if we reim Emporia and return it to its rightful ruler, we suddenly gain an entire armada of warriors to help us in the fight with the birds."


    te stared at Dante. "You''re talking about the space pirates?"


    Dante nodded. "I have an ''understanding'' with the previous king of Emporia."


    "You know Mattheus Cordera?" Jason''s eyes widened.


    Dante nodded. "I''m sorry Jason. I can no longer allow your uncle to remain in power over Emporia."


    Jared''s left cheek twitched. "Mattheus is my cousin. His father was our uncle and the previous king of Emporia. If there is anything we can do to help you take Mortimer down, just let us know."


    Dante nodded. "There is. I''ll let you know when and what is needed."


    "I also have quite a bit of pull with the insectoid worlds since I am, myself, half insectoid." Dante continued. "Under mymand will be the insects and at least one group of space pirates."


    "And of course, I still havemand of all the Erenveil space force, as well as your entire fleet of guard ships." te reminded Dante.


    "And my hospital ships are still warships." Leonardo chimed in.


    Dante shook his head. "If I can get the extra forces from the space pirates and the insectoid worlds, you can revert your warships back to hospitals to receive the wounded from the war."


    Leonardo nodded. That had always been the option. His crews had always been able to do both duties. They were essentially warriors with medical knowledge.


    "Militarily, we have the necessary forces to deal with whatever the birds can throw at us. We need a negotiator though." te turned to Byron. "You being a bird makes you the perfect negotiator."


    Byron nodded. "Being a negotiator is what I was trained my whole life to do."


    "You won''t be alone. Poppy is also at the front lines, doing much of the moving and shaking of the chess board herself."


    "She is such an amazing woman." Byron breathed with admiration.


    "What do you guys want me to do?" Lucas looked up with hesitant eyes.


    "Be our front man. Make us look like handsome devils who can do no wrong." Jared smiled. "And this time, none of you men are allowed to hide your faces."


    Jason nodded grinning. "We have toe out of hiding and be the Amazing Seven Princes of Erenveil! Jared and I will create the visual costumes for all of us."


    "That''s right. We must be the superheroes that the gxy needs." Jared''s eyes began to sparkle with that creative shine. "We will make the gxy swoon with love for us so that when war happens, they will be sympathetic to our cause."


    Candi beamed a bright smile at them.


    "That sounds like an awesome idea! The Amazing Seven Princes! Wow!!!" Her hazel eyes sparkled. "Is there anything I can do to help in the war effort?"


    te turned to her with loving eyes.


    "You are our source of strength. We need you somewhere safe and healthy so we can do our jobs without having to worry about you."


    "YES!" All the men agreed with one voice.

 Chapter 158 - The Avgo Is Gone!!!

    Somewhere safe and healthy. Why did that sound like the most boring job ever?


    Candi grimaced. They were going to go do their thing and leave her behind to miss all the fun???


    "Were you guys going to just leave me to rot on some boring world while you go about the gxy, doing your fun things?" She frowned.


    This waspletely unfair!


    "No no, Darling. Don''t think about it like that." Byron soothed. "You will just be waited on, hand and foot, while you eat beautiful sweets and drink colorful juices on some tropical paradise."


    "Yes, and when we are done with our work, we wille home to you." Leonardo gushed.


    "But I want to be where the action and the fun is!" She insisted.


    "War is not fun, woman." te gave her a firm stare. "People get hurt. People die."


    His eyes softened.


    "Even though you are capable of defending yourself against attackers, you are not able to do anything against an armada of warships. You are not a warrior and have not been trained how to deal with modern warfare."


    Candi sighed. If te the Prime Warrior put down his foot, there was no changing it. She resigned herself to figuring out a different way to be of use to the war effort.


    The attendants were starting to bring out the main courses. Some of the men ordered beef and some ordered chicken.


    Candi had ordered the braised cod, thinking it would be a nice light meal, but when it came out, the size of the fish cut wasrger than her arm!


    Seeing Candi''s horrified expression, Danteughed and reached over.


    "I''ll help myself to a portion of your fish, if you don''t mind. I''m feeling a bit hungrier than usual."


    On her other side, teughed and took another portion from her.


    "I''ll take this section here as well."


    Opposite from her, Byron was reaching over to pour some white wine into her ss.


    "Have some of this. It''s delicious with that fish."


    "No. She is not allowed wine." Dante narrowed his eyes.


    "Why not?" Byron looked up, his eyes questioning.


    "Because she may be with child."


    "That''s impossible, unless you''ve done something to her." Byron muttered, staring at Dante.


    Leonardo immediately got up and reached Candi''s side.


    "Please give me your hand."


    Candi blinked with confusion. Was there something terribly wrong?


    She reached out her hand and Leonardo grasped it with both his hands, one palm touching each side of her hand.


    For a moment, his hands glowed as he did a preliminary scan of her physiology.


    He slowly shook his head.


    "She''s not pregnant."


    "But I felt an egg. It was alive." Dante furrowed his brows. He couldn''t have misread bio signals that badly, could he?


    "She''s not even ovting at this moment." Leonardo frowned "I do however feel the presence of a living egg." He looked up at Dante. "But it''s not what you think."


    "The Avgo!" te pounded the table, clinking the silverware on the ceramic dishes.


    Leonardo nodded. "The Avgo is just an ancient word for ''egg''. What Dante felt was the Avgo egg that resides within Candace."


    He turned to Candi. "Can you call the Avgo out of your body?"


    Candi nodded. "Come on out Avgo."


    Instantly, the Avgo appeared before her, scattering its brilliant pink light around the room.


    "There you go." Leonard nodded. "Touch her other hand, Dante. What do you feel?"


    Dante reached out for her hand, enfolding it within hisrge hands. His eyes veiled.


    "I feel her life source alone."


    His face did not show his heartbreak, but it was readily apparent in his voice.


    The other Princes looked anywhere but at Dante. Even the loss of the possibility of a child was still a tremendous loss if there had been enormous emotional investment.


    Candace sighed.


    "I have no idea why, even after the Avgo Events has finished, I''m still holding onto this Avgo egg."


    te shrugged. "All we know is that it hasn''t finished what it needs to do yet."


    "But I''ve won. Isn''t it supposed to disappear, toe back into existence decades or centuriester when it needs to show itself again?"


    Her eyes narrowed with thought.


    "I wish I could ask it what to do." She muttered to herself.


    Wait a moment!


    Candi''s eyes lit up. What was she thinking?


    She could!


    The Avgo actually understood hermands! It had done everything she asked it to do, including halting Lorem Ipsum''s cyclone in a ss tube!


    It always came when she called it out, and every time she was in danger, it exuded its power to save her. This Avgo stone was rational and intelligent!


    Why was she treating it as if it was an inanimate object without any sense of self-awareness?


    Rising up from her chair, she stared at the Avgo sapphire as it slowly rotated in front of her.


    "Avgo. What is the next step? Show me your purpose!"


    As if it had received some highmand, the Avgo suddenly stopped rotating. Slowly, it began to pulse, like a heart.


    The Princes all held their collective breaths. Something tremendous was about to happen to the Avgo.


    The pulses began to speed up, even as the Avgo grewrger.


    Hovering over the dinner table, it grew to the size of a grapefruit and then stabilized.


    And then, in one final pulse, it fractured into pieces!!!


    CRAAACK!!!


    The men all gasped with surprise.


    Candi''s heart nearly exploded as she choked back a sob.


    She had damaged the Avgo by asking it a question it could not answer!


    Before her eyes, the shards spun in midair until they changed into a multitude of new pink Avgo stones, pulsing and radiating with a multitude of dazzling new light.


    The Avgo had divided itself into seven new Avgo gemstones!


    It began dancing in front of her, parading itself for her to see. Each detail was perfect. Each radiated its own life force, which she now understood to be sentient and supremely divine.


    With unerring uracy, the new Avgo stones paused their movement for one second.


    They all stopped breathing, sensing that something momentous was about to happen.


    In a sudden sh of pink light, each Avgo stone shot directly into each Prince sitting around the table hitting each man squarely in the heart.


    "Argh!" They all grunted in pain as they felt the impact of the Avgo stone. It had moved so quickly, like glowing pink bullets, that the men did not even have time to react!


    Candi gasped.


    As the men rubbed their chests in stunned surprise, Candi held her head with both hands trying to make sense of what had just happened.


    She had asked it a simple question and it had responded. And in the blink of an eye, the Avgo was gone!


    "Haaaaaahhh," she panted. "What just happened?"


    She reached out into the space that the Avgo once hovered.


    "Avgo,e on out." She called with a wavering voice, hoping it was still there.


    Nothing.


    "Avgo?"


    Nothing.


    It was truly gone!


    "I¡ªI lost my Avgo." Candi swallowed a huge lump in her throat.


    She looked at all the men, her eyes wide with rm.


    "I''m not an Avgo Female any more."


    The men all looked at each other.


    Sudden understanding bloomed on their faces.


    They turned again to look at her stricken eyes.


    As a tear rolled down her face, they all began to hoot withughter.

 Chapter 159 - [Bonus ] The Avgo Males

    "Why are youughing at me???" She cried.


    She had just lost her precious Avgo and now felt no more special than before when she had no Avgo. It had be such a huge part of her that she felt as if she had suddenly lost something so precious!


    "I lost my Avgo." She whispered. She could not believe that she could feel the loss so heavily. It was a huge loss that made her feel bereft!


    The men eased theirughing fit as they realized she truly was grieving the loss.


    Jason stood up and came to her. Reaching out for her, he gently held her in his arms.


    "Darling. I made a special Avgo replica for you because I knew that this one would soon be gone. You still have that at least, to look at."


    She nodded and rested her head on his broad shoulder. He was a jeweler of the finest caliber and she knew he had crafted it with great skill and love for her.


    "I feel so lost without it though." She mumbled.


    Without realizing it, the presence of the Avgo within her had grown on her, day by day, until it became a part of her.


    For it to suddenly leave her, the hole that it left was huge, and it was heartbreaking.


    "Without it, I''m not an Avgo Female any more. I''m just an ordinary Earth girl who will be sent back to Earth." She sobbed.


    Suddenly, the brothers were all gathered around her,forting her as best they could.


    "What a silly duck. What would we do without you?"


    "We love you, not the Avgo! Stop thinking such foolish thoughts."


    "Darling, you''re literally in my heart and that''s where you''ll stay."


    "Don''t even think that because you will be so wrong!"


    "Hush My Love. I will always need and want you."


    "With all my heart and soul, I love you Candace."


    "This changes nothing, Baby Girl. I still love you the same as five minutes ago. Maybe even more so now."


    Their voices were a jumble, and she couldn''t tell who said what. It made her heart feel overwhelmed with love.


    "I broke the Avgo." She sobbed again.


    "Haha." Byronughed. "You didn''t break anything. The Avgo splintered into seven pieces because there were seven of us."


    "Yes." Leonardo rubbed her head. "We each got a sliver shot into our hearts. It''s safe with us for now."


    "I don''t understand why though." She turned confused eyes at Leonardo.


    Dante grinned. "I think I can exin this one."


    He reached out and caressed her face.


    "Darling, when a man gives you his body''s seminal fluid, it leaves his body and is deposited for safe keeping within your body. How we get that part of our body back is for you to deliver a newborn into our hands. Does that make sense?"


    "Yes, I understand the biology of procreation but what does that have to do with the Avgo?"


    te smiled. "Do you remember the question you asked it?"


    Candi blinked for a few seconds. What exactly did she ask?


    Leonardoughed. "If I remember correctly, she said something along the lines of ''What is the next step?'' and ''Show me your purpose."


    "Yes." te tapped her nose. "The next step after identifying the Avgo Female is to do what?" He looked at her expectantly.


    Candi shook her head, feeling extremely dense.


    te smiled. "After identifying the Female Avgo, the gemstone must now identify the most appropriate male to be the mate for the Avgo Female!"


    "But it splintered into seven pieces!"


    "That''s correct." He nodded. "It usually chooses the male that the Female Avgo chooses because it truly is YOUR CHOICE of mate. But in your case, you left it up to the Avgo to do the choosing!"


    Candi gasped. Lord have mercy!!!


    "And the Avgo chose all of us! Hahaha!" Lucasughed as feelings of joy flow through him in waves of tion.


    She frowned. "Are you sure it''s not just picking seven random males and¡­"


    "No, no darling." Lucas waved a hand in protest. "There were male servers all around us, pouring wine, serving food, delivering pies and cakes. It was a very deliberate and intelligent thing that the Avgo did."


    "How did it know exactly which males then, between you brothers and the rest of the servers?"


    "My best guess is that it can read the emotional rhythm of the heart." Leonardo chimed in.


    "Remember, this is an egg. That means it will eventually be born. It is looking for the best mother and father possible so that its chances of survival will be maximized."


    "Aaaaaahhh. I see." She looked at each of them. "Were all of you born from Avgo mothers?"


    Jason shook his head. "Not all of us, no. Let me see if I can identify them all."


    His eyes narrowed as he gathered his thoughts.


    "Thest time the Avgo came around, the Primary Avgo Female was Empress Anastasia who had the blue sapphire Avgo. That resulted in Dante."


    Jared nodded. "Yes, and the second runner up was rissa with the red ruby Avgo gemstone. She gave birth to Poppy."


    "Third runner up was our mother," Lucas said. "She had the yellow topaz Avgo gemstone. I was born before Leonardo, but it seems as if the Avgo saved all the brains so that it went to him. Hahaha." Heughed not unkindly.


    Jared nodded. "I know our mother was not an Avgo female, so we were not gifted with any Avgo super powers, but I''m not sure about te''s mother."


    "My mother was also an Avgo Female," te confirmed. "She held the purple amethyst Avgo gemstone. Unfortunately, she met with an ident and had to drop out early in the Avgo process."


    te turned to Jared. "Don''t sell yourselves short. The two of you, as well as Byron, are the best of the best in what you chose to do. I don''t think you missed out on anything."


    "So four of you were from Avgo females and three of you were not." She murmured.


    They nodded. Although rissa and Marissa had identical genes, only rissa was an Avgo Female, and of course, Byron was Marissa''s offspring.


    "So this must mean that the Avgo chose the male based upon something else, and not whether his mother was an Avgo Female or not." She mulled.


    "Correct." Dante nodded. "It looked around the room and found the men who loved you the most, and it split itself so that it could take advantage of that love so that the resulting child could benefit."


    "This little pink Avgo chose all seven of us for one simple reason." Byron smiled with tenderness. "We all love its mother to the core of our beings, and the Avgo couldn''t choose just one."


    Candi sniffed, and suddenly tears began to stream from her eyes. She was surrounded by love, and it had been verified by the Avgo itself.


    They stood there with her for a bit longer so she could recover from her tears.


    Then they took her to the Star Viewing lounge where they sat her on arge C shaped sofa in front of the huge window that showed an infinite deep field of brilliant stars.


    And there they sat with her, the eight of them just sitting there together, watching the kaleidoscope of stars and not saying much.


    [END OF BOOK ONE]

 Chapter 160 - [Bonus ] The Princes Strike Back

    [BOOK TWO: THE PRINCES STRIKE BACK]


    Early the next morning, Dante received a brief but detailed message from Mattheus Cordera.


    Without waking anyone up, he threw on his warrior gear, left his sleeping quarters, and grabbed a transport pod from the hangar.


    This one thankfully, DID NOT have a yellow smiley face painted on its side. It was one of the sleek ultra-modern ones that te kept on his Mother Ship, the Raptor 600 for his personal use.


    With him came one-hundred of his own guard ships that had turned into full-fledge warships. They had been on full alert stand-by the night before, ready to take off at a moment''s notice.


    He flew to his own Mother Ship, the Chiroptera 450, and took immediatemand of the squadron.


    Their first stop was the single moon above the beautiful ocean world of Emporia.


    His hundred warships, along with two hundred of Mattheus'' pirate ships, were cloaked and huddled on the dark side of the moon in fight formation.


    It was all touch and go at this moment.


    Dante stood at themand deck with a hot cup of coffee in his hand to warm his insides. The view from therge ship window was breathtaking.


    Even hidden behind Emporia''s moon, he could see therge crystal blue world peeking from the moon''s horizon.


    Emporia truly was an amazing and beautiful world. Once this war was over, he could turn establish a few of his resorts here and turn a tidy profit from tourism.


    For now, it was going to get worse before it got better.


    He sighed.


    Sometimes, an establishment needed to be gutted in order for a new and better establishment to be built. This was one of those times.


    Although they had left before sunrise, Standard Gctic Time, they were waiting for the perfect strike zone which would happen within the hour of nightfall on the capital city of Emporia.


    As the capital city slowly slipped into darkness, all its city lights began winking into life.


    An alert sounded.


    Dante waved a finger and the virtual monitored popped open, showing theely face of Mattheus Cordera.


    His eyes were dark as if he hadn''t slept in awhile, and his chin was unshaven and coarse with an entire day''s worth of stubble.


    "Looks like you didn''t get any sleep."


    Mattheus narrowed his eyes.


    "Sleep is a luxury I don''t have right now."


    "It''s your show, man. I''m just here to back you up." Dante took thest swallow of his coffee and put the mug down.


    "Understand, Dante, that this show of military force is mostly just that." Mattheus stressed.


    "All you have to do is fly your Erenveil warships around and make it look as if your entire fleet is going toe down on their heads if they don''tply."


    "Matt. I''m telling you right now, it''s not just for show. Those people kidnapped me and my brothers. I lost my Crown Prince title because of that."


    His green eyes were bloody red.


    "It only takes one word from me and the entire Erenveil armada is going to encircle this world and turn it as holey as Swiss cheese."


    Mattheus shook his head.


    "Hold your gunfire, Dante. We can''t just fly into Emporia with weapons zing! Most of the merfolk are innocent of any crimes at all. There has to be an intact world for me to rule over after overthrowing my uncle."


    "As long as you hand over the king and his wife Beatrice to me, I will agree to not use any force unless you ask for backup."


    Mattheus shook his head again.


    "Sorry man. That''s not part of the bargain. You can have his olddy, but that man''s ass is mine. He tried to kill me when I was barely ten years old. I''m not handing him over to you."


    "Fine. It was Beatrice who arranged for the kidnapping of my brothers and myself, so I''ll take her."


    "And her daughter?"


    "Who?"


    "Helene Cordera."


    Dante shook his head. "Never heard of her."


    Mattheus burst outughing. It was just as well.


    It was better that Helene sank into obscurity than to be remembered as the woman who tried to kill the Primary Avgo Female Candace Farrah.


    He didn''t know a whole lot about the First Prince, but he knew one thing.


    Prince Dante was head over heels in love with the Prime Avgo Female, Candace Farrah. Any threat to this woman was a death sentence to whoever was foolhardy enough to attempt that threat.


    "Oh wait a minute. Isn''t she the one who tried to hurt my woman and got her back broken as a result?"


    "That would be her." There went her chance to go under Dante''s radar.


    "I''ll take her too."


    Mattheus nodded. "Stand by, Prince Dante."


    ========


    Under the stealth of darkness, the masked warriors infiltrated Emporia''s Royal Pce.


    First to die were the gate guards. Soon thereafter, the remaining royal guards were taken out, one silent man at a time.


    It wasn''t that the Emporian Royal Guards were not good at their job. It was because they had suddenly been inundated with thousands of masked men armed to the teeth and highly skilled in the art of killing without making a sound.


    The masked intruders were so stealthy, they had inadvertently caught the King of Emporia with his willy hanging out as he pumped himself into one of his newest concubines.


    "Aaaaaaahhh!!!" The concubine shrieked as she tried to hide behind the king. Unfortunately, he was one step ahead of her.


    With a swift boot to her shapely buttocks, he kicked her at the assassins who had flooded into his bedroom to gain a few precious seconds of time.


    Without looking back to see what would happen to her, he hightailed it to his secret trap door.


    It had been prepared twenty years ago, when he took over the Royal Pce in anticipation of this event. He had known that this day wasing ever since he''d bombed that facility with the young king and his mother still trapped inside.


    King Mortimer didn''t think they survived it because they had been part of the huge number of people who had turned up unounted for.


    It was to have been their fate to be unidentifiable bone fragments, and yet, two decadester, karma finally swung back around and was now after his blood.


    As the trap door swung open, the king ran into the dark corridor. The door sprang shut behind him with a BANG!!! locking out the assassins who were in his bed chamber.


    There was very little light in this darkened area because it had never been used, but King Mortimer knew that this passage continued straight for awhile before it opened up onto Plumeria Beach.


    All he had to do was run his hand along the wall and keep running!


    King Mortimer felt to his right until his palm hit the smooth stone wall of the tunnel. Even without light, he could follow the length of the wall until he reached the end of the tunnel.


    He would escape this Royal Pce without even a stitch of clothing, but at least he would still have his life.


    Perhaps he could find his way to Erenveil and throw himself upon the mercy of his youngest sister, the Royal Consort Fatima.


    King Mortimer had been running for a few minutes, full steam ahead. His body was starting to feel the exertion and he was starting tog.


    Panting with effort, he began to slow his roll. Although his legs were weak and his lungs were burning, he could not afford to stay in this pce any longer.


    He had to make it out to the beach and go underwater where he could transform back into a merman and escape into the depths.


    BAAAAAMMM!!!


    "Aaaargghhhh!!!" He grunted as he mmed his face into something huge and solid in front of him.


    There should be nothing and no one in this tunnel!


    Reaching out blindly, King Mortimer encountered something massively solid.


    It was a male chest!


    SNAP!!!


    There was the sound of fingers snapping as a bright light beamed directly into King Mortimer''s face.


    For a moment, he was blinded.


    He winced, looking away from the bright flood of light.


    "So¡­we finally meet again. Uncle.." A deep voice rumbled out from the solid male chest that was standing before him.

 Chapter 161 - Amusement Park Attractions

    High above Emporia, Dante stared at the blue-green ocean of the water world below. He''d been waiting for Mattheus to give him a word, some word to do something, but so far, it all seemed to be really quiet.


    It was so quiet that Dante was starting to wonder what in heck he was doing here on Emporia when he could be back at te''s Raptor 600, having breakfast with his bride.


    "Your Royal Highness," a warrior approached him from behind. "There is a transport pod that will arrive within the next ten minutes."


    Dante waved a hand.


    "Matt." He called out.


    "Hold on Man. I''m just a little bit busy here." He could hear the sound of Mattheus doing something that involved a lot of huffing and puffing.


    "Sounds like a lot of physical activity. I hope you''re enjoying it at least."


    "Oh very much so." Mattheusughed.


    Five minutes of more strange noises and Mattheus finally popped up onscreen.


    "Whooohh. It took us awhile to get things set up."


    "Pray tell." Dante gave a dry smile.


    "No need to tell. Let me show you."


    Slowly, the view panned outward.


    Dante''s brows furrowed as he stared at what seemed to be a shadowy shape swirling in some kind of liquid.


    "What in the world is that?" Dante asked.


    "That, my friend, is a merman who''s stuck in arge ss cylinder filled with water. Meet my newest aquarium fish!"


    As the view continued to pan outward, Dante could finally see the shape that he couldn''t recognize. It was the tail of a long green fish, on top of which grew the torso and head of a man.


    He was floating inside the cylinder with his palms touching the surface of the ss. His dark green hair sloshed about with the current of the water, making him look almost like an eel.


    It was obvious he could see Dante from where he was. His miserable desperate eyes implored for help as he stared at the visual call''s monitor.


    "Can he breathe in there, or are you drowning him?" Dante asked with a grimace.


    Mattheusughed. "Take a look." He pointed to the side of his own face, near his earlobe. "See these slits? That''s so I can breathe under water."


    "Ahh. So you''re keeping the merman in the water."


    "Yes, and he will remain a merman for the rest of his natural life, which will be rather long since I n to keep him healthy and safe from harm."


    "How are you able to prevent him from transforming back into humanoid form?" Dante scratched his head.


    Mattheus pointed to the top of the cylinder where the water line went all the way to the lid.


    "I filled the water all the way up to the top and shut the lid. If he transforms into a human, he will definitely drown because his human lungs need air to sustain the humanoid body."


    "And you''re keeping him in fish form. Why?"


    Mattheus shook his head. "It''s too dangerous for him to be in humanoid form. In this form, he won''t be able to hurt anyone else."


    Dante nodded. Whatever Mattheus did to the former King, it was richly deserved and none of his business.


    "I have a pod that''s docking just about now. Is that the woman and her daughter?"


    Mattheus nodded with a grin. "Do with them as you please."


    Dante nodded, but he had one more question.


    "I came all the way out here with you, man, and all I did was stand around. What is your n exactly and how does it involve me?"


    Mattheus smiled. "I had enough forces to take back my kingdom any time I wanted. My biggest issue is legitimacy."


    "With you standing beside me, you don''t even need to lift a finger and you''ve done exactly what I needed. Had I reimed my throne without buy-in from the Erenveil Empire, I would be considered a Pirate King who stole a kingdom from its legitimate ruler."


    "I would basically be doing what I''ve been doing all these years, erging the space pirate empire by one more world." His eyes grew fierce. "I DO NOT want my beloved ancestral home Emporia to be a pirate world!!!"


    "Since Erenveil has assisted me in reiming my kingdom and my world, I can reestablish myself as the rightful monarch and continue normal business dealings with other worlds."


    "I can maintain all critical infra-structures and extra-structures without having to fight battle after battle to im dominancy and damaging everything with weapons of destruction." He smiled at Dante.


    Dante nodded. Fair enough. Nothing was changing.


    They were basically exchanging the old King for a new King, one who actually had a legitimate im to the throne.


    "I look forward to doing business with you in the near future. Emporia could use a couple of nice resorts."


    "Yes it could. It would bring a higher echelon of tourists into our world and make both of us money."


    Dante nodded. "I''ll have one of my representatives touch base with your people in the near future. I''m thinking of creating a new theme park everywhere called Candnd."


    Mattheusughed. "Your wife is going to love having theme parks named after her."


    Dante grinned. "Well I''d love to chat with you longer but my men are telling me I have some guests who have just arrived inside my hangar."


    Mattheus''s eyes crinkled. "Have fun but be careful. Some mermaids have what''s known as a ''siren''s call''. It''s very ancient magic that can mesmerize you and make you do things, and you will not have any idea you''ve done it."


    "Thanks man. I''ll have my men wear earplugs."


    He signed off and gave his men the order to put on earpieces before walking into the hangar.


    The transport pod carrying the women was parked within the hangar but there was no sign of activity around it.


    "Open the pod." He spoke into their earpieces.


    "Yes Sir."


    Several men approached the pod and released the hatch, opening the door.


    From within, he could see two forms. They had been strapped into their chairs with gags in their mouths.


    It was the former Queen and her daughter, looking bedraggled and definitely worse for wear. They were still in their human forms, but their smeared make-up look was definitely not appealing to anyone.


    "Take them into the brig." He waved a hand. "And make sure you men keep their mouths gagged and your earplugs in."


    "Yes Sir."


    Dante switched channels, connecting directly into themand deck.


    "Take us back to the area of Raptor 600. I have a payload to deliver to the Princes Jason and Jared."


    Beatrice was rightfully his to deal with since she was the one who caused him to lose his Crown Prince title, but out of respect for the twins, he would let them do what they will with their aunt.


    As for the daughter; Candace had dealt out just punishment, so he didn''t have to do anything more to her.


    Perhaps Mattheus'' method was the best. Keeping her in a disy case would not be a bad idea.


    She would make good amusement park attraction at the very least. He could charge a single token for visitors to see a real mermaid princess in her natural habitat.


    Working in that way, Helene could slowly buy her independence back after a few years being the star attraction of a colorful aquatic disy.


    Hmm. One token was too cheap. Maybe ten tokens¡­


    He was still mulling all this around in his head when the alert sounded.


    "Your Royal Highness." A voice called within his earpiece. "There are a dozen avian warships headed our way."


    Dante raised an eyebrow. He had with him a hundred warships. What could a dozen avian ships do to him?


    "I''m on my way. Openmunication channels.. See what they want."

 Chapter 162 - The Grand Duke Pimpernickel

    Howell Pimpernickel stared morosely at therge screen zoomed in on the face of the First Prince of Erenveil*.


    He could barely hide his disgust.


    Men should not be this good-looking unless their job was entertaining a crowd or being a private yboy.


    Or if they were gay!


    They certainly should not be better looking than the womenfolk, that''s for certain!


    He harrumphed and looked away from the raw masculine face of the man who was Crown Prince of Erenveil.


    It was exactly opposite of his own soft jowly face with the heavy-lidded eyes and a tomato nose above lips so thin it looked as if he had a single gash line for a mouth.


    As for hair¡­there was so little left on his bald pate that he couldn''t even remember what color it had once been¡ªred brown? Brown-red?


    Howell stared at Prince Dante''s face for awhile longer. He had to admit, the man was by far, much better looking than any of his three wives!


    He just could not get over how a man could be this pretty and still be single!!!


    Not that Howell was gay or anything¡­


    But men are supposed to be bulldog-looking and homely, and reek of old sweat and funk!


    Why is a man like Dante allowed to be so disgustingly good looking??? He probably smelled good too, the mongrel.


    Prince Dante was on visual call, discussing with the ship captain about the ambush that happened at the final Avgo event, but Howell Pimpernickel wasn''t paying any attention to the details.


    He was paying close attention to Prince Dante''s perfectly shaped reddish pink lips as he said whatever it was that he was saying.


    As Prince Dante''s mouth opened to say a few more words, Howell could see the Prince''s perfectly even white teeth and a soft pink tongue.


    He was also focusing on Dante''s brilliant razor sharp eyes the color of a clear green ss bottle on a warm summer day.


    His hair was a deep blue that made Howell Pimpernickel think of a turbulent navy ocean, swelling and moving with rhythmic force and raw power.


    "Grrrrr¡­" he felt a rumbling growl emanate from deep within his chest.


    "Grand Duke Pimpernickel." Thosescivious lips on the face of the Crown Prince Dante was calling out his name.


    It sounded like such ae-on that Howell Pimpernickel actually blushed.


    "Prince Dante¡­" he blinked and focused in on Dante''s beautiful eyes.


    "Call your men off my mother''s world. I do not want to see my maternal grandparents be war refugees and lose their homes."


    "Of¡ªof course. Nobody wants that. Old people need a safe ce to live." Howell mumbled, barely able to think straight.


    "One other thing. I have reinstated the rightful King of Emporia back on that world. He was the young child king Mattheus Cordera of twenty years ago. He has returned to reim his throne."


    "Emporia?" Howell Pimpernickel gasped. "But that world was supposed to have been sold to the Avians for a fixed sum of money."


    "To whom did you pay the money, and what was the amount?" Prince Dante asked with a deep-throated rumble that caused all the hair on Howell''s arms and neck to raise with a strange thrill.


    "We¡ªI don''t know. I don''t deal in those trivialities."


    "Find out and get back to me." The First Prince of Erenveil and Crown Prince Dante raised a hand and in a stately gesture, cut offmunication.


    The monitor went dark and disappeared from the space where it was.


    For a moment, Howell Pimpernickel stood staring at that empty spot that was once a huge and up-close image of the Crown Prince Dante of Erenveil.


    He released a jagged breath and rubbed the sweat from his brows. His body felt flushed and ufortable and he could barely stand the itchy throbbing sensation running through his crotch.


    "It''s too hot in here," he snapped at his attendant. "I''m going to take a shower."


    He took off at a near run for his quarters, leaving behind the confused attendant who was wondering what exactly had just happened!


    How was it possible for the staid dull Grand Duke to have acquiesced to each and every single demand that Prince Dante had just thrown out without a single negotiation effort or back-and-forth haggling?


    Was the Grand Duke starting to slide into early dementia?


    Of course, at that very moment, Howell Pimpernickel had nothing on his mind but his burning desire to be alone with himself.


    As soon as he hit the bathroom, he stripped off his clothes and ran under the shower.


    As the warm water hit his head and shoulders, he panted with need. His body was flushed and his stubby shaft was hard as a stump.


    That nasty bastard.


    How dare he move those¡ªthosescivious lips of his in such a way? Doesn''t he know that talking in such lewd manner was too sensual and would make people think dirty thoughts?


    That damned First Prince.


    He needs to wear some fucking face mask or something!!! Shield those lips away so people won''t have to imagine what those lips can do!


    Howell Pimpernickel''s reluctant soapy hands reached down and grabbed the base of his short stump. With a growl of irritation, he began pumping it with his right hand while stroking his balls with his left hand.


    As his hand worked up a nicether, he began moaning a single name out.


    Over and over again, he called out the First Prince''s name.


    In no time at all, he had sted his stumpy junk to kingdome, his eyes still fixating on the visual image of Prince Dante of Erenveil on the virtual monitor in front of him.


    =============


    "He did what?" Dante asked his attendant, not sure if he heard correctly.


    "Your Royal Highness, the Grand Duke Howell Pimpernickel addressed you as the Crown Prince of Erenveil in histest announcement regarding the mer-world of Emporia."


    "Wait. Did Father not spread the word that Lucas was now Crown Prince?" Dante furrowed his brows.


    "Sir, apparently, the word never reached the vast majority of the gxy. Everyone still thinks you are the new Crown Prince after Prince Byron stepped down," the attendant said with a greasy smile.


    Dante narrowed his eyes. "And now that the Grand Duke of the Avian world hase right out and said it in a gctic-wide announcement¡ª"


    "It''s almost etched in stone." The attendant finished the First Prince''s words.


    Dante tapped a finger to his lips. He wondered whether he could use that to his advantage.


    Maybe¡­


    "Take us back to Erenveil. I need to talk to my father."


    "Yes Sir."


    "And also¡­" Dante paused. "Send an entire transport pod full of tropical flowers from Emporia to my wife and tell her I''ll be a little bitteing home."


    "An¡ªan entire transport pod¡­Sir?"


    "Yes. Plumerias, orchids, azaleas, hibiscus, roses, whatever they have blooming and can be shipped in their potted containers. No cut flowers. Those won''t survive the trip back to my wife."


    "But Sir, an entire transport pod¡­"


    "Hmmm. You''re right. That''s not good enough to get me out of trouble foring homete¡­"


    He snapped his fingers.


    "Isn''t Emporia famous for their salt ocean pearls? Send her a trunk full of pearls of all colors and have Jason make her some pretty baubles."


    He grimaced slightly.


    "That should appease her enough so she won''t get mad that I''ll be¡­a few daysteing home¡­"


    =====================


    Here is the visual that he is looking at.

 Chapter 163 - Men At Work

    [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT]


    The morning after Candace lost her Avgo gemstone, Dante left on some important business trip with only a single rose bud left on her nightstand and a small message saying he would be back that night to tuck her in.


    Leonardo had also taken off to take care of some medical emergency that had cropped up on one of his warships. Such was the life of a doctor.


    He had hurriedly dropped a kiss on her lips before flying off, also promising to return by the end of the day.


    Byron and Lucas had both been called by the Emperor to rejoin him at Erenveil so that Lucas could learn the rudimentary basics of running an empire from Byron, who had been doing it since his teenage years.


    That left Jason, Jared, and te still onboard the Raptor 600 with Candi.


    Morning breakfast was a long drawn-out affair, not because they had a lot to say to each other but because it was constantly punctuated by so many messagesing in for all the princes.


    Jason and Jared had to handle their fashion conglomerates as well as other not so public duties that had to be done surreptitiously.


    te, on the other hand, could not turn off hismunications channels. Every ship captain who contacted him had to be answered just in case it was an emergency.


    In between their messages, the men would try to talk with Candi for a few minutes, only to be interrupted yet again by more iing emergency calls.


    An hour into their breakfast, Jason and Jared got the message that their aunt Beatrice and her daughter Helene were waiting for them in a hover pod on one of Dante''s warships.


    They quickly rose from their seats and nted a kiss on each of Candi''s cheeks.


    "The old fish woman and her daughter awaits. We have to go take care of this nasty business." Jason rubbed her head.


    "We''ll be home for dinner tonight." Jared caressed her face.


    And just like that, they were gone, leaving Candi and te still seated at a table filled with breakfast food that had barely been touched.


    te was still chatting with one of his ship''s captains about some war thing or other when he noticed that there was no one left at the table but Candi.


    "Right¡­yes. Do that. Get the Admiral involved as well so he knows what you''re doing. I do not want you to do anything that would break protocols." te rose from the table even as he was chatting into his mouthpiece.


    His arms reached out for Candi.


    Without hesitation, she moved into his embrace, reaching around his neck as he picked her up.


    "Call the war generals for a meeting in half an hour. I need to disseminate the information to each person."


    He paused for a moment and looked at the clock on the wall.


    "Change that to one hour." He turned and carried her into his quarters.


    "I have a very important detail to take care of within the next hour. No disruptions. No interruptions. Hold all my calls."


    te pushed the door to his quarters and entered, with her in his arms. The door closed with a silent swish behind them.


    "You are my second. Do what needs to be done and report the details to me at the meeting in one hour."


    He sat her on the bed, knelt in front of her and gently took off her shoes. Then he began to massage the soles of her feet.


    "Onest thing. Make sure you collect all the war generals'' briefings. I need to hear from each of them."


    From her feet, he went onto her calves, and then her thighs.


    "Yes. Keep me posted on that sector as well. It could re up into something bad." He murmured with grave eyes as his fingers continued to work their way up her skirt.


    "Send in six warships and hover around. Keep a military presence there so they don''t think they can do whatever they please."


    With a gentle tug, her skirt was off, and he began working the buttons on her shirt.


    "Fine. Do what you think is best." He slipped off her shirt and began working on removing her bra.


    In one quick movement, her breasts had spilled out of their constraints and into his waiting hands.


    "Okay. See you in an hour." He said as he touched his earpiece to disconnect the call.


    His eyes grew hazy with passion as he slipped off themunication device and dipped his mouth to take a soft pink nipple into his mouth.


    It quickly hardened into pert buds ready to be suckled by him.


    His other hand began needing and rolling the tip of her other nipple while his tongue and lips suckled its twin peak.


    "Haaaaaaahhhh." Candi sighed.


    He switched to the other breast and fixed his soft lips onto the perky nipple that his fingers had been teasing and this one also got licked and tongued.


    Candi''s body shook with spasms of delight. He knew exactly where the nerve endings of her breasts were and he yed on each of those in harmony.


    "Oh my Baby, I''ve been starving to death for you." He buried his nose into her cleavage and took a deep breath.


    His canine nose picked up on her woman scent and his body wracked with ache and longing for her.


    "It''s been so long since we''ve made love." His voice rumbled in his throat. "And every day, I think about you in my arms like this."


    His lips moved back up to her face to kiss her lips. His tongue dipped into her mouth, tasting and touching everything he could.


    "You taste so good. Oh my God! I''ve missed you so much, my beautiful sweet Candace."


    To him, at that moment, she was like sweet candy. He could not get enough of her.


    Extending one sharp razor w, he hooked her panties and neatly sliced it in two, and then, with ws retracted, he began a total exploration of her body.


    Nothing was missed. He licked and sucked her earlobes, her nape, the hollow at the base of her throat. He paid special attention to her back and stomach.


    And then he reached her honey pot. Her legs parted on their own ord as she opened up her body to receive his licks and kisses.


    Without hesitation, he pulled open the lips of her womanhood with both thumbs and dipped his tongue into her crevice.


    "Aaaaaahhhh!" Candi gasped, shivering with delight, feeling his slick wet tongue rolling inside her sensitive opening.


    His tongue retreated from her depths and began circling round and round her bud, teasing and tormenting it until it swelled and grew in size.


    After giving her engorged clit a rapid session of quick tongue flicks, his soft full lips wrapped themselves around her bud and he began suckling her.


    He sucked gently at first but then increased his suction until she was screaming with pleasure. In rapid session, she began to reach climax.


    "Haaaaaaahhh. Stop, stop." She gasped. "If you don''t stop te, I''m going to¡ªAaaaaaaahhhh!!!"


    She hit peak after peak as the orgasms rolled over her in sessive waves.


    As molten liquid gushed out of her body, te began plundering her depths with his tongue, moving in with great skill.


    "Haaaaaahhh. I want to kiss you too." She moaned as she touched his body, still in full Prime Warrior outfit.


    "Your wish is mymand." He muttered.


    He stood on the floor in front of her and in one quick motion, pulled off his shirt exposing strong chiseled nes of hard male pecs and abs.


    His bronze shoulders were rock solid and his arms were like rippled tree trunks.


    te reached down and unzipped his pants. As he slid them off, he stood before her, hisrge sculpted sinewy body gleamed in the light, perfectly formed and perfectly beautiful.


    Her Tree Trunk te.


    His swollen veiny male member sprang forth at her eye level. It was pulsing with need and weeping with desire.


    With a smile, Candi leaned forward and licked the tip of his penis.

 Chapter 164 - Look Babe, No Hands!

    [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT]


    For a moment, te''s body felt so weak he could barely stand. His woman was such a tiny thing, but all it took for his strong body toe crashing down was her tiny little pink tongue, licking the tip of his manhood.


    He exhaled with force and reached out for her head. Gathering her long blonde hair in both hands, he urged her head forward. His body had been aching for so very long, he could not stand too much of the light teasing touches.


    Candace reached out to grab the base of his erect member and gently pulled back his skin. Slowly, she moved her head until she had taken half his shaft into her mouth.


    And then she began sucking in earnest.


    His stomach quivered with joy as he gritted his teeth and endured the delicious feeling of her tongue, swirling around the base of his shaft as her mouth epassed the head of his shaft.


    Barely able to breathe, he rubbed her head,bing his fingers through the silky strands of her blonde hair. It felt like heavenly silk in his hands.


    Then, when he thought his pleasure could not rise any higher, his desire shot up a notch as she moved her head forward and swallowed him deep into her throat.


    "Haaaaaaahhh!!!" He panted.


    Unable to hold back, his body began to buck on their own ord.


    Holding her head in ce, he began moving his body, thrusting his swollen manhood deep into her throat. With each thrust, te could feel his control slipping away.


    Not good.


    te had to stop for a moment to retract his ws as they began to sheath. Even his fangs were starting to lengthen as his thirst for her blood began to rise.


    He pulled himself out of her mouth and moved both of them onto the bed with her on top of him.


    In this position, she could at least have a bit more control which would allow him to rest on the bed so he could maintain control on his body''s natural reaction. He did not want to inadvertently cut her with his sharp fangs or ws.


    te could not bear to hurt Candace. He would rather chop his wings brutally off his body and be maimed forever than to cause any harm to her.


    This realization hit him so hard that for a few seconds, he was barely aware that she had split her legs and straddled his waist.


    Reaching down for his shaft, she began positioning the head of his member in between her wet petals.


    With a single bounce, her body had swallowed him to the hilt.


    "Aaaaaarghhh!!!"


    They both gasped together. The head of his shaft had hit her cervix with that once bounce. The feel was so intense, te almost came.


    "Hold on Love. Don''t move." te panted. "Ease up. You''re gripping me too tight darling. Ease up."


    The walls of her muscles began to rx around his shaft and te took a deep breath. They had barely just started but he''d been starved for so long, he could barely hold onto his need to release.


    te closed his eyes and thought about the war that wasing.


    His manhood throbbed.


    He focused on the war meeting that was going to happen in thirty minutes.


    His manhood throbbed.


    He began reciting ''The Art of War''.*


    His manhood throbbed.


    Forget it. He could not hold back. He only had thirty minutes left anyway.


    He opened his eyes as he felt Candace pull him out of her body.


    Rising up above him, she lifted herselfpletely off his body and leaned forward until all he could see of her were her tworge breasts, hanging mere inches from his face.


    It was only then that he realized the position she was in.


    His little minx was crouched on her strong dancer''s haunches with her legs bent under her. As she bnced on her feet, her arms were reaching past his head, hands pulling against the headboard to keep herself upright.


    She moved her body until she could feel his manhood on her petals and with a swing of her hips, she had captured him inside of her.


    "Look Babe. No hands!" She giggled.


    te couldn''t evenugh.


    The feels came back so strongly, he clutched at the sheets, desperately trying to keep his ws from protracting.


    Fully aware of his struggles, Candace began bouncing on his shaft.


    At this angle, he could see herrge breasts jouncing up and down with the rhythm of her movement. The sweat-drenched taut muscles of her stomach, worked the motions along with the strength of her slim thighs.


    He wanted to touch her but he was afraid his ws would hurt her, so he continued to grip the sheets, letting her do whatever wanton thing she wanted to do to him.


    Since her body waspletely lifted off him, all of a sudden, te''s entire focus shifted on the only thing left he could feel of her.


    Everything concentrated solely on the slick muscles sloshing and rubbing together between their legs. Nothing else existed but that one connection they had together.


    The thick length of his hot slick member was sliding in and out of her body, and it was all controlled and orchestrated by his tiny little woman.


    Candace was starting to reach the crest and she started wailing, her shrieks reverberating around the room.


    She began panting and moaning. Sweat rolled off her face and in between her breasts, dripping down to the t nes of his chest.


    The smell of her excitement was making him growl like a hungry wolf, picking up the sweet heady scent of his mate. His fangs began to grow, and he could feel his wings began sprouting from under his body.


    Unable to hold back any longer, te rose up and pierced her left chest, bitting down with his sharp fangs. As he injected her with his serum, his mouth sucked her blood into his body.


    "Aaaaahhhhh!!!"


    She gave ast desperate cry as she reached climax. The pleasure and pain mixed in together until she could no longer tell what was pleasure and what was pain.


    As the rolling waves of pleasure rolled through her body, Candace could feel the warmth of his liquid serum flowing through her bloodstream and racing throughout her entire being. Her body warmed and she quivered with ecstasy.


    Her climax pushed te over the edge as the intense feeling of all the nerve endings on the head of his shaft overwhelmed him.


    He thrust his hips twice more, rubbing himself into that hot wetness that was her love canal. At the moment that he let loose, the shard that was the Avgo embedded within his heart released itself.


    "Aaaaaaargghhhh!!!" He cried with the pain of release as his heart muscles felt as if they were nearly torn apart.


    The sheer electrical discharge ran through his body and continued coursing through his shaft, through that one single point of connection he had with his woman.


    With ast agonizing burst of pleasure, te spent himself within her body, gifting her back in return, the Avgo shard that she had given him.


    =============


    ''The Art of War''. Sun Tzu

 Chapter 165 - Triumvirate Crown

    Lucas was sweating bullets sitting at the Legitive table with Byron across from him and the Emperor at the head of the table to his right.


    To his left was the length of the table holding twelve men of varying degrees of brevity and pomposity.


    These men could kill a fly just by looking at it with an evil eye. And those evil eyes at the moment was staring directly at him.


    They didn''t have to say anything. Their mannerisms shouted loudly theirck of enthusiasm.


    One portly Legitor stood up. He stroke his long grey beard with a fussy hand.


    "Your Majesty. We can''t keep doing this. You need to pick a son and stick with him."


    "In the space of seven days, three separate Crown Princes had sat at this very same table, being briefed the exact same thing. Are you going to bring Prince Leonardo in next week and make him Crown Prince?"


    The Emperor harrumphed.


    "Who the Crown Prince is doesn''t make a whit of difference." He eyed Grey Beard.


    "What makes a difference is you continue to do what needs to be done to keep the Empire from careening into the ditch!"


    He sniffed and looked away, towards the bright stained ss window depicting lovers by a rose bush. Why in hell was lovers smooching by a rose bush considered a good piece of stained ss art inside a dull and boring Legitive Hall?


    There was more droning of dull protestsing from the twelve stuff shirts.


    "The new Crown Prince will take at least a couple of years to learn all the necessary things that he will need to be able to handle daily court duties and to head the legitive sessions."


    Another Legitor stood up. He was a mousy sort with watery blue eyes and a thin hooked nose.


    "I have to agree. I find Prince Byron to be the most qualified to continue the job. He''s been groomed all his life to do this."


    "Prince Dante, although very knowledgeable about our day-to-day affairs, tend to be on the¡­abrupt and caustic side."


    "Oh he''s a hot-headed dictator is what he is." A red-faced burly fellow thew out. "But I like Prince Dante. You knew exactly where he stood on things. His words are hard to hear, but he''s not wishy-washy. He delivers."


    "I certainly do!" A voice called out from the doorway.


    Everyone turned towards the suddenmotion at the entrance.


    The tall figure of the First Prince Dante moved with long-legged strides into the Legition Hall.


    "Dante!" The Emperor smiled and rose up. "What brings you to this¡ª" he looked around at the legitors, "boring ce?"


    Dante snarled. "The Avians have acquiesced to pulling out of Mother''s world, Nymphalidae. They have also epted the Once and Present King of Emporia, Mattheus Cordera as legitimate ruler."


    Gasps rang out across the Legitor Hall.


    "Harrumph." Grey Beard cleared his throat. "How did you manage that?"


    Dante rolled back on his heels. His head was thrown back as he looked down his regal nose at Grey Beard.


    "The old bird Pimpernickel thought I was still the Crown Prince, so whatever I said, he acquiesced to. He also told me that the Avians had made a cash purchase for the entire world of Emporia."


    Dante narrowed his gaze. "He just sent me a message a few minutes ago in regards to the purchase details."


    "What???"


    "How???"


    "Has he gone senile?"


    "What absurdities!"


    The General Assembly of Legitors were muttering to themselves and making a rowdy noise.


    "Ahem." The Emperor cleared his throat.


    Nobody heard him. They were too busy discussing the three thunderbolt news items that the First Prince had just brought to the Legition Hall.


    Dante snarled under his breath and shot a bolt of energy into the ceiling.


    ZAPPP!!!


    A chunk of drywall fell to the floor.


    BAAAM!!!


    Mousy Blue Eyes screamed like a little girl. Everyone else jumped in startlement and turned back to stare at Dante.


    He raised his hand and made a quick imperial gesture, popping open a gigantic virtual monitor hovering over the Legitor Hall.


    Instantly, the paunchy jowled mug of the balding Grand Duke Howell Pimpernickel popped up on-screen.


    "This is a message for First Prince Dante, Crown Prince of Erenveil. I have found the information you requested in regards to the details of the purchase of Emporia."


    The Grand Duke Pimpernickel paused and pressed his thin lips together in obvious displeasure.


    "I will be traveling to Erenveil on unrted business tonight. Let us meet and I will give you the information in person at that time."


    The Grand Duke was about to sign off when he turned back.


    "Oh, onest thing. Please tell your brother Prince Byron, to report to Coraline for his newly appointed duties. We will be expecting him to join his mother and aunt in the very near future."


    Byron''s face darkened as the Grand Duke signed off the visual message.


    "I''m not going anywhere." He growled with finality.


    All around him, the men were in an uproar.


    The Emperor pursed his lips.


    He had three separate but equal problems on his hand.


    There was his eldest son who should have been Crown Prince from the start and was currently still viewed by everyone as the legitimate Crown Prince although he was no longer one.


    Then there was the ''on-paper'' Crown Prince who few people actually knew was the new Crown Prince. The poor boy looked like amb led to ughter because he had no clue how to even be a Crown Prince.


    And finally there was the Prince who used to be a Crown Prince, who was now at loose ends and was in danger of being used in this war against his own family.


    Of course, what made all this so twisted was that Dante was the one out there in the gxy doing the serious and legitimate Crown Prince work.


    Meanwhile, Byron and Lucas were sitting inside this boring Legitive Hall doing nothing but wasting time with all these pompous turkeys.


    He wished¡­he wished these three boys of his were one person. Each of them possessed a shining quality that would have made this position absolutely positively sing!


    Byron had the depth and breadth of day-to-day knowledge aboutw and order. Dante had the power of execution and the necessary strength to carry out the military duties. And Lucas had the charisma and charm to engage in civic duties.


    He sighed. He wished the Emperor position was a triumvirate. A three-pronged structure that allowed for separate but equal ruling to take ce.


    As the Emperor sat there thinking about his three-pronged structure, the noise within the Legitive Hall escted.


    "¡­no I am not suggesting that Prince Dante be returned to his rightful position, I am merely¡ª"


    "¡­but that is exactly what you are saying, and I for one am in full agreement!"


    "¡­we can''t just bing-bong and yo-yo back and forth like this, it''s just not dignified¡ª"


    "¡­but that old bastard is treating the First Prince as if he is Crown Prince. If we say anything to the contrary¡ª"


    "¡­every negotiation position falls apart because Prince Dante is not the driving force behind it¡ª"


    "¡­we can''t just endorse Dante as the Crown Prince and thenter on say, oops, we lied¡ª"


    "¡­that''s right, because then we look like chumps!"


    Dante stood back on his heels and watched as the General Assembly of the Legitive Hall chattered back and forth, running through all the possibilities.


    The Emperor harrumphed one more time.


    "Ahem."


    The turkeys continued their gobbledygook of chatter.


    Emperor Rex stood up and banged his gold scepter on the table.


    BAAAAMMM!!!


    Everyone jumped and looked at the Emperor, who had risen from his seat.


    "Hmmm." He looked at the scepter, which was once a nice shiny round gold ball on a stick but was now a nicely dented gold ball on a stick.


    "They don''t make these like they used to."


    He raised his eyes and stared into the group of turkeys.


    "Carry out my newest decree. All three of my boys will share the responsibility of the Emperor position as of this moment. They will be Co-Crown Princes of Erenveil."


    BAAAAMMM!!!


    The Emperor banged the mangled gold scepter on the table one more time.


    He looked at the warped scepter and handed it over to Dante.


    Then he walked out, leaving the Legitive turkeys with their mouths hanging wide open and the brothers staring at each other with astonished faces.

 Chapter 166 - Too Late...

    Dante stared at the banged up scepter that his father had just handed him. What did Father want him to do with this thing? Fix it?


    All around him, the turkeys continued to rabble about what the Emperor had justmanded them to do.


    This was preposterous! How in the world were they supposed to do something so unreasonable? Whoever heard of three Crown Princes?


    Dante ignored all the noise that was rumbling among the old Legitors. It was not his problem to make it happen. He honestly did not care about the Crown Prince position except when it involved his wife.


    Now that the Avgo had done that strange fractured split, he had to sit down and have a talk with everyone about what exactly that meant.


    Meanwhile, there was this banged up piece of shit. What was he supposed to do with this gold thing?


    Dante reached out with an unenthused finger and shot some magic into the round gold ball.


    It began to pop back into its metallic spherical shape as his magic fixed the bangs and dents the Emperor had inflicted on its poor surface.


    Just forughs, he tapped it with a polishing finish so that it gleamed with a bright glow that it never had even when it was brand new.


    He looked at it, for a moment, hefted it in his hand to test the weight, and shook his head.


    There was not nearly enough gold in this thing. It was a hollow thing, most likely because the Emperor didn''t like to have to hold heavy decorative things in his hands just to look authoritative.


    Dante, however felt differently.


    It wasn''t thevishness or the ostentatiousness that he was after. It was the heft.


    Throwing a light object around didn''t satisfy his need for anger management.


    He looked around the Legitive Hall.


    On a console table next to the long meeting table was a vase made of solid gold that held some fresh flowers.


    He reached out and grabbed the vase.


    With a quick flick, he dumped all the fresh flowers and its apanying water on the floor. Then he set it back on the console table.


    Hefting the scepter, Dante struck the hollow gold ball directly onto the vase.


    At the moment of contact, he released a bonding magic from his fingertip and the vase bonded to the ball.


    For a moment, it looked like a strange mangled gold thing he held in his hand. In seconds, the gold from the vase had melted into the sphere, turning it into a solid ball.


    He touched the ball with his index finger, pulling out half a dozen spikes radiating in perfect symmetry around the sphere.


    Hefting it again, he rebnced the gold load so that it wasfortable for him to wield, and then he raised it up at eye level.


    "Dante." Byron chuckled. "Did you just turn Father''s treasured ancient Monarch Scepter into a war mace?"


    Dante held it in his hand, admiring his handiwork.


    "If he treasured it so much, he wouldn''t have banged it up so badly and thrown it at me."


    Lucasughed. "With you in charge, it won''t be a light hollow touch, that''s for sure."


    Dante grinned as he swung the mace around.


    Things were about to change around here.


    Massively.


    ================


    te stepped out of the shower and threw on his Prime Warrior outfit.


    As he shoved the earpiece in, he could tell from all the pings that the war room was already lit up and on fire about something.


    He went into the bedroom where Candace was lying, still sleeping.


    Poor baby.


    He smiled as he sat down next to her and looked down at her sleeping face. He had really exhausted her, and yet he was so fired up and full of energy, it was crazy.


    As he listened in on all the war reports, another alert sounded. His brothers were calling.


    te rose from the bed, moved into the adjoining office, and closed the door.


    "I''m here."


    "Hang on te," Byron called out. "We''re waiting for the twins."


    "We''re here." A set of voices came through.


    te waved a hand and six images popped up onto a virtual monitor. All the brothers were in varying degrees of working on something.


    "Listen, I know we all have a lot of work to do, but I need to get us all on the same page about something so we''re all clear." Byron began talking.


    It was mostly out of habit. He''d been the eldest and the driver in so many brotherly meetings that he simply did what he was used to doing.


    "Since Father has put the three of us into this situation, we''re kind of stuck with convention at this time."


    Dante slouched back onto his seat, listening without saying much. In times such as these, it was actually a good thing.


    "Wait. Sorry. I''m lost. What are you talking about?" te asked.


    Lucas sighed and began rting the events that had just transpired, causing for the Emperor to appoint three co-Crown Princes to take up the previous individual position.


    te listened without saying a word. He was the baby brother. It didn''t really matter to him who the Crown Prince was because it was never going to be him.


    "¡­so it looks as if Candace is going to end up marrying all three of us."


    "Say what?" Jason spoke up. "What about the rest of us?"


    "Yeah. We all have a fragment of that Avgo too." Leonardo spoke up.


    "Dante. What are you thinking right now?"


    Dante shot a hard nce at te.


    "I''m thinking I was the one who asked her to marry me."


    "So did I." Leonardo said.


    "I asked her in front of all you guys." Byron sighed.


    "But she said ''yes'' to only me." Dante pointed out.


    "That was because at that time, you were Crown Prince and she knew she was going to marry you anyway. Things have changed drastically since then." Lucas rubbed his forehead.


    Byron raised a hand. "That''s why I called this meeting. We need to all figure out what it means for all of us to have an Avgo fragment, but only three of us will be married to her."


    Byron heaved a heavy sigh.


    "I want to know how that is going to affect Candace."


    Jared clicked his tongue. "Tch. Isn''t it obvious?"


    "No." Lucas shook his head. He wasn''t going to pretend to be all smart about something this important. He needed rity, especially about Candace.


    "Each of us own a shard of the Avgo. Since we know the Avgo is an egg, it will gift us with a child." Jared responded.


    Jason nodded. "Since the egg has already chosen its mother, all we need to do is impregnate the mother and we each have a child."


    "Each?" Leonard asked. "Or do the pieces have toe together to create a single child?"


    Byron rubbed his chin.


    "Perhaps we can test it out. If one of us tries to impregnate her and it doesn''t work because we each only have a shard, then¡­"


    "Then we try individually to impregnate her and see how the Avgo shard responds." Leonardo suggested.


    "How would we know if it doesn''t work for one of us?" Lucas asked.


    Leonardo shrugged. "Just do a bio scan on her. If she''s pregnant, we will know within a week of impregnation."


    Byron sighed. "I wish we knew exactly what it is the Avgo wants us to do. It''s not like we can ask it. Can we?"


    "Hey Avgo," Jason called out. "Come on out, we need to talk to you."


    ¡­


    Nothing was happening.


    "Avgo, do we get one child or seven?" Jared asked.


    ¡­


    Again, nothing.


    Lucas smirked. "Of course we don''t get an answer. That would be too easy. It answers its mom, but not its dad. How fair is that?"


    The men allughed.


    "Well, whatever we do, let''s not jump the gun. We need to talk to Candace first and see what she thinks before we attempt to test one of us¡ª"


    "Toote." te muttered.


    "What???" Dante turned to him with fierce eyes.

 Chapter 167 - An Official Idiot

    te thought he had said it under his breath, but his brothers were half bats. They had all heard him.


    Dante shook his head. "You did not just say what I thought I heard you say."


    te threw back his head and stared straight at Dante.


    "You heard me."


    An overwhelming jealous rage began to roll over Dante as he struggled to ovee his desire to rush back and beat te to a pulp.


    His hands shook as he fought to remain calm. He could not break down in front of his brothers like this.


    As Dante fought down the rage, the rest of the men were no less disturbed. They instantly turned to te with using eyes.


    "We leave to go take care of business and you''re at home sleeping with our wife?" Byron narrowed his eyes.


    "You''re not the only one with an Avgo shard." te threw back.


    Jared turned to Byron. "To be fair, we all have an Avgo shard. You''re no more her husband than any of us."


    Jason leaned forward, rubbing his eyes.


    "I have to agree with that. Legalities aside, there is a higher truth. It''s called the Avgo truth. We can''t just toss that away as if it doesn''t exist."


    "And what, exactly, is that Avgo truth?" Lucas asked. He was also a bit miffed that te had gotten to her first.


    "The Avgo chose all of us as its father. That is the truth. I am simply doing my fatherly duty." te responded evenly. He would be damned if he apologized for something he did that he held to be supremely sacred.


    "Your fatherly duty?" Leonardo grimaced. "That''s gotta be the first time I''ve ever heard of it in that way."


    "Isn''t that what purposefully fathering a child means?" te raised an eyebrow.


    "Fatherly duties mean taking care of the child after it''s born, not before it''s born." Leonardo rolled his eyes. "At this moment, you are not yet a father."


    te raised a finger. "Normally, I would agree with you, but have you forgotten that this is the Avgo we''re talking about? Where do you think we got our Avgo shards from?"


    "We got it from its mother." Jason replied.


    Lucas nodded. "I have to agree with te here. We have to return the Avgo sliver with our gic material back to Candace so she can create a child. That is absolutely Avgo fatherly duties."


    "So what happened to your Avgo sliver, te?" Byron asked without looking at him.


    te blink. What he shared with Candace was not just private and precious, it was also divine. He did not want to tell his brothers, but they were all staring at him with expectant eyes.


    "I don''t have it any more."


    "What do you mean?"


    "I mean it''s gone. At least I think it''s gone." te rubbed his head. "I could feel it leaving me and going back to her."


    "Can you go and check to see if the Avgo is back with her?" Leonardo asked. "Check to see if she''s ovting too."


    te pressed his lips together and then nodded.


    "I''ll be right back."


    As he moved away from the screen, the brothers all looked at each other.


    "I can''t believe she lost her virginity to him." Jared shook his head.


    "She didn''t." Dante reminded them sadly. "I was her first."


    Byron nodded, remembering the wine incident.


    "We all may have to reconcile the fact that she cannot be exclusively any of ours."


    "I am beginning to see that too." Leonardo sighed. "Had we met her under normal circumstances, she would have been a perfect wife for one of us.


    Byron nodded. "And I would have fought tooth-and-w for her hand."


    The brothers nodded in agreement.


    "But because she is a very special Primary Avgo Female, Candace is destined to be with not just one of us, but all of us because her Avgo chose us." Byron sighed.


    "And how did youe to that conclusion?" Dante challenged.


    Leonardo gave him a disgusted look.


    "Have you forgotten that Candace asked the Avgo what the next step was?"


    Lucas nodded. "That''s right Brother. She asked Avgo to show us its purpose."


    Leonardo gave a grateful smile.


    "It answered by splitting and embedding itself into each of us, but we were too daft to understand the exact significance of it at that moment because we were all in shock."


    Lucas nodded. He may not be as smart as Leo, but he understood this very well.


    "The Avgo has spoken. It wants all of us as its father. We just need to listen and understand."


    "No. She is my wife. She epted me alone." Dante insisted.


    He had moved heaven and earth to be with her. How dare they take her away from him!


    "But the Avgo chose all of us, Dante." Jason and Jared both said together.


    "This is not happening." Dante held out his hand. "I''m not sharing my wife with any of you lug nuts."


    "I don''t think you have a choice, Dante." Jason waggled a finger at him. "She''s never going to be exclusively yours."


    "If she''s not mine alone, then I don''t want her at all." Dante turned away.


    The other brothers looked at each other. It was not unexpected that Dante would be upset.


    It didn''t take long before te came back.


    "Guys," he shook his head. "She''s not ovting, and the shard I returned to her is back, but it seems to be dormant."


    Leonardo pulled off his gloves and took off his whiteb coat.


    "That''s it. I''m going back and giving her a thorough exam. I''ll be home in about half an hour." He reached out with a gesture and his screen darkened.


    "Are you really giving her up?" Byron looked at Dante.


    "Yeah. I don''t want her any more."


    "I thought you loved her." Jared grimaced. "She gave you more time of day than any of the rest of us. You really gonna walk away from her?"


    Dante narrowed his eyes. With a disgusted wave of his hand, his screen went dark.


    With Leonardo and Dante gone from the visual call, the rest of them signed off. They would being back to have dinner with Candaceter that night anyway.


    Byron and Lucas looked at Dante. His scowl was thunderous and he looked pissed as hell.


    Worse off, he was holding onto his home-made war mace, looking as if he wanted to find something or someone to pound into the ground.


    They were still in the Legitive Hall together. The old turkeys had left the building some time ago so at least no innocent bystander would get hurt.


    Byron sighed. He had to try and reach Dante before he exploded and demolished the Legitive Hall.


    "Man. You shouldn''t be saying something like that. You can''t just walk away from your wife."


    "She''s not my wife yet."


    "You obviously need to pay more attention." Byron threw a hand out. A visual screen popped open showing the marriage decree that had been signed by the Emperor that day.


    It was the original marriage decree that had been automatically triggered within twenty-four hours of her winning the Avgo Events.


    Clearly documented on the line that said ''wife'' was Candace Farrah. On the line that said ''husband'' were three names: Dante, Byron, and Lucas, the Emperor''s first three sons.


    Dante looked at it in disbelief.


    "Didn''t he just announce this just now? How did this get drawn up so quickly?"


    Lucas sniffed in disdain. "While you were ying around with his scepter, he was getting the documents together to create a new triumvirate Crown Prince position for the three of us."


    Byron nodded. "And while the General Assembly was signing the documents, Father slipped this one in also to be signed, after adding our names to the marriage document. It''s a done deal."


    Dante shook his head. "I can''t believe she''s really my wife. I thought I''d lost her forever after I lost my Crown Prince title."


    "And now that she''s yours, you''re going to throw her away?" Lucas shook his head.


    "I never pegged you for being stupid, Dante, but this takes the cake."


    Lucas sneered at his oldest brother.


    "You''re an official idiot."

 Chapter 168 - Anywhere You Are Is Home

    One. Two. Three. Four.


    One. Two. Three. Four.


    Candace tried to focus on her basic workout routine inside the Raptor 600''s exercise room. The music was pounding and the rhythm was perfect, but her timing somehow felt off.


    It was impossible to do much of the more intricate moves within the small space that was the warship''s exercise room, but she needed to at least keep her body at peak performance. She missed her huge dance hall in Dante''s Moon.


    Dante.


    Candi sighed and continued through the motions of her workout. She had to figure out how to approach him now that Lucas was supposed to be her husband, and te had just made love to her.


    It just all seemed so tangled and messed up and sordid when in reality, everything flowed so naturally that she simply moved with the flow of events around her.


    One. Two. Three. Four.


    One. Two. Three. Four.


    Candi moved quickly to avoid bumping into the treadmill that was to her right.


    She shouldn''t have been that clumsy. She was a dancer and a martial artist after all, but ever since she had awakened, Candi had been feeling a bit off.


    It wasn''t as if she was sick. It was more as if she was¡ªunbnced.


    Candi tried to ignore the feeling as she continued her basic workout, but it never truly went away.


    By the time she was ready to hit the shower, the unbnced feeling had returned full-force.


    As Candi stood in the shower trying to wash away the sweat and grime of the intense workout, she mentally calcte her monthly days.


    Maybe it was that time of the month. It certainly was very possible.


    Candi pressed her lips together. She had also been with two men physically in the space of a single week. That was not only highly unusual, it was downright strange, because before te and Dante, she''d had nobody.


    As she stood there, letting the water flow through her blonde hair, she closed her eyes and ran through all the events within thest month.


    Strange didn''t even begin to describe all the things that had happened to a normal Earth woman like her.


    Who in the world wakes up to find a male bat sitting in their house? Being whisked away into another world to do battle after battle just to stay alive¡ªthat was so crazy that it boggled the mind!


    A twingeing from her belly startled her out of her reveries. It wasn''t exactly pain but it was a little ufortable.


    Candi turned off the water and stepped out. She couldn''t stand in the shower all day.


    Candi was dressed and in the middle of drying her long blonde hair when a knock on the door sounded.


    She went to open the door and Leonardo''s smiling face popped through the doorway.


    "Hello there my Princess." He reached out to give her a hug. "How is my Lady doing today?"


    "I''m good!" She smiled, wondering if she should tell him that she was feeling a bit strange.


    "Come. Have a seat here. I want to check on you and see how you''re doing. Is that okay?"


    "Yeah." She smiled and followed his lead.


    He sat her down on the bed and pulled a chair up next to her.


    "Lie down, Love." He patted the bed.


    Candi blinked. He really meant it when he said ''check on her, as in a doctor checking up on a patient.


    She eased back onto the pillow as Leonardo began touching her body everywhere with his glowing hands.


    "You seem to be in excellent health." He grinned. That''s more than I can say for the vast majority of my patients."


    "But I''m not your patient." She grinned.


    "No, but it''s my duty to keep you healthy since you will be the mother of my child."


    Candiughed. "Is that the only reason?"


    "That, and I love you." He reached out and ran his fingers through her hair, not with a clinical touch but with the touch of a man who was deeply in love.


    Candi smiled again. Of course she knew this. Leonardo was not one to y games. He was a very simple man. He had made it very clear to her, even from the start, that he wanted to marry her. He had never wavered from that.


    He was touching her again. His hands kept running up and down her stomach, as if he was searching for something.


    "Is everything okay?"


    "Hmmm?" Leonardo''s aqua blue eyes looked up from his ministration. "Oh yes. You''re fine. Like I said, if you were any healthier, you''d be an immortal goddess."


    They bothughed.


    A knock on the door interrupted their gentle discourse. They looked up to te poking his head through the door.


    "Sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to know if you two want to join me for dinner in about half-an-hour."


    te looked anywhere but at Leonardo and Candi. It was a strange feeling to see him suddenly so reticent to be in his own quarters.


    "Are the others joining us?" Leonardo asked.


    "Yeah. I know the twins are going to be back in time for dinner. I don''t know about the others."


    "We''ll join you. I''m finished with Candace''s health exam." Leonardo stood up.


    te turned his brilliant blue eyes at Leonardo.


    "How is she?"


    Leonardo nodded. "Good. She''s very healthy."


    He turned to te with an almost imperceptible fluttering of his eyelids.


    te gave the merest hint of a nod, acknowledging Leonardo''s signal.


    "In that case, let''s move from here to the dining area. I think I''m seeing in my future a very nice fat juicy burger." te said as he held open the door for them.


    "Make two of those and I''ll be very happy." Leonardoughed. "Come, Love. Let''s go feed your little belly."


    By the time they reached the dining room reserved for the Prime Warrior and his family, Jason and Jared had arrived.


    "Honey I''m home." Jasonughed and leaned over to drop a kiss on her upturned face. Of course that also meant that Jared had to have his turn as well.


    Of Lucas, Byron, and Dante, there was no sign.


    They waited around for another ten minutes before Candi received a mental signal.


    ''Darling.''


    It was Byron.


    Candi held up a hand to signal that she was getting a mental message. All the men stopped their chatter and looked at her.


    "It''s Byron," she whispered.


    The brothers nced at each other with more of those faint acknowledgements that they all seemed to understand.


    Candi''s eyes zed over as she turned into her mind to talk to Byron.


    ''Is everything okay?


    ''Everything is fine, Darling. You and the guys eat first. We''ll be home as soon as possible.''


    ''What''s wrong Byron? Please tell me that you, Lucas and Dante are not hurt or¡ª''


    ''No, no. It''s nothing like that. Don''t worry. It''s just something that''se up here on Erenveil that we have to take care of.''


    ''Will you be staying in Erenveil for the night?''


    ''No Darling. As soon as this gets resolved, we''reing home.''


    ''Home?''


    ''Home.'' Byron''s voice was firm.


    ''Anywhere you are¡ªthat''s HOME.''

 Chapter 169 - Eye Candy Princes

    Byron sighed and turned back to Lucas and Dante.


    "Okay. I told her we wouldn''t be home for dinner, but I assured her we would be home tonight."


    He scowled. "Don''t turn me into a liar."


    Lucas scratched his head in frustration with both hands.


    "Damn it. I really don''t want to deal with the Grand Duke Pimpernickel tonight, even to talk about the illegal purchase of Emporia."


    "It should prove to be very interesting." Byron raised an eyebrow. "We will find out much more about what happened the night of the Avgo Event, when we got kidnapped and Candace was left all by herself."


    "Yes, but I want to go home. I miss my wife." Lucas pouted, the corner of his shapely lips turned downward.


    Dante shot Lucas a hard look. She was his wife too!


    "I really don''t want to talk to the Grand Duke tonight either. That man gives me the heebie-jeebies." He shuddered.


    "What do you mean?" Lucas asked.


    Dante shrugged. "I don''t know. It just feels like he''s¡­undressing me with his eyes."


    For a moment, the brothers said nothing.


    Suddenly, they all burst outughing.


    For Dante to notice something like that was a real eye-opener. Usually, Dante could care less about what people thought of him.


    "Come on. Let''s get this over with." Byron got up.


    Lucas and Dante followed him out of the Legitive Hall, into a pinkish-indigo Erenveil twilight.


    ===========


    The restaurant that the Grand Duke Howell Pimpernickel chose was one that was located at the top of a tower. It was partially open to the night sky and had a panoramic view of the entire capital city of Erenveil.


    There were intimate little tables that were covered with white linens and cut crystal goblets. On each table was a tiny bud vase with a single red rose.


    As the lights below blinked and winked, the stars above were twinkling in response. The sounds of violins and piano murmured gently through hidden speakers behind lush palms and flowering bushes.


    It was a mesmerizing romantic experience¡­except that the person sitting across from the Princes was the Grand Duke Howell Pimpernickel, a paunchy balding man with soft jowly face and heavy-lidded eyes.


    He also had a shiny tomato nose and pruny lips that were so thin it looked as if he had a single gash line for a mouth.


    That gash mouth at the moment was slightly ajar as he stared at the three angelic visions sitting before him.


    His bias was always going to be Prince hot-ass Dante, with the gorgeous blue hair and the crystal ss green eyes.


    Howell had made mad passionate love to Dante (in his mind) at least a dozen times ever since hest saw the Prince.


    But my God! His nephew Byron with the long red hair and fiery eyes was also a tease! He had a regal nose and a pouty set of lips that were burning hot!


    Howell Pimpernickel could barely keep his eyes off the hollow at the base of Byron''s strong corded neck.


    The first two buttons of Byron''s ck shirt were unfastened, showing his brownish-red chest hair which were tickling the pits of Howell''s groins.


    As for Prince Lucas, Howell Pimpernickel could barely even look at the blond honey pot without creaming up. The Prince had a perfectly symmetrical, beautifully ssic face that the entire gxy fell in love with.


    The three brothers had sex appeal that was OFF THE CHARTS!!!


    Howell wriggled his buttocks on the chair, trying to ease the constraints of his pants. He had gotten so swollen, he could barely sit still.


    Unfortunately, every movement caused him to ache just a little more as his pants kept rubbing up against his hard-on.


    "So, Grand Duke Pimpernickel." His hot-ass Dante was moving his pretty pouty pink lips again. "Tell me what you know about the purchase of Emporia."


    Howell swallowed. His mouth felt so dry he could barely speak.


    He picked up his tall slender ss of champagne and took a sip. The bubbles tickled his nose and nearly made him sneeze.


    "Ummm. Well, I can do better than that, Dante." His voice dropped into a baritone murmur as he spoke Dante''s name. "I can give you the actual transaction. But¡ª"


    "But what?" Dante prodded.


    "Patience, Dante. Patience." He gave a greasy smile at Dante and pped his hands a couple of times to call the servers to their table.


    "Let''s talk about it over dinner, shall we?"


    The Princes nced at each other. It was a simple request after all.


    They''d attended countless political dinners with heads of states all through their working lives. This would be no different.


    Dinner was a fancy affair. Lobster and steak with baby carrots and tiny finger potatoes were followed by cheese cake and strawberries with whipped cream.


    It was as if they were going out on a first date with this homely man who kept looking at them as if he wanted to devour them.


    The heebie-jeebies that Dante spoke of earlier was readily apparent to Lucas and Byron by this time.


    The Grand Duke was drooling so hard that his face was flushed and he could barely keep his eyes from darting back and forth from one prince to another.


    Dante kept his cool for as long as he could. This was what political finesse was all about after all, but eventually, the First Prince could no longer contain his impatience.


    "Grand Duke Pimpernickel. We''ve had a long and leisure dinner with you. Now. Show us what you have."


    Howell shoveled ast spoonful of strawberries and cream into his mouth and retrieved from his pocket, a small circr chip. He passed it over to Dante with a smile.


    "I trust you will find what you need to know within this data chip. Once you are able to do what you need to do, I expect a thank you dinner to celebrate."


    Dante pocketed the data chip and stood up, along with his two brothers.


    "Thank you Grand Duke. The meal was delightful."


    Howell Pimpernickel raised his champagne flute in salute and smiled as the three strapping young men strode off with their long legs and their jouncy buttocks.


    He bit his knuckles and made a mental note to collect as many images of the three Princes as he could find.


    It would be simple to get images of Prince Lucas, of course. The man was famous.


    Since Byron was his nephew, he could also squirrel out images of the sexy redhead from family collections.


    His heart-throb, Hot-ass Dante however, would be much more difficult to find.


    Luckily, he had set up tiny visual hover pods everywhere inside the restaurant and had captured moving videos of each angle, each movement, each sultry deep rumbling sounding out of Dante.


    There was a perfect viewing room within his pce that he would dedicate to the visual stimtion of his newest craving.


    Eye Candy Princes.


    Sighing with want and longing, the Grand Duke finished the bottle of champagne and gave a gesture.


    Twenty men retrieved the twenty visuals gathering pods away to be processed and created into a beautiful movie for the Grand Duke''s viewing pleasure.


    It was amazing what spy visuals could do.. Howell Pimpernickel could hardly wait to begin watching his Hot-ass lover Dante in action.

 Chapter 170 - 5 Billion Jemals

    By the time Dante, Byron, and Lucas returned to the Raptor 600, Candace had gone to bed.


    The rest of the brothers were still up and waiting for them in the star viewing lounge.


    They were sipping on cocktails andzing around on the C shaped sofa when the three brothers strode in.


    "That was a long andvish dinner you had with the Grand Duke," Leonardo raised an eyebrow.


    Dante pulled out the round chip and held it up between two fingers. He looked over at te expectantly and flicked it over to him.


    te raised up his hand and caught it cleanly as it sailed through the air. He moved over to the console and pushed the chip into a slot.


    Immediately, a visual monitor popped up and suddenly, moaning and sighing sounds of the sexual nature filled the entire star viewing lounge.


    The visual started off with a BANG!!! right into the scene of a man and a woman getting it on. As the princes stared in fascinated horror, their jaws dropped.


    "Holy crap!" Jared gasped. "That''s the King of Coraline!"


    Byron felt nauseous as he looked upon his uncle doing the dirty deed with some woman he didn''t recognize.


    "Dante, why did the Grand Duke give us a video of my uncle Dilbert having sex? Do I care who he sleeps with?"


    Jasonughed. "You would if you knew who your uncle was banging. That is the Grand Duchess of Emporia, The Lady Barbara."


    Jared covered his eyes with his hands. "Oh my Lord. I cannot unsee this. Aunt Barbara with the King of Coraline."


    Byron grimaced. "Wait. Isn''t she married to¡­"


    "Yes. She is married to the Grand Duke of Emporia, Landry Cordera."


    "Isn''t he Mortimer Cordera''s youngest brother?" Lucas asked.


    te rubbed his assaulted eyes. "So Byron''s uncle is diving his dick into the twins'' aunt. What does this have to do with anything?"


    But even as he asked, the onscreen couple orgasmed in front of their eyes, howling and screaming with pleasure. And then, quite clearly, King rumbled into his mate''s ear.


    "And with that, we''ve sealed the deal. I''ve transferred the funds into your husband''s ount. The only thing left to do is to hand me the keys to your kingdom."


    The Grand Duchess gave a light lowugh as she extricated herself from King Dilbert''s amorous grasp. Reaching to the side table, she grabbed her purse and handed it to him.


    "Darling, the keys to the kingdom is right here in my handbag. I''ll identally leave my purse here so I cane backter and retrieve it."


    King Dilbert of Coraline chuckled as he took the bag with one hand and pinched her nipple with the other.


    "I will make sure to be here so I can personally deliver it into your loving arms."


    The video ended at that point, leaving the brothers silently looking at each other.


    It wasn''t just a tryst. It was nned and executed with approval by all parties involved.


    "I feel so sick." Byron gasped.


    "You and me both." Jason gagged, putting down his martini.


    Dante''s eyes narrowed. "I need to get in touch with Mattheus and let him know that Emporia has been sold to the Avian King. He''s not going to be happy that the kingdom he fought so hard to retake has been sold away."


    Byron shook his head. "My uncle paid a hefty sum for that world. He''s not going to let it go that easily."


    "Do we know how much?" Dante asked.


    te tapped on themand console.


    "It looks like King Dilbert transferred 5 billion jemals into the Grand Duke''s ount very recently."


    Dante sneered. "I just paid King Palmer 7 billion jemals for that dust ball world he calls a resort. Your uncle got Emporia for a steal."


    "That''s because he bought it on the ck market from a person who doesn''t exactly even have the rights to sell it because it''s not really his to sell!!!" Byron snarled.


    teughed. "Well, it looks like King Dilbert is about to lose 5 billion jemals, and Duke Landry is about to get nailed for fraud and theft of a world."


    "You know King Dilbert is not going to let go of Emporia now that he''s paid a fortune for it."


    "He can w it back from the Grand Duke."


    "Not if Mattheus gets to him first. Once the money falls into Mattheus'' hands, King Dilbert isn''t going to get a dime back."


    Dante waved a hand. "Well. It''s been fun chatting with you but I have a fish to go fry."


    Jason and Jared stood up. "You''re going after Uncle Landry and Aunt Barbara?"


    Dante red at the twins. "Sorry Brothers. It''s personal this time."


    "Oh no. We''reing with you. We got kidnapped too, remember? He''s going to get some of that payback from us as well." Jason grinned and flexed his arms.


    "I''ll go take care of Uncle Dilbert." Byron sigh. "Want toe along, te?"


    te ced his half-finished whiskey sour on the table and rose from his seat with some reluctance.


    "Let''s get this over with."


    As the five men left the room, Lucas and Leonardo looked at each other.


    "So you''re finally married." Leonardo gave a sad smile. "Congrattions, Brother."


    "I know you wanted to marry her, Leo." Lucas sighed.


    Leonardo pressed an Old Fashioned into Lucas'' hand.


    "What''s most important is that we each received a fragment of her Avgo. That is marriage of the spiritual sort that transcends the legal paper."


    Lucas nodded and took a sip of his drink.


    "Leo. You gave her a check-up. Is she doing okay?"


    "Yes." Leonardo nodded. "And no."


    Lucas'' eyes widened.


    "What''s wrong with her?"


    "It''s hard to exin. I honestly can''t tell you exactly what''s wrong because this is beyond my experience."


    "You''ve cared for pregnant women and delivered babies before, Leo."


    "Of course. I''m not a paper-pusher doctor. I actually do surgeries and care for my patients." Leonardo waved a hand in protest.


    "I''m just saying I''ve never seen an Avgo fragment stuck inside a woman''s womb before."


    "Stuck?" Lucas rubbed his forehead. "What do you mean? Like she''s been impaled or something?"


    "No, no. I mean it''s just a tiny little crystal that we wouldn''t even be able to see with our naked eyes, but it''s floating around inside her womb and it''s causing her some difort."


    "How¡ªhow do you know she''s in difort? Did she say she was in pain?"


    Leonardo shook his head.


    "She didn''t have to say anything. We all had dinner together and I noticed she didn''t eat much. And then immediately after dinner, she begged off and went to her room."


    "Was she looking sick?"


    Leonardo shook his head. "No, but it was a strange behavior that I hadn''t seen before. I went to check on her thirty minutes ago and she was sound asleep."


    Lucas sighed. "You''re right. It''s barely ten at night. She wouldn''t be sleeping this early unless she wasn''t feeling well."


    "Are you going to alert our other Brothers?"


    "I''m going to keep an eye on her for another 24 hours. If she still shows signs of being unwell, I''ll call a meeting with all the Brothers, to talk about our wife."

 Chapter 171 - War Reparations

    The King of the Avians, Dilbert Dresden, was a tall gaunt red haired man of indeterminate age. He would have been considered rather good-looking if it wasn''t for his permanent petnt furrowed brows and the constant frown on his dour face.


    He had those tell-tale reddish-brown eyes and prominent hook nose, along with the thin almost lipless mouth that most purebred Avians had.


    King Dilbert had awoken this morning to some very bad news.


    Word had arrived that the Sixth Prince of Erenveil, the Prime Warrior te, had just arrived with an armada of several hundred warships.


    He had immediately dispatched the twenty or so warships that were patrolling the nearby area to protect the Coraline Moons.


    They were no match for the Prime Warrior''s armada, of course, but at least they could find out exactly what he wanted.


    For the umpteenth time, he mentally kicked himself for having dispatched all his warships to far-flung areas of the gxy to deal with the bugs that were starting to crowd into their very living space.


    There had been peace for so long between the birds and the mammalian bats that he never needed to keep much in the way of warships hanging about his deep space regions.


    Emperor Rex was a pacifist who did not like to start wars and always tried to keep a peaceful front. This had allowed King Dilbert to keep pushing the envelope on the things he wanted to do, knowing there would be only token pushbacks from the Emperor.


    The Prime Warrior''s arrival most likely had to do with the Avgo Event''s kidnapping, which King Dilbert could handle quite easily. He had a few tricks up his sleeve, and there was no way that the youngest son of the Emperor could do anything to him.


    After breakfast, which consisted of seed cakes and jam, he had retired to his viewing tower high above the pce to keep a watch on the city below. The firece had been lit by his servants and it was crackling merrily tobat the chill of the winter storm that had just hit.


    He had just about worn a groove on the rug in front of the fire when a chime sounded, alerting him of an iing visual call.


    "King Dilbert." A curt hard voice cut in through his reveries. "Call all your warships back or they will be destroyed."


    King Dilbert turned to look at the steely face of Prince te. His razor sharp blue eyes andely face stared out at him from the virtual monitor.


    This boy was quite handsome! Perhaps Prince te would take a second look at his daughter, Bethany Dresden. She had healed up quite nicely and was now almost back to her normal beautiful self again.


    Even if te was not and never could be a Crown Prince, one more bird embedded within the royal monarchy was one more strong tie to the Emperor.


    "Are you hearing me, King Dilbert?"


    "Yes, yes. Why don''t youe down to the pce and have some tea with me, and let''s talk about this."


    "I don''t have time to talk. Pull your people off Nymphalidae or I will im all four avian worlds surrounding the butterfly world for myself."


    "You don''t dare!"


    "Don''t tell me what I dare and don''t dare. Those four worlds were once butterfly worlds which you had sacked and taken over. They should rightfully be reinstated to their former people."


    And this was the reason why Nymphalidae was constantly threatened. They were thest of the butterfly worlds¡ªthe only one the King had not been able to touch because of the Empress Anastasia.


    "te. Let''s be reasonable about this." King Dilbert was saying when te raised a hand and gave amand.


    Instantly an alert sounded as another virtual window popped open.


    "Your Majesty! Falcon 7 has been hit! I repeat. Falcon 7 has been hit. It is gone!"


    King Dilbert raised uprehending eyes at the Sixth Prince of Erenveil.


    "You must be joking with me, son."


    "I am not your son. Pull your people from Nymphalidae. NOW!!!"


    "Hold on just a moment! Let''s talk this through. I''m sure we coulde to some gentlemen''s agreement."


    te narrowed his eyes as he gave another signal.


    "Wait!" King Dilbert called out.


    Another alert sounded as a second virtual window popped open.


    "Your Majesty! Falcon 46 has fallen. I repeat. Falcon 46 has been destroyed!"


    "Okay okay. Hold your horses! I will call for the forces to be removed from Nymphalidae."


    "Do it now."


    King Dilbert nodded. This boy was no joke.


    He waved a hand and a virtual window popped open.


    "Stanley. Start procedures for evacuating Nymphalidae. Pull the troops back."


    "Your Majesty??? Aren''t we supposed to¡ª"


    "Do it!!!" King Dilbert shouted.


    te threw his head back and stared at the king with a haughty expression.


    "You have 24 hours to remove yourselves from Nymphalidae. Any bird caught within butterfly territory or space will be apprehended and deported back to the nearest bird territory."


    "Twenty-four hours??? That''s impossible!"


    te gave another signal.


    A third rm popped a window.


    "Your Majesty! Falcon 58 has been hit! Falcon 58 is destroyed."


    The king was sweating bullets by now. Three of his huge warships had just been summarily blown into smithereens by this young Prince who barely looked to be of legal age.


    He was a fierce one, that te. King Dilbert could not help but be impressed with the Sixth Prince''s war prowess.


    "I will send the word for my people to evacuate immediately. Stop destroying my warships!"


    Prince te narrowed his gaze as he watched the King issue variousmands to his people to begin evacuation processes.


    There were thousands and thousands of avians who had been sent to Nymphalidae to begin the process of turning them into a vassal world of the birds.


    King Dilbert knew it would take far longer than 24 hours to get everyone off, but at this moment, epting that hard deadline was better than having another warship filled with his troops be another target practice for te''s weapons.


    "I''ve done as you asked." King Dilbert said through gritted teeth. "But understand that what you did today constitutes a deration of war between your people and mine."


    "Oh?" te raised an eyebrow. "So blowing up three of your warships is considered dering war, but your violent act of kidnapping five Erenveilian Princes is not?"


    King Dilbert paled.


    The kidnapping of the Princes was something that he had agreed to do in the heat of a passionate moment with the Grand Duchess of Emporia. How could Prince te know about something like that???


    te held up two fingers and gave another gesture.


    Almost immediately, two screens popped up on King Dilbert''s side, alerting him that two more warships had suffered the same fiery fate as the others.


    His face crumpled. For the first time since he had taken on the crown, he realized just how powerful the bats were.


    They had merely tolerated his small forays into the insect world because they wanted to maintain a benevolent look and feel to the velvet-gloved iron hand they used to wield power.


    But the Prime Warrior had proven to him in no uncertain terms just how powerful Erenveil forces were.


    "Onest thing, Uncle." Another face popped up onscreen.


    "Byron!" King Dilbert gasped. This one was supposed to have returned to the pce to begin his training. Why was he not on this side of the birds, fighting for bird domination?


    Byron would make the perfect peace ambassador, to keep things happy between the Avian empire and Erenveil.


    "You know that five billion jemals that you paid for Emporia?"


    King Dilbert''s face nched. No one was supposed to have known about that.


    "We''re going to take that as reparations for damages."


    The King sputtered with rage. "What damages!!!"


    "You drugged and jailed five Princes of Erenveil. That''s actually enough to get your head handed back to you on a silver tter. However, five billion jemals seem adequate rpense¡­for now."


    te narrowed his eyes. "There is still the matter of the multiple attempts to take the Prime Avgo Female''s life."


    Byron nodded. "For the crime of attacking our wife and scaring her near to death, we''re going to take one of your moons as payment."


    "WHAT???" The King roared.


    "Hmmmm. Let''s see, which one do you think, te?" Byron tapped a finger to his nose.


    "I like Peoria myself." te grinned. "Peoria has a gorgeous atmosphere and lots of gems and metal riches within its crust."


    "Peoria it is." Byron gave a nod to one of his people.


    "No! Wait! There are avians living on Peoria!" The King waved his hand in protest.


    "No worries. We will give them the option of remaining on Peoria and be our subjects, or we can deport them back to you." te grinned.


    "As for the visuals of you and the Grand Duchess, humping like wild animals, I think it would make a great new porn video, don''t you, Byron?" Heughed.


    Byron nodded.. "Indeed."

 Chapter 172 - All The Princess Men

    While the five brothers were out taking care of various details regarding Emporia and the illegal sale of that world, Leonardo had moved his working office from his warship, into te''s ship to keep an eye on Candace.


    At first, she seemed normal. She did her morning exercise routine at her usual time and had breakfast with them, but then after breakfast, Candace took a nap that dragged on past lunch time.


    Leonardo had expected Candace to take a short nap, but she had slept until dinner time.


    As she slept, Leonardo had gone to check up on her several times, only to find her sleeping normally.


    Thankfully, Candace came out of hibernation and had a small dinner with Leonardo and Lucas. She hung out with them for about half and hour, but during that time, Leonardo noticed she yawned a lot and her eyes looked a bit ssy.


    He had asked her if she was okay, noting her tired eyes and droopy expression. Although Candace had nodded with a smile, she begged off and went back to her room.


    By the time Leonardo went to her quarters to check on her, Candace was again asleep. It was barely 8 pm.


    That was thest straw.


    Leonardo had promptly called an emergency meeting with his brothers to talk about Candace. Without a word, they had all sped back to te''s Falcon 600, Candace''s temporary home.


    At the appointed hour for the meet up, Leonardo made his way to the star viewing lounge. A quick nce confirmed that he was the first one there.


    Leonardo grabbed a quick soda from the machine and sat down to wait for his brothers.


    Within minutes, the twins and Dante had arrived, with Lucas immediately following behind them.


    "Hey Leo. Sorry we''rete. We got here as soon as we could." Jared said by way of greeting.


    "No one is here yet, so you''re not exactlyte. How are your Aunt and Uncle?" Leo grinned.


    "Oh you mean the ones who sold us out?" Jason stuck out his tongue.


    "Yeah, that set of aunt and uncle."


    "They are not doing well." Jaredughed. "We showed a tiny clip of her and King Dilbert banging each other and at first, she denied that it was her, saying someone else was impersonating her."


    "That could be true."


    "We told her we had confronted the King of Coraline and he confirmed that the visual was real."


    Jason grinned. "Once she couldn''t back out of that damning visual, she cried and begged us not to expose her."


    "And what was your response?"


    Jaredughed. "We told her that not only will all of Emporia see it, the entire gxy is going to be in on the fun as well. That was when she really lost it."


    He pped his hands with mirth.


    "What was even more hrious was that the deal was purely a mary one, but because King Dilbert was hemming and hawing, she sweetened the deal by throwing in a free fuck."


    Jason guffawed. "Uncle Landry didn''t even know that she''d had sex with King Dilbert, so now it looks like they will be permanently unhitched."


    Leonardoughed. "She''s screwed all around."


    "Yes. So now she and Uncle Landry are both sitting in separate cells of the brig awaiting their trial date. Meanwhile, Dante''s taken the money back from Uncle Landry''s ount."


    Dante stood back with his arms folded across his chest. He wasn''t saying much. The twins were doing a great job telling everyone what had just urred.


    Leonardo''s eyes crinkled. "Are you going to transfer it back to King Dilbert?" He asked as if he didn''t know.


    The twins guffawed. "Hell no! Dante said that was partial payment for kidnapping five Princes of Erenveil and for scaring their wife near to death at her Avgo Event."


    Leonardoughed. "I wonder what happened with te and Byron and what they''ve managed to do with the King of the Avians."


    "Ask us yourself." Byron chuckled. He and te walked into the star gazing room.


    Leonardo turned to them.


    "Did you get a chance to talk with the King of the Avians?"


    "Not only did we talk to him, we actually made him cry." te bumped fists with Byron.


    Lucas'' eyes popped. "What did you do?"


    "te destroyed some of his warships, and I hauled off one of Coraline''s moons, so now Erenveil has four moons instead of three, and Coraline has eight moons instead of nine." Byronughed.


    "Wow!" Jason''s mouth was O shaped. "How in the world did you take an entire moon?"


    Byron shrugged. "Same way Dante took his moon. I tractor beamed it away."


    "I also told him to back off Nymphalidae, or I would send my warships in and raze his other bird world to the ground." te''s eyes were rage-filled.


    Byron''s eyes burned. "That wasn''t all. For kidnapping me and making mete to my wife''s Avgo Event, I told him I was confiscating the five billion jemals he illegally paid to the Grand Duke of Emporia."


    "Booya!" Jaredughed.


    "So what are you men nning to do with that money?" Lucas asked.


    te grinned. "It''s part of our wife''s dowry, right men?"


    "What?" Lucas gasped.


    "Yep!" Danteughed. "We''re going to turn that confiscated Coraline moon into a beautiful home for Candace, along with the five billion jemals as part of her dowry, from all of us."


    All the menughed. It was a unanimous agreement.


    Leonardo raised a hand to get the brothers'' attention.


    "I''m d the situation with Emporia has been resolved, but I actually called this meeting because of Candace."


    All the brothers paused. This was Leo the doctor talking.


    "What''s going on with Candace?" te asked. He didn''t feel happy being away from Candace overnight, but he was d Leonardo and Lucas had been able to remain with her.


    "She''s not unhealthy, but¡­"


    "Spit it out, man!" Dante snarled. "What''s going on with my wife?"


    "She''s very lethargic. She has been sleeping a lot within thest two days."


    "Is she pregnant?" te asked, his eyes intense. If Leonardo confirmed, it would be his baby.


    Leonardo shook his head. "She''s not. I''ve been keeping a very close eye on her, but other than the tiny shard of Avgo that is floating around in her womb, there isn''t anything else that could be causing her difort."


    "Tiny? It was huge!" Byron made a hand gesture that looked as if he was holding an object the size of a golf ball. It was what had hit him in the chest.


    "What is within Candace is too small for us to even see without equipment."


    te frowned. He had remembered the Avgo being ratherrge as well. How was it possible that what left him and entered her be so tiny?


    Leonardo turned to te. "Your Avgo is gone, right?"


    Without waiting, Leonardo reached out and ced a hand over te''s chest where the Avgo had entered.


    "It''s gone." Leonardo confirmed. "He''s returned it to Candace."


    "Perhaps that shard requires all its pieces back for her to return to normal." Lucas murmured.


    All the men looked at him with varying degrees of disbelief.


    "I''m just guessing," he waved a confused hand. "I''m not saying that''s what''s needed. I just figured it made sense for the Avgo to need all its pieces back."


    "For what?" Byron asked.


    "For¡­" Lucas shrugged and threw a helpless look at Leonardo. "I don''t know. For Candace to get pregnant?"


    "That''s a very real possibility." Leonardo rubbed his jaw.


    "It would be a strange pregnancy, where it requires the gic material of seven males to fertilize a single egg, but I would be lying if I said we knew everything there is to know about the Avgo."


    "Maybe she''s just exhausted from the Avgo Events and is just trying to recover her energy." Byron suggested.


    "It''s a possibility." Leonardo nodded. "Perhaps I could monitor her for a few more days. If she does not improve, we may have to go to our next n."


    "Which is?" Dante asked.


    "We have to each return the Avgo to her."


    Jason scratched his head. "But that would mean¡­"


    "That''s right." Leonardo nodded.. "We would each have to make love to her."

 Chapter 173 - Seven Days A Week

    Lucas scratched his blond head with both hands in frustration.


    "I don''t get how we''re going to do that. How in the world are we each going to make¡ªmake love to Candace."


    Jared red at him. "What don''t you get?"


    Lucas squeezed the space between his eyes.


    "What I mean is¡ªdo we all just pile on the bed with her at the same time and try to, you know¡­"


    "No!" Leonardo groaned as the other menughed.


    "Aside from the fact that I don''t think Candace can handle all of us at once, no offense, but I''m not really wanting to see all you hairy guys unclothed at the same time." te chuckled.


    "I agree with that." Byron shook his head. "I''m not into seeing all my brothers taking a turn with my wife in front of my face."


    "So how do we do this so that we are all¡ªyou know, in full understanding of what''s going on?" Lucas asked.


    Jason rubbed his chin. "We could just take turns on different days so we don''t, like, identally walk in on someone being with Candace."


    "But she''s technically only married to three of us." Byron pointed out.


    "That doesn''t mean anything when we all have an Avgo shard within us." Jared reminded him.


    "That''s true. Avgo chose all of us to be her husband. We need to respect that. And besides, I don''t want to be without her." Leonardo responded as the others nodded.


    The thought of sharing a single wife was so strange to all of them that they sat there, around the C shaped sofa and drank their cocktails in silence for a few minutes trying to absorb what it would mean to each of them.


    The biggest worry on each man''s mind was not whether he would feel strange taking turns being with her. Their biggest fear at this moment was that she would reject them all.


    "What about tonight?" Byron asked.


    "She''s not feeling well tonight," Leonardo sighed. "Anything we do needs to be talked over with her anyway. If she says ''no'', it''s aplete nonstarter."


    He stared at his martini and poked at the olive with his straw.


    "Still, we do need to start thinking of how to go about this in the least disruptive way, if only for her health benefits. First things first."


    He stood up and turned to all the brothers.


    "Delivering the Avgo shard is the number one priority. She is obviously not feeling well with only the one shard inside of her." He turned to look at Dante.


    "Even if you don''t want her as your wife any more Dante, you must deliver the Avgo into her body before you release your im on her. It''s the only way she will be able to recover from whatever this mise is."


    "Who said I didn''t want her as my wife any more?" Dante scowled.


    "You did!" They all came back at him.


    "Well I lied, okay." Dante said with a scowl. "I''m not a one-time Avgo delivery service."


    The brothers looked at each other with barely concealed mirth. The Dante whose word never wavered had wavered so much because of Candace, it was unreal.


    "Regardless of what happens, after the Avgo has been delivered to her, it would be up to her who she wants to be with." te spoke up. "We have to respect her decision."


    The men nodded. Although they all loved her, none of them wanted to force themselves on her. It would be her choicepletely.


    Having said that, they each wanted to be a real husband to her, which meant they were going to have to figure out a schedule which would fit in with everyone''s lifestyle.


    "Let''s just clear all this up between ourselves before we approach her with it so we don''t confuse her or make things even more unsettling for her," te continued.


    "I do think it''s a good idea to separate out the days so that we can each approach her on our day and offer ourselves to her. If she wants us on that day, she can have us."


    "And if she doesn''t want us?" Jason wanted to know.


    "Then we leave her to herself and we don''t bother her. We cannot force ourselves on her if she doesn''t want us."


    The men all sank back into their own thoughts. They had no idea how something like this could have happened to them.


    The idea of sharing a wife with their brothers would have been something each of them would have never agreed to in any sane world. And yet, here they were, thinking of the least disruptive way that they could be with their wife.


    Leonardo narrowed his eyes.


    "Let''s pull lots and get a number assigned to each of us."


    Dante grimaced and threw up into the air, seven small white data chips. It looked as if he hade prepared for this eventuality.


    "Wow. You came prepared!" Jaredughed.


    Dante sniffed. "I had this pre-made because I knew we were going to go down this road."


    "They''re numbered?"


    Dante nodded.


    He drained his rocks ss and threw the chips into it. Then he set it down on the low table in front of the sofa.


    "Youngest goes first." Dante indicated at te.


    He had resigned himself to whatever fate allowed him to have and was going to let fate gift him whatever it wanted because it seemed that everything he tried to do always seemed to backfire on him.


    te sighed and reached out for his chip. Every time something major happened, they always sent him in to take care of it first.


    He didn''t me them, of course. Not only was he the youngest, he was also the strongest and most physically capable of doing the manual work.


    There were huge pay-offs sometimes, like when he had to transport the Earth Avgo Female. He''d been the first to be intimate with her. That, te knew without a shadow of doubt.


    Jared''s turn was next, and then Jason, who was older by mere minutes.


    Then it was Leonardo, and then Lucas. They hefted the chip in their hand, hoping against hope it would be a good number, whatever the good number turned out to be.


    Byron looked at the two remaining chips and heaved a sigh. He reached out for the one to the right, which left a single data chip in the rocks ss.


    Dante did not reach for it. That littlest baby was his, no matter who got what.


    He waved a hand and the corresponding number glowed on the surface of each disc.


    Byron got the number 1 chip, which meant Monday was his. Leonardo got number 2 Tuesday, and Jared got number 3 Wednesday.


    Number 4 Thursday went to Lucas, and number 5 Friday went to Jason. te got number 6 Saturday, which meant Dante got thest unimed one, number 7 Sunday.


    Seven Princes for seven days of the week.


    That was the agreed-upon n¡­except for one big huge hole.


    Candace had yet to be told of their ns.


    "We need to talk to her." Byron sighed


    "It''s going to have to wait until tomorrow morning, when she awakens." Jared responded.


    "I agree. She''s sleeping right now." Jason said.


    "Hi guys! What''s up?"


    Candace walked breezily in,pletely unaware of what had just urred within the all-male, testosterone-filled, chip-drawing fest.

 Chapter 174 - Richest Woman In The Galaxy

    All the men looked at her with varying degrees of surprise and not a small bit of apprehension.


    They couldn''t very well tell her that they had just drawn lots and picked days to sleep with her. That just sounded so sordid and strange.


    But then again, they couldn''t NOT tell her.


    Lucas began stammering, his face red as a strawberry in June.


    "Well¡ªummm. We¡ªah. Hehe." Heughed.


    "We were just wondering how you are doing?" Leonardo responded gently. "You''ve been sleeping a lot thesest two days."


    "Not that you couldn''t sleep if you wanted to!" Jared injected.


    "Absolutely, this is your home. You can sleep as much as you wish!" Jason grinned.


    "My¡ªmy home?" Candace looked around at the men. What in the world were they thinking and what were they up to?


    "Are you men trying to say that this ship will be my new home in the future?" Sheughed. "Or are you politely telling me that I''m homeless?"


    "That''s not what he meant, Love." te waved a hand. "This is just the warship I live on when we''re having a bit of conflict in the gxy. It''s not really our home, but of course, you can stay here as much as you wish."


    "Ugh, you guys are killing me." Byron stood up and reached out to gather her into his loving arms.


    "Listen Darling. Not only are you NOT homeless, you have so many homes to choose from that you would need attendants to help you travel from one home to another throughout the gxy."


    The menughed and nodded. This was true.


    What Crown Princess did not travel with an entourage of attendants to take care of her every need?


    Leonardo nodded. "You have seven men who love you dearly. I can guarantee that you can have the pick of any home you wish that we own, and if your little heart is set on living in any world that we didn''t already own a home at, we would make sure there was a beautiful home for you to im there."


    They all nodded again.


    "But here''s the best news. You don''t have to pick any of ours, even though they are yours for the taking, because¡ªTa Da!" Byron waved a hand.


    Appearing in front of her eyes was a roundish, bumpy, lumpy clod of brown dirt.


    Candace blinked.


    "What''s this?"


    Byron smiled. "This, My Love, WAS Peoria, one of the moons of Coraline. We have tractored it back to Erenveil and it''s now your very own moon. You can name it whatever you wish."


    "My¡ªmy moon?" Candace rubbed the back of her neck. Were they politely trying to get rid of her?


    "What am I supposed to do with it?"


    The menughed.


    "You decorate it however you wish, and then you can live on it." te proffered.


    She frowned. This didn''t sound quite right.


    "Does, umm. Does the King of Coraline know you took his moon?"


    "Oh yeah." te grinned. "His only request was that we treat his people well."


    "There are people living there?"


    "Of course." Dante crossed his arms across his chest. "You saw how many people it took to keep my moon running at peak efficiency."


    Candace rubbed her eyes with tired hands. She didn''t want to live all by herself on a moon out in the middle of deep space, where she knew nobody.


    "Couldn''t I just stay with one of you men? I don''t take up much room and I won''t make any demands." She murmured.


    They blinked with surprise at her words. She sounded less-than-thrilled to be getting her very own home world.


    "Besides, it all sounds so costly." She looked at all the men. "And I hate to say this but I''m super poor."


    "What are you talking about, Sweetheart?" Lucas turned to her with huge amber eyes.


    "I mean¡ªI don''t have any money." She muttered, blushing.


    It was true.


    From the moment she had arrived on Erenveil, the men had taken cared of every need.


    Candace had never thought of the fact that she ate three meals a day and had clothes to wear, but did not have to buy any of that.


    For a moment, the men were silent. Candace looked up to see that it wasn''t because they didn''t have anything to say.


    It was because they were trying so hard not tough out loud.


    "Little Tiny Dancer." Jared reached out and held her hand. "Why are you even thinking about how poor you are? Haven''t we dressed you well enough Darling?"


    "What?" She blinked.


    "Each outfit you own is worth a lot of money. All the pearls and gems that are embedded into the rare and costly fabrics¡­you have been wearing a fortune on you, every single day." Jared smiled.


    "I¡ªI didn''t know." She mumbled, scratching her head.


    "Sweetheart," Jason wiped a tear of mirth from his eyes. "You have so many pieces of gold jewelry that I hand-made for you myself. Do you know how much each piece costs?"


    She shook her head.


    Jasonughed. "You have a huge trunk full of tiaras, hair clips, nes, earrings, bracelets, rings. You even have anklets and toe rings. Each of those pieces are embedded with huge rare gemstones that are worth a fortune each."


    All the men looked at her with adoring mirthful eyes.


    It had never urred to them that she thought she was poor. Had there ever been anything she wanted or needed that they had not provided for her?


    "I know you all take really good care of me. I do know that, and I thank you." She blushed. "In fact, I honestly wouldn''t know what to do with¡ªwith Erenveil money even if I had some."


    Byron nodded. "Your level of wealth is beyond the need for piddly money, do you understand that, Darling? You own entire worlds."


    "I do?"


    "Well, at the moment, you own several moons." Byron ticked off on his fingertips.


    "I do?"


    "Yes Darling. There''s te''s moon. That''s yours." Byron nced at te for confirmation.


    te nodded. "Absolutely. It''s even been named after you. Candace''s Moon."


    "And you also own Dante''s Moon, although it''s still named ''Dante''s Moon''." Byron held out a second finger.


    "I will rename it Candace''s Moon as well, since it is where all her things and her library/museum and her dance hall resides." Dante asserted firmly.


    "And you have this third moon that we took from Coraline. This one is also going to be called Candace''s Moon."


    Leonardo grimaced for a moment.


    "Hmmm, it''s going to get confusing if we don''t differentiate it. We might have to do a Candace''s Moon A, B, and C."


    "Or 1, 2, and 3." Jasonughed.


    Byron shrugged. "It truly doesn''t matter where you live Love, because at the end of the day, you will see all of use back to you wherever you are, because as I said to you earlier."


    His eyes grew serious. "Where you are is home."


    They all nodded.


    "I''m¡ª" Candace shook her head. "I''m just a little overwhelmed, and frankly, I''m also a little confused."


    She frowned. "Who am I supposed to be married to?"


    The men roared withughter. They couldn''t me her for being confused. It was all VERY confusing, even for them.


    "Well, I have some good news." Byron smiled. "I have a document that shows you''re married to me."


    "And me!" Lucas chirped.


    "And me." Dante added with his deep gravely voice.


    "What?"


    "Yes Darling." Byronughed. "Father added all three of us onto your marriage certificate because we have, all of a sudden been ced into a triad Crown Prince situation."


    Candace squinted. "Is that even legal? A woman being married to three men at the same time?"


    All the menughed.


    "Who do you think makes the rules? If the Emperor says it''s legal, who''s going to argue with him?"

 Chapter 175 - [Bonus ] Seven Weeks

    "Which brings us to the next thing we want to talk with you about." Leonardo smiled.


    "Come sit by me and let me check your health for a moment." Leonardo reached out and pulled her hand.


    He beganying his warm glowing hands on her back, her chest, her stomach and her head. That single quick health check from him showed what he had known all along.


    "At this moment, Love, you have a single Avgo shard within your womb from te." He indicated with a nod at te.


    "It''s hanging out and drawing sustenance from you. That''s why you are so tired."


    "Drawing sustenance? You mean like a¡ªa parasite?"


    Leonardoughed. "In a sense, yes. But it''s not what you think."


    "All embryos are parasites of their mothers. They have no choice. They have to feed off their mothers to stay alive until they can be born and can feed on their own."


    Candace waved a hand in protest.


    "I would never call my own child a parasite. I would dly give of myself for my child. But this isn''t my child, is it? It''s an Avgo piece."


    "You should think of this Avgo shard as your child, because it will be in the future, once itbines with your egg. It''s just missing some pieces in order to be fully-assembled."


    Candace took a deep breath. She had figured something of the sort.


    "I need all of your pieces don''t I?" She asked although she already knew the answer.


    Leonardo nodded. "If the Avgo shards are not allowed to rbine¡­"


    "Then I''ll be lethargic and exhausted like this for the rest of my life?" Candy asked.


    Leonardo shrugged. "I don''t know, Darling, but it seems as if the Avgo has made its demands. It wants to be born."


    Candace pressed her lips together.


    How in the world did she go from being an archaeologist by day and a cat burr by night, to suddenly bing a wife and mother in the span of mere weeks???


    And all because she stole an Avgo gemstone that had a mind of its own.


    "Not even born yet and already a demanding brat." She sniffed.


    The menughed.


    Candace bit her bottom lip in thought, unaware of the adoring nces the brothers gave her for that very endearing trait of hers.


    They all looked as if they had resigned themselves to carrying this through. Perhaps since they were bat men and not humans, their idea of sharing a female wasn''t abhorrent or strange, but it sure was strange to Candace.


    But truth be told, all sorts of strange things had been happening to hertely that this was just one more strange thing to shrug, ept, and roll with the punches.


    "It looks like I''m going to have to spend time with each of you." She murmured.


    They all nodded, each holding their breath. Please God, don''t let her reject any one of them.


    Candace squeezed her eyes shut, missing out on their worried nces.


    "I wasn''t even told that I would have three husbands. Tch! If the Emperor going to marry me off to three of his sons, he should have at least said something to me first!" She clicked her tongue in irritation.


    "Next time I meet the Emperor, I''m going to give him a piece of my mind!" She fumed.


    The men roared withughter. This was the fiery woman they knew and loved. She was fearless.


    The men''sughter startled her out of her reveries.


    "So what do you have in mind? I''m sure you men have talked it over amongst yourselves."


    te cleared his throat.


    "Since there are seven of us, we figured we could¡­"


    "Hit me up with a different brother each night?" Candace interrupted.


    She waggled a finger in his face. "Nope!"


    The brothers looked at each other with some rm. This was not going as well as they''d hoped. Was she going to reject one or more of them?


    "I know there are seven of you and the easiest thing for you men would be to just take a single day of the week ande visit me, but I cannot handle that." She waved a hand in protest.


    "But Darling¡­" Byron sighed. "You''re our wife. Are we not allowed to spend any time with you?"


    "I didn''t say that, now did I." She raised her chin at him. "But this sted Avgo shard is making me so tired, I can barely keep awake."


    She heaved a deep sigh. "I need more time."


    "What are your thoughts? Please share them with us." Lucas murmured.


    Candace thought about it for a few minutes. Then her hazel eyes glowed.


    "One per week." She held up a single finger. "At least for now, while I''m still so tired from this Avgo shard. We could possibly switch it to more frequentlyter, but for now, this is all I can handle."


    "One per week¡­" te frowned. "Does that mean¡ª"


    "Yes, that''s exactly what it means." Candace faced him with a fierce look. "You took your turn early so you get to go to the back of the line and wait your turn in seven weeks."


    "But Baby¡­I don''t know if I can wait that long¡­" he looked pained.


    "You''re a big strong man. You can handle it." She was firm, even as te''s face melted in sorrow.


    "Wait, I don''t understand, Love." Leonardo held up a hand. "Does this mean you will meet up with one of us for a single day out of the week, and then the rest of the week is off-limits?"


    Candace stared at Leonardo.


    "No. I didn''t say that." She said with sass, waggling her finger at him.


    "If this is your week, you will stay with me the entire week, during which time, we will be alone together for as much as your work allows."


    "Ohhhh!!!" The men eximed, looking at each other with newfound excitement.


    This was a very different scenario, and one that they were excited to move towards. To have an entire week all alone with their wife was something they could hardly wait to experience.


    It seemed, talking it over with Candace and having her make some decisions was infinitely better than trying to decide all of this without her. She really was a very decisive and reasonable woman to deal with.


    "So who wants to be next?" Candace smiled.


    Dante stood up and threw the seven data chips that he still had up into the air. They hovered between the men, waiting as if in anticipation to be picked.


    They all looked at each other and slowly reached out for a single shining data chip.


    Dante again, was thest one.


    With the single chip, unchosen, still hovering in midair, he waved a hand in an elegant gesture.


    All the data chip surfaces glowed a number in a light blue color. Byron got 5, Lucas got 2, Leonardo got 6, Jason got 3, Jared got 4, and te got 7.


    Candace nced around, noting the numbers they held, but in truth, the only one that mattered to Candace was the one that had the number 1 shining brightly at the center of the white chip.


    It was hovering in midair, in front of Dante. Thest one that did not get picked.


    "Looks like you''re first, Dante.." She grinned.

 Chapter 176 - [Bonus ] Dantes First Night

    [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT]


    Dante slowly reached up and picked the data chip still hovering in the space between himself and his new bride.


    He could hardly believe that in the space of a week, he had won her hand in marriage, then lost her, then won it back again.


    His heart had been pounded into the sand so hard, so many times that he could barely breathe sometimes, it hurt so badly.


    And all of a sudden, fate had handed him yet again another chance to be with the woman who had taken his heart, lock stock and barrel.


    He didn''t know whether tough or cry. He had been so afraid to choose a data chip, for fear he''d choose badly and end up losing her again.


    Thest time he did not choose, he had gottenst ce. And now, he was in first ce. Life threw some curve balls sometimes.


    Just when he thought he''d lost, all of a sudden, he was allowed to hit a home run.


    "When¡­" his voice caught in his throat and he had to clear it to get the words out. "When do we start?"


    Candace stood up and came towards him. Reaching out with a palm, she ced it over his heart and looked up at him with earnest hazel eyes.


    "You pick the day you want to start, and that will be the first of your seven days."


    Dante''s heart began pounding so hard, he knew she could feel it through his thin ck shirt.


    "Tonight." His voice sounded hoarse and rough, even to his ears.


    She nodded and took hold of both his hands in her small ones.


    "Then tonight and for the next seven nights, I will be yours."


    The men nodded their approval.


    It would not be long before it was their turn to be with her.


    In this, she got to choose, and if she was happy with the arrangement, so were they.


    Dante leaned down and picked her up.


    "If you men need me, I will be at my moon for the next seven days." He paused for a moment. "Sorry. I meant to say I''ll be at my wife''s moon."


    And with that, he carried her out the star viewing lounge, through the hall, and into one of the transport pods in the hangar.


    Within minutes, they had taken off to his own Mother Ship, the Chiroptera 450.


    His men were still maintaining status quo when he arrived. One of his attendants met them at the hangar and escorted them back to themand deck.


    "Take me and my wife back to my moon. If there is any problems, contact the Prime Warrior and do as hemands."


    "Yes, Your Royal Highness." The space warriors on deck saluted him.


    Without another word, Dante carried his wife and took off in long strides to his quarters.


    "We have seven days, Dante. You don''t need to rush so much." Candace smiled as she rested her head on his shoulder.


    "I''m dying right now, Love." Was all he could muster to say.


    In truth, he''d been dying for days now. His heart was so battered and his body in such great need, he could barely keep moving forward. He desperately needed some healing from her.


    They had barely walked into the room when Dante began to suckle on her neck. His hunger for her had grown at such an rming pace that he could no longer hold back.


    "Haaaah. Hold on Dante. You''re making dark bruise marks all over my neck." Candiughed and tried to move away.


    "It''s okay. They''re called love marks, and I''ll heal them afterwards if you don''t want to see them." He mumbled into her throat as he tore off their clothes, strewing them across the floor.


    "I''m so sorry Baby, but right now, I need to taste you so badly, I can''t hold myself back."


    He took her mouth, suckling and tasting with exuberance, his hands busy at the same time, tearing their clothes off, not caring about buttons and zippers.


    They never made it to the bed. Dante had pushed her up against the wall and had begun to assault her body with his mouth and his tongue.


    Still holding up her body with one hand, he reached out with his remaining hand to cup her ample breasts and fixed his mouth onto her pale sweet pink areole.


    His tongue swirled her nipple round and round, and then he began sucking in earnest.


    ''So you''re happy that we''re actually legally married, hmmmm?'' Dante asked her mentally.


    "Haaaaaaahhhh. Ahh!" She moaned, feeling a rush of sensual delight running directly from her nipples straight towards her loins.


    Her hands reached down and caressed his head, running her hands through his long blue hair, even as he took her other breast into his mouth and suckled it as if he was a hungry babe.


    "Hmmmm. Yes. Very happy. You asked me to be your wife, and I agreed, remember?"


    He lowered her to the floor and sank down in front of her, kneeling at her feet. He began trailing kisses down her stomach until he reached the top of her mound.


    "How can I forget?" Dante looked up at her, his crystal green eyes heavy with passion.


    Reaching for her thighs, he spread them wide. Without hesitation, he dove in with his tongue and mouth, licking and tonguing her womanhood.


    "Aaaaaaahhh!!!" She cried out. The feeling was so intense she could barely stand.


    Without a word, he leaned in and took her soft pink bud into his mouth.


    "Haaaaaahhh, haaaaahhh," she panted with delight, her toes curling and uncurling as his tongue began tickling the tip of her clit, licking it in rapid sessions.


    "Oh my God, that feels so good. Haaaaaaaahhh!" She mewled and moaned.


    His lips began ying with her pink bud, sucking and nuzzling until her fingers dug into his shoulders as she gushed thick viscous fluid from her body. There was so much moisture that some of it dripped onto his toes.


    Candace was panting as shudders of ecstasy wracked through her tiny frame. She could barely see, as sparks and whorls of delicious sensations roiled within her.


    "You''re so wet, you''re gushing, Love." Dante''s deep voice rumbled. She hadn''t even touched him, but he had gotten so high on giving her pleasure, his cock was hard as a rock and aching with need.


    He rose up and reached around her. Lifting her body up with his arms, he rested her back onto the wall and her buttocks on his forearms.


    Then, Dante positioned her onto his shaft and plunged himself into her depth.


    "Haaaaaaahhh!!!" They both gasped as the sweet sensation of wet, engorged flesh embedded deep inside wet, engorged flesh swelled within them.


    As Dante began to move his hips, their sensitive flesh rubbed into each other, pushing both to higher heights. All Candace could do was hold onto his neck and shoulders, crying and shrieking with pleasure.


    The smell of their sexual coupling, along with the steady sounds of her pping buttocks against his pelvis and her mewling and moaning of pleasure drove him out of his mind.


    The heat their bodies generated was insane and they were both drenched in sweat.


    Dante could not hold back as his passions rose like the rising tides, causing his bat wings to spring forth unbidden.


    He barely had enough control to sheath his ws so he would not hurt her, but there was no controlling his fangs as they grew longer and sharp as a knife.


    He growled as his head leaned in towards her neck.


    At thest possible moment, he wrenched his head away. He could not satiate his need for her blood in that manner. She was his wife, not a food source.


    "Bite me.." He heard her moan into his ear.

 Chapter 177 - [Bonus ] The Second Avgo Shard

    [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT]


    "Wha¡ªwhat?" He panted as he bucked over and over into her body, burying his shaft to the hilt and then withdrawing it again.


    He was barely able to think, his whole body was flushed and feeling such exquisite pleasure that it was all he could do just to keep her body aloft and continue pumping himself into her.


    "I said, bite me." She angled her head so he could get a good stretch of her neckline.


    "But¡ª"


    "When you bite me, it feels good. Bite me, Dante." She said.


    Dante growled.


    Wasn''t there something about not arguing with one''s wife? If anyone called him a ''yes dear'' husband, he would happily agree.


    He inhaled deeply and licked her neck once, tasting for the carotid artery.


    There it was¡­the warm pulse on her neck that carried her sweetly scented blood from her heart to her head. The smell just about drove him crazy.


    He just wanted a taste of her. Just a tiny taste.


    Venom oozed out of his fangs as saliva flooded his mouth in anticipation of the love bite.


    ''From the depths of my soul, I love you, my beautiful wife.'' He thought to her as his mouth descended onto her neck.


    "Aaaaaaahhh!!!" She moaned as his venom hit her bloodstream, causing another orgasmic release.


    Dante sucked in two mouthfuls of her sweet blood, feeling the euphoria of her blood entering his body along with the rhythmic contractions of her body as she convulsed and climaxed around his shaft.


    Between the two intensely erotic feelings, Dante pushed her against the wall and stroked himself deeply inside her a few more desperate times before he hit the bursting point.


    His face grimacing with the pain of pleasure as he felt something struggling to break free from his heart.


    "Aaaaaarghhhh, aaaarghhhh, aaarghhh!" He growled as the pain in his chest blossomed to the point where he was barely able to keep himself upright as he leaned into her, crushing her up against the wall.


    For a moment, Dante''s face scrunched up as he worked through the intensebination of pleasure and pain.


    His manhood erupted within her, releasing his body''s fluids and returning to her, the Avgo shard she''d given him.


    "Haaahhh! Aaaaahhh!" He panted for a minute, trying to recover.


    "Oh God, that hurt." He whispered into her ear, surprised at how weak he was at that moment.


    His arms were shaking from the effort of holding her aloft, so he carried her to the bed and, together, they both tumbled onto the soft mattress, huffing and puffing.


    "You''re still bleeding slightly." He murmured as he reached out to healed her with an unsteady finger.


    "Husband." She called out.


    "Hmmm?" Dante responded absently as he continued his healing of her kiss marks and an inadvertent scratch she''d received from his fangs.


    "I am so d we''re married." Candace smiled.


    Dante paused and smiled. If she only knew just how much effort he had expended to hear her say those words¡­


    "I honestly didn''t want to get thrown around like a piece of property, over to a random Crown Prince like a prize or possession." She admitted.


    "What would you have done if you''d been forced to marry whoever the next Crown Prince was?"


    "I would have run away." Candiughed. "I would have asked you and te to hide me away somewhere until things got resolved."


    Danteughed. "You know, te''s moon was supposed to have been your hiding spot until we could figure out what to do."


    "Really?"


    "Hmmm. I''d already gotten people to begin creating living spaces within that moon. So far, they have the hangar and three rooms carved out, but it''s nowhere near what I want for my Baby to live in."


    "Wow, you''d already gotten all that done?"


    He reached out to touch her face. "Hmmm. Once you agreed to marry me, I could not bear to lose you to someone else."


    He sighed. "I was willing to steal you away and disappear for awhile. And once you returned with my child, who is going to challenge the fact that you''re my wife?"


    Sheughed. "You were already thinking about children?"


    Dante smiled. His body was already springing back into beast mode. The thought of having babies with her was turning him on once again.


    "Of course. Babiese as a normal result of loving each other. Our children will be very much desired and loved."


    "Except we''re not exactly ''normal'' are we?" Candaceughed.


    How normal could it possibly be? She was married to bat men.


    Dante smiled. "Were we normal people, we would have been married and living an ordinary life at this moment, but we''re royalty. We have external forces that shape our destinies, ones we cannot run from."


    Candaceughed. "Speak for yourself. I''m just amoner."


    Dante clicked his tongue. "Tch. What are you talking about? You''re the Prime Avgo Female. That is the equivalent of an Erenveil Empress. You''re under more pressure than anyone at this time."


    "What about Earth?"


    "What about them?" He turned to her with glittering eyes full of repressed rage.


    "I haven''t heard anything more of them. Are they still trying to bring Dahlia Halloway in to take over my position?"


    "Haaah!" Danteughed. "te went in and cleared them all off Erenveil. He chased them all back to Earth and have ced a retinue around Earth."


    "Oh wow. I''m embarrassed for my world." Candace blushed.


    Dante smirked. "Earth has been quarantined until they can figure out how to y nice with the rest of the gctic citizenry."


    "What do you mean quarantined?" Candace''s eyes widened.


    "Exactly what I said. No more ships are allowed off Earth for a certain period of time. They are allowed to live freely within their own world, but other than low-earth orbits, they are not allowed to roam around deep space."


    He gave her a quick hard kiss.


    "The only Earth person still allowed on Erenveil is YOU, and you''re not really an Earth citizen any longer."


    He tapped her nose. "You now hold the most coveted status in the gxy. You''re a permanent Erenveil Citizen with full rights granted, including all those that the royalty of Erenveil have."


    Candace sighed. "You don''t know how happy I am that Earth is no longer hounding me and trying to arrest me. I am so happy that I never have to see Dahlia Halloway again."


    Dante snarled. "All it would take is onemand from you and Dahlia Halloway turns into a non-entity."


    "Non-entity?"


    "Yes. She can be sent to some backwater vige on Earth, living out her days working in the mines or the fields."


    Candace shook her head. There was no need to do that. Dahlia was not a threat to her any longer.


    Well, toote about that. Dante mused to himself.


    Thest thing he''d heard about Dahlia was that her entire royal family had been deposed and she was living in exile somewhere on Earth.


    He hadn''t cared to delve into that situation any further because to be honest, he didn''t care. He only cared about his wife.


    "I''m sorry you had to go through all the that, but now that you''re a Crown Princess, you are far above all that rabble. They will never be able to touch you again, I promise."


    Dante gathered her into his arms.


    "No regrets marrying me?"


    Candace shook her head. "The only thing that I regret is that we never got a wedding."


    ''We will, Baby. Once everything calms down, I will throw a huge wedding event for you.. I promise.''

 Chapter 178 - The Dragons Of Erenveil

    High above the dazzling blue skies filled with puffy white cumulus clouds, the red dragons were hovering around in circles above a cliff overlooking the capital city of Erenveil.


    They took advantage of the wind drifts that whorled up the cliffside, hang-gliding on their ample dark red scaled wingspans.


    From a distance, they looked likerge predatory raptors hunting prey. Up close and it was obvious that these were dragon people, flying in a loose formation of sorts.


    With a high shrill whistle, the lead of the dragon menunched himself up into the deep blue sky and led the group away from the capital city, towards the Palisades Cliffs overlooking Baria Ocean.


    There, the mountains dropped off straight down into a dazzling sandy beach so soft and white that it looked like ground flour.


    The Palisades'' jaw-dropping line of steep cliffs faced the deep blue ocean like sentinels, holding up the tform that was the very ground under the feet of the capital city of Erenveil.


    The dragonsnded on the teau and regrouped.


    There were six of them. All men. All dressed in red and ck dragon warrior outfits.


    Their leader whistled a few sounds and one of his subordinates whistled in reply.


    With another wave of his hand, theyunched straight into the sky, towards a hovering pod.


    Once they were safely ensconced within the pod, the men changed back into humans. They had sharp angr faces and beautiful brown almond eyes with long ck hair so thick and straight that it glistened and shone a deep dark blue.


    "Your Royal Highness." One of them began.


    The lead waved a hand to silence the man. He snapped a finger and a visual popped up of a young girl with long raven hair and dazzling blue eyes.


    "The Princess Lyra of Erenveil." He murmured, his eyes narrowing.


    "She just celebrated her fifteenth birthday not too long ago, Your Royal Highness. She currently lives with her mother, the Royal Consort Gwendolyn and her father, Emperor Rex."


    "She is still very young." The lead dragon rumbled in his throat.


    "Yes, Your Royal Highness."


    "Send a message to the Emperor of my intentions."


    "Yes, Your Royal Highness."


    "One more thing." He held up a hand. "Find out everything about Princess Lyra. I want to know more about her."


    ====================


    "Not going to happen." te announced.


    "You haven''t even heard his offer yet."


    "Not happening. My sister is barely fifteen."


    "te, he''s not saying he wants her now. He''s saying he will wait the three years for her to grow into adulthood. He just wants to be considered as a candidate."


    "But he''s a dragon." tepressed his lips.


    No one was good enough for his sister. Most especially NOT a Reptilian.


    "Your Royal Highness. Reptilians are no less respectable than Avians or Insectoids. No less respectable than even us Mammalians."


    "But they live clear across the gxy! Once she leaves to go to him, it would be a very long time before we can see her again!" te growled.


    He jumped up off hismand seat and paced the floor back and forth.


    Back and forth. Back and forth.


    Suddenly, te heaved a sigh and waved a hand into the air.


    "Lyra." He called out.


    For a moment the screen was dark, but then the familiar beautiful face of his little sister popped up.


    "Hi Brother!" She grinned and waved her fragile thin hands. "Did you get the news???"


    "What news?" He gave her a deadpan look.


    "About the Crown Prince of Avalia, of course!"


    "Wait. You''ve already heard?"


    Lyra nodded, her bright blue eyes shining.


    "Isn''t he CUTE???"


    "Cute?" te muttered, reaching into his recollection of thest time he had met the Crown Prince of Avalia. He could hardly consider the man as ''cute''.


    "Lyra, the man is older than me by three years. How is that cute? He is MUCH older than you!"


    "He''s very cute, Brother. He has pretty brown eyes and a cute face, and he''s veryrge. Almost asrge as you!". She chattered excitedly. ***


    "And he is twenty-five. That''s hardly old, te. Brother Leo is that age!"


    "This is not Leo. This is a strange man from across the gxy."


    "Fine. If we get to know him then he won''t be so strange, right?"


    "What are you talking about?"


    "I want to get to know him better."


    "Lyra. You''re barely fifteen. Your debutant ball is not for another year. There will be so many men who will be asking for your hand. He''s just the first of many."


    "Yes, and I''ve met most of them." Lyra''s face scrunched up. "Theo, Brad, Shaun, George, d. I know them all."


    "But Lyra, this man¡­I can''t even pronounce his name!"


    "His name is Lkhagvas¨¹ren. You pronounce it Lag-va-suren. You can even call him S¨¹ren for short."


    "And how do you know this?" te narrowed his eyes.


    Lyra grinned. "I asked him."


    "Oh my God. You already talked to him?" te scowled. This was far worse than what he had feared.


    "Well, it wasn''t anything unusual. S¨¹ren popped up in the middle of my recital and yed his flute alongside my mandolin. He knew the song and was apanying me!"


    te just about had an apoplectic cow.


    "You met him already???"


    "Oh te. It was a recital. There were hundreds of people there, all performing some instrument. He was there to perform on his flute. Besides, I was with Mother."


    "Don''t tell me Mother has met him and she didn''t take you and run the other direction!" te''s eyes glittered dangerously.


    "Of course she met him. She was the one who asked him what his name was."


    "Did she know that man is the Crown Prince of Avalia?"


    "At that moment, we didn''t know." Lyra''s face crinkled inughter. "I don''t think he knew who we were either."


    te''s mouth turned into a single grim line.


    "Where are you now? I''ming to see you and Mother."


    "I won first ce in myst recital. We''re getting ready to go to my next recital. If I ce within the first three positions, I will be allowed entry into the Haribou Music University next year."


    "Where?"


    "We''re going there now. Mother has transportation already set up for Haribou."


    te sighed. "Be very careful. We are on the cusp of a war right now between the birds and the insects."


    "It will be fine. Haribou is not really located in any of the hot zones."


    "I will send a couple of warships to apany you."


    "Don''t you dare!" Lyra spat. "Do you know how embarrassing it is to have warriors follow me everywhere I go? Nobody wants to talk to me because they''re afraid of getting beat up!"


    She waved an excited hand and popped off the call.


    te cursed under his breath.


    It was tough being an older brother of a girl about to hit womanhood. She was going out of her way to make it hard for him to protect her.


    He turned to the attendant who was still standing next to him.


    "''Cute''? What the hell??? Who calls a full-grown man ''cute''???" te spat with venom.


    The attendant stood staring at the suddenly very interesting looking grey rug under his feet.


    ==============


    ***.. This is what S¨¹ren looks like.

 Chapter 179 - The Marriage Proposal

    Back at Dante''s Moon, aka Candace''s First Moon, the newlyweds were huddled together inside his office which he had fitted with a new bed so Candace could be with him when he worked.


    They had shared their first dinner in bed because they''d never left the bed. Since she didn''t really leave her bed, neither did Dante.


    Having left the Moon for so long, he had several stacks of documents waiting for him when he returned.


    None of them could be postponed, but he didn''t want to leave her side so he did what any man would have done under the circumstance.


    He moved the office desk towards the bed.


    While Candace hung out on the bed, he sat on the bed next to her, with the work desk pushed up next to him. As he sat there working, Candace curled her body around him for warmth and slept without a care in the world.


    He reached out his hand and absently fondled her hair as he continued reading through the documents that needed his decisions and his attention.


    As expected, Candace was tired.


    The once bubbly, active, dancer cat burr was now sleeping arge chunk of the day, only waking up to bathe and eat.


    And tryst with him. Of course.


    Dante took her every chance he got as soon as the urge hit him. He only had seven days, and already it was three days in.


    He was already starting to feel deprived of her love and time, and he hadn''t even reached the halfway point of the time that he was allowed with her.


    It made him feel extremely selfish, especially since he knew that most of his brothers hadn''t even had a chance to kiss her, let alone do anything further.


    But he couldn''t help it.


    His possessiveness grew exponentially every time he emptied his love and longing and yearning into her body, and it was all he could do just to hold onto the understanding that she was his wife and the child that would be growing inside of her would also be his.


    Thankfully, the initial pain of the Avgo exploding from his heart was only felt the first time. He had felt like some damned virgin who''d just had his cherry popped.


    Luckily, once he had delivered his Avgo shard, it was only intense pleasure thereafter, and Candace was always willing to let him have his ways with her.


    She was no less hungry than he was when it came to the ways of a man and a woman.


    But at the moment, she was sleeping and he could not awaken her just to have another love session with her. And besides, Leonardo kept checking in with him about her health.


    Yes, everything seemed normal. No, she was not having any issues other than her lethargy. Yes. The Avgo has been delivered. No, she wasn''t more tired than before.


    Partway through their conversation, te popped into the meeting.


    "Do you guys know anything about Lkhagvas¨¹ren, the Crown Prince of Avalia?" te asked without preamble.


    Leonardo shook his head. He''d never even heard of the guy.


    "He''s the firstborn son of King Batsaikhan. Quite an interesting fellow." Dante threw in.


    "Well, that ''interesting fellow'' just contacted Father and asked for Lyra''s hand in marriage when shees of age." te scrunched up his face like a prune.


    Leonardo and Dante whistled. Lyra was no less their sister even though they had different mothers.


    "Wait, how old is he?" Leonardo asked.


    "He''s twenty-five."


    "Holy shit. He''s my age!" Leonardo gasped. "Shouldn''t she be dating seventeen-year-old guys?"


    "Yeah well, he''s not interested in dating her. He wants to marry her as soon as she''s of legal age." te frowned.


    Dante scratched his brow. "He''s the Crown Prince of Avalia, right? Let me talk to King Batsaikhan. I have a resort that''s being built within his jurisdiction so I''ve had some dealings with him."


    "You have a resort in Avalia?"


    Dante grinned. "It''s mytest greatest thing. It''s called CandyLand, and one of the first ones being built is in Avalia."


    "We haven''t had much dealings with them, and suddenly, you''re building a resort and amusement park with our wife''s name on it?" te''s eyes popped with surprise.


    "Haha," Dante chuckled softly so as to not awaken Candace sleeping next to him.


    "Why not? The first CandyLand was very well-received. The Marsupials loved it."


    Dante signed off with them, promising to get back to them with whatever he could wrestle from the Avalian King and took a deep breath.


    Thest time he talked to King Batsaikhan, it was in the vein of a business man sweet-talking a monarch to allow for his resort to be built.


    Now, he was talking as a VERY concerned eldest brother of a Princess who was being pursued by the King''s Crown Prince.


    Technically, it would have been a good marriage arrangement. She would be going to a future King of a wide swath of gctic space and not just a second or third wife of a small monarchy.


    But that wide swath of gctic space was at least three days of traveling away. In between them was a no-man''snd that was sometimes dotted with space pirates.


    To get there safely required traveling with a small armada of at least half a dozen warships.


    Dante took a sip of his sangria and leaned over to kiss Candace''s angelic sleeping face before turning back to his mountain of work and the marriage proposal that was on the desk in front of him.


    Reluctantly, Dante ced a call out to the King of Avalia, Batsaikhan.


    "Prince Dante, we meet again." The strong angled nes of King Batsaikhan appeared before Dante. "The ns for your CandyLand is moving along very well. We can begin to give you the visuals of its progress within the week."


    Dante nodded. "I appreciate that, King Batsaikhan, but this call is not about that."


    King Batsaikhan''s eyebrows shot up.


    "Pray tell, is there a problem with our deal?"


    "No. I''m quite happy with it. I''m calling you about your son."


    "My son? Which of my two-dozen sons are you referring to?"


    "The Crown Prince, Lkhagvas¨¹ren."


    King Batsaikhan''s brows furrowed.


    "I''m listening."


    "He has asked for my sister''s hand in marriage."


    For a moment, the king''s face was a nk. It was obviously quite far from what he was expecting to hear from Dante.


    "But¡ªbut¡ª" King Batsaikhan sputtered. "He''s already engaged to be married to Lady Sharina. He can''t just¡­but how could he have known that you have a sister?"


    Dante sat back with a sigh.


    This was obviously not a deep plot hatched up by the kingdom of Avalia to develop political connections. This was a one-off situation that was solely ced at the foot of the Crown Prince himself.


    He pulled the marriage proposal up so the King could see it on visual.


    "Pray tell. What should we do with this marriage proposal from the Crown Prince of Avalia to my sister, the Princess Lyra?"


    King Batsaikhan snapped his jaw shut.


    To refute the proposal that had been extended by his son to the Emperor of Erenveil was to p in the face of the Emperor who ruled over the entire gxy, including his ratherrge section of it.


    But to ratify it would mean he would cause much internal strife with the royal family that had already betrothed their daughter to his son.


    After a few minutes of hemming and hawing, the King finally asked the question that was of utmost importance.


    "May I ask how old your sister is?"


    "She just turned fifteen." Dante said drily.


    The King sighed.


    "That''s a bit on the young side for my son. As you probably know, he is already twenty-five. He needs to get married soon and produce a few heirs within the next few years."


    "That is your kingdom''s issue and hardly my concern. I have here the proposal that has been sent to my father. What would you have us do with it?"


    King Batsaikhan nched. He had no words that he could say.


    "But¡­they''ve never even met¡ª"


    "King Batsaikhan. Do you know where your children are?"


    "What?"


    "I''m trying to tell you that they''ve already met."

 Chapter 180 - Crown Prince Lkhagvasüren Of Avalia

    It was only supposed to have been a final wild joyride to the ends of the gxy, ast shout-out to freedom.


    The Crown Prince Lkhagvas¨¹ren had simply wanted to experience what he''d missed growing up.


    On the pretense of leaving to check on a far-flung quadrant of Avalia, he had boarded one of his family''s warships and had ''identally'' entered into theputer systems a destination point that took him to the capital world of Erenveil.


    The thought of him doing something so wild and crazy filled him with great thrill and excitement. He''d always done what his father told him to do, and he always made the best decisions for his kingdom within the position that had been foisted on him since birth.


    But for once, he wanted to do something for himself.


    What kind of a Crown Prince was he that he''d never left his sheltered kingdom? He had never even seen the capital city of the Empire that ruled over all the kingdoms of the gxy!


    It had taken three days of dodging space pirates to get to Erenveil, but it was so very worth it!


    The thrill of being a targeted chased and then fighting back and winning was still singing in his blood. It was the first warship he''d ever blown out of existence, and the feeling was amazing.


    Erenveil was far more magnificent than he could ever imagine. The streets were wide and clean, and the buildings were spacious and reached into the skies.


    The people all looked beautiful and well-fed, and everything looked prosperous and shining like a gem. Erenveil truly was a shining jewel of a city and he was d he''d had the chance to see it.


    He had left all his people onboard the warship and had wandered the city with his two trusted warriors by his side, taking in the sights, eating the delicious food, and experiencing the excitement of all the activities that were happening.


    It was then that S¨¹ren hade across the Grand Recital which was recruiting participants for the chance to win a seat in the prestigious University of Music in Haribou.


    He didn''t care about the University, having already graduated from all the schooling he was ever going to need to do his job. He just wanted to enter for the chance to y one of his instruments.


    S¨¹ren was still standing at the billboard reading the requirements to enter the recitalpetition when, from the corners of his eyes, he could see his two warriors stiffen.


    He followed their gaze and looked upon a vision that was so heart-stopping, he forgot to breathe.


    A girl with hair so long and ck that it cast a deep blue hue in the sunlight was walking alongside her mother.


    She was tall and ethereal in her pale blue dress made of some dreamy fabric that made her look so fragile that she looked like a living goddess.


    He made a gesture to the two warriors standing beside him to follow, and along with the rest of the hopeful entrants, he had slipped into the recital hall.


    S¨¹ren waspletely unaware that one of his attendants had filled out the paperwork for him to be entered into thepetition.


    He waspletely focused on the vision of beauty that sat in the front row, smiling with excitement at all the contestants who were performing their various pieces.


    When his name was called to perform, he clutched his chest and nearly died of fright. He had forgotten that knowing how to y musical instruments didn''t meant that he had an instrument to y with.


    What was he supposed to do, p his hands, stomp his feet, and whistle with his mouth?


    Seeing his sudden fright, one of his warriors shoved a reed flute into his hand. He had snagged it from some careless contestant who had left it unattended somewhere between the front door and the auditorium.


    It was a small brown reedy looking thing that barely looked as if it could make a decent noise, but there was no other choice.


    S¨¹ren took a deep breath and walked upon the stage. If this flute was anything like the one he yed at home, it should at least give him something akin a decent sound.


    It didn''t matter at all. He wasn''t here to win anything, after all. He just wanted a closer look at his vision of loveliness.


    He should have known.


    No one would bring a cheap instrument to a ce like this.


    The flute looked like a wooden stick that had somehow managed to survive being broken off its branch. It even looked broken on one end.


    But oh my God.


    The sound that came out was clean, clear, and filled with overwhelming soul. It was a reed flute that sang like it was made in paradise.


    As his fingers pranced along the holes of the flute from pure muscle memory, he blew without thinking.


    He was not thinking because his mind had beenpletely taken over by the vision before him. he was standing onstage and looking directly at the girl sitting at the very front row with her mother.


    S¨¹ren had been attracted to her long slender legs and the waist-length of her raven hair from afar, but he hadn''t really had a chance to even catch a glimpse of her face.


    Being directly in front of her would have been the only way he could have seen her eyes¡ªher dazzling bright beautiful blue eyes that were, at that very moment, fixated on him and him alone.


    For a moment, S¨¹ren''s breath wavered as he choked on a single note. It came out as a passionate gasp of rapture, punctuating a deftly yed melody.


    It caught the attention of everyone in the room.


    The flute was yed as if the beautiful tall strong male warrior standing before them was falling into a helpless puddle of emotions before the woman of his dreams.


    That was actually not wrong.


    His heart thundered in his chest so rapidly it was making him almost dizzy. He could barely pull enough air into his lungs to blow into his flute because he kept forgetting to breathe.


    He took a ragged drag of precious sweet air and filled his lungs to finish out the song, whatever the song was.


    He no longer had a clue what he was ying but he hung on to the very end because he wanted to gift this song to the girl in the front row with the crystal blue eyes and the long raven ck hair.


    As his song ended, he pulled the flute from his lips and gazed at her with naked longing. It was not lost upon the woman sitting next to her.


    As soon as he exited the stage, the woman had cornered him.


    She was tall, with the same long ck hair as her daughter. Her eyes were just as brilliantly blue and she was absolutely beautiful, but her face was older. She had experienced much more and it showed in her face and her eyes.


    "You y well." She spoke up as she cut across his path.


    S¨¹ren''s men surged forward, but he held them back with a single gesture. This was the mother of the girl holding his fluttering heart in her hand.


    "Greetings, Mdy." He gave a deep bow.


    "You look well-bred. From whose family do you hail?" She asked, her eyes warming up.


    "My name is Lkhagvas¨¹ren. Ie from a farawaynd, west of the central spires."


    "Hmmm." The woman tapped her lips. "The only thing out there at the moment is the wilderness and space pirates. Are you a space pirate?"


    S¨¹renughed gently. "No, Mdy. I actually had to fight one of their ships to make it here in one piece."


    The woman''s eyes widened.


    "There is nothing beyond the wild space until you get to¡­oh my goodness. Are you a dragon?"


    "At your service, Mdy." He bowed again.


    "Hmmm. I''ve never heard of your name Lkhagvas¨¹ren before. But then of course, I''ve only heard of the reigning monarch of Avalia, King Batsaikhan."


    S¨¹ren smiled. "King Batsaikhan is my father."


    The womanughed.. "Well of course you look well-bred. You''re a Prince!"

 Chapter 181 - Separation

    "I want to invite him to dinner. We should talk with this man. He is the Crown Prince of Avalia after all." Royal Consort Gwendolyn lifted her chin and looked up at her husband.


    The Emperor harrumphed.


    "But he looks like he''s going to steal my daughter away!"


    "And what if he does? The man is obviously besotted with her."


    "And how did you know this?"


    "I could see the way he looked at her, so full of love and longing."


    "Pshah, Woman. Are you sure you''re not mistaking it just for lust?"


    "No, Rex. He looks at her the way you look at Anastasia." Gwendolyn gave him a dry look.


    The Emperor cleared his throat.


    "And this is your only criteria?"


    Gwendolyn thought for a second.


    "Why yes. Yes it is." Her blue eyes glittered. "I want her to be able to experience what it feels like to be utterly andpletely loved by a man. I want her to feel so loved by a man that his love spills out everywhere and cannot be contained."


    "But he''s a dragon¡ª" the Emperor protested. The dragons lived clear across the gxy! If he wavered on this, he would not be able to visit his daughter but once every few years.


    "And dragons cannot feel love? Are you saying they don''t know how to cherish their women?" Gwendolyn was insisting.


    The Emperor looked at her in confusion. Why was she suddenly so adamant about this? Did she truly want her daughter to be married that far away from her?


    "No, that''s not what I¡ª" he tried to say, but Gwendolyn cut him off.


    "Or are you saying that because my daughteres from my body, she does not deserve the kind of love that is reserved for special women like Anastasia?"


    The Emperor inhaled deeply. So this was what it was all about. He had encountered random jealous rages from each woman he''d married. This was just another jealous rage.


    He looked at his youngest wife with sad resignation. The glittering in Gwendolyn''s eyes were not anger. They were unshed tears.


    Emperor Rex sighed.


    He''d had five wives throughout his reign. Most of them were political alliances, and Gwendolyn was no exception.


    She hade to him through an alliance with the wolvenmunity, a young spirited girl full of sparkling life and spirit. She had enchanted him right from the start and eventually he had grown to love her.


    He loved Gwendolyn because she was the mother of two of his beautiful children whom he also loved dearly.


    She was also steadfast and unwavering, a solid anchor for him when turbulence swirled around them. It was also a godsend that she was a wonderful musician who yed her instruments for him and gave him much needed respite from his hard days at work.


    In bed, she executed wlessly and gave him so much physical joy, he often sought her out when he needed a caring, nonjudgemental shoulder to rest on.


    Gwendolyn was a raving beauty, there was no doubt. He sometimes found himself drowning in her beautiful blue eyes and her luscious lips. Her long legs were works of art that he''d spent many many long nights worshipping.


    But she was not Anastasia.


    Anastasia transcended beauty. Anastasia was the goddess of his soul. And try as he might to be fair to all of them, there was no way he could hide the fact that even after all these years, he was stillpletely and hopelessly in love with his Anastasia.


    "Do you feel cheated?" He asked, straight and to the point. Rex was never one to beat around the bush.


    Gwendolyn paused for a moment, and then nodded.


    "Would you be happier if you could find a man who would be able to give you what your heart desires?"


    For a moment, Gwendolyn said nothing. She turned away, looking into the distance.


    Then she took a deep breath.


    "I truly love you. Truly, I do." A tear slid down her face.


    "I just don''t want to be second or third in your heart. Is that too selfish? My heart cries out to be lovedpletely and fully just for being myself."


    She turned back to him with imploring eyes.


    "I want to be loved as if I am a precious person, and not just for what I can do or give to a man."


    She wiped the stray tear from her cheek.


    "If my daughter is able to experience that kind of love, it is worth it, even if¡­even if I have to travel to dragon realm to ensure my daughter gets to experience that kind of love that I never got."


    Emperor Rex sighed. "I''m truly sorry that you feel neglected. I always try to give you as much time as I can."


    He waved a hand. "We have two children to prove that I spend an inordinate amount of time with you."


    "But you don''t truly love me." She whispered.


    "I guess that depends on your definition of the word ''love''." He said with deep emotion.


    "My definition of love is what you give to Anastasia every waking moment of your life." She raised her head and stared straight at him. There was nothing clearer in her mind than this.


    Emperor Rex shook his head.


    "My dearest Gwendolyn, there are so many ways to love someone. In all the years we''ve been together, have you never felt any love from me at all?"


    She shook her head. "You only love me because I do things for you and I help care for your children. If you strip all that from me, there would be nothing left between us."


    "I want someone who truly loves me. Truly, deeply, madly loves me."


    "Gwendolyn." The Emperor shook his head. "That is a very transitory kind of love. It can''tst forever. Eventually, what grows over time is what you and I have. Deep love and respect and understanding."


    "Hmmm." Gwendolyn closed her eyes. "If it''s so transitory, howe you are still feeling it with Anastasia?"


    The Emperor took a deep breath. He couldn''t argue with her there. She spoke the truth.


    "What are you trying to tell me right now Gwen?"


    "I''m trying to tell you I need more from you. I deserve to be loved by you in the same manner that you love Anastasia."


    Emperor Rex shook his head with deep sadness. He did not want to lose her but he loved her too much to lie to her.


    "I cannot force my heart to do what it can''t do. I love you, Gwendolyn, but the love I have for you is different than the love I have for Anastasia."


    "It is a very subpar love that you have for me, Rex. I want to be loved as a woman, not just as the mother of your children."


    "We have a good solid marriage, Gwendolyn. You know that I would do anything I could for you."


    "I want you to love me in the same way you love Anastasia."


    The Emperor sighed again and shook his head. It wasn''t that he didn''t want to. It was that he couldn''t.


    "I will tell you that the love you have for Anastasia is not transitory and it won''t fade. I know that because it''s the same love I have for you." Gwendolyn''s eyes began to flood with tears.


    "I''ve been in love with you since the day I met you. I give you my heart and my soul, Rex. And that''s why I feel so soulless. It''s because it hasn''t been reced with your heart and soul."


    She turned away.


    "What you give me¡ªit''s not enough, Rex." Gwendolyn stated firmly. "I''m tired of beingst on your list."


    Her sparkling blue eyes turned back to him.


    "I want to separate from you."

 Chapter 182 - The Many Shades Of Love

    For a moment, the Emperor was speechless.


    Whoever heard of a Consort asking to be separated from her Emperor? It was a coveted position that thousands of women would give anything to be able to upy.


    And it wasn''t as if he treated her poorly! He really took good care of this woman, his youngest Consort. Didn''t she get anything and everything she wanted? He heaped jewelry and clothing on her. She lived in supreme luxury without any wants or needs.


    Their son te was Prime Warrior because she insisted that he was the best Prince for the job. Of course, the fact that te really was the best Prince for the job was only icing on the cake.


    He had gotten Prime Warrior at such a young age because his mother wanted him to be recognized as a valued Prince even though he would never be able to be Crown Prince.


    Emperor Rex had been more than happy to settle it in such manner. Happy wife, happy life, right?


    Emperor Rex gritted his teeth. He felt so wronged.


    He never even kept a harem!!! Lesser kings had dozens, even hundreds of women in their harem and he had none because he could barely even handle his wives.


    It was always either Gwendolyn, Fatima, Theodora, or Anastasia, and in fact,tely, it was mostly Gwen who he spent the nights with. He truly did have amazing sex with his youngest wife.


    She''d always been the easiest one to get along with.


    In over twenty years, she had never demanded much of anything. Never gave him any heartburn about anything at all. She had never told him that he needed to give a little more love to her.


    And suddenly, here she was, asking him¡ªno, TELLING HIM that she wanted her freedom???


    Absurd!!!


    All she ever had to do was ask him for more love and he would have dly given it to her.


    "I''m not letting you go anywhere. You''re my wife, and you have to stay with me."


    "You can''t keep me here against my will, Rex." She grimaced.


    "No, but I can ask you nicely." The Emperor rubbed his head with frustration. "We can try to work this out."


    Gwendolyn stared at a dirt spot on the floor with great interest.


    "Honey. Why is this all of a sudden a big deal when it''s never been a big deal before?"


    Gwendolyn choked down a huge lump in her throat.


    "Because I saw the way S¨¹ren looked at Lyra, and I suddenly realized that no man had ever looked at me in that way before."


    "In¡ªin what way?"


    "As if I was a precious flower that he treasured and cherished."


    Emperor Rex felt as if someone had punched him in the guts.


    Was he supposed to look at her every day as if he was a mooning calf?


    And then he realized that it was exactly how he looked at Anastasia. Every day. For almost thirty years.


    He stared at Gwendolyn and tried to analyze exactly what it was that he felt for her, and exactly what it was that he felt for Anastasia.


    And for the life of him, he could barely tell the difference, not because there was no difference but because there was so much difference.


    In in speech, they upied opposite but equal areas of his life.


    Anastasia was his morous goddess whom he adored. He cherished the ground she walked on. She was his angel that he put above himself, on a pedestal, and there was a good reason for this.


    For almost thirty years, he had constantly felt that he had topensate for Anastasia not getting the Empress throne she deserved.


    Her son, Dante, poor kid, should have been the Crown Prince all this time. Emperor Rex had also tried topensate by giving Dante every resource that he needed to do whatever he wished.


    Since all Dante wanted to do was umte wealth, the Emperor did everything in his power to support him in hopes it was enough to ameliorate the fact that the Crown Prince position had been taken from him so openly and unfairly.


    He cherished Anastasia with all his heart, but it didn''t mean she didn''t have her ws. She tended to be on the more reserved side, a bit cool with her ardor. She also rarely allowed him to do all the nasties he wanted to do with her.


    It took a lot out of him when he was with Anastasia because he was the one who actively gave to her anything she wanted.


    Gwen¡­she was the exact opposite! She was warm and caring, and she gave him everything he wanted and needed, in and out of bed.


    When he was too tired to give anything more to every single person or entity that wanted something from him, he went to Gwen to receive her ministration because she always filled him back up.


    The Emperor looked at his youngest wife and realized in bted panic. He needed her!


    From simple back rubs, to simple sex that he didn''t have to do anything fancy to enjoy, she gave it all.


    She yed her music for him when his mind was too tired to think, and she read him books when his eyes were too tired to look at the words.


    She sang him songs to put him to sleep when his brains were too active and couldn''t sleep. She mothered him when he needed mothering and cared for him when he needed care.


    And yes, of course he knew she loved him without reservation, without demanding anything in return, and without conditions. This was why he always sought her out when he was exhausted and could not give any more.


    She was his well of strength and his source of inspiration. For her to say that he did not love her was absurd! Of course he loved her!


    "Honey. I love you. I know I don''t say it enough," hardly ever actually, "but it''s true." He''d just assumed she knew because it had been twenty-five years and they''d never had any issues.


    "Well Rex. I don''t feel loved. All you do ise to me and use me. Out of all your wives, I get used by you the most and I''m just tired of giving and giving and getting nothing in return. I''m all used up, Rex."


    Gwendolyn turned away, missing the hurt that suddenly red in the Emperor''s eyes. He reached out to touch her, but his hand reached thin air as she moved away from his reach.


    "Gwendolyn." He called out. "Let''s talk about this more over dinner tonight."


    She paused.


    "I''lle to you at dinner time. We need to talk."


    Without turning back, she nodded and then kept walking.


    The Emperor heaved a sigh. He had to find a way to make her feel loved. Between now and dinnertime, maybe he could find some kind of gift for her.


    Gwendolyn kept walking. She had turned away from him to hide the tears that would not stop flowing. She hoped he would reach out for her, but of course, he had not stopped her from walking away.


    She had to go home and prepare for the dinner they would have tonight. Perhaps she could perform the newest song she had written on the harp for him. He always enjoyed her music.


    There was also a new dress that she''d saved for a special night with him. He''d never seen her in it.


    Maybe they could talk it out.

 Chapter 183 - Tying Up Loose Ends

    The twin Princes of Erenveil, Jason and Jared, made their way through the warship, striding with purpose and attracting attention from everyone around them. It wasn''t just because they looked serious and seemed to be in a hurry to get wherever they were going.


    It was more because they were so stylish! They looked like tall muscr male models, disying their own lines of fashion on the catwalk of a fashion media event.


    Their dark green hair drifted loose in soft shimmering waves framing their identical handsome regal faces. Their matching dark green outfits sported gold sashes syed across their torso like some war heroes. Their boots were soft ck hide made from the finest leather, and their gloves were the fingerless types that were all the rage across the gxy.


    These were not the usual outfits they normally wore. They had been out taking care of their fashion ventures and had shown up on stage in these ''costumes'' to introduce theirtest lines of men''s outfits and had left the event not long ago.


    It didn''t show in the way they strode without hesitation down the hall of the brig, but exhaustion showed deep within the shadows of their droopy brown eyes.


    They hadn''t had the time to change into more appropriate clothing to do what they needed to do. Heck, they hadn''t had a chance to even eat a decent meal all day.


    Unfortunately, there was something that they still needed to take care of before they went home for the day.


    They stopped in front of the double doors at the end of the hall and gave a wave to the visuals. Immediately, the doors opened into a brightly lit room with a single attendant.


    He quickly straightened up as he saw the Princes enter.


    "Your Royal Highnesses." He bowed.


    "We need to see our aunts and uncle." Jared stated.


    "Yes Sir. This way please." He extended his hand at a set of doors to his right.


    They followed him down a long dimly lit hallway filled with empty cell rooms. At the end of the hallway, there was a cell that held a single upant. It was their aunt Beatrice Cordera.


    On the wall next to her barred cell door, there was a visual that listed her crimes and the reason for her incarceration.


    First and foremost was the kidnapping and torturing of five Princes of Erenveil. Of the five, Jared and Jason had been the most injured. They would never forget this.


    Second on her list was aiding and abetting the attempted murder of the Prime Avgo Female. The Avgo Female was the de facto Mother of the gctic gics, holding the Avgo egg within her. This was not just a crime against a single woman. It was a crime agains the gxy.


    Third on her list of crimes was treason for aiding and abetting foreign forces against the mer-world of Emporia. Beatrice had, over night, turned into one of the most hated women in the gxy.


    One of those crimes alone was enough to send her to the gallows. With all three and it was only a formality.


    "Aunt Beatrice." Jason called out to the woman huddling on the cold floor of the cell.


    She looked up, her eyes dark and hopeless.


    "You will be sent out for public execution tomorrow morning at dawn." Jason informed her without emotion. "Do you have anyst minute words for us?"


    "Yes." She muttered. "Life as we all know it will bepletely destroyed within three generations if you allow the insectoids to take over."


    "Is that why you helped the birds to kidnap and torture your own nephews?" Jared asked with a stony stare.


    "I did not tell them to torture you, only hold you as negotiation tactic."


    "Did you think we were going to go with them peacefully?" Jason sneered.


    "If you had, you wouldn''t have been tortured." Beatrice threw back.


    The twins gave her a disgusted look. They could not believe she was their aunt.


    At this point however, it didn''t matter what she said. She would never leave this ce alive.


    "Well, good news for you is that we''re not as evil as you. There will be no torture. We''ll just put you out of your misery. It will be a nice quiet death."


    As the twins walked away, they could hear her low and rumblingughter. It chilled them to the depths of their souls.


    Of her entire family, Beatrice was the only one left in the hands of the twins.


    Beatrice''s husband, the former King of Emporia, had been taken away by Mattheus Cordera and had not been seen since. Helene had also been taken away by a group of Dante''s men and was was also missing.


    Once they finished with Beatrice, their attendant took them out of the maximum security cells and into the next section where security was less stringent.


    This side of the brig held their aunt Barbara and her husband Landry Cordera.


    For the crime of trying to sell off an entire world, they were also on the docket to be executed in the morning.


    At their urgent request, they had been ced in separate cells to keep them from attacking and killing each other.


    To this couple, Jason and Jared also asked if they had anyst minute words.


    "Yes!" Their aunt had snarled. "Tell that nasty King Dilbert that his cock is a tiny mushroom and his ass stinks."


    The twins looked at each other and without a word, nodded. They would be more than happy to convey those exact words to the King of Coraline.


    They moved onto their Uncle, who was sitting straight and unwavering in his cell. Uncle Landry said nothing, merely gazed at them with dry unblinking eyes.


    He had taken a gamble and had lost. What was there to say?


    Their final critical work done for the day, the twins flew back to their floating ind.


    Immediately after theynded, they stripped down to nothing and walked along the tiny sun-warmed stone path that led into the shallow stone paved pool in front of the house.


    As they waded into the cool water, several flower nymphs morphed from the flowers growing around the edge of the pool and began touching the water surface with their palms.


    Where they touched, steam rose. In a short time, the pond water was as warm as bath water.


    A couple of nymphs held up a white lily blossom and poured some sudsy scented oils onto their hair and began to wash their hair and body with the floral nectar.


    The twins leaned back agains the warm smooth rocks and rxed as the nymphs washed their bodies. Their hands were warm and smooth, working out the kinks from their necks, shoulders and back muscles.


    As the nymphs worked thether up onto their chests, the Princes sighed with pain-tinged relief. It had been awhile since they''d had a chance to get any kind of massage. They had brutalized their bodies for so long.


    At the moment the flower nymphs reached their manhoods however, the twins stopped them from going any further.


    The nymphs were not real, merely magically formed floral beings. To allow them to touch their bodies in such a sexual way was like receiving magical masturbation.


    The twins weren''t sure what would happen if they lost control, but at this moment, they guarded their Avgo shards with protective care.


    They did not want to identally discharge the Avgo shard before they could imnt them into their wife.

 Chapter 184 - Forsaken

    Gwendolyn twirled in front of therge full-length oval mirror, admiring her nephews'' handiwork.


    The palevender outfit with embroidered lc blossoms was stunning. The colors had been chosen with care and it deepened the blue of her eyes and made her skin glow with youthful dewiness.


    This was an outfit that she had ordered from Jason and Jared several months ago and it had finally been delivered, just in time for this special dinner with the Emperor.


    She touched the fabric with grateful hands. Even though they were her nephews, they were so inundated with work that she was lucky if she could get four or five outfits from them a year.


    Gwendolyn smiled with excitement.


    She was happy tonight. Rex had told her he wanted to talk with her.


    Perhaps he was finallying around and starting to understand her a little bit. Perhaps he could show her a little more love so that she didn''t have to feel as if it was a one-way love affair.


    Gwendolyn went to sit at the table. It had been specially prepared tonight, with fresh cut flowers arranged in a brilliant cut crystal vase. The scent of the flowers was making her giddy.


    Running through her mind was the new song she had just written for her husband.


    She picked up a mandolin and began plucking out the melody and the harmony. As the strains of the song began to y, she began singing in her soft husky voice of all the love she had in her heart for her husband.


    The attendants waiting in the corner to serve the food sighed with wistful joy at the opportunity to hear the Royal Consort Gwendolyn y her instrument.


    Had she not been a Royal Consort, she could have so easily been a first ss performer. She knew how to y so many instruments and she wrote so many songs that she could hold concert after concert and never run out of new songs to perform.


    As the minutes ticked away, Gwendolyn continued to y, going from song to song and pouring her heart out in her music.


    Half an hour went by and she was still sitting there, plucking out the songs. At first the songs were light and airy, full of joy and promise.


    As the hour wound down to the half mark, her songs began to get more mncholy. Still she yed. The Emperor sometimes got waid by advisors and attendants to take care of urgent situations.


    After an hour had past, Gwendolyn put down her mandolin and looked at her fingers. They were starting to bleed.


    She waved a hand and the servers brought the food to the table. It had been kept warm, so the fish came out hot and tasty and the vegetables were tender and sweet.


    Gwendolyn took a bite of the fish and put her fork down. She tried a piece of fingerling potato and chewed the tasteless thing for a few minutes before swallowing it down with some water. It tasted like a soft warm bup bag.


    Then she cut the fruit topped sponge cake and took a bite of her slice. She swallowed it down as best she could and put down the fork.


    Dinner was over.


    Gwendolyn waved her hand for the attendant to pour her some white wine. She sat there sipping on the wine, still waiting, hope against hope that he would show.


    Two hours in, she had drained two bottles of Chardonnay.


    Swaying on unsteady legs, she allowed her attendant to escort her to the bed where she sank down into the pillows. She was still breathing, but it was amazing that she was still alive, with such a bloody gaping hole where her heart had been.


    It was fast approaching the midnight hour when the Emperor''s youngest Consort fell into a drunken stupor.


    =============


    Morning came without the usual fanfare.


    Farmers and plebeians got awakened by cocks-crows and animal sounds of a busy morning, but within the silence of the Royal Pce, there was nothing to awaken the sleeping royals.


    The Emperor woke with a start.


    His eyes nced towards the window as the morning sun began to peek over the hills.


    He closed his eyes and heaved a sigh. He had fallen asleep and had slept till morning. He was supposed to have dinner with Gwen the night before and he hadn''t even called her to let her know he would bete.


    Correction. At this time of the morning, he was not justte, it was aplete no-show no-call.


    The Emperor heaved another sigh and furrowed his brows.


    This was bad. He needed to go to Gwendolyn''s ce and throw himself at her mercy. She was going to be so mad at him.


    He had gotten himself ready to go see Gwendolyn when he got a call from Anastasia, asking if he could talk with her for a moment.


    That moment turned into an hour, with Anastasia crying in his arms about her worries regarding her family''s world and about her son.


    He knew he was a little bitte with Gwendolyn, but how could he leave a crying Anastasia. He had to stay to reassure her that everything would be just fine, and that Dante was no less a Crown Prince than he''d been before.


    Gwendolyn would understand why he waste to dinner with her. Anastasia was so distraught. His beautiful Anastasia.


    Gwen was the most understanding wife he had. If he exined that he had to take care of something urgent, she would not be upset that he would be a little bitte.


    Exceptte turned into superte because they had made love, and there was no way he could call Gwen to tell her he would bete while he was in the middle of making love to Anastasia.


    And then superte turned into midnight, because their lovemaking continued until they were both so exhausted they could not move.


    By then, it was not even worth calling Gwendolyn because she was most likely sleeping, and waking her up just to tell her he couldn''t make it to dinner was asking for pain.


    And then night turned into morning and he now had to face the music. He would have to crawl to Gwen on bended knees and ask her for forgiveness. But Gwen always forgave him. She always understood.


    He was about to get up from the bed when a pair of arms reached out and pulled him back.


    "Where are you going? It''s barely daybreak." A soft feminine voice called out.


    "Anastasia. You''re awake." He turned back to look at his Empress.


    She was lying there, looking fragile and utterly adorable. His heart swelled with love for her.


    "Mmmhmmm. You woke up sighing and moaning, it woke me up. Is everything okay?"


    "With you by my side, how can anything not be okay." He smiled at her, all thoughts of anything elsepletely blown away.


    Anastasia reached out and began caressing his body. The Emperor quivered with delight as she began touching his manhood, making him hard again with need.


    They''d made love for hours the night before and ended up falling into an exhausted sleep, but it seemed his little Empress wanted more.


    Rex sank back into the embrace of his wife as everything around him became the touch of her and the feel of her surrounding him.


    There was nothing else and no one else¡­

 Chapter 185 - The Shit Umbrella

    It was daybreak on Erenveil, 5 AM Gctic Standard Time, when te got the word that his mother wanted to speak with him in person.


    He took off in his transport pod, straight for Erenveil but didn''t get there until noon.


    He called her the moment he touched down.


    "I''m here Mother. I just arrived." He took the steps two at a time, down to the ground from his hovering craft. "Give me a few more minutes and I''ll fly to you."


    He flexed his pecs and his wings unfurled behind him.


    FWOOOOMPH!!!


    te took off at a run, pping his wings for lift. Within seconds, he was airborne. Mother sounded distressed. He hoped nothing terrible had happened.


    Ten minutester, te hadnded inside his mother''s courtyard. He retracted his wings as he traipsed with long strides to his mother''s bed chambers.


    "Son." te heard his mother calling out to him.


    "Mother." He turned to see Gwendolyn''s stricken face and his heart pounded in fear.


    His mother''s normally lustrous long ck hair was matted and dirty with vomit that smelled like alcohol. Her usual brilliant blue eyes were bloodshot and sunken into deep dark pools of misery.


    He ran to her and picked her up into his arms.


    "Mother." He took her into the bathroom and gently ced her into the tub. An attendant followed him in.


    "I will take care of her, Your Royal Highness. Please wait out in the sitting area." She pushed him out of the bathroom and closed the door.


    te sighed and turned towards the sofa, feeling anger and hurt, wrapped within a huge nket of resignation.


    This was not the first time Mother had called on him for help.


    He remembered growing up seeing her broken and grief stricken over his father''s rather callous treatment of her. As a man, he understood the situation in a rational manner.


    The Emperor had five current wives after all, and Mother had always had a hard time sharing her husband with them all.


    It should have been a time-share, where each woman got a fair amount of days with the Emperor. If Mother had her allotted days, she would have been absolutely fine with it, but it never really worked out like that.


    Life happened, and sometimes, the Emperor could not fulfill his scheduled husbandly duty days because he was with one of his other wives.


    As a son, he had grown up seeing her filled with grief and rage at what she felt were his slights. He had vowed to himself that he would never treat his woman like that, and what had he gotten himself into?


    He''d be just like his mother, having to share a single lover with six other men.


    te was still sitting there on the sofa, sipping on a soda water when Mother came out of her bath.


    She was once again, regally dressed. Her long ck hair fell in a thick lush waterfall down her back. Her blue eyes sparkling once again, like a summer day.


    "Son." She smiled. "Thank you foring to my rescue."


    "Mother. What happened?" te stood up and came to her side and led her to the seat by the window.


    "Your father abandoned mest night after he promised to have dinner with me. I waited for him until midnight."


    "And drank all that wine by yourself." te raised an eyebrow.


    "Why not? It was there and avable tofort me."


    "Mother. It''s not good for you to imbibe that much."


    "It''s also not good for me to hang onto this wretched hope and dream that one day I will be loved by my husband."


    te narrowed his eyes. What was she saying?


    "I''m throwing in the towel, te. I give up. I can''t do this any more."


    "What do you mean?"


    "I''m leaving him, te." Mother stood up and stared out into the royal courtyard filled with oleander and roses. "I''m calling you to let you know that I''ve made up my mind to move forward and separate myself from the Emperor."


    "Mother." te swallowed. "This is your decision. You must do what you feel is best for yourself. All I can do is support whatever you decide."


    "Thank you, Son." Gwendolyn smiled bravely. She wrapped her arms around herself, as if she was hugging andforting herself.


    te stood up and folded his mother''s thin body into his arms. He loved this woman so very much. She had been a stalwart force in his life growing up.


    She was the one who taught him how to give without reservation, without demands, without strings, all his love to the woman who held his heart.


    "What can I do to help you? Do you need help to pack and move your things?" He asked.


    "I don''t need your help to move away from here. I will not take anything of his. I will leave with what I came with."


    "Mother, after twenty-five years, you deserve to take everything with you and much much more." te snarled.


    "Son. Our family is hardly poor. In fact, I am the wealthiest Royal Consort and I am still a Princess of the wolven world Kratoria."


    "That''s not the point. He owes you at least that much."


    "If I take all the things that he''s given me all these years, then he gets thefort of knowing I''ve been paid off for twenty-five years of giving him love." Her eyes hardened.


    "I refuse to give him that peace of mind. He can keep it all, with my grace."


    te sighed. He understood her thought process but he could not help feeling sorry for his mother.


    "What can I do at this time? Do you need help with transport? Finding a new ce to stay? I will do anything you ask."


    "Son." She turned back to face him. "I want you to talk to your father. Exin to him, man-to-man, why I am leaving. If I talk to him, he will simply think it''s just jealous rage. If ites from you, perhaps he will understand better."


    "Where will you be going to?" te asked. She was a full-grown woman but he was still very worried about her.


    "For now, I will travel throughout the gxy, explore ces I''ve never seen, and truly live for myself." She turned to him with a smile.


    "Then you will need one of my warships. We will turn it into a beautiful luxurious touring ship filled with everything you need, and staffed with all the people who will take care of you so you can live on it indefinitely."


    She nodded gratefully. That was an enormous gift her son had just given her. She knew how much those warships meant to her son.


    "And what of Lyra?" He asked.


    "She doesn''t know yet. She''s still so young, she needs to be here where everything is stable for her."


    "She needs her mother." te insisted. "If you leave, you must take Lyra with you. What do you think will happen to her if she remains here?"


    "Her schooling¡­"


    "Bring the teachers along."


    "Her friends¡­"


    "She will make new friends. If you give her the choice between her mother and her friends, she will absolutely choose you."


    "Her father¡­"


    "Will always be her father. She will simply be living in a different ce than her father, just as all of us children will. Once we grow up, we leave the nest and find our own way in the world. That''s just how it is."


    Gwendolyn''s eyes grew cloudy with worry. Finally, she nodded.


    "I will go talk to Lyra about my decision, and I will give her the choice to remain here with her father or to leave with me."


    She turned back to te with unwavering eyes.


    "Please go to your father and tell him of my decision. Be my strength and my determination."


    Her eyes teared.


    "I know that if I talk to him myself, I will fold before his male strength and then I will hate myself for not following through with what I need to do for myself."


    te nodded and pulled his mother back into his arms.


    This was going to be one of the most difficult conversations he would have to make with his father, but it was one that he was more than willing to make.


    He was more than capable of being his mother''s shit umbre.

 Chapter 186 - The Pursuit Of Happiness

    Before Gwendolyn left her residence, she contacted Rex'' attendant and asked him to convey a message to the Emperor to meet her at her home.


    "Stay here and wait. If he does not show up within the hour, go see him and make him listen to you." She advised him.


    "You asked him toe. Why would he note?" te asked.


    Truth be told. If Candace called on him, any time of day or night, he woulde to her if he had to drag himself on his hands and knees.


    "This is the Emperor we''re talking about." Gwendolyn sighed. "He stood me upst night. There is a chance he won''t show up today."


    te narrowed his eyes. "We''ll see about that.''


    As he sat in his mother''s boudoir waiting for his father to arrive, te contacted the shipbuilding factory.


    As luck would have it, thetest ship, the Raptor 880 was being outfitted at that very moment.


    "Pull out all the stops, Eddie. Turn it into a traveling hotel with all the luxurious amenities so my mother and sister can travel in style."


    "Yes, Your Royal Highness." The shipyard engineer responded.


    "Get a good designer for the interior. My mother''s favorite colors are gold and blue. Also, find the highest caliber staff. There will only be two resident travelers and their entourage."


    "Yes, Your Royal Highness." Eddie said with deference. This was for the Royal Consort and the Princess. Everything had to be absolutely perfect.


    "I also want a small fleet of guards within the ship to protect them, as well as a small armada of four patrol ships following them everywhere to protect them from space pirates and the likes."


    "That is a given, Sir. We will ensure highest possible levels of protection for them."


    He was still chatting with the shipyard builders when, from the corner of his eyes, he saw his father enter the boudoir.


    "Get back to me if you need anything." te said and disconnected the call.


    Time for someone to face some serious music.


    "te!" The Emperor eyed his son. "I didn''t know you were back, Son. Your mother called me so I came as soon as I could."


    te turned his frosty blue eyes at his father.


    "You''re quite a bitte though, aren''t you Father?"


    The Emperor quaked. How much did his son know of this?


    "I just got the word that she wanted to talk to me ten minutes ago."


    "Oh that." te waved his hand in a dismissive manner. "That was a dyed message she sentst night because you didn''t show up to have dinner with her."


    "Well, Son. I was dressed and ready to leave when there was a bit of an emergency that cropped up."


    "You could have called to let her know, Father. She waited for you all night long."


    "Why? She should have just eaten dinner and gone to bed. It''s not as if I''ll never see her again. Just a one-time situation¡ª"


    "Are you forgetting who you''re talking to, Father?" te interrupted his words.


    "Do you know how many times I have seen you stood her up and she had to eat dinner alone? Do you know how many times I''ve had to console her as she cried?"


    "Well, I''m a busy man. Emergencies crop up¡­"


    "Fair enough. What was the emergencyst night that you couldn''t call to let her know not to wait?"


    "I¡ªyou¡ª" The Emperor flicked his hand with irritation. "It is none of your business. I need to talk to my wife. Where is she?"


    "Your wife has made it my business when she asked me to tell you something that she wanted to tell you herself, except she''s too busy at the moment." te scowled as he felt a sudden anger erupt from his heart.


    "What could it possibly be that she couldn''t tell me herself?" Emperor Rex asked.


    "She is making arrangements to leave you, Father. She no longer wants to live with you."


    "She can''t do that!!!"


    "Why not? Is she a prisoner? Are you going to throw her into the dungeon, Father?"


    Emperor Rex sputtered. "Of¡ªof course not! How preposterous! But she can''t just leave without talking it through. We''re legally married!"


    He turned away. "She and I need to talk!"


    "Wasn''t that what was suppose to have urredst night?"


    "Yes, but I couldn''t make itst night. I''m here now!" Emperor Rex clenched his fists. "Tell her I want to talk to her NOW!!!"


    te shook his head and heaved a sigh.


    "Are you willing to wait all night in hopes that she wille to your side?"


    "Are you an idiot? I don''t have time for that nonsense!"


    "And yet, you made her wait all night because you think she has the time for that nonsense?"


    "That''s different."


    "How is that different, Father?"


    "She only has one husband to wait for. I have five wives to have to take care of!" He shouted.


    "Then would it be more fair if she took a handful of husbands herself. That should even things out a bit, don''t you agree?"


    Emperor Rex scowled and gave a thunderous roar.


    "Your mother is a Royal Consort. Consorts don''t have ''a handful of husbands''! They only have one husband, the Emperor!"


    "Interesting. Then why does Candace have seven husbands?"


    "Who says she has seven husbands???" The Emperor roared. "I only put three names down as her husband."


    "Father, all seven of us have agreed to be her husband." te smiled at him with a tinge of mockery.


    "You can''t. You must pick from one of the other Avgo Females¡ª"


    "I picked Candace."


    "Someone other than Candace!"


    "There is no other woman. Candace is my entire world. My only light. She is my wife."


    "That''s ridiculous!" The Emperor raged


    "No more ridiculous than you, snagging all the Avgo Females for yourself."


    "They needed a husband. There were no others, so I did them all a favor and married them."


    "A favor? Really? A beautiful talented woman such as my mother, and you think she was so pathetic that she couldn''t find a man who would be head-over-heels in love with her?"


    "She was the first of the Avgo Contestants to drop out."


    "She was attacked by rissa and got injured, which was why she was disqualified!" te spat out.


    "Yes, but I still married her anyway. That''s how we got you!"


    "Leaving me aside, are you trying to tell me that you married her to keep her from being a spinster?"


    It was so ridiculous that they both stood there, not saying anything.


    "Father." te sighed. "We tend to judge others by their behavior, and ourselves by our intentions. Your intentions are good, but your behavior towards my mother is not honorable. My mother deserves better, and frankly, I hope she finds someone better than you, Father."


    "You!!!" The Emperor sputtered, pulling his hand back to give te a good punch.


    te stood there in all his 6''3" muscr glory. He did not even bother to move his rock hard body that had been honed to perfection.


    He was a warrior. What could the Emperor do to him at this point in his life?


    Punching te would only result in painful knuckles for the Emperor.


    Rex realized that at thest minute and pulled his hand back. His son was Prime Warrior after all¡ªthe big hunk of muscle-bound male that was the result of his mother''s purple Avgo gemstone and his own mother''s Avgo-chosen gics.


    "Go call your Mother out. I want to speak with her."


    te shook his head.


    "Sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, Father, but Mother has left Erenveil."


    That wasn''t strictly true, but he wasn''t going to pull Mother out just to give his Father a chance to brow-beat her into staying.


    "What??? Where did she go?"


    "I don''t know. I gave her my ship and she took off. I didn''t ask her where she was going."


    "What kind of a son are you???" The Emperor shouted.


    "The kind who respects my mother''s need to find happiness. She has spent twenty-five years giving you and me happiness. Why is she not allowed to be happy as well?"


    The Emperor stared at his son, unable to respond.

 Chapter 187 - Island Paradise

    Lucas paced back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. He was starting to wear a path in the lush green grass that grew between his Antebellum beach mansion and the beach itself.


    All around him were palm trees and tropical ind flowers. The scent of the blooms were heavy in the air, along with the salty tangy smell of the ocean and the undting roar of the waves crashing onto the shore.


    He was back at his private ind on Erenveil, awaiting the magical moment when Candace would be transferred to him.


    It was a small kidney-shaped ind about 150 acres in area and was just remote enough so that he could retreat to it and be away from the crowds and the visuals.


    He didn''t want to have a lot of people around his secluded retreat which was why very few people even knew about this ind.


    He had certainly never invited anyone here, but Candace was his wife which meant this was her ind too. Other than his staff, she would be the only other person to haveplete ess to this ce.


    There were only a small group of staff members living on the ind at any given time. Atst count, it had barely passed a hundred people, including the children of his attendants and workers.


    Ever since Lucas had drawn number 2 in the lot to be with Candace, he''d been so anxious and nervous that he could barely eat or sleep.


    What if she hated his ind, or thought it was boring? What if she hated the ocean and got ind fever? What if she couldn''t stand him and felt as if she was stuck with him for seven days?


    It had been seven days of pure hell for Lucas, waiting and wondering what would happen once she arrived.


    Per their agreement, she would be transferred to the next Prince after dinner of the seventh night. It was now noon which meant he would have to endure through another six hours of this anticipation. Six more and she would be his.


    What in the world was he going to do? How was he going to approach this?


    He and Candace had never truly been together in any meaningful way. Aside from carrying her in his arms the night she was injured, Lucas never really had much skin time with her.


    He''d never even kissed her. What if she didn''t like the way he kissed?


    Lucas grimaced.


    Of course he knew how to kiss. He''d kissed hundreds, if not thousands of girls on set. But those were practiced kisses, done so that a shot would look good at certain angles.


    He knew all the techniques. Maybe that would be enough to keep her interested.


    Heck. He shouldn''t even be thinking about kissing her.


    He needed to talk to her first. Get to know her a bit.


    He had had barely even talked to her for more than a few minutes at a time. What if she thought he was boring?


    Lucas sighed with regret. He''d never done a single real thing in his life. All he''d ever done was to memorize lines written by script writers and pretend they were real.


    All his brothers were cream-of-the-crop, top of the line real males. Lucas was nothing but an actor.


    For the bulk of the time that she was participating in the Avgo Events, Lucas had to pretend to be Dahlia''s boyfriend just to keep an eye on the woman so she wouldn''t do anything bad to Candace.


    Because of this, he''d never gotten much of a chance to get to know her the way his other brothers had gotten to know her.


    It had always been a ''worship from afar'' situation for Lucas, and he didn''t know how to transfer that to a ''worship from up close''. He felt morefortable just keeping her at a distance so he could admire her without having to figure out how to make her like him.


    It wasn''t that he didn''t feel sexually attracted to Candace. He just couldn''t get over the fact that she really was his wife! That had happened out of the blues and Lucas was still trying to process everything that had happened internally.


    He couldn''t even think about having sex with her even though his body really needed her. He needed to at least make her feelfortable around him first.


    Lucas closed his eyes and scrunched his hair on both sides of his head with his fists as he calmed the turmoil that grew within his stomach.


    This was not going to go well, he could just feel it all falling apart. He just wasn''t good enough for her¡­


    Lucas was still pacing back and forth, when a hover pod whirred into sight, hovering above the sandy beach that fronted his mansion.


    A panel opened up on the side facing him and a bat jumped out, his wings extended.


    In his arms was a woman holding onto his neck with a firm sp. He hovered onto the beach andnded with a soft thud.


    Instantly, his wings retracted and he ced the woman gently onto the sand.


    Dante had brought Candace to his ind six hours early!


    "Candace!" Lucas called out, running up to the beach to meet her.


    The beautiful smiling face of his wife took his breath away.


    Erenveil''s bright summer sun drenched her blonde hair in pale gold highlights, creating a halo effect that made her look like an angel. Her hazel eyes looked warm green in this light, making her look even more enchanting.


    He felt his heart swell until it took up so much of his chest he could barely breathe.


    "I thought you wouldn''t be here until nightfall." He called out a bit hoarsely.


    "We''re a bit early, I''m sorry." Candace said.


    "No no! I''m happy to see you any time at all!" Lucas insisted with earnestness as he reached them.


    Dante smiled and patted Lucas'' shoulder. He recognized the breathless adoration that Lucas showed to Candace. All his brothers had the same reaction when they faced her. He was sure he did too.


    "We have a bit of an emergency so I have to drop Candace off a little bit early. I hope it''s okay with you."


    "Your other woman is not¡ªstill here, is she?" Dante pretended to look around for the nonexistent woman.


    "Tch!" Lucas clicked his tongue in irritation. "What other woman! There''s nobody here but me."


    "I don''t know, Lucas. You''re the big movie star. You have women everywhere you go!" Danteughed.


    Lucas sighed. "Don''t even go there. I am a happily married man! Don''t you dare make any wild-ass statements in front of my wife and make her mad at me!"


    Dante chuckled. It was so much fun to spin Lucas up.


    They made their way back to Lucas'' mansion where an attendant had already set up a table with a spread of fruits, pastries, and wines.


    Lucas pulled out a seat for Candace and had the attendant adjust the umbre so she would not have any of the warm summer sun beating down on her.


    Meanwhile, another serving maid handed Dante a mojito and, on hismand, gave Candace a lemonade.


    "What''s the emergency?" Lucas asked as he took a sip of his Bloody Mary.


    "It''s Mother Gwen.." Dante confided.

 Chapter 188 - Checks And Xes.

    "What in heck happened?" Lucas'' eyes widened. "She''s always been such a cool mom to all of us."


    "Yeah. She is a very loving and giving mom, I have to admit. But don''t worry, it doesn''t have anything to do with us kids."


    Dante sighed. "Unfortunately, Father has eyes mostly for my mom, and Mother Gwen felt slighted and discarded."


    Lucas grimaced and nodded.


    "I totally understand. My mother has issues with that too, but she doesn''t say much because, well¡­"


    Dante nodded. "Daisy is still very young and she needs Father. I know."


    "Ariana is not much older than Daisy though, and I''m sure Mother Dora is having the same problem." Lucas said grimly.


    "Before, when rissa was empress, Father didn''t make his preference for your mother so clearly exposed because he was trying to keep Mother rissa mollified."


    Lucas shook his head.


    "Now that your mother is Empress, he treats her as if the sun and moon rises only to shine their light on her. Meanwhile, the rest of his Consorts are like¡­inconveniences to be tolerated."


    Dante sighed. He was in a very unenviable position.


    As the son of the favored wife, he was damned if he did and damned if he didn''t. All he could do was silently watch the situation and helped out where he could.


    "So what exactly happened with Mother Gwen?" Lucas asked.


    "te asked me to take her off Erenveil and keep her on my moon until his new cruise ship rolls off the production line."


    "Wow. How long will she be staying at your moon?" Lucas asked.


    "It will take three weeks for the cruise ship to bepletely decked out in all the luxurious detailing that te wanted done.


    "Meanwhile, Mother Gwen doesn''t want to remain on Erenveil for the duration, so I''m taking her away right now."


    "And Lyra?"


    "She will be leaving with Mother Gwen as well."


    Both brothers looked at each other with sad eyes and sighed.


    They chatted for a few more minutes about incidentals and then Dante took off for his transport pod.


    As Dante''s pod rose off into the stratosphere, Lucas turned back to Candace. He had no idea what to say to her.


    "Do you¡ª"


    "I think¡ª"


    They both spoke up at the same time.


    "You first." Lucas smiled.


    "No, you first."


    Lucasughed. If she was going to be like that, then fine.


    "I was going to ask you if you wanted to go to your room and rest a bit."


    "My room?" Candace blinked.


    "Yes. Did you think I was going to make you camp outside somewhere?" Lucasughed.


    Candace shook her head. "I just assumed¡­"


    "Assumed???" Lucas looked at her.


    Candace stared at him for a moment and shook her head.


    "Never mind."


    "No. Not never mind." Lucas reached out and touched her face. "I want to know what''s on your mind."


    "I just assumed we''d share a bedroom." Candace murmured, her face looking a bit embarrassed.


    Lucas smiled. "I didn''t want to seem as if I was pushing myself on you. I figured you''d need some time by yourself and just rest."


    "But I''m your wife." She looked up at him.


    "Yes, but we barely even know each other. I want you to getfortable with me and we can slowly build up from there."


    Candace nodded without saying anything more.


    "Come. Let me show you your room." He got up and escorted Candace into the house, through the sprawling antebellum mansion until they reached the hallway at the back of the house.


    There was a set of double doors, which he threw wide open to reveal a small anteroom with a seating area at the center.


    Two sets of doors stood side by side on either side of the seating area.


    "You get the right side and my room is on the left." Lucas indicated with his finger.


    "Come''. He reached out and opened the door to his right, revealing a sudden burst of sunlight.


    Candace''s mouth opened with a gasp.


    She walked in and immediately went to the six sliding ss doors that looked out directly onto a sandy beach with pale white sand.


    "Oh my gosh! We''re right on the beach!!!"


    Lucas smiled and let out a tiny breath.


    ¡Ì Check one. She liked the beach! First hurdle passed.


    She turned back around and saw therge king size bed with the pale aqua covers and the sandy colored shag rug on the floor, mimicking the ocean beyond.


    There were sea shells embedded on the warm sandy sto walls, and fresh bouquets of white stargazer lilies in every corner.


    "Oh wow! This bedroom is amazing!!!" She gasped and threw her body onto the bed with the grace of a wine barrel, which was to say none at all.


    "Hmmm. This bed feels amazing! And it smells good too!" Sheughed with glee as she squeezed one of the pillows into her body.


    Lucas let out another breath.


    ¡Ì Check two. She liked her room. Second hurdle passed.


    "What does your room look like?" She turned back to him with expectant eyes.


    Lucas blinked. He wasn''t expecting that.


    "Umm. Let me show you." He walked over to the corner where the seating area was and pointed to a button on the wall.


    "You see that?" He indicated the button.


    "Wait!" Candace jumped up. "Let me push the button!"


    Lucasughed. "Go ahead."


    She ran over to where he stood and pushed the button. Immediately, the wall before her sank down into the floor, revealing another room that looked very simr to hers.


    Candace''s mouth dropped. "Oh wow. It''s a double room!"


    "Yes. I installed buttons on both sides so you can make the walls between us appear or disappear any time you wished without needing to use any magic or knowing how to call theputer for help."


    "So I could choose to sleep by myself or share a room with you any time I wanted."


    Lucas nodded, hoping she wouldn''t take it the wrong way.


    "I''m not¡­not trying to say that you have to share a room with me or anything, Candace. I respect your wishes and¡ª"


    "I never want to see that walle up between us." Candace announced suddenly.


    "What?" Lucas asked even though he heard her very clearly.


    "I said¡ª"


    "I know what you said." Lucas cleared his throat as something suddenly lodged itself there.


    "Are you sure you¡ªwe¡­"


    "Aren''t you my husband?"


    "Yes, but¡ª"


    "Then why are you putting up walls between us?" She turned to him with herrge hazel eyes.


    Lucas gazed at her, unable to say anything. What could he say. He was trying to give Candace her own private space if she wished, and she was saying she didn''t want it.


    X Three. That was a major fail. She did not like the fact that he had given her, her own private space.


    He knew it. She had barely gotten here and already, he had messed up.


    His eyes grew sad, even as she ran into his room and began opening the sliding ss doors.


    "Oh wow!!! Thebination of my sliding ss doors and your sliding ss doorspletely opened looks like we have one huge room with an entire wall that''spletely missing!!!"


    She turned bright shining eyes towards Lucas.


    "I love this ce!!! You did such an amazing job!!!"


    Lucas didn''t know whether to be happy or sad. He nodded and watched as she went about the ce, rearranging pillows and chairs to her liking.


    "I don''t have any clothes or anything." She turned back to him with a mischievous grin. "Maybe I can borrow some of your shirts."


    Lucas blushed red as the sudden thought of her small body wearing one of hisrge white shirts came to mind.


    He hoped he could survive these seven days without devolving into a jello mess¡­

 Chapter 189 - Yes Or No

    Lucas frowned. He hadn''t thought about the fact that she would arrive on his little ind without anything at all.


    With the twins providing for all her clothing and fashion needs, he had just assumed that she would bring her clothes with her when she came to him.


    Instead, she hade with nothing but the clothes on her back, which meant he would have to provide everything she needed right here on this ind.


    "We could see what we can scrounge up for you." He murmured, his mind darting here and there, trying to figure out how to get clothing for her.


    The women on the ind all wore bright floral skirts with bandeaus across their chests. Maybe he can get some of those for her¡­


    He was still thinking through the clothing situation when she spoke up.


    "I don''t need much. We''re on an ind. We''re not really going to go anywhere, are we?"


    "No. But you still need clothes."


    "Why? Can I just live in a bathing suit all day? We live right off a beach anyway."


    Lucas smile. Bathing suits were easy to get, and if that was all she wanted to wear all day, he would be more than happy to amodate.


    "You can do whatever you wish, Darling. There is no one here to tell you what you can and cannot do."


    His eyes grew serious. "I want you to understand something. You''re not here on vacation at some resort hotel and have to abide by anyone''s rules. This is our home."


    "Our home." Candace smiled with a dreamy look. "You make it sound so amazing and delightful, and I look around and I can barely believe it."


    He shrugged. "However long it takes for me to convince you, whatever it takes to make you believe it, I will do it."


    Candaceughed. "You can start by giving me a weing kiss."


    "Kiss?" Lucas swallowed.


    Damn it. Why did God make him so shy? Why couldn''t he have been gifted with an overabundance of self-confidence like all his brothers?


    Candace smiled and took a couple of steps toward him.


    Lucas fought the urge to back away.


    Something in his eyes must have shown his nervousness because she stopped.


    "Is everything okay?" Candace''s face was full of concern.


    "Yes. Of course. I just¡­" he paused. Why was he so hesitant to kiss her?


    Candace''s face fell. "Okay. I need to ask you a few questions and I need for you to be straight up with me. You don''t need to say much, but you need to be absolutely honest with me."


    She gave him a serious look. "I don''t want you to give any exnations or excuses. I just want a yes or no answer. Can you do that for me?"


    Lucas looked at her for a moment. She was scaring him.


    He nodded.


    "Hmm. Ready?"


    Lucas nodded again. Sweat began beading on his forehead even though the gentle cool breeze from the beach was blowing into the room.


    "First question." She held out her index finger.


    "Do you love me?"


    Suddenly, the thundering of the surf outside their window pounded in a stato alongside his rapidly beating heart. He couldn''t tell which one was which.


    Holding on with everything that was in him, Lucas nodded.


    "I cannot heeeaar you." She called out in a sing-song voice.


    "Y¡ªyes." He said hoarsely. At least that was an easy question.


    Candace smiled. "Second question." She held out two fingers.


    "Are you gay?"


    "What?" He sputtered. That was so far out in left field, he could bare grasp what she was saying.


    "That''s not part of the allowable responses. You only get a ''yes'' or a ''no''."


    Lucas coughed. "No."


    Candace grinned.


    "Third question." She held out three fingers.


    "Have you ever kissed a woman before?"


    Lucas gave her an exasperated look. "Of course I have."


    "Try again. You only get a ''yes'' or a ''no''."


    "Yes."


    "Good, good." She grinned widely. "Fourth question. Are you a virgin?"


    Lucas suddenly choked up. His face turned red and he looked away.


    He suddenly thought about lying to her, but immediately discarded that thought as he realized she would find out anyway, as soon as he tried to deliver the Avgo shard to her.


    Lucas opened his mouth and tried to say the word, but his throat wouldn''t work and the word got stuck there.


    Suddenly, he felt his worlde crashing down around him. He wanted crawl into a hole and hide.


    This was such a huge fail! Why did he think he could do this?


    He could not even pass her initial screening and now she was going to know just how much of a loser he was.


    Candace''s face turned serious. Her lips lost its smile.


    She took two steps and reach his side. As she got closer, her head tilted up higher and higher until she was inches from his 6''2" frame.


    "You''re really tall."


    Lucas cleared his throat. This one he could answer.


    "Yes."


    "I want to kiss you, but I can''t quite reach you." She smiled. "Could you bend down a little for me?"


    She reached up on tip toes but there was still a gap of six inches between her face and his.


    "Yes." He answered again and lowered his mouth onto hers.


    So warm.


    So sweet.


    His mouth was barely touching her, but the feels were so intense he could hardly stand it.


    A tingly feeling started from his toes and fingertips and sparkled up through his limbs, all the way into his torso.


    Candace reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck. She opened her mouth and suddenly, her tongue was probing into his mouth.


    It was then that Lucas lost his head.


    Gasping with barely suppressed longing, he cradled her head within hisrge hands and began tasting her. Truly tasting her.


    All the techniques he''d learn to be able to make movies werepletely thrown out the door.


    At this moment, he was like a brand new baby feeling his way around with only his mouth to guide him and trying to figure out how to do something for the first time.


    Going on instinct, he began to touch her with the sole intention of feeling her. His tongue tentatively prated her mouth in soft caresses.


    All the nerve endings on his tongue, his lips, his mouth were alive and tingling with sensations so intense that his breath kept getting stuck in his throat.


    Waves of pleasure rolled over him as he struggled to retain sanity. Her lips were the only thing he could taste, touch and feel. There was nothing else that existed.


    His breath came in gasps as he struggled to get enough air into his lungs.


    "Breathe through your nose Lucas." Candace was saying gently into his ears.


    Lucas pulled back, his eyes barely focused on her.


    "Yes." He said the only word he was allowed to use.


    The man who kissed hundreds of women as a matter of course during his working life had finally experienced a real kiss for the first time.


    It was truly an eye-opening experience.


    He had finally found out the difference between kissing someone he truly loved, as opposed to touching mouths with random strangers just to get a good movie angle.

 Chapter 190 - Buttons

    Lucas bent down and pressed a kiss to her forehead followed by a trail of kisses on her cheeks all the way down to her warm neck, concentrating his exploration on the hollow between her neck.


    The natural scent of her skin was like warm vani and he could not get enough of the feel of her soft skin. His hands roamed along her back and her shoulders, touching and feeling, caressing and holding.


    He was still standing at least, and as long as he avoided her lips, he would not sumb to the intense feels and devolve into a pool of jello at her feet.


    Candace was gripping his long blond hair, breathing with shallow uneven breaths. Her excitement was propelling him to new heights.


    He began seeking out the pulse points, picking up on the strong scent of¡­


    Blood.


    Lucas exhaled a ragged breath.


    He had avoided her lips only to encounter the warm living blood running through her body.


    He could smell the blood running through her arteries and his blood began to boil. He was a lion, but he was also a blood bat, and right now that blood bat side of him was craving her warm blood.


    Lucas licked at the creamy warm expanse of her neck as if he was priming it for the ultimate soul kiss.


    His fangs began lengthening, even as he fought down the sudden primal urge to pierce her with his sharp teeth.


    He could hear the pounding of his own blood, running through his head. His mouth opened and he hissed with anticipation.


    At thest moment, Lucas pulled back.


    What was he, stupid?


    She had barely arrived and he was already getting ready to bite her. He needed to control himself or she would hate him for always.


    With nowhere else to hide, he rested his head on her shoulder and admitted defeat. He needed her so badly for everything. Emotionally, physically, mentally, bloodily.


    He groaned. Was bloodily even a real word...


    Candace smiled, unaware of the internal struggle that was raging inside Lucas.


    "Thank you for the wee kiss. I should have known."


    "You should have known what?" He asked with a ragged breath. That he was a noobie? A terrible kisser?


    Lucas hugged her body close to his and looked away, trying to hide his fangs.


    Sheughed. "I''ve seen you kiss so many women in your movies that I should have known you''d bepletely professional at it."


    "What?" He could barelyprehend what she was saying. It wasing from so far out of left field he could barelyprehend.


    Suddenly he was embarrassed that she had seen him kissing all those women, even though they were all just acting out scripts in a show.


    He was about to exin to her that none of that was real, and that he was just doing his job, but Candace had already jumped onto that train of thought and it had taken off from the station.


    "I don''t think I ever told you this, Lucas, but I was always a fan of yours." Candace pulled back from his embrace, her eyes bright with excitement.


    "Your romantic scenes in your movies, especially your kisses are amazing! They always had the power to melt my insides because your kisses are always tender and so full of emotion."


    For a moment, Lucas didn''t know what to think.


    She thought¡ªshe thought his movie kisses were tender and full of emotion? She thought he was a practiced kisser???


    He couldn''t believe she was standing there telling him that her insides melted when he kissed other women. That just sounded so strange to him.


    And here he was, not just melting from her kiss, but actually exploding into a million tiny shards of pleasure.


    Lucas looked at the waves crashing onto shore to hide the confusion in his eyes.


    What did he know. This was the first real kiss he''d ever experienced.


    She reached for his hands and pulled him towards the bed.


    "Come. Let''s just hang out here and watch the surf."


    He followed her to the bed and sat down next to her, not sure what to do next because she still had a hold of his hands.


    Well, at least hanging out and watching the surf was easy and not so soul-shattering.


    "I can''t believe we have such an amazing view." Candace was murmuring into his ears again. "It''s just¡­"


    She looked at the sliding ss doors with a troubled look.


    "What?" Lucas turned towards the ss panels. Didn''t she just say she liked it?


    "It''s wide open like this. Anybody could just walk by and see us in bed¡­"


    Lucas shook his head andughed. "This is our private beach. Nobody is allowed on this beach. They have other beaches to enjoy, just not this one."


    "I see." She smiled. "So I could just bepletely naked and walking around in his room and no one would be able to see?"


    Lucas blushed and looked away. "No one but me."


    Candace smiled. "Would it bother you very much if you saw me naked?"


    He took a deep breath. Yes, of course it would bother him very much, but he couldn''t say that to her.


    "No." He lied, but he never got to say much more as Candace reached for his shoulders and pressed him down against the bed.


    "Good answer." She smiled. Her fingers began touching the neckline of his button-down white shirt.


    Lucas'' breath got caught in his throat again as Candace slowly began unbuttoning the topmost button.


    What was he supposed to do? Was he supposed to unbutton her shirt too?


    But her shirt didn''t have a¡ªany buttons.


    It was a pull-over which meant that as soon as he pulled it over her head, she would bepletely exposed and he would be able to¡­


    He took a deep breath.


    She was already down to his fourth button. Two more and his shirt would bepletely unbuttoned.


    Oh Lord. Only two more buttons and she would be able to¡­to do what?


    He froze as she finished unbuttoning his shirt.


    "Hmm. You''re blond but your skin is much darker than your brothers." She reached out and touched his abs.


    He gave a swift intake. Her hands were running up and down the muscles of his abdomen as if she was memorizing every detail.


    And then her hands moved higher and Lucas stopped breathing.


    Her fingertips began drawing circles around the areoles of his nipples, and then she began rubbing the tips of her fingers onto his nipples causing his body to jerk and tremble.


    Oh God, what the hell was wrong with him???


    He was a man, for crying out loud. How was it possible for his nipples to feel all these sensations?


    A groan broke free from his throat as his lids lowered with passion.


    "Hmmm. I want a taste," she murmured and lowered her head onto his chest.


    Lucas shut his eyes as her lips touched his male breast, grazing it slightly as she slowly took his entire nipple into her mouth.


    "Haaaaahhh¡­" he breathed gently feeling her tongue and lips suckling him gently.


    He reached out andbed his fingers through her long honey blonde hair as she continued to suckle his nipple with her mouth and fondle the other nipple with her finger.


    Just when he thought he couldn''t contain all the feelings inside of him, Candace''s hands wandered lower and began unfastening the top button of his pants.

 Chapter 191 - That Really Hurt!

    [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT]


    Lucas gasped. No no!


    He wasn''t ready for this yet.


    He didn''t want her to see that his manhood had swollen to this degree. She would think that he¡­that he''d been thinking unsavory sexual thoughts about her.


    That was too embarrassing. She would think he wasscivious and untrustworthy as a man, that all he saw when he looked at her was sex.


    That was true to some extent, but he also admired her and adored her. He freely admitted that he loved her. There was no doubt in his mind.


    But if she saw how hard he''d gotten, she wouldn''t understand that. She would just think he was super horny and there was nothing beyond the physical.


    Reaching out, he stopped her hand from roaming down.


    Candace stopped kissing his breast and looked up with a questioning nce.


    "Candace."


    "Hmm?"


    "It''s, it''s not that I don''t want you and me to," he coughed. "You know."


    She blinked herrge hazel eyes.


    "Shhhhhh. I want to look at your body. I''m just going to look."


    Lucas'' face turned beet red. It wasn''t night time. It was midday and the sun was shining into the room.


    They weren''t even under the covers. He couldn''t hide anything!


    She would be able to see everything!


    To his intense embarrassment, she was already starting to pull his pants off.


    He stared in dismay as hisrge pinkish red bulbous head emerged as she pulled down his pants.


    "Lift your butt up a little," she ordered.


    Without thinking, he did as he was told and she quickly stripped his pants off.


    In seconds, his legs and torso werepletely bare for her to inspect.


    All the clothing she had allowed him to keep was his white broadcloth shirt that was covering nothing more than his shoulders and upper arms.


    Everything else that actually needed to be covered was out in the open and exposed to the cool breezeing from the beach.


    "Ooooh! Your skin is dark everywhere except for this part." She pointed at his crotch. "Your natural skin is very pale."


    Lucas swallowed, feeling the embarrassment flow through him in waves.


    He was a natural blond with very pale skin. Maybe she didn''t like men with pale skin. Maybe she thought his manhood was too white.


    He blushed at the thought.


    "You''re very big." She smiled as she looked at his swollen shaft.


    Lowering her head, she touched her lips to his penis and pressed a kiss.


    Lucas gasped, his fingers clenched and unclenched.


    "Stop, Candace." He mumbled hoarsely.


    "What?" She raised her face and looked at him.


    "I said stop."


    "Why?"


    He frowned. Did he have to say it out loud?


    "I don''t want to risk losing the Avgo shard. I have to¡ªI need to deliver it into your body."


    Candace nodded.


    "In that case, the sooner we do this, the better. Once it''s done, then we can rx a bit and go a little slower the second time around."


    She grimaced. "I have to warn you though. The first time is going to hurt pretty badly."


    Lucas sighed. He might be a virgin but he wasn''t stupid.


    "I''m a man. It''s not going to hurt me to prate you."


    "I''m not talking about that." She reached out and touched his chest, where his hearth was thumping in rapid stato.


    "When the Avgo bursts from your heart, it will hurt."


    She looked into his eyes with her warm hazel eyes.


    "That''s not what normally happens because men don''t normally have Avgo shards embedded inside their bodies, but you Avgo men are a special case."


    Her voice lowered. "At the time of your release, it will burst from your heart and you will feel some difort."


    "But don''t worry, it won''tst long, and it''s only a one-time urrence." She smiled reassuringly.


    "I see." Lucas said, not seeing anything at all and was hardly reassured.


    She already had two shards imnted into her womb by his brothers. If she said it was going to hurt him, he had to believe her.


    "I¡ªwe need to imnt it now." He said with as much conviction as he could muster.


    He was so close to the edge that if he didn''t imnt inside her, he was afraid he was going to burst and lose the Avgo shard.


    "No time like the present." Candace reached out and touched his handsome face with her warm and gentle hands.


    "Ready?" She asked.


    He nodded. He was still dazed at how quickly this was progressing.


    "Help me?" She pulled at her shirt and they spent the next few minutes undressing her.


    By the time she waspletely undressed, he was almost ready to explode.


    Her breasts were full and creamy white with pale pink aureoles and nipples, and her body was lithe and perfect and tight; a beauteous dancer sitting on hisp.


    Candace could sense his desire rising. There was not much time for a long, drawn-out forey session for his first time. They needed to get it on, and quickly.


    She took his hand and guided him to her womanhood. With practiced ease, she began to use his fingers to touch her.


    It didn''t take long for him to learn how to caress the softness of her petals and the small swollen bud of desire that sprang forth from within its hooded cover.


    From within her, a fragrant slick wetness began to discharge as she started to melt into his hand. The scent was so primal, it was driving him mad.


    Candace raised her head and pursed her lips as a gentle moan was released from her throat.


    "Haaaah. That feels so good," she said throatily.


    Lucas'' brows furrowed, even as he continued to stroke between her thighs.


    He didn''t know how much longer he could endure this tight engorged feeling of needing to release so desperately. It was starting to be painful for him.


    Feeling his great need, Candace wasted no more time.


    Reaching down, she gently positioned the head of his shaft within her body.


    She was so wet already that the head of hisrge shaft slipped into her without any trouble.


    With a gentle motion, she slid down onto hisrge shaft, sitting directly on top of his manhood.


    "Aaargghhh!!!" Lucas groaned as he felt the sharp delicious sensation of being buried to the hilt within the woman of his dreams.


    His body took over and disengaged his brains. He could no longer think rationally. All he could do was feel the sweet sacred sensation of merging and bing one entity with his beloved precious wife.


    Candace began bouncing on him.


    Once.


    Twice.


    Three times.


    "Uggggggghhhhh!" He grunted and shot his entire payload into her womb. His pelvis arching as he bucked upwards, lifting her entire body up off the bed.


    At the moment of ejaction, he clutched at his chest, his face scrunching up in pain.


    The pleasure roiling outward from his loins was beyondpare.


    At the same time, the pain from his chest was so sharp, it was as if he''d had a sudden heart attack.


    "Oh God!" Lucas moaned as his amber eyes teared from the pain. "That really hurt!"

 Chapter 192 - [Bonus ] Gigolo Playboy Of The Galaxy

    [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT]


    "I''m sorry." Candace whispered. "The second time around, it will be much better, I promise."


    Second time? He was allowed a second time? She was going to let him do this again?


    Lucas took a deep breath, his shapely full lips quivering with anticipation.


    The pain had started to recede from his memory.


    All that was left was the fact that Candace was still lying on top of him and he was still inside her body.


    His eyes began to widen with surprise.


    Not only was he still inside her body, he was starting to harden again.


    Was that even possible? Wasn''t there supposed to be a certain amount of time that was required for him to¡­recover or something?


    Candace chuckled.


    "You''re a feisty one. I can feel you getting hard again."


    Lucas closed his eyes and tried to think of other things so that he wouldn''t be so obvious about his growing need for her.


    But of course, his body continued to betray him.


    "Lucas." Candace was murmuring into his chest as she yed with the curly blond hair grown there.


    "Hmmm?" He mumbled, still trying to control the raging beast that was his little brother down there.


    "All your brothers told me you had more girlfriends than any of thembined."


    Lucas stiffened. "That''s mostly the work of my publicist. He seemed to think that if I was seen with many many beautiful women, I would seem to be more desirable to the general public."


    "So none of them were your girlfriends?"


    Lucasughed. "I didn''t say that."


    He lifted her face and looked into her eyes. "I have had more girlfriends within thest ten years than I can even count. They all imed me as theirs even if we''d only been seen out just once at a coffee shop havingttes."


    He shook his head. "It boosted their poprity so they could move forward with their singing career, added to their modeling profile, or gained them better acting roles."


    He kissed her temple. "It didn''t hurt my career either so I just let my publicist say whatever he pleased."


    Candaceughed gently. "So you became Husband of the Gxy."


    Lucas growled a deep rumbling in this throat.


    "No. What ended up happening was, I turned into a huge gigolo yboy of the gxy." He turned to Candace with a serious look in his amber eyes.


    "But I want you to understand something. I''m a married man now. All of that nonsense is going to stop." He crushed her body into his arms and pressed his cheek onto the top of her head.


    His eyes grew serious. He had to convince her of his sincerity.


    "I don''t even need to prove to you that it''s all just part of my professional profile. You have first-hand experience of how little interaction I have with any of them."


    "Yes." She choked back augh. "I can''t believe you''re a virgin."


    Lucas took a deep breath. The acute embarrassment of being so inexperienced in front of the woman he loved was starting to lessen in its intensity.


    "You may not realize this, but I''m actually terrified of people in general." He admitted. "I was always a very shy kid growing up so Mother hired teachers and tutors to help me break out of my shell."


    "Wow. I didn''t know that you could learn how to be less shy."


    Lucas shook his head. "I wasn''t taught how to be less shy. I was taught how to pretend to be outgoing and engaging so that I could at least make some friends and not be so isted."


    "Aaaahh." She nodded. That made so much sense.


    "I got so good at pretending all sorts of things I didn''t feel that I was picked out to act in tiny kid roles. But I was a Prince. Whoever heard of a Prince actor?"


    Indeed. Candace smiled.


    Lucas sighed. "Luckily, Mother convinced Father that it would be good for my self-esteem to be able to go out there and break out of my intense shyness, so he gave the approval for me to do some small bit parts."


    "Let me guess, the small bit parts turned intorge bit parts."


    Lucas shook his head. "The small bit parts turned into major starring roles within a year. They took advantage of the fact that I was a real honest to goodness Prince to boost their ratings."


    He shrugged. "And given the chance to work with the best people, I got really good, really fast. And it''s been like that ever since."


    "Wow." Candace rubbed his strong muscr pecs. "I can''t believe I snagged me a real movie star."


    She bent her head and gave him a yful bite on his chest.


    Her yful nip turned his lust for her blood back to full st. His teeth began to lengthen once again.


    Before he realized what was happening, Candace was beginning to grind her woman parts into his loins.


    He blushed a deep red as he realized that she was rubbing her bud into his manhood as she moved her hips in a back and forth motion.


    Her very movement was causing his shaft to grow with urgency once again.


    His need for her was growing at a pace that her gentle rubbing motion could not appease enough to satisfy him.


    With a quick motion of his fingers, Lucas levitated them off the bed and flipped her body around so that she was under him.


    As they sank back down onto the bed, he bucked into her with hard jabs to assuage that growing hunger that once again took over his senses.


    "Slow down, stallion." Candace chuckled gently. "We have a lifetime of loving so there''s no need to rush this."


    She slowed him down and showed him how to maintain a pace that allowed for a gentle easy loving. His mouth and hands touched her full breasts with eagerness and joy as he slid himself in and out deep within her.


    In this precious space and time, there was no shame or embarrassment. There was just overwhelming love and eptance. He felt at once reassured and strong, as if he could do anything and she would never judge him or make him feel less than a man.


    A single grateful tear slid down his cheek, to be licked away and kissed out of existence by her eager soft lips.


    At first, heplied, seeing how much she enjoyed the feel of his body moving slowly and gently inside her, but after ten minutes, he could no longer maintain the gentle unhurried pace that she enjoyed so much.


    His body needed to release once again and he began to increase his rhythmic bucking.


    With his need to release, his fangs grew once more.


    Fighting to keep himself from devolving into a beast, he gritted his teeth and tried to maintain his humanoid physique.


    "Love¡­" Candace was murmuring into his ear.


    Did she just call him ''Love''? Did that mean she love him?


    Lucas could barely believe his ears. Knowing that she loved him and hearing her say it to him were twopletely separate things.


    "Bite me."


    "Huh?" He panted. He was trying so hard not to think about the blood running through her body and here she was telling him to bite her.


    "I want to be able tomunicate with you mentally, and the only way to do that is for you to give me your¡­"


    "Precious Candace." He shook his head. "I will not do this to you."


    "Why?" Candace asked even as she pushed her blonde hair to one side and leaned her neck into his face.


    "Because it can lead to¡ª"


    "Mind control? Enved servitude?" She gave a very udylike snort. "Please. You''re my husband. You''ll have to trust me that I would never do anything like that to you."


    Lucas''s mouth opened and closed a couple of times.


    That wasn''t exactly what he was going for, but she seemed to have grasped the situation quite well.


    She actually understood that it wasn''t just a bite that would give him some deeply craved blood, it would also bind them in ways that were difficult topletelyprehend.


    "Come on Loverboy. Bite me." She smiled, shoving her neck at his lips. "Inject me with your love-juice so I can talk to you mind-to-mind."


    With a growl, Lucas'' fangs grew twice their size even as his bat wings began to unfurl on their own ord. He instinctively wrapped his wings around both their bodies, shielding them from the outside world.


    At that moment, Lucas made a vow to himself that within the shelter of hisrge dark wings, she would be safe from harm.


    His ''love-juice'' dripped from his fangs, dribbling over her skin. Where it touched, the nerves of her skin deadened by a tiny amount.


    With a sigh of surrender, Lucas tenderly sank his fangs into the throbbing arteries that moved her life-giving blood throughout her body.


    His serum hit her body and she quivered with the effect that it gave her. At the same time, her blood spurt out in hot metallic abundance.


    With grateful adoration, he took a few gulps of her precious blood and then licked her wound, healing her with his mouth and tongue so that she would not lose a single drop.


    And then as one, they moved together in perfect unison until they finally gasped, clinging to each other as a bright and shining light erupted between their entwined bodies, engulfing them in the sweetest glory of love.

 Chapter 193 - [Bonus ] Sürens Heart Gift

    The sun was zing down onto the courtyard where S¨¹ren was hiding but he was behind the intensely fragrant white angel trumpet lilies and they wererge enough to give him a decent amount of shade.


    He wasn''t a peeping tom. Truly!


    He just wanted to hand over something to Lyra before he left, but there was no way he could even get close to her. There were just too many guards stationed around her.


    S¨¹ren sighed.


    She rarely left her room. Even when she did, her mother never left her side.


    What was a man to do?


    His six guards were also in various niches within the courtyard, waiting alongside him. They''d been there for almost an hour, not moving, barely even breathing.


    One of them nced at his time piece.


    Whatever the Crown Prince wanted to do, he''d better do it quickly. They didn''t have much time left before they had to move out.


    King Batsaikhan had already ordered for Crown Prince S¨¹ren to return asap. The dragon warship that S¨¹ren took to get here had already been resupplied and refueled. It was only awaiting the final word from the Crown Prince to take off.


    The men frowned as time began ticking away. Although Prince S¨¹ren was their Commander, they feared the King more.


    Suddenly, S¨¹ren''s eyes focused in on the patio doors.


    They were opening.


    A breathtaking girl with long ck hair and bright blue eyes emerged from within the cool darkened interior. Her gentle demeanor tugged at his heartstrings, making him ache with a gentle pleasurable pain.


    She was tall and slender with the grace of a lily and the beauty of a fresh new bud barely starting to bloom.


    He swallowed to clear his throat.


    "Lyra," he whispered, throwing his voice at her. He did not want to scare her, but he was running out of time.


    Lyra looked up. She had heard her name being called out by a man.


    How she knew a whispered voice could be a man, she didn''t know. Perhaps it was her canine nose, suddenly catching a whiff of his scent.


    She zeroed in on the six locations that she could smell male pheromones exuding. The closest was within the angel trumpet vines.


    "Who are you?" She called out, her body moving into fighting stance.


    "Shhhh. It''s me S¨¹ren." His voice was barely above a whisper as he came out of the bush with his hands out in a ''please don''t hurt me'' gesture.


    Lyra turned to the man who had just emerged from the bushes.


    He was tall andrge, with a bull dog body just like her brother te. His skin was darkened bronze and his hair was long and dark.


    His muscles were so bulky, she could barely see anything beyond the intense virility of his body.


    Lyra''s breath got caught in her throat. It was as if she''d seen him for the first time. His strong regal face with winged eyebrows and tall strong nose over surprisingly lush soft lips were mesmerizing.


    But most beautiful of his perfect physical form were his dark almond brown eyes. Those eyes were now gazing at her with a soft and sad expression.


    "S¨¹ren! What are you doing here?" Lyra rxed her fighting stance.


    It wouldn''t have mattered that she knew some basic fighting moves. She wouldn''t be able to do much against thisrge strong man other than run away.


    But it was toote to run away. He had already reached her side.


    "Listen." He reached out for her hand. "I don''t have much time. My father has ordered me to return to my world. This is thest time I will be able to see you, at least for awhile."


    Lyra''s heart pounded with a furious beat.


    She didn''t want him to leave. They''d barely just met! Why did he meet her just to leave?


    He pulled out something from his ck and red warrior jacket and deposited something into her palm.


    "This is for you." He took a deep breath. "I have asked your father for your hand in marriage."


    "What???¡ª" Lyra spoke up. He put a finger to her mouth.


    "Yes, I know you are still only fifteen. I am happy and willing to wait for you if you will only give me a chance."


    Lyra said nothing. She looked down at the small pouch in her hand.


    "What¡ªwhat is this?"


    "Open it."


    She untied the string and pulled the pouch apart.


    "Oh my!"


    Lyra gasped as she pulled out a gemstone the size of a quail egg, set in a deep heavy gold.


    The gem''s colors burst forth in the bright golden sunshine in a kaleidoscopic swirl of reds, blues, purples, and yellows.


    "This is so beautiful! What is it?"


    "Ites from my world. It is a dragon opal, very rare, very precious. Allow me."


    He reached out and took the opal from her hand. With gentle hands, he reached around her and sped the ends together.


    "This is my Promise Gift to you, and this is my promise. I promise I will return for you. Please wait for me."


    Lyra''s eyes glistened with unshed tears. This was so romantic. No one had ever done anything like this for her before.


    She reached up and touched the dragon opal with shaky fingers. S¨¹ren could have given her a pebble from the beach and she would have treasured it just as much, with all of her being.


    He saw her blue eyes tear up and his heart rend in two.


    "Please don''t be sad. I promise you I will be back as soon as possible. It won''t be long."


    Lyra blinked as a tear rolled down her face.


    "Thank you for the gift. I have nothing to give you."


    "Could you give me a kiss? It would be more than I could hope for."


    Lyra took a deep breath. "I¡ªI don''t really know how to¡­I''ve never¡­never kissed a man before."


    S¨¹ren smiled and raised her face up with a gentle hand as he lowered his lips onto hers.


    Lyra took a deep breath, taking in the woodsy virile scent of the man standing before her. She could barely breathe as her heart blossomed into a newly opened flower.


    At the moment their lips touched, an explosion shook the core of the earth.


    BOOOMMM!!!


    AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!


    Screams tore out through thezy afternoon as the sound of the st reverberated through the air.


    S¨¹ren looked up and without a word, swept her thin body up into his arms.


    From within the room, he could hear her mother call out her name.


    "Lyra!!!"


    The Royal Consort Gwendolyn ran out into the courtyard as a second st hit somewhere closely.


    One of S¨¹ren''s men ran to her, covering her body with his as a volley of fiery debris rained down upon their courtyard.


    "Mother!!!" She screamed even as S¨¹ren gave a whistling signal.


    The dragon who had sheltered Gwendolyn with his wings swept her up into his arms.


    As one, the Crown Prince S¨¹ren and his six guards rose up into the air and flew away, towards the rtive safety of their hover pod, high above the capital city of Erenveil.

 Chapter 194 - [Bonus ] Hot War!

    Deep within Erenveil space, Dante was flying towards the capital when he received several distress calls from several of his own merchant ships that had been overrun by warshipsing from the avian quadrant.


    "Your Royal Highness! Chiroptera 138 and Chiroptera 165 have been hijacked!" One of hismanding officers came online and reported.


    Dante threw his report file onto the floor and growled.


    "All the ships within the 100 range are not warships! They''re protected merchant ships! What are they carrying?"


    "Sir, the Chiroptera 138 is carrying a full load of perfumes and make-up, and the Chiroptera 165 is carrying artificial bridal floral arrangements and thousands of crates of vintage 20-year-old wines."


    Dante squeezed his eyebrows. What the fuck??? Who the hell would way makeup, fake flowers, and wine?


    "Your Royal Highness! Four hundred plus Avian warships areing into Erenveil space."


    "Dammit." He yelled. "Route all avable warships back to Erenveil. NOW!!!"


    "Yes Sir."


    As he stood on themand deck, watching with horror, the hundreds of points of lightsing towards Erenveil, te''s visual popped open.


    "I just saw what happened. I''m already on my way but it will take me another three hours to get to Erenveil."


    "I''m fifteen minutes away. Five visuals gathering pods loaded with explosives have mmed into various areas of the royal pce. I''m still trying to connect to Father."


    "How''s our wife?" te turned concerned eyes at Dante.


    "She''s with Lucas on his ind. Temporarily, she''s far from the main hot action. If we tell them to leave Erenveil, they will hit Avian warships as soon as they reach deep space."


    te nodded. "I will inform them of the situation at the capital and advise them to remain on their ind for now."


    Dante nodded. "I will continue to try and contact our parents. I''ll let you know what happens once things are clearer. Meanwhile, Avian warships are KOS."**


    te''s eyes grew dangerous. "Oh I n to. I''m going to annihte those birds if that''s thest thing I do."


    Dante''s eyes glittered. "Target the annihtion, Brother. Only warships. Don''t go after civilian merchant ships or cruise lines."


    te nodded and waved a hand, disconnecting the call.


    As he got closer, Dante got another distress call, this one from directly within the Royal Pce of Erenveil.


    "Your Royal Highness!!! We''re under attack! Six visuals hover pods have mmed into the pce with explosives! Several of our buildings are damaged. There are dead and injured people!"


    Dante''s eyes grew red as his fangs and talons grew. If he got his hands on those responsible, he would tear them apart with his own ws.


    "Where is the Emperor?"


    "Sir, the Emperor is directing people to various safe locations within the pce." The Commander of the Royal Guard reported.


    "And my mothers?"


    "Sir. We managed to locate your mother, the Empress Anastasia. We also secured Royal Consort Fatima and Princess Ariana, as well as Royal Consort Theodora and her daughter Princess Daisy."


    "Where is Royal Consort Gwendolyn and the Princess Lyra?"


    The Commander of the Royal Guard shook his head.


    "We are still trying to locate them, Sir."


    "Grrrrr!!!" He turned back to the visuals, fangs dripping. "Keep looking!!!"


    "Yes¡ªyes Your Royal Highness."


    He had barely dropped off visuals when Leonardo''s face appeared.


    "I''ming."


    "How far are you from Erenveil?"


    "Half a day away."


    "Don''t bother. This will all blow over by the time you get here. My warships are already in hot battles across the Erenveil deep space."


    "Do you have enough warships?"


    "There are over four hundred Avian ships in our space and I only have about two hundred warships scattered about, but we should be able to keep them at bay until te arrives. He''s three hours away."


    "Where is Byron?" Dante asked.


    "He''s inmunication with the birds right now trying to broker some type of cease fire."


    Dante nodded. "Keep me posted."


    As Leo winked off, another visual came online. It was the dragon Crown Prince.


    "Crown Prince Lkhagvas¨¹ren." Dante greeted.


    He didn''t have time for a social call at the moment, but he couldn''t brush off the Crown Prince of the Dragons either.


    "Please, call me S¨¹ren."


    Dante nodded. "What can I do for you?"


    Immediately from below the visual''s lines of sight, the bright blue eyes of his sister popped up as she tip-toed trying to get into the visual image.


    S¨¹ren quickly adjusted the image to widen and Dante could see his beautiful fifteen-year-old sister standing in front of the very tall, veryrge figure of the Crown Prince Lkhagvas¨¹ren.


    "Lyra!"


    "Brother! S¨¹ren was visiting me and Mother when our section of the pce got attacked. He and his men rescued us!"


    "Mother Gwen¡ª"


    "Is safe." S¨¹ren assured. "She is in one of the rest chambers getting a minor injury looked at."


    "Injury?" Dante''s eyes red with concern.


    "There was fiery debris flying everywhere. Some of it hit Mother and the dragon that took her out of that area." Lyra said.


    "Are they both okay?"


    "Yes. The dragon''s wings are a bit charred, but his feathers will grow back. Mother''s leg got hit with one of the debris and she''s got a slight burn but she''s being healed currently."


    Dante nodded. "Where are you heading to now?"


    S¨¹ren shook his head. "At the moment, we''re not far from Erenveil space. I can see Avian warships everywhere."


    Dante''s eyes grew concerned, but S¨¹ren waved away his worries with a hand.


    "Temporarily, they''re leaving me alone because we are flying under the Dragon g, but I don''t want to take a chance that they decide we''re their enemy too."


    "How many ships are with you?"


    "Standard formation, half a dozen dragon warships."


    "Get out of Erenveil space as quickly as you can. Tell your father you areing home and take my sister and my mother to safety."


    S¨¹ren nodded. "As youmand."


    Dante shook his head. "Prince S¨¹ren, this is not amand. This is a request for help."


    S¨¹ren shook his head. "Prince Dante. This is my beloved fianc¨¦e and my soon-to-be mother-inw. I would give my life to keep them safe."


    "We haven''t epted your marriage request yet." Dante narrowed his eyes.


    Lyra grinned and tapped on a sparkling piece of dragon opal on her neck.


    Dante rolled his eyes. The little cheeky monkey had already epted. Who was he to say anything.


    "Go. Stay safe. We will join you as soon as we clear out this situation."


    With a wave, they disappeared from sight, leaving Dante deep in thought.


    It truly wasn''t a bad ce for Mother Gwen and Lyra to temporarily stay. It was actually safer than anywhere in and around Erenveil at the moment.


    "Your Royal Highness, the Emperor is calling." One of his men announced.


    Dante nced over at the Commander of the warship.


    "Put him on."

 Chapter 195 - An Unlikely Alliance

    The Emperor looked worried as he faced his oldest son over visuals.


    "How could we not get intel that this was brewing?" He barked out.


    Dante narrowed his eyes. "The attacks on the Royal Pce were carried out by visuals gathering pods, remotely manned. I have my men chasing down leads at the moment."


    "And what of the warships converging into Erenveil space?" The Emperor snarled.


    "They were in their own space, doing routine practice drills. They''ve been doing practice drills for a decade now. This is the first time they''ve actually done anything hostile."


    "And where were you and te when all this wasing down?"


    Dante''s eyes red. "We were trying to take care of your messy situation with Mother Gwen."


    "I don''t need you to do anything with Gwendolyn. Just take care of these birds!"


    Dante gritted his teeth. "Don''t worry, we will. Meanwhile, you need to take care of ALL your Consorts, Father, before you lose any more."


    "What do you mean ''lose any more''?" The Emperor scowled.


    "Mother Gwen and Lyra are in a safe location. Don''t go looking for them. They will not return to you."


    "WHAT???" The Emperor''s face twisted into an angry knot.


    Dante muttered a deep dark curse and waved a hand, cutting off themunication. He didn''t have time to deal with his father''s tantrums.


    There were more reports of casualties and destroyed warshipsing through, as well as updated 3D renderings of warships and their cements throughout space.


    He gritted his teeth as his visually rendered 3D ships were being surrounded and destroyed in midair before him.


    Although his guard ships were the best that money could buy, there was no denying that he was outgunned, two to one.


    He nced at the time clock.


    It would be another two hours before the first of te''s warships would reach the hot zones. All he could do was continue to monitor his people and hope they can do evasive-and-attack maneuverings until backup arrived.


    "Sir. King Mattheus Cordera calling." Themunications officer called out.


    "Put him on."


    Instantly, Mattheus'' ruggedly handsome face appeared onscreen..


    "Looks like you need assistance, Crown Prince."


    "Your world is tiny, Mer-King. What can you do?" Dante stared at him cooly.


    "Dante, Dante, Dante." Mattheus'' chanted, grinning at him affably. "Have you forgotten who I am? I still control a vast section of the space pirates. For a price, I can have my mercenary troops aid you cause."


    "Stay out of our business. I don''t hire mercenaries."


    Mattheus'' eyes grew serious. "I don''t offer this lightly. My men''s lives are just as precious to me as your men''s lives are to you."


    "I would prefer to stay out of your political games and tussles and let you all destroy yourselves. Unfortunately, Poppy just called and asked me to help you and I have never been able to say no to that woman."


    "Poppy contacted you?" Dante red at Mattheus. This was a different scenario if that was the case.


    "Yes. She is two hours away from the skirmish line and she is afraid that you will be decimated by the time she could get to you."


    Dante waved another hand, hailing Poppy. Within minutes, her face appeared on visuals alongside Mattheus.


    "Brother. You don''t have time to wait for te to arrive. You need to clear the Avians out quickly, before your forces be too depleted." Sheunched into the conversation without waiting for Dante to greet her.


    "He runs mercenary space pirate ships. If we utilize the mercenary warships, it will look as if I am sanctioning and endorsing pirates."


    "If you don''t use the mercenary ships, you may not have much to sanction or endorse. Once your forces dwindle down too far, the Avians will take over the capital world Erenveil, and Father will be overthrown."


    Mattheus raised a hand. "Can I say something?"


    "Speak." Dante shot a look at him.


    "I can outfit the ships I send you with the colors and insignias of Emporia. That way you can get the benefits of my ships without the stigma."


    Dante didn''t even hesitate.


    "Discuss the terms of costs with Poppy and send to me two-hundred warships, if you can get it quickly enough."


    Mattheus smiled. "Consider it done."


    Dante heaved a sigh and signed off with both Poppy and Mattheus.


    "te. How much farther are you?" He called out to the still-dark screen that he had just pulled into view.


    te''s worried blue eyes popped online.


    "The first of my closest warships should joined the fringes and be able to attack the Avian warships from the far side within the hour."


    "You can slow it down a bit. Mattheus is going to send two-hundred ships to me from Emporia immediately. They should be here very soon."


    te bared his fangs. He was still keeping score with Mattheus for having kidnapped him and put Candace in danger.


    "Keep your daggers hidden, Brother. He may not be the perfect ally, but we have to keep our friends close, and our enemies closer. Besides, Poppy arranged this, and I trust our sister." **


    At the sound of Poppy''s name, te visibly rxed. If there was anyone he trusted, it was Poppy and the rest of his brothers.


    They were still going over war details when Leonardo popped into view.


    "I have reached the Moons of Coraline. On your signal, I will converge and root out King Dilbert and put an end to his Avian reign."


    "Hold the line." Dante said. "By the time te arrives, his troops can converge and hem the Avian warships into a pocket, with my forces on one side and Mattheus'' forces on the other."


    Leonardo nodded. "At that time, I will take over the capital world of the Avians and defeating them would only be a matter of time."


    Dante shook his head. "Unfortunately, it cannot be seen as an Avian defeat."


    Leo frowned. "If we take out King Dilbert, that''s a definite loss for the Avian humanoid race. They may not be able to recover from this."


    "Which is why we can''t do that." Dante reiterated.


    te nodded. "I have to agree with Brother Dante. If wepletely wipe out the reigning monarch of the Avians, that would cause the Insectoids to gain a huge advantage and suddenly, Erenveil would be looking at a war with the insects for dominance."


    "Might I remind you that I am half-insectoid." Dante sniffed. "But I do understand what you are saying. In this case, we can only do one thing."


    He looked at te and Leonardo in turn. With a wave of his hand, Dante called forth another visual monitor.


    "Yes?" Byron''s red-brown eyes and dark red hair popped onscreen.


    "Byron." Dante called out. "Get ready. We''re initiating n B."


    Byron nodded. He''d been ready for ages and was merely waiting for the right moment.


    "I am on standby and waiting for the word."


    Dante pursed his lips. "You need to be around the Moons of Coraline within the hour."


    "Toote." Byron smacked his lips. "I''m already here."


    "Where, exactly?" Leonardo asked. "I don''t want to identally hit you when we pull in."


    "Don''t worry. I''m not on the surface of any moon. I''m currently on one of the cruise lines floating between the moons."


    He lifted a champagne flute and took a sip. "I''m here with the Avian Ambassador."


    He panned out the view of his visuals and the pert and pretty face of Valeria Marakesh showed up.


    Danteughed. It was the ck raven Avgo Female with the purple amethyst stone.


    ============


    ** Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.. The Art of War. Sun Tzu

 Chapter 196 - Two Fiancées

    "Valeria Marakesh. Good to see you again."


    "It is my pleasure to see you again, Your Royal Highness." She smiled.


    Dante looked at her with sympathetic eyes. She looked much more weary and worn than when they had first seen her standing on the dais at the very start, tall and proud, and filled with hope and confidence.


    The Avgo events had finished over two weeks ago, but it seemed as if it was a long long time ago, in a distant time and space.


    Now, it also seemed as if there were far more important things to think about than a beauty pageant that cause so much grief to all who became contestants.


    No one hade out of that pageant unchanged, including his wife, the undisputed winner.


    "I see you and my brother are doing well on the cruise line."


    "Yes. Byron is a perfect gentleman and we are getting along very well." She smiled.


    Dante nodded. "Valeria, we are going to need you to stand alongside my brother Byron as Ambassador of Goodwill and convince everyone that he will have Avian''s best interests at heart, since he is half-Avian."


    "I understand, Your Royal Majesty." She nodded.


    "Please. Just call me Dante. Byron and I hold the same position of Crown Prince and you call him Byron."


    "That''s because¡­" she looked at Byron, blushing.


    Byron gazed steadily at Dante with a VERY slight shake of the head. Dante nodded at Byron.


    "I''m d you and Byron have a good working rtionship. Much will ur in the next few days and weeks so we will need everyone''s continued good will."


    A small signal on one side of Dante''s screen showed te making the sign that the first of his ships had approached the skirmish zone.


    At the same time, Poppy reappeared and gave him thumbs up for theunching of the pirate ships flying the Emporia g.


    "Leo." Dante turned to his fourth brother. "Now!"


    Leonardo gave a gesture and his screen went dark. There was only Byron and Valeria left in front of him.


    "Stand by Byron." Dante said. "n B is currently in action."


    =================


    S¨¹ren stood staring out into the darkness of deep space, his normally expressive dark almond eyes narrowed in thought.


    There were two women on his mind and both of them were his fianc¨¦es.


    There was the one that his father had arranged for him. She was a childhood friend, someone he knew quite well. She was a beautiful dragon girl, and one that came from a good family.


    One that his family approved of.


    And then there was the one that he had fallen t on his face for in a faraway world. She was also a beautiful girl, and from a family that could not possibly be any higher.


    An Imperial Princess, no less.


    Of course, in his Crown Prince position, he could have more than one wife and would in fact be encouraged to have more than one wife. That was not the issue. The issue was that neither of these women would be happy knowing that the other existed.


    There was the issue of ranking.


    While Sharina was socially lower than Lyra, she had been engaged to him for over two years. This would make her the First Wife, which meant a Princess of Erenveil would be the Second Wife.


    But what Imperial Princess would be happy being a second wife to a woman lower in ranking than she was? More importantly, her family would never approve of that arrangement, and he would not me them.


    Lyra was second to no one.


    And then there was the issue of emotional attachment.


    If it were up to S¨¹ren, he would not hesitate to break off the engagement with Sharina and marry Lyra as soon as she came of age.


    As pretty as Sharina was, he had never been attracted to her and probably never will. No matter how many times they had met in the past, he had never felt anything but the barest of civility towards her.


    It was not this crazy amazing burst of emotional high that he''d experienced the moment he saw Lyra. Everything she did and everything she said was nothing short of amazing. If he never saw her again, he would never be able to feel this way again.


    Life would be dull and grey, and plodding and dreary.


    Unfortunately, as a Crown Prince, he could no more break off the engagement with Sharina than he could refuse to be Crown Prince.


    Unless he ran away with Lyra¡­


    S¨¹ren bit his lip and tapped on themunication panel in front of him, linking up to his father.


    "So you are finally heading home, are you?" King Batsaikhan raised his eyebrows. "Got all the wild oats out of your pants?"


    "Father. I am bringing home someone for you to meet."


    "Oh? You found a new pet? Or a new attendant that you have acquired?"


    "No Father. I am bringing home my new fianc¨¦e."


    King Batsaikhan sputtered for a few moments.


    "Son." He finally managed to say. "Did you get some girl pregnant?"


    S¨¹ren shook his head. What in the world was his father thinking?


    "Of course not! I have the Princess of Erenveil, Lyra onboard my ship, along with her mother, the Royal Consort Gwendolyn."


    "You what???" King Batsaikhan''s eyes widened in shock. "Please tell me you did not kidnap the Princess and her mother from Erenveil. That is an intergctic incident we cannot resolve!"


    "Oh no!" He waved his hand in protest. "Prince Dante knows. He asked me to take his sister and the Consort to our world for a short time until they can clear up the fighting that''s raging around Erenveil."


    The King nodded and heaved a huge sigh of relief.


    "I''ve heard that the Avians are staging a takeover of Erenveil. More fool them." He spat. "The bats are not just militarily powerful, they are also an economical powerhouse."


    His eyes sparkled. "The fact that you have brought back a bat princess actually makes me happy that you know how to secure the bat graces for our kingdom."


    "Father. I did not ask for her hand in marriage to secure political ties." S¨¹ren frowned. "I honestly love her."


    "Pshah. You barely met her. It''s all hormones going to your head right now. Love takes a very long time to develop Son. You have known Sharina all your life. That''s love."


    "Father. I feel absolutely nothing for Sharina. If that''s love, then my life feels so empty and dreary and dull."


    "Nonsense. You will begin to feel love for her once you and she start living together as man and wife."


    "But Lyra¡ª"


    "She is a Princess of Erenveil. You cannot take her as a second wife. Your brother, however, does not yet have a fianc¨¦e. We can introduce them."


    "No!" S¨¹ren shouted. "Lyra is my fianc¨¦e. I will not let Altan have her!"


    "Son. Altan is your brother. He is also twenty, so he is closer in age to the Princess Lyra. You are twenty-five. You cannot wait three more years for Princess Lyra toe of age to begin a family."


    "Father. If you do this, you will kill everything within me that is joy and happiness." S¨¹ren''s eyes were tragic.


    "Son." King Batsaikhan sighed. "Feelings are transitory. You will recover from it. I promise you. It will not be easy, but you will eventually move onward from this point."


    "I''m not letting her go." He turned stricken eyes at his father.


    "You have no choice.." His father replied.

 Chapter 197 - Sürens Heart To Heart Talk

    It took them the better part of the day to maneuver past the Avian warships and back out into inter-gctic space¡ªthe ''no-man''snd''.


    For the next teeny-four hours, they would not have to worry about warshipsing after them. Now, it would merely be pirate ships.


    S¨¹ren was fairly confident they would be able to get past the inter-gctic space without incident. The King had also promised to send reinforcement to meet them halfway.


    Dinner was a cozy affair, with only himself and the mother-daughter team. He had the staff set up a small table near the viewing window that looked out into the field of stars so they could have starlight as part of the background.


    The white linens wereid out. The candles were burning. The soft music was ying. They had even uncorked the best Erenveil wine.


    The meal must have tasted good. Lyra and her mother ate with enjoyment, but for the life of him, S¨¹ren had no idea what it was he was tasting.


    He could not keep his eyes of Lyra. She was vivacious, bubbly, and talked about all sorts of things that were so disconnected until they suddenly all came together in a breathtaking conclusion.


    He was truly amazed at this young girl who was so very mature in her thoughts and actions, but then, of course she was. This was the woman he had chosen to be his life mate.


    As the night wore on, S¨¹ren made the decision to gently break the news of his other engagement to Lyra and his mother.


    His chance came when Lyra excused herself to visit thedies room and he was alone with her mother, the Lady Gwendolyn.


    S¨¹ren cleared his throat.


    Before he had the chance to say anything, Lady Gwendolyn had spoken up.


    "So. What are your ns when you return to your world and how will it affect my little Lyra?"


    S¨¹ren looked across the table at Lady Gwendolyn, his eyes glittering with intensity. He had wanted to ease into the conversation, but she had jumped into the deep end.


    So be it.


    "First, let me reassure you that I have no dishonorable intentions with Lyra." He ced a hand over his heart, as if pleading with her.


    "When I first met her, I waspletely mesmerized by her physical beauty, but it didn''t stop there. I ampletely blown away by her musical talents and her mannerisms, her joy of life, and I am in awe of her razor sharp intelligence."


    "So you''re in love with my daughter." The Lady Gwendolyn pressed her lips in a thin line.


    S¨¹ren looked down and nodded with a soft sigh. This was going to be so hard to say.


    "Do you love your other fianc¨¦e?"


    S¨¹ren looked up at Lady Gwendolyn with startled eyes. She knew!


    He swallowed.


    "No." He shook his head with tragic regret. "But I am stuck. My parents set up the engagement several years ago, when Sharina was not much older than Lyra is now. I was supposed to wait for her to mature so that I could marry her."


    His brows furrowed. "She turned 18 half a year ago."


    "So you ran away for onest st of freedom and found yourself at Erenveil." Lady Gwendolyn concluded.


    S¨¹ren cleared his throat. Was everything he did so obvious to this woman? It was like she could see right through him and knew everything he was going through.


    He might as well juste right out and admit everything to her. She already knew anyway.


    "I really truly have no feelings for Sharina, my fianc¨¦e. It was a political liaison that my parents and her parents set up without any input from me. Going back to my world is akin to walking back into that set up."


    "So why did you try to contact my daughter even though you knew there was no future for the two of you?"


    "I¡ª" S¨¹ren rubbed his eyes. "I had orders from my father to return home. I came to say goodbye to her because I couldn''t leave without seeing her onest time."


    Lady Gwendolyn''s blue eyes softened withpassion.


    "And the heirloom dragon opal?"


    S¨¹ren took a deep breath. He had hoped that Lady Gwendolyn would not understand the significance of the dragon opal, but it seemed that she truly did know.


    The dragon opal was a traditional marriage gift that a male dragon gave to his mate at the time of their engagement. It was rare and difficult to find, but no dragon would ever think of not presenting his hard-won dragon opal to his soon-to-be bride.


    "I couldn''t bear to hand it over to someone I had no feelings for, so I gave it to the woman I loved. Even if I had no chance, I would still rather she hold onto my heart than to never have had the chance to love her."


    "And suddenly, you find hering back with you to your dragon world."


    "Yes. I was not expecting the Erenveil Royal Pce to get attacked, but I''m d I was there to be able to take you and Princess Lyra to safety."


    "I understand the situation better now. So tell me," she eyed Prince S¨¹ren. "What do you n to do about all this?"


    S¨¹ren clenched his fist. Here went nothing.


    "I have been trying to talk my father into letting me absolve the engagement with Sharina. I will continue to try, but if ites down to the wire and the only option involves losing Lyra, I would rather run away with her than to lose her."


    "You are a Crown Prince. What kind of life will my daughter have with someone who has abandoned his kingdom and turned into a homeless hobo?" Lady Gwendolyn sniffed.


    "I can''t lose her." S¨¹ren clenched his teeth.


    "Who says you must?" Lady Gwendolyn leaned in closer and gazed into his eyes. "There is more than one way to approach something. The only thing you must do is to hold within yourself, the steadfast will to maintain your position."


    "My love for Lyra will not change."


    "Good. If that is the case, then I support your cause."


    S¨¹ren blinked with surprise. He had been expecting pushback and the demand that he leave her daughter alone. But she was saying she supported the two of them being together.


    "So have you figured out what you need to do first?" She was asking him.


    S¨¹ren slowly nodded. "I need to figure out how to absolve the engagement, and I need to do it as soon as possible."


    Yes.


    This was his clearest directive. He had to do it before all of the drama hit Lyra. He could not cause Lyra any distress. He never wanted her to feel as if she was the third woman in a triangle.


    He squeezed his eyes tight. Other than going against his father and turning into a snarling beast¡­


    Suddenly, S¨¹ren opened his eyes.


    "I''m a Crown Prince.. I''ve done everything my family has ever asked of me all my life and never gone against them, not even once. If I threw a tantrum at this time and refused to go through with the engagement, what could they possibly do to me?"

 Chapter 198 - The Only Condition

    "Your father could disown you." Lady Gwendolyn shrugged.


    "He could, but if I made the decision to walk away, then it would be my decision to reject the Crown Prince position. If I stayed and openly rebelled, it would be my father''s decision to remove me for being insubordinate."


    Suddenly, S¨¹ren smiled. "There truly is no one else capable of being Crown Prince. My brother is five years younger than I am, but he is not capable of doing this job."


    Lady Gwendolyn smiled. "And why is that?"


    "Because he truly hates all the inner workings of running a kingdom. He can barely read a court script without falling asleep. All he wants to do is go out with his warriors and train, build up his muscles, and practice fighting drills."


    "And what about you?"


    "I am also a warrior." He flexed hisrge muscles. "But at a very young age, I have been schooled in the ways of the courts and the legitive bodies to prepare for the eventual responsibilities that would be ced on me."


    "S¨¹ren," Lady Gwendolyn raised a hand. "You will find that, with the position of being King, you will have to make many very tough decisions. This is only the first tough decision you will make. If you can navigate through this andnd on the other side safely, you will make a very good King."


    "I will do my best, Lady Gwendolyn." He nodded.


    "And I will help you where I can." Lady Gwendolyn smiled.


    By the time Lyra came back to the table, there was a new understanding between S¨¹ren and Lady Gwendolyn. If Lyra felt anything different, she did not show it.


    That night, as mother and daughter prepared for bed, Gwendolyn looked at her daughter with worried eyes.


    Although she had presented a steadfast and calm exterior in front of the Crown Prince S¨¹ren, she knew that things could deteriorate rapidly.


    "Lyra. Come and sit by me. Let''s talk a bit."


    "Yes Mother." Lyra pounced onto the bed and curled up next to her mother, leaning into her as she did when she was a child.


    "What do you think about S¨¹ren?"


    "Mother. He is physically beautiful, and mentally stimting. Asrge as he is, he is also surprisingly gentle." Lyra''s brilliant blue eyes glittered with excitement.


    "Yes, yes. I know about his attributes. My question is not about him but about you. How do you feel about him?" Gwendolyn smiled.


    Lyra sighed. "I just met him, Mother, but he''s so different from all the boys I''ve met in the past. He makes me feel so excited and ttered that he is giving me all this attention."


    Her eyes were guarded.


    "I want to get to know him better, but he lives so far from us, I''m a little bit afraid to let myself get too emotionally invested because what if Father says no? What if his parents don''t like me?"


    Lyra''s eyes darkened. "Also, I''m not sure if this is the way all men are, or if this is uniquely S¨¹ren."


    Gwendolyn nodded. This was not surprising.


    Lyra hadn''t had any experience with men. The only males she had ever really had much contact with were her seven brothers.


    To be fair, she had also interacted with a few boys from the notable Houses that might have been possible suitors, but Lyra had never seemed this excited before, or filled with this much joy.


    S¨¹ren, on the other hand, was a full-grown adult who had gone through all the stages of emotional growth. He knew what he wanted in a woman and the kind of woman he wanted to be with.


    The chance that it might be S¨¹ren who would be hurt by Lyra was rather high because she was so inexperienced.


    "Daughter. You have seen how your Father and I interact." Gwendolyn pursed her lips. "What do you think of our rtionship?"


    Lyra shrugged. "Isn''t a marriage supposed to be rather on the dull side? Don''t men tend to simply bear the responsibilities of being father and a husband with stoic determination? Father seems to be¡­"


    "Resigned? Going through the motions?" Gwendolyn suggested.


    Lyra nodded.


    Tears sprang to Gwendolyn''s eyes. Was this the example that she had set for her daughter? Did Lyra think that this was all she was allowed to experience?


    She took a deep breath. If there was any doubt in her mind that she was doing the right thing, this was it. She could not let her daughter think that what she went through for decades was eptable.


    But then Lyra turned to her and said with clear understanding of her mother''s situation.


    "Mother. I do realize that you are a Consort, not an Empress. It''spletely understandable why Father is like that. He has a lot of wives to take care of."


    "And you think that is eptable?" Gwendolyn asked.


    "It''s not for me to say what is eptable or not eptable." Lyra shrugged. "As long as you are happy and it was your decision to marry him, then who am I to judge who you choose to spend your life with?"


    Lyra rubbed her mother''s back in an effort tofort her.


    "You must have known what it would be like to be married to a man with five wives."


    "What do you mean?"


    Lyra grimaced. "He is human too. He will have favorites and not so favorites from the wives that he married for political reasons. There is no way for him to love every woman equally."


    "He did choose one." Gwendolyn''s eyes were dark with pain. "Anastasia was his chosen."


    "Then at least he got a chance to be with one person he chose." Lyra sighed. "Not everyone is that lucky."


    "S¨¹ren is also a Crown Prince. He will soon be King, and there may be wives chosen for him that he cannot refuse." Gwendolyn gently reminded Lyra.


    "But at the very least, he CHOSE me Mother." Lyra''s eyes were shining.


    This was something Lyra had personal knowledge of. The woman that a King CHOSE was treated very differently from the women with whom he married for any other reason.


    Gwendolyn gathered her daughter into her arms and hugged her tightly. She wished she could shelter Lyra from all the storms through life ahead, but she knew that Lyra would need to bravely step forward and face those challenges.


    In facing them, she would truly learn how to live and to be a strong, independent woman.


    "So what is your wish at this moment? What would you like to choose?" Gwendolyn asked.


    "I want some time to get to know him better. I can''t marry him until I am of age anyway. I cannot rush this."


    Lyra leaned back and look into her mother''s eyes. "Would it be too selfish for me to ask him to wait three years for me, and to choose only me, Mother?"


    Gwendolyn smiled with clear determination. "Absolutely not.. This would be our only condition for the Crown Prince S¨¹ren."

 Chapter 199 - Get Off My Man!

    The Crown Prince Lkhagvas¨¹ren was at the helm, monitoring several pirate ships that looked to be wandering into their immediate space.


    He was expecting them.


    This was not the mostly friendly space of civilization. This was the wild untamed region that only the most fortified and guarded merchant ships dared traverse.


    "Your Royal Highness. The pirate ship is hailing."


    "Answer." Hemanded.


    An instantter, a visual monitor popped up and Crown Prince Dante''s familiar face popped up.


    "Hey. How''s the traveling so far?"


    S¨¹ren gave a bright smile. "It''s been smooth sailing up to this point. I had a mild panic attack though, with the pirate ships converging in on my group."


    "Hey, I''m sorry to worry you. I told them to escort your ships through this territory just in case other pirates bothered you."


    S¨¹ren nodded and sped his hands in front of his chest.


    "I appreciate it."


    "It''s not your ass I''m trying to keep safe." Dante chuckled. "It''s my little sister and Mother Gwen. How are they?"


    "Would you like to speak to them yourself?"


    "Could I?"


    S¨¹ren grinned and ced a call through to their quarters. Within minutes, the soft gentle face of Royal Consort Gwendolyn appeared.


    The soft warm light shone on her skin making her look far younger and more vulnerable than her 43 years of age.


    "Dante!" Lady Gwendolyn eximed. "Is everything alright at home?"


    "Mother Gwen." He smiled. "Everything is going as well as can be expected. We managed to push back the skirmish line. There are still pockets of fighting, but with reinforcements from Emporia and te''s forces, we''ve managed to end this fairly quickly."


    He nced over at S¨¹ren, who was still standing at the helm and sharing a split screen with Mother Gwen.


    "How is the little monkey Lyra."


    "I am not a monkey." Lyra''s exasperated face popped up from behind Lady Gwendolyn. She had just awakened from a nap; her lips were swollen pink, her lids drowsy.


    Just the simple vision of his Lyra barely awake flipped S¨¹ren''s stomach over a couple of times. His lovesick face must have shown clearly because Danteughed and waved a hand.


    "Go back to sleep. I just wanted to make sure you and Mother Gwen are doing well."


    Lyra waved with a smile and disappeared from the screen.


    Lady Gwendolyn turned back to Dante. "Thank you for worrying about us, Son."


    Dante winked. "If I don''t worry about my family, who do I worry about? Take lots of visuals, enjoy Avalia and the dragon worlds. You deserve a long extended vacation."


    "I hope things will stabilize in Erenveil."


    "Don''t worry about Erenveil. I will handle everything here."


    "Thank you Dante." She nodded and also disconnected from the call.


    "They look well." Dante turned back to S¨¹ren with a grin. "Thank you for taking good care of them. Have you figured out what you are going to do with your fianc¨¦e from Avalia?"


    S¨¹ren nodded. "I am going to break off the engagement with her. I will ask your sister to be my wife in three years, when she reaches the age of consent."


    "Three years is a long time, S¨¹ren. A lot of things can happen in three years."


    S¨¹ren gave Dante a narrowed gaze.


    "Let me ask you this. If your new bride asked you to wait three years for her, would you refuse, saying it''s a long time and a lot of things can happen in three years?"


    Dante smiled. "It''s different for me. I don''t have another fianc¨¦e waiting in the wings."


    S¨¹ren folded his arms across his chest and stared at Dante.


    "What would you do in my situation?"


    "Oh that''s easy. I clear out the things I don''t like and demand the things I want. To do that, I must stand in the position of power. Without power, my words don''t have the force behind it."


    "I need to begin amassing power." S¨¹ren nodded.


    "There are many ways to acquire power. You can get it through weaponry, political liaisons, or great wealth. If you have all three, even better."


    "Understood. Thank you Brother." S¨¹ren gave a nod of deference.


    "You''re wee. I''m not your brother yet, but I look forward to the day when we are truly brothers. Don''t hurt her or I wille after you and make you regret it."


    S¨¹ren shook his head. "She holds my heart in her hand. If there is one who gets hurt, it will most likely be me."


    A long time after Dante signed off, S¨¹ren was still standing there, staring out into the dark void filled with billions and billions of bright stars.


    The three things that Dante told him continued to reverberate around his brain.


    Weaponry, political liaisons, great wealth.


    Those were things that would allow him to protect Lyra. Anything else was extraneous.


    ===========


    Two dayster, the Crown Prince Lkhagvas¨¹ren and his entourage reached the capital city of the Dragons, Avalia.


    "We will bending at the Royal spaceport within the hour. Get ready to receive us." S¨¹ren announced to his men below.


    Avalia was a blue green world with touches of white at the poles where ice never melted.


    Leaving the warship in orbit, S¨¹ren, Lyra and Lady Gwen took a transport pod down to the surface of the where theynded on a spaceport a short distance from the royal pce.


    "Ready?" He turned to Lyra and her mother.


    Lyra nodded, grinning like a monkey. "I''m so excited! I finally get to see a world other than Erenveil. I cannot wait!"


    S¨¹ren smiled with adoring eyes at the girl with the dazzling blue eyes standing by his side. He reached out for her hand.


    "I will personally show you my world in all its shining details. You will get to know everything about the dragon way of life."


    Lyra ced her hand in his and they waited anxiously as the pod opened up. It was barely noon, current time. The sun was shining in a bright azure sky.


    Before them, a winter wondend spread out before their eyes. Snow had fallen the night before, leaving a chillyyer of crystal fluff covering everything.


    "Hah!!!" Lyra gasped, covering her mouth with amazement. "Your world is beautiful!"


    S¨¹renughed.


    It was just the boring spaceport where podsnded. The real beauty of Avalia''s most beauteous sights hadn''t even been shown to her yet, and his little Lyra was already excited over a little snow on thending pad.


    Oh, he was going to enjoy showing her his world, pamper her with everything that money could buy. He could not wait to spoil her with everything at his fingertips just to see her smile.


    S¨¹ren, Lyra, and Lady Gwen had barely disembarked from the transport pod when arge group of people ran up to greet them.


    "S¨¹ren!" A girl with long chestnut brown hair yelled out and ran to him.


    Without waiting for him to respond, the girl jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his torso and kissing him in front of everyone standing there.


    S¨¹ren didn''t even have a chance to react when out of nowhere, Lyra reached out and grabbed onto the girl''s long chestnut hair.


    With a hard yank, she jerked the girl backwards by the hair, causing her to tumble to the ground.


    "Get off my man, Bitch!" **


    ==============


    ** Bitch, in this sense is female dog. Lyra is half wolf so she calls other females who are not friends or family ''bitches'' because it''s the proper form of ''girl dog''.. However, we can also think of it as Lyra being aggressive and bitchy too.

 Chapter 200 - Capital Offense

    "Aaaargghhhh!!!" The brown haired girl shrieked.


    To everyone''s immediate horror, the two girls began wrestling on the ground. Lyra still had her death grip on the girl''s long brown hair and used it to keep her down.


    The girl began kicking and wing at her, but with little effect because she was still being held down by Lyra.


    Immediately, a group of guards jumped in and separated the two of them.


    They held the girls back to keep them from attacking each other, but while one of the guards held onto Lyra, the other guard let go of the brown haired girl.


    Seeing an easy target, since Lyra was being held in ce by the other guard, the brown hair girl reached out with her long dragon ws and took a swipe at Lyra.


    Without hesitation, she used the guard behind her as an anchor and delivered a double roundhouse kick at the dragon girl''s ws with her long strong legs.


    "Aaaargghhhh!!!" The brown haired girl shrieked again as her ws shattered from the powerful kick that Lyra delivered, dripping blood onto the ground.


    This time, S¨¹ren intervened. He pulled the guard off Lyra and picked her up into his arms.


    FWOOOMPH!!!


    His dragon wings unfurled from his back as he took a running leap into the air, carrying Lyra away from the mob scene.


    "S¨¹ren!!!" The brown hair girl screamed from the ground. "S¨¹rene back!!!"


    Ignoring her cries, he held Lyra tight against his chest and took off for the Royal Castle.


    "My mother is still back there!" Lyra cried out.


    "It''s okay. My guards will take her to us in minutes. I just needed to take you away from all that craziness."


    "S¨¹ren." Lyra turned to him frowning. "Who is that girl?"


    S¨¹ren sighed. "It''s a long story. Let me take you back to my pce and I will tell you the entire situation."


    ============


    S¨¹ren''s pce was a stony grey citadel of a castle situated off a cliff overlooking a wild rough grey ocean. Aside from the various red gs flying atop the half-dozen turrets, there was very little in the way of decorations or colors.


    A winter storm was brewing up in the distance and it looked to be a doozie! Already, heavy gusts of wind were howling and kicking up snow drifts everywhere.


    Lyra was sitting in front of a warm cheerful firece with a warm mug of hot chocte, being looked at by a court physician.


    "I''m perfectly fine, but thank you for being so careful." Lyraughed. The old physician was making a fuss over a few minor scratches on her arms and legs and was tending to them with medicines and bandages.


    "Small wounds can turn intorge infections if we don''t take care of them when they are inconsequential." He said as he continued his ministration.


    After bandaging them to his satisfaction, the old man proimed that she was in perfect health and left her to enjoy her hot drink.


    Lady Gwendolyn was seated to the left of the firece, holding onto a decanter of something a bit stronger than chocte. She looked over at her daughter with a newfound sense of awe.


    "I knew you had learned a few moves from te, but I didn''t think you were that aplished." Gwendolyn shook her head.


    Lyra grimaced. "Brother te insisted that I learn how to defend myself. Of course, he also taught me much of the offensive moves too, just for times like these."


    "Times like these? You were anticipating times like these?"


    Lyra nodded. "te said I might have to defend my man from other girls, so knowing how to street fight was just as important as knowing how to break out of holds and run away."


    Gwendolyn shook her head, unable to respond. The daughter she had tried to raise to be genteel and soft was actually a kick-ass street fighter.


    This was the result of having te for a brother. She had known the siblings spent time together practicing martial arts but she hadn''t realized Lyra was so aplished.


    S¨¹ren was at his desk, a few feet away, dealing with stacks of critical documents that had piled up during the time he was away.


    He would have preferred to be sitting next to the mother and daughter team, acting the gracious host, but these were time-critical things he had to deal with and the best he could do was pull up a hover desk to be near them while he worked.


    His mouth pulled up at the corners when he heard her say that she was defending her man from other girls.


    It was a strangely satisfying response, one that made him feel warm and tingly on the inside.


    She was staring into the fire, absently fondling the dragon opal that he had given her. It gave S¨¹ren a surge of pride and joy that she was touching the precious gift he gave her with possessive fingers.


    They hadn''t talked much, but it was like that with Lyra. She understood him without needing a lot of words.


    She understood the power of the dragon opal he had given her. That alone told her what she needed to know and what her position was in his life.


    S¨¹ren sneaked another peek at the young girl sitting on therge wing chair by the fire with her bandaged legs propped up and warming her toes on the hearth.


    She looked like she owned the ce and was enjoying some cozy time with her mother nearby.


    His heart skipped a beat.


    He would give her everything he owned just so she could remain in that chair every day, sipping her drink and keeping himpany as he worked at his desk, for the rest of their lives.


    Weaponry, political liaisons, and great wealth. These were the things he needed to build up if he were to have a chance to keep her.


    "Your Royal Highness." His attendant was calling his attention again.


    "Speak."


    "The two men you requested are out in the hallway waiting for you."


    S¨¹ren stood up and made his way out to the hallway beyond the Great Library.


    The two men stood, heads bowed.


    "You." He pointed at the man to the right. "Do you know what your offense is?"


    "Yes, Your Royal Highness." He bowed again.


    "And what is that?"


    "I pulled the Princess Lyra back from the fight."


    S¨¹ren shook his head. "No. That wasn''t your offense."


    He walked up to the man and pointed at his face.


    "Your offense was holding onto the Princess for far too long and not allowing her to defend herself against someone charging at her. You were colluding with the enemy to harm an Imperial Royal Member of Erenveil."


    The man quaked.


    "That is a capital offense." He nodded at one of the guards standing behind the man. "Take him away. He will be executed at dawn."


    The man was dragged off pleading and crying.


    S¨¹ren turned to the other man, who had lost all color to his face.


    "Do you know what your offense is?"


    "Yes, Your Royal Highness."


    "And what is that?"


    "I failed to hold onto the Lady Sharina and gave her a chance to attack the Princess Lyra."


    "Wrong." S¨¹ren shook his head. "I was standing right there. I saw you release Sharina so she could have a free and clear shot at the Princess, who was still being held captive by the other guard."


    S¨¹ren growled. It was a sound that rose the hackles of every man in the hallway.


    His eyes glinted a fiery red.


    "That is another capital offense. Your sentence¡ªDeath."


    Without even bothering to move his head, S¨¹ren shot a loaded nce at the guard standing behind the man.


    As the man was hauled away, S¨¹ren turned back into the Great Library, where warmth and light and his heart was still sitting there, warming her toes by the crackling fire.

 Chapter 201 - The Dragon Opal

    Dinner was a quiet affair.


    The fire was cheerfully crackling in the firece, warming up the formal dining room nicely. The candles had been lit on the dining table, bringing ambiance to the dimmed lighting.


    Gentle music was also ying in the background to apany the sounds of the snowstorm that was starting to hit them in earnest. From the sound and feel of the storm, they could be snowed in for days.


    S¨¹ren nced out the window without a care in the world. The most important person to him was already safe and warm inside his little world. Anything external would just have to wait until things thawed out a bit.


    By then, he would deal with what was toe.


    The attendants were starting to bring in the meal on rolling trolleys. Each covered dish emanated wonderful delicious aromas and he could see Lyra''s eyes light up as they were ced in front of the three of them.


    After the attendants had served the meal, S¨¹ren dispatched them all so he could have some privacy with Lyra and her mother. There were things that needed to be said, and it needed to be done without the servants around.


    Roast goose, sweet peas, whipped potatoes, and onion soup; they were all his favorites. Unfortunately, S¨¹ren could barely taste any of it because he needed to figure out a way to disclose what needed to be disclosed to Lyra and her mother.


    "Ermmm. Ahem." He cleared his throat and picked up his flute of champagne.


    "To the most beautiful woman in the gxy, and to the beautiful woman who gave birth to the most beautiful woman in the gxy." He lifted his ss into the air.


    Lyra giggled and lifted her lemonade-filled ss. Gwendolynughed as she picked up her champagne and drank to the toast.


    Of course her daughter was the most beautiful woman in the gxy, and she deserved the best of the gxy. This man was going to have to prove to her that he was the best that the gxy had to offer for her daughter.


    "So. Prince S¨¹ren. Who exactly was that girl at the space port?"


    Lyra''s face lost all signs of mirth. This was the number one question on her mind the entire afternoon they had spent in S¨¹ren''s library, waiting for him to handle the emergencies that were on his desk.


    "I was hoping to be able to exin my situation here in Avalia, but things escted upon ournding that was beyond my control."


    "You have time now." Gwendolyn took another sip of her champagne.


    S¨¹ren nodded. "The woman who came to greet me is my fianc¨¦e."


    Lyra''s eyes suddenly lost her sparkle. That single loss hit S¨¹ren in the guts and almost made him cry.


    "Your fianc¨¦e seems to be very attached to you." Gwendolyn raised an eyebrow. This would be a tricky situation to navigate.


    S¨¹ren nodded. "At first, it was just a simple engagement deration and neither of us were very interested in the other, but then as time went on, Sharina became more and more interested in me and began to treat me differently."


    "It looks as if she''spletely fallen for you." Gwendolyn''s eyes narrowed.


    It was the same old story.


    When she first met Rex, she did not feel anything for him either, but at the urging of her father, she had agreed to be Rex''s consort.


    Once she married him, feelings began to grow, and they never stopped growing, even after two children and all that time of emotional abandonment.


    She understood this girl Sharina more than anyone could.


    "She''s just a childhood friend." S¨¹ren shook his head. "I don''t have any feelings for her. This engagement was an arrangement that our parents came up with on their own, without any input from either of us."


    "So what are you going to do?" Lyra asked.


    S¨¹ren stared at the pale liquid in his champagne flute.


    "I need to figure out a way to break the engagement off without starting an internal civil war."


    "Civil war? Is it that serious?"


    S¨¹ren nodded. "Her father is the Grand Duke Julian Abberbie. He holds almost half the military power of the reptilians."


    He threw back his head and tossed the remaining liquid down his throat, wishing it was a bit stronger than this little bit of bubbly froth.


    "If I do something that seems as if I am slighting his daughter, which he takes as a p in his face, he could start a war that would decimate much of the dragon worlds."


    "Well that''s not good." Lyra grimaced. "So she''s basically a political bargaining chip."


    S¨¹ren nodded again.


    "You know," Lyra gave him a knowing look. "My brother is the Prime Warrior of Erenveil. Maybe we can ask him to¡­keep me ''safe''."


    "That''s¡ª" S¨¹ren shook his head. "That''s not something I can ask the Prime Warrior to do. If I hold more than half the military power of the dragon kind and I cannot even protect my own bride, I am not fit to be a husband."


    Lyra grimaced and stood up with her arms akimbo.


    "But I am not just a decorative trophy, nor am I a political bargaining chip." Her dazzling blue eyes were now sparkling, but with anger.


    "Sharina has a father who is willing to back her up. I also have a father AND a brother who will back me up!"


    Gwendolyn bit her tongue and tried not tough. The girl truly knew her worth. Rex and te would definitely back her up, even if it was military strength that she needed.


    S¨¹ren shook his head. "I will figure this out in my own way. I have already sent a proposal to your father for your hand in marriage. I do not want to have to ask your father for help to secure it."


    His face grew red with embarrassment.


    "It would look as if I was going after you for political gain, and that is not true at all."


    Gwendolyn nodded. S¨¹ren had a point. If he could not convince Rex that he was not after Lyra for purely political and military power, there was no way that Rex would allow Lyra to marry him.


    S¨¹ren turned to Lyra with pleading eyes.


    "Lyra. I honestly did not even know who you were when I first met you. I just went with my heart." He sighed.


    "When I found out you were an Imperial Princess of Erenveil, I felt so hopeless. You were so far out of my reach but I still had to try to reach you because I knew I couldn''t live without you."


    Lyra''s eyes grewrge. Her hand automatically reached up for therge dragon opal around her neck.


    "She doesn''t have a dragon opal." Lyra murmured, barely audible.


    "What?" Gwendolyn asked, unsure of what Lyra meant.


    "I remember the moment I faced off with that brown hair girl. She didn''t have a dragon opal on her." Lyra''s eyes narrowed in thought.


    "No. She does not." S¨¹ren acknowledged.


    "Doesn''t the dragon opal have some significance in your world?" Lyra turned her brilliant blue eyes at him.


    "Yes. It is a gift that a male dragon gives to his bride on their wedding night."


    "We aren''t even engaged." Lyra fingered her stone. "How is it that I have this?"


    S¨¹ren leaned forward and gave her a serious, earnest look.


    "I gave it to you for safekeeping until I could present it formally upon our engagement." His eyes softened.


    "At the time I handed it to you, I knew I had to immediately return to Avalia, but I needed for you to understand my intentions and I needed for you to be assured of my return."


    He dropped his gaze to the dragon opal around her neck.


    "That opal is not something I would give lightly away. It belongs to one of my ancestral grandmothers, over a thousand years ago. And now it is yours forever."


    Lyra smiled.


    "I formally ept."

 Chapter 202 - Betrayal

    Gwendolyn''s eyes widened.


    "Wait. Do you know what you are agreeing to?"


    Lyra turned to her mother. "He asked me to marry him. I formally agreed to an engagement time period of three years."


    She turned back to him. "Isn''t that right?"


    S¨¹ren nodded, unable to respond. Was she really only fifteen? She sounded so mature and grown up.


    "I ept but I do have a couple of conditions of my own." Lyra raised her chin, looking down at him from her standing position with her hands still on her hips.


    "Speak," S¨¹ren bid.


    Lyra held up one finger. "First. You must understand that I am not yet of age to be married. I cannot legally sign any marriage documents for another three years. You must wait for me for three years."


    He nodded. "I agree."


    Lyra smiled and held up a second finger. "Second, you are allowed to choose only me. I demand to be the only woman in your heart."


    He nodded again with a big smile. "I agree."


    She turned her nose and looked upward into the ceiling.


    "In return, I will agree to not look at any other man around me as possible suitors as you will be the only one in my heart. And when the timees, I will be marrying only you."


    S¨¹ren nodded again, his eyes never leaving her face. He sported a big goofy grin that Gwendolyn couldn''t help butugh at. However, she had a few concerns of her own.


    Gwendolyn raised a hand. "I have a few questions about this."


    "You say you will choose only Lyra, but what if other brides are chosen for you by your family? Does that mean my daughter will get pushed further and further back down the line of consorts, as more and more women marry you before she can?"


    S¨¹ren shook his head, his eyes intense. "I will marry no one but Lyra."


    "Your family will not agree to that decision." Gwendolyn sighed.


    She, more than anyone, knew what it meant to be a Crown Prince. It didn''t matter what the Crown Prince wanted. It only mattered what the Crown Throne needed.


    "I don''t care. I would rather give up my Crown Prince title than lose Lyra. If they want to hand the Crown over to my younger brother, then I will dly hand it back to them on a nice red cushion, along with the fianc¨¦e that I did not have a choice in."


    Lyra grimaced at this moment. "You could have told me she was your fianc¨¦e. At least I wouldn''t have¡­assaulted her when she jumped on you."


    "Are you kidding???" S¨¹renughed. "My heart nearly burst with pride and honor that you were defending me against another woman. That told me more than anything, how you felt."


    "That may be the case, but next time, talk to me about these important things. Don''t leave me in the dark." Lyra chided him.


    "I will." S¨¹ren promised.


    Even if it turned out to be one of the most difficult things he promised to her, S¨¹ren would fulfill her request.


    =============


    That night, King Batsaikhan contacted S¨¹ren for a personal heart-to-heart chat. Things had escted to the point where some hard lines had to beid down.


    S¨¹ren was in his private bed chambers getting ready for bed when the King''s summoning call sounded.


    "So you''re finally back." The King stared at S¨¹ren, with sullen eyes. "How unimportant am I that you neglected to even call me to let me know?"


    "Father, you know everything that happens on this. How would you not know that I hadnded." S¨¹ren grimaced.


    King Batsaikhan rubbed at his temple and unwound the turban towel that he wore on his head. A tumble of long silky ck hair fell down around his shoulders.


    "Do you know how long it took for me to assuage the Grand Duke Julian Abberbie that I would properly chastise you for allowing a young female to assault the Lady Sharina?"


    "Father. That young female is the Imperial Princess Lyra." S¨¹ren narrowed his eyes. "Sharina raised her ws against the Princess. Do you know what the penalty for that is?"


    "Of course I do, but we need to y this down, Son. We cannot allow anything to happen to Sharina."


    "What about Princess Lyra? She nearly got wed to death by Sharina!" S¨¹ren insisted.


    "Well nothing happened to either one of them, so let''s just keep everything calm and cool. We cannot be dealing with intergctic incidents at this time."


    "All it would take is for the Royal Consort Gwendolyn or Princess Lyra to report this to the Emperor or the Prime Warrior and it will be an intergctic incident." S¨¹ren snarled.


    "It would be your job as Crown Prince to keep everything in a calm and happy state. Talk to them and make sure they''re happy for the duration of their stay with us."


    "They will be staying for three years, Father."


    "Three¡ªthree years? Why so long?" King Batsaikhan gasped, rubbing at his newly washed hair that had just been released from his turban towel.


    "It''s our engagement period. I''m going to marry Lyra after three years."


    "Her mother knows?" King Batsaikhan''s eyes grewrge.


    "Her mother knows."


    "And she epts?"


    "They do have a couple of demands, but nothing that I was not happy to agree to."


    "What? That they will subjugate dragon kind?"


    S¨¹ren rolled his eyes. "No Father."


    "I can''t think of anything that they could demand that would be a huge issue with us. Still, for her to ept that her daughter will be a Consort, that''s quite amazing to me."


    S¨¹ren shook his head. "Lyra is going to be Queen."


    King Batsaikhan narrowed his eyes.


    "I hope you didn''t promise them that."


    "I did."


    "You fool. There is no way for you to fulfill that."


    S¨¹ren stared at his father. "Did you take the Crown Prince and hand it over to Altan?"


    King Batsaikhan shook his head.


    "Of course not. You are still Crown Prince, but you will be married in two weeks. The wedding has already been set."


    "Father, why do you always do things without talking it over with me first?" S¨¹ren scowled.


    "I had to promise to marry the both of you as soon as possible just to calm things down. Julian Abberbie was ready to raid your castle looking for the girl who assaulted his daughter."


    "Do you know what would have happened to him if he had done that?"


    "I''m not stupid Son. I do understand who Princess Lyra is, but if you marrying Sharina is going to calm the situation down, then marry her you must!"


    "And if I don''t?"


    "You have no choice. Marriages are not for children to determine, it is for parents to determine."


    "Father. Don''t push me into a corner with no way out."


    "Son." King Batsaikhan sighed. "You make it seem as if I am handing over a terrible woman for you to marry. Sharina is a really beautiful girl who has been reared specifically for the position of Queen."


    "And you think Princess Lyra is some riff-raff who would not make a good queen?"


    "I did not say that Son." He shook his head. "Princess Lyra is an Imperial royalty from Erenveil. Anyone she marries will count their lucky stars."


    "It''s just me who is the unlucky bastard who''s not allowed to marry her?"


    "S¨¹ren. Give her to Altan. He is more suitable for her. He''s a second Prince who will not be able to have a throne, and he''s closer to her in age."


    "Tell you what Father. I will give him the Crown Prince Throne, and Sharina as well." S¨¹ren snarled.


    "You cannot do that. Altan does not have your aptitude for this position. You are the Crown Prince and you must take up the responsibility to your world and your race."


    "Father." S¨¹ren eyed him with fierce determination. "All my life, I have done everything you''ve ever asked of me. This is the one time when I must refuse. I will not allow you to ruin my life."


    King Batsaikhan sighed heavily. "Son. Right now, you will be mad at me, but you are going to thank me in the future."


    His eyes were dark and somber as he waved a hand in silentmand.


    Immediately, S¨¹ren''s bedroom began to be filled with a sweet smelling smoke.


    As S¨¹ren''s eyes stared at his father''s face on the visual disy in tragic dismay, hisrge body sank to the floor in a solid thud.


    "Take him away.." King Batsaikhan waved another hand and his visual screen winked out of existence.

 Chapter 203 - Opal Exchange

    Morning dawned, overdue and sluggish above the frigid white dragon world of Avalia.


    Lyra snuggled deep within her nkets, not wanting to awaken just yet. She was still filled with visions of S¨¹ren''s beautiful dark almond eyes, looking at her with such adoration and longing, it made her feel such warmth inside.


    A gentle knock on the door alerted her to the chamber maid who came in to rekindle the fire that had died out in the night.


    With her expert ministration, there was once again, a nice warm little fire that crackled merrily in the small potbelly stove that stood in the corner. The warmth of the fire began spreading out, heating the ambient air to a nice warm temperature.


    "When are we expect for breakfast?" Lyra asked the chamber maid.


    "Your Royal Highness, breakfast will be in an hour. Prince Altan will also be joining you for breakfast." She bowed.


    An hour. She would meet up again with S¨¹ren in an hour.


    Lyra''s heart rose in joy.


    "I want to bathe."


    "Yes, Mdy. I will have two attendants help you with bathing routines."


    After her bath, the attendants dressed her in some frilly floral pattern thing. They brushed and curled her hair and made her look like a cute little dress-up doll, and all the while, Lyra was wondering why all themotion just to have breakfast.


    Once they were done fussing with her appearance, the attendants escorted Lyra and her mother out onto an enclosed veranda overlooking the blustery cliffs. The winter storm was still blowing like mad,yering new wet sticky snow on top of theyer that had beenid the day before.


    It was frigid outside, but inside, the firece lent its warmth to the ambient temperature and left its telltale signature of a smoky pine-scented aroma mixed with a delicious scent of freshly brewed coffee and pastries that had just left the oven.


    There was a square table that had been moved towards the firece. It was covered in fine white linens and polished dinnerware. The center was set with a bowl of fresh winter camellias in a deep intense shade of pink.


    Seated at the table was a young man Lyra had never met but she instantly knew who he was.


    The man looked very simr to S¨¹ren, but was different in the way he carried himself.


    He was just as tall as S¨¹ren, but not as broad-chested. Just as handsome as S¨¹ren, but not as self-assured. Just as friendly as S¨¹ren, but not as cultured.


    In Lyra''s eyes, he was just like S¨¹ren, but missed the mark in almost every category.


    His hair was shoulder-length and the same glistening ebony as S¨¹ren''s, but his eyes were different. S¨¹ren''s eyes were a deep chocte brown. This man''s eyes were a greenish hazel, with specks of gold.


    "Your Royal Highnesses." He stood up and bowed to both. "My name is Altan. I am S¨¹ren''s younger brother. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."


    "The pleasure is all ours," Mother said.


    Lyra looked around. "Where is S¨¹ren?"


    Altan cleared his throat. "He is away on important business and will not be back for a few days. I have taken his ce to be your escort for the time being."


    Lyra''s hand absently reached up to touch her dragon opal.


    "I want to speak with him. Can you call him for me?"


    Altan''s eyes zeroed in on the dragon opal pendant.


    "He''s in an area where it is difficult to contact at the moment, but I''ll see what I can do."


    Lyra looked at her mother with a questioning gaze.


    There was no area in the civilized space that was ''difficult to contact'', especially if they were of the royal ss. Not even pirate space was difficult to carry outmunications channels.


    S¨¹ren would have never simply left them alone in a strange world without at least a single call to reassure them he was fine and would be back.


    Something was odd about the whole situation, but Mother''s eyes shot a barely perceptible warning glint for Lyra to drop the subject.


    With a grim smile, Lyra nodded.


    Mother was a purebred wolf. She was never one to let sleeping dogs lie. Whatever the situation was, Mother would figure it out with her lupine nose.


    Lyra and Mother were given ces to sit next to the firece, which they gratefully took.


    While hot drinks were being brought out, Altan chatted with them in an effort to entertain them.


    Mother asked all sorts of leading questions and Altan did his best to answer them. She was an expert questioner. She started off with simple gentle questions but as Altan answered them, she ferreted out more and more details, some of which were quite juicy indeed.


    As the breakfast was being brought out, the questions began to turn towards S¨¹ren and what his role was in the Dragon Kingdom.


    It was at this moment that a tall stately man with a strong pale face and long ck hair dressed in deep red royal robes appeared through the entry archways.


    He was nked by two attendants who wore ck robes with gold tassels on their shoulders.


    The man''s eyes lit up when he saw Lyra and her mother. The corners of his mouth turned upwards in a genteel smile.


    "It is our pleasure and honor to have the Royal Consort Gwendolyn and her daughter, the Imperial Princess Lyra, at our humble home in Avalia."


    He held out a hand in a weing gesture.


    "My name is Batsaikhan. I am S¨¹ren''s and Altan''s father."


    Lyra and mother stood up and greeted the King, and then breakfast began in earnest.


    "So, Lady Gwendolyn. I know you just arrived, and S¨¹ren''s ce is quite nice, but there are so many other ces in and around Avalia that we would love to show you and your daughter."


    Mother smiled that regal smile Lyra knew so well.


    "I appreciate the offer, King Batsaikhan. S¨¹ren has assured us that he will take us around to see the sights, and I have already taken him up on the offer."


    "Ahhh. About that." King Batsaikhan harrumphed. "S¨¹ren is a bit tied up at the moment. If you don''t mind, Altan could take you around so you can enjoy the sights."


    Lyra smiled. "Mother, you can go. I would rather wait for S¨¹ren toe back and take me."


    King Batsaikhan shook his head. "That will take awhile since he has been called away on a very important trip."


    Lyra turned back to the King with dazzling blue eyes.


    "I can wait." She reached up and touched her dragon opal. "I have plenty of time to wait for his return."


    King Batsaikhan nced at the dragon opal with an unfathomable look in his eyes.


    "That dragon opal is very nice." He murmured.


    "S¨¹ren gave it to me." Lyra proudly boasted.


    "I have another dragon opal that I could trade you for it." The King''s eyes were veiled. "It is slightlyrger and a bit more valuable. The one you have is a family heirloom which I would like to retain, if you are amenable to the exchange."


    Lyra turned to the King with brilliant blue eyes.


    "Whose dragon opal is it? If it''s yours, I am sorry but I can''t ept it.. I''m far too young to be one of your consorts."

 Chapter 204 - A Fugitive And A Prisoner

    "No, no!" King Batsaikhan waved a hand in protest. "This one belongs to Altan, not to me."


    Lyra looked over at Altan, who flushed and looked away.


    Lyra shook her head, fondling S¨¹ren''s opal with loving fingers.


    "I will not trade with you. I have epted S¨¹ren''s dragon opal and all that it signifies."


    The King shook his head.


    "I''m terribly sorry, but you cannot keep that opal. It truly does not belong to you."


    "S¨¹ren has given it to me as a promise gift. He promised he would wait three years for me and I promised that I would marry him in three years. Therefore, this absolutely belongs to me."


    King Batsaikhan shook his head.


    "You don''t understand. It''s not just the stone that does not belong to you. Neither is my son S¨¹ren. He is already engaged to be married."


    Lyra lifted her chin in defiance.


    "S¨¹ren has told me that he will break off the engagement. I trust his words."


    King Batsaikhan held out a hand towards Altan.


    "S¨¹ren is far too old for you, my dear. I think you and Altan would be morepatible. Spend some time with him and get to know the man he is."


    "Ten years between a man and a woman is hardly considered far too old." Lyra sniffed. "My mother and father are fifteen years apart, and I''m sure you have consorts who are much younger than you."


    The look on King Batsaikhan''s face showed clearly he had lost that argument.


    "In any case, if you would please return the opal back to my family, I would appreciate it. I will have Altan gift you his dragon opal. The stones are very simr and you won''t even know the difference."


    "Well, obviously there is a difference since you want this one back and are trying to get me to ept an inferior stone. I only want the best. I will keep S¨¹ren''s opal." She held her hand over the opal pendant in a protective gesture.


    King Batsaikhan narrowed his eyes. It looked as if she had made up her mind and there was nothing more he could say to change it.


    He shot a quick look at the attendants and they moved to Lyra''s side. Their intent was very clear. They would forcibly remove her pendant, whether she liked it or not.


    The Royal Consort Gwendolyn was no fragile flower. She was a werewolf and could smell their intent a mile away.


    Moving quickly, Gwendolyn grabbed the hot pot of coffee in front of her and flung it at the nearest attendant.


    "Aaaaaahhh!!!" The attendant cried out as the hot coffee pot smashed into his face and sshed onto his body.


    Meanwhile, Lyra had jumped onto her chair. She lowered her body into a fighting stance and kicked out at the second attendant with her strong right leg.


    BAAAM!!! He went flying across the room.


    Altan rose from the table, his eyes horror-stricken. What the hell was Father doing??? These were not just regr guests. They were part of the Imperial Erenveil family!


    He was going to jump in between Father and the women when the pce guards began running towards them with ill intent.


    "Run Lyra!" Mother cried out as she flung her silverware at the guards who were quickly approaching.


    Lyra grabbed onto her chair, and with force, flung it at the window next to her.


    CRASH!!!


    The ss window shattered intorge jagged shards.


    With a quick leap, Lyraunched herself out therge window that looked out over the rugged churning ocean below.


    "NO!!!" Altan cried out, his hand reaching out in futile protest.


    FWOOOMPH!!!


    Her bat wings unfurled behind her as she dipped and soared away into the howling blizzard.


    ================


    The buzzing in his ear was barely audible at first. It was intermittent and did not intrude into his mental state, but then it got louder.


    And louder.


    And louder.


    Finally, S¨¹ren''s eyes blinked open trying to find the source of the offending sound, but there was no sound anywhere. It was just random noise within his mind.


    Immediately, he could see the pale ceiling with its unfamiliar painted surface. Looking around, he could see soft silk nkets and cushions of pinks and blues and yellows that he was lying on.


    Where was he?


    S¨¹ren tried to rise from the bed but realized that his hands were tied above his head and his legs had been tied to the bed posts with strong ropes.


    His eyes narrowed. Did they think he was a weakling?


    He yanked at the ropes, trying to break free, but the more he struggled, the more the ropes began to tighten where they bound him.


    "Aaaarggghhh!!!" He growled and began shifting into his dragon form.


    Toote, he realized that the ropes had been magicked to amodate his every shifting form.


    "Father!!!" He shouted. "What kind of fucking father are you to do this to your own son???" He howled, cursing and yelling at the top of his voice.


    For an hour he howled and yelled, cursing at everyone and everything.


    Nobody came into the room.


    He yelled until he was hoarse and exhausted and finally he slumped back down onto the bed.


    The silence stretched out for another five minutes and finally the door opened.


    A girl poked her head into the room. Her auburn hair framed her small pale face with its pale amber eyes.


    "Sharina." S¨¹ren called out hoarsely.


    "S¨¹ren. Are you¡ªare you okay?"


    "What do you think? I''m drugged and tied up. You think I''m okay?"


    Sharina said nothing. She slipped in through the doorway and came near him.


    "Stay away from me!" He snarled.


    "I have to take care of you."


    "I said stay away!"


    "Your wrists and ankles are bleeding. Let me clean it." She tried again.


    S¨¹ren narrowed his gaze at her.


    "Why do you care? Isn''t this what you wanted? Tie me up and beat me into submission?"


    "No. S¨¹ren. I didn''t." She waved a frantic hand in protest.


    "Then untie me. If this is truly not what you want, untie me!"


    "I¡ªI can''t. I''m not allowed to."


    S¨¹ren nodded. "Good. Good. Very good. I didn''t know exactly who my enemies were before. Now it''s very clear. Guess who''s on my death list. Your entire family."


    Sharina''s eyes were moist.


    "Your Father was the one who ordered this."


    "And what is his objective? Keep me tied up like this for the rest of my natural life?"


    "No Son." A voice called out from the doorway. "You just need to stay put for another ten days."


    King Batsaikhan''smanding form strode into the room, his eyes narrowed with unfathomable thoughts.


    "In ten days, it will be your wedding day, and then afterwards, you will be free to live your newly married life."


    "Ten¡ªten days?" S¨¹ren''s eyes began to panic. "How long have I been out?"


    "About a day." King Batsaikhan responded, his arms folded across his chest as he regarded his son from above.


    "Lyra¡ª"


    "She is well. She and her mother are currently being entertained by your brother." King Batsaikhan''s eyes were veiled.


    There was no reason to tell S¨¹ren that Lyra had flown the coop. Where could she possibly go? There was a blizzard howling about. She would get cold and eventually return to the castle.


    "Altan¡­I''m going to kill him if he does anything to hurt Lyra!"


    "Pshah!" King Batsaikhan spat. "Why would Altan hurt his future wife? You have no need to worry. They are very well-cared for."


    "If he marries her, I''m going to kill him."


    King Batsaikhan scowled. "You will do no such thing. It will be three years by the time Altan and Lyra get married.. By then, you will be too busy taking care of your own family and children."

 Chapter 205 - Beach Blondes

    Above the bright blue skies of Lucas'' Ind, a battle raged on overhead. It had been ongoing for five solid days, with plenty of casualties on both sides.


    Sometimes, tiny streaks of burning meteorites streamed across the sky, indicating that some small spacecraft had exploded and med on impact of the atmosphere.


    At other times, the explosion could be seen, especially at night, as a tiny unspectacr blossom of fireworks.


    On the idyllic ind, however, it was tranquil and lush and peaceful and warm.


    The sun still shone. The flowers still bloomed. The birds still sang. And the waves still rolled with an endless undtion onto the powder white sands of Lucas'' Ind.


    It may seem to have been grossly unfair that Lucas got to lounge around a tropical paradise apanied by their beautiful wife while the rest of the men were in the thick of warfare, but the truth was far more precarious and strategic.


    Lucas had been charged with a very important task¡ªthat of protecting their Queen while the Warrior Princes fought the dangerous battles in deep space.


    Ever since the Royal Pce had been attacked by visuals gathering pods, the entire royal family had been secreted away to various locations in and around Erenveil.


    The ind that seemed almost deserted was actually manned and guarded around the clock with covert military aircrafts and spacecrafts. Candace''s location was a deep secret that only the Princes and a few high level people knew.


    Under the cloak of military anonymity, nothing marred the perfect sleepy days and the intensely erotic nights. Sometimes, it was the other way around, whereby the days were intensely erotic and the nights were perfect and sleepy.


    Irregardless of the time of day or night, it always started and ended with Candace.


    Lucas was starting to gain his confidence in his abilities to be her perfect lover. Having never had a lover, she was his alpha and his omega.


    He threw himself wholeheartedly into the task of loving Candace, tailoring his lovemaking and fine-tuning it to her exact needs. For him, there had been no other woman and there would be no other woman.


    It took him two days to befortable lounging around with her wearing nothing but a smile.


    By the third day, they actually found it strange to have to put on clothing to emerge from their private beach and have a real sit-down dinner while their attendants ran about serving them.


    After those fully-clothed dinners, they were more than relieved to shed their clothing and once again, cuddle in each other''s arms and chat about nothing at all, or nap, or makezy love that could end in an explosive orgasm.


    Or not.


    Lucas was amazed to realize that it didn''t really matter what they did. He was ludicrously happy as long as she was by his side.


    Now that he had gotten thisfortable around her, he felt his confidence swelling up like the tides. It was as if he could just be himself and she would still love him anyway.


    Candace never judged. Never made him feel inadequate. She just epted him, warts and all. He never had to worry about any of his ''what ifs''.


    What if she didn''t like the mole on his left hip? What if she didn''t like his sense of humor? What if she thought his pink hair was too strange. What if she hated his fashion sense? What if she didn''t like the way he smelled? What if his penis wasn''trge enough to make her happy?


    All these thoughts had swirled around him like a swarm of angry bees, clouding his judgement and making him ashamed of his body and sense of self.


    Candace just came in and POOF!!! all those angry buzzing insecurities just shriveled up and dropped to the ground. He didn''t know how she did it, but it was like magic.


    They werezing around under arge beach umbre on a nket spread over the soft warm sands when yet another meteor shower burst over their heads. It wasrge enough to be at least one warship''s worth of damage.


    Lucas immediately sent up a prayer of hope that it wasn''t one of their spacecrafts. He prayed that his brothers were unharmed and things would return to normal soon.


    Thinking about his brothers made Lucas realize it was the sixth day of his allotted seven days.


    He nced over at Candace.


    She was lying on her stomach with her honey blonde head resting on a folded towel, half asleep as she enjoyed the cool gentle zephyr blowing into shore from the distant reaches of the deep ocean.


    Lucas'' eyes teared up. His time with her was swiftlying to an end. Tomorrow, he would have to deliver his precious wife over to Jason so Candace could retrieve the Avgo shard from him.


    His rational brain understood that it was necessary and that the Avgo had dictated its needs. He wanted this child with everything inside him, and yet he could not help but feel twinges of jealousy.


    He reached up with an angry hand, dashing the tears from the corners of his eyes. His quick motion alerted Candace and brought her fully awake.


    "What''s the matter, Love?" Candace turned to him with her soft hazel eyes.


    Lucas shook his head. He couldn''t just say that he was jealous of his other brothers.


    The person who had every right to be jealous and upset was Dante, not Lucas. If it hadn''t been for the untimely meddling of the Avians, Candace would have been married to Dante, the true Crown Prince.


    "Something is wrong. I can feel your mood."


    Lucas sighed. Why did he think he could hide anything from his wife?


    "Today is ourst day to be together. I have to take you to Jason''s floating ind tomorrow."


    "It''s not thest day. You''re my husband. I''ll be back in your arms in no time t."


    "We each get one week and then we have to wait six weeks to be together again."


    "Only for now, while I gather the Avgo Shards. Eventually, it will not be that long."


    Her eyes lit up.


    "How about instead of seven days for each of you men, maybe we can cut it down to a couple of days at a time. That way, you will see me two days out of each two weeks."


    Lucas nodded, but still seemed a bit upset so Candace did what she always did when he seemed a bit sad.


    She began touching him to distract him.

 Chapter 206 - Two-Stroke Engine

    [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT]


    Lucas sighed. "You''re trying to distract me, but it''s not going to work this time."


    "Why? Is your hard-on too sad to feel anything?" Candace asked with a cheeky grin as she hovered over him and began raining butterfly kisses onto his jawline and his neck. "Do kisses not work any more?"


    Of course they worked, Lucas crossly thought. They worked far too well since she knew exactly where to kiss to turn his insides to soft melted butter.


    She knew he loved having his jawline kissed and she knew he loved having his neck licked.


    Lucas shut his eyes to keep the brilliance of her smile from distracting his very real, very sad thoughts about losing her for six weeks to his brothers.


    Unfortunately, he could do little about the sensations she was building up in him with her nuzzling lips and little pink tongue, licking his skin.


    "I''m not going to be able to see you for six weeks." He mumbled with a pout. "That''s like forever. You''re such a huge part of my life now that I won''t know what to do with myself."


    Candace moved back up and covered her mouth with his own, effectively silencing his grumblings. She began sucking gently on his juicy lower lip until he quivered with erotic sensations.


    "Hmmmmm." His throat gave an involuntary groan. She was barely just starting to kiss him and already, his body had started to react in a big way.


    His tongue came out, wanting the same treatment so Candacetched onto it and gently sucked that too.


    "Nnngggggghhh." He heard himself sob with delight as she continued invading deep into his mouth with her delicious tongue, causing all sorts of feels to swirl around his body.


    He reached for her head, running his fingers through her long silky blonde hair. With both hands, he gathered up her long tresses into a tidy bundle and held it back to make it easier for her to kiss him


    Its silken length was a darker color than his own long ash blond hair, the color richer and more intense. He loved her hair so much.


    Heaving a great sigh, Lucas tried to refocus on his tragic circumstances, but it was already toote.


    Her soft pink lips were already starting to roam downwards tickling at his male nipples. Unfortunately for Lucas, he had been born with male-looking nipples that had more nerve endings than most women had.


    He took a deep breath and held it in, trying hard not to shiver with delight. What would Candace think if she knew that he loved getting his nipples fondled and suckled? That would be too embarrassing.


    "Lucas," Candace was mumbling around his nipple. "Love, I have an idea."


    "Hmmmmm?" He responded, not daring to open his mouth for fear he would moan with ecstasy as her mouth continued to torment one of his nipples while her hand rolled and pinched his other nipple.


    "We have the rest of today to do anything we want. Why don''t we try making love as long as possible?"


    "Hmmmm?" He asked again.


    Being new to all of this lovemaking, Lucas could neverst very long. It just felt too good for his body to handle. He made up for it with his hands and lips, and repeated short bursts of coupling, but to go the distance, he hadn''t quite mastered that yet.


    Of course, he couldn''t tell her that. Too embarrassing.


    Candace plopped her body back down onto therge towel and pped her chest.


    "Come up on top of me." She invited.


    Lucas rolled onto his forearms and gazed down at her. She was a tiny woman and he was tall and big. Was she asking him to crush her?


    He climbed onto her body, his hands outstretched to keep most of his weight off her.


    "Lookie there," she pointed to his male member that had grown stiff and hard from her licking and sucking his nipples.


    He looked down, feeling a tiny bit of shyness creeping back up again. He fought it down hard. She was his legal wife and they were having normal intimate loving rtions.


    "I''m not going to touch you there because that''s too much stimtion." She was murmuring into his hear. "You''re going to try and enter me without using your hands."


    Lucas nodded. He could do that.


    "Now, once you are in, stroke inside me until you feel as if you are ready to climax. As soon as you feel the urge starting to rise, pull it out and rest it on top of me."


    Lucas nodded again. He could do that¡­he hoped.


    Her hands reached up and cupped his face.


    "Remember. No hands." She smiled encouragingly.


    He nodded. This he could do. He was still resting the bulk of his torso on his forearms and holding his weight off her body so his hands were not quite free to do much anyway.


    Lucas slipped a knee between her legs and separated her thighs. Then he began moving his hips to align the head of his shaft in between the lips of her soft warm peach.


    She was already so wet he didn''t need to do anything.


    Following his natural instincts plus the experience he''d gained this entire week, Lucas rooted around until he found entry. With a barely suppressed moan, he slipped his body into hers.


    As her softness surrounded him, Lucas began to lose his sense of reality. Everything was a pinkish purple haze of ecstasy.


    What was it she told him to do? Oh yes. Pull out if he felt the urgeing on too strong.


    But what if it had already started off too strong? Should he just pull out right away?


    No. He needed to soldier on as much as possible.


    He stroke a couple of times inside of her, feeling his need rising. It was rising too fast.


    Panting, Lucas scrunched up his face and bore the brunt of staving off the rising tides of his desire. The feeling was so good, he did not want to pull out.


    But she was his goddess. If she said he had to pull out right before he ejacted, then he would do everything he could to follow her directions.


    Gritting his teeth, he pulled out of her body.


    Who was he kidding? He was just a two-stroke engine that couldn''t do much more than stroke twice before he sputtered and spewed his load.


    "There you go. Good job."


    Lucas blinked with astonishment. Candace was actually praising him for his two strokes!


    Emboldened by her praise, he began running through his head, thetest script that he had memorized right before Byron killed his movie deal.


    It was a boring dialogue having to do with criminal justice or some other dull thing that needed his looks and fame to lift it out of the doldrums.


    The script helped cool down his ardor for a bit and within minutes, he was ready to try again.


    He took a deep breath and repositioned himself.


    Slowly, he began entering her. Slowly and gently so he would not trip thetch too quickly, he pushed himself all the way up to the hilt.


    Candace took a swift intake of breath and shuddered. He had hit her O spot with that gentle thrust. She tried not to spasm around him, knowing that her strong vaginal muscles could provide too much stimtion for his shaft.


    They looked at each other with impish grins and Lucas nearlyughed out loud.


    He wasn''t the only one who was trying hard not toe. She was also nearly there and probably chanting boring prayers inside her head to keep her pretty pink pussy from biting down on his shaft.


    Lucas breathed.


    Here we go again.

 Chapter 207 - Whos The Badass Lion Now?

    [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT]


    He began rocking her gently. Ever so gently.


    This time, hested five strokes before he had to pull out of her body.


    Unfortunately, he had waited just a second too long. A clear stream of colostrum spewed from the tip of his manhood, jetting onto Candace''s belly.


    Lucas took a deep breath. He''d failed to do as she asked because it had felt too good and he didn''t want to pull out.


    "That was close," Candace was smiling. "Just pre-cum though. You''re still hard as a rock and your sperm is still stewing in your sacs."


    Lucas looked down and realized she was right. He hadn''t ejacted yet.


    He released his breath and tried again, but this time, it felt different. He had discharged a tiny bit of his urgency, so it wasn''t as sharp and as intense.


    This time around, he was able to buck into her with more surety, the edge having been taken off his hunger.


    Lucassted almost five minutes before he had to pull out again. And again, more clear pre-cum oozed from the tip of his penis onto her belly.


    Desperately, he tried to hold back the tide, but unlike previous failed times, he won this battle.


    "Wow. You came twice and still have room to run." She grinned appreciatively.


    Lucas could only nod, trying to keep a lid on the whole thing.


    More script reading. More boring thoughts. He could do this. He was ready to push himself back in her again.


    This time, Lucas began to truly rock his body. He began to make love to her once again, pushing himself into her body in a slow and steady rhythmic thrusting. This was how Candace liked it...nice and slow.


    Unable to hold back, Candace was also meeting him half-way, moving her hips along with the cadence of his thrusts.


    With her movement added to his, Lucas could no longer maintain his tenuous grasp on his desires. It started to run away from him with each movement from her body.


    "Haaaah. I''m about toe." Lucas muttered with urgency. "I need to pull out again."


    He slowly pulled out, trying not to think about the fact that pulling out gave just as much pleasure as thrusting in.


    Hisrge veiny member trembled and pulsed as the shaft gleamed with thebined whitish fluids from both their bodies.


    More juices spurt from the slit on his pink knob, streaming onto her soft belly. This time, it was a thick white opaque viscous secretion.


    He was no longer just pumping out pre-cum. This was the real deal.


    "I need to stop doing this for a few minutes." He muttered. Any more and he would really lose his load and it would be GAME OVER¡ªat least for another half-hour.


    He scooted his body down the length of her stomach until his face was inches away from her womanhood.


    A sudden pulse of mncholic longing hit his sr plexus. It would be six weeks before he got a chance to kiss her petals again.


    He wanted to thoroughly kiss her now to assuage that gnawing loneliness that was starting to creep up on him. It was going to be a tough six weeks for him to have to endure.


    To hell with the no hands rule. That was only targeted at his penis. His lips were bound by different rules.


    Lucas used both his hands to part her vulva, opening her flower wide. The scent of her womanhood gave him such thrills he could not describe the sensation.


    He was a half-lion. His olfactory senses were far better than most people and it was this lion part of his body that fixated on her scent.


    This was the unique scent of his wife. The love of his life. He could never mistaken her for anyone else and could never mistaken anyone else for her.


    With his tongue, he began gliding up her inner lips, concentrating his licks on her engorged bud.


    Candace began mewling and moaning as Lucas teased and tantalized her swollen womanhood with his lips. When she could no longer handle much more of his stimtion, his tongue prated into her depths.


    "Aaaaaahhhh!!!" Candace shrieked with intense pleasure. His mouth was wide open and covered her entire womanhood, suckling and nuzzling with his lips and tongue, over and over and over.


    Her heart thumped a million miles a minute. Sweat beaded on her forehead as her body rode the waves of desire. The feels was so intense she could barely breathe.


    And then just as she began to feel the waves starting to crash onto shore, he pulled back and would not allow her to climax.


    "Aaaahhh," she moaned. "Lucas."


    "Hmmm?" He teased.


    "I want¡­"


    "You want what, Honey?"


    "Suck me more. Lick me more. I want more."


    "Hmmm." He began licking and sucking her elbow.


    "Not¡ªnot there."


    "Hmmm. Use your words. Where do you want me to suck and lick you, hmmm?"


    "Down there," she reached down to touch her womanhood.


    Lucas chuckled and went back down to continue giving his goddess what she demanded.


    Six days of perfecting his techniques of licking and tonguing her had resulted in his instinctive grasp of letting her climb as high as she could climb and then holding off until she could recover before assaulting her senses again.


    Moaning, Candace pulled on his head, demanding more licking and sucking. He smiled and willingly obliged.


    After teasing her for about half an hour and not allowing her toe, he finally gave her the release she demanded. This was his favorite part, kissing her body until she spasmed with orgasmic delight.


    As his tongue delved into her recesses, Candace screamed and bucked her body into his face with helpless abandonment.


    Her body began cascading female essence as she rode the crests of ecstasy. With each peak, Lucas sucked the gushing cum from her petals, swallowing it all into himself.


    He loved the taste of thebined juices that he excreted mixed with the thick juiceing out of her body. This was a part of her body that she gave to him and he epted gratefully.


    Rising back up again, Lucas went back to doing the stroke-and-pull-out game that she wanted him to y.


    Within a matter of minutes, her stomach was covered in tiny spurts and dribbles that he barely managed to contain every time he withdrew and rested his hot throbbing manhood on her lower belly.


    He could only manage it three more times before he finally gave up the ghost and, with two hard thrusts, exploded deep inside her body.


    "Aaaarggghhh!!!" His face scrunched up with the intensity of the pleasure. Spasms wracked his body as a vein bulged out from his neck as he shook with the effort of trying not to die from excessive ecstasy.


    "Haaaaaaahhh¡­" he panted, his strength giving out and he nearly crashed his body onto hers. At thest minute, he moved the bulk of his body onto her left side, barely dodging her ribcage and torso.


    "That was amazing, Love!" Candace stroke his sweat-damp hair. "Yousted almost two hours!"


    "I did?" Lucas gasped.


    "Yes!"


    Lucas turned his face into her shoulder and hid a secret smile. He could barely contain himself, he was bursting with so much pride.


    Who''s the badass lion now?

 Chapter 208 - The Future Dragon King

    The monarch of the Reptilian race, King Batsaikhan stared down at his son with deadly intent. His son needed to be taught onest lesson on how to be an effective ruler.


    He had to learn how to put aside his own wants and needs over the wants and needs of his own species if dragonkind were to survive against all other human races in the gxy.


    S¨¹ren began tough. As heughed, tears began streaming from his eyes.


    "You can''t force me to have children with her."


    King Batsaikhan shook his head.


    "I don''t have to force you. You and she will have a normal married life, and during that life, children wille."


    S¨¹ren shook his head in horror. This could not be happening to him.


    "You consider being drugged and tied up to be normal married life? I will not be forced into this farce!"


    King Batsaikhan shook his head.


    "It''s all very real son. In ten days, you and she will be married and once that happens, you will not throw away your life for a girl who can no longer be yours."


    "Watch me. You think pushing me into a corner is going to get you what you want? I will kill myself before I break my vow with Lyra."


    "Son," King Batsaikhan lowered his face to stare into S¨¹ren''s eyes. "Do you think throwing away your life is going to bring that Princess back to you? She''s permanently out of your reach. Just ept it and move on."


    "Never. I will never ept it. I will tell Lyra that I waspletely drugged for days."


    "And then what?"


    "She will understand."


    King Batsaikhan nodded. "I have met that girl in person. She most probably will understand."


    He bared his fangs. "But do you think the Emperor of Erenveil and his Consort will allow a married man to take their precious Princess as a Consort?"


    "Father. Please don''t do this to me. I beg you. Don''t destroy my life." S¨¹ren''s eyes filled with tears.


    His guts were torn to pieces and his heart was shed to ribbons. The worst thing about this was that it was his own father who was doing this to him.


    "Son." King Batsaikhan sighed. "Far from destroying your life, I am actually cing into your hands, the entire Dragon Kingdom sprawled across one-third of the gxy along with military forces from the royal side as well as from Grand Duke Abberbie''s side."


    His eyes grew fierce.


    "This is the first time we dragons will have a united military force. Dragonkind will never be looked upon as weak and fractured ever again, and you will be the King of it all."


    S¨¹ren''s face was sullen. "You can have it all. I don''t want it."


    "You don''t have a choice. You are the future Dragon King. You have to lead our species through the rough currents and take us to calm seas ahead."


    ============


    Lyra flew around for a bit until even her bat fur wasn''t warm enough to keep her aloft.


    The blizzard was truly blowing through in heavy gusts and ice was starting to form on her wings, causing her to be unstable.


    She needed to seek shelter or she would sumb to frostbite.


    "Aaaaaaaaaakkkk!!!" A squawk sounded above her.


    Lyra looked up.


    A familiar male dragon was circling above her. He was giving her whistles and hand signals for her to follow him.


    It was the slightly burned dragon who had taken Mother away from the Royal Pce the day of the attack.


    Lyra''s heart began to lift. He was one of S¨¹ren''s men.


    Lyra breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn''t stay out here for much longer. She had to trust someone and it might as well be one of S¨¹ren''s men.


    She raised her hand and gave him a signal, indicating that she had seen him.


    He nodded and gave a final gesture for her to follow him. Then, without waiting to see if she would follow, he took off towards the distant mountains to the east.


    Lyra flew off behind him, hopeful that whatever happened next, she would at least be able to reconnect with S¨¹ren.


    He flew ahead of her for about twenty or thirty minutes until they reached a cave high above the cliffs to the east of the ocean.


    It was hidden from direct view by all the gnarled oaks that were clinging cliffside and was not easily visible until she got close enough to see the cave''s mouth.


    Without hesitation, he flew into the cave, with Lyra following immediately behind.


    Once theynded on the lip of the cave, they retracted their wings and he gestured for her to follow him inside.


    A cursory nce showed only a small area in the front that was barelyrge enough to fit two people, but that was just a false front.


    Once they moved past a rock panel, the second chamber opened up into arge cavity with a ceiling that had to be at least twenty feet high.


    The cave was dimly lit by numerous clumps of glowing mushrooms from small strawberry-sized ones to those that were towering tubes the size ofrge trees. There were pale blues and yellows and oranges, mixed in with greens andvenders and pinks.


    The stctites and stgmites were also covered in some sort of glowing white lichen which also added to the general illumination of the ce.


    "Wow." Lyra looked around. "This ce is beautiful!"


    "Only if it remains hidden from the general poption." The dragon guard with burned feathers responded. "It takes decades to grow these illuminating fungi, and mere seconds to kill them."


    "My name is Lyra. What is your name?" She asked as she followed behind him.


    He stopped suddenly, causing Lyra to m into his back.


    "Ouch!" She gasped, rubbing her nose.


    "My apologies, Your Royal Highness." He said without turning around.


    She rubbed her nose, trying to alleviate the pain.


    "No, no. It''s my fault. There were so many men surrounding S¨¹ren that I never caught all your names."


    She took a deep breath. The pain in her nose was starting to go away. She tried again.


    "I have been meaning to talk to you actually. I wanted to thank you for saving my mother from the burning attack at our home earlier." She bit her lip. "I know you got burned¡­"


    He shrugged. "It was a minor singe. It didn''t affect my flying much. Those feathers will grow back."


    He paused. "My name is Erden."


    And with that, he continued striding forward without even looking back to see if she was following him.


    "Erden. Are you taking me to S¨¹ren?"


    "Eventually. We need to regroup first. I, along with the rest of his men are within this cave, awaiting the perfect timing for our next move."


    "What''s going on, Erden? Did something happen to S¨¹ren?"


    Erden continued moving forward without responding.


    A little ways in, they reached arge outcropping of stgmites. He reached out and touched one of the mounds and several stgmites dropped into the ground revealing a passageway.


    "Wee to ourir." He strode in and held out his hand.


    She reached out and took hold of his hand and was hauled within. The stgmites closed up and they were suddenly in the dark.


    Guided by nothing but his hand, she continued to walk alongside him for another five minutes until they reached a dimly lit aisle.


    Erden reached out and pushed another button and they walked out onto a darkened hallway.


    "Wow." She whispered.


    It was an opulent hallway, with tiled te floors and smooth walls painted a muted cream color.


    "Where¡ª"


    "We are underneath the Dragon Royal Pce, in one of the hallways that connect the store rooms to the rest of the pce." Erden replied. "It was once used by royalties in times of danger."


    "Hahaha." Lyraughed. "I''m royalty but we are running in the opposite direction."


    He gave her a grim smile. "That is true."


    She looked around the hallway they were walking through.


    "Why are we here?"


    "To save your husband."

 Chapter 209 - [Bonus ] The Grand Duke Of Mistvale

    "Save my¡ªmy husband?" Lyra whispered. Was S¨¹ren in danger? But this was his own home!


    "Yes. We will exin everything once we get to the cheese cave."


    Cheese cave?


    The cheese cave was actually part of the cave system that they had just exited but had be incorporated into the underground belly of the pce.


    It was cavernous, with rough stony walls and ceilings created aeons ago. The ground had been leveled and tiled with a blue-green te floor upon which row after row of floor-to-ceiling wire shelves had been installed.


    Each individual shelf held arge golden wheel of cheese that was still in the aging process. The rows and rows of cheese were endless and the smell was overpowering.


    "Why are we even in here?" She grimaced, holding her nose.


    "Because nobody goes in here unless they are tending to the cheese, and all the cheese tenders are part of our group."


    They had a cheese group? This was interesting, in more ways than one.


    "Where is the Cheese Group?"


    She had barely gotten the question out of her mouth when a dozen men, dressed in white food prep outfits popped out from between all the rows and rows of cheese wheels.


    "Your Grace." They sped their hands in front of their faces and bowed.


    Lyra was about to tell them to be at ease when Erden spoke up.


    "At ease."


    Lyra''s eyes widened. Erden was royalty???


    He turned back to face Lyra, his eyes intense with a deep dark zing light.


    "Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am the Grand Duke Erden of Mistvale."


    "You¡­you are King Batsaikhan''s brother?"


    He shook his head. "I am his uncle."


    Lyra''s jaw dropped. That would make him S¨¹ren''s great uncle!


    "But¡ªyou look so much younger than him!" Lyra sputtered. "King Batsaikhan is¡­old looking."


    "He''s old looking because he''s old. I''m younger looking because I was born after Batsaikhan."


    "I see." She said although really, she didn''t see. "So why would a Grand Duke be one of S¨¹ren''s men?"


    Erden shook his head. "I''m not. I was working alongside the Crown Prince on a major operation and I just happened to be with him when your pce was attacked."


    "Oh." Lyra nodded. "I thought those men were S¨¹ren''s guards."


    "They are. His men were all around him. I just happened to be standing next to him when the pce was attacked."


    "My apologies, Grand Duke. I didn''t realize who you were." Lyra smiled.


    He shook his head. "There was no time for introductions. We barely had enough time to flee from the chaos."


    "Does my mother know you''re the Grand Duke?"


    He shook his head. "I would prefer that she not know. She treats me very well. I do not want her to treat me any differently just because of my title."


    Lyra shrugged. Who was she to say what was best for people.


    Erden turned back to the twelve men standing around him.


    "What is the status on S¨¹ren?"


    "Sir, he is still tied up in Lady Sharina''s bed chambers."


    Lyra gasped.


    "I assume nothing untoward has yet urred." Erden raised his eyebrows.


    "No Your Grace. As soon as Prince S¨¹ren woke up, the King paid him a visit. He has just left Lady Sharina''s bed chambers."


    "And what of Lady Gwendolyn?"


    "Sir, she was caught by the King''s guards and has now been ced under arrest. She is not allowed to leave her bed chambers."


    "Hmmmph!" Erden''s face was twisted with anger. He turned to face Lyra.


    "You need to go rescue your husband. I will go extract your mother."


    "Number One, youe with me. Two and Three, go with Princess Lyra and make sure you help her get him out of there. The rest of you keep your eyes and ears tight to the ground and maintain vignce."


    "We will all meet onboard Draken w as soon as we have extracted our objectives."


    "Yes sir!"


    With a swift gesture, Erden dispersed the group.


    The two men who were identified as only Number Two and Number Three gave her a quick perfunctory bow and signaled for her to follow them.


    Lyra nodded and the two men took off at a swift pace without waiting on her. They were far taller than she was and it took all her energy just to keep up with them, but she could sense the urgency, so she sped up to maintain their grueling pace.


    By the time they reached Sharina''s bed chambers, there was no doubt that S¨¹ren was inside. They could hear him howling strings of curses at whoever was inside.


    "Get away from me bitch or I swear I will kill you as soon as I am freed!" He roared.


    Number Two and Number Three nodded at each other and, as one, kicked the door in.


    BAAAM!!!


    Lyra didn''t wait for them to give her the go-ahead. She ran right in.


    S¨¹ren was lying on the bed with his hands tied above his head and his legs spread wide open, each ankle tied to a bed post.


    He had tried to morph into his dragon self to escape his bonds but the restrictive bindings had only allowed a partial change. His arms had been tied in a manner that obstructed his wings from emerging.


    It was obvious that he was under duress and drugged with something that was causing him intense difort. His eyes were wild and barely sane as he was screaming and cursing bloody murder.


    The brown hair girl was pulling off her clothes and getting ready to climb onto S¨¹ren''s body. Her intent was clear. She was going to force him to have sex with her.


    Lyra''s blue eyes red red. With a single pounce, she vaulted into the room, ws outstretched.


    In a single heartbeat, she had closed the gap between her and the girl. Growling with blood thirst, Lyra whacked Sharina''s head with her w.


    As the girl''s body whipped around with the force of her attack, Lyra grabbed Sharina''s long hair and yanked her backwards.


    "Aaaaaaaahhhhh!!!" Sharina screamed. The agony of being yanked around by her long locks caused her to shriek in distress.


    "I told you to get off my man!!!" Lyra yelled as her strong right arm dragged the girl half-way across the floor by her long hair.


    Unable to break free from the position that she was snagged, Sharina shrieked and reached out to grab desperately onto her hair with both hands.


    "First offense, I kick your ass. Second offense, I kill you!" Lyra howled like the half wolf that she was and began beating Sharina''s face with her fists.


    All the training she''d received for ten years from te came out as she pummeled the girl with her fists and kicked with her feet.


    "Princess. We need to leave. Now!" Number Three interrupted her punishing retribution.


    "Aaaarghhh!!!" Lyra screamed with fury.


    With a final kick to Sharina''s head, she ran back to the two men who had S¨¹ren''s arms wound over each of their shoulders.


    Encumbered by S¨¹ren''s weight, they could not go as fast as they did before, but they were still fairly quick.


    Within minutes, they had reached the end of the corridor. One of the dragons delivered a strong kick to therge window and broke through.


    The two men gave Lyra a quick nod and mbered onto the window sill. As they jumped out, their dragon wings unfurled and they disappeared into the dark grey skies.


    Lyra ran after them, jumping out at the same speed they were moving. Her bat wings expanded rapidly, catching onto the frigid drafts of air that gusted upward.


    Using a bit of levitation magic, she kept herself aloft long enough for her wings to take over until she caught up with them.


    She knew they were taking S¨¹ren to their mother ship, and she did not want to be left behind.


    She needed to be with S¨¹ren, no matter what.

 Chapter 210 - [Bonus ] Warship Draken Claw

    Lyra followed the two dragons as they flew with S¨¹ren to an awaiting transport pod.


    As soon as the doors sealed shut, they had taken off for the warship Draken w.


    Draken w was a sparsely outfitted ship with much of the gunmetal grey structures exposed and uncovered. It was truly a working warship designated for the non ranking troops and not one of those fancy motherships that the high level officers like her brothers or S¨¹ren traveled on.


    The dark grey floor covering was thin and worn through in many ces and the few covered wall areas were there for practical purposes such as to housemand panels, or emergency levers and units.


    The sparse utilitarian furniture that were scattered throughout the ship were all standard pieces that theputer provided. There was nothing fancy, nothing colorful, nothing extraneous.


    Lyra, dressed in a deep sapphire tunic dress, was the only color spot in the entire ship that was filled with dragons dressed in ck and grey.


    She ran alongside two dragons who were half-carrying, half dragging the bulky muscr form of a barely conscious man between them.


    "Medic bay. Get ready to admit one patient." One of the dragons called out.


    Theputer system responded with an affirmative chime.


    Five minutester, they had arrived at the warship''s medic bay. It was just as sparse as the rest of the ship, with rows and rows of single cots that lined each wall, along with another row running down the center.


    They ced S¨¹ren on the nearest cot and a group of physicians immediately surrounded him.


    Number Two and Number Three pulled her away.


    "Princess. The physicians will be taking good care of him. Please follow us to your quarters."


    Lyra looked back at S¨¹ren. She couldn''t even see him any more, he had beenpletely surrounded by doctors of all sorts.


    There was nothing more she could do for him at this time.


    With some reluctance, she nodded and followed the dragons to another part of the ship.


    "Lyra!" Her mother called out as soon as she entered the doorway that Number Two and Number Three indicated.


    "Mother!" She ran to her mother and threw her arms around the tall stately woman with the same long ebony hair and dazzling blue eyes that she and te shared.


    "I''m so d the dragon men were able to rescue you from that horrible king!"


    Gwendolyn nodded and breathed a sigh of relief at seeing her daughter unhurt and in one piece. She had been fraught with worry the moment that Lyra had made her escape.


    Gwendolyn had not expected Lyra to jump out of the window in the middle of a raging blizzard, but at the heightened moment of danger, there really was nowhere else Lyra could flee but away from S¨¹ren''s pce.


    The truth was, without S¨¹ren to protect Lyra, danger lurked everywhere. They were the only two bats in an entire gxy filled with dragonkind. Although the Dragons were not enemies of Erenveil, they were not exactly bosom buddies.


    The only other person Gwendolyn was willing to trust was the guard who had sheltered her from the fiery maelstrom that had rained down on them the day their pce had gotten attack.


    In using his wings to shelter her, he had gotten the brunt of the fire, but he continued to carry her to safety even though he could barely fly with his wings so severely damaged.


    Somehow, the guard had known that she had been captured and locked into her bed chambers. He had fought through a dozen guards to take her away from her prison chamber and had carried her away to this warship.


    "Be at ease. We located your daughter and she will be joining you soon aboard our ship." He had reassured her.


    True to his word, within half an hour, Lyra hade running through the door, none the worse for wear.


    "Did you meet up with S¨¹ren?" Gwendolyn pulled Lyra over to the bed and sat down with her.


    "Yes!" Her eyes widened with rm. "Mother, he was captured by his own father, drugged, and tied to the bed!"


    "What???"


    Lyra harrumphed. "I rescued him Mother. That horrible fianc¨¦e of his was going to force him to have sex with her!"


    Gwendolyn frowned with consternation.


    Having lived in and around the courts, she had heard of these types of forced arranged marriages before, where forced intimacy was part of the controlling tools used to subdue the unwilling bride or groom.


    But it had always happened to some other consort''s child, some other queen''s daughter or son. It had never happen to a young man who she thought might one day be her own son-inw.


    This near-tragedy had hit very close to home.


    "How is he?"


    Lyra shook her head. "Other than drugged out of his mind, he doesn''t seem to have been touched by her or hurt anywhere else."


    Gwendolyn breathed a sigh of relief.


    "What did you do to her?"


    "I kicked the shit out of her." Lyra snarled.


    "Language, youngdy. I did not raise you to be a tramp."


    "I''m sorry Mother." Lyra mumbled. "But he was so helpless, tied up and drugged, and she was going to mount him and force herself on him. My rage just exploded."


    Lyra''s bright blue eyes were turning red again.


    Gwendolyn narrowed her eyes as she saw the glints of red in Lyra''s eyes. This was a possible concerning situation, but she was not going to borrow trouble.


    "We need to contact your brother and let him know what just happened. This warship is heading back towards the neutral zone. te should be able to pick us up at that time."


    Lyra bared her fangs. "I''m going make that king regret hurting my fianc¨¦. He''s going to pay for what he''s done."


    "That king is your fianc¨¦''s father." Gwendolyn reminded her.


    "Don''t worry. I won''t do anything to him that he hasn''t done to my man."


    Gwendolyn pursed her lips. "You call him ''your man'' as if the two of you have such a close rtionship. Might I remind you that the two of you have barely just met and may not be all thatpatible."


    Lyra grinned. "He gave me a dragon opal Mother, and he rescued me from that attack."


    "And you rescued him in return, from the machinations of his family. You owe him nothing at this point."


    "Well, I still owe him some kind of gift in return for the dragon opal, but I left so quickly, I don''t have anything on me." Lyra grimaced.


    Gwendolyn reached up and unpinned a stone from her cor.


    "Give him this, but only if you are serious about him."


    Lyra''s eyes widened as she held therge diamond pin in her hand.


    "Mother! That is the Analei Diamond you were given by Father as a wedding gift!"


    Gwendolyn shrugged. "It''s meant to be passed down to the next generation. Do you remember what happened to Anastasia''s Taralei Diamond?"


    Lyra nodded. "Yes. The Empress gave it to Brother Dante and he gave it to Sister Candace. But shouldn''t Brother te be the one to give the Analei Diamond to his woman?"


    Gwendolyn shook her head. "If I hand it over to him, he will also give it to Candace."


    She sighed. "Normally, I would not question the person he cares about, but Candace is the Prime Avgo Female and is married to the three Crown Princes of Erenveil. She is not destined to be with te."


    She shook her head with regret. Her poor son was the youngest Prince of Erenveil. To him woulde nothing. Even the Prime Warrior position, Gwendolyn had to fight and w the Emperor to obtain for te.


    Perhaps her daughter would fare better. Being married to a Crown Prince of the Dragon race was certainly not a bad oue, especially since S¨¹ren was so very besotted with Lyra.


    It was better than being sent off to some unknown prince from some far off kingdom whom Lyra had never met before.


    "Mother," Lyra was rambling on about something as she pinned the Analei Diamond to her dress cor. "What do you think about that dragon man?"


    "Who?" Gwendolyn turned startled blue eyes at her daughter.


    "Erden, the man who burned his wings rescuing you."

 Chapter 211 - [Bonus ] The Sweetest Of Debts

    "I¡ªI didn''t know his name." Gwendolyn blinked in confusion.


    "You never asked him?"


    Gwendolyn shook her head.


    "Every time I met him, it was always a great panic flight away from somewhere dangerous. I never got a chance to say anything to him."


    "Well, his name is Erden. Maybe you can talk to him a bit the next time you meet him."


    Gwendolyn nodded. "I will. I need to thank him for all three times that he''s rescued me."


    "Three times?"


    "Yes. Once at our pce. Once after wended on Avalia, right after you and S¨¹ren''s fianc¨¦e fought, and of course, thisst time when I was imprisoned in our bed chambers."


    Lyra gave her mother a meaningful look.


    "Don''t treat him like a servant or a bodyguard, Mother. He is neither of those."


    Gwendolyn gave Lyra a sharp look. What was this girl telling her?


    "I will treat him with utmost respect. Do not worry."


    Lyra nodded.


    ==============


    By dinnertime, S¨¹ren had recovered enough to join them in their private quarters.


    Although the meal and table setting was basic without all the usual floral and music apaniment, to Lyra, this was so exciting she could barely contain herself.


    Having grown up in thep of luxury, for Lyra, the best of the best was banal and boring.


    This¡­this was edgy and exciting! She was flying out in the middle of a far-flung deep space and she was doing things which were so much more fun than dressing up as a princess and preening at the world every day of her life.


    For the first time, Lyra truly felt alive!


    S¨¹ren, on the other hand, was barely able to contain his anger and embarrassment at what had happened to his precious girl and her mother.


    He was sitting at the bare metal dinning table next to his great uncle Erden, with Lyra and her mother across from them, trying to calm the queasiness that was churning in his stomach.


    The nausea had nothing to do with the military rations that they were being served, although the hot dogs and beans looked so unappetizing that he was ashamed to offer them to Lyra and Lady Gwendolyn.


    He was feeling sick to his stomach as a residual after-effect of all the drugs that had been used to subdue him.


    S¨¹ren was a massive dragon with legendary stamina and endurance. It would take arge amount of drugs to affect him to the point where he passed out and could barely move.


    S¨¹ren sighed and tried to eat a bite of the hot dogs and beans. He was host and if he didn''t eat at least a little, his guests would not feelfortable.


    The nausea hit him right in the sr plexus and he had to put down his fork as he fought the urge to gag. He had to maintain his stoic face so he wouldn''t cause his Lyra to be worried. Lord knows she had been frightened enoughtely.


    S¨¹ren had known that his father was despotic and dictatorial, but to go to the extent of drugging and tying S¨¹ren up and imprisoning royal members of the Erenveil kingdom, that went beyond tolerable.


    It waspletely uneptable.


    Things were definitely going to change from this point out. He had to rise to power and take over before his father caused an intergctic war between the Reptilians and the rest of the gxy.


    S¨¹ren was so busy trying to look as if he was not sick that he did not realize Lyra had taken his food away.


    "You''re barely well enough to sit here with us. This is not the kind of food you should be eating."


    She waved a hand to the attendant who was standing behind her.


    "Do you have any tea?"


    "Yes, Mdy."


    "Bring me a pot. Make it weak but warm."


    S¨¹ren gave her a grateful look and heaved a sigh of contentment. She was already acting like his wife by simply paying attention and quickly taking care of his needs with minimal fuss.


    The simple act of removing the offending te of food actually made him feel much better because it was not right under his nose and he didn''t have to smell it. Nor did he have to stress about needing to eat any of it.


    S¨¹ren made a note to surround her with the best of everything as soon as he could get to one of his own high-end warships.


    "S¨¹ren, is it possible for me to contact my son to let him know we are well?" Lady Gwendolyn asked.


    S¨¹ren nodded. He gave a gesture and one of his attendants ced a visuals call to the Prime Warrior of Erenveil.


    It took a few minutes to locate te, but eventually, his warm familiar face appeared on therge virtual monitor in front of them.


    "Mother! Lyra!" He smiled with joy at seeing them. Then he turned to S¨¹ren.


    "It is good to meet you, Crown Prince Lkhagvas¨¹ren."


    S¨¹ren nodded. "Please call me S¨¹ren."


    te smiled. "S¨¹ren it is. Thank you for taking care of my mother and sister for the past few days."


    "It is my pleasure, Prime Warrior." S¨¹ren smiled.


    With the pleasantries out of the way, te turned back to his mother.


    "Dante told me the two of you have gone away on an extended vacation. I knew you were going to leave the Royal Pce. I didn''t think you would go all the way to Avalia!"


    "We didn''t have much choice." Gwendolyn retorted. "Prince S¨¹ren was called back by his father and we took off with him when the explosions hit."


    "You should have reached Avalia by now. Why are you still onboard a warship?" te looked at the bare metal walls behind them.


    Gwendolyn looked at S¨¹ren, inviting him to speak up at this point.


    S¨¹ren leveled an even gaze at te.


    "There has been a situation that developed suddenly within the dragon kingdom."


    He paused to take a sip of the warm tea that Lyra had ced in front of him.


    "It is no longer safe for me or Lyra and your mother to remain there."


    "Oh? Do you need support? Where are you heading now?"


    "Thank you, but at the moment, we are able to defend ourselves. My ships will be rendezvousing soon with the pirate ships that apanied us through deep space wilds."


    "And afterwards?"


    S¨¹ren sighed. "For the moment, it is safest to assume a low profile among them until I can figure out the best way to deal with my father."


    "What''s going on with King Batsaikhan?" te''s eyes narrowed.


    S¨¹ren stared straight at him, unflinching.


    "My father made ns with the Grand Duke Julian Abberbie tobine their forces and strike at Erenveil''s forces while the iron is hot."


    "Are they aiding and abetting the Avian forces?"


    S¨¹ren shook his head. "No. They don''t care what happens to the birds. They are simply striking at your forces while you are otherwise engaged elsewhere in an attempt to overrun the Empire."


    te barred his fangs.


    "So your father thinks he now has an overwhelming dragon military ready to challenge the Imperial forces while we are busy trying to maintain and stabilize the gxy." te concluded.


    "Yes." S¨¹ren admitted baldly. "The ns included a marriage between me and the Grand Duke''s daughter to permanently merge the east and west areas of dragon space. That would have merged the military forces as well as meld all the fractured rtionships."


    He turned to Lyra with tender loving eyes. "Lyra saved me.. I owe her the rest of my life in lieu of payment."

 Chapter 212 - Simple Luxuries

    te did not miss that show of silent devotion. S¨¹ren seemed to be devoted to his sister, but it was still early days yet.


    He needed to continue to keep an eye on the man to make sure she was not used as a hostage to take down the Erenveil Empire.


    "You Reptilians have kept to yourselves all these centuries. Why the sudden insurgency?"


    "The cessation of infighting." S¨¹ren clicked his tongue. "Tch. We have been constantly bickering among ourselves, fracturing our individual races into small sections with the constant low-level fighting and tussling that goes on between the various groups of reptiles."


    He shook his head with regret.


    "We don''t have the same camaraderie as other species have with each other. Snakes fighting against turtles, who fight against crocodiles, who battle the dragons."


    "But¡ª" he held up a finger. "Once webine into a cohesive unit, we reptiles are a force to be reckoned with."


    Lyra''s eyes widened. "Wow. How so?"


    "All of Reptilian spacebined take up one-third of the entire gxy. It would not be a stretch to make a mad grab for the Empire and have my father be the next ruling Emperor."


    His eyes grew cold. "We reptiles are no joke."


    He syed out his hands. "However, I am not part of their game n. As you can see, I barely managed to escape from their clutches, thanks to your sister." He nced at Lyra again with tender eyes.


    "Lyra?" te turned to his sister.


    "Yes Brother?" Lyra responded.


    "What did you do?"


    "Only what you taught me, te." She grinned like a monkey and made a chopping motion with the de of her hand.


    "Good." te''s eyes twinkled. "I expect you to continue to train in the manner I have taught."


    "I will, Brother." Lyra blew a kiss at her brother.


    te turned back to S¨¹ren. "So what are your ns now that you have escaped from Avalia?"


    S¨¹ren''s eyes were bleak. "I need to stop my father and the Grand Duke from adding more misery to the war that''s still raging around the gxy. We already control one-third of the gxy. He is far too greedy."


    te rubbed his jawline. "What is the size of your personal military?"


    S¨¹ren shook his head. "Not much. I have only a few hundred warships that I personally control."


    The man sitting next to him shook his head. "Your personal guards only number 407 warships, but if you add the fleet that is under my control, that total number swells up to 750, give or take a few."


    S¨¹ren nced at his great uncle.


    "750 is less than a third of what father and the Grand Duke both control."


    "Still, it is considerable." te responded. "Especially if we augment what you have with Emporian warships."


    "Emporia has warships?" S¨¹ren''s eyes widened with incredulity. "Since when?"


    "Since Mattheus Cordera returned to power." te smiled. "We can leverage his forces to augment where we are short of manpower. All we need is funds to support his troops. Do you have funds?"


    S¨¹ren nodded. "Funds, I have plenty of. Time, I''m short on. My father ns to strike Erenveil within the next seven days."


    te smiled. It did not reach his eyes.


    "I need to talk to King Mattheus Cordera. You will hear back from me within the day. How far are you from pirate space?"


    "We are about half a day away."


    "Good. When you reach pirate space, I will have a delegation meet you at the border between dragon space and intergctic deep space."


    A few more details went back and forth, most of which went over Lyra''s head, and then te signed off.


    Duke Erden sighed and stood up.


    "Looks like I have a lot of work cut out for me within the next few weeks." He turned to S¨¹ren. "Your ships areing within the hour so you can transfer there and give the Lady and her daughter decent amodations."


    He looked around. "I''m afraid I don''t have much in the ways of feminine luxuries to offer the Ladies."


    "We haven''t noticed anything missing." Gwendolyn spoke up with firm conviction. Did he think they were soft kittens unable to handle the rigors of war?


    Duke Erden nced at her with appreciation.


    "You and Lyra have been troopers. I simply prefer to surround you and your daughter with more luxuries than this poor warship can offer."


    Gwendolyn nodded her thanks for his considerate thoughts.


    By this point, she had finally realized he was no mere bodyguard who had apanied S¨¹ren to Erenveil that fateful day even though he wore the same warrior clothing that they wore.


    For starters, the man carried himself differently than his troops. His muscr 6''2" body was leaner and less bulky than S¨¹ren''s body-builder, but he was also quicker because he had less mass to move around.


    In his razor sharp intelligent grey eyes were wisdom and strength that could only be garnered after many years of being inmand. It showed in his long silver-grey hair and the various lines on his face.


    His tone of voice was strong and unwavering and his courage and bravery was unparalleled. His steadfastness was the real reason why Gwendolyn instinctively trusted him with her life.


    She turned away from Duke Erden.


    Although she had left her husband, she was still legally married to the Emperor. There was no escaping the fact that those ties that bind were still very much bound.


    S¨¹ren''s quick eyes missed nothing.


    "Uncle, why do you use this bare-bones ship as your primary residence? It''s not as if you can''t afford better. You''re one of the wealthiest dragons I know."


    Duke Erden smiled. "I like to wander throughout the gxy and explore what''s out there. After awhile, the luxuries get in the way of me enjoying the raw beauty of the universe."


    He did not expect anyone to understand, least of all his grand-nephew who had grown up in the royal pce and was tied to that throne, with all the trappings that the position necessitated.


    It was freedom he was speaking of. Freedom from the shackles of attachments to things and people and ces.


    "But you can still explore the gxy without having to forego your little luxuries." S¨¹ren pointed out.


    "Not if I have to base my journeys on whatever port of call that has the luxuries I want." Duke Erden smiled. "To truly be free, you need to drop your needs down to what is absolutely necessary."


    "There are many ces out there that have so few people, it would be impossible to obtain anything but the barest of necessities."


    He shrugged. "Less wants means less needs, which allows me to travel wider and experience far more than the luxurious mundanity."


    "That sounds so exciting." Gwendolyn smiled. "The gxy is sorge, and all we ever see are the half-dozen worlds we go to every year for pleasure trips."


    Lyra shot her mother a startled nce. That did not sound like the woman she knew who lived in thep of luxuries.


    S¨¹ren cupped his mouth with his fist and gave a surreptitious smile.


    His great uncle had been along for so long, he had no idea that the tiny luxuries that women wanted were so easy to obtain.


    If one had a ship this size, it was simple to carry enough of the small luxuries to make a woman happy and still be able to roam wherever the heart desires.


    Perhaps he should have a quick private conversation with Great Uncle Erden¡­

 Chapter 213 - Musical Lyra

    As expected, S¨¹ren''s warships began appearing within the quadrant of space that was on the border between Reptilian space and the wilds of pirate space.


    As they arrived, they uncloaked and began winking into existence, one after the other until the deep space all around them was covered with the lights of hundreds of full-sized warships, converging from all directions.


    The Crown Prince of Avalia transferred his bride and Lady Gwendolyn to his mothership, the Wyvern Fae, and began working directly with the Emporian ships that had somehow arrived very quickly.


    Their rooms were luxurious amodations, fit for queens and princesses to live on. It was a far cry from the sparse sleeping quarters onboard Erden''s Draken w.


    S¨¹ren was so busy that he skipped dinner with Lyra and her mother that evening as well as breakfast the next morning.


    By lunch time, Lyra was so bored that she began roaming the ship, looking for interesting things to do.


    The Wyvern Fae was a warship so there wasn''t a lot of entertainment avable, but there was a library¡ªof sorts.


    The first time Lyra stepped into the ce, she thought she had stumbled upon an antiques shop.


    The room looked as if someone had taken everything, from carpets to wood trims to furniture from some ce out of time and space, and magically inserted it into an ultra-modern warship.


    Since S¨¹ren had given her the permission to go anywhere on the ship except for the Command Deck, she clenched her fists with excitement and ran in.


    Her eyes took in everything, looking at all the book spines and touching all the sculptures and ancient stuffed furniture.


    Everything was pristine. There was not a spec of dust on any of the books and things that looked ancient but had been lovingly cared for. They were all curated and ced with loving care on shelves that ran along the walls, from floor to ceiling.


    There were also many priceless objects of art that took up space at the center of the carpeted room. She only recognized one or two pieces but that was enough to know the value of the rest of the collection.


    What all these expensive art pieces were doing on the Crown Prince''s warship was highly spective.


    To her intense delight, tucked away in one corner was a collection of very old musical equipment from various regions around the gxy.


    Unfortunately, there wasn''t a mandolin that she could pick up and y immediately, but fortunately, there were other string instruments which she could pick up and learn fairly quickly.


    In the far corner, where she had to dodge a half-dozen other instruments to get to, was arge antique pedal harp. Lyra''s eyes widened and she carefully made her way to it.


    Her hands touched it with care, noting that it was actually pristine without a speck of dust. Whoever had been taking care of this had kept the harp in good ying shape.


    Lyra knew how to y modern harps because her mother was a great harp yer.


    This was a much older version of the one she could y, but with a bit of fiddling and exploring, Lyra found she could merge her knowledge of modern harp ying to amodate this more ancient, clunkier version.


    Within a matter of thirty minutes, Lyra''s ying improved drastically once she figured out the peculiarities of this harp, and then for the next two hours, she was lost to the world and in her own musical zone.


    Far from the antiques library, S¨¹ren watched his bride as she ran around the music and art library he had insisted on installing within what was once the lounge area for the troops.


    S¨¹ren had a big grin on his face. He knew she would love them.


    He had seen her reaction to all the old musical equipment that was on disy at the Grand Recital the first day he had met her. It was the cutest thing he had ever seen.


    She had run around with her bright blue eyes,rge as saucers, staring at everything and reading all the small blurbs about each instrument.


    Since the musical instruments were valuable artifacts on disy at the Grand Recital, she was not allowed to touch any of them¡ªand he could tell that his Lyra wanted to reach out and feel them so badly.


    It was at that moment that S¨¹ren decided he was going to find antique instruments for her to touch to her heart''s desires.


    The only way to do that was to simply take them from wherever they were located and ce them into a small collection for her to y with.


    His men had their marching orders. He didn''t care where they got them from. They were given less than a week to get the instruments, by hook, by crook, or simply by purchasing them, and then cing them within the musical library that had been reassembled from its original location.


    Although there was no way in such a short amount of time, that S¨¹ren could get the instruments that she knew how to y, he could at least get her a taste of what draken musical instruments looked and sounded like.


    He''d had his men lift items from all the most famous museums on Avalia, along with furniture and decorations to lend an immersive ambiance to the ce.


    It didn''t take long for Lyra to find the stash of instruments he had ced in a corner for her to touch.


    And touched them she did.


    She went from one instrument to another, plucking and strumming and blowing on them. She banged the steel drums and droned on the didgeridoo, tooted on the pipes and plunked on the keys.


    None of the sounds she made were anything that could be considered musical. She was just making random discordant sounds for the fun of making sounds.


    But then she found her way to the back of the stash and found therge harp that one of his men had found.


    S¨¹ren watched with delight as she began touching it with wondrous fingers, getting a feel for the instrument.


    Within minutes, she was already fine-tuning it and getting used to the various peculiarities of the harp.


    And then suddenly, a delicate melodic sound began to float through the air.


    Suddenly, everyone within the Command Deck paused what they were doing and began listening.


    Most of his warriors had never heard of a harp let alone hearing one being yed by a musician at the caliber of Lyra.


    S¨¹ren turned up the volume and filled the Command Deck with the music that she was creating from the ancient harp that was supposed to have been a museum piece that Lyra would have never been able to touch.


    An hour into the ying, Lyra began to sing along to the song she was ying.


    Her voice was soft¡ªuntil it wasn''t. It was low¡ªand then it hit whisper register high. It was expressive and raw, elegant and sweet. It was Lyra at her most expressive.


    She sang and yed the harp without holding back, gifting everything to the music that was in her to give.


    It was all S¨¹ren could do just to hold his chest and try to keep from melting onto the floor.

 Chapter 214 - Flickering Flame

    The Grand Duke Erden was in the middle of working with several dozen of his men up in the Command Deck when he got an iing call from S¨¹ren.


    His grand nephew didn''t call often unless it was something important, so Duke Erden did not hesitate to pause for a break. It was way past lunch time anyway.


    They had all been pushing past the limits to incorporate the Emporian ships into their formations to utilize the extra fire power. It was touch and go ever since they had gotten reinforcement.


    It would not be long before the dragons made their moves. He and S¨¹ren would have to stop them in their tracks before they went too far into Erenveil space.


    If they were lucky, the bulk of the fighting would be within the wilds of pirate space so that there would be less people affected.


    Duke Erden left the Command Deck and moved into an adjourning room to take his lunch.


    "I''m here S¨¹ren. Sorry for the dy."


    S¨¹ren''s face showed up on the visuals, his dark brown eyes cheerful.


    "If you''re as busy as I am, then I know you''re also trying to win that one-legged ass-kicking contest."


    Duke Erdenughed. That sounded about right.


    "Are you just now having lunch?" S¨¹ren nced at the cold ham and cheese sandwich his great uncle was eating. It was two hours past lunch time.


    "No choice. I had reports to run through and squadrons to ce and give marching orders to."


    "Likewise, but partway through, my bride walked in with a tter filled with hot foods and wouldn''t leave until I ate with her."


    Duke Erden''s eyebrows lifted.


    "Wasn''t the Command Deck off limits to her?"


    "Uncle." S¨¹ren grimaced. "Does Lyra look like someone who will take a ''No'' without howling in protest?"


    Duke Erdenughed. "So she brow-beat you into having lunch on time."


    S¨¹ren nodded. "It didn''t affect my work though because everyone else got to eat lunch, and now they''re back at work again. Breaks to eat are very important, Uncle. You don''t want to get stomach ulcers from skipping meals."


    Duke Erden nodded. "Is this call from you just to remind me to eat?"


    S¨¹ren shook his head. "I''m sending over to you a team of designers."


    "For what?" Duke Erden frowned.


    "Uncle, your ship is one of the newest ships that just came out of production but it looks as if it never went through thest stage where it turns into a beautifully designed interster ship."


    "I had them skip that part because it would have taken another six months and I needed a ship right away."


    "Then retrofit it."


    "I don''t have time."


    "You have to make time."


    Duke Erden paused. S¨¹ren was trying to tell him something.


    "Speak clearly, S¨¹ren."


    "The Lady Gwendolyn¡ª"


    "Is there something wrong? Is she not well?"


    "No, no. I''m trying to tell you that she could use yourpany, Uncle."


    Duke Erden sighed. "You know she is one of the Emperor''s wives."


    "She left him."


    Duke Erden shook his head. S¨¹ren was thinking too simplistically.


    "You want a real war between the dragons and the bats, that''s how you do it. Abduct and hold hostage the wife of the Emperor of Erenveil."


    "It was not an abduction and we are not holding her hostage. We rescued them from Avian attacks, and Lady Gwendolyn does not want to return to her husband."


    "Her life must not be as rosy as what we would imagine the wife of an Emperor would have." Duke Erden shook his head, troubled.


    "But that is not our business. We are trying to keep your father from attacking Erenveil. We can''t be trying to fight off the emperor''s forces as he tries to rescue his wife."


    "That''s not going to happen Uncle. The Crown Prince Dante asked me to take Lady Gwendolyn away from Erenveil."


    "But he''s not the Prime Warrior who holds the space force."


    "Prince te is the Prime Warrior. He is Lady Gwendolyn''s son. He is sending reinforcements so we can keep his sister and his mother safe."


    Duke Erden took a gulp of water from his stein.


    "What does all this have to do with me?"


    "I''ve seen the way you look at Lady Gwendolyn when you think no one is watching." S¨¹ren smiled.


    Duke Erden looked away. He had been very careful not to show anything. It was forbidden, what he tried not to think and feel.


    "She is a very beautiful woman, but there can be nothing between us. She is still a married woman."


    "Is that your only concern?"


    "It is the only concern that matters." Duke Erden turned back to S¨¹ren, his steely grey eyes full of conviction.


    "Her husband is the Emperor of Erenveil. She is not someone a person like me can ever reach."


    "Someone like you?" S¨¹ren shook his head. "You are Grand Duke of the dragon world Avalia."


    "And she is married to the Emperor."


    S¨¹ren shook his head. When his uncle got into this mindset, there was nothing he could say that would change his mind. It would have to be something or someone far more powerful than himself.


    "At least don''t reject the design team I just sent over to you. They won''t get in your way, and you don''t need to change the entire ship."


    "You just need to readjust some of the living sections so that when Lady Gwendolyn and Lyrae to stay with you, they will have afortable ce."


    Duke Erdin waved a careless hand.


    "Do whatever you need to do. I have to get back to work."


    As Duke Erden returned to the Command Deck to resume his work of directing and positioning his warships, S¨¹ren''s words continued to roll around in his brains.


    Duke Erden was an entrenched bachelor. His life was filled with keeping peace between all the various Reptilian races.


    There had never been time for a wife. His life was rough and raw and filled with danger. What woman would throw away a stable peaceful nest and wander the universe with him?


    What he did was very simr to the Prime Warrior of Erenveil. The only difference was, he didn''t have to deal with the entire gxy. He only had to keep the peace between all the reptiles.


    The Prime Warrior.


    Prince te''s face appeared in his mind''s eye. The young man was doing a good job as Prime Warrior. He had a good head on his shoulders.


    Duke Erden could not help butpare and contrast the differences between te and Lady Gwendolyn. They were really quite simr in many aspects, perhaps even more so than Lady Gwendolyn and her daughter.


    Of course, Princess Lyra was still rather young and perhaps would grow into the more mature, more calm and stable person that Lady Gwendolyn had matured to be.


    As the day wore on, he kept thinking about Lady Gwendolyn''s situation and how strange it was that she had never asked to connect to her husband even once.


    The first person she asked to contact was her son te. Thereafter, it was Prince Dante who called to speak to her. Both men knew where she and Princess Lyra were located and neither had insisted that she reach out to contact the Emperor.


    Was it possible that what S¨¹ren said was true? That she did leave the Emperor?


    For the first time, a tiny glimmer of hope began to rise inside Duke Erden''s heart. It was such a tiny flickering me of hope that it could be gutted by any cold wind of fate.


    But suddenly, his heart felt warm for the very first time.

 Chapter 215 - The Design Team

    The transfer to Duke Erden''s ship was uneventful.


    Although Gwendolyn felt a bit uneasy leaving Lyra behind, she was having so much fun ying with all the musical instruments that S¨¹ren had gathered for her that Gwendolyn didn''t have the heart to pull her away from it all.


    It was a simple request by the Grand Duke, to help him with decorating the bare-bones Draken w, Gwendolyn could not refuse.


    The man had risked his life to save her several times already. This would be a good way for her to repay her debt to him.


    As shended inside his hangar, the doors closed and the air stabilized. Gwendolyn stepped from a nice and warm atmosphere into the frigid cold darkness of the hangar.


    It was arge chamber filled with rows and rows of pods in varying shapes and sizes. Most of them looked to be in good working condition but a few looked wrecked or in parts and pieces.


    She looked around, made a few mental notes and continued moving forward with her design team of ten men and women.


    As she walked through the hangar, Gwendolyn found it a bit strange to be unapanied by any of the Duke''s people.


    As a Princess in her father''s kingdom, and thenter as Royal Consort of the Erenveil Empire, she had lived her life having people apany her everywhere she went. Thisck of a ''meet-and-greet'' ambassador of some type was odd, but strangely liberating.


    Once they were inside the main areas of the ship, her people spread out and began their work in earnest, onlying to her for questions in regards to her choice of fabrics, colors, trims, and sizes.


    The ship wasrge. She and the team spent all day and they were barely done with one section and she had still not seen hide nor hair of Erden.


    By dinner time, Gwendolyn decided to go look for the Grand Duke Erden. At the very least, she should have dinner with him before returning to the Wyvern Fae.


    Although the warship was massive, the one thing that was true about dragon architecture. It was very consistent.


    Theyout of the Draken w was exactly the same as the Wyvern Fae, down to the cement of seams and joints. It would have been so easy to get lost in such a huge structure, but Gwendolyn had be familiar with S¨¹ren''s ship during the few days she had spent there, and this ship was no different.


    It didn''t take her long to find her way to the Command Deck, only to find a couple of dragon guards standing at stiff attention.


    She was about to go up to them and ask for entry when a group of dragons moved towards the Command Deck and made their way towards the entrance of the Command Deck.


    Gwendolyn quickly fell in line behind them and walked in without a by-your-leave.


    The Command Deck was much like any other Command Deck that she had ever been on.


    Gwendolyn''sck of knowledge about the various things that were shing on the visuals monitors did not preclude her from grasping the highly secretive nature of the contents.


    For a moment, she contemted on turning back around and making a quick retreat, but it was already toote. The Grand Duke had caught sight of her, standing inside his Command Deck.


    For a moment, his eyes glittered with fury. How in hell did she manage to walk into the Command Deck without anyone even realizing she was not part of the group?


    He stood up and strode across the deck over to the elegant and silent form of the woman who had managed to slide into his Comand Deck with ease, his brows furrowed.


    "Lady Gwendolyn." He gave a curt bow.


    "Grand Duke Erdin." She replied with a nod.


    "I''m sorry. Command Deck is off-limits to civilians and non-officers." Erden asked as he gathered her by the shoulders and walked with her out the entry doors.


    "How did you get past my security?" He turned to the two men who were still standing there at rapt attention.


    Neither dared look at him.


    "I simply walked in unapanied." Gwendolyn responded.


    "And they allowed you entry?" The Duke raised an eyebrow of incredulity.


    "I didn''t ask their permission. I just walked in, along with a group that were also walking in."


    For a moment, Erden saw red. It looked like he was going to have to retrain every single warrior within his organization about security protocols.


    He turned back to Gwendolyn, his eyes softening. It wasn''t her fault. She was simply doing whatever it was that Gwendolyn did.


    Whether that went against regtions or not, that was of no concern to her.


    "Well now that you''ve gotten my attention, what can I do for you, Lady Gwendolyn?"


    Gwendolyn smiled and tried not to show her frustration.


    "I have been here all day working. I figured you could join me for dinner."


    Erden reached out for her hand.


    "I did not realize you were part of the design team that arrived earlier today or I would have sent a group to wee you."


    He led her to the elevator and took her to the Main Deck.


    "To make up for my poor hospitality, please join me for a simple dinner at this time."


    Gwendolyn nodded. "It would be my pleasure."


    She expected him to take her to the main cafeteria where the troops normally took their meals, but the Grand Duke bypassed all that and led her into his private dining room.


    The barely used room looked cold and uninviting, with little in the way of creatureforts.


    Along one wall was the huge ss windows overlooking the deep darkness beyond. On the floor was a dark brown area carpet that did its best to cover some of the bare metal floor surface.


    It did have a nice long metal table surrounded by a dozen metal chairs, but that was the only furniture that the private dining room offered.


    Erden pulled out a chair for her and she sat, feeling the coldness of the metal leeching the warmth of her buttocks and legs away.


    These chairs needed some serious cushions or covers, Gwendolyn mused to herself. It would be a cold dinner indeed if one''s body was cold while trying to eat a warm meal.


    As the staff brought in cemats and dinnerware, Erden concentrated his thoughts on the breathtaking woman seated before him.


    Although he hadn''t known that she had arrived with the design crew, once she began walking around his ship, he had known and followed along, wherever she went, throughout the ship.


    He didn''t want to tell her that he had been watching her lithe form wandering around his ship like a bewitching fairy, touching everything with her fairy dust.


    He did not want her to feel creeped out, but this ship, as well as the Wyvern Fae, was a warship and this was wartime. Shipboard monitors were crucial and integral to the safety of the crew.


    Everyone who stepped foot onto a warship knew that there were cameras everywhere, capturing visuals of everything that happened onboard in the event of enemy infiltration.


    "So, how is the work going, Lady Gwendolyn?" He tried to make small conversation.


    "Please call me Gwen." Her eyes danced. "It''s a big ship and we''ve only covered a small section. It will take a few days to gather all the information we need to get started."


    Erden nodded, feeling his heart getting pounded to a pulp by her brilliant blue eyes. "Will you being back after today?"


    "Of course. There is a lot of work to do, and I have to be here to make sure things go as smoothly as possible."


    He nodded again. It would be an interesting few days while she was here.


    He didn''t know how much work he would be able to get done, since he hadn''t been able to concentrate much on what he needed to do.


    Erden found himselfpletely taken in by her beauty. He had pretended not to care, acting as if he was doing a tremendous amount of work.


    Meanwhile he had been unable to keep his mental focus on what he needed to do. His eyes kept following Gwendolyn around as she walked from area to area, directing andmanding the team of designers.


    With her wandering around his ship, he was a hopeless quivering mess!

 Chapter 216 - Pretend Boyfriend

    For the first time, Erden felt a strange thrilling fear touch his heart.


    She was making him lose control of his actions and that was a scary thing to happen in the middle of a chaotic war that he had to wage against his own troops.


    It was never a good time to suddenly have warm feelings for a person, especially if that person was already married. Add to that the chaos of wartime and it had to be the absolute worst timing.


    The Grand Duke Erden closed his eyes hoping that perhaps he was just a little tired, maybe a bit disturbed or confused.


    He would probably be back to normal in no time t if he didn''t meet up with her ever again. Maybe he would be able to regain his normal bnced steadfast life.


    "Is everything okay?" Gwendolyn asked.


    Erden opened his eyes and saw her concerned face with those amazing blue eyes and those soft luscious pink lips. His world once again devolved into helter-skelter confusion and topsy-turvy turmoil.


    "Listen, Gwen." He cleared his throat. "Maybe this is not a good time to do any design or remodeling of the ship."


    Gwendolyn looked at him with her bright blue eyes, not saying a word.


    "It''s not that I don''t appreciate your work, it''s just¡ª"


    "You don''t want me around." Gwendolyn interrupted.


    He sighed. It wasn''t because he didn''t want her around. It was because he wanted her too much. But of course, he could not say that.


    "Gwen. What would your husband think if he knew you were flying around in deep space with an unmarried man?"


    Gwendolyn waved a dismissive hand.


    "I left him. I''m not going back to Erenveil."


    Erden sighed. He picked up his wine ss and took a sip, wishing it was a bit stronger.


    "You may have physically left, but you are still married to him."


    "All it would take for me to bepletely detached from him is to have another lover. At that point, it would be clear to everyone that I''m no longer part of his harem and he would no longer want me."


    "Gwen," Erden leaned in towards her. "What kind of a man would have the balls to take one of the wives of the Emperor of the gxy?"


    "A man with enough military power to stand up to the Emperor." Gwen put down her spoon. The split pea soup was nd and barely edible.


    "The Emperor is the most powerful man in the gxy. Who is going to be able to go up against him?" Erden grimaced.


    Gwen shrugged. "My son is the Prime Warrior of Erenveil. He would never lift a finger against me, even if his father insisted. It wouldn''t take much of a force to dispel Rex, especially if I state my steadfast decision to bepletely separated from him."


    "Are you saying what I think you''re saying?" Erden raised an eyebrow.


    Gwendolyn nodded.


    "Pretend to be my man. Pretend until my husband releases me from my marriage to him so I can be free of him."


    Erden felt likeughing. He could hardly believe it.


    Here he was, trying to¡­what was it that he was trying to do? Was he trying to woo her or to send her away?


    He couldn''t tell any more. His confusion and turmoil were mming him in the guts and he could barely think rationally.


    But suddenly it didn''t look as if he needed to think or to do anything at all because thedy was asking him to pretend to have interest in her!


    His heart began to beat like a bongo drum. Her dazzling blue eyes were making him weak in the guts.


    "And if I¡ªpretend to be your man¡ª"


    "What would you get in return?" Gwendolyn retorted.


    No! That was not what he was going to say! Erden was about to protest when Gwendolyn gave her response.


    "You would receive my gratitude."


    Something must have shown in his eyes because Gwendolyn sighed with resignation.


    "I understand my gratitude is not much of a return for something this serious. I left all my worldly possessions back at Erenveil and have nothing to offer you, but I would like to remind you that my father is the king of the wolves."


    Her face was nervous.


    "Perhaps there is something he could offer you as justpensation for your assistance."


    Erden took a deep breath. It wasn''t that her gratitude was not wanted. Heavens knew, he would take what he could get from this woman.


    But damn it! He wanted far more than that.


    Much much more!


    "Three months." Unaware of his internal turmoil, Gwen held up three fingers.


    "Give me three months of your time and you will have my deep gratitude.


    "And what happens after three months?"


    Regardless of whether I have sessfully separated from my husband or not, after three months, I will not be a bother to you and you will not see me again."


    Erden narrowed his eyes. This waspletely uneptable!


    She was going to gift him three months of her time and then afterwards, she was going to dump him like some piece of used up male trash?


    Totally uneptable.


    "I refuse." He shook his head.


    Gwendolyn opened her mouth to say something, but he raised his hand in protest.


    "The only way that I could possibly entertain such thoughts would be if it was a permanent state."


    He leaned in and gave her a sharp, intense gaze.


    "I am not ''pretend-boyfriend'' material."


    Gwendolyn blinked in confusion. "I don''t understand. Are you saying you would only think about doing this if you were a¡ªa permanent boyfriend?"


    Gwen scratched her head. What in hell was a permanent boyfriend? They were hardly teenagers who didn''t know the ways of a man and a woman. If this was not temporary, he would want more than just a tonic rtionship.


    "No, Gwendolyn. You are mistaken again. My honor is at stake here. I will ept nothing less than marriage." He raised both eyebrows, looking miffed that she would consider anything less honorable for a dragon like him.


    In truth, his heart was beating so hard, he could barely hear anything. Was she actually going to ept such a bizarre proposal?


    "Ma¡ªmarriage?" Gwendolyn had just left one marriage. Did she want to jump into another one so quickly? Her thoughts were in chaos.


    Erden raised his head with a haughty lift.


    "You want me to defend you with my life? I will only do so if you were my wife, not some¡­permanent girlfriend."


    He sniffed. "What in the world is a permanent girlfriend anyway?"


    Gwendolyn stared at him for a moment. Suddenly she burst outughing.


    This was such an Erden moment. He was so straightced and straight-forward that to ask him to be a fake anything was ludicrous.


    She must be crazy. Or desperate.


    Or both.


    "I''m so sorry Duke Erden." Gwendolyn took a deep breath to calm herughter. "I don''t know what came over me. Please just¡ªdisregard what I asked of you."


    But Erden was already shaking his head.


    "Toote. I cannot un-hear what you have said."


    He ced a hand over his heart.


    "I dly ept your marriage proposal. In return, I will do everything in my power to protect you from anything and anyone out there who seek to do you harm, including your ex-husband, the Emperor of Erenveil."


    "But¡ªbut but¡ª" Gwendolyn sputtered.


    "Do not worry." He reached out and patted her head. "I will take good care of you."


    "Now," he pointed to her split pea soup. "If you are done with dinner, I will escort you back to the Wyvern Fae for the night."


    He smiled a bit ruefully. "I''m afraid my living standards aren''t quite up to snuff for my new bride so you will have to fix up my ce a bit so I can bring her home in style."


    Gwendolyn nodded with some confusion and stood up alongside the Duke.


    "I will expect you to be back here tomorrow." He reached for her arm and led her towards the hangar. "You need to decorate and design this ce so that it will befortable for you."


    "The design team will draw up some ns for your approval¡ª" Gwendolyn''s brain was in a whirl as she refocused on the whole reason they were there.


    "No need. You approve them. Once we are married, you will be living here with me, at least until things have calmed down a bit."


    She was about to respond to all of this when she realized that they had already reached the hangar and the ten designers were already standing at by the transport pod waiting for her arrival.


    The Duke turned back to Gwendolyn, resting his hands gently on her upper arms.


    "I will send a message to the Emperor informing him of our ns. Have the teams do the work as quickly as possible. I want you moved here as soon as the remodeling and redesign are done."


    "But¡ª"


    He quickly shushed her by dropping a quick kiss onto her mouth.


    "Consider our deal sealed¡ªwith a kiss."

 Chapter 217 - Singing Telegram

    The day that the message came to the Emperor of Erenveil about Royal Consort Gwendolyn''s impending marriage to the Grand Duke of Avalia, he was out in the rose garden having a light lunch with the Empress Anastasia.


    She was ying a mandolin and singing a song for him as they sat out in the bright sunshine enjoying thest warm days of autumn.


    No doubt about it, Anastasia was a decent yer and singer, but she was no Gwendolyn.


    Gwen was a gifted muse, able to y a dozen instruments at the maestro level. Her singing voice was so amazing, it always stopped everyone in their tracks.


    But it didn''t matter.


    The Emperor turned back to the Empress with adoring eyes. This was his Anastasia.


    She didn''t need to do anything and he would still think she was the most amazing woman in the gxy. He was ecstatic just sitting here in the crystal sunshine, listening to the love of his life, singing him a song and ying on the mandolin.


    He gazed at the deep blue of her hair, the bright green of her eyes, and his heart pounded so hard he could see stars.


    No matter how many times he made love to her, he could never get enough of her sensual body and the way she quivered every time he pleasured her.


    She smiled and plucked thest strains of the song. Emperor Rex pped with joy.


    "That was beautiful! You are beautiful!"


    He was about to continue gushing his delight when a tap on his shoulder interrupted his joy.


    "Your Majesty." The Emperor''s attendant cleared his throat. "You have an iing message from the Grand Duke of Avalia."


    Emperor Rex furrowed his brows. The Grand Duke of Avalia? He tried to remember if he had ever met the fellow but nothing wasing into mind.


    "What does he want?"


    The attendant presented the Emperor with amunications disc.


    "y it."


    "Your Majesty. Perhaps you should listen to this one in private."


    "Nonsense. There''s no one here who is notpletely trustworthy. y it."


    "Yes, Your Majesty."


    He waved a hand and the dull droning voice of theputer began reading the written documentation.


    "¡­this is to inform you that I, The Grand Duke Erden of Mistvale from Avalia, am now engaged to be married to the Lady Gwendolyn of Erenveil."


    "What???" Emperor Rex snarled, his eyes bulging. Beside him, Anastasia''s eyes were in shock.


    The voice continued droning on without pause.


    "Our wedding willmence within one week and she will be a permanent resident of Avalia soon thereafter. Details will follow immediately after the wedding has taken ce¡­"


    Emperor Rex stood up, shaking with anger.


    "Who the hell is this Grand Duke Erden???"


    "Your Majesty, he is King Batsaikhan''s uncle."


    "Uncle? If he''s that old, why would Gwen even want to have anything to do with him?" The Emperor scowled.


    "Sir. He is actually a few years younger than you."


    The attendant waved a finger and a visuals image of the Grand Duke Erden appeared in the space between them.


    Emperor Rex stared at the rugged handsome face of Duke Erden and something inside him churned with jealousy and animosity. How dare Gwen leave him for a younger more handsome guy!


    "Find out where she is and drag her back!"


    "Your Majesty¡ª"


    "And while you''re at it, call my son te. I need to talk to him. NOW!!!"


    ==========


    te was in the middle of a war room discussion on the Raptor 600 with Dante and Leonardo on 3D calls when the Emperor''s iing call shed up into his field of vision.


    "Father is iing. Do you men want to talk to him?"


    "Why not." Dante sounded bored. He was ying with something to his right side and didn''t look all that engaged.


    Leonardo shrugged. They needed a break from all the war chatter anyway.


    What was supposed to have been a quick all-out strike to subdue the Avians had turned into a much longer war than they had wanted.


    There was support for the Avians from the various human species that did not want insectoids to be the reigning group.


    They were very much against Dante holding even one-third of the Crown Prince position, even though the other two Crown Princes were half Ibis and half Lion.


    Within minutes, the flustered red face of their Dear Old Dad popped up on visuals, his violet eyes stormy and his long ck hair wild and gnarled. It looked like he had been tearing out his hair in frustration.


    "te! What in the world has gotten into your mother???" He grounded out.


    "Didn''t we already have this conversation?" te threw back at his father.


    "No! I just got this!!!" He waved a frustrated hand and the message from the Grand Duke began reying.


    "¡­this is to inform you that I, The Grand Duke Erden of Mistvale from Avalia, am now engaged to be married to the Lady Gwendolyn of Erenveil¡­"


    Dante chuckled. As the voice droned on, the chuckle turned into a guffaw. Leonardo and te joined in until they were all gasping and out of breath.


    "Aaaahh! It sounds to me, Father, as if your ex-wife has found a new love interest!" Dante''s sparkling green eyes that looked so much like his beloved woman were dancing in delight.


    "I hope we are invited to the wedding." Leonardo grinned.


    Emperor Rex mmed his hands onto the desk.


    BAAM!!!


    "I can''t believe you boys are not enraged by this!"


    "Why?" te reasoned. "You said so yourself. You have too many wives to adequately take care of. If another man is able and willing to take care of her, you should let her go and be happy that she''s happy."


    "She never said anything to me. She just left!"


    "Father." te shook his head. "She tried to tell you, but you never showed up on the night she wanted to talk to you."


    "She could have waited! One more day wouldn''t have hurt." The Emperor scowled. "Instead, she just went off without giving me a chance to say anything to her."


    "And what, pray tell, were you going to say to Mother Gwen?" Leonardo spoke up.


    He was not blind to the way his own mother and Mother Gwen were treated by his father either.


    "I would have given her the chance to air grievances and we could have worked on whatever it was she needed."


    "She needed your love, Father." te sighed.


    "She has my love!" The Emperor insisted.


    "The kind of love you have for my mother is not what she wants, not what she needs." te shook his head.


    He knew exactly what Mother needed. It was the same kind of love that he and Candace shared, a romantic soul bond that made his world sparkle with vibrance every time he was with her.


    "I love each of my wives, all in different ways. They are all different individuals."


    "The way that you love her is not what she wants. Just ept that and let her go." Dante spoke up.


    "No matter what, I still want to speak to her!" The Emperor fumed.


    te nced at Dante and Leonardo. Father''s request was not unreasonable.


    "I''ll see what I can do to give you and Mother a chance to talk it out."


    The Emperor nodded and left the call.


    The three Princes sat there and stared at each other for a few minutes.


    Leonardo sighed. "Do you really think it''s a good idea for Mother Gwen to talk with Dear Old Dad?"


    te shook his head. "If it wasn''t for the fact that I have spoken with the Grand Duke on several asions, I would have thought that perhaps they were just faking this engagement so Mother could have a clean break with Father."


    He turned to Dante. "The Grand Duke is not someone who would fake something like this. He''s like you, Dante. A straight-shooter."


    Dante roughed up his blue hair. It had gotten rather long due to his wife''s penchant for long hair.


    "I''ve also spoken with the Grand Duke. He is actually very stable and steady, a very strong man. I say we have the Duke speak with Father first so Mother Gwen has someone solid backing her up."


    Leonardo nodded. "Sounds like a good n.. Let''s go with it."

 Chapter 218 - Mano A Mano

    "She did what?" Candace jumped up from her seated position at the card table.


    Her sudden movement knocked everything into a jumbled mess, sending all the kings and queens and jacks and aces flying up into the air, joined by the red and ck numbered gangs.


    Lucas'' amber eyes were no less shocked. He''d heard about his father''s long-term neglect of the Royal Consorts.


    Even his mother hadined to him about it once in awhile, but what could anyone do? The Emperor stayed with whomever he wished andvished attention on whichever wife he wanted. It was his prerogative as a multi-wifed man.


    te''s face reddened. "She and the Grand Duke of¡ª"


    "No, no Baby!" Candace waved a furious hand. "No need to repeat this to me. I heard you the first time."


    Candace thought for a moment and pped a hand to her forehead.


    "You''re telling me this for a reason."


    Suddenly, she snapped her fingers.


    "You need me to go to her and find out what''s going on, right?"


    te furrowed his brows. He truly needed her help, but he knew she was waiting for Jason toe and pick her up. It was evening of the day that Jason was to spend the week with her.


    But te''s mother and sister were in trouble, and Candace was his wife. If he couldn''t ask his wife to help him in such emergency, who else could he ask?


    "Where exactly is she located?" Candace asked.


    "If you take a fast warship, you can reach her in three days."


    "Do we have fast warships?"


    te gave her an exasperated look. "I have nothing but fast warships."


    "Can I borrow one?"


    te shook his head. "You''re my wife. Anything I have is also yours. But what about Jason?"


    "He''s supposed to being to Lucas'' Ind to pick me up." Candace pounded her fist into the palm of her other hand. "He can just tag along while I take care of the situation and lend my support to Mother Gwen."


    te and Lucas looked at each other with knowing eyes.


    Jason was not going to be happy to know that he had been relegated to second position on his week of all weeks, to deliver his Avgo.


    Unfortunately, family emergencies crop up, and it was never at convenient times. As his wife and Gwen''s daughter-inw, Candace was in a unique position to be able to make a difference and help out in this situation.


    te nodded. "I''ll contact him and have one of my warships pick him up. Get yourself ready. The ship will being in about an hour."


    True to his word, one hourter, a transport podnded on the beach.


    Candace gave Lucas onest lingering kiss and waved goodbye to him.


    His eyes lost their shine as he watched his wife turn towards the transport pod and run through the golden sands, into the waiting arms of a tall splendid green hair Prince.


    Wait a moment. Lucas rubbed his eyes.


    What was Jared doing here?


    "Where''s Jason?" Candace had also noticed the switcharoo twin.


    Jaredughed. "What kind of a greeting is that? What am I, chopped liver?"


    "No, no!" Candace grinned. "I''m happy to see you too, but this week is Jason''s week. I was just surprised he''s not here."


    Jared pointed upwards. "He''s waiting for you up on the warship. I volunteered toe down to get you."


    "Are youing along?"


    Jared pursed his lips. "My wife is going on a business trip through dangerous pirate territory. Try to keep me away."


    ==================


    Inside the war room of the Draken w, Erden had just gotten word from te that his father wanted a face-to-face conversation with him.


    Erden was expecting that. The Erenveil royals weren''t mortal enemies of any sort and had always been neutral allies in most situations involving altercations between the pirates or other rogue factions that sought to bring chaos to the civilized parts of the gxy.


    They could mostly talk things through ande to a mutually satisfactory agreement.


    Unfortunately, at this point in regards to his Gwen, it would be something akin to, ''Say what? You want this huge ten karat diamond back that you left unattended on the table? hmmm. Let me think about that¡­''


    "Put him through." Erden barked at the attendant as soon as the man poked his head in through the doorway to alert the Grand Duke of the iing 3D call.


    He had promised Gwen that he would protect her. This would be his first battle.


    Within a few minutes, the 3D surly face of the Emperor appeared in front of Erden.


    The Emperor was a strikingly handsome man with long dark hair and striking violet eyes. It was easy to see where te got his strong rugged looks from.


    "Grand Duke Erden of Avalia." The Emperor enounced each word of Erden''s title as if it was something that came out of the litter box. "What, pray tell, do you think you''re trying to pull?"


    So it was going to be like that, eh?


    Erden crinkled his eyes. It would have been difficult for him to respond to the Emperor had hee tearful and regretful, asking for his wife back with sincerity.


    But this? This show of blustering braggadocio was something that Erden could deal with in very quick order.


    "Emperor. It''s good to finally meet you face-to-face. I look forward to this impromptu mano a mano."


    "There will be no ''mano a mano''. All you need to do is simply take a step back from my wife. I will send a ship to pick her up and take her home."


    "Aaaah. I''m afraid I cannot do that. You see, she has agreed to be my wife. From the point that she epted my hand in marriage, I am now the home that she will return to."


    "That''s preposterous!" The Emperor scowled. "She cannot marry you. She is already married to me!"


    "She left you, Emperor. Just ept it. You have half a dozen wives. Why would you bother yourself with one woman?"


    "Oh? And how many do you have?"


    "None yet." Erden gave the Emperor a steady gaze. "I''ve never been married, Emperor. Gwendolyn will be my first wife. I hope she goes easy on me, our first time." He smiled with anticipation.


    This seemed to cause the Emperor even more of a bellyache.


    "Stay away from my wife, Erden. You do not want to mess with me. Do you know who I am?"


    "Ummm. You''re her ex-husband?"


    "Arrrgghhh!" The Emperor growled. "I am the Emperor of the Erenveil Empire. If you want what''s mine, you are going to have to fight tooth and w for her."


    "Hmmm? And pray tell, what will you do? Send her son to take her back?"


    Erden gave a tiny satisfied smile.


    "I''ll have you know, te was the one who asked me to shelter and protect her, since you were unable to protect her at all."


    "How dare you!!!"


    "Where were you, Emperor, the day that your pce was attacked? If I hadn''t been there, Gwen would have been seriously wounded or worse."


    The Emperor gritted his teeth. On that day, he had been trying to get Anastasia to safety. She had been first and foremost in his mind.


    Once he had ensured that Anastasia was in a safe ce, he had gone back to look for his other wives but had not been able to locate Gwendolyn. It rankled him that it was this man who hade to Gwen''s rescue.


    "Rescuing my wife from an unexpected dangerous situation does not equate taking her away to another world! I will not let this slight go unpunished. I will make you regret you ever met her!"


    "I look forward to crossing swords with you, Emperor Rex." Erden exhaled with anticipation.


    The Emperor roared with rage and pounded on the throne console, abruptly disappearing from sight.


    Erden''s smile evaporated.


    He was under no illusion that the Emperor would strike back at him in some way. The wily bat was more than capable, even without te, to find a way to deal with Erden.


    But he found himself looking forward to dealing with the Emperor. There was a huge difference between himself and the Emperor.


    Other than Gwendolyn, Erden didn''t have much to lose.


    The Emperor on the other hand, had an entire gxy to lose.

 Chapter 219 - Gingers Revenge

    In a hospital wing of Avalia, a young woman was lying on one of the hospital pod beds. Her body and face was bandaged and she looked to be battered and bruised.


    Outside the room looking in was the face of a very concerned man.


    King Batsaikhan heaved a heavy sigh and turned away. Not only was his son missing, his future daughter-inw had been beaten to within an inch of her life.


    His face twisted in rage. Whoever was responsible for this kidnapping and assault would pay dearly for their crimes.


    He scrambled around inside his mind, looking for the most likely culprit who could possibly enter such a high security area and then leave without a trace but he kepting up empty.


    There was no one other than family who would know how to disable the safeguards and the closest of those would be Altan.


    Since he and Altan were spending time together working out the details of the impending marriage between Sharina and S¨¹ren, it had to be someone else within the family.


    But who?


    King Batsaikhan went back to his hover pod and made a beeline for his pce. He had barely taken off when a message popped in from his Chief of Security.


    "Your Majesty," the man pressed his lips together like a m.


    "Speak."


    "Sir. It has been leaked that the Grand Duke of Mistvale has sent word to the Emperor of Erenveil that he will be marrying the Royal Consort Gwendolyn to be his wife


    "What???" King Batsaikhan''s jaw dropped. "When?"


    "Within two weeks, Sir."


    King Batsaikhan gritted his teeth. He had caught the Royal Consort Gwendolyn as she was trying to escape and had ced her under house arrest! How was she able to get out to be his Great Uncle''s new wife?


    "What happened to the guards I ced at Prince S¨¹ren''s pce?"


    "Sir." The attendant bowed. "They have all been in."


    "Why was I not alerted?" King Batsaikhan howled in rage.


    "Sir, we just got word not too long ago."


    "Get me through to my uncle, Erden." He rubbed his eyes. Whatever Erden''s ns were, they had better be good.


    "Nephew." Erden''s face popped up on the visuals screen.


    "You can drop the niceties, Erden. What have you done with the woman?"


    "Woman? Oh you mean my woman? The one you locked up against her will? That one?"


    "Rx, Erden, I wasn''t going to harm her. I just wanted to keep her and the girl, Laura, from interfering with my ns for my son."


    "Bat," Erden sat back on his chair and stared at King Batsaikhan with desultory eyes.


    "Her name is Lyra. Say it a few times and try to remember it so you don''t make a fool out of yourself in front of her in the future."


    King Batsaikhan stared at him with venom in his eyes.


    Erden smiled. "She won''t just be your daughter-inw. She will also be your cousin since I will be marrying her mother."


    "You!!!" King Batsaikhan stood up, his fists clenched. "So it was you who kidnapped my son and assaulted Sharina!"


    Erden raised his eyebrows. "I wasn''t even there. I was too busy picking up Lady Gwendolyn from her dungeon cell, but I heard all about it from my men."


    "You drugged your own son and tied him to the bed." His eyes were dangerous. "You will pay for that, Bat. You will pay very dearly for that."


    "Pshaah." King Batsaikhan spat. "Who is going to do the honors, you?"


    Erden nodded and smirked. "I will lend a helping hand, that is for sure, but the one you will have to beware of the most is your own son."


    "He is very upset that you locked up his mother-inw, and drove his precious bride to jump out of a window in the middle of a blizzard."


    "S¨¹ren would never do anything against me. I am the closest family he has."


    Erden stared down his nephew.


    "If you''re family, who the hell needs enemies???"


    His eyes were daggers of intent.


    "I still can''t believe you drugged my grand nephew to that extent! The doctors worked on him for an entire day before they could extract all the poisons you had pumped into his body!"


    "All I did was knock him out¡­" King Batsaikhan muttered.


    "He was also hit with a very strong aphrodisiac! It nearly killed him!"


    King Batsaikhan''s lips quivered. That had to have been Sharina''s handiwork in order to secure his sexual participation in her effort to nail his consent by force.


    Erden crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back with pride.


    "That girl Sharina was going to sexually force herself on him, so my sweet little future step daughter stepped in and pounded her into the ground. She saved him. You should thank her."


    "That girl nearly killed Sharina!" King Batsaikhan growled.


    He leaned closer to the King. "That ''girl'' is the Princess Lyra of Erenveil. I don''t have to tell you that women like Sharina are normally chosen to be Ladies-in-waiting for Imperial Princesses like my future step daughter Lyra."


    He chuckled. "Sharina is only good enough to carry Lyra''s shoes and to give her pedicures."


    King Batsaikhan cursed. "Where are you holding my son?"


    Suddenly, someone to the Grand Duke''s right side shoved him over and took over the screen.


    "I''m right here, Father. You don''t have to rehash anything. I heard it all, and from many sources."


    "S¨¹¡ªS¨¹ren." King Batsaikhan stuttered. What the hell was he supposed to say to his son, after all that had gone down?


    "Be still and listen. This will be my edict to you." He stood up and held up a finger


    "For the crime of locking up Lady Gwendolyn against her will, I will give my Great Uncle an entire hour to spend however he wishes with you."


    He held up a second finger. "For the crime of causing my bride to almost freeze to death, I will take away all the members of your harem, including your three wives and send them back to their families."


    He held up a third finger. "Andstly, for the crime of attempting to kill me for your own gains, I will depose you and take over your throne. How well you live in your dungeon will depend on how generous my mother will be to you."


    "Son!" King Batsaikhan raised a hand, but it was toote. S¨¹ren had cut offmunications with him.


    Erden turned to S¨¹ren.


    "You''re serious about deposing the King?"


    "Absolutely. That man is scary and dangerous. He should not be holding any sort of power."


    "He has the support of Sharina''s father, Julian Abberbie. Their military force is massive."


    "And we have the pirates and the Erenveil Empire behind us. As soon as I take down my father, the royal troops will fall inline and follow me."


    "How are you going to do that if you are out here in deep space?" Erden rubbed his jawline.


    S¨¹ren smiled grimly. "I have my ways."


    =============


    In a darkened corner of the Avalian Royal Pce, King Batsaikhan was struggling to stay on his feet. He held out his hand against the wall and tried to keep from cking out.


    "Help!!!" He cried out. "Somebody help!!!"


    He heard the running of footsteps. Through the faltering light, he saw his wife Ginger approaching.


    She knelt down and leaned in close to him.


    The most beautiful of all his wives and consorts, Ginger was a rare find in a farawaynd. Her long ck hair and almond eyes were so deeply intriguing, he had married her on sight.


    The sight of her face now caused King Batsaikhan to quiver in fright.


    Ginger was S¨¹ren''s mother.


    "You''re not looking well." She took a deep breath. "I hope I didn''t use too much of the same drug you used on my son."


    She clicked her tongue. "Tch tch. Oh that''s right. There is one more that I forgot to give you."


    "This was the one that nearly killed my baby S¨¹ren" She held up a syringe filled with some nasty fluid.


    "No¡ªno!!!" he tried to tell her that he was not the one who gave S¨¹ren the aphrodisiac, but it was toote.


    She shoved the needle into his arm and emptied the syringe.


    "Aaaaarghhh!" He cried out as the strong aphrodisiac hit his blood stream.


    "Take him away," Ginger waved a hand and a team of pce guards rushed in.


    As the King of Avalia was being hauled off on the shoulders of his own pce guards, his wife Ginger was cing a call to S¨¹ren.


    "It''s done, Son."

 Chapter 220 - The Raptor 650

    As soon as Candace stepped into the transport pod, Jared cornered her towards the ovalmand chair.


    "Hahaha Jared." Sheughed nervously. "Only one person can fit on this chair."


    He gave ascivious grin and pulled her down on top of him.


    With a tap of the console, the harness went around both of them and held them down together.


    "Ahh!" Candace gasped. What in the world was he doing?


    Without warning, Jared reached out with hisrge hand and turned her face towards him. Dropping his head, he drank in her lips with wide open mouth, gulping and devouring like a starving thirsty crazed man.


    "Mmmhhh. You taste like cotton candy." He licked her lips and nuzzled her face. "Why do you taste so sweet? Has Lucas fed you nothing but sugarcane on that deserted ind of his?"


    Candaceughed. "Silly man. Why are you not sitting in your ownmand chair?"


    "Why?" He bit her chin. "You''re so tiny, this thing can easily fit the both of us."


    "But¡ªcan you breathe with me pressed up against you like this?"


    In response, he began panting into her ear.


    "Heh, heh, heh, oh baby¡­heh, heh, heh¡­"


    "Oh stop that!" Candaceughed and pped his arm.


    Jared''s body shook with mirth. He hadn''t seen her in two weeks and had missed her brightughter so much.


    They had barely settled onto the chair and he was getting all tingly and aroused by this woman. She was so small, her curves fit perfectly into hisrge frame, like nesting measuring spoons.


    "Don''t you love this hug-chair?"


    "Hug-chair?"


    In response, Jared wrapped his arms around her body and leaned his head onto her shoulder. He inhaled deeply her freesia and honeysuckle scent and felt his own body rise to the asion.


    "Yes. Perfect for hugging my wife just like this."


    "Hmmm. I don''t think I''ve ever sat in one of thesemand chairs with anyone before."


    That wasn''t quite true. Candace bit her lip as she remembered sitting on te''sp in his medical chair as they rendezvoused with the hospital ship.


    "Oh¡­you''ve never made love in a hug-chair before, huh?" Jared''s eyes were mischievous. "We need to put that on our bucket list of experiences to try."


    "We have a bucket list?"


    "Not yet, but this will be the first line item. Making love in a Hug Chair!" Jaredughed.


    "What¡ªwhat do you mean?"


    "Darling, the ovalmand pods are perfect love chairs. Want to try it?"


    "Ummm. No." She protested, but before she even had a chance to do anything, Jared had pushed another button.


    Candace''s eyes widened as suddenly, the sides and edges of the ovalmand chair began closing in on themselves until a perfectly clear dome covered over them, turning the oval chair into a perfect egg-shaped sphere.


    "See this?" He reached out and tapped on the clear ss enclosing around them. "I can make this opaque so nobody out there can see in."


    The ss began to turn thick and dark, letting in no light from the transport pod.


    "Except we don''t really need to do this since there''s nobody in the transport pod to see us do any hanky-panky." He whispered into her ear.


    "Hanky-panky?" Candaceughed.


    "But it''s nice and cozy, just the two of us inside this little egg¡­we can do so many things together¡­"


    He began licking her ear.


    Candace grimaced. "Jared. It''s too dark in here."


    Jared waved a finger, his tongue still drawing doodles on her ear. From within the pod, tiny lights came on, along with the whoosh of fresh cool air.


    "Jared. Jared stop. You''re tickling me." Candaceughed, trying to move her head away from his tongue. He was like arge hound with a tongue that liked to lick everywhere.


    Jared stuck his tongue back into his mouth with a pout.


    "You''re not letting me do anything because it''s not my week with you yet, huh?"


    Candace grinned, trying not tough out loud. How could she keep a straight face when Jared was such a clown?


    "Show me how to use this chair." She tried to change the subject.


    Of course this did not escape Jared who could barely keep a straight face. She was so cute he could hardly stand it.


    "See this word?" He pointed to a squiggle that looked like ocean waves dancing around.


    "That''s a word?"


    Jaredughed. "Yes, you illiterate woman. I thought you could read Erenveil script."


    "I can, but it has to be really ancient. This¡ªthis is too modern."


    Jared chuckled and pressed a hard kiss onto her soft cheek.


    Another bucket list to-do: Teach the illiterate wife how to read basic Erenveilian script.


    He cleared his throat as his face turned into what he thought a serious professor would look like.


    "Ahem. This was designed to be an escape chair. In the event any transport pod runs into trouble, get yourself into one of these chairs and press that button. It will enclose around you and take you to safety."


    Candace nodded. That would be great except right now, the danger was inside the pod, sitting behind her.


    "How do we escape from this egg once we''vended safely?"


    Jared pointed to the button next to it with a circr pattern that looked like a bulls eye.


    "This one will open the Hug Chair and let you out."


    "Hmmm." She poked at the bulls eye button. Immediately, the opaque ss cleared and retracted.


    Jared grinned and released the harness.


    "The seat belt light is off. You may now move freely around the cabin." He monotoned.


    Candace jumped up and pretended interest in the rapidly approaching warship.


    "Which one is this?" She pointed to therge interster ship.


    "This one is the Raptor 650. It''s one of the newest models of te''s ship, with thetest gizmos installed all over the ship."


    "Wow¡­I can hardly wait to see it!"


    "Then I cannot wait to show it to you!" Jared smiled.


    In no time t, they hadnded within the Raptor 650 and Jared ran around like an excited puppy, showing her all the various new toys and widgets that had been installed in the new ship.


    "See these bay windows?" Jared pointed. "They are like little garages. Each of them hold a single transport pod."


    Candace scanned the hallway. There must have been at least several dozen bay windows.


    "Do we need that many transport pods?"


    Jared shrugged. "The more the merrier. Many are collectors'' items and some are just an extension of male macho muscles."


    They barely made their way into the pod when an automated machine rolled up to them to offer tea and coffee service.


    Candace''s eyes grew big. "Wow. I never saw any of these on te''s warships before."


    Jaredughed. "Warships don''t have all the luxuries of a cruise ship. This one has everything to be able to travel the gxy in style. The ultimate in mping."


    "mping, huh¡­" Candaceughed. Jared always did have a way with words.


    "Absolutely. Where else would you find touches like these?" He indicated the luxurious detailed fleur-de-lis cream and white wall paper and the deep ivory marbled floors.


    It didn''t feel as if they were on a warship. It felt as if they were in a royal pce!


    "I didn''t know he had a ship like this!" Candace''s mouth opened in an excited O.


    She knew te''s tastes. Everything white and clean and no frills. He surrounded himself with white things. This was very far out of his normal taste range.


    "He didn''t. This is brand new. It was especially created for his mother, the Lady Gwen. We''re just delivering it to her."


    "Oh." Candace nodded and looked away, disappointed.


    Jared gave a peculiar smile as he saw the forlorn downcast look she tried to hide.


    "Come. Let''s go meet up with everyone." He grabbed her by the neck with the crook of his elbow and dropped a kiss on top of her head.


    "Jason has been upset that he didn''t get a chance to pick you up, but he got tied up with something important. He will be happy to see you." Jared chattered as they rode the elevator to the main deck.


    "Wee to the Raptor 650," Jason heralded with cheer as he led her out onto the Main Deck of the ship.

 Chapter 221 - An Avgo Marriage Proposal

    Jason was standing outside the elevator waiting for them.


    As soon as Candace and Jared stepped out, Jason scooped Candace up into his arms.


    "Oh my God, I have missed you so much!" He murmured, crushing her into his body.


    The universe around them melted away at that moment. There was no one else around but the two of them. His world was finally perfect.


    The crushing embracested until someone with green hair and brown eyes cleared his throat and kicked Jason in the leg to remind him that there were still other people standing around.


    "How is my Tiny Dancer?" Jason pulled back to look into her eyes.


    Candace smiled. "I''m doing well. Still a little tired, but I''m getting used to it."


    "You''re not going to have to lift a finger here. It''s all just rest and rxation for you." He straightened back up to his full 6"1'' height and gestured at someone who was standing behind her.


    "Sweetie. Look who''s here to visit with us?"


    Candace turned and gasped. It was the tall ss Avgo Female Ana?se Paroles who had the blue sapphire gemstone.


    Her body was no longer the perfect clear crystal ss that once was the envy of the women of her human species.


    Because of the vicious Avian attack during the Avgo events, She had been fractured into splintered shards that permanently marred her perfect body.


    She had been reconstructed, piece by painful piece, but it was obvious she still needed much more reconstructive work.


    The light caught her shattered body and cast sparkles that winked and twinkled everywhere she went. It was at once dazzling and macabre at the same time.


    "Ana?se! How are you? Are you recovering well?" Candace reached out and grasped both her hands.


    Ana?se smiled. "I''m slowly recovering. Thank you."


    She looked Candace up and down with admiring eyes.


    "You are looking very well. It seems as if you''ve gotten quite a bit of a tan."


    "Hah, yes!" She grinned. "My husband has a tropical ind and I just spent a week with him."


    "Your husband?" Ana?se cracked a grin. "Ah that''s right. I heard the new Crown Prince is Lucas, and since you''re the Avgo winner, you automatically be his wife."


    "Yes. It''s Lucas''s ind." Cadence turnedrge eyes at Ana?se. "I''m surprised to see you here on a ship traveling into a distant area."


    Ana?se smiled. "I was still in Erenveil after the Avgo Events ended when I struck up a conversation with¡ª" she indicated at Jason.


    Candace turned a questioning eye at Jason.


    Jason shrugged. "We were just talking about the extent of the damage that her body had taken on."


    He motioned at Ana?se''s body.


    "I mentioned that since I often use my magic reconstructive techniques on fractured gemstones, I might be able to help her body heal from all the fractures."


    Ana?se nodded and looked down with bashful eyes.


    "Prince Jason said he could help me to look normal again."


    Candace smiled and reached out with both hands, touching Ana?se''s arms.


    "I truly hope Jason will be able to help you. He''s very good at what he does."


    Ana?se nodded. "He also made a blue Avgo gemstone pendant for me."


    She nced up at Jason with grateful eyes.


    "Do you remember when he asked me if he could look at the color of the stone?"


    Candace nodded, remembering that day at the Royal Ball when Jason''s only question to Ana?se was to see her blue stone.


    "At that moment, I didn''t understand what he meant and I was upset at him, but now, I''m so d he did." Her eyes grew tragic.


    "Once the Avgo Events were over, my stone disappeared. I couldn''t call it up again, no matter how hard I tried." She closed her pain-filled eyes.


    Candace looked at her with sympathetic eyes. She knew what it felt like to lose the Avgo. She had lost her pink Avgo stone as well.


    It was fortunate that she had been able to recover three of the shards back. She no longer felt such loss as the moment when it left her and flew into the seven men.


    Ana?se extended from her hand, a blue sapphire Avgo gemstone replica.


    It was an absolutely exquisite replica of the original, meticulously set with heavy gold and hung on a matching thick Byzantine gold chain.


    Candace smiled.


    It was Jason''s personal handiwork through and through. There was no mistaking the precise and meticulous details that came from such a talented artist as Jason. It looked very simr to the pink one she owned.


    "Jason knew I was going to lose the stone. He made this and gave my stone back to me." Her eyes shone with love and admiration as she looked at Jason. "And now he will help me heal my body as well."


    Jason smiled without saying anything. He turned to Candace.


    "I also made a yellow topaz Avgo replica for Jenna. Next time we see her, you can gift it to her."


    Candace smiled and nodded. Jason had always been so thoughtful. She idly wondered if he created one for the other Avgo Contestants as well.


    Definitely not for Helene Cordera who tried to kill her.


    She turned back to Ana?se with a smile. "Let me help you put it on."


    Ana?se gave a grateful nod and handed the blue sapphire Avgo gemstone to Candace.


    As she turned her back so that Candace could fasten the chain on, Candace realized there was a bit of an issue.


    At 5''10", Ana?se was a fairly tall woman. Candace, on the other hand, was barely 5''2".


    There was no way she would be able to ce the ne around Ana?se''s neck without having to ask her to bend down a bit.


    At that moment, someone scooped her up and lifted her so that she was equal to Ana?se''s height.


    Candace smiled as she turned a grateful eye to her muscle-bound benefactor.


    It was Jared.


    "There you go," Candace murmured as she slipped the pendant around Ana?se''s neck and secured the sp. "It looks absolutely lovely on you."


    Ana?se turned back around to see Jared still holding onto Candace with gentle adoration.


    She hid a giggle behind her hands.


    "Oh. I''m sorry. I could have lowered my body so he wouldn''t have to lift you up."


    Jared smiled. "No worries. Tiny Dancer is so light, I can carry her around all day and not even break a sweat." He nuzzled her neck yfully.


    "The two of you seem to be very close." Ana?se smiled at Jared.


    Jared smiled into Candace''s blonde hair, his cheeks blushing.


    "I haven''t seen her for two weeks and I miss her like crazy."


    "But¡ªshe just told us she had been with her husband Lucasst week at his ind."


    "That''s right. I picked her up from there just now." Jared grinned.


    "But she''s¡­married."


    Jared nodded with a big grin.


    Ana?se blinked. Was she not in on some strange joke?


    "It''s aplicated situation, but the gist of it is this. She''s also my bride." Jared nted a kiss on her lips.


    "And what does Lucas think about that?" Ana?se''s face was incredulous.


    Jared grinned with a shrug. "You''ll have to ask him what his thoughts are. I can''t read his mind."


    "Lucas is Crown Prince." Ana?se mused. "He probably didn''t have a choice in marriage partner."


    She turned to Candace. "I''m sure if you told Lucas that your heart belongs to Jared, he would release you so you can be with the man you truly loved."


    Candace raised a finger and opened her mouth, ready to clear up Ana?se''s misunderstanding of the situation, but Ana?se had already turned back to Jason.


    "I''m an Avgo female too. In fact, I am the first runner up, behind Candace. You are my number one choice for lifetime mate."


    Jason turned to Ana?se with startled eyes, even as she lifted her head with pride.


    "If you chose me as your bride, I will do everything in my power to help you with all that your heart desires."


    "What?" Jason looked stunned.


    "I am the Princess of the Silicon race of Haribou world. Within my hands hold much of the riches of the gxy.. It can all be yours if you be my husband."

 Chapter 222 - Boy Toy

    Jason narrowed his eyes in disbelief.


    Since when did all thise about? He had always been regarded as just one-half of a twin Prince.


    Half the people he met couldn''t even tell the difference between him and Jared. The other half didn''t care who was who as long as he and Jared delivered to them the clothes and jewels they ordered.


    He had only extended his offer of help to Ana?se because she looked so sad and pathetic. What in the world did it have to do with her being his bride?


    Couldn''t he just do something nice for someone without getting misunderstood that he was going after them?


    Jason pursed his lips. This marriage proposal was aplete non-starter.


    He was a married man, for crying out loud!


    Jason was about to turn her down t when Candace jumped off Jared''s arms and faced Ana?se, her eyes zing with anger.


    "Never EVER mistake kindness for infatuation. Prince Jason is not avable, and furthermore, he is not interested in you."


    "Candace," Ana?se''s eyes softened. "I know you and I have not had much interaction, but I''d like to get to know you better. We will be sisters-inw in the future and I''d like for us to be friends."


    Candace shook her head. "There is absolutely no way we can be sisters. I don''t have a brother you can marry."


    "No, I meant you will be married to Jared and I will be married to Jason." Ana?se reasoned with a tolerant tone of voice. "We will be sisters to twin brothers. We should try to get along."


    Jason opened his mouth, about to retort to Ana?se''s insistence of their impending marriage.


    Again, Candace held up a hand holding him back. This was her cat fight. He didn''t need to involve himself.


    She had to be very clear with Ana?se about the situation between her and the seven brothers.


    "Again, Ana?se." She waggled a finger at the tall ss girl. "That''s not going to happen."


    "Candace. You can''t be jealous of everyone who approaches your man''s twin brother. Jared loves you and he has your love. Jason deserves love too."


    Ana?se gave Candace a look as if to imply that Candace was unreasonable and making things up just to throw a tantrum.


    Furthermore, her gentle conciliatory tone made Candace look as if she was an unreasonable, jealous, selfish woman who could not let go of her husband''s brother.


    Candace gritted her teeth. She ced both hands on her hips and looked up at the tall ss woman with steely hazel eyes.


    "Ana?se. I''m only going to tell you this once, so pay close attention."


    "Prince Jason is NOT interested in you because he already loves someone else. Furthermore, he is NOT avable to you because he is already married. Have I made myself clear?"


    Ana?se sighed and pursed her lips. She had tried her best to cate a very unreasonable person and was starting to lose her patience with such a stubborn immature girl.


    "Who, Candace? Who is his lover and who is he married to?"


    Candace opened her mouth, but Ana?se never gave her a chance to respond.


    "Look," Ana?se reasoned with her. "He''s an Imperial Prince of Erenveil. If he was married, the entire gxy would already know."


    Ana?se raised a hand, as if to prove a point. "Howe I''ve never heard of any wedding? Howe I never even heard that he''s engaged to any woman? The answer is simple. There''s nothing to hear. He''s still single!"


    "No, He''s/I''m not!" Both Jason and Candace spoke up at the same time.


    "What?" Ana?se''s eyes bulged from her sockets.


    "You heard me." Jason reached for Candace and pulled her into his chest. He cradled her head within the crook of his arm, his hand over her face. It was his turn to shield his woman.


    "This is my wife you''ve been degrading and disparaging. Either you apologize to her sincerely or I take back my offer to help you heal and I charge you full price for that Avgo gemstone."


    In the moment of Ana?se''s shocked silence, Jason continued his rebuke.


    "The fact that we haven''t thrown a huge wedding to celebrate our union yet doesn''t mean it''s not real. It just means there''s a war going on at the moment and it''s not a great time to be throwing huge gs."


    "What are you talking about?" Ana?se choked out in a shocked voice.


    "She''s married to the Crown Prince, while at the same time cheating on him with your twin brother." Ana?se scowled. "Are you wanting to be this slut''s next boy toy?"


    Jason''s face contorted in anger. Reaching out with forceful fingers, he yanked the Avgo gemstone pendant from her neck, breaking the gold chain.


    "O!!!" She screamed, reaching out to rub her neck where the chain had broken.


    "You do not deserve this. I''m taking it back." He shoved the gemstone into his pocket. "As for my offer to help you heal your shattered body, I am retracting that too."


    "What???" Ana?se gasped.


    "You heard me. You are not worthy of my help or my creative talents."


    "She''s already married and going around, cheating on her husband with your brother!" Ana?se pointed at Candace. "Why are you still hanging onto her? Let her go! I can help you move on from this heartbreak!"


    "I think we''re done here." Jason quipped. "Guards. Escort her off this ship."


    "Yes, Your Royal Highness."


    "What??? How dare you! Do you know who I am? Do you know what my father can do to you?"


    Jason narrowed his eyes. "I don''t care who you are or what your father can do to me. I never want to see you again."


    She sputtered and struggled as the guards came and took her away.


    "Wow." Jared whistled as he watched Ana?se being led away. "That was abrupt and decisive."


    Jason snarled, showing his lengthening bat fangs.


    "She seemed nice and gentle when I first met her, but she really showed her true stripes when she began interacting with my woman."


    Jared shook his head. "I couldn''t believe the things that wereing out of her mouth. She really thought Candace was a two-timing cheater."


    Candace freed herself from Jason''s protective stance and turned to Jared.


    "People are not going to understand the situation. They will see me with all seven of you and wonder why I''m acting this way."


    "We don''t give a shit.'' Jared tilted his head in devil-may-care attitude. "You''re our wife and that''s just how it is."


    "But the world''s reaction will be very much the same as Ana?se''s." Candace reasoned. "We will be facing this sort of prejudice from many sources for a long time toe."


    "Whatever happens, we will face all of it together." Jason insisted firmly.


    Jared nodded. "I''m fully expecting we''re going to be called all sorts of names and derided for our unique family situation with you."


    "Yes. Didn''t you hear? That woman called me a boy toy."


    The twins looked at each other. For a moment, their eyes locked, and then suddenly, they roared withughter.


    "Haaaaahhhh!" Jared shook with mirth.. "You''re going to be stuck with that new name, Jay. I''m forever going call you Boy Toy!"

 Chapter 223 - Marriage Decree

    The ramification of Jason''s actions hit them as soon as Candace and the twins stepped into the dining room for their lunch.


    The huge ship was fully staffed and could handle hundreds of guests, but at the moment, other than the two Princes and Candace, there was no one else on the ship for them to take care of.


    Within the huge dining area filled with hanging chandeliers and dozens ofrge round linen-covered tables, the three of them sat by a side table that was pushed up against a wall near the kitchen.


    Having hung out with te quite a few times on his warship, Candace knew the best tables to sit at. Being close to the kitchen area meant the food got to them quicker and hotter, not to mention it was easier for the staff to cater to their needs.


    "Are you sure all you want are sandwiches? We could have much fancier stuff." Jason suggested as he eyed the sandwich tter that the servants brought.


    Candace nodded and grabbed a ham sandwich.


    "I''m not in the mood for lobster and steak at the moment."


    Jason and Jared grinned at each other. She was so cute. She fell in love with a luxury cruise ship but when they took her to the dining hall, all she wanted were finger sandwiches.


    They had barely finished with lunch and had escorted Candace back to her room to rest a bit when te and Dante ced a visual call in to check on the twins.


    Jason and Jared headed over to the cocktail lounge and grabbed a couple of drinks before starting the visuals call. A couple of stiff drinks seemed to be a good starting point for whatever mess was waiting for them.


    "Hey you guys." te walked to his desk and plopped down. He looked as if he hadn''t slept for days.


    "I''m here." Dante called out on another screen. He was handing off arge stack ofpleted work documents to his attendant.


    "I just got word from Father. He''s very upset at all of us for various different reasons." Dante mumbled tiredly.


    "Does this have to do with Mother again?" te scowled as he gestured to one of his attendants off-screen to do something.


    "Partly. We''ll get to thatter. Biggest issue right now is Haribou world."


    Jason and Jared rolled their eyes. That was fast.


    Dante turned and red at the twins.


    "What in hell happened onboard the Raptor 650? Why did the Princess of Haribou get kicked off all of a sudden?"


    Jason grimaced. "She insulted Candace while at the same time, tried to proposition me, so I kicked her off the ship."


    te turned a startled eye at Jason.


    "What? She insulted Candace?"


    "Yes!" Jason pounded on the table. "She said Candace was cheating on her husband with Jared because she saw Jared kissing Candace."


    "Oh, she did." te''s eyes widened with appreciation.


    "Yes, and in the same breath, she told Candace to try to get along with her because she was going to marry me and they were going to be inws."


    Dante rubbed his head with a weary hand.


    "Ana?se had every reason to think she was going to be married to you."


    "Excuse me?" Jason knitted his brows.


    "I hate to tell you this, Jay, but she was sent to meet up with you by her father, who is also in cahoots with our very own Dear Old Dad who has sanctioned the holy union between you and the Princess."


    "Are they nuts?" Jason howled. "What makes them think they can determine all this without even telling me of their intentions? Do I look like a¡ªa¡ª"


    "A Boy Toy?" Jared suggested, chuckling with mirth.


    Jason shot him a dark evil look.


    te clicked his tongue. "Tch. You know very well that Haribou provides all the war weapons for both Avian and Insectoid sides. Father is trying to secure the goodwill of the King of Haribou so he can control the flow of weaponry."


    He turned to Dante with grateful eyes.


    "If it wasn''t for the fact that Dante secured arge weapons manufacturing world within our territory, we''d be stuck having to be dependent on Haribou for our weapons as well."


    Dante shook his head. "It''s not producing fast enough and I don''t have the fricking TIME to go there to improve and streamline the process because I''m stuck here doing all this bull shit paperwork that Byron is supposed to be doing!"


    "Where the hell is he? I haven''t seen him in ages." Jared murmured.


    "He''s out there trying to handle the birds and keep things from escting worse than they are now." Dante shook his head. "Meanwhile, my mother and her father have been on this side, mollifying the Insectoids and trying to keep them from taking over the gxy."


    "So what does that mean, in regards to the Haribou Princess and myself?" Jason wanted to know.


    Dante gave him a pitying look. "Dear Old Dad wants you to marry Ana?se and go take care of the flow of weapons."


    "That''s a fat NO." Jason threw a desultory look at Dante.


    "You think Father is going to give you a chance to turn her down?" Dante sneered. "Think again. I saw a memo in my stack of documents mandating the marriage between you and Ana?se."


    "What? Why was I not told of any of this?"


    "Because Dear Old Dad doesn''t think he has to consult any of us when ites to whom we marry." Dante leaned back on his chair.


    "Lucas, Byron, and me¡ªwe got lucky that he decided we were going to marry Candace. Since it was what we wanted anyway, we epted his decree and didn''t challenge him."


    "The rest of you guys¡­" Dante scrunched up his face in perturbation. "You''re going to get whoever Dear Old Dad decides you''re going to get."


    "Fuck." Jared spat, looking away in disgust. With his luck, he would probably get the fish lips girl.


    "Hell no. I''d rather run away from home." Jason snarled.


    "You''re going to have to run out of the gxy to escape his decree. He''s the Emperor, and his word isw in this gxy." te grimaced.


    "I need to talk to him." Jason rubbed his eyebrows with distressed hands.


    Dante sighed.. "No time like the present."

 Chapter 224 - The Emperors Dictates

    The Emperor of Erenveil had just finished a nice brisk walk around the pce gardens with his cherished Empress Anastasia when he got a notice that four of his sons were waiting on call to speak with him.


    Heh. About time.


    He sent the Empress back into the pce and found a nice shady spot among the peach blossoms. Then he sank down onto the soft green grass, crossed his arms and legs, closed his eyes and cidly meditated.


    Within minutes, the disturbed faces of his sons appeared in front of him from four different screens. Obviously, none of them were together in the same space, but of course, the Emperor knew this.


    te was on his warship deep in Avian territory, fighting battle after battle against what the Avians were calling ''rogue factions'' who were actually sent by the Avians themselves.


    The twins were running here and there, taking care of security details alongside their more mundane fashion business.


    Dante was within his moon above Erenveil space, handling all the duties of an Emperor alongside his own business dealings.


    It made the Emperor quite happy.


    He could now hand off his duties to all his sons and semi-retire, and everything would still flow smoothly. They were scattered across the gxy that he ruled, ensuring that all was well.


    At the moment though, they looked upset.


    Good!!!


    It was time that they got a full dose of the frustration that he''d been feeling all week!


    "Boys." He greeted them with a benign gentle fatherly smile.


    "Father, what is going on with Ana?se?" Jason was the first of his sons to sputter and il.


    "You are absolutely weed, Son. She is a beauty, anding in second ce at the Avgo is a very distinguishing mark indeed."


    "I want the first ce winner." Jason grimaced. "I don''t want second ce."


    "Son, you''re not the Crown Prince. You never got a chance at the first ce winner anyway, so I don''t even know why you are so upset."


    "Father. I''m not marrying that ss woman. I have no feelings for her. I''m not going to sacrifice my whole life being stuck to someone I don''t even like."


    "Oh stop being melodramatic. Who says you have to like her? Just marry her and then you can sleep with whomever you choose."


    "Not going to happen." Jason narrowed his gaze.


    "You don''t have a choice. Within two weeks, she will being to Erenveil with her entire entourage of attendants and will be taking up residence at the new pce I''ve set up for you and your new wife."


    "I will not be going anywhere near there." He waved his hand away as if brushing a gnat.


    "As you wish. I know you prefer to hang out with Jared on that floating ind of yours." The Emperor shrugged with indifference.


    "You can simply carry on and do whatever it is that makes you happy. That pce is really for her to live in since she will be the wife of an Erenveil Prince and can''t be seen in a hovel."


    The Emperor leaned closer and gazed at Jason with clear determined violet eyes.


    "Whether you live or sleep with her is none of my concern. She can die an old virgin for all I care. You simply need to control the flow of the weaponsing out of her family''s world so that it does not flood into enemy hands."


    "Father. This is not going to happen."


    "Toote Son. I''ve already sent out the mandate. Expect the d tidings to be spread out throughout the gxy within two weeks."


    "Father!!!"


    The Emperor turned off the sound to Jason''s belligerent indignations so he didn''t have to hear it. He had delivered his news to his fifth son and now it was the sixth son''s turn.


    Even as Jason''s snarling mouth opened and closed without any sound that the Emperor could hear, he turned to the other twin.


    "Jared. You need to also prepare yourself. The only Avgo female left who is worthy of an Erenveil Prince is Jenna Natoli."


    "Jenna the cougar?" Jared''s face devolved into a puddle of despair. "Father, I really really don''t want to be with her."


    The Emperor cleared his throat.


    "Might I remind you that Calend is a mineral and metal rich world that supplies theputerized robotic parts for the vast majority of the gxy? Aside from Erenveil, it is as one of the wealthiest regions of space."


    "What does that have to do with me?" Jared gave a querulous look at the Emperor.


    "Jenna Natoli is no mere Princess. She is one of the Queens of Calend."


    "But Father¡ª"


    "Son. Do you know why she forfeited thest Avgo event and turned herself into a cougar to perform that Magic and Illusions event?"


    The Emperor harrumphed.


    "It was because she was no longer interested in winning. She saw how Dante doted on Candace and did not want to be a third wheel so she gave up her ce."


    "Candace was far ahead of everyone." Jared pursed his lips.


    "Ah, but everyone had arrived and was already starting to perform, and Candace was nowhere in sight. She would have lost to Jenna if she hadn''t made it to the stage that day."


    Jared''s eyes turned red as he recalled how they had all been abducted on Candace''s big event day.


    He gave a grim smile. Jenna Natoli forfeited because she did not want to be Dante''s wife. Smart girl. She knew her worth.


    "Father. She gave up her chance to win because she didn''t want Dante as her husband. What makes you think she''s going to want me?"


    The Emperor curled up his lips in derision.


    "What makes you think she has a choice?"


    As Jared stared at him with horror, the Emperor''s eyes zed over.. Just as it was with Jason, Jared''s fate was sealed.

 Chapter 225 - A Family Conference Call

    He turned his focus onto te.


    "As for you. I haven''t had the chance to discuss with you about your mother''s traitorous unfaithful acts. She is now getting ready to marry another man, not two weeks after she ran off."


    te stared back at his father with cold glittering blue eyes.


    "This is between you and Mother. Don''t involve me in your decisions."


    "Son, you made it your business when you helped her to run away from home."


    "Father, she is not a child. If she wants to live elsewhere, she has the right to do so."


    "I want to talk to her." The Emperor cut to the chase. "You know where she is. Tell her to call me."


    "What is there left to say, Father?"


    "She''s still my wife. We may not be physically in the same world, but until we have legally separated, she is still part of this royal family."


    That was true. Whatever Mother decided, she still needed to legally separate from the Emperor before she could be with someone else.


    "There is also the matter of my daughter."


    "Lyra made a decision to go with her mother." te informed him.


    "She is my daughter too. Her mother cannot just take her away from me just because she has an issue with me. It has nothing to do with me and my daughter."


    te narrowed his eyes. His father had a point. Lyra was still underage and in this regard, his father still had half power over where she lived.


    "I will talk to Mother regarding Lyra. The two of you can discuss what to do in regards to Lyra."


    The Emperor nodded. His face still showing a calm demeanor. He turned to his oldest son. There was still one more important matter to discuss.


    "We need to n the wedding between the Avgo winner and the three of you crown boys. Get Byron and Lucas on this call and let''s talk about what needs to happen."


    Dante pressed his lips together and muted the Emperor. He had to alert Byron and Lucas that their father wanted a quick chat.


    Byron came online almost immediately, his rugged regal face looking stoic and resigned as he stood in front of the grand pce that had been created for him, as High Prince of the Avians.


    It took a few more minutes before Lucas popped on. His hair was wet and wild and he was leaning on a colorful surfboard propped up against a palm tree.


    "Wow, life is hard over there, Little Brother." Byron cracked a smile at Lucas.


    "There''s not much to do here but surf," Lucas said ruefully as he shook the sand from his scruffy blond hair.


    Dante nodded. "Just keep doing what you''re doing. I don''t want you starting any new movie projects. We have somethinging up soon that will need your presence."


    "Guys. Father wants to speak to all of us. He''s royally pissed, so prepare yourselves."


    With a quick flourish of Dante''s hand, all six princes appeared in front of the Emperor.


    "Hello Father," Byron and Lucas both chimed in.


    "Boys." The Emperor''s deceptively angelic kindly face smiled at them. "There''s only six of you. Where''s Leo?"


    Dante shook his head. "Leo is in the surgery ward. I''ll make a copy of this call and send it to himter."


    The Emperor nodded. "I''m d you boys could be on this call. We need to talk about the uing wedding.


    "Now. Since Candace Farrah is already your legal wife, this will just be a formality, but formalities still need to be addressed properly. She is the next Empress and she must legitimize all three of you as the true Emperors."


    Lucas scratched his neck.


    The salt was starting to bake into his body and he was starting to get itchy. He wanted to get back inside and wash off the salt, but he couldn''t until this talk was done and Father answered some of his questions.


    "Father," Lucas raised up a hand. "What are you talking about ''legitimizing all three of us''? That doesn''t make any sense at all."


    The Emperor looked at his golden-haired son with fondness. Lucas was his gentle soft child, the one who was afraid of his own shadows, and yet, he often asked the most difficult questions.


    "As you boys know, it''s the job of the Primary Avgo Female to choose the next Emperor¡­"


    "What???" All the princes stared at their father.


    "Yes. That is why it''s written into the rules that the winner of the Avgo event is automatically the wife of the Crown Prince. We''ve taken the choice from her."


    "Can you imagine what would happen if Candace chose a human male as Emperor? Why¡ªEarth would rule the gxy and the ensuing chaos would be tremendous!"


    He shook his head. "For the good of the gxy, we of the royal lineage of Blood Bats have secured the Avgo Contest so that the Primary Avgo Female has no choice but to choose the Crown Prince of Erenveil."


    "We cannot have a bird or an insect, or heavens forbid, a dragon to be chosen as the Emperor of this gxy." He sniffed. "The Emperor of this gxy MUST continue to be an Erenveilian bat."


    The Princes all stared at their father with mixed emotions.


    It all made sense in a macabre fashion now that the Emperor had stated it out in a t and detached manner. In fact, it was such a captain obvious moment that they had no words to respond to him.


    Although they were happy that she belonged to all of them and they all belonged to her, it was also true that Candace never really had a choice at all. Even the Avgo, by splintering itself into seven parts, had taken the choice away from her.


    "You three boys are going to have to figure out a way to present yourselves to the gxy. I am expecting a bit of a pushback that there will be only one Empress and three Emperors on the throne once I retire."


    "But Father," te gave a wry grin. "There is only one of you and you currently have three wives."


    "That''s different. I''m a man."


    "Times change, Father." Dante intoned. "We are no longer living in the dark ancient past. Women are powerful beings too."


    The Emperor snapped his jaw. Impudent brat.


    But this impudent brat was the son of his most beloved wife, Anastasia. To this impudent brat, he would do almost anything for.


    "Since you are so well-versed with the new and changing times, then I guess you will have no issues figuring out how to handle announcing the news that you three boys will be married to the same woman."


    Byron smiled. "We''re going to be Emperors. Who''s going to say anything against us?"


    He had seen how his father worked through protests and opposition from all those who sought to go against the Emperor''s various decrees in the past.


    In the same way that men had pushed throughout the ages to be able to have multiple wives, this was going to be pushed through so that women could have multiple husbands.


    Like it or not, this was happening.

 Chapter 226 - [Bonus ] Princely Collaboration

    "Candace is your wife. You three boys figure it out between yourselves."


    "No Father," Dante spoke up. "Candace is wife to all seven of us. She is the Primary Avgo Female and she has chosen all seven of us as her husbands."


    The Emperor squinted. "Since when?"


    Dante sighed and began exining to his father the situation with the fragmented Avgo shards and how they flew into each of the brothers'' chests.


    The Emperor gasped and turned almost purple when Dante exined to him how they had to deliver the Avgo back to Candace in order for the Avgo gemstone to be whole again and for an heir to be born.


    He also exined that all seven brothers wanted her as their wife, and what was more amazing was that she had consented to all seven of them--at the same time.


    The more the Emperor listened, the wider his eyes grew.


    "This is unprecedented. I''ve never heard of the Avgo doing something like this before."


    "Father, like it or not, this is the Avgo we''re talking about."


    "I don''t care. I''m not going to have all seven of my boys married to the same woman. That''s not going to happen so get it out of your heads." He snarled.


    "I''m going to get ready and make a quick trip to Avalia and pick up my wife and daughter. You boys make the marriage arrangements and keep me updated with the details. Get Leo in on the fun because he needs to get his ducks in a row too."


    He turned away, about to disconnect from the call, but then he turned back with one other tiny bombshell.


    "Oh. One other thing. Byron. Get ready to wee Valeria Marakesh. I''ve already spoken to her father. She will be joining you at your pce to be your Royal Consort."


    "What? Father¡ª" Byron sputtered.


    "And you too." He looked over at Dante. "The bird girl Bethany Dresden is going to be your Royal Consort."


    Seeing Dante''s horrified look, the Emperor waved a careless hand.


    "Don''t worry. I''ll put her up in your royal pce down here on Erenveil if you don''t want her joining you on your moon. I''m fully aware that Candace Farrah is staying there with you currently."


    "Within the next two weeks, we will be announcing all of these new changes, so you boys get yourselves ready. You''re about to get new wives. Which reminds me, I have to talk to Leo about Olivia."


    Muttering to himself, the Emperor ended the call, leaving the six princes staring at each other with horrified eyes.


    What in hell had just happened? In one fell swoop, he had mandated marriages for most of his sons without consulting them at all.


    te rubbed his head. "Am I the only one who he hasn''t forced someone on?"


    Dante gave him a world-weary look. "Not yet, but don''t get too giddy. He''ll most likelye stomping down on top of your head soon."


    "Poor Leo." Byron sighed. "He''s not gonna know what hit him."


    Jared shook with visible anger. "How do we stop Father from doing this to us?"


    Byron shook his head. "We can''t. He''s still the Emperor and we are all still just doing his bidding."


    Dante tapped his nose in thought. "We may not be able to outright oppose him, but we could throw a lot of monkey wrenches into his ns¡­"


    Suddenly, all the princes began to huddle around each other, whispering and chattering in low voices.


    "What about¡­"


    "Hmmm, another idea is¡­"


    "Oh, and also¡­"


    "Hahaha! That''s perfect, but don''t forget¡­"


    "We can also do this¡­"


    "Hmmm. Yes yes. That''s perfect. I''ll go take care of this detail¡­"


    "And I''ll do that¡­"


    "Who''s going to talk to Leo?"


    "Me. I don''t have much to do right now anyway."


    "Okay. Make sure to tell him he has to do this other thing¡­"


    As the afternoon melted into early evening, each brother left the meeting with very clear ideas as to what they needed to do.


    Protecting their wife was the number one criteria. Everything else was just scattered confetti.


    Suddenly, the synergy and excitement began to flow through the brothers, energizing them and wiping away their previous exhaustion.


    They all signed off with assurances they would touch base back to Dante to update him on all the monkey wrenches that would be released.


    Once Jared and Jason were done with the call, they left the cocktail lounge with big smiles on their faces. If Father thought they were going to just roll over and ept his dictates, he would be sadly mistaken.


    Jared tapped on Jason''s shoulder. "You need to go check on Tiny Dancer. See if she''s okay."


    They both began heading in the direction of Candace''s suite of rooms.


    "But you''re worried about her too." Jason responded.


    "I know but this isn''t my week."


    Jason looked at Jared. "It''s okay. You''ll get her next week."


    "Yes."


    "Does that mean I won''t get to see her for the entirety of next week?" Jason mumbled with sad eyes.


    "Man, your week just barely started and you''re already looking forward to being sad about next week?" Jared scowled.


    "Well, you know I miss her. I miss her all the time now." Jason mewled.


    "I know how you feel. One week out of seven is like a week in heaven and six weeks in hell." Jared sighed.


    Jason huffed dramatically. "Aarrrghhh! The way she''s got it set up, nobody gets too much heaven and everybody''s got too much hell."


    Jared''s lips twitched. "You and I have back-to-back weeks. Maybe we can¡­"


    Jason bit his lip as he pondered Jared''s idea. "Do you think she''ll let usbine the two weeks so we both get to spend two weeks with her, instead of one each?"


    Jared scratched his head. "I don''t know. Would both of us in the same week be overwhelming for her?"


    "We''re twins." Jason bared his teeth in a wicked grin. "We could maybe do that twin-switcharoo we sometimes do¡­"


    They looked at each other for a moment. But then they shook their heads and kept walking down the hallway.


    "That''s not gonna work, Jay." Jared shook his head. "Our wife can tell the difference between us. We''re like night and day to her."


    "Yeah you''re right. Even with the lights out, she can tell us apart." Jason muttered darkly. "How is she able to do that though? We''re identical twins. We sound alike, look alike, we even have the same mannerisms."


    "It''s because she loves us individually, Brother." Jared sighed. "She doesn''t just use the same love and spread it over the both of us at the same time."


    "Yeah. I actually get that too. It''s an equal but different love. It''s not a one-size-fits-all kind of love."


    "Maybe we smell differently?" Jared threw out.


    "How? We both use the same J&J men''s aftershave and cologne." Jason rolled his eyes.


    "Then let''s just approach her together. See if she''ll ept us both."


    "Oh, you mean like¡­" Jason made a hand gesture that looked suspiciously vague, but Jared understood all the same.


    "Yeah."


    Their conversation ended as they came to the door of Candace''s suite.


    "Well." Jason shrugged.. "Here goes."

 Chapter 227 - [Bonus ] Tag Team

    Candace was in the room doing exercise squats when a series of cascading knocks came through the door.


    "Come in. Door''s not locked." She called out.


    The door slowly opened. A head full of longish dark green hair poked into the room with a pair of soft warm brown eyes peeking out at her.


    "Am I interrupting anything?" A soft voice called out. "Can Ie in?"


    "Hi Jason!" She gave a bright grin and waved him in. "Come in. I was just doing some squats. I didn''t get a chance to do any exercises this morning because today was husband-switch day."


    "Hus¡ªhusband switch day?" Jason''s lips twitched as he slowly made his way towards her.


    Candace grimaced. "Maybe I shouldn''t say it that way. I just didn''t know what to call it, you know. The day when I switch from one husband to another."


    Jason shook his head. "No, no. That''s fine. You can call it whatever you wish. I just¡ª"


    "Yes?" She pushed herself off the floor and stood up, staring at him expectantly.


    "Candace, you¡ªI mean¡ªwe¡­uhmm."


    She strode towards him and reached out to sp his hands.


    "I''m your wife. You can tell me anything."


    Jason nced towards the door.


    Candace saw his nce and looked in the direction his eyes were darting at.


    "What''s out there?" She moved towards the door and yanked it open.


    A surprised Jared who''d had his ear stered to the door''s surface nearly fell into the room.


    "Or rather, I should say WHO is out there." Candace rolled her eyes and closed the door. "As if I couldn''t guess."


    The twins stood there, not saying anything. Their normal clownish demeanors were strangely missing.


    Candace gave them suspicious looks. Something was a bit off. They weren''t normally this¡­docile.


    "So now that you''re both here, please have a seat." She indicated therge white leather sofa arrangement by the floor-to-ceiling double ss windows that looked out onto a field of stars in deep space.


    On the dark oval coffee table in front of the sofa was a dainty white lily-shaped tea pot with matching cups on small green lily pads. Beside the tea pot was a small bowl filled with pale pink flowers.


    It was most definitely a room designed for a High Princess.


    Jason and Jared looked at each other and shrugged. They trooped over and sat down, feeling like bulls in a china shop.


    "I just got a hot tea service delivered by the bots that roam the hallways. I hope you like lotus green tea."


    She kneeled down onto the soft thick white flokati rug that covered the floor between the sofa and the coffee table and began pouring hot tea for each of them.


    As she passed the tea cups on their saucers to the twins, they looked at each other nervously and took a sip.


    "So. Have the two of youe here to convince me to take both of you in?"


    They shot each other furtive nces and nodded.


    "At the same time?"


    They nodded again.


    Candace picked up the lily cup and took a sip of the hot tea. For awhile, she continued to sit there on the thick rug, not saying anything, just thinking.


    Finally, she put the cup down.


    "I think we can work something out."


    The twins'' eyes brightened.


    "However!" She held up a finger. "You''re going to have to work with me and ept a few conditions."


    "What would you like for us to do?" Jason put his cup down. Just to get this far was a big win.


    "I heard te saying that it will take three days to get to Avalia from here."


    The twins nodded. They had heard the same thing.


    She tapped her lips in thought. "If we go as previously nned, it would not be fair to Jason since after three days onboard this ship, we would arrive within dragon space and I would have to meet up with Mother Gwen and Lyra.


    "It could easily be another three to four days of contact with them before I can turn my attention back on Jason, at which point it would most likely be the next husband-switch day."


    Jason nodded miserably. "I understand. Things happen sometimes, and it''s not within our control."


    Candace smiled. "Of course, I would make it up to you as soon as I could."


    Jason nodded somberly as he stared into his hands.


    "Or the two of you could agree to share days."


    Jason and Jared held absolutely still. What did she mean by that?


    "Hmmm. Let me break down the days." She poured another round of hot tea for everyone.


    "There are fourteen days in two weeks. Let''s say all three of us spend three days on the ship together. That takes us down to eleven total days."


    Jared looked at Jason.


    Candace pursed her lips. "If we''re lucky, I can wrap up everything with Mother Gwen and Lyra within three days. That will take us down to eight days."


    Jason looked at Jared.


    She scratched her head. "But as you know, things rarely ever work out as we n and hope, so let''s throw in another two days to solve Mother Gwen''s issues."


    Jared nodded at Jason.


    She counted on her fingers. "That takes us down to six day. We then have to take the final three days through pirate space to get back home."


    Jason nodded at Jared.


    "Which brings us down to three final days within the week that belongs to Jared." She held up three remaining fingers.


    Jared''s eyes darted back and forth between Candace and her three fingers.


    "If my calctions are correct, I will only be able to spend nine days total with the two of you. Six of those days will be on the ship, with the remaining three days back on Erenveil.


    She bit her lip and looked at the twins.


    "I''m sorry Gentlemen. It looks like I''m going to have to ask the two of you to share those nine days between the two of you."


    Jason coughed. "How¡ªhow do you want us to share it?"


    Candace sighed. "It doesn''t have to be all thatplicated. We could just all hang out together, the three of us. Of course, I know you two were hoping for individual time with me, and I''m sure we could amodate that¡ª"


    "No, no." Jared shook his hand at Candace in protest. "Hanging out together sounds good. Not a problem with me."


    "Me neither!" Jason grinned. "We know this is a business trip you have to take, and we''re not going to cause any problems. Me and Jared here will just follow you around and be your¡ª"


    "Be my husbands." Candace smiled.


    "Yes." Jared agreed happily.. "We will be your husbands."

 Chapter 228 - [Bonus ] Shower Time

    [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT]


    She stood up.


    "I''ve been doing squats and jumps all afternoon. I need to take a shower or you men will think I''m the stinkiest wife you''ve ever been with."


    Jared and Jason bothughed. "Darling, we''ve never been with any wife before, but having said that, we don''t care at all. We''ll take you just the way you are."


    "You may not care, but I care. Do what you wish for a bit. I won''t be long." She smiled and made her way into the bathroom.


    The twins immediately followed her.


    Candace turned towards them in surprise.


    "You said to do what we wish." Jared grinned. "We wish to join you."


    "You want to shower with me?"


    They nodded, looking at each other a bit hesitantly.


    Candace reached out and took hold of theirrge strong hands, veiny and roughened with callouses from their physical work.


    These were the hands that had done everything in their power to make her happy. They had toiled andbored to create all the wondrous outfits and jewelry for her, all without asking for anything in return.


    Theirs was a love that was unselfish and giving. They had never asked for recognition or reciprocity, simply standing in the back behind their other brothers, fully supporting her in everything she did.


    The twins were not the soft dough-boy princes who did little manualbor. These were real hands-on men who crafted supreme objects of art with genius and heart.


    They were the go-to men when things needed to physically be done because they were not afraid to get their hands dirty. There was something gritty and genuine about them that made Candace swoon with infatuation.


    Her heart skipped a beat and then raced with fervor. It was so easy to fall in love with them. Good thing they were her husbands already or she would be fighting a tide of emotions that could not be held back.


    Her sweet twins.


    Something inside of Candace wanted to give back to them the love that they had given her so generously.


    As Candace looked into their soft brown eyes, her heart thudded with force. Reaching out, she gathered both men into her arms and pressed a kiss on each of their lips.


    Wordlessly, they gathered her into their arms.


    Their arms reached around her and each other, sharing a single sacred embrace between the three of them. The silence stretched on into a divine space and time where nothing and no one existed but the three of them.


    With the merest of touches, they began to kiss her face and neck. She reached out and touched both their faces, drinking in the sensation of being loved by two men at the same time.


    They had dropped their light-hearted teasing external shell and stripped down to the very core of their beings¡ªtwins who were caring and sincere, loving and sensitive, thoughtful and selfless.


    To love them in return, she had to understand them. To know their innermost thoughts and feelings, she had to look beyond their yful joking clownish fa?ade to unveil what had been hidden, protected behind their demeanor.


    Candace felt such privilege that this was the first time they had allowed her to peek into their deepest psyche.


    In exposing their private hidden core, she had been given a chance to be a part of what had always been an exclusive paradise that they shared only with each other.


    With trembling hands, one of the twins began removing her clothes.


    It was VERY different from all the other times when they had removed her clothing so that they could measure her or dress her in their creations.


    They were not in work mode at this point.


    They were making love to their wife.


    "What in the world is this stuff Lucas dressed you in¡­" he muttered to himself, fingering the inferior fabrics.


    Candace began to smile.


    You can take the man out of the job, but you can''t take the job out of the man. Jared just could not help his sense of style poking out at the most inopportune time.


    "It''s basic beachwear." Jason grimaced. "I''m sure he didn''t have much to offer there on that deserted ind but these coarse floral fabrics."


    He released her snaps and buttons and gently discarded the clothes onto the shower floor.


    They paused their kisses of her lips to pull off their shirts.


    As their pants came off, theirrge stiff members sprang out at a perky angle, perfectly formed and in perfect symmetry.


    From above her, the shower head exploded as warm water began streaming down on top of the three of them and in seconds, they were dripping wet.


    She looked up into their eyes and what she saw caught at her throat. They were looking at her with so much love that Candace could barely keep the tears from springing out at the corners of her eyes.


    She reached out and wrapped her hands around their necks as they leaned in towards her.


    Everything flew from her mind as their hands began to reach for her exposed breasts.


    With sighs of pleasure, they lowered their heads and began kissing her face and neck, trailing downward until they reached her breasts.


    Her spirit began to float on ayer of chiffon as each twin imed a breast and began fondling it as if it had been assigned to them.


    And oh, the feel of both her nipples being suckled on simultaneously by two men was an experience she could not adequately describe.


    Candace reached out with both hands and ran her fingers through their long dark green hair.


    They were so beautiful¡ªher twins.


    Jason knelt down in front of her and beganthering up a wash cloth.


    Slowly, he began to rub her body in soft gentle circr motions, drawing round white soap suds everywhere on her belly, around her breasts, on her back, her thighs, her knees.


    He added more liquid soap on his hands and began paying special attention to the V between her legs. With gentle care, Jason began to rub her womanhood with the liquid soap, working up arge mound ofther.


    Candace gasped with pleasure as he touched sensitive areas with his soft fingers, washing her with the same care and precision that he gave to his artistic creations.


    Meanwhile, Jared was just as busy from behind. He had already begun to wash her hair with a softly scented shampoo.


    With slow tender touches, he began to swirl the soap around her long honey blonde hair and down through the length of her tresses.


    Moving all ten fingers upward from her neck, Jared began massaging her head with firm circr motions not unlike Jason''s massage of her body with his washcloth.


    Jared went from washing her hair to caressing her head, back, and shoulders with the thick shampoo suds until she sighed with pleasure, arching her back and head into his waiting hands.


    Between Jared and Jason, she waspletely covered in soapy suds.


    Once they were satisfied with their cleaning efforts, they moved her back into the warm stream of water and began rinsing her off until she was no longer soapy.


    As she stood there, they began kissing all the various parts of her that they had gotten squeaky clean. They touched her with so much reverence, it was as if they were touching a goddess.


    Candace took a deep breath as she felt emotions rise within her.


    They had done it again, bestowing on her their abundant love with ease and unselfish actions and giving to herpletely without regard to themselves.


    It was her turn to treat them as the divine beings that they truly were.

 Chapter 229 - Feels Like A Heart Attack!

    Candace soaped her hands, creating mounds of slippery foamy white soap and reached out to touch both men simultaneously. They each needed to be touched individually, but she only had two hands.


    Well that was perfect. One hand for each man.


    She started drawing circles of soap on their chests, their chins, their shoulders, much to their delight. Unfortunately, her right hand was slightly more dexterous than her left, so Jason got slightly more perfect circles, but Jared didn''t care.


    They weren''t truly here to get cleaned. They had just taken showers only a few hours earlier.


    Reaching out, they guided her hands down to their hard muscr abs where she yed with their individual six-pack muscles until they could stand it no more and pushed her hands down further, into their erogenous zones.


    Once she reached their hard members, they squeezed more soap on her hands and grinned with delight as she began making mounds and mounds of white soap that covered their hard male shafts in puffs of soap bubbles.


    "Draw your soap circles right here Candi Baby," Jared said as he ced hisrge rugged hand on hers and moved it in a smooth clockwise fashion around the base of his staff.


    "Hmmm. Haaah. You rub it so right." He breathed and shuddered with ecstasy.


    Copying his motion, she did the same with Jason but in a counter-clock direction.


    "Ooooohhh." Jason breathed, mping down onto her hand. "Let''s not do that too much¡­"


    Candace looked up at his eyes questioningly. Was she doing something wrong?


    "I''ve been holding everything in for weeks and all my sea men are banging at the entryway, about ready to break down the doors ande bursting out." Jason admitted, blushing.


    Candaceughed. "We need to let them out then. Let''s get you both washed quickly and out of the shower. I''m getting a bit chilled."


    They made quick work of drying themselves and each other withrge warm towels and slowly made their way, licking and kissing back out to the bedroom suite.


    With gentle hands, they led her onto the soft king size bed andid her down among the cushions.


    As Jared kissed the lips on her face with thorough care, Jason kissed the lips in between her legs with the same thorough care.


    Jared''s tongue plunged into her mouth, tasting, caressing, sucking, even as Jason did the same to her womanhood.


    Gasping for breath, it was all Candace could do just to wind her hands into their hair and hand on for dear life.


    They were both assaulting her senses with their lips and tongue and hands, licking and petting her until she was mewling and moaning, barely able to breathe.


    As Jared thoroughly kissed her lips, both his hands were on her breasts, kneading and stroking them withrge broad strokes, alternating with his fingers on her nipples, rolling and gently pinching.


    As he was devouring her breasts and mouth, Jason was pleasuring her lower body. His tongue delved into her depths and teased out her feminine nectar until it gushed and spewed from her body.


    Moving up to her bud, he began flicking it in quick strokes with his tongue, even as his finger prated her depths.


    "Haaaaaaahhhh! Haaaaahhhhh!" Candace gasped, panting in quick gulps.


    He grabbed her thighs and threw her shapely dancer''s legs over his shoulders.


    Grasping his member, he began sliding the bulb of his shaft up and down the length of her womanhood, from her perineum all the way up past her bud.


    Over and over he dragged the base of his manhood over her petals until she cried and shook with unbearable pleasure.


    "Darling. Your body is ready for me. I cannot wait any longer." Jason murmured, his voice thick with passion.


    With care and precision, he position his knob at the anterior of her flower. With a gentle push, Jason slid himself into her body all the way to the hilt.


    "Aaaargghhh¡­" he threw his head back, groaning from the delicious sensations that he felt.


    Being with Candace was amazing. Being inside her was divine. He felt as if he''d died and gone to heaven.


    Leaning forward, with his hands resting on the bed on either side of her body, Jason began moving his hips, swirling in a circr motion and grinding his pelvis into her body.


    His motion churned his stiff shaft round and round in perfect little circles, rubbing and poking at all the little erogenous spots within her body.


    "Mmmmhhhh!!!" Candace cried. She could not say much more than that as Jared had taken over her mouth and was suckling on her tongue.


    "Feel good Candi Baby? Hmmm?" Jason gently prodded.


    "Mmmmmhhh." She responded into Jared''s mouth as he continued to kiss her lips and knead her breasts with hisrge hands.


    As Jason continued to move in circles, his body began heating up and the skin on his torso began to flush a bright red from excitement.


    Suddenly, he shifted and began working his body like a piston pumping into the cylinder that was Candace.


    Hard and swift, he pumped his hard shaft into her, over and over and over until the sweat rolled down his face and chest in rivulets.


    The smell of sexual fluids and sweat mixed with the scent of their recent bath soap,bining into a heady concoction that aroused and stimted all their nerve endings until the three of them were tingling so much their bodies were twitching.


    Gone was the gentle rotation. Jason pumped into her with everything that he had. His face scrunched up in absolute agony of pleasure.


    The sounds of his torso pping against her buttocks mixed with the wet slippery sounds of their slick bodies bumping and grinding at each other with delicious desperation.


    "Aaaahhhhhhh. Haaaaaahhh. Haaahhh." He panted and furrowed his brows with exquisite pleasure. He was getting so close.


    So close.


    "Oh God, that feels amazing...so damn good." Jason whispered, his face frowning with exquisite torture.


    Suddenly, his body began to quiver and tremble. The pleasurable ache in his loins had grown so great that all he wanted to do was release.


    BAA-DUUM!!!


    A sh of light hit between his eyes and a sharp tearing pain hit his chest like a knife plunging into his heart.


    Jason gasped, almost bowling over. From extreme pleasure, he fell t on his back into extreme pain.


    It felt like a heart attack!!!


    "AAAAAAGHHHH!!!" He cried out in pain, even as his penis exploded, ejacting everything he''d been holding back for weeks into his wife.


    His arms gave way as he fell forward onto her body. Before he couldnd on her, a strong pair of arms caught and held him back before hisrge body could crush the tiny woman under him.


    Jared had seen Jason''splete loss of control over his body and had quickly intervened, depositing Jason'' body to the other side of Candace.


    "You okay?" Jared asked, his face showing concern.


    "Oh my God! That hurt like the devil!" Jason groaned and rubbed at his chest. "It honestly feels like a heart attack at the moment that I came."


    "Oh joy." Jared muttered. "Is that what I have to look forward to?"


    "Yes.." Both Jason and Candace nodded.

 Chapter 230 - Avgo Virgins

    Jared waited a few minutes for Jason to catch his breath before switching ces with him.


    He had heard about the extremely painful heart ache that came from the extraction of the fragment of Avgo shard that had embedded itself into them.


    But Jared was a stoic man who had a fairly high pain threshold. How bad could it get? His brothers had all gone through the pain and they looked none-the-worse for wear.


    He could handle this. He was a Prince of Erenveil.


    Flipping Candace onto her knees, he picked her up and rested her entire body weight on top of Jason''s supine body.


    Jason was as good as a nice thick pillow to prop her up at the height she would have been if she was on her hands and knees.


    While the two of them murmured sweet nothings into each other''s ears, kissing and hugging, Jared reached between her legs and pushed her thighs wide open.


    Without further ado, he found her petal opening and slipped right in.


    For a moment Jared paused, his hands resting on her beautiful buttocks, his body holding perfectly still. He had to limate himself; go slow, because it wouldn''t take much for him to release himself within her.


    All that grunting and moaning that Jason and Candace had been emitting had made him so hot and horny, he could barely stand it. If it hadn''t been for the sted Avgo shard that needed to be delivered into the right ce, he would have asked for some of Candace''s amazing manual strokes and eased the sharp edge of his desire.


    He wasn''t sure if ejacting outside of her body would dislodge the Avgo shard, but he didn''t want to take a chance. He had waited all this time. A few more minutes was not going to kill him.


    It was hard though.


    Jared and Jason had bathed and undressed in front of each other all through their lives, from infancy until adulthood. He had never felt anything other than a basic boredom with his brother''s exposed body.


    All that changed, however, when he saw first hand, how Jason responded to Candace''s body.


    Suddenly, the voyeuristic act of watching his brother mming his heated steel rod into their wife and sobbing with pleasure made Jared burn with desire.


    Suddenly, his eyes kept being drawn towards the juncture where Jason''s shaft entered and withdrew from Candace''s body.


    The more he watched, the stronger his desire grew as he intuitively felt as if Jason''s shaft was his. What Jason felt, he could also feel in a phantom sort of way.


    It grew and grew until he could barely feel anything except for his hot throbbing engorged manhood, singing with pent up frustration.


    Candace was mewling and moaning into his mouth, making him thirstier and thirstier until his body red with the heat of passion that was charring him into glowing lumps of coal.


    It was truly a heroic effort to keep his hands from reaching down and pleasuring his own aching penis, because he knew he was very close to the edge of explosion.


    And now that he was embedded deep within her, Jared could barely move.


    He threw his head back, his eyes rolling into the back of his sockets trying to process all the feels that were reverberating through his body.


    He never knew that holding perfectly still could feel this good. He was too far past the edge. Any sudden movement would push him into the edifice.


    From his vantage point, he could see her buttocks and her exposed anus above the point where his shaft was embedded inside her body. Below her body was Jason''s manhood, already starting to swell and almost ready to go again.


    Jared shut his eyes. The visuals of his brother and his wife making passionate love once again shed in front of his eyes, overloading his senses.


    As he slowly moved his body in slow gentle motions, Jared threw back his head and gritted his teeth, trying hard not to make the same sounds that he had heard tearing out of Jason''s throat as the pleasure became almost unbearable.


    The sounds came out all the same.


    "Oh god, Candace. Fuuuck. Feels so good. Ahhhh. Candace!" He heard his own vocal cords crying and sobbing Candace''s name over and over again.


    As the sharp pleasure of exquisite torture began to mount over his body, Jared held his breath, waiting for that moment when his heart would burst open and release the Avgo shard.


    Knowing that the pain in his heart would happen dampened his ardor a tiny bit.


    Not a lot. Just a little.


    Jared sighed with resignation. There was nothing he could do but bite the bullet and let ''er rip.


    He grunted as he grasped onto Candace''s hips and bucked into her body with wild abandonment. If it was going to hurt, he might as well get as much pleasure as he could before his heart tore into shreds.


    Suddenly, a sea of pink and red appeared before his eyes as his heart began to ache. It felt as if he was hemorrhaging blood from his eyes.


    The pain intensified while at the same time, his pleasure centers were singing at high volume. His body continued to rock into Candace in an uncontroble surging rhythmic action.


    Suddenly, there was nothing around him. There was only that one connection between Jared and his wife. He could feel the surge of passion cresting, higher and higher.


    BOOM!!! The crescendo exploded all around him.


    "Aaaaaahhhhh!!!" He howled with pain.


    The Avgo fragment ripped his heart muscles into shreds as it exited from there, going straight through his engorged penis and into Candace.


    Bowled over by acute agony, Jared slumped onto Candace''s back, pressing her down onto Jason.


    Since Jason was under Candace, he was unable to hold Jared''s body back and took the brunt of the weight from both his wife and his brother.


    Sandwiched in between the brothers, Candace iled her arms and legs, trying to breathe.


    Reaching out with all his strength, Jason pushed Jared off Candace''s body. Jarednded on the bed beside them, panting and heaving with bted shivers of pain and delight.


    "Are you okay?" Jason asked, stroking Candace''s back.


    "Yeah!" Both Candace and Jared breathed, for very different reasons.


    Jared flopped onto his back, eyes closed, rubbing at his heart.


    "Damn Jason. That was painful."


    Jason chuckled and looked over at his brother''s sweat-drenched dark green hair.


    "Yeah, but it only hurts the first time.. Now that we''re not Avgo virgins any more, it won''t hurt from here on out."

 Chapter 231 - I Have My Ways

    After all that physical activity, the twins were roaring for some food,ining about how hungry they''d gotten from all that exercise.


    Since she did not want to eat inside their bedroom suite, they headed out for the dining room.


    As they made their way to the Main Deck, the first thing Candace realized was that everywhere she and the twins went, there was no one but them.


    It was quite interesting to be surrounded by all the opulence of a cruise ship and realize that the ship had no one onboard except for the crew and staff because the only passengers were the twins and herself.


    Back at the dining room, the servers greeted them and got a table prepared by therge windows overlooking a deep space filled with bright stars.


    They sat, facing the starry space, with Jared on her right side and Jason on her left. It would have been awkward except that Jared was right-handed and Jason was left-handed which meant they could eat and cut food without banging into her.


    Over a decadent meal of roast goose and creamed potatoes, the twins sprang a surprise on their wife.


    "Guess what, Wifey," Jason grinned as he handed her a ss of red wine.


    "Hmmm?" She took the wine ss from him and sniffed at the liquid appreciatively.


    "Jared and I have decided that we are going to move our permanent home from our floating ind onto a simr ship like this."


    He raised his ss. "Cheers!"


    They all clinked sses and took a sip.


    "What brought that about?" Candace''s eyes crinkled with merriment as she buttered a hot cross bun and ced it on Jason''s te.


    "We were walking around this ship and realized how super cool it is to live in a traveling pce." Jason responded, popping the entire bun into his mouth.


    Plus it looks like you love it, so our new home can be something like this so you can travel in style any time you are with us. It''s your home as well." Jared grinned.


    Sheughed as she buttered another bun for Jared. "It will be costly to keep something like this up and running all the time."


    Jared took the bun from her hand with a cheeky grin.


    "We make so much money all the time and we have absolutely nothing to spend it on. Might as well spend it on our Candi Baby."


    He tore into the hot cross bun with his sharp white teeth and looked around at the high domed ceiling, chandeliers, and Art Deco detailing of the ce.


    "When te asked us to design the interior of this ship for Mother Gwen and Sister Lyra, we didn''t think we were going to do such a great job that our wife would fall in love with the ce."


    Jasonughed. "Wasn''t I the one who said that if we were designing this ce for Tiny Dancer, I''d put in touches of her signature pink Avgo gems in various ces?"


    "Right! As soon as we get back to Erenveil, we can start one." Jared licked the butter from his lips. "I want another bun, wifey."


    He leaned his head on her shoulder and nuzzled his face into her neck.


    "Stop wiping your butter lips on my clean body." Candaceughed as she reached out for another bun to butter for him.


    "We don''t have to wait to get back to civilization to do this. I''ll call and have another ship ordered after dinner."


    Jason cut into his goose and speared a juicy piece.


    "Open up," he waved the goose breast in front of Candace''s mouth. She opened her mouth and he gently fed her.


    "Good?"


    Candace nodded eagerly.


    "Where''s my piece?" Jared opened up his mouth.


    "Cut your own meat, youzy bum." Jason clicked his tongue.


    Jaredughed as he ced a slice of prosciutto-wrapped melon on Candace''s te and began cutting it into bite-sized chunks for her.


    "Try this Baby. It''s really good." He popped a chunk into her mouth.


    "Hmmm!!!" Candace''s eyes lit up. It truly was good, and she was having a fun time eating with them. They were such clowns.


    Jared smiled fondly. "I wish it would always be like this for us, just you, me, and Jay."


    "Why wouldn''t it be?" Candace shot him a suspicious nce.


    Jason gave an almost imperceptible shake of the head.


    Jared pursed his lips and looked away.


    "I saw that." Candace grumbled. "Spit it out."


    Jason grimaced. Jared''s face was so transparent, They were never going to be able to hide anything from their wife.


    "It''s Father." Jason sighed.


    "What about him? Did he hook you men up with future wives already?" Candace rolled her eyes.


    Jason''s jaw dropped. "How did you know?"


    "I know how your father thinks. Now that he''s settled his first three boys, he''s onto the next four." she rolled her eyes in disgust. "Who is he thinking about hooking you men up with?"


    Jared rested his head on his fist, his face a study of misery.


    "He is going to draw royal decrees up sticking Jason with Ana?se and me with Jenna."


    "Ana?se and Jenna?" Candace''s eyes popped.


    That was a surprise. Jenna didn''t look as if she wanted anyone but Byron and Ana?se had already been t out rejected in a very decisive and brutal manner by Jason.


    "Jason had already rejected her." Candace pursed her lips. "Is she really going to go through with that, knowing how Jason feels about her?"


    Jason nodded wretchedly. "It''s not truly just her decision. Her father and our father made that decision independently from us and have already begun the process of making it real."


    Candace stared at the cherry pie as if she was fascinated with itsttice top and red filling. Jared saw the direction of her gaze and ced arge portion in front of her.


    "There''s nothing that says you can''t have more than one wife. Do you men truly want to have a second wife?" She asked, piercing the cherry pie with a fork and pulling out a cherry.


    "No!!!" They both hollered with hurt indignation. Why would she even think that they would want anyone else other than her?


    Candace waved a dismissive hand and shoved a cherry into Jared''s mouth.


    "Then don''t worry about it. Just leave it to me. I''ll handle your father."


    Jason gasped. "You? How?"


    Candace gave an evilugh. "I know something the Emperor doesn''t know."


    She pulled Jason''s lips apart with a finger and fed him a bit of the cherry pie.


    Jason stared at her with bulging eyes, his mouth working on the pie she fed him.


    "Pray tell¡­" Jared muttered.


    For a moment, Candace simply smiled a secret little smile. She picked up her coffee mug and stuck her tongue out, licking the frothy foam from the top of her cappino.


    "Never you mind." She smirked. "Don''t worry about a thing."


    Jason frowned. "How can we not be worried. He''s going to force us to marry women we don''t even like."


    Candace shook her head. "Don''t worry. You won''t be forced having to marry anyone you don''t want, only the one you want."


    "We want to marry you." Jared''s eyes were sad.


    Jason nodded, mirroring his twin''s sad eyes. "The royal decree only names three husbands for you. The rest of us were left out."


    Candace reached out her arms and wound them around their necks, drawing them close to her.


    "Then I guess I''ll have to have another royal decree drawn up, adding you men to the marriage document, don''t I?" Candace raised an eyebrow.


    "How?" Jason scratched his head. "How are you going to force Father to rewrite the decree?"


    Candace smiled. "Don''t you worry your pretty little heads over that.. I have my ways."

 Chapter 232 - Making Adjustments

    After dinner, they moved on into the games room and hit the bowling alley where they challenged each other with a few games.


    Since Candace was a good bowler and the men were fairly terrible, she handily won each game, even as they struggled to look miserable after each defeat.


    Truth was, they could care less about winning and losing to her. Candace''s lithe dancer body looked so good doing bowling moves that their eyes lit up every time it was her turn to bowl.


    After that, they took turns at the shooting range, firing virtual pellets at tiny bulls eye targets on screens. In this, they were expert at and Candace really sucked at firing, rarely ever making a hit at all.


    "Why are you not hitting the target Darling?" Jared asked as he watched her shooting form.


    "I''m not sure. I aim it just like you men do, but I can''t seem to get the bullets to fly there."


    "She just needsrger bullets," Jasonughed. "That way, she''s not aiming for the tiny little dot at the center. The bullet would just st the entire field out."


    Jared chuckled. "That''s a good way to do it. We can also change the trigger mechanism so she shoots a dozen rounds at once. If the first bullet doesn''t hit, the remaining eleven will."


    They reached out and high-fived each other and began fooling around with her gun.


    By the time they were done, she was shooting outrge glitter stars and rubber duckies which made the shooting almost impossible to do.


    From the shooting range, they moved onto the trampoline where they jumped and held strange poses in the air for the automatic camera which took stills of their funny twisted faces and their contorted bodies.


    "Candace! Make ballet moves in the air!" One of them suggested, so Candace began striking dance poses as she bounced into camera reach.


    Between her ballet poses alongside theiredic attempts, they managed to take hundreds of rolling on the floorughing pictures of Candace and the twins.


    Candace''s favorite picture was of them, holding onto each of her hand and spreading their other hands out in a huge TA DA!!! gesture, their hair streaming upward, their faces bright and mouths opened wide andughing.


    "Oh you like that one, huh?" Jared grinned with evil intent. "I''ll have that one framed and hung in our house."


    Jasonughed and threw in another of them goofing off and looking silly. "I like this one too."


    "Yeah. That''s a good funny one." Jason doubled up with mirth.


    "Where are you going to put these images?" Candace asked with suspicion. Knowing these artist clowns, it could be anywhere.


    "Have you ever seen us doing something that was not tasteful?" Jared asked with a pretend hurt look on his face, even as Jason covered his mouth and tried not tough.


    From the trampoline, they moved onto the ice rink.


    The men were absolute klutzes! As they scattered across the ice, they hung onto each other for dear life, sometimes dragging each other down, sometimes even dragging Candace down.


    She was not a ballerina on ice, but at least she could move around the rink with some grace.


    "Okay, that does it." Jason growled. "I''m going to spend time learning how to skate. Really learn how to skate, so Wifey can skate with me and not be so embarrassed."


    "You and me both. Ow!" Jared howled as he slipped and fell again for the umpteenth time.


    Seeing how miserable they were at skating, Candace moved them onto the dance machines where they had to dance a specific number of moves to win points. In this, they were ster!


    "Wow! I didn''t know you guys could dance!"


    "Sweetheart, we could do a double tango where you could move back and forth between us." Jasonughed.


    "Yes. We can double-cha-cha too! Want to try?" Jared jumped out and grabbed her hand. Before she could even respond, they were doing a tango with her moving between the two in a syncopated manner.


    "Wow! I didn''t even know this was possible!" Candace eximed!


    "Haha neither did we." Jasonughed.


    "We just made it up. You are such an amazing dancer that you picked up on our movements and added your own flourishes." Jared grinned.


    They yed all day long in the game room until it was almost time for dinner, whereupon they jumped into the showers and washed off the sweat of exertion.


    The twins wanted more loving time, but she begged off until after dinner. She was much more energetic nowadays, but was still not back to her normal dancer self.


    By this time, Candace was beginning to realize something important. The more shards of Avgo that she was slowly collecting were increasing her energy level.


    Her exhaustion had been due to the fact that she didn''t have all the pieces and much like a fetus, the living fragments of the Avgo egg were leeching off her for their survival. The more pieces she collected, the more it was able to take care of its own energy needs.


    Perhaps once she got the final two shards, she would bepletely free and unencumbered by the feelings of tiredness.


    Right before dinner, a call came through from the Emperor. He had also begun the trek to Avalia. His mission: escort the Royal Consort Gwendolyn and his daughter Lyra home.


    "Boys. Candace." He smiled, marveling at how happy the three of them looked. "I heard you three are traveling to Avalia."


    "Yes," Jason smiled. "We are going there to deliver a custom-created designer original."


    The Emperor harrumphed. "I find that hard to believe. Why would both of you boys need to hand-deliver something that you''ve made, to some dragons in a distant quadrant of space?"


    Jared raised an eyebrow. "For the same reason that you are also running off and personally retrieving someone from a distant quadrant of space."


    "That''s different!" The emperor frowned. "I''m going to pick up my wife. What does that have to do with your delivery of goods that could have just been delivered there by couriers?"


    Jason chimed in. "We tend to treat our family much better than our customers."


    "You''re all going to see Gwen?" The Emperor rubbed his chin. "We could perhaps all meet up and visit her at the same time."


    His eyes lit up. He knew Gwen was upset at him. Maybe if the twins and Candace were with him, she would not be as mad¡­


    "Sorry Father." Jared shook his head. "You''re just going to have to face the music with Mother Gwen on your own."


    Jason gave a thumbs up. "You''ll do just fine. Mother Gwen has always been a kind and gentle person. She won''t kill you." We hope. He thought to himself.


    Jared nodded. "We''ll meet her first and take care of the delivery, and then we can all meet up afterwards for a nice family get-together."


    The Emperor pursed his lips in dissatisfaction. When did the boys stop being cute and be so stubborn?


    He turned to Candace. "I have spoken to Dante, Byron, and Lucas about your uing wedding. I hope you will be back soon so we can make arrangements for your wedding."


    "Ahhh. About that, Father. I''ve talked it over with the brothers and I''m afraid we''re going to have to make a little adjustment to the marriage document."


    "A¡ªadjustments?" The Emperor''s brows knitted. Since when did she get a say in the marriage document?

 Chapter 233 - Laying Down The Rules

    "Oh? Are you not happy with being married to three men at the same time?"


    The Emperor sighed and thought about his own situation. He only had four wives and was in danger of losing one of them.


    "I can see why you would feel overwhelmed," he nodded with understanding.


    "But let me assure you that my three sons will have other consorts to take care of. They won''t be mobbing you if that is your concern."


    Candace stared at the Emperor. Was that what he thought she meant?


    He truly was clueless.


    "I''m not worried about that. My biggest concern is that you have left out more than half of my husbands on the marriage document."


    "What???" The Emperor blinked in surprise. What was this girl getting at?


    Here he was, thinking she was protesting having to marry three men at the same time! He was about to appeal to her emotions and talk her into epting all three of them since he knew she was genuinely fond of them all.


    "You have Dante, Byron, and Lucas, but you forgot Leonardo, Jason, Jared, and te. Please add their names to the marriage document."


    "But¡ªbut¡ª" The Emperor sputtered. "You can''t be serious! You want to marry every single son of mine?"


    "Why yes." Candace gave a sickly sweet smile. "Yes, I do."


    "That''s preposterous. I have already drawn up documents to have the twins married off to two of the other Avgo contestants. They will make good wives for Jason and Jared."


    "Please retract those documents." Her smile grew even sweeter.


    "Impossible. It has already been sent out."


    "Retract the documents or I will refuse to marry any of your sons." Candace''s face was gentle and sweet and so full of serenity.


    "WHAT??? You cannot refuse a royal decree!" The Emperor scowled.


    What had happened to this sweet gentle girl he had met prior to the conclusion of the Avgo Events? Who was this little witch???


    Candace smiled again, showing perfect even white teeth.


    "I am the Prime Avgo Female. I can marry whomever I choose. I am choosing all seven brothers."


    She leaned closer to him, with wide innocent hazel eyes.


    "If you fight me on that, then I will choose none, and you know what happens when I choose none." She gave him a terrible warning look in those big beautiful amber eyes of hers.


    "You¡ªthat''s not possible! You cannot do that!" The Emperor sputtered, feeling his blood pressure rise. What was this girl, a devil woman?


    Candace narrowed her hazel eyes and flicked back her long blonde hair.


    "I just did. Retract all marriage documents regarding ALL the brothers, including any royal consorts you may have snagged for any of them."


    She stared at him with cold intent. "This is not a request, Emperor."


    The Emperor swallowed a huge lump lodged in his throat. She had suddenly turned into a fierce warrior woman holding the upper hand and he was the one on the ground looking up at her.


    Not good.


    "Wait¡­I have an idea." The Emperor held out his hand.


    He had to stall for time. Once the marriages that he had arranged for his other children go through, there would be nothing more that she could do.


    He could then perhaps make amends by offering her other interesting propositions. If she truly wanted that many men around her, he could line up a hundred handsome bat males for her to choose from.


    Candace sat there with the twins, their faces expectant.


    "Obviously, you feel the need more than three husbands. I respect that." He snapped his fingers. "I could have arge number of other suitors you could choose from¡ª"


    Jared and Jason startedughing. Tears began streaming from their faces.


    They were shocked, but more than that, they were tickled to death! It was hrious that Father was actually thinking about setting up a harem full of men for Candace just so she would agree to his terms of marriage.


    They turned to look at Candace with newfound appreciation. Since when did Candace get so powerful?


    "That''s not necessary, but I thank you for the thoughtful gesture Father. I simply want all seven brothers named into the marriage document."


    "All¡ªall seven?"


    "Yes. All seven." She began holding up her fingers, one at a time. "Dante, Byron, Lucas, Leonardo, Jason, Jared, and te. I don''t want any others."


    The Emperor shook his head. "I''m afraid that''s not going to be possible."


    Candace shrugged. "Then I''m afraid I''m not going to be able to marry any of your sons." She looked away without remorse.


    "I''ll be in Dragon space soon. Maybe they will have some handsome princes I can choose from."


    "No wait!" The Emperor scratched his head. "Let me call the three Crown Princes up. I''m sure they will have something to say about this."


    Of course they would. The Emperor sniffed.


    Dante and Byron were none too pleased when he set up Royal Consorts for them. They would most definitely not be happy sharing their wife with four other brothers.


    It didn''t take long for Dante, Byron, and Lucas to pop up on the visuals monitors.


    The men perfunctorily greeted the Emperor but were genuinely ecstatic to see their wife.


    "You''re looking good Love!" Lucas beamed at her, his heart in his eyes.


    Don''t cry. Don''t cry.


    Lucas admonished himself, pulling out every acting trick in the book to seem happy and cheerful.


    "Aaaah Woman. I miss you so much." Byron sighed and rubbed his heart, where her Avgo shard was still embedded.


    He knew that as the illegitimate adopted son of the Emperor, he was most likelyst on her list of desired husband material, but it didn''t matter. As long as he still owned a shard of Avgo, he would continue to fight for his right to be one of her husbands.


    On thest screen was Dante, still working with a group out of sight of the visuals.


    "Is everything going well on the Raptor 650? Did you get a chance to check out the dance floor yet?" Dante gave Candace a wink.


    "It''s a beautiful ship." Candace gushed. "I really love it. Wait¡ª" she held up a hand. "There''s a dance floor?"


    Dante nodded with augh. "When I heard that you were going to be on the ship, I told te to install a dance floor. I hope it''s big enough,fortable enough, the lights are adequate and the music good."


    Jared and Jason beamed at Candace''s excited face.


    "She loves this ship so much that, guess what? We will order another one and live on it permanently so when she''s with us, her home will be on a ship like this."


    Dante smiled. Each of the brothers were bending over backwards to make her happy. She was their uniting force, and what was so amazing was that they were all so happy when she was around.


    The Emperor pped his hands for attention.


    "Boys. Boys. I called you to talk about Candace, not to gush on her."


    He leaned forward, into the visuals, his violet eyesrge and insistent.


    "She is insisting on adding all seven of you brothers onto the marriage documents!"


    =============


    I am super sorry my readers. I got really sickst night (fever, chills, nausea, dizziness) so I only have one chapter prepared.. When I get a little better I will make it up to you. ??

 Chapter 234 - Seven Fathers

    At the brothers'' sudden mor, the Emperor held up a hand.


    "Wait¡ªwait. I understand all your concerns. I know that three husbands is a bit much for one woman to handle, so I am trying to talk reason to her."


    The Emperor rubbed his brows in a show of fatherly concern.


    "I know you all are men and have certain needs that must be fulfilled. One wife between the three of you cannot work. She cannot possibly take care of each of you in the manner with which you are entitled and ustomed to."


    Dante, Byron, and Lucas looked at each other. Entitlement was not something they had ever thought about when they spent private time with Candace. It had always been gratefulness.


    They had always felt grateful that she was willing to be with them.


    As far as being ustomed to something, Lucas had been a virgin before Candace, so there was nothing for him to be ustomed to.


    As for Dante and Byron, although they were no virgins, they were so overworked that they barely had time to think about much other than their jobs. To be with Candace, they had to schedule time out of their busy day to be with her.


    The Emperor saw the three men looking at each other and drew a fatal conclusion. He pursed his lips, driving home his point.


    "Unfortunately, she is not listening to reason so I am hoping you boys can talk to her."


    Byron smiled at Candace. "What''s the matter Love? Is Father not amenable to adding the other brothers to the marriage decree?"


    Dante rubbed his chin, pursing his lips. "Hmmm. Whatever shall we do?"


    "I wonder if we could do some magic parlor tricks to fix this." Lucas waved a hand into the air.


    Sheughed. They were such clowns.


    "I told Father he had to retract all the marriage decrees for wives and royal consorts or I would shop around for a new Emperor from one of the dragons in Avalia." She turned a serious gaze at them.


    "Ouch!" Lucas plunged a make-believe knife into his heart. "That''s too painful to even contemte. I thought you loved us!"


    "I do!" Candace insisted. "I want all seven of you because my child needs all seven fathers, but your father is dead set against it."


    Lucas turned to the Emperor. "Father, I have a great idea!" He held up a hand. "Why don''t we just add all the brothers into the marriage document¡ª"


    "While at the same time remove all the legal royal consorts you have lined up for us." Dante added with a glint of steel in his deep green eyes. "I don''t have time for any of them. As it is, I''m struggling to make time to be with my wife."


    "But boys! You can''t just have one wife. How is she going to be able to handle all you lusty men???" The Emperor sputtered and chuffed.


    Lucas shook his head. "I''ve had the best, I don''t want the rest."


    "Had the¡ªhad the best?" He turned to look at Candace. "You''ve slept with my boys already?"


    Candace grinned and nodded, crossing her fingers behind her back. She hadn''t quite gotten to Leonardo and Byron just yet, but that would happen soon.


    "But how are you going to know which of these boys are the father of your child?"


    The brothers roared withughter. They had tried to exin it to him, but he obviously wasn''t quite understanding how the Avgo child was created.


    "Does it matter, Father?" Jaredughed and dropped a kiss onto Candace''s head. "That child will have seven fathers because we are all her husbands."


    "You boys don''t care about having your own children?"


    Jason sighed. "Father, the child that my wife will carry IS my child. It is going to have my unique gic characteristics."


    "Likewise." Jared chimed up.


    "And mine." Byron spoke up.


    "And mine." Dante grinned.


    "That''s going to be one lucky spoiled child of mine." Lucas smiled with warmth.


    The Emperor shook his head. This was not going to work for him.


    "All it would take is a gic scan and you all will know who the father of the child is¡­with the exception of the twins of course, since they have the same gic markers."


    "Hmmm. I can''t wait for that moment to happen because I can already guess what the scan will reveal." Lucasughed.


    "Yeah. The child with seven gically identifiable fathers." Byron grinned with pride.


    The Emperor shook his head.


    "It''s not just who the father of the child is, it''s also the number of heirs you will have. You boys need more heirs. If that one child dies, then you will be heirless."


    "I''m sure we will have more than one child with Candace." Dante handed a sheaf of documents to the left side with a whispered order for his aides to do something with them.


    "No no." Emperor Rex harrumphed. "Even if I add all seven of you boys onto the marriage decree, I will still insist on each of you taking on at least one or two other consorts."


    Byron turned to his father and shook his head. "We really don''t want any consorts, Father. We just want Candace."


    The Emperor scowled. "I called you boys on to help me convince your wife to drop the idea of adding the other brothers onto your marriage documents and you are not helping me but encouraging her incorrigible behavior?"


    "Incorrigible behavior?" Candace blinked. "Would you prefer I continue to sleep with all your sons without giving them a chance to get married?"


    "No!" The Emperor hemmed and hawed. "I prefer that you sleep with only your husbands!"


    "And what, pray tell, is the difference between three husbands and seven husbands?" Candace touched a fragile finger to her mouth.


    The Emperor nced at Candace. What was she getting at?


    Candace leaned in. "Other than the fact that I have legitimized all seven of your sons as possible future emperors."


    She inhaled with luxurious satisfaction. "Think of it this way. If one of your sons prefer not to be Emperor, another son coulde up and share the position without having to go through all the usual rigamarole."


    The Emperor''s eyes nced at Lucas. This was the son most likely to step down and continue with his wildly sessful line of work.


    Of all his other sons, te would probably fill in perfectly as the third Emperor, but he was the youngest. There was no way¡­


    "No. I have already talked with the Kings of the various worlds and have promised them marriage positions for their daughters. I cannot go against my word."


    "It doesn''t matter what you do, Your Majesty." Candace rested her head on her hand. "I will simply revoke your decree with one of my own."


    "What???" The Emperor turned bloodshot violet eyes at her.


    "You heard me." She stretched her lips into a snarky smile. "The moment I legally became the wife of your three sons, which was¡­" she turned to look at Dante.


    "It legally happened yesterday My Love." Dante gave her a reassuring wink.


    "As of yesterday," she chuckled softly. "I became the legal Empress."


    Emperor Rex''s eyes bulged from his sockets, but Candace was already moving onto the next point in her discussion.


    "I don''t have any desire to take up the mantle just yet because I would rather you and Empress Anastasia remain Emperor and Empress for awhile longer, but if you continue to insist on ruining my married life, I will have no choice but to force your retirement."

 Chapter 235 - The Emperor Maker

    "You cannot do this." The Emperor sniffed.


    "Actually, she can, Father." Dante responded without hesitation. "I just had one of my advisors study in detail ourws as well as the ancient text."


    "Not only is what she just told you written into the archaic portion of ourws, it is also part of that ancient script The Ellipsoidal Macrocosm that our wife has studied in detail."


    "What exactly does it say?"


    "It specifically states that as soon as the next Primary Avgo Female has chosen her mate, or mates, she immediately bes the next Empress, making all her chosen mates Emperors."


    "Absurd." The Emperor grounded.


    "Whether you choose to believe it or not is up to you Father, but I suggest you discuss this thoroughly with your advisors." Dante suggested gently.


    "Even if they do not know all the details, they can at least read through the scriptures and give you some sound advice."


    He was not surprised that Father did not know the details of this tiny but crucial detail. Even he had barely begun to grasp this information.


    It was not surprising that this was a key aspect of the Avgo Events that everyone tried to bury until it became lost to time. If the Primary Avgo Female knew about this, it would have given them far too much power, and that would not have been something that any Emperor who was currently holding onto power would have allowed to relinquish.


    Instead, it had turned into a beauty contest whereby it turned into a grab for the most desired prize, the chance to be the Crown Prince''s wife. Those in power needed to make sure the Crown Prince was someone who could actually be a Crown Prince, as opposed to some lesser Prince, or heavens forbid, some random Joe Blow.


    If it hadn''t been for the fact that Candace was such a persistent schr of antiquities, who knew how long it would have been before the power of the Avgo Female could have been exposed for what she truly was.


    The Primary Avgo Female was an Emperor Maker.


    The Emperor muttered silent profanities at this sudden turn of events and waved his hand, disappearing from visuals.


    Jared heaved a sigh. "Father did not like that at all."


    "Like it or not, it is a part of our Erenveil history." Byron raised an eyebrow. "That was how he became Emperor. He just didn''t realize what had happened because he was the Crown Prince and was simply told whoever won the Avgo Events would be his Empress.


    "That''s truly sad," Lucas shook his head. "Neither he nor the Prime Avgo Female ever had a choice, really."


    Byron turned to look at the rest of his brothers. "Remember this moment everyone so you won''t get so shocked when it happens to us. When the next Avgo femalees, we will have to retire to make way for the new Empress."


    Jason shrugged. "Me and Jared, we''re not Emperor material so even if we get promoted to two-sevenths of an emperor, or however it''s sliced and diced, we''re not going to do anything different than what we''re doing now."


    "I think this would have more impact on our children. Whoever bes the next Prime Avgo Female will be the one choosing the next Emperor." Dante called out.


    Lucas nodded. "That''s right. If one of our sons aren''t chosen then the throne goes to whoever the next Avgo Female chooses, be they insect or dragon or mer."


    "Let the future deal with itself." Dante blew a tired breath. "How much longer do you three have before you hit dragon space?" He closed the folder he was scanning and turned back to the twins.


    "We made good time. It was supposed to take close to three days but this ship is faster than the normal ship, so we will be at the edge of dragon space by ten o''clock tomorrow. By around dinnertime, we will be within rendezvous with Mother Gwen''s starship."


    "Dinner time. So we''re talking between eighteen hundred hours to twenty hundred hours." Dante nodded. "That''s a good enough timeframe. I''ll contact her and givest minute directives for taking over the ship."


    He turned with softened eyes at Candace.


    ''I''ll talk to youter. I love you." Dante murmured into Candace''s ears. She nodded and gave him a smile.


    He waved a hand at the group. "Take good care of my wife, you green haired clowns." He said before his visuals went dark.


    "I also have to take care of some important details." Byron threw a kiss at Candace. "Be good to my woman."


    ''It won''t be long, Love. We will be together soon.'' Byron touched her mind before disconnecting their mental contact.


    The only one left was Lucas.


    "I was waiting for them to leave because I need to ask you guys something." He leaned in closer.


    "I need to get an entire wardrobe sent to my ind so when Candace drops by my home, she will have decent clothes to wear." His face reddened.


    "Things just happened so quickly I didn''t get a chance to prepare the ind for her very well."


    Jared waved a hand. "Don''t worry Lucas. I have already ordered my team to make up a full summer wardrobe to be sent to you within a week."


    Lucas'' eyes were grateful. "Hey, I appreciate that. Throw in some cute beach jewelry for her as well. I don''t care about the costs."


    "It''s okay Bro. We''re not going to charge you for clothing our wife. Do we look that poor to you? We''re her husbands too. It''s our job to make sure she''s clothed properly."


    Lucas smiled. Things just seemed to flow so much more smoothly when all seven of them banded together and got things done.


    ''I''ll see you when you get back, Wife. You take care of yourself.''


    ''You too.'' She smiled and waved at him.


    As Lucas signed off, Jared and Jason both looked at each other. They turned back to her.


    "None of the guys said goodbye to you."


    "They did. Mentally." She pointed to her head.


    "Why are you holding out on us with the mental connection?"


    Candaceughed. "Is that what it looks like I''m doing?"


    She looped her arms around both their necks.


    "You know, I''ve only been delivered into your arms for a single day. We still have dinner to eat and then we can go back into the bedroom and do whatever we wish."


    Jared snapped a finger. "I got a great idea! How about we have them deliver food into our bedroom and we just stay in bed!!! Isn''t that a great idea?"


    Candaceughed. "But the servers are at the dining room waiting for us. If we don''t show up¡ª"


    "As soon as we call and tell them we want room service, they''ll shut down the dining area and let the servers off for the night. They''ll be able to do other things instead of stand around watching us eat." Jason retorted.


    "Yeah, that way, they get to do what they want to do and we get to do what we want to do!" Jared grinned.


    Jason gave Jared a wicked look. "Oh hey. What we want to do won''t hurt any more!" He rubbed his chest muscles.


    "Is that all you''re worried about, you goon?" Jared punched Jason in the shoulder.


    "Heck yeah! That hurt!!!"


    "No kidding," Jared shook his head. "I thought I was going to die."


    The twins chattered back and forth, even as they escorted their wife back to the bedroom suite, bypassing the dining hall entirely.


    They were hungry again, and it wasn''t for food.

 Chapter 236 - Offending Fasteners

    Every snap. Every hook. Every button. Every tie.


    Every fastener that the twins designed on Candace''s clothing was made to be removed very easily and very quickly, and each fastener or closure could be removed with one hand.


    There was very good reason for this.


    It was the brilliant work of a couple of men whose only consideration was how easy it would be to remove her clothes as quickly and efficiently as possible without doing damage, identally ripping the fabrics, or tearing off the fasteners used on those clothes.


    When they had first heard of Dante and te, using their bat ws to rip into her clothing because the oafs were too excited and couldn''t take the time to unfasten all those tiny rows of buttons made of gas or amethysts, they had gone on a rampage and blown a gasket at their brothers.


    Do you men know how expensive that brocade fabric was??? They shouted. That was imported silk from the silk moths of Nymphalidae!


    The men being shouted at hung their heads in shame as Jason and Jaredmbasted them. The twins refused to back down even though Dante offered to get more silk from his mother''s world Nymphalidae for a bargain price.


    Those pieces of clothing took several days and a dozen people to create and embroider. How dare you just tear them to pieces!!! The twins howled.


    Slip the panties off gently! Don''t just rip them off Candace''s body or tear into them with sharp bat ws! They continued their barrage of verbal attacks.


    Sheez!!!


    Of course, they''d also made the offenders reimburse them triple the cost of recement for damaging the VERY expensive outfits and undergarments the twins had so lovingly provided for THEIR wife using the best materials and gems they could get their hands on.


    This was, of course, very different from Lucas, who had asked very nicely to please allow him to purchase the clothing for his wife so she would be well-dressed when she visited his ind.


    In that instance, it was a point of pride. Jason and Jared would never allow their wife to go anywhere looking like a hobo, and to charge another man to dress their own wife was too ridiculous to contemte.


    The need to create easy to release snaps, hooks, buttons and ties had been targeted at their ogre-fisted brothers to salvage Candace''s clothing.


    They never thought it would apply to them.


    As it was, by the time the twins got Candace back to the bedroom, it was quite clear that Jared was going to have to do a tiny bit of mending to rece a popped button that he had tugged on just slightly too hard.


    "Ugh. Why don''t we just velcro all her clothes together." Jared muttered with disgust as he rescued the valuable diamond-encircled jade button from the floor.


    "What? No!" Jason scowled in disgust. "That would be super ugly, Jared. The ps will bump up and pop at the seams. The fabric won''t lie t against her body."


    Jared shook his head as he unfastened her brassier from the front with a single flick of his finger. "At least it would save her clothes from heavy wear and tear."


    Jason shook his head. He was having a bit of trouble sliding her panties off. "Why didn''t we put a zipper on her underwear so it''s easier to take off?"


    With a curse, he finally hooked her panties off with a finger, dropped it to the floor and kicked it to the corner.


    "Who the hell puts zippers on silk panties? Are you an idiot?" Jared removed her bra and threw it into the corner to join the discarded panties.


    "And that''s how we have to keep recing those little lingerie pieces. You treat them with no respect whatsoever." Jason muttered.


    "I threw the bra next to the panties that you kicked into the corner so when we pick them up we can pick both up at the same time." Jared exined with impatience.


    "Oh who cares. I''ll make her a few hundred pieces of lingerie if I need to." Jason''s eyes grew heavy with passion as Candace''s breasts were released from their confines into his ready waiting hands.


    "Gentlemen." Candace chided,ughing at their back-and-forth. "For the next hour, you both need to control your bickering or I will throw both of you out and get some rest myself."


    "My lips are sealed." Jared raised a hand in solemn vow. "Except to kiss you, at which point I need to open my mouth. Only then will I open my mouth."


    "Not another sound from my lips." Jason promised. "Except if I feel too good and can''t help myself. Then I will moan and groan only. No words."


    Candace covered her face andughed as tears of mirth ran down her cheeks. How was it possible that even while she stood,pletely naked in front of them, they could still be bantering back and forth, throwing out jokes?


    "Looks like I have some work to do. You both are still fully dressed." Sheughed and began to yfully tugged at their shirts.


    They grinned and yanked the shirts over their heads, exposing two very well-built muscr frames.


    She reached out, touching each of their pecs, making smacking sounds with her lips in appreciation.


    "Hmmm. Stud muffins!" She eximed. "I need some butter."


    It would have been a huge turn on if it wasn''t for the fact that they knew she was doing it as a joke.


    It was all the twins could do not to crawl on the floorughing at her antics.


    Theirughter abruptly ended when she began kissing their chests.


    Back and forth, from one man to the other, she touched and tongued both of them until they gasped for air.


    Her hands continued trailing down their bodies until she reached their trembling abs.


    With quick moves, she unbuttoned their trousers and slipped their well-tailored pants off their long legs.


    It didn''t take much to free theirrge hard veiny members from the constraints of their underwear until they were standing, stiff and proud at attention, pulsing and eagerly awaiting their mistress'' loving attention.

 Chapter 237 - Double Play

    [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT]


    Now that the Avgo shards had been extracted, the twins were no longer so worried about having their aroused members touched and kissed.


    The three of them stood at the center of the room, among all the loose fallen clothing, touching each other with greedy hands.


    Or rather, she touched the twins and the twins touched her.


    Jason stood facing her. His warm soft shapely lips had covered her mouth. As his tongue thrust in between her lips, she quivered uncontrobly, surrendering herself to his kiss.


    "Hmmmm."


    He pushed his tongue deeper into her mouth, tasting, caressing, suckling. His hands were not idle, as he fondled and squeezed the plump softness of her breasts.


    Meanwhile, from behind, Jared was kissing her nape and trailing kisses down her back as his hands touched and squeezed her buttocks.


    "Oh my God, how did we get so lucky to have a dancer wife with a hot ass like this." Jared muttered thickly as he rubbed and pped her buttocks with a gentle hand.


    They began sandwiching her between their bodies and rubbed themselves on her in a seductive dance that tickled the core of her womanhood until she could barely stand.


    "I want to kiss you both." Candace smiled at them and gestured for them to move a bit closer to each other.


    Then she knelt on the floor in front of them so she was eye-level to their crotches.


    Their pale pink shafts stood out from feather pale green fronds of their pubic hair, hitting home to Candace that she truly was no longer even on Earth.


    These were part mermen she was married to and were making love to.


    Reaching out with both hands, she touched both of them at the same time, gently fondling and caressing their thick shafts.


    "Ooooohhh," Jason breathed and threw back his head.


    Touching her golden hair with hisrge sinewy hand, he held the back of her head as he guided her closer to his manhood.


    "Eat me, Love." Jared muttered huskily.


    She looked up at him as her mouth opened to take in the tip of his member.


    Jared returned her gaze with adoring soft brown eyes.


    As the tip of his shaft disappeared into her mouth, he closed his eyes and shuddered with pleasure.


    Even while her mouth was swallowing Jared''s hard member, her hand was busy fondling and touching Jason''s shaft.


    It only took a few minutes and Jason was demanding his kissing time.


    She pulled Jared out of her mouth and engulfed Jason''s member, giving him the same treatment she had given Jared.


    "Oooohhh," it was Jason''s turn to gasp and quiver with delight.


    A few minutes of licking and sucking both of them in turn and the men were dying to be inside her.


    "Get on the bed so we can pleasure you too." Jared waved a hand and Candace''s entire body lifted up from the ground.


    He levitated her onto the bed and then with a gentle thud, the twins joined her amongst the pillows and cushions.


    Jared lifted her up onto her hands and knees and kneeled between her legs. Leaning over, he began to lick and kiss her petals.


    She began to gush love juice, dripping onto the bed from all the y that his tongue was doing to her body.


    As he was kissing her, Jason took over the front end, kissing her mouth deeply with his own. Then, kneeling in front of her mouth, he pointed his stiff member at her lips.


    "Let me in, Love." Jason whispered.


    Candace smiled and reached for the base of his shaft. She moved her body forward and pushed his entire shaft into her mouth.


    Jason shuddered and inhaled sharply as he pulled her long hair back to better see her mouth take in his long thick manhood.


    From behind, Jared held his hard shaft and began gliding it


    to thrust his thick member into her body.


    It started off as an attempted synchronized thrusting, where Jason and Jared both thrusted into her at the same time and at the same speed and force.


    Within ten minutes, Jared had out sped Jason as he rammed through from behind, doing double time and then triple time as his passions began to go into overdrive.


    The difference was his unique position.


    Jared could not only see himself thrusting into Candace from behind, he could also see Jason''s hard member being swallowed whole into her mouth and he could see how it was affecting his brother.


    Jason was gritting his teeth and inhaling in sharp breaths as the pleasure of having his penis swallowed whole by his exquisite wife began to overwhelm his senses.


    This visually erotic, animalistic raw vision of Jason bing so sexually aroused caused Jared to be acutely inmed with desire. He was so excited that the skin around his nipples and his groins turned a deep pink.


    As he became more deeply aroused, Jared could not hold back the rapid thrusting of his hips. He began to turn into a machine, POWERING THROUGH and pounding into her with speed and force that caused her to mewl with need.


    This was the other reason why his unique vantage point was such a turn on for Jared. He knew that it was his shaft that was driving Candace''s pleasure center.


    "Feel good Baby? Hmmm?" Jared asked in between his own panting.


    "Mhhh, mhhh, mhhh!" Candace mumbled around Jason''s thick cock as her face scrunched up with desire.


    Jared''s rapid thrusting was hitting her G spot so repeatedly that she was quickly rising to the upper waves of climaxing.


    There was one other thing that Jared knew she enjoyed thoroughly. His wife loved getting pped.


    He reached out and pped Candace''s buttocks a couple of times.


    THWACK! THWACK!


    Candace''s pale buttocks immediately showed two red palm prints.


    It was so stark against her surrounding pale skin that for a moment, Jared was horrified that he had inadvertently hurt his wife.


    "Harder! p me harder!" Candace insisted.


    Jared gave a mental sigh of relief that she hadn''t been hurt by his ''spousal abuse'' and gave her a harder tap with his palm.


    THWACK!!!


    Thest p pushed her over the edge.


    Candace arched her head back and gasped.


    "Haaahhh-Aaahhh!!!"


    She wasing so hard, she could barely keep from sinking down onto the mattress.


    Jared reached down below her tummy and supported her until she could recover a bit, even as he continued pumping into her.

 Chapter 238 - Double Bite

    [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT]


    Once she was sufficiently recovered from her orgasmic highs, she took Jason back into her mouth again.


    Over and over, they pumped themselves into her, muttering colorful obscenities that Candace barely understood. She could tell they were both so close to orgasm.


    She pulled Jason''s shaft from her mouth.


    "You both are getting close to climaxing but just like thest time we made love, neither of you turned into bats." She raised an eyebrow as she thought about that oddity.


    "Come to think of it, by this point, I have to remind your brothers to sheath their ws so they don''t scratch me. You twins don''t show any signs of inadvertently turning into bats at all."


    The twins gave each other knowing nces.


    There was a secret that they harbored which no one knew, and the twins had never divulged for fear of bacsh.


    They did not automatically turn into bats upon sexual release as all their other brothers did. They simply remained humans because out of all the brothers, the twins were triptych in nature.


    They were usually in their human default form but could turn into bats like all their brothers did.


    They could also turn into mermen when the need arises.


    "We just have better control than our brothers do." Jared responded, hoping Candace would simply ept it at face value and not question more deeply the reasons why.


    Candace nodded. To her, it didn''t matter at all. She merely wanted to tell them that when they transformed, she wanted them to bite her.


    When you do transform, bite me," Candace reminded them. "Both of you bite me at the same time if you can."


    "Why the same time? Would you be able to handle both of us at the same moment?" Jason asked.


    She gave a naughty grin. "I want to see what it feels like to have two vampires bite me at the same time."


    "Do you ept that we will be able to mind meld with you?" Jason asked onest time.


    "Yes. Bite me." She smiled and closed her eyes in anticipation.


    With a nod of assent, they both bared their teeth and grew their fangs until it was at the appropriate length to begin drawing blood.


    It was most definitely a very controlled transformation. There were no quivering wings and no ws that extruded. The only things that changed were their fangs.


    "If you''re ready for us, we''re going to bite now." Jared prompted again.


    "Do it." Candace nodded.


    With his penis still embedded within Candace, Jared leaned forward and began licking Candace''s left neck while Jason angled his neck downward and began nuzzling her right neck.


    Anesthetic fluids oozed out of their fangs as saliva flooded their mouths in anticipation of the love bite.


    With both left and right carotid arteries imed, they slowly and tenderly sank their fangs into the throbbing arteries that moved her life-giving blood up into her brain cavity, careful not to tear her skin too much.


    "Haaaah," Candace gasped as their fluids hit her blood stream, causing another orgasm to rise and swell within her.


    As one, both their fluids hit her body making her quiver with ecstasy. At the same time, her blood spurt out in hot metallic abundance for both of them to enjoy.


    Jared sucked in two mouthfuls of her sweet blood, feeling the euphoria of her blood entering his body along with the rhythmic contractions of her body as she convulsed and climaxed around his shaft.


    Jason drank with grateful reverence, a few gulps of her precious blood as he grasped his shaft and pumped with his hands until he could barely hang on.


    Between the two intensely erotic feelings, both Jared and Jason stroked themselves a few more desperate times before they both hit the climax point.


    "Aaaaaaarghhh!!!" The twins both grunted, arching their backs in ecstasy as Jared emptied himself inside her body while Jason squirted his semen onto her back.


    For a moment, there was nothing but the sounds of the twins'' panting.


    With a defeated groan, Jared fell to one side of Candace while Jason slid down onto her other side, breathing deeply.


    "You guys never grew wings and ws. You only grew fangs." Candace murmured with disbelief.


    Beside her, the twins stiffened. They didn''t realize she knew what blood bats reverted to when they lost control of their senses.


    Candace blinked with sudden recognition of something important. She couldn''t quite grasp what it was at the moment though.


    "If it wasn''t for the fact that I''ve seen three of your brothers have the exact same reaction, I would have never thought anything of it," she murmured to herself with wonder.


    "But Dante, te, and Lucas, all were struggling just to keep from slicing me open with their ws whereas you two just¡­powered through."


    "We''re all a bit different." Jason murmured, hoping she would not think too deeply about that.


    "Hmm. I''ll be the judge of that after I spend some time with Byron and Leonardo. If Leo is anything like Lucas, he will also struggle to keep his ws and wings from sprouting once he nears orgasm. I don''t know about Byron though."


    ''Do you really want to know?'' Jared whispered into her mind.


    ''Absolutely, but before you tell me, is it possible to have Jason join this mind meld?''


    ''Try.'' Jared suggested.


    ''Jason?'' She called out.


    ''Yes Darling?'' Jason asked.


    ''Can you mind meld with Jared?''


    ''I don''t know,'' he turned to her and kissed her face. ''I''ve never tried.''


    ''Jared. Can you hear Jason at all? He''s talking to me right now.''


    ''No. I can only hear you.'' Jared admitted.


    ''Let me test something.''


    She concentrated and tried to link their mind paths into a single tiny connection and then released a single thought into the tiny connection.


    "Raspberry pie." They both said out loud at the same time.


    "Oh good! You both can hear me at the exact moment I said that." She pped her hands in delight.


    "Okay, we just need to keep practicing until you both can talk to each other through me."

 Chapter 239 - [Bonus ] Mind Chatter

    It sounded much easier than it actually was. They continued to probe mentally through her for another hour until she finally begged them to stop.


    Then it was one more bath time before bed.


    They drew a very warm bath in therge jacuzzi and set the bubbles going.


    Then, she and the twinszed around and yed with the soap bubbles, making mounds of white froth on the tops of their heads and on their faces andughing with the joy of it all.


    They yed until they were all squeaky clean and the twins were satisfied that their fingers were sufficiently pruny and wrinkled before allowing Candace to step out of the bath.


    They dried each other with sts of magically created warm air and then tumbled into bed, wearing nothing but their happy grins.


    As rowdy as the twins were, Candace was expecting them to physically possess her again, as they had begun to show signs of bing hard and stiff as a result of lying naked under the covers with her, but bed time was a non-event.


    Nothing happened except for sleep.


    The twins jostled about until they found their perfect sleeping position¡ªright up against Candace and promptly began to breathe into her ears in a steady and rhythmic cadence.


    Towards early morning, she shifted her body and found herself pinned on both sides by their tworge bodies.


    Their continued even breathing was a soothing reassurance that her two precious men were safe and resting beside her.


    Their sleeping faces were ssically beautiful. Their long darkshes rested against their sculpted regal cheekbones. Their long green hair syed out like silky sea foam on therge cushioned pillows.


    In their sleep, they had wound their arms so tightly around her that she could barely move. As before, their legs were thrown over her body as if she was a body pillow.


    Her slight change in breathing tipped them off and their soft brown eyes slowly opened.


    "Hmmm. It''s still early. Did we wake you up?" Jason asked as he began kissing her corbone.


    "It was your snoring again." Jared turned his nose into her neck and inhaled the scent of her hair.


    "I don''t snore. That must have been you." Jason''s hands began wandering about, touching her body.


    "You can stop touching my hands now. I don''t roll that way." Jared sniffed as his own hands began rubbing her stomach.


    "Jason. Jared. I can''t¡ªI can''t move," she murmured with an indulgent smile.


    "Yeah, Jared. Ease up a bit on Tiny Dancer." Jason''s tongue began licking the pulse point between her cor bones.


    "Of course I will." Jared smiled and pulled her even closer to him as he began nibbling on her jawline.


    "You guys. It''s too hot with you both right up against me." She kicked out at both of their legs in a yful futile manner.


    "Hahaha. Okay, we''ll give you a bit of space." They bothughed and moved away from her, giving her about six inches of space between each of them.


    "While you were sleeping, we thought about the possible reasons why we still can''t talk to each other even though we can talk to you." Jason mumbled from her left side.


    "That''s right. We want to try again. Can you link us back up?" Jared whispered from her right side.


    "Hmmm." She yawned. "Let me set up another mental space inside my mind."


    Once again, Candace linked to the two of them within her mind. This time, because she was half-asleep, she missed connecting with thempletely.


    ''Candi Baby.'' One of them called out to her.


    ''Hmm?'' She jerked awake. She had identally fallen asleep while trying to maintain the connection.


    ''Did you hear what we said?''


    ''Not¡ªnot really, I think I fell asleep.''


    Jasonughed. ''Let''s try again, shall we?''


    ''We need to. We can''t verify if it worked or not without her input.'' Jared chuckled.


    "Wait a minute." Candace spoke out loud. "I heard the both of you talking to each other inside my head."


    ''BINGO!'' They bothughed excitedly.


    ''So we''ve figured it out darling. Once you ept our mental links, loosen up and don''t establish such a tight connection so we have enough leeway to be able to connect to whoever else is in the mind space you''ve created. Does that make sense?''


    Candace rubbed her eyes tiredly.


    ''I guess.'' She yawned again. ''We need an external test. Let me get someone else into the mind space and see if they can talk with you.''


    Casting about, Candace found te still up and alert enough to pick up on her call.


    ''What is it Baby Girl? Is everything okay?'' te asked with some rm.


    ''Rx Brother.'' Jared spoke up. ''We''re testing this to see if we can use Candace''s link to have mental group chats.''


    ''Who''s this?'' te asked.


    ''It''s me Jared.''


    ''I''m Jason. I''m also here.'' Jason spoke up inside her mind.


    ''And Candace?''


    ''Right here, Love.'' She responded with another loud yawn.


    She was starting to fall asleep again as the three brothers chattered back and forth about things that didn''t quite make sense to her sleepy brains.


    Towards morning, she was once again awakened by one of the twins, asking her if she could contact the rest of the men.


    She found Dante, Lucas, and Byron, all receptive to her contact so she pulled them into the mental space that was still being upied by the twins and te.


    Then, while they chattered quietly to each other, she snuggled back under the covers and went back to sleep.


    Interestingly enough, their quiet mental chatter didn''t bother her at all. It was almost like having a radio or television talk show running in the background while she slept.


    She didn''t have to understand who was saying what. It was just ambient white noise to her if she didn''t focus in on their conversation.


    By the time she woke up the third time, the twins were no longer lying next to her, but she could still hear their voices chattering inside her mind.


    ''Where are you?'' She called out.

 Chapter 240 - [Bonus ] Ragamuffin In Designer Clothing

    ''Candi Baby!'' Jared''s voice called out. ''We''re in the exercise room, lifting weights. We couldn''t sleep any more so we thought we''d give you a bit of peace and quiet.''


    ''Yeah. We tried to talk softly. Did we make too much noise?''


    ''No. I slept just fine, but I could use some breakfast.''


    ''Haha. Baby''s hungry.'' Jasonughed. ''Get dressed and meet us in the dining room. There should be breakfast ready for us.''


    Jared interjected. ''After breakfast, we have to meet up with a couple of delegates, one from pirate space and the other from dragon space.''


    ''Are we in Dragon space already?''


    ''We barely crossed over from pirate space, into dragon space, but yes. We''re actually very close to meeting up with Mother Gwen."


    Candace quickly washed up and threw on whatever random bits of clothing she could find that the twins had provided for her.


    As she made her way to the breakfast room, she could hear teing back into her mind and chatting with the twins yet again about his mother.


    ''You''re able to reconnect to the twins even though you left the conversation?'' She asked with surprise as she entered the dining room.


    ''Apparently, the link remains until you close up the mind space.'' teughed.


    ''That''s right.'' Dante poked in. ''As long as this unique mind space continues to be opened, any one of us can wander back in if we have time.''


    ''I''m here too, Love.'' Byron spoke up.


    ''Oh wow.'' Sheughed. ''Everyone''s here.''


    ''Everyone except Leo.'' Lucas chuffed. ''He''s the unfortunate one who has been left out of the conversation due to the fact that he hasn''t turned in his Avgo shard to you yet.''


    ''That is unfortunate. I will meet up with him and quickly take care of that so all you brothers can talk through this mental space without having to go through other less secure channels ofmunication.''


    "Candace!" Jared met her at the dining room entrance. He leaned over and kissed her before leaning back and looking at what she wore.


    "Why are you just throwing odds and ends together and looking like a ragamuffin, even in my designer outfits, hmm?"


    He grumbled under his breath as he hooked her arm with his and led her to the dining table where Jason was already pouring a fresh cup of hot coffee for her.


    As his gaze turned to Candace, he winced with pain.


    "Darling, how can such a beautiful woman have such poor style?" He looked her up and down. "Can''t you see that you''re wearing a sky blue tunic, over orange desert tights, with a pair of fuchsia mules?"


    He nced at her jewelry choice. "At least your gold bangles don''t sh with your rose gold ne¡ªtoo badly." He trailed away with a heavy sigh.


    Candaceughed. "I just dug into the clothes you brought for me and grabbed somefortable stuff. It''s not like we''re going to meet anyone."


    "Wrong. Wrong!" Jared groaned and covered his face. "I told you we would be meeting up with the pirate delegates after breakfast. I should have said thirty minutes."


    "Thirty minutes?" She gasped.


    "That''s right. We only have about thirty minutes to feed you before the first of the delegates board the ship."


    She looked down at her colorful clothes. "Well at least I''m fully clothed."


    She startedughing again as the twins looked at each other with pained expressions. They gave unspoken signals to each other and nods of agreements.


    As Jason took care of her feeding needs, Jared took off at a run. Within ten minutes, he had returned with apletely different outfit in his hands.


    While Candace finished her toast and marmde jam, he began undressing her with professional swiftness.


    Gone was the lover, undressing his wife with eagerness. This man was on a professional fashion mission!


    Within ten minutes, Candace emerged as a polished diamond, sparkling like a rare gem.


    Her white sheath dress was beaded with white pearls of varying sizes, trimmed with touches of ice blue embroidery.


    It looked demure and gentle, yet gave off definite vibes of ''hands off our woman'' with a wide dark blue choker made of some deep matte stone.


    On her fingers was arge dark blue sapphire alongside a seven piece set of stacker rings, one for each man in her life.


    "That was a good find, Jason." Jared inclined his head at the choker ne. "I have never seenpiszuli that beautiful before."


    "Only the best for my wife."


    "Andst but not least," Jared knelt down and ced a pair of white shoes on her feet. Then he stood up, looking at her up and down.


    "We don''t have time to paint your face, but you are a natural beauty. All you need to do is smile and you take our breath away."


    "She doesn''t even need to smile. She takes my breath away no matter what she does." Jason murmured gently as he finished brushing her hair and setting into ce a hair clip with a blue butterfly made of glittering sapphires of varying shades of blue.


    "Now we are ready to meet with the first of the delegate team. These delegates are from pirate space."


    =============


    With her hands in a gentle sp at each of the twins'' elbows, Candace made her way to the parlor room.


    The delegates, a man and two women, were already seated at the couches near therge deep space viewing window.


    They stood up when she and the twins entered the room.


    The man bowed deeply and the young women curtsied.


    "Crown Princess Candace." He bowed to her. "Princes Jason and Jared." He bowed again. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."


    "I''m sorry, we didn''t quite catch your names." Jason inquired.


    "I am Baron Hughbert and these are my two daughters, Ophelia and Ingrid."


    The two young women gave shy smiles and looked down at their soft frail hands. They were quite pretty, with dark brown hair and striking pale blue eyes.


    "Good to meet you. Please have a seat." Jared indicated at the seats they had just risen from.


    As the attendants came and went with tea service, the Baron began talking about his two daughters in glowing terms.


    "Ophelia is a very good singer and songstress. Perhapster, she can entertain everyone with a few songs that she wrote." He beamed with pride at his first daughter.


    "Ingrid is an athlete. She is a sharpshooter with a bow and arrow and is a first rate martial artist. She can also do some demonstrations of her abilities, if there is time." He looked at his second daughter.


    Jason and Jared nodded, not quite sure what the point was.


    Candace turned and looked at the girls.


    "How old are they?"


    The Baron beamed proudly. "Ophelia is twenty-four and Ingrid is twenty-three."


    "Oh they are both not much older than me." Candace grinned.


    "That is a good thing, if they should turn out to be your sisters-inw.." Baron Hughbert chuckled.

 Chapter 241 - [Bonus ] A Joyous Kind Of Love

    "My sisters-inw? Who would they be marrying, pray tell?" As if she didn''t know. Candace stered a bright smile on her face.


    "Well, I was just thinking that perhaps they could get a chance to be better acquainted with the Princes Jason and Jared."


    The twins quickly shook their heads.


    "Sorry. We''re married."


    Baron Hughbert chuckled. "You don''t have to lie to get out of meeting my daughters. I assure you, I would never press them on anyone. They are my pride and joy."


    "Certainly, you have much to be proud of. I''m simply informing you that Jason and I are already married so we aren''t avable."


    "That is a shame. I had not heard of any wedding announcements so I assume the wives you speak of are royal consorts."


    He turned to his girls. "My daughters are very well-bred and would be far more suited as First Wives than Royal Consorts."


    "No. Actually, our wife is the future Empress." Jason smiled.


    "But the future Empress is¡­" his eyes nced over at the Crown Princess Candace.


    "That''s right." Jared confirmed. "We are both married to Candace, and she is not our First Wife."


    "She''s our Only Wife." Jason finished the sentence.


    "I see." Baron Hughbert cleared his throat. "Does the Crown Prince know that his Crown Princess is also your only wife?"


    Jason nodded. "Of course. All three Crown Princes know. They are also married to her."


    "In fact, all seven of us are married to her." Jared smiled.


    Baron Hughbert''s eyes popped from his skull as he turned to look at Candace.


    He saw a pretty woman but she wasn''t SEVEN PRINCES pretty!!!


    What in the world did she do that would cause all seven of the Emperor''s boys to be so besotted with her that they would marry her and no one else?


    It had to be some sort of evil magic spells that causes people to lose their sense of self. This woman must have very strong magic topel seven men to be in the palm of her hands.


    Jason and Jared nced at each other. The Baron''s thoughts were so transparent that they couldn''t believe they didn''t realize at first, what he was trying to do.


    "Thank you foring to wee us into pirate space." He stood up. "We appreciate it very much. Next time we talk to Mattheus Cordera, we will tell him that you were a gracious host while we traveled through your jurisdiction."


    "I see. In that case, I''ll take my leave." He stood up along with his two daughters. No reason to drag this meeting on if nothing woulde of it.


    Besides, the Baron did not want to have King Mattheus Cordera on his back either. The man was a ruthless dictator of the pirate world and the less contact the better.


    Within a very short time, they had left to travel back to their part of space.


    "Dragon delegates areing in twenty minutes. Let''s get you out of this dress and into another." Jared pulled at her arm.


    "What? Why?" Candace frowned. "I barely have this dress on for an hour."


    "Because they''ve already taken the visuals of you meeting up with the Baron. There will be more visuals of you meeting with the dragon delegates, whoever they may be."


    "That''s right. We can''t have you wearing the same thing for two separate meetings. People will think you can''t afford two outfits for two separate groups."


    "How ridiculous." She muttered, but she allowed the twins to take her back to the room, where they fussed with her, redressing her in a brand new outfit.


    This time, since there was enough time avable, they made her up carefully before slipping a ck outfit onto her body. It was a jumpsuit type of attire, with an orange pink scarf toplete the look.


    On her ears were orange spessarite gas and on her finger, arge orange fire opal.


    "Orange or pink lipstick?" Jason asked.


    "Pink. She doesn''t have the skin tone to carry off such a bright orange color on her lips." Jared responded.


    An attendant knocked on the door.


    "Your Royal Highnesses. The dragon delegates are waiting in the parlor."


    "We will be there in a few minutes." Jared responded. He turned back to Candace. "Walk towards me, Darling."


    Jared stood a foot away and sprayed a mist of perfume as Candace walked to him.


    "Hmmm. You smell nice. Like oranges and roses."


    "Is that the new scent we just created?" Jason asked.


    "Yes."


    "What did we decide to call it?"


    "Oranges and Roses."


    Jason pursed his lips. "Did we decide on that name? I don''t think so."


    "We didn''te up with anything good and production had already started, so I told them the name of the perfume was Oranges and Roses."


    "What?" Jason ground his teeth. "Who''s going to drop that much money on a bottle of perfume named ''Oranges and Roses'' for crying out loud!"


    Jared shrugged. "Who cares. People either like it or they don''t. The name''s not going to matter that much unless it''s truly hideous. It''s not like I told them to call it Blood and Gore."


    "Or Sweat and Tears." Candace added with a grin.


    "Or Piss and Poop." Jared continued.


    "You two stop it." Jason grimaced. "That''s disgusting."


    Candace and Jared doubled overughing. After a few seconds, Jason joined in theirughter.


    The Oranges and Roses perfume would forever be stuck in their minds as the Piss and Poop perfume, but it wouldn''t matter because it would turn into Candace''s favorite daily scent.


    It would also be one that the twins would eventually market under the single brand name ''Candace'' and would eventually turn into one of their top selling perfumes for decades toe.


    But that is something that would happen in a future time and space.


    At the moment, all they had were each other and a scent that would make them secretlyugh each time they caught a whiff of it.


    As Candace walked alongside her twins heading towards the parlor to meet up with the dragons, her heart felt a dness that was infectious. The three of them shared a rtionship that was the epitome of light and love andughter.


    It wasn''t a mature serious sort of love perhaps, but it was still a legitimate and solid love nheless, filled with joy and youthful delights.

 Chapter 242 - Armchair Warrior

    The parlor of the Raptor 650 was designed by the Princes Jason and Jared of Erenveil.


    Even if that significant detail had not been revealed, it would still have been abundantly clear that this ship was something that came out of a distant opulent past.


    The ceiling towered high above, with drop chandeliers in muted shades of gold. Along the walls were double sconces set into the dark walnut brown panels gleaming with lemon scented wood oil.


    The floor was a rich reddish brown mahogany with scattered rugs of a deep rich ck and deep violet pattern.


    Overstuffed wingback chairs and long sofas in various shades of champaign lined the walls with their very own gold gilded mirrored coffee tables.


    On one end was a ck upright piano with the lid open, an obvious invitation to be yed.


    On the other end was arge bar with hanging crystal sses and a huge collection of valuable bottles of aged hard liquor as well as a vast collection of fine wines.


    Seated at the bar was the lone figure of a man.


    He was powerfully built with long raven ck hair streaked with silver. In his hand was a goblet of some gold liquid.


    He tossed down the drink and made a gesture for the bar attendant to hit him with another.


    The bar attendant picked up the aged cognac and poured another shot into his goblet.


    Again he tossed the drink down his throat.


    He signaled for another drink.


    "Are you trying to get drunk so you don''t have to talk to anyone, Father?"


    The tall green-haired figure of a strikingly handsome man strode into the parlor. He reached out with a strong sinewy hand and took the goblet from his father.


    "Jared." The Emperor stood up. "You think two or three drinks of this swill you call aged cognac is going to affect me one way or another?"


    "Get him some water." He ordered the bar attended and then turned to the Emperor.


    "Jason and Candace are standing behind you. If you weren''t so inebriated, you would have noticed them."


    The Emperor smiled. "I don''t need to turn my head to know they are behind me. You and your brother are never apart for more than a few steps."


    The Emperor nced up as Jason stepped into his line of sight. Beside him stood the blonde woman who he once thought was fragile and easily persuaded.


    He couldn''t be more wrong.


    She was tough and tenacious, and when she chomped down, her jaws locked and she never let go.


    "So why are you here on the Raptor 650 Father?" Jason asked. "Did youe alone or is Mother Anastasia with you?"


    The Emperor looked around the luxuriously appointed parlor. This Raptor was created for a woman to live on. It was obviously meant for Gwendolyn.


    "Other than the officers navigating the warship I was on, I came alone. Since this ship is to be delivered to Gwendolyn today. I want to talk to her. The easiest way is to be on this ship when she arrives."


    "Does she know younded on this ship and are waiting for her?"


    The Emperor shook his head. "I''m not going to ambush her or anything if that''s what you think. It''s just that we''re in the middle of deep space. It''s easier to talk face to face on a ship rather than try to talk on a visual screen or 3-D image."


    Jason and Jared nced at each other. They still needed to tell Mother Gwen that Father hade onto the ship on his own ord.


    "Your Royal Highnesses. The dragon envoy has arrived and is currently docking." A ship attendant announced at the doorway.


    Jason and Jared nodded. "Take them to the Main Deck''s seating lounge. We will be there soon."


    The Attendant bowed and left.


    "Father. We have to meet with the dragon delegates. Please enjoy the bar. We will be back."


    The Emperor set his goblet onto the bar and stood.


    "No need. I will join you."


    The twins shrugged. What could they do if the Emperor insisted oning with them?


    The dragon delegates were already seated around the seating circle when the group arrived. There were four male dragons of varying sizes standing next to an Erenveil woman.


    It was Gwendolyn, looking more vibrant than they had ever seen her before.


    She wore a dragon bodysuit that shimmered in ombres of blues and purples with tiny fine scales that looked soft yet was most likely extremely durable.


    Her long ck hair was tied up into a thick high ponytail, streaming down in decadent dark waves.


    "Mother Gwen!" Jared and Jason both called out in excitement and came towards her with arms outstretched.


    They hadn''t seen her in awhile, and after the incident where her part of the pce had been attacked by fire bombs, they had not had a chance to talk to her since.


    They certainly did not expect her toe along with the dragon delegates.


    "Jason. Jared." Gwendolyn smiled with genuine excitement at seeing them. They had always been her favorite sons, after her own son te.


    She turned radiant blue eyes towards the woman who stood next to them. Of course she knew who Candace was. Everyone knew who the Prime Avgo Female was.


    "Candace Farrah." She smiled at the younger woman.


    Candace bowed. "I''m honored to finally have the chance to meet my husband''s mother."


    "Your husband''s mother?" Gwendolyn looked confused.


    "Yes. te told me you would be here so I offered toe and offer whatever aid I could."


    "You and te¡­"


    "te is my husband."


    Gwen blinked and tried to hide her confusion.


    "te has not said anything to me about it." She shook her head. "But it doesn''t matter. I know you are Lucas'', Dante''s, and Byron''s wife, and since they are my sons as well, you are one of my daughters from marriage." She smiled a warm weing smile.


    Turning with some reluctance, Gwendolyn faced her husband.


    "Rex." She nodded a greeting, of sorts.


    "Gwen. Let''s talk. We have a lot that needs to be said."


    The Emperor looked at his wife of many years with newfound appreciation for her beauty and grace. He was about to tell her how beautiful she looked when a voice broke through his thoughts.


    "Greetings and wee to dragon space, Your Majesty."


    One of the male dragons gave a quick bow, interrupting his reunion with his wife.


    Emperor Rex turned to the man with irritation. How dare he speak at this time!


    But then Rex noticed that his face looked familiar.


    It was familiar because one of his attendants had shown an image of the man who had sent a wedding invitation of sorts to him, proiming that he was going to marry one of Rex''s wife.


    It was him alright. The Grand Duke Erden of Mistvale.


    This man carried himself differently than the other dragons standing next to him.


    His razor sharp grey eyes held wisdom and strength that could only be garnered after many years of being inmand.


    His muscr 6''2" body was leaner and less bulky than the Emperor''s but that didn''t matter once bit. The difference between them was far more than met the eye.


    It showed very clearly in his stance, his mannerisms, and his facial features.


    It showed in his long silver-grey hair and the various lines on his face.


    Although both of them held positions of highmand, Duke Erden was a battle-hardened fieldmander whereas the Emperor was an armchair warrior.

 Chapter 243 - She Is My Everything!!!

    "Grand Duke Erden of Mistvale." The Emperor muttered, more to himself than anyone.


    "I see no introductions are necessary since you obviously know who I am." Duke Erden stood at his full imposing 6''2" height, matching that of the Emperor''s stature.


    He wore a simr ombre scaled warrior''s bodysuit as Gwendolyn, except his was in ck fading to a dark silver. The only touch of decoration he wore was the dull silver Prime Warrior sp at his throat holding his ck cape on his shoulder.


    It waspletely in contrast to the Emperor''s pristine white robes. Like the Grand Duke, Rex wore no other decoration save for the thick gold band around his head, denoting his position as Emperor of the gxy.


    The two men faced off on a ck and white chess board where the rule of the game was simple. The one who gets the queen wins the game. There was only one catch.


    There was only one queen and the queen''s color was BLUE.


    Steely grey eyes gazing unflinching at frosty violet eyes. Each gave no grounds, expecting none in return. The air crackled with electricity as the two strong men stared each other down.


    Finally, as the visiting white king, Rex made the first move.


    "So, Erden. You seem to think that you can marry my wife within the week even though she is still legally my wife."


    Ooohhh. The small crowd around them nodded. That was a legitimate concern.


    How was it possible to marry someone who was already legally married?


    There had to at least be a divorce, and even in this day and age, divorces took time to file and be recorded. There was even a cool down time period of around thirty days before the decree was even allowed to be processed.


    As a person of royal lineage, it was even more difficult, not less, for Gwendolyn to divorce and remarry. Most definitely, there would be serious hoops having to do with titles and umted wealth to have to maneuver through.


    It would neither be quick nor clean.


    "As you know, Rex," Erden threw back his head with confidence. "Possession is nine-tenths of thew."


    Aaahhh. The small crowd murmured.


    That was also true. This wasw throughout the gxy. A person could not be stripped of something that had been in his unchallenged possession for a certain length of time.


    Of course, no one knew what the ''length of time'' would be for something of this nature, not to mention the fact that each region of space had its own set of idiosyncratic system ofws that were slightly different from each other.


    "Were she to be an object for possession, perhaps." Rex threw back. "Except she is a person, a full citizen of the gxy."


    This was true! Lady Gwendolyn was a living, breathing human being, and she was being pulled back and forth between these two men as if she had no voice of her own.


    "She is absolutely a full citizen of the gxy." Erden nodded. "This gives her the chance to choose where she wants to live and be with the man she wants to be with."


    Erden mmed his fist into his palm. "Whatever her choice is, I will defend her right to that choice."


    "She made her choice a long time ago." Rex threw out. "She and I have two children together. One of them is still underaged and needs to go home."


    Rex turned to Gwendolyn. This was between the two of them. Why was he talking to this man?


    "Gwen. We need to talk."


    Gwendolyn faced him, unafraid. "We do need to talk, Rex, and we are talking now."


    "No. I mean we need to talk in private."


    "No Rex. There is nothing between us that needs to be said in private. Let''s get it out in the open. Clear the air." She waved an airy hand full of light-hearted calmness.


    Truth be told, Gwendolyn was a nervous wreck. She had been dreading this day ever since she left Erenveil space, knowing Rex would most likelye after her.


    But there was a strong warm hand touching her back, lending her inner strength.


    It was the young woman who had called herself Gwen''s daughter-inw. Her touch was calming and energizing at the same time.


    This strong woman who faced the world with fearless eyes, faced down opponents that made people quake with fright, and yed all those who came at her with physical weapons.


    With Candace in her corner, supporting her, Gwendolyn suddenly felt empowered.


    "You are right, Rex." She smiled at him. "I made my choice twenty-six years ago to marry you because I fell in love with you."


    Rex smiled at her. There was still love between the two of them.


    "I waited twenty-six years for you to fall in love with me, Rex, but that didn''t happen, so now, I''m choosing to move on with my life."


    Rex''s mouth firmed. "Gwen, there has never been any doubt that I love you."


    "I have no doubt that you love the woman who gave birth to your children. I thank you for that. I think, however, it''s time that I find a man who is in love with me as a person, not me as the mother of his children."


    "Gwen¡ª"


    "Rex." She held up her hand. "Think about the excitement you feel when you see Anastasia. Think about your emotions when you spend time with her. The exhration, the warm closeness, the desire to be with her because you are in love with her."


    Rex was silent. He didn''t have to think that hard. He had only been away from Anastasia for a couple of days and already he missed her so much he could barely stand it.


    If it wasn''t for the fact that he needed to bring Gwendolyn and Lyra home, he would have never left Anastasia. Already, he was moring to be back by her side. His body needed her so badly¡­


    "I can see it in your eyes, even now, how you feel about Anastasia." Gwendolyn smiled wearily. "I want to find a man who thinks of me in the same way that you think of her. Is it too much to ask to be loved like that?"


    "Gwen, life is never that cut-and-dried." Rex sighed. "What makes you think that you will be able to return that sort of love to a man who would be able to love you in that manner?"


    "What makes you think that I won''t be able to?" Gwen stared up at him with indignant blue eyes.


    "Because you love me, Gwen." Rex returned her gaze with steady violet eyes. "You won''t be able to love another man in the same way that you love me."


    "You make it sound as if I am incapable of ever loving again. That''s simply not true." Gwendolyn shook her head.


    "Gwen," Rex''s voice dropped to almost a whisper. "Don''t throw our love away. I may not be able to give you the sort of romantic love you want, but you will always be assured of my love for you."


    "The love you have for me is not enough, Rex." Gwendolyn threw up her hand. "You throw me a few crumbs of affection and I eat it eagerly because I''m starving for your love."


    Gwendolyn''s eyes misted.


    "Anastasia is no better or worse than me as a woman. Why is she given a banquet filled with your love every single day, and I am given a small roll to keep from dying of hunger once every other week? Why am I not worthy enough to be loved like her?"


    Rex squeezed his lids shut and shook his head. Was this how she viewed their rtionship as? Was she starving for his love?


    "Gwen. I did not realize you felt that way. We can work on our marriage so you won''t have to feel so deprived. Will you throw everything we have away on the off-chance that you will be able to find a man who might POSSIBLY feel what you are hoping he will feel for you?"


    "That is not an off-chance, Rex." Erden spoke up. "It is actually very real. Gwendolyn is an exquisite woman. She deserves an exquisite overflowing love, not your left-over dregs."


    He pointed directly at the Emperor''s face.


    "You cannot give her that exquisite abundant love that she deserves. Don''t ruin her chances to be happy with your selfish need to hold onto someone you don''t care that much about."


    "How dare you!!!" The Emperor''s face twisted, his cheeks reddened with anger.


    "I dare because I am the man who loves her in the manner to which she is deserving! I have no one other than her, and I solemnly swear that I will not have anyone other than Gwen for the rest of my life."


    "But she is my wife." Rex snarled back at Erden.


    "She is just another Royal Consort to you." Erden mmed back. "But to me, Gwendolyn is my moon, my sun, and all the stars in my sky."


    The Grand Duke Erden held out his arms in a grand gesture.


    "She is my EVERYTHING!!!"

 Chapter 244 - The Queen Wins

    Gwendolyn covered her mouth with both hands, her bright blue eyes drenched in tears. No one had ever said anything like that to her or about her before.


    It sounded like it was supposed to be for someone else more worthy. She was just boring old Gwendolyn who didn''t even have the advantage of youth on her side.


    The Grand Duke Erden reached out and pulled her into his arms.


    "Hush. Your eyes are too pretty to be so sad." He murmured into her ear. "I only ever want your eyes to cry because you''reughing too hard."


    "Why are you crying?" The Emperor turned and scowled at Gwendolyn. "You act as if I''ve never told you I loved you!"


    "You haven''t, Rex." Gwendolyn turned back to face the Emperor. She wiped the tears that was threatening to fall from her eyes once again.


    "You''ve never told me I was your EVERYTHING!!!" She held out her arms in the same manner that the Grand Duke Erden had done.


    Erden reached out and pulled her back into his protective embrace.


    "Go home, Rex. Your EVERYTHING is waiting for you to return to her in Erenveil." He intoned at the Emperor.


    Rex ignored Erden, turning back to Gwendolyn.


    "Gwen. You don''t need to be jealous of the rtionship I have with Anastasia¡ª"


    "I''m not!" Gwendolynughed. "Not any more. I have nothing but the best wishes for you. I hope you and Anastasia have a wonderful life together from this point forward."


    She sighed and beamed a smile at Erden, her heart light and joyful for the very first time.


    "I wille back to Erenveil and visit everyone when I''ve finished wandering around the stars with Erden, if he''lle with me."


    "Try to keep me away." He responded gently even as she continued


    "For now, I ask that you let me go so I can live my life the way I want to live. I''ve spent my life taking care of you and the children, but the kids are mostly grown and I can finally live for myself."


    Gwendolyn sniffed as more tears sprang from her eyes.


    "It''s finally my turn."


    Erden gathered the small thin woman and hugged her with his fierce warrior arms.


    "Emperor Rex, I think it''s time for you to return to Erenveil. Gwen does not want to return with you."


    "Even if she does not want to return to Erenveil with me, you will never be able to marry her!" Emperor Rex insisted. "I will not grant her a divorce. Royal Consorts cannot get divorced."


    "Then just marry a second husband." Candace thew out.


    "What?" Rex''s eyes bulged. What the hell was this girl saying?"


    Candace reached out and wound her arms around Jason''s and Jared''s waists. They turned to her and nted a kiss on her cheeks.


    "I have more than one husband, Mother Gwen." Candace gave a cheeky grin to Gwendolyn.


    "Not only is te my husband, so are Jason and Jared. If I can do it, so can you."


    "More than¡ªmore than one husband? At the same time?" Gwen gasped.


    This sounded so¡ªforbidden, so¡ªdecadent¡­was it possible? Could she actually do something like this? What would Erden think? What would the world think?


    "Absolutely!" Candace nodded. "Yesterday, I became legally married to Dante, Byron, and Lucas."


    She turned and smiled at the twins with barely concealed excitement.


    "Within the next few days, I will also be legally married to Jason, Jared, Leonardo, and te."


    "How is this possible?" Gwendolyn breathed.


    Jaredughed. "This was something that was set up by Father himself when he amended thews so that Candace could have three husbands."


    Jason raised his eyebrows with delight. "That''s right, Mother Gwen. ording to the newws that have just been drawn up, it is now legal for a woman to have as many as seven husbands."


    "Seven???" Emperor Rex was apoplectic. "Since when did I say she could have seven?"


    "Father," Candace smiled. "Have you forgotten the conversation we had where I specifically told you that Leonardo, Jason, Jared, and te also needed to be added to the marriage document?"


    The Emperor''s face twisted with distaste. Of course he remembered. The girl had threatened to depose him from the throne if he didn''t.


    "Don''t be upset, Father," Jason smiled. "Mother Gwen won''t have seven husbands. I think the Duke will be the only other husband she will have, right Mother Gwen."


    Gwendolyn looked over at Jason and gave a vague nod, her blue eyes slightly wild. She had not even had the chance to respond to any of the Duke''s ims of love yet. She was still trying to deal with the Emperor''s tantrums.


    Emperor Rex was incensed but in Candace''s case, there was nothing he could do. In this situation with his wife, there was also nothing he could do.


    Once there was a precedence of a woman being married to more than one man, if another woman were to do the same, there would be nothing that could stop her. The courts would agree that it waswful.


    Duke Erden chuckled. His chuckle turned into a gentleugh. The Crown Princess Candace Farrah and her seven grooms were a Godsend!


    He turned to the Emperor with a triumphant grin.


    "Rex. Either you grant Gwendolyn the divorce decree or I will fly all over the gxy with my new bride, proudly announcing the fact that she has two husbands and one of them is the Emperor of Erenveil." Erden''s grey eyes lit up.


    This would not affect Erden personally at all since he was just a dragon Prime Warrior for Avalia. For the Emperor of the gxy however, it would be highly embarrassing, not to mentionpletely uneptable! The Emperor would be theughing stock of the gxy!


    Rex sighed. He knew when to fold. He had lost this battle.


    But there was still the matter of his daughter!


    "I cannot return without Lyra. She is a Princess of Erenveil and needs to continue her schooling and training."


    "We''ve taken all her teachers along. They are training her well enough." Gwendolyn retorted


    Emperor Rex shook his head. "No matter what happens between me and you, she is still my underage daughter. She needs to return home and finish her education to learn how to be a Princess of Erenveil."


    "Why don''t you ask her what she wants to do instead of dragging her all over the gxy?" Gwendolyn suggested.


    "Oh, like you''ve been doing you mean? Where is she, Gwen?" Emperor Rex''s eyes narrowed.


    "She is with the Crown Prince of Avalia at this time."


    "And you think that is eptable?" He scowled. "Underaged children need to be with their family.. She is only fifteen. She shouldn''t be with a full-grown man who is engaged with another woman!"

 Chapter 245 - The Forgotten Prince

    "Rx. She''s been with me all this time. I only temporarily left her there so I coulde onboard this cruise ship to meet up with everyone."


    The Emperor frowned. "I want to talk to Lyra. She''s still my daughter."


    Gwendolyn nodded. Regardless of her situation with the Emperor, Lyra was still his much-loved daughter.


    With Erden''s help, Gwendolyn ced a visuals call to Lyra.


    When the call came through, Lyra was dangling her long legs at the ship''s bar and sipping on a Virgin Mary as she chatted with S¨¹ren about everything and nothing under the sun.


    "Lyra?" Gwendolyn''s face appeared on visuals.


    "Mother!" Lyra''s eyes twinkled with delight at seeing her mother. "How is the Raptor 650? Did Brother te put in an arcade like he told me he would?"


    "I''m not sure¡ª" Gwen scratched her head.


    "He did!" Jason and Jared interrupted Mother Gwen, shoving their faces into the visuals field, waving and making faces at her.


    Lyra giggled at their monkey antics. They were the funniest of her brothers and she always loved being around them.


    "Take a look, Sis!" Theymandeered the visuals channel and began showing Lyra some still images of themselves and Candace having fun and acting like goofballs at the arcade.


    "Wow!!!" Lyraughed. "I want toe onboard and y with you three!!!"


    "Have S¨¹ren take you here." Gwendolyn reestablished the visuals with her daughter. "Go now. Your father is here and he needs to talk with you."


    "Father is here?" Lyra''s eyes grew wide. "I''ll be right there. I''m leaving now."


    She disconnected the visuals call and turned to S¨¹ren.


    "Did you hear?"


    S¨¹ren nodded. "Let''s go. If we leave now, we can be there within thirty minutes."


    Lyra gasped. "I didn''t know they were that close."


    "They''re not. I just have a super fast transport pod. It''s souped up with thetest gadgets and painted the coolest neon blue. You''ll love it." He grinned with pride.


    "Father is with Mother at the Raptor 650." Lyra sighed as they made their way to the transport pod.


    "You think he will be able to persuade your mother to return with him?"


    Lyra shrugged. "I don''t know. Mother truly loves him and will do anything for him. If he convinces her hard enough, she might just return with him."


    S¨¹ren shook his head. "Uncle Erden is with her. I don''t think he''s going to allow that to happen."


    "You think my father will allow Uncle Erden to interfere in their marriage?" Lyra looked dubious.


    "I don''t think your father has any choice. Uncle Erden has proposed to your mother and she epted. This means he''s her fianc¨¦. He has at least that much right."


    "Just as much right to each other as you and me." Lyra dimpled.


    She had kicked and wed another woman on more than one asion to im her right, so for Lyra, it hadn''t been easily obtained.


    It had been an epic and hard-won battle.


    "Yes. He is just as much your mother''s fianc¨¦ as I am your man, and don''t you ever forget it." He said as they reached the hangar where his fast blue transport pod was parked.


    "Come, My Love." S¨¹ren levitated both of them onto the pod. "Let me show you my newest little machine."


    ============


    The star ss cruise ship Raptor 650 was surrounded by three full-sized warships.


    There was the Emperor''s Raptor 390, the Grand Duke Erden''s warship Draken w, and S¨¹ren''s Wyvern Fae.


    Four warships, two dragons and two blood bats, clustered at the edge of pirate/dragon space would normally have triggered all sorts of warning bells of an impending attack coordinated by a dragon/bat tag team against the pirates.


    It was treated however, as if it was simply a social call by neighboring heads of states. The entire situation had been coordinated and facilitated by te and Leonardo with full blessing by Mattheus Cordera who had alerted the piratemunity of the ship movements.


    That was why it was such a surprise when, ten minutes after S¨¹ren and Lyranded on the Raptor 650, several hundred pirate ships surrounded the four star ss warships.


    The newly-appointed King of Avalia S¨¹ren had just escorted his fianc¨¦e to the Main Deck when alerts began sounding throughout the ship.


    "We''ve been surrounded, Your Majesty!" The ship officers interrupted the social visits by the Emperor and the Dragon King.


    "What? Where are all our warships?" Emperor Rex growled at the officers.


    "They are still within hailing distance, Sir. Unfortunately, we are unable to call for help. Our controls have beenmandeered."


    S¨¹ren frowned and tried to contact his own ships.


    "Why the hell has pirate ships surrounded the Raptor 650 and you men have done nothing?" S¨¹ren snarled.


    "Sir. We were told to stand down by Prince Altan." The Wyvern Fae''s ship captain reported.


    "What???" S¨¹ren pounded the table in front of him. "Get him online for me."


    "Yes Sir."


    Within a couple of minutes, the familiar face of his younger brother Altan popped up on visuals. His brilliant green eyes with their unique flecks of gold gleamed in the brilliant light of the afternoon sunshine on Avalia.


    "Altan. What are you trying to do?"


    "I''m taking over, S¨¹ren. You''re mad and drunk on power. I can''t believe you took out our own Father!"


    "Altan. Were you not aware he drugged me and tied me up?"


    "Of course I knew S¨¹ren. Father wasn''t going to hurt you. He just needed for you to calm down and see reason."


    "What reason does a father have for drugging and tying up his own son, Altan. You tell me."


    "You have a beautiful fianc¨¦e. You just needed to spend some time with her to see that. You have everything already. You don''t need to take my woman too."


    "Yours?" S¨¹ren''s mouth opened with surprise.


    "Lyra has been promised to me. Why would you insist on keeping her if you already have Sharina, S¨¹ren?"


    "What the hell are you talking about???" S¨¹ren''s eyes were bloody murder.


    "You know exactly what I''m talking about. You have a beautiful fianc¨¦e and you were the Crown Prince." Altan''s eyes were furious.


    "The throne was going to be yours anyway. You didn''t have to eliminate Father to get it. And for what? You turned on our father over a girl!" Altan''s eyes were grief stricken.


    "No Altan. Father tried to kill me. It took doctors almost two days to pull me through. I nearly died!"


    "You wouldn''t have suffered like that if you''d only epted Sharina. But now it''s toote."


    "So your n is to do exactly what? Kill all of us out here at the edge of dragon space?"


    "Of course not, S¨¹ren. I''m not cruel or vicious like you. I just need for you to take a step back. You''re not worthy of the crown if you have to kill Father to take over."


    "Who put you up to this, Altan?" S¨¹ren snarled. His brother was such a wimp. This had to be someone else''s handiwork.


    "Nobody put me up to anything. Baron Hughbert and I are currently working together. He''s going to help me reim the throne from you." Altan''s eyes were tragic.


    "You are my brother. I won''t hurt you, but I won''t let you depose of Father and steal my promised betrothed!"


    "Your¡ªyour promised betrothed? What the fuck are you talking about?"


    "Lyra is mine, S¨¹ren. I won''t let you take her away from me!"


    "Altan. Listen to yourself. How is it possible for Lyra to be yours when I was the one who brought her to Avalia?"


    "Father promised her to me!"


    "She''s not some object that Father can just take and give to you!" S¨¹ren shouted. "She is a person with her own thoughts and wants. Have you even tried to ask her what she wants?"


    "We never got the chance to talk to each other, Brother." Altan shook his head.


    "But we will now."

 Chapter 246 - A Delivery Of Boy Toys

    "Not if I can help it." S¨¹ren pointed into Altan''s face. "You want a war to happen right here, you got a war."


    "We''ve got weapons pointed directly at the Raptor 650," Altan smiled, unfazed. "If you want to be the first to die in this war you''re starting, by all means, start it."


    Altan turned to the person standing next to him.


    "State your demands from them."


    The mealy smiling face of Baron Hughbert appeared on split screen next to Altan.


    S¨¹ren sighed in disgust.


    This was the ass who had been prowling around this area of space, not allowing legitimate travelers safe passage.


    To pass his area required high bribes to all the pirate ships that prowled the space between the dragon world and Erenveil. Sometimes, the same ship hit a traveling ship two or three times, demanding travel toll or protection money.


    If there was ever a need to eliminate a nuisance gue, it would be Baron Hughbert.


    "What are you trying to pull off, Baron Hughbert?" S¨¹ren called out.


    "My business is not with you. I want to talk to the Emperor." The Baron snarled.


    S¨¹ren nodded and gave a gesture of hand-off over to Emperor Rex.


    "That''s better." Baron Hughbert smiled. "This message is for the Emperor of Erenveil. It is a message of good will."


    "Good will?" Emperor Rex spat. "GOOD WILL MY ASS!!! Tell your dogs to stand down and back off, you fool!"


    "Ahhh. Language,nguage. There are women and a young girl within earshot."


    "Who gives a shit. You''ve got over a hundred warships pointing your weapons at us for no goddamn reason." The Emperor howled with rage. "We''re just traveling through. In fact, we''re in dragon space! If you are looking for intergctic war to rain down on your head, this is the way to do it!"


    "No need to speak of war. Those things are nasty ande without prompting from us. All I need is a bit of your attention."


    "Eat shit and die." Emperor Rex shot a death stare at Baron Hughbert.


    Heughed. "Hahaha. You are so funny Emperor Rex. I do not want to harm anyone onboard that ship. In fact, the only ones I want are the twin Princes. Release them to me, and of course, the girl has to go to Altan, and you are free to leave."


    "What?" Emperor Rex howled.


    "Are you growing senile, Emperor?" Baron Hughbert''s eyes were dead serious. "I said I want your twin boys. They will be treated well, I promise. They would make good husbands for my two girls."


    Jason and Jared shot loaded nces at each other.


    "Wait." Jason held up his hand. "Are you holding all of us hostages because you want me and my brother as boy toys for your daughters?" Jared pointed at Baron Hughbert.


    The Baron''s face looked pained. "They want you as husbands. They have never been with any man and would not know what to do with boy toys."


    "Hahaha" Jaredughed. "And so your method of finding them husbands is kidnapping the poor sods and forcing them to marry your ugly spawn?"


    Baron Hughbert''s face paled. He could care less what they though of his daughters. The point of having the twins marry his daughters was to bring legitimacy to his reign in that area of space that was pirate-dominated.


    With the royal twins living there, it would also permanently secure the passageway between dragon space and Erenveil. Once they were publicly married, the twins could be under permanent house arrest so his daughters wouldn''t have to suffer under their hands.


    Baron Hughbert stared at the Emperor. "The longer you dally, the longer you will be stuck in this far-flung corner of the gxy."


    "You need my good will to pass through our pirate space unmolested to get back to Erenveil. It''s your choice."


    As all this was going down, Candace stood there with her mind wide open, letting all her husbands in on the noise that wasing through.


    The men were silent, not because they were speechless but because they wanted to hear what was going on through her mind''s ear.


    Dante and te had already begun assembling and mobilizing their forces, and Byron was already reaching out to Mattheus Cordera.


    ''Jason. Jared. Go with the Baron.'' Dante ordered. "Take over his ship.''


    ''You got it Bro. Back us up and we''ll y along.''


    ''Your back up ising in sixty minutes.'' te snarled. ''Make that fifty-nine.''


    Jared and Jasonughed at each other.


    "Alrightey then, folks." Jason announced to the Emperor and the rest of the group.


    "I''m not going to make anyone wait for anything. No need to force a girl on me." He swaggered like a stud muffin.


    Jaredughed. "That''s right. I don''t mind dipping my stick in a willing chick. It might even feel good!" He shuffled his crotch upward, as if readjusting his junk.


    Candace held her breath, trying hard to hold onto her stoic ss mask. Even with back-uping in an hour, it would still be rather dangerous for them to be onboard the pirate ship, alone and without any other assistance.


    Still, she had to trust her husbands.


    "I''m not going anywhere with anybody." Lyra announced. She turned her bright blue eyes towards Altan. "If you want me, you''ll have toe get me yourself."


    "I would if I could My Beauty, but I am currently on Avalia. Go with your brothers, Jason and Jared. They will transfer you back to Avalia to be with me."


    He spoke as if it was just an ordinary trip that his bride would be taking to join him on their homeworld, as opposed to what it actually was, a bridal kidnapping.


    "Look, me and my brother are willing to go with you, but we are not willing to force our sister toe with us." Jared insisted, hisrge arms folded across his chest.


    The Baron''s eyes narrowed. He only agreed to grabbing the girl to keep Altan happy, but now that his ships were already in ce around the Raptor 650, he no longer needed the Second Prince''s assistance.


    He turned to the twins. "Take a transport pod to the ck Vulture. It will be waiting for you."


    Altan''s green-gold eyes red. "What about Lyra?"


    "I don''t need her. I only want the twins. You figure out how to extract her off the Raptor 650."


    "That was not part of our agreement, Baron." Altan hissed.


    "Our agreement was that you would call back the Avalian forces so my pirate ships could get between them and the Raptor 650. It had nothing to do with the Princess Lyra."


    Altan''s face showed his shock at such tant betrayal.


    "It''s not toote to engage the pirate ships in a fight, Baron." Altan snarled. "You may have the Raptor 650 surrounded, but Avalian forces are all around you."


    S¨¹ren red at Altan. What a stupid fool, to be so easily bested by such a nasty slime ball as the Baron Hughbert.


    "Stand down, Altan." He shot Altan a warning look. "By the time you can get to this ship, there will be nothing left of us but space dust."


    "But he¡ª" Altan pointed at the Baron.


    "Lyra must not be harmed!" S¨¹ren snapped back.


    His brother was such and idiot! Just by breathing Avalian air, he was a danger to the dragon world!


    S¨¹ren turned to the twins. The fact that they had agreed so readily to be taken in meant they had a n up their sleeves.


    Jared gave him the slightest of a wink.


    S¨¹ren nodded.


    "Go.." He gave the finalmand.

 Chapter 247 - The Raptor 104

    As the transport pod carrying the precious green-haired twins moved away from the Raptor 650, the ck Vulture stood waiting with its hangar wide open, like ck maws, waiting to swallow whole, the transport pod.


    On the Raptor 650, the Emperor was pacing back and forth. His repeated tries to contact his sons had been blocked by the pirates who had jammed all theirmunications.


    The only person who could get through to his own ship was S¨¹ren, and only because Altan was still maintaining dragon contact with the Raptor 650.


    Unfortunately, since all frequencies ofmunication were monitored by the pirates, there was no way for S¨¹ren to st outmands to do much of anything.


    All he could do was tell them to maintain status quo, in hopes that he could bring them in as backup to whatever forces that could break through the blockade that had surrounded them.


    Duke Erden stood with his hand around Gwendolyn''s waist, not saying much. The tall thin woman was ethereal, as a queen should be.


    She and the tiny blonde Crown Princess Candace were troopers! They were women, and yet, nothing fazed them! Even the little fifteen-year-old Princess stood defiant and unafraid next to S¨¹ren.


    He was proud of them all. That was how the leading women of the gxy faced challenges. Defiant and unafraid.


    The Duke''s eyes shifted back and forth, taking it all in. He had tried surreptitiously to contact his people, but it was also a futile effort. The pirates had jammed hismunications with his people as well.


    His men were all waiting on the Dragon w, thinking all was well on the Raptor 650. All the pirate ships surrounding the cruise ship should have tipped them off, but there was also the Emperor and the dragon King S¨¹ren onboard.


    Who would dare do such a silly thing as threaten the both of them?


    Who indeed.


    Meanwhile, Candace stood frozen in her spot, intensely listening in on the dry and precisemands and orders that te and Dante were throwing out at their men. No wonder they could rule such a vast entity like the gxy. They were like well-oiled war machines!


    ''Hang in there Baby Girl,'' te murmured at Candace. ''We got you covered.''


    ''They dare threaten my wife¡­" Dante snarled. ''They are obviously tired of living.''


    ''You men do what you must. Don''t worry about me.'' She reassured them.


    ''Don''t worry. You got Erenveil forcesing in thirty-two minutes.'' te intoned with surety.


    He was counting down every minute that was passing by with the cold calcting part of his brain that never forgot and never forgave.


    It kept time along with the passionate bleeding part of his brain that missed his wife so much, he continued to keep the channel within her mind open so he could hear the sound of her heart beating and the rhythm of her breathing.


    The Princes of Erenveil had been the general peace keeping forces throughout the gxy for so long that the gxy forgot something intrinsic about them.


    They weren''t called the Dark Princes of the Shadow Realm for nothing. They had once been the stuff of nightmares. They were the demonic visions that men of ancient past drew on cave walls and spoke of within their nightmares.


    The images of their ck leathery bat wings soaring through the deep dark night, of theirrge razor sharp fangs sinking into the throats of the unsuspecting victims¡­all these were very real.


    They were about to get a taste of how real the Dark Demons of Erenveil were.


    "Open up! Here wee!" Jared yelled into the microphone at the ck Vulture.


    With a whoosh, the transport pod flew in through the open face of the ck Vulture and the maw closed in on itself.


    Once inside, the twins exited the craft without fear.


    A dozen men were waiting for them, with stun weapons drawn.


    Jason and Jared held up their hands and smiled.


    "We''re the Erenveil Princes who are supposed to be marrying your twodies." Jason grinned. "Do you really want to shoot at us?"


    Jared snickered. "If you damage even a little bit, our beautiful male bodies, those two lovelydies are going to kill you."


    The leader of the group inclined his head.


    "Princes. This way please." He turned and led the way, striding through the hallways of the ck Vulture with surety.


    The twins followed the leader, with the remaining eleven following behind them.


    ''Will you take a look at this,'' Jaredughed as he chattered through their shared mind space. ''Thisyout looks just like one of our ships.''


    ''That''s because it is.'' Jason sneered. ''This is one of our older Raptor models.''


    He checked something on his wrist. ''It''s the Raptor 104.''


    Dante sniffed. ''Raptor 104 and Raptor 189 were stolen many years back from one of the raids that happened early on.''


    ''Well then I guess this makes it easy for us, doesn''t it?'' Jaredughed. ''All we need are themand codes. This ship should still be able to recognize its basemands.''


    Danteughed. ''I can give you five minutes of darkness. What you do with that five minutes will determine whether you are worthy of being considered my brothers.''


    Jared sneered. ''We only need one minute.''


    ''Five minutes.'' Dante announced. ''Starting in five, four, three, two, one¡­''


    DARKNESS.


    The onboard lights blinked out instantaneously across the entire ship.


    There was the sound of scuffles and grunts as men went down thudding onto the ship floor.


    Two minutester, a tiny magic light glowed from one of the twins'' fingertips. The twins were both standing upright while a dozen meny prostrate on the floor at their feet.


    ''We got them all.'' Jason breathed a sigh of relief.


    Jared reached out with a finger and fired a pulse of energy at one man who was struggling to rise from the floor.


    ''Now we got them all.'' He sniffed.


    ''Go to the lower engineering deck.'' te took over.


    The twins nodded and began running for the engineering deck. Theyout of the series that started at 100 to 199 were all the same. This ship should be no different.


    The ship was a multi-storied sprawling mega-plex of rooms and halls, but the twins were no mere decorative royal members. They had spent countless years decorating and designing the ships'' living spaces.


    In no time t, they had found themselves within the bowels of the engineeringplex.


    ''We''re in Engineering.'' Jared informed the brothers. He looked around at the almost empty space.


    ''There''s hardly anyone on themand deck.''


    ''Running the ship is mostly automated.'' Danteughed. ''It''s not the dark ages where you need someone to babysit theputers.''


    ''I think I see one guy at the mainputer console.'' Jason said.


    ''Good.'' te answered. ''The ship has most likely been re-engineered, its codes redesigned many times over, but as long as we can gain ess to the physicalmand console, we should be able tomandeer it from there.''


    ''We''re here.'' Jason shot a pulse of energy at the sole engineer who was sitting at the console. ''And we have ess to the ship''s systems console.''


    ''Good.'' te said. "First thing you do is change the root password to something we know.''


    ''I''ll use babycandace all one word.'' Jared said as his fingers danced across the old-fashioned keyboard.


    ''That''s fine,'' te said. ''Disable all ounts so no one else can get in.''


    ''Done.'' Jared said.


    ''Okay. Sit back and rx for about thirty minutes. One of my men have taken over with remote ess and we will be driving that baby for now.''


    ''That''s it?'' Jason asked, crestfallen. ''That''s all the excitement we get?''


    ''That''s it. You guys did good.'' te chuckled.. ''Just sit back and chill.''

 Chapter 248 - Slates Corridor

    True to te''s word, within thirty minutes, there appeared hundreds of Erenveil warships on the horizon. They had sted across pirate space, taking over control of the corridor that linked dragon space to Erenveil.


    Within this corridor, on the Erenveil Prime Warrior''s Command, a permanent patrol station was established that did nothing but fly back and forth between the two dragon-bat spaces.


    On the Raptor 104, Baron Hughbert howled in frustration.


    "What do you mean you can''t get this rust bucket to do what you tell it to? Who''s driving the ship?"


    The captain of the ship shrugged.


    "We don''t know, Your Grace. It seems to be driving itself, most likely remotely controlled."


    "Where is the ship''s engineer?"


    "Sir, I''ve tried to contact the ship''s engineer. It looks as if he is dead."


    "How did he die? Did he choke on some food or trip and hit his head?"


    "No, Your Grace. He was shot by a bolt of energy that disrupted his body''s electrical system. It stopped his heart."


    Baron Hughbert''s face paled.


    "Where are the twins? They came onboard. Where are they?"


    "Sir." Another officer came running onto the Command Deck. "The twelve guards that were sent to escort the twin Princes, they''re all dead."


    Baron Hughbert mmed his hands onto the deck console.


    "Find the twins!!!" He hollered.


    As his men ran off to do his bidding, Baron Hughbert''s face scrunched up into a fearful twist.


    "Get me in touch with all the pirate ships'' captains."


    "Yes, Your Grace."


    Ten minutester, Baron Hughbert sank down onto his chair.


    Half the ships that were floating around in the space around the Raptor 650 had been disabled remotely in the same manner as his own ship had been.


    The remaining ships had been quietly infiltrated by Duke Erden''s men and had been taken over, lock stock and barrel.


    Above his head, the visuals came to life. Three faces appeared from three different screens, but they were simr enough that Baron Hughbert knew they were rted.


    "Baron Hughbert," the first man called out. He had long raven hair and bright blue eyes¡ªthe Erenveil Prime Warrior.


    "Prince¡ªPrince te." Baron Hughbertughed nervously.


    "I hear you have been trying to bully my family." te stared at him with dangerous intent.


    "Yes. My two little brothers are on your ship, fighting for their lives." Prince Dante raised an eyebrow. "What have you done to them?"


    "Going against the directives of the Pirate King. You have some nerve." Prince Byron interjected.


    "The Pirate King gave me jurisdiction of this area!!!" Baron Hughbert sputtered.


    "Did I now?" A fourth face appeared. It was Mattheus Cordera.


    "I specifically told you that the Emperor was going to take a trip through your space to visit family members within dragon space."


    He narrowed his eyes.


    "What did I say, Baron Hughbert? I told you to leave the Emperor''s family alone."


    Baron Hughbert took a deep breath.


    What could he say at this point? He''d been caught, and all because he had thought the space he upied was far-flung enough so that he could do things which the Pirate King could not oversee.


    The Pirate King Mattheus Cordera was now clicking his tongue and shaking his head.


    "Tch. Tch. Unfortunately, since you have done this much damage, there is no recourse other than to cede that entire corridor over to the Erenveilian forces so their people can travel through to dragon space without undue harassment."


    Mattheus Cordera''s face twisted into an evil macabre smile.


    "Do you know what I do to those who disobey a direct order from me?"


    Baron Hughbert shivered uncontrobly.


    "But that''s not what''s worse, Hughbert." Mattheus Cordera waggled a finger.


    "What''s worse was that I had to hand over to the Erenveil Prime Warrior, Prince te, the ENTIRE corridor of space between Erenveil and Avalia as justpensation for the stunt that you just pulled."


    Mattheus Cordera leaned forward, his piercing green eyes full of evil intent.


    "The pirates just lost a huge stretch of extremely valuable real estate space, and it''s all because of YOU. Do you know what happens to those who cause such disastrous losses?"


    A sudden acrid smell rose up as a dark yellow liquid rushed out from themand console seat where Baron Hughbert sat.


    The officers standing around him looked stoic. They wanted to wrinkle their nose in distaste but warrior training dictated they do nothing.


    Mattheus'' hand rose up. He snapped his fingers once.


    From all sides, forces streamed into the Command Deck of the Raptor 104 and hauled Baron Hughbert away. He was so scared, he couldn''t even struggle as his feet dragged his puddle of urine in two long stretches towards the entrance.


    "Ugh. That''s so disgusting!" A voice called out by the entryway.


    It was Jason, the Fourth Prince of Erenveil. He walked into the room with an indifferent stride alongside his twin.


    "Someone clean that up for me. Chop, chop. Hurry it up!" Jason pped his hands a couple of times.


    Jared, the Fifth Prince of Erenveil stood at the Command Deck with his arms akimbo, staring at the wet fluids on the floor.


    "Phew! Make sure you guys use some nice air deodorant too. It stinks in here!"


    "Jason, Jared." Mattheus greeted them from the still-opened visuals monitor.


    "Cousin!" Jason waved a hand. "What took you so long? We were frightened to death by this miscreant you just took away!"


    "Yeah. We almost had to marry his daughters! That''s what was so scary!" Jared shivered.


    Dante and teughed.


    "How is Mother?" te asked.


    "She''s doing well." Jason smiled.


    "Yes." Jared agreed. "She looks quite happy with her new man, the Grand Duke Erden."


    "And Lyra?" Dante asked.


    "She''s the same little sassy girl we know and love. Only this time, she''s got a new person to bully around." Jaredughed.


    "Crown Prince S¨¹ren?" Mattheus asked.


    Jason shook his head. "No. It''s now King S¨¹ren. He just deposed his father and has taken over the throne."


    Matthew Cordera raised an eyebrow.


    "I wasn''t expecting it so soon although I''m d that has finally happened. The dragons deserve a better king than Batsaikhan."


    "Speaking of which," Jared shook his head. "We still have to deal with that asinine Grand Duke Abberbie, the one who instigated all of this to begin with."


    Mattheus Cordera shook his head.


    "I''m afraid that''s beyond my purview since he''s a dragon. I''ve done as much as I can from where I stand."


    "You''ve been very helpful Cousin."


    "I hope this is good enough," Mattheus Cordera sniffed. "te has been kicking my ass about the time on Emporia and this was the onlypensation I could get him to ept so I can get him off my back for kidnapping him."


    te growled deep in his chest, a sound that vibrated so loudly everyone felt chills run down their spines.


    "Why the hell did you do that though, Man?" Jared asked.


    "I needed to bring attention to the old mer king, Mortimer Cordera so I could use Erenveil forces to get rid of him. I sent te back, didn''t I?"


    "You nearly killed him!" Jason spat. "You nearly killed Candace too."


    "That was not my intention and I am sorry about that." Mattheus grimaced. "I took care of those who tried to hurt te and Candace. They are no longer even on this side of reality."


    "You still owe Candace for putting her through all that." Jared narrowed his eyes.


    "I offered myself as payback, but s¡­" Mattheus sighed. "She rejected me."


    "Don''t even think about our wife in that way." Jason warned. "She''s too far above you."


    "Oh believe me, I know." Mattheus shivered. "That woman scares me."


    "So now this corridor between Erenveil and Avalia belongs to te?" Dante asked, his green eyes twinkling with appreciation.


    Mattheus Cordera nodded.


    "Yes."

 Chapter 249 - The Grand Duke Abberbie

    At that very moment, the Grand Duke Abberbie was sitting on his small fishing vessel in the middle of the small lotus pond at the center of his pce.


    His wife had always thought it odd that he enjoyed fishing the tpia that the gardeners released into the ornamental pond in the middle of the huge inner courtyard.


    Shouldn''t a person at least go to a realke and catch real fish, as opposed to sitting on a tiny little thing norger than a small canoe and waste time catching fish that was released into the pond that morning just for his fishing pleasure?


    And if a person truly insisted on catching fish in that ornamental pond, wouldn''t standing on the foot bridge be easier than sitting in a tiny boat?


    The Grand Duke Abberbie did not care what his wife thought. At the crack of dawn, he had paddled out to the middle of that lotus pond and let down the line from his small bamboo pole.


    For all intents and purposes, he looked like amon fisherman, wearing the rough brown fisherman garb. On his head was arge conical hat, and on his feet, watertight ck boots. In the round covered bowl at his foot was a small number of tpia fish that he had just caught that morning.


    It was now mid-morning. The sun was shining. The sky was blue. The puffy clouds were white. Butterflies fluttered and dragonflies swooped.


    Oh look. He had caught another small tpia.


    By the gazebo, Duke Abberbie''s advisors were standing around waiting for him to return from his fishing expedition. They needed to talk with him about very important situations that had just transpired, but nobody dared intrude on his fishing activity.


    What they realized, and that the Duke''s wife did not, was that Duke Abberbie only went fishing when he needed to get away from everyone and just be by himself.


    Leaving the duchy pce was not something that he could do on a whim, but taking himself away from all interruptions for the morning was very doable.


    By noon, he put his pole down and paddled back to shore. It was time to see what, if anything, had happened while he was ''gone''.


    "Your Grace!" His minions came running as he stepped off the tiny boat.


    He handed his pole to one of the advisors and the bowl full of fish to the other and began striding away.


    Both of the advisors were elegantly dressed in their finest court garb and did not want to get fish-tainted pond water on their clothing, but they had no choice.


    They took the fish and the pole with ginger hesitant fingers and ran after him as he walked away from them.


    "Your Grace, King S¨¹ren has arrested Baron Hughbert on charges of insurrection and carrying out a coup, not just against him but also against the Emperor of Erenveil."


    "And what does that have to do with me?"


    "Your Grace, Prince Altan has implicated you."


    "Oh he has, has he?" Duke Abberbie snorted. "And what did he say, not that he has anything to back it up."


    "He said you told him that you would provide the necessary military power to remove King S¨¹ren from power and ce him on the throne."


    "Oh he did, did he? And what has happened to him?"


    "Sir, Prince Altan has now been ced on house arrest."


    "Hmmm. A pity he''s such a sniveling idiot. Why would I ce an idiot on the throne? The only one who is worthy of the throne is S¨¹ren, but he''s an even greater idiot for having rejected my daughter."


    His precious perfect daughter, the one who had been groomed since birth to be the Dragon Queen.


    It was almost a done deal.


    They were already engaged to be married within the year¡ªand the Prince had to return from a wild hare joy ride with an Imperial Princess in tow, proiming her as his new bride.


    Duke Abberbie had insisted King Batsaikhan intervene and when that didn''t go as nned, he had engaged Baron Hughbert with promises of suitable marriage candidates for his daughters.


    Who would not want their children to be Imperial Princesses, married to handsome Princes from the capital world of Erenveil? It would have brought legitimacy to the Baron''s pirate status if the twin Princes had been amenable.


    But who was he kidding?


    Why would two wealthy important Imperial Princes agree to marry some nobody girls from some backwater world in the middle of nowhere?


    Of course Duke Abberbie knew the twin Princes would not agree, but that wasn''t the point. The point was dangling that carrot in front of the Baron to get him to do what the Duke wanted him to do.


    Prince Altan had also fallen for that marriage trap, hook, line, and sinker. With the beautiful Princess Lyra so close to reach, Altan was an easy prey. If S¨¹ren took him down for insurrection, it would be one less thing the Duke had to do.


    Duke Abberbie had been very careful to leave nothing that would lead any merest hint of negative bacsh back to him.


    He would simply sit back and watch what happened. S¨¹ren couldn''t do anything to him anyway. The Duke held in his hand over fifty percent of all the military power of Avalia.


    It would be the heigh of idiocy to fight against him, and S¨¹ren was no idiot. The dragons would weaken to the point where the pirates would take over, and nobody wanted that.


    "Honey! Honey!" The Duke''s wife Minata ran out in a panic as he wasing towards the doorway.


    Her blue-violet hair was a huge mess and her makeup was smeared from the tears that were streaming down her face.


    Duke Abberbie held out his hand.


    "Calm down Minata. Tell me in a few words what the problem is."


    Minata panted. "Sharina has been taken!"


    "What???" Duke Abberbie roared. "By whom???"


    "Prince¡ªKing S¨¹ren! He''s charged her with attempted regicide!"


    Duke Abberbie stood still, shocked to the core of his being.


    Regicide was the murder of, or an attempt to murder the king. On what grounds was S¨¹ren able to charge a simple girl like Sharina with that?


    Suddenly, Duke Abberbie slumped to the ground.


    The aphrodisiac he had given Sharina to make sure S¨¹ren impregnate her had mixed with the powerful anesthesia that King Batsaikhan had given his own son to produce such a terriblebined effect that it had almost killed S¨¹ren.


    There were doctors on hand who could vouch for the efficacy of thebined drugs on S¨¹ren. It was what had sent King Batsaikhan to the dungeon and it was what would send Sharina there as well.


    Regicide only had one oue to the guilty parties.


    Death.


    Duke Abberbie tore off his clothing and ran for his bedroom.


    "Where is my court clothing. I need to go see King S¨¹ren immediately!"


    The advisors ran after him. "Sir. King S¨¹ren is not seeing anyone at the moment. He''s not even at the pce!"


    "Where is he?" Duke Abberbie turned to his advisors with blood in his eyes.


    "He is with his fianc¨¦e''s family onboard the cruise ship Raptor 650, Sir."


    "Call him!" Duke Abberbie howled.


    "Sir, we are trying." The advisors responded. "He is not responding."


    "Call his advisors!"


    "Sir, his advisors are responding but all they can say is that he will be out for several weeks to prepare for his coronation."


    "What about my daughter???"


    "Sir, she is ted to be executed within three days for the crime of regicide."

 Chapter 250 - Rose Pink Bedroom

    With the twins safely back at the Raptor 650, the Emperor headed back to Erenveil along with his retinue of a dozen warships.


    He would be the first to travel along te''s secured corridor, free from the worries of random bandits along the way.


    Dragon patrol warships would maintain half the distance while te''s forces patrolled the other half. Any pirate wandering about would be answerable to the Pirate King, who had dered that space off-limits to pirate ships.


    Two of the stolen pirate ships tailed along with the rest of the retinue going back to Erenveil. Stripped of the pirate identifying markers, it became readily apparent that they were the Raptor 104 and Raptor 189.


    Both of those had been stolen decades ago and had finally been reimed by the twin Princes who had joyfully announced that they were going to be stripped and rebuilt into new residential ships, one for each of the twins.


    As the twins and Candace, along with S¨¹ren and Lyra, headed for the arcade and games area to y, Erden and Gwendolyn found themselves alone and with no one else around.


    They began wandering around the ship that te had gifted his mother, marveling at all the details.


    "With a ship like this, there is no need to fix the Dragon w to the standards that you are ustomed." Duke Erden smiled, looking at the high ceilings and the plush carpeted floors.


    "Do you n to never step foot on the Dragon w again?" Gwendolyn asked.


    "I must! It is my work vehicle." Duke Erden insisted.


    "Then that must mean I am not allowed to set foot there."


    "You must! You will be my wife soon." He cleared his throat.


    "Then while I''m there, I will need afortable bedroom, isn''t that right?"


    Duke Erden shrugged. She could do as she pleased.


    "At the moment, it has a single bed that emerges from the floor when I need it. Most of the time, it is a conference table for me to hold meetings with my men. Sometimes, it''s a desk for me to work on. Sometimes, it''s a dining table to have meals at."


    "So it''s a multi-task room and not really a bedroom."


    Duke Erden gave a pained look. Since when did rooms have designated purposes? Rooms were just spaces that a person lived in, with furniture that changed to suit the needs at any given time.


    Right?


    "I''ve never really seen a bedroom that stayed a bedroom even when no one is using it as a bedroom. It seems like such a waste of space¡­"


    Gwendolynughed. "In that case, I need to show you what a bedroom looks like." She tapped his arm. "Come. Allow me to show you."


    With the guidance of the ship''sputer system, Gwendolyn located her bedroom suite and pressed her hand onto the pad that opened the double doors.


    As the Duke walked in, his eyes grew round with appreciation.


    The room wasrge, taking up the equivalent space of at least six sleeping quarters in a normal spaceship. A soft tinkling of piano sounds filled the air, along with the merest hint of the scent of roses and muguet.


    The walls were papered a blush pink suede with pale pink roses climbing up the barest hint of a silver trellis. On the floor was a blush champagne shag rug.


    There were creamy silknterns hanging in the corners and arger one hanging in the center of the high ceiling. They were lit and throwing off a soft pale light into the room.


    One side of the suite was a seating arrangementprised of a beige leather chaise lounge and two mauve suede wing chairs. The other side was arge jacuzzi that was, at the moment, empty and waiting to be used.


    Severalrge pots of bamboo bushes were scattered about, adding soft green living touches to the space, along with a bowl of flowers on the table in front of the soft couch.


    There was a king bed centered into the wall, attached by a cream colored cushioned headboard made of some soft leather material. Two small nightstands held soft rose shapedmps that were glowing gently, casting their pinkish glow onto the walls and floors.


    On either side of the bed were tworge panes of ss showing the deep darkness of intergctic space, bncing out the softness within. It was the only visible sign that they were on a real cruise ship, out in the middle of deep space.


    "And now I see why a separate bedroom is so important." The Duke breathed as he looked about the ce.


    "Oh?" Gwendolyn''s blue eyes crinkled. "And why is that?"


    "It should be a ce that one does not think about work or meals anything other than what goes on within the bedroom."


    The Duke''s eyes narrowed with passion as he turned back to Gwendolyn. He reached out and touched her chin with a gentle finger, lifting her face up towards him.


    "When I am inside this room, my entire being is filled with only one burning thought, and that is you."


    He lowered his head and pressed a kiss onto her lips. It was a chaste kiss, as he did not want to frighten her.


    But Gwendolyn was no virgin maiden. She was quitefortable with the ways of a man and and a woman.


    She opened wide her mouth and eagerly began thrusting her tongue into his mouth as she reached up and wound her arms around his neck.


    At a full 5''10", Gwendolyn was tall. Erden, however was no slouch, at 6''2". He easily picked her up and took her to the bed where he sat her down.


    "I don''t want to rush you." He murmured into her ear.


    "Oh hush and just kiss me." She responded as she pressed her body closer to his.


    Erden chuckled and reached out with both his hands, cradling Gwen''s head in between them. With tongue and lips, he began exploring his woman''s sweet mouth.


    As he kissed her, his tongue reached into the depths of her mouth, tasting, touching caressing.


    Gwen began shuddering and sighing, her breath getting caught within her throat. His kisses were so powerful, they were starting to affect her senses!


    Bolstered by the knowledge that he had the power to turn her on, Erdin began to let loose a bit of the hunger that he had kept in check all this time.


    He had been so afraid of showing her the depth of his need, for fear of scaring her and driving her away, but it did not seem as if his woman was easily frightened by her man''s desires.


    She, in fact, was goading him on!


    Unmitigated heat began to rise throughout his body, inming his passions as the tips of his fingers and toes began to tingle with desire.


    Erden reached down and unsped the top button of her cor. He needed desperately to nuzzle her neck, to kiss her shoulders.


    As his lips moved down along her neckline, he began to lick and suckle her wherever he could reach.


    Her clothing were too restrictive. He needed to unbutton another button to reach the hollow of her throat where the scented heat of her pulse was emanating.


    Sinking down onto his knees in front of her seated figure, Erden unfastened the second button, exposing the hollow of her throat between her vicles.


    The sight of her bare d¨¦collet¨¦ nearly drove him mad with desire. The Duke was not a young man who had no experience, but Gwendolyn was not just any woman. She had been his secret desire and passion from the first moment heid eyes on her.


    That one-sided crush had turned into full-blown love at the moment she agreed to be his wife. They had never consummated that love before.


    This would be their moment to givepletely to each other, everything they had to give.


    As his lips sought, and found, all the pulse points of her neck and chest, Gwen began fumbling with his warrior outfit.


    He disengaged from her for the short duration of removing his clothing and it felt like forever.


    With his clothing removed, Erden knelt in front of her, offering himself up to anything she asked of him.


    He was herspletely for the taking.

 Chapter 251 - On Bended Knees

    [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT]


    Gwen reached out her hand and touched his chest muscles. They were the muscles that belonged on a battle-hardened warrior, one who flew around on his dragon wings on a regr basis.


    He was strong and powerful, and yet, his heart fluttered in her hand like a little bird. As she continued to touch him, he sighed with deep longing.


    Her hands moved lower and she continued her exploration of his abdomen.


    Erden took a shaky breath. Her fingers were so close to the edge of his wiry pubic hair, it was driving him insane. His hard stiff member pulsed and bounced as he anticipated her touch.


    He wanted to feel her touching him so badly, but he couldn''t rush her. She was still fully clothed! He still had four buttons left to unfasten.


    Reaching out with shaky fingers, Erden tried again. The next button exposed the top swell of her breasts. One more button and both herrge breasts were in full view.


    Erden''s eyes werepelled and drawn to her body. He could not look away from the soft pink aureoles and the hard pink nipples peeking from the top of her bra.


    Gwen reached out and pulled his face into the crevice between her breasts.


    "Kiss me," she murmured, causing him to choke up.


    He could barely breathe.


    He could not believe his face was buried within the chasm of her breasts. His crotch began to burn with desire as his manhood began to leak precum.


    Unable to hold himself back, he quickly pulled thest of her buttons off and threw her shirt onto the floor next to his warrior outfit.


    Gwendolyn stood up and slowly,nguidly began to slip her skirt off. The sight of her wearing nothing but a pair of ckce panties nearly gave him a heart attack.


    She stood there, looking down at him, her long raven ck hair falling around her shoulders in waves. Herrge breasts hung loose, the pink aureoles and nipples peeking out at him.


    And there between the V of her crotch was a tiny ckce bikini, barely hiding anything.


    He could see the little hairs peeking out from between thece pattern and suddenly felt the need to taste her.


    He reached out with both hands and gently separated her legs. With her panties still on, he began touching the area between her legs.


    "Haaaaahhh." Gwen breathed softly.


    Erden looked up at her with soft grey eyes and reached out with a single finger, pushing to one side the crotch of her panties.


    "Hmmm. I see a swollen clit that is begging to be licked." He rumbled deep in his throat.


    "Yes please." Gwendolyn whispered.


    "I''m the one down here on bended knees, Gwen, begging you to please let me lick your clit." He was kneeling at her feet, looking up at her womanhood.


    "Yes." She moaned.


    "Yes what, Gwen. Use your words and give me the orders. Tell me what you want me to do." He murmured although he knew exactly what she wanted.


    "Lick me, Erden." Gwen mewled.


    He stuck out his tongue and gently began licking her swollen bud.


    "Haaaaaaaahhh." She moaned as her body began to moisten.


    "More." She begged as her hands reached out to push his head in closer to her body.


    "Softer? Harder? Faster? Slower?" He asked as he continued to tongue her.


    "Mmmmh. Yes, yes, yes, and yes." She moaned, her legs shaking, barely keeping her upright.


    "Greedy little woman. You want everything." He chuckled as he delved his tongue into her slit, moving at first soft and slow, and then harder and faster.


    "Yes. I want everything, Erden. I want all of you." Her hands rubbed at his dark hair, touched with silver, her stomach quivering with sensations she could barely handle.


    Realizing she could barely stand on her feet, Erden moved her back towards the bed where he again sat her down at the edge of the bed and kneeled down in front of her.


    With one quick flick, he pulled off her ck bikini panties and pushed her legs wide apart.


    He lowered his head and fastened his soft lips around her clit. Then he began a slow gentle suckling of her bud.


    "Aaaaaaahhh. Oh my God that feels so amazing!"


    She had never felt such intense joy coursing through her body before.


    As he licked and suckled her clit, she held herrge breasts with both hands and brought her nipples to her mouth, suckling on each of them in turn to increase the erotic sensations of having all her erogenous zones being sucked at the same time.


    He continued kissing her until her moaning became cries that sounded distressed.


    "Am I hurting you?" He pulled back to ask.


    "Oh no! It feels too good. If you don''t stop, I''m going to¡­"


    "Cum Baby. Cum into my mouth. I want to taste all of you."


    He suckled her some more, fitting two of his fingers inside her opening and gently rubbing at her G spot.


    "Mmmhhm. Hmmmmm. Haaaahhh. Aaaaaahhh." She threw her head back, groaning and mewling.


    Within minutes, Gwen cried out, jerking spastically as the orgasm rolled through her body in waves, cresting and peaking.


    Erden drank down all her nectar, smacking his lips with enjoyment.


    "It''s my turn to suck you." Gwen smiled as she pulled him onto the bed.


    Rolling on top of him, she pushed his legs apart and stuck her tongue out, licking the underside of his shaft.


    From the base deep within his testicles, she ran her tongue up the base of his shaft until she reached the tip.


    Over and over again, she tongued him until Erden''s body arched with pleasure, his head lolling back with soundless cries of ecstasy.


    Without wasting any time, she pushed the length of his shaft into her mouth, tonguing his underside and swallowing his head into her throat.


    Unable to stop himself, Erden began moving his hips, thrusting his hard member into her mouth. Over and over again, he thrusted, hitting the head of his shaft into the back of her throat.


    "Aaaahhh Gwendolyn. What you do to me." He muttered. "I need to fuck you so badly I can barely stand it."


    "Then what are you waiting for, bad boy?" Gwen smiled


    He pulled out of her mouth and wrestled her onto her back with a fierce growl. She was teasing him, the minx!


    From the missionary style, he poised his penis and then, with a few gentle thrusts, he entered her body.


    At that point, his animalistic dragon instinct kicked into full gear and he began to buck with wild abandonment into her. Their male and female parts were rubbing and pounding and biting at each other with unbridled ecstasy.


    There was the sounds of their bodies pping together, over and over and over, amidst the high pitched cries and deep dark groans from both of them, intermingling with each other.


    There was the scent of male and female essences, mingling and mixing and flowing like a river onto the bed, mixed with the glistening of sweatmingling as their bodies worked like finely tuned instruments.


    As Erden began to lose control, his feathered dragon wings began to unfurl from his back, covering them both within its sheltered shadows.


    Grunting and panting, Erden closed her legs together and rested her calves onto his shoulder as he continued to pound his long thick meat into her slit. His face scrunched up as his hard shaft felt her sweet tight crevasse squeezing all around him.


    It was too intense. She was too tight in this position.


    He held her ankles and pulled her legs apart, giving his member a bit more wiggle room as he continued to thrust himself in and out of her.


    Gwendolyn wasing a second time. He could feel it in the way she was arching her back and holding onto the bed for dear life.


    "Haaaaahhh. I''m going toe again Erden¡­aaaaaahhh."


    "Come to me Baby. Give me all you got." He encouraged as he continued pounding into her.


    "Aaaaarghhhhh!!!" He gasped as she began to spasm around his shaft.


    "Aaaaahhhh!!!" She screamed, iling helplessly.


    Her orgasm pushed him over the brink and Erden exploded inside her body.


    "Oh God. Oh my fucking God!" He cried out as he orgasmed, jerking spasmodically within her body.


    For a few minutes, it was all they could do just to cling onto each other and pant. He sank his entire weight onto her body, unable to keep himself off her.


    "Erden." She whispered.


    "Hmmm?" He murmured, still trying to recover.


    "I can''t¡ªbreathe, Love." She whispered again.


    "Hahhh." He heaved himself to one side of her, still panting. "I''m so sorry Baby."


    "Hmmm. Next time, I''m going to be on top so I don''t get crushed." Gwendolyn pouted.


    Erden gave a secret smile into the pillows.


    There was going to be a ''next time''!!!


    =============


    As of Friday morning, we are up to 845 power stones for the week! Just a little bit more and y''all get one more chapter for Wednesday.. We can totally make 1000 power stones by Sunday morning before cut-off time. Let''s do it!!!

 Chapter 252 - A Punishment To Fit The Deed

    Two days onboard the Raptor 650 flew by in a blur, with the twins and Candace spending ytime with Lyra and S¨¹ren while Duke Erden and Mother Gwen hung out in the background and joined in the fun when it suited them.


    On the third day, S¨¹ren was notified early on of a snag in the ns.


    He was in the bathroom going through his daily shaving duties when one of his attendants came in with the news that Sharina''s execution had been dyed for another week on a technicality.


    "What??? By whom?" He snarled, throwing down his shaver, his dark beard shadow half-shaven and looking lopsided.


    "Your Majesty, her father gathered enough signatures from the courts for a retrial."


    S¨¹ren was furious. This was not an execution by trial. This was an executive order by the sitting monarch. Signatures would not matter.


    "Call all the Advisors of the Court. I''m setting up a session in ten minutes."


    "Yes Sir."


    Within ten minutes, S¨¹ren and Erden had taken over one of the 3D offices with a long silver metal conference table and no chairs.


    It looked as if the Advisors were all waiting for this call from S¨¹ren. They all popped into 3D view, sitting in their appropriate spaces at the conference table.


    "Speak." S¨¹ren said tersely. He did not want to waste time. Everyone knew what this was all about.


    "Your Majesty." A tall thin Advisor with a head full of curly brown hair stood up. "We have decided that the order to summarily execute the Lady Sharina needs to be further reviewed. There seems to be anomalies with the situation."


    "Is that right? What anomalies, pray tell?" S¨¹ren sat back, his face deadpan.


    "Well, Your Majesty." He looked at the document in his hand. "There seems to be no evidence that she was the one who did the actual deed."


    "Oh? Pray tell. What deed was that?"


    "The¡ªthe deed that was stated as the reason for her execution."


    "You seem to be well-versed on this situation. Please exin to the rest of the Advisors what deed you are talking about." S¨¹ren cast him a look that promised great future pain.


    "As has been stated. Lady Sharina is to be executed for the attempted regicide, that is, attempted murder upon a reigning monarch."


    The man turned to S¨¹ren with pale watery blue eyes.


    "Your Majesty, the drug that was found in the syringe in your room was not at the dosage or concentration that would have killed you. Therefore, I argue that Lady Sharina did not attempt regicide."


    "I have doctors that will testify that I nearly died, Advisor Krom." S¨¹ren raised an eyebrow.


    "I have read their testaments, yes." Krom nodded, "but as I understand, your near-death experience was due to thebination of two different drugs which interacted badly in your system. Neither of those drugs alone would have caused your body to go into distress."


    "Are you saying she is meless?" S¨¹ren narrowed his eyes.


    "I most certainly am not saying that. I am simply saying that perhaps the judgement to have her executed for the crime of regicide is a bit¡­exaggerated."


    "Hmmm. Thank heavens it was my fianc¨¦e who rescued me from Sharina and not you, or I would be dead as you tried to figure out whether Sharina was actually trying to cause me harm or not."


    "Your Majesty. In all good conscience, although she does need punishment for her deed, we do not believe she deserves the death penalty."


    "Oh? So what do you think would be just punishment for her?"


    Advisor Krom shrugged. "Perhaps a certain amount of time under house arrest should be sufficient. She is not deserving of death, certainly."


    "Krom. How much money did Abberbie pay you people off toe to me and suggest ''house arrest'' as the punishment for nearly killing me?"


    "Your Majesty." Another Advisor spoke up. "I think you should be aware that Duke Abberbie controls 60% of all the military power of the dragon worlds."


    "And?" S¨¹ren leaned forward to stare at the second Advisor.


    He was a swarthy man with greasy green hair that needed washing badly. Even at 3D visuals, S¨¹ren could imagine the wafts of his noxious fumes had he been here in person.


    "Are you saying what I think you''re saying Pouli? That it''s okay for him to attempt to kill me because he controls the majority of the military power?"


    "No no! That''s not what I''m saying." Advisor Pouli waved his hand frantically in protest.


    "I am simply saying that if the death penalty is something that Lady Sharina is facing, shouldn''t the one who drugged you with the first drug also be faced with the same penalty?"


    S¨¹ren gave a smile that chilled everyone in the room.


    "What makes you think that the first person has not already met with his fate?"


    S¨¹ren allowed the Advisors to mutter among themselves for a few minutes as he sat back and took a deep breath.


    What Pouli said in regards to the military strength that Abbevie held was something that he had actually considered in-depth alongside his grand uncle, Duke Erden.


    Duke Abberbie did have a mighty military presence. Engaging with him would be very costly in terms of dragon death tolls.


    "Your Majesty. If you have already punished the first person, would this be enough to assuage your anger so that you can allow Lady Sharina to escape the death penalty?"


    "Ah, so you think I''m doing this out of spite to assuage my anger?" S¨¹ren smiled again.


    Fools.


    S¨¹ren turned to a rotund fellow in the back.


    "Advisor Corben. What is the penalty for assault on a sitting monarch?"


    Corben nched. He was the historian of the Advisory panel, but this wasn''t even a difficult or trick question. Everyone knew the answer to this question.


    "Your Majesty. Assault on a sitting monarch, whether sessful or not, results in the death penalty to be imposed upon the persons or group that instigated it."


    S¨¹ren turned back to Krom and Pouli.


    "Advisor Corben just stated that assault on a sitting monarch, whether sessful or not, will also result in the death penalty."


    "But Your Majesty! Lady Sharina did not assault you!" Krom argued.


    S¨¹ren rolled his eyes.


    He caressed his fingers over the console.


    "Lyra." He called out in a soft tender voice.


    The familiar delicate blushing face of the young girl he loved popped up.


    As she gazed out over the visuals, her brilliant blue eyes crinkled up in a bright smile upon catching sight of his strong rugged face.


    "S¨¹ren! I thought you were busy with meetings today."


    "I am. I''m in the middle of a meeting with my Advisors from Court." He flipped the visual around so she could see the Advisors and they could see her.


    "Listen up Lyra. I want you to describe as clearly as you can what happened when you broke into Sharina''s room the day you rescued me. What happened to me, what Sharina was doing. I want as much detail as you can remember."


    Lyra''s eyes narrowed, her soft red lips pouted.


    She could still see, clear as day, what had happened to her precious S¨¹ren. Her biggest regret was not being able to finish what she started that day.


    "It would be my pleasure."

 Chapter 253 - An Executive Order

    She took a deep breath and began recounting her tale.


    "I went with Duke Erden''s men to rescue S¨¹ren because he had been kidnapped and held at Duke Abberbie''s pce, specifically, inside Sharina''s bedroom."


    A gasp rose up from the various Advisors who were in the room. Apparently, most of them had not been briefed on exactly what had transpired.


    "And what happened when you came into the room?" S¨¹ren prompted.


    Lyra pursed her lips in disgust.


    "I had gone with the Duke''s Number Two and Number Three men who took me straight to Sharina''s bedroom. By the time we reached the doorway, I could hear S¨¹ren howling and yelling out curses."


    "What exactly did he say?" One of the Advisors wanted to know.


    Lyra sighed. "I heard him say things like, ''get away from me bitch or I swear I will kill you!''." Lyra bared her fangs. "He was awake and aware that he was being attacked."


    "And then what happened, Darling?" S¨¹ren asked.


    "The two men who were with me kicked the door in and then I ran in." Her eyes were wide and troubled.


    "S¨¹ren was lying on the bed with his hands tied above his head, like this." She demonstrated, raising her arms above her head, wrists together. "His legs were spread wide open, each ankle tied to a bed post. He didn''t have much clothing on."


    The Advisors cringed with distaste as they looked at each other. This was obviously far worse than they had been led to believe.


    Lyra''s blue eyes began to tear up. The memory was obviously distressing her.


    "S¨¹ren had tried to morph into his dragon self to escape his bonds but his arms had been tied so tight that it obstructed his wings from emerging. It must have been so very painful¡­" Tears began streaming down her face.


    She was a winged being too. She understood the pain of a partially extruded pair of wings.


    "It was obvious to me that he was drugged with something that was torturing him." She covered her mouth for a moment, reliving the moment. "His eyes were wild with pain and he was screaming and cursing at her."


    "Her?" One of the Advisors asked.


    "The brown hair girl named Sharina." Lyra snarled. "She was pulling off her clothes and getting ready to climb onto S¨¹ren''s body."


    "What???" The Advisors turned to her with horror-stricken eyes.


    "Are you all hard-of-hearing?" Lyra snarled. "That girl''s intent was very clear. She was going to force him to have sex with her!"


    Lyra''s blue eyes red red.


    "As soon as I saw that, I ran into the room, morphed into a bat and whacked Sharina''s head with my w to get her off S¨¹ren."


    A collective gasp was heard around the room. They could see this young girl doing such a deed.


    S¨¹ren''s eyes misted. The more she talked, the deeper in love he fell. This was a woman who would have his back in all situations. Indeed, she had proven this over and over again.


    "I grabbed her hair and yanked her backwards, telling her to get off my man. Then I dragged her off his body and onto the floor and started beating the shit out of her." Lyra snarled.


    "And then?" One of the Advisors prompted.


    He could hardly believe this, but if there were two other men in the room with the young Princess Lyra, then it would all check out.


    "Meanwhile, Duke Erden''s men had untied S¨¹ren and were half-carrying him out. I didn''t manage to do much more than that because I had to leave with S¨¹ren and the men."


    Her eyes shot deadly sparks.


    "Otherwise, she would have been dead."


    S¨¹ren waved his hand and her visuals flipped back to face him.


    "Thank you Darling. That was what I needed from you. I''m going to let you go now so I can finish this meeting."


    "Okay." She smiled at him sweetly and threw out her hand to disconnect.


    S¨¹ren turned back to the Advisors.


    "I understand what you are telling me, Advisors." He sighed and stood up. "Amander who is so arrogant as to throw away his own men''s lives over trivialities would not be inmand for long."


    "In this situation, however, it is abundantly clear and has been witnessed by at least three people that an attempt had been made on my life."


    "Aside from the fact that the drugs had nearly killed me, which the physicians can vouch for, I had also been nearly sexually assaulted by Sharina."


    The Advisors frowned and looked down at their hands.


    "R*pews have been on the books for a very long time, but it always applies to women, never to men." He pounded his fists onto the conference table.


    BAAM!!!


    "I am here to tell you that it absolutely does happen to men! I demand the same justice that women who have been sexually assaulted receive."


    The Advisors mumbled amongst themselves.


    "Your Majesty," one of them finally turned back to him. "This is something that we are unable to determine amongst ourselves, as it is not within the purview of the courts."


    S¨¹ren stared at the man, saying nothing.


    "The death order was not an execution by trial." The man continued in his monotone.


    "This was an executive order by the sitting monarch, therefore the gathering of the Advisors'' signatures would not apply in this case. We will be taking our leave at this time."


    They all stood up, bowed once at S¨¹ren, and one-by-one, winked out of the 3D meeting.


    "Isn''t that what I said at the start of the meeting?" S¨¹ren said through gritted teeth at Arden.


    The Duke chuckled. "It takes a girl to fight against a girl. Nobody could resist the crying blue eyes of the beautiful young woman you''ve promised yourself to."


    "We''ve managed to convince the Advisors. We still have to deal with the military forces that Duke Abberbie wields."


    Duke Erden shook his head.


    "I''m not saying this because I want to take advantage of the situation, but have you thought of the fact that your betrothed is the younger sister of Erenveil''s Prime Warrior?"


    S¨¹ren looked over at his uncle.


    "I''m not a man who hides behind his woman."


    "That''s not what I''m saying." Erden shook his head. "You may not be hiding behind her skirts, but her brother te already knows the situation."


    "Whether or not he thinks of you as a suitable marriage partner for his sister is besides the point. The point is, her mother is going to be my wife, and she will be here."


    "Lyra¡ª"


    "Lyra will remain here with her mother. She has already spoken of her decision to stay with her mother."


    "Be that as it may, I''m not going to ask the Erenveil Prime Warrior to help me fight a civil war just to keep my throne intact." S¨¹ren heaved a sigh.


    Erden shook his head. "te''s mother and sister are in Avalia. Do you honestly think he will sit back and watch while all around them, a sea of battle ensues?"


    S¨¹ren shook his head.


    Duke Erden smiled. "There is also another woman you have to consider."


    S¨¹ren turned a questioning nce at his great uncle.


    "The Crown Princess Candace Farrah is also here. Do you know how important she is?"


    S¨¹ren nodded. Of course he knew. The woman was famous.


    "While she is still in dragon space, Abberbie will not be stupid enough to start anything. However, I can guarantee you that before dawn tomorrow, something will happen."


    S¨¹ren nodded.


    Sharina was, at the moment, the most heavily guarded prisoner in the Avalian dungeon. Dawn was the appointed time that Sharina would be executed.


    Whatever happened would ur in the hours right before dawn.

 Chapter 254 - The Last Stand

    Midnight blew across the darkened spires of Avalia''s Dragon Pce, swirling the fireflies around the fragrantvender and rosemary meadows.


    Thergest of the three moons, a pinkish gold sphere, shone weakly onto the rugged ins below. Tendrils of hazy wispy clouds hovered over its face, obscuring some of its details.


    The medium-sized greenish moon was a bit paler, less obtrusive, but it did give out a decent amount of light. It hung high on the horizon, next to the tiny blue moon that gave out the least amount of light.


    Three full moons. There would be very little cover for any covert operation.


    High atop one of the watch towers, a single solitary man stood watch. Stray wisps of his hair blew across his face with the murmuring gusty winds.


    His eyes were alert, his senses humming. He had been standing on high alert for hours now but he continued his vigil without cessation.


    If there was one night when all hell broke loose during the witching hour, it would be tonight.


    "Nothing yet." He spoke into thin air. "East Tower is quiet."


    He paused for a moment, obviously listening to someone say something.


    "From the Southeast you say?" He cocked his head, listening and watching the southeast side. "I still don''t see anything."


    His sharp dragon eyes continued to scan the horizon.


    Nothing was happening save for the rustling of the winds through the willows on the ground near the trickling creek that ran down the craggy hillside to feed into the pce ponds.


    Suddenly, from below the horizon, hundreds¡ªno thousands of dragons on the wing rose up.


    "They''re here!" He sounded the alert. "Thousands of them, flying in from the southeast! Sound the rm!"


    On hismand, horns began ring, breaking the silence of the night.


    From below his watch tower, hundreds of his fellow warriors began teeming forward taking up their positions.


    "Get ready! They''reing!" He shouted.


    In no time t, the hordes of dragons flying in formation began to descend from the sky.


    "Fire at will! Fire at will!" Themands came as hundreds of pulse beams began shooting up from the ground to hit with solid thuds, the force shields of the dragons that were flying in.


    There were hundreds of shooters but there were thousands of fliers.


    Once half the fliersnded within the courtyards, the shooters used their weapons as bludgeoning tools as hand-to-handbat began.


    ck-d Royal Guards with red cors and red sleeves fought against Duke Abberbie''s ck-d warriors with green cors and green sleeves.


    Screams and shouts rang out everywhere as friends fought against friends. Brothers fought against brothers. Fathers fought against sons.


    The rtively small space of the courtyard did have one redeeming quality. It limited the number of attackers who could descend into the pce.


    From the courtyard, bands of ck-green dragons fought with ck-red dragons to break through into the inner sanctum of the pce.


    Their objective¡ªto rescue the girl who was to be put to death tomorrow.


    If they seeded, it would be a civil war which would depose King S¨¹ren, thetest Dragon King to ascend the throne, to make way for Duke Abberbie to be the new Dragon King.


    If they failed, it would be status quo and Duke Abberbie, along with his entire family and retinue of followers, would be ughtered for the crime of insurrection and uprising.


    It was a civil battle that was truly horrific in scope and scale.


    In a very short amount of time, there were hundreds and hundreds of dragon warrior deaths on both sides, all on ount of a single female who was imprisoned within the dungeon keeps of the Avalian pce walls.


    As the ck-green dragons fought to gain traction into the pce, they were met on all sides by King S¨¹ren''s forces.


    Someone set a section of the pce on fire. Screams and howls began to get desperate as people trapped within that one section of the pce began to die a horrible death of smoke inhtion and burns.


    The smell of burning wood merged with the stench of burning flesh. It was a revolting unique odor of wood smoke and a strange sweet charred smell simr to that of roast pork.


    Women began to join men in the desperate battle, fighting invaders as well as quelling the fires with water hoses and buckets.


    More ck and green warriors poured into the pce. The pce royal guards were barely holding their ground, meeting every new warrior with a fresh warrior of their own.


    High above, within the safety of an Avalian warship, Duke Abberbie gazed down at the forces on the ground.


    His curly brown hair, rotund body and jowled cheeks were by no means jolly. He couldn''t be much more serious than he was at that very moment.


    At the height that his warship was hovering, he could not see much, but the visuals zooming in on the pce grounds were adequate for him to make out the battle raging below.


    Duke Abberbie''s aim was not to win this battle. He only wanted to extract his daughter from the dark desperate dungeon they had held her.


    Unfortunately, the pce defense was very tight. The only way to extract her was to win a fight that he did not want to engage in.


    His attempt to buy off the Advisors had failed and so there was no other choice but to send his troops in.


    Duke Abberbie stood at the window of the ship, looking down at the light show on the ground. His eyes were tragic.


    Although he could not hear the raging battle, he knew that dragons on both sides were being ughtered for what would seem to be no good reason at all. They were weakening their dragon forces for nothing!


    Damn S¨¹ren! It didn''t have to be like this.


    All he wanted was for S¨¹ren to marry his daughter and take over the throne in an orderly peaceful manner. Why did S¨¹ren have to make a big deal out of marrying Sharina?


    If he really wanted the Erenveil Princess, he could have simply taken the girl as a Royal Consort. Although Sharina would have been a bit upset about that, no one would truly care.


    Lyra was just a minor princess from a minor Royal Consort. Being a Royal Consort herself to the Dragon King would not have been an insult.


    Instead, what had happened? S¨¹ren had fought like a hell hound against the idea of marrying Sharina. In ast desperate attempt to snare him, Sharina had done what he told her to do and was now on death row.


    Damn S¨¹ren!!!


    Duke Abberbie had been more than willing to cut a deal to get his daughter out, but S¨¹ren did not even want to discuss any options!


    It was all S¨¹ren''s fault! Because of him, there would be such wanton destruction of the pce and the deaths of so many people!


    Duke Abberbie mmed his hand against the ss window.


    His daughter certainly did not deserve to die. How was she to know that S¨¹ren would have reacted so badly to the drugs?


    "Your Grace!" An attendant ran into the room. "The Royal Troops are flying up to fight an aerial battle!"


    Duke Abberbie scowled. Aerial battles were even more costly in terms of dragon lives.


    The Royal Guard were not even waiting for his forces tond. They were engaging them in the air!


    This was hisst chance to extract Sharina. There would be no more chances.


    "Call in the remaining ground troops. Flood the pce. I want my daughter out of there whatever it takes!" He yelled.


    "Yes Sir!" The attendant ran out of the room to do his bidding.

 Chapter 255 - White Flag

    Down on the ground, the Royal Troops were starting to falter. The Duke''s men were pouring in from everywhere! North, south, east, west, they were flying in, thick as thieves.


    They could not just sit there and wait to be ughtered. They had to fly up and meet with the enemies, head-on.


    From above, a multitude of sh-bang colors of light began to explode, ripping apart the darkness, as ground troops began to take to the skies, meeting the iing invaders and going head-to-head in the air.


    Yells and screams, both aerial and on the ground raged on as the fighting intensified. Bodies of fallen warriors thudded to the ground as they were in from above.


    Suddenly, from the northwest horizon, more flying warriors began to descend.


    The Royal Guards looked on with helpless eyes. There were thousands more, pouring in from the side that they thought had been secured by their own people.


    With desperate yells, they held their ground and continued to do battle with those already on the ground.


    As the fliers streamed towards the smoking pce grounds, the warriors suddenly realized something tremendous.


    The fliers from the northwest were of a different breed of warrior! They wore solid ck and had leather bat wings!


    A cheer rose up from the ranks of the royal guards. Their new king had powerful allies! They were not going to be beaten!


    This was reinforcement sent from the Erenveil Prime Warrior! With Erenveil on their side, there was no way they could lose!


    They began chanting S¨¹ren''s name as their battle cry.


    S¨¹ren! S¨¹ren! S¨¹ren!


    Someone began crying out another name.


    Lyra! Lyra! Lyra!


    Everyone knew who Princess Lyra was¡ªthe Erenveil Prime Warrior''s little sister, and King S¨¹ren''s betrothed.


    Their future Queen!


    In no time t, a horde of bats began to descend into the chaos that was raging below.


    Going straight for the ck-green dragons, they fought side-by-side with the pce defenders, easily dealing death blows with their weapons.


    Duke Abberbie knew the jig was up as soon as he saw Erenveil''s warships dot the space around Avalia.


    Their physical presence high above the capital alone was enough to win the battle, but they had actuallynded their troops and flown in to assist the Royal Guards.


    "Call the troops back. Fly the white g." Duke Abberbie gave the unflinchingmand.


    And just like that, within the early hours of the new day, Duke Abberbie''s forces surrendered.


    As powerful as they were, with as many numbers of troops as Duke Abberbie had, they could not rise up against the Imperial forces that were backing up King S¨¹ren.


    Hundreds of Erenveil warships converged onto dragon space for that single fight, joining the ranks of King S¨¹ren''s own warships. With te''s reinforcement, their numbers swelled to triple that of the Duke''s warships.


    No shot was fired from the warships. All it took was their overwhelming presence in the sky for the Duke''s men to quail in fright and surrender.


    The Grand Duke Erden was seated at the Command Console staring out over an ocean of deep space, dotted with warships.


    There were hundreds and hundreds of star-ss Raptors that were under the control of the Prime Warrior. Hovering alongside them were hundreds and hundreds more of the dragon warships, Draken ws.


    Once the surrender order had been given, the remaining Draken ws which once were under Duke Abberbie''s control were suddenly transferred over to the Dragon Prime Warrior, the Grand Duke Erden.


    "Which warship is Duke Abberbie on?" Erden asked his attendant.


    "Sir, Duke Abberbie is on the Draken w 328."


    "Land the Draken w 328. Take the Duke and his retinue into custody."


    "Yes Sir."


    The Royal Guards took no time in arresting all of the Duke''s attendants and advisors as well as his entire family.


    At dawn that morning, the entirety of Duke Abberbie''s family, including Sharina, the girl who had started the entire war, were summarily executed.


    It was a hard and sad day, but justice was swift. As always, attempted uprisings against the reigning monarch always ended in death.


    A single pulse beam to the head for each member ended Duke Abberbie''s entire lineage, along with the heads of states who had followed him and led the insurrection and uprising.


    ============


    That night, S¨¹ren made his way to the dungeon, deep in the bowels of Avalia castle.


    Four of his men followed him, marching through several sets of locked doors with heavy thudding footsteps until they reached the final keep.


    "Altan. Father." He called out.


    The old King Batsaikhan was too far gone to even notice his oldest son was standing outside the iron gates. He had gone partially mad from all the drugs that his wife had shot into him.


    The Second Prince Altan red at him with eyes full of hatred.


    "Just so you know, we quelled the uprising with minimal damage and low casualty." S¨¹ren gave him a quiet look.


    "You sicken me. All those deaths are on your bloody hands!" Altan snarled.


    "Those people didn''t have to die, Altan." S¨¹ren sighed. "We all failed them by starting a war that should have never been started. Dragon fighting against dragon. We''re all brothers and we kill each other as if we''re enemies."


    "Do you not understand that brothers vying for the throne be natural enemies?" Altan spat.


    "Fool." S¨¹ren red at Altan. "The Erenveil Empire has SEVEN brothers, three of them are Crown Princes and share duties. They all work together, and because they are united, nobody can break them. That''s how they remain on top and rule over our entire gxy."


    "Pshah. They are bats, not dragons. We dragons are a strong race of warriors. The bats are morons."


    S¨¹ren narrowed his eyes. He wished he had brothers like the Erenveil princes, who had each other''s backs. It was such a lonely existence when his own brothers hated him for being a Crown Prince.


    "And yet you were the one who wanted to marry Lyra. She is a bat, you know."


    "Females are different. As long as they arepliant, nobody cares about how smart or dumb they are."


    S¨¹ren suddenly felt sick to his stomach. He was standing too close to the source that was making him sick, namely his brother with the putrid attitude towards the precious woman he loved.


    "I don''t care to argue with you about your prejudices. I could care less what your opinion is of my bride''s family."


    He took a shuddering breath to quell his sudden queasiness.


    "I came to tell you that Duke Abberbie'' entire family has been executed. Your good friend Baron Hughbert is also done for."


    He pointed at Altan with the force ofmand.


    "Your hopes to use them to destroy the throne has beenpletely snuffed out. Since you are my brother, I won''t kill you. However, you have proven to be too dangerous to be set free. Your crimes are too heinous. You will be staying here for awhile."


    Altan beganughing. It was a wild maniacalughter that sent chills down the spines of all those standing around. The man truly had gone mad.


    S¨¹ren turned away and left the crazy sounds of his brother''sughter behind. He didn''t have time to deal with this one brother who had caused so much grief.


    As he walked away, his mind wandered to his other brothers of the same father.


    King Batsaikhan was a prolific breeder. S¨¹ren had two-dozen other brothers to have to contend with.


    Half of them were under the age of consent. The other half were in various paper-pushing positions, with multiple wives and multiple children to have to take care of.


    None of them had much power and would never be a threat to him. He would order their mothers to be freed of their marriage to the former King Batsaikhan.


    He had seen how his mother had been treated by his father.


    His beautiful mother who was the precious pride and joy of her family had turned into an embittered woman, dried to the husk from a man who cared nothing for her.


    S¨¹ren took a deep breath as he exited the dungeon keep.


    His mother was finally free.

 Chapter 256 - [Bonus ] Homeless Beach Bum

    Byron sat on a hammock, swingingzily on the limbs of a huge por tree that was hovering above Peoria.


    The tree was ancient, nted at least two hundred years in the past, when huge flying clods of dirt were the popr thing to have magically floating about thends.


    The art of creating flying inds was not lost. There were still a few who tinkered with creating them, namely his two fool brothers, Jared and Jason.


    It was just a ming pain to keep them from deteriorating over time. There was also rain and snow and high winds, all of which wrecked the ind unless there was someone who was there all the time to maintain the floating ind and to protect it from the elements.


    Nowadays, all those who had the means simply had a cruise ship built. Much easier to maintain, and far less costly.


    But of course, nothing could beat lying on a hammock strung between the limbs of an aged tree, floating hundreds of feet above the ground.


    Byron sighed and tried again to call up Leonardo. He had been trying to reach the man for over a week, but Leo was either so busy that he was refusing contact from his own family on purpose¡ªor something was very wrong.


    It had gotten to the point where, even if Byron was bogged down with Embassy work to stabilize rtions between the birds and Erenveil, he was going to need to personally go and find Leo. There were monkey wrenches that still needed to be thrown.


    "Where in heck are you?" Lucas asked, looking around at Byron''s background.


    Byronughed and switched views so Lucas could see the scenery that he was looking at.


    "Oh, it looks like you''re on a floating ind, like what the twins have."


    "Close, but no cigar. This ind is muchrger than the twins'' floating clod of dirt. There are a dozen homes located on here, along with arge mansion for the visiting royal dignitaries."


    "Hmmm. Is that where you''ve been put up?"


    Byron nodded. "Peoria is and of flying birds. They enjoy living above the clouds so there are far more of these flying inds than Erenveil." He indicated with his hand.


    "But you see where I prefer to spend my time." He pulled back the view to show his perch on the tree hammock.


    "Yikes!" Lucas squawked. "A gust of wind can just blow you off that hammock and you''d go plunging out of the sky!"


    "And? It''s not like I can''t just sprout wings and fly."


    Lucas grimaced. "So what''s up? I''m sure you''re not just calling me to brag about being on top of the world in Peoria while I''m down here in Erenveil with the natives."


    He panned out to show a school of porpoises dancing on the waves beyond his surf board.


    "Lucas." Byron watched the porpoises ying with a serious face. "I can''t get in touch with Leo."


    "What?" Lucas'' face came back onscreen. "Isn''t he on his hospital ship?"


    "Yeah, which one?"


    Lucas scratched his head. Leonardo had hundreds of ships.


    "I bet te knows where he is."


    Byron sighed and waved a hand to connect to te.


    Within a matter of minutes, the Prime Warrior of Erenveil popped up on a split screen next to Lucas, his eyes red-rimmed fromck of sleep.


    "What''s going on Byron? Lucas?" te gave a weary smile.


    "You heard from Leotely?" Lucas jumped into the crux of the matter without preamble.


    te shook his head. "Situations have been tense all over the gxy and I''ve been putting out fires everywhere. Latest emergency was the uprising on the dragon world of Avalia. I haven''t had a chance to do much else."


    "We can''t get in touch with Leo." Byron interjected.


    "What?" te waved a hand, sending a hailing frequency at Leo.


    No answer.


    A few more unsessful attempts and te grimaced. "Just great. This would have been a good time to connect via Candace''s mind space."


    Lucas sighed. "Except he''s the only one she hasn''t had a chance to mind-connect yet."


    "Listen, I''m the only one right now who''s got freaking nothing to do." Lucas waved his hand at the paradise he''d been stuck on for weeks.


    "I''ve been here on my ind, surfing every day, eating kalua pork and lomi salmon, and sleeping till noon. I can go find him."


    "What a terrible existence, Lucas." te grimaced with jealousy.


    Byron rubbed his jaw. "He''s gotta be at one of his hospital ships. All we have to do is start making calls to his people and they will know where he is."


    te nodded. "Do it. And let me know what you find."


    The brothers nodded in agreement and parted ways with Lucas and Byron splitting the number of ships they would contact.


    Lucas gritted his teeth and started calling.


    "Hi! This is Lucas. Is my brother Leo on the ship? No? Okay thank you!"


    "Hi! This is Lucas. Yes, yes. Prince Lucas. Would Leonardo happen to be¡ªno? Okay thanks!"


    "Hi! This is Prince Lucas¡ª"


    Halfway through Lucas'' list, Byron called him back.


    "Found him."


    "Where?"


    "Not far from where you are, but for some reason, he''s not keen on talking much."


    "What do you mean?" Lucas gave him a suspicious look. "Leo has always been an open friendly kinda guy."


    Byron took a deep breath. "Something is wrong. We need to go check on him, Lucas."


    "You and me both?"


    "Yeah. I would go alone, but you''re his closest brother since you both have the same mother. I''d feel better if we both went together."


    Lucas nodded. "Okay. Let me get dressed and I''ll meet you there."


    "I''lle by your ind and pick you up. Be ready in an hour."


    Within the hour, Byron''s transport pod had made the trip to Lucas'' semi-deserted ind out in the middle of Erenveil''s Baria Ocean.


    He had barelynded when a deeply tanned, long haired white-blond beach bum ran up, his hair whipping in coarse straw-like strands around his face.


    "Oh my Lord, Lucas. What have you done to yourself?"


    Lucas scratched his head. "I haven''t done anything. All my pink dye faded from my hair, maybe that''s why you think I look strange."


    "No man. I think you look strange because you look strange. Like some homeless beach bum!"


    Lucasughed. "I have another week before Candace returns from Avalia. I''ll clean up myself by then."


    Byron cleared his throat. "You''re gonna need a lot of help to get back to being the best looking prince of Erenveil. Right now, you just look kinda like a grungy surfer dude."


    Lucasughed.. "Let''s go."

 Chapter 257 - [Bonus ] Leonardos Dilemma

    The Alpha Vetiver Hospital was a greenish gray ship that had seen better days. Still, as a hospital, it was well-equipped with everything that was needed to do what it was meant to do. Save lives.


    They had called ahead of time to inform Leonardo that they would be arriving, so once Lucas an Byronnded, a small team of attendants met them at the hangar and escorted them to the Command Deck.


    As soon as Lucas stepped onto the Command Deck, he knew something was off.


    Way off!


    "Leo!" Byron strode over andtched onto the man in the white and gold Royal Physician robe.


    Leonardo''s long blond hair streamed out loose and unfettered in the light like a golden waterfall, framing a ssically beautiful male face with aquamarine eyes.


    "Hey Leo." Lucas called out to the familiar white-robed figure of his younger brother, the esteemed physician of the family.


    Leonardo turned to them with a grim smile.


    "You guys finally found me."


    Lucas and Byron nced at each other. What the hell had happened to Leonardo?


    "Were you trying to hide from us?" Lucas moved closer to Leonardo.


    Leonardo shrugged. "Maybe."


    "Hey man." Byron turned back to face Leonardo. "What''s going on? I haven''t been able to talk to you for over two weeks."


    Leonardo shook his head.


    "Nothing. There''s nothing''s wrong."


    "Are you okay?" Lucas approached him, hands outstretched.


    Leonardo dodged his touch.


    "I''m fine." His eyes avoided their probing looks. "Why are you guys here?"


    "I can''t believe you''re actually asking us a question like that." Byron shook his head. "Since when do we have to have a reason to talk to you?"


    Lucas tapped Leonardo on the shoulder. "Yeah man. I haven''t seen or heard from you in over two weeks, and it wasn''t forck of trying."


    "Well here I am." Leonardo turned back to look at them with determined aqua blue eyes. "What''s up?"


    Lucas and Byron shot warning looks at each other.


    "Let''s go get a drink, shall we?" Byron gave a roar ofughter. "I suddenly feel like a good stiff one."


    "I''m up for that." Lucas chimed in, although it wasn''t even lunch time yet. "Let''s get your favorite drink, Leo. When was thest time you had a mojito, eh?"


    Byron and Lucas linked their arms through Leonardo''s and began leading him away from the Command Deck.


    "Darling!" A voice called out from the entrance. "Where are you going?"


    Lucas and Byron mouthed the word ''darling?'' at each other and turned back to the entrance.


    Standing at the entrance was Olivia Faraday, dressed in a pinkish gold outfit thatplemented her silver blonde hair and herrge dark brown eyes.


    She eyed Lucas and Byron with a questioning gaze.


    "Olivia???" Lucas gasped. "What are you doing here?"


    Olivia blinked. "I live here with Leo."


    "You what? Don''t you have a home?" Byron sputtered.


    "Of course I do." She pointed at Leonardo. "He''s my home. Wherever my husband goes, I follow."


    For a moment, Lucas and Byron froze. What the hell was going on?


    "Leo." Byron turned back to Leonardo, muttering into his ear. "Candace ising back in a week."


    At the mention of Candace''s name, Leo jerked his arms away from Lucas and Byron.


    "What does that have to do with me?"


    "Leo. What is the matter with you?" Lucas muttered under his breath. "Have you forgotten your own wife?"


    Leonardo turned back to look at Olivia.


    "I have forgotten nothing."


    "Well at least there''s that." Byron chuffed. "I thought you''d gone senile in your advanced age."


    Leonardo red at Byron. "I''m younger than you are."


    "Well you''re acting super weird, so forgive me if I''m a little confused right now."


    Suddenly, Byron gasped. "Oh hey. You still have the Avgo shard, right?"


    "What about it?" Leonard turned away.


    "Candace needs it back."


    "Sorry. I lost the shard."


    "What???" Lucas whipped his head back and yanked on Leonardo''s arm. "I don''t care what''s going down here. We need to have a talk."


    Byron turned back and smiled at Olivia. "It''s okay. We''re just his brothers. We''re going to take him and have a drink. You stay here."


    And without further ado, Lucas and Byron hauled Leonardo out of the Command Deck and into the elevator that would take them to the ship''s lounge.


    Since this was a hospital ship, there was very little in the way of decorative interior designs.


    A basic bar running the length of one wall faced a number of couches arranged in small seating arrangement overlooking a half-dozenrge panels of ss overlooking deep space with bright stars spread out like a kaleidoscope as far as the eyes could see.


    They quickly made their way to the bar and took a stool each.


    "A mojito for the doctor, please." Byron called out to the bar attendant. "I''ll have a mint julep and he''ll have¡­" he turned back to Lucas. "What is it you always drink?"


    "I''ll take a Pi?a cda." Lucas responded automatically. He''d gotten so sick of rum drinks, being on the ind for weeks, but he couldn''t think of anything else at the moment.


    Byron grimaced. "You and your pi?a cdas."


    He turned to Leonardo.


    "Okay. Spit it out. What exactly happened between you and Olivia Faraday?"


    Leonardo squeezed shut his eyes. There was no way to keep this from his brothers. He might as well face the music.


    "Me and Olivia¡­" Leonardo took a deep breath.


    "You and Olivia what?" Byron red at Leonardo.


    "Me and Olivia, we''re a couple now." Leonardo muttered, his voice so low, they could barely hear his words.


    "Hold on." Lucas ced his pi?a cda down onto the counter with a bang.


    "Say it again, slowly so your beach bum brother can follow along. What the hell happened between you and Olivia?"


    Leonardo closed his eyes. These were his closest family members. There was no one closer to him than his brothers. If he couldn''t talk to them, who could he talk to?


    "I slept with Olivia, so now I have to marry her.." He uttered with anguish.

 Chapter 258 - [Bonus ] Second Chances

    "What?" Lucas scowled at Leonardo. "You do realize that just humping some random chick is not going to make that chick your bride, right?"


    Byron frowned. "Yeah Man, if I had to marry every single person I slept with, I''d have a harem sorge there wouldn''t be a pce I owned that could handle them all."


    He raised his eyebrows. "Of course, ever since I met Candace, I''ve been like a celibate monk." He rubbed at his chest. "I''ve been protecting this shard with my life."


    Lucas pressed his lips into a tight line. He was not about to tell them he''d been ''deflowered'' by Candace.


    Wait. Did men have flowers to be ''deflowered''? Lucas didn''t know the answer to that, but he didn''t have much time to think about it. Leonardo was speaking again.


    "You don''t understand. She''s pregnant." Leonard shook his head.


    "Wait¡ªwhat???" Lucas shook his head. "The Avgo shard¡­"


    "I shot it into her." Leonardo muttered, looking absolutely miserable.


    Byron and Lucas looked at each other.


    "Man. Is that even possible? I thought the Avgo only goes where it wants to go." Lucas pondered.


    Byron nodded. "That''s absolutely correct. It knows its mother, Leo. It''s not going to go to another woman." Byron murmured, rubbing his jaw.


    "Wait. How did that happen?" Lucas waved a hand in protest. "Tell me exactly what happened."


    Leonardo nodded. "One night, almost four weeks ago, me and Olivia were workingte. I was trying to fix her wings, remember?"


    At Lucas'' and Byron''s nods, he continued.


    "It got superte. She was in some pain, so I suggested that we get a couple of drinks to rx her wing muscles a bit."


    "A couple¡ªa couple of drinks?" Lucas'' eyes bulged.


    "Yeah." Leonardo looked at the tumbler in his hands. "I had my usual mojito and she drank some other thing, I don''t remember what¡­"


    "Leo, a couple of mojitos wouldn''t do anything to you. It would take at least a dozen of these concoctions before you even felt it!" Lucas waved a hand. "You can hold your liquor better than anyone I know!"


    "That''s true but for some weird reason, I gotpletely stered that night." Leonardo shook his head.


    "Maybe I was exhausted. Maybe I just had an off-day. I don''t know, but I had no idea what hit me." He rubbed both hands at his temples.


    "By morning, I woke up and she was sleeping beside me."


    "You slept with her?" Byron scratched his head. "No, let me rephrase it. Did you have sex with her?"


    Leonardo nodded.


    "Do you remember any of it?"


    Leonardo shook his head. "I just remember waking up naked and she was with me, also naked."


    "And afterwards, did you sleep with her again?"


    Leonardo shook his head. "I was too ashamed."


    "Ashamed?" Lucas'' eyes bulged.


    Leonardo sighed. "It''s a horrible feeling, Brother. I feel sick to my stomach. I cheated on Candace, and I don''t even remember doing it!"


    "Man!" Byron shook his head.


    "I don''t know what to tell you, Bro. How are you going to tell Candace? She''sing home in less than a week!"


    "Fuck if I know!!!" Leonardo cursed. ''I was going to try and mitigate it on my end, y it down and make it inconsequential, but Olivia wouldn''t have any of that."


    "What do you mean?" Lucas turned glittering angry eyes at his brother.


    Leonardo took a deep swallow of his mojito and gasped as the alcohol hit the back of his throat.


    "She started calling me her husband in front of everyone, and since we''d been seen sleeping in the same bed, everyone began to assume I''d taken a consort."


    "You could have objected and killed the noise." Byron sighed.


    "I couldn''t. She took a pregnancy test and the test came back positive. She''s pregnant, Byron." Leonardo covered his face with both hands.


    "Oh Man." Byron growled a deep frustrated sound.


    "A few days after that, I got a message from Father saying that he had arranged it so that she would be my legal wife. I hadn''t even told him about the pregnancy, but I figured she had told her family and between them and Father, it was a done deal."


    Lucas mmed his hand onto Leonardo''s jacket and pulled him closer. With his other hand, he touched Leonardo''s chest, his eyes narrowing in focus. A few secondster, he clicked his tongue in disgust.


    "Tch. What the hell are you talking about Leo???"


    "Huh?" Leonardo blinked at his brother in confusion.


    "I can still feel the Avgo shard inside your chest!!!"


    "What?" Leonardo''s mouth was open, not quite understanding what Lucas meant.


    Byron grimaced and reached out, grabbing onto both of Leonardo''s hands. He mmed one palm into his chest and one palm into Lucas'' chest.


    "Feel the difference?"


    Leonardo blinked and began to focus on the heart muscles of the two men in front of him. Suddenly, his eyes widened.


    "Lucas'' heart does not have the Avgo shard and you¡ª"


    "I still have the shard. I haven''t had a chance to return it to our wife yet. Now." He pulled the hand that was touching Luca''s chest. "Touch your own chest. What do you feel?"


    "Feels¡­as if you and I both still have the shard inside us." Leonardo squeezed his eyes shut and began breathing in ragged breaths.


    He hadn''t been able to find his shard because it had been with him for awhile and he had gotten used to its presence. Once he touched Lucas'' chest that had been devoid of the fragment however, he could tell the difference immediately.


    "Oh thank God. I still have the Avgo shard. Thank you Lord!!! Thank you. Thank you." Leonardo continued muttering to himself, a tear rolling down his face.


    "Believe me, you would know if you delivered that shard." Lucasughed.


    Leonardo opened his eyes. "How?"


    "Not to give spoilers or anything but it honestly feels like a terrible excruciating heart attack." Lucas rubbed at his chest in remembered pain.


    "Oh yeah?" Byron asked.


    "Man. Not gonna lie. The pain was so intense, I nearly passed out!"


    "I don''t care." Leonardo covered his face with both hands. "I want to feel that pain. I need to go see Candace right now. I desperately need to see her again."


    "I understand how you feel, Brother." Byron sighed. "You thought you had lost her forever but suddenly, you got a second chance to make it right." He shook his head. "That happened to me too."


    Leonardo reached out and grasped both his brothers'' hands. "I need to see her again. Please help me."


    "What about Olivia?" Byron asked.


    "What about her?" Leonardo shot an angry look at Byron.


    "Didn''t you say she was pregnant?"


    "I don''t care. I don''t even know if that child is mine. What I do know is that I still have my Avgo shard that I need to deliver to my wife."


    Lucas and Byron nodded.


    "Well." Byron put down his drained mint julep. "No time like the present."


    They got up and headed to the hangar. If they caught a ride on one of the Raptors flying to Dragon space, they could get there in less than three days.


    "Leo!" Someone was calling him from behind.


    It was Olivia Faraday.


    Leonardo continued walking. He did not even bother to turn his head.


    "Leo. Where are you going?" She called out again, more desperately.


    "I''m going to be with my wife.." Leonardo responded.

 Chapter 259 - Brotherly Love

    "Wait! Leo! I''m your wife! Where are you going?" Olivia yelled out and began running after them.


    "Take him and go. I''ll stall her." Byron pushed Lucas and Leonardo towards the hangar.


    Lucas grabbed onto Leonardo''s arm and they both made their way with grim determination for the door, even as Byron turned back with his arms extended.


    "Hello there Olivia." He called out.


    "Byron. Please let mee along, wherever you guys are going!" Her eyes turned towards the disappearing forms of the two blond brothers.


    "Sorry. You''re not invited to this event." Byron intercepted her.


    As she tried to run around Byron, he jumped in front of her and held her back.


    "Olivia, just hang out here until Leo gets back. It''s not as if he''s going to disappear forever."


    "Where¡ªwhere''s he going?" Olivia''srge brown eyes began to fill with tears, her small full lips quivering.


    "He just told you." Byron chuckled. "He''s going to go see his wife."


    "But I''m his wife!" She yelled.


    "Olivia," Byron chided. "Olivia, Olivia, Olivia. Has no one ever told you that you can only be someone''s wife if they want you as their wife?"


    "But the Emperor has already sent the marriage decree to my parents!!!"


    Byron slowly shook his head. "If Leo does not want you, it won''t matter what the decree states. It won''t happen."


    "But¡ª"


    "No buts about it. Besides, I''m going to be one of the Emperors soon. I''ll simply retract the decree. At that point, the only way that the two of you will remain married is if you go through normal channels."


    "What¡ªwhat does that mean?"


    "That means you''ll have to get married in the normal way everyone else gets married. Go register your marriage at the courts and get legal documents to show that both of you are of sound mind and of legal age to enter into the civil union."


    "But my baby!!!"


    "Are you sure that''s Leo''s child?" Byron narrowed his eyes.


    "What??? How dare you insinuate otherwise!!!"


    "I''m not insinuating anything. You''re what¡ªa little less than four weeks pregnant? We can''t really do any testing until the baby is at least six months in vitro."


    "What¡ªwhat are you trying to say?"


    "I''m trying to say that if you insist that Leo is the father, nobody is going to fight you on that, but understand that once the fetus is six months old, there will be a test performed to determine the paternity of the child."


    "That¡ªthat is not done is polite society! It implies that I was sleeping around, and I will not allow it!"


    Byron shrugged. "In that case, it''s your word against his that the child is his. He''s not just an Erenveil Prince. He''s also a doctor. Who''s going to believe you?"


    Olivia gritted her teeth. "He will not reject his own child."


    Byron nodded. "You''re right. He won''t reject his own child. If it''s his child, he will take care of the kid, but that can be done whether you are his wife or just a concubine."


    "How dare you! I am a Princess of La Roche Gardens! I am no concubine!"


    "You are if you give birth to Leo''s child and aren''t married to him. In any case, it''s a moot point until the test is done."


    Byron smiled. "I''ll be back with Leo and we''ll see you in six months."


    "No! Wait!" She pulled at Byron''s arm. "Leo must return!"


    "He''s going to visit his wife and he''s noting back until it''s clearly proven with a gic test to determine whether he''s the father or not."


    Byron gave a little wave with his hand as he left her standing in the middle of the hallway, a tragic look on her face.


    "I have to go now. I got ces to go and people to see. I suggest youy low until the fetus is six months old."


    He turned away and began walking towards the hangar. As he walked away, he threw a fewst parting words over his shoulder at Olivia Faraday.


    "If you ever want to see Leo again, you''ll need to show positive proof he''s the daddy. Otherwise, hasta nunca, baby."


    ===========


    Onboard the Raptor 556, Byron, Lucas, and Leonardo sat at the dining hall, trying to swallow a portion of warrior ration food and failing miserably.


    "How do the men eat this stuff, holy moly." Lucas grimaced as he tried to swallow down a piece of what was supposed to be beef tripe drenched with some thick brown gravy sauce.


    Leonardo sighed. "You and Byron live down in thend of plenty where the attendants bring you anything you wish. Me and te, we live almost permanently on these warships. We have to eat what''s avable in whatever world we happen to replenish our supplies from."


    "Damn. You poor guys." Byron shook his head. "Don''t tell me our wife had to eat this crap when she went to Avalia."


    "Not a chance." Leonardoughed. "te had a luxurious cruise ship built for Mother Gwen and Lyra. Candace and the twins went to deliver it to her so they got the best of the best of the best."


    Lucas nodded. "Good. I was worried for a bit there."


    "We don''t have to worry about Candace when she''s with one of our brothers. Not only can she take care of herself, she''s also got our brothers taking good care of her."


    "What we need to worry about at this moment is how to deal with Olivia''s pregnancy." Byron grimaced.


    Lucas rubbed his jaw. "Did you actually do a pregnancy test on her, Leo? Did you touch her with magic to see if she''s really pregnant?"


    Leo nodded. "She really is pregnant. I just don''t remember doing anything with her to cause the pregnancy."


    Byron shook his head. "All we can hope for is the paternal test toe back eliminating Leo as the father of the child."


    He wrinkled his nose. "I told her Leo wouldn''te back until the paternal test resultse back positive that he''s the father."


    Leonardo sighed. "I honestly don''t think I''m the father, but if I am, what am I going to say to Candace?"


    "You want me to give you an honest answer?" Lucas asked.


    Leonardo nodded.


    "I lived with Candace for a week." Lucas began. "During that entire week, we spent the entire time together with no one around but a few attendants to take care of basic necessities."


    His eyes misted as he remembered the time he spent with her.


    "One thing I know about Candace. She is very loving and epting. She never thought less of me, even though I have so many faults that I could barely stand to look at myself in the mirror some mornings."


    He put his fork down and swallowed a swig of beer.


    "When you meet up with her, tell her the truth. Don''t leave anything out. Let her understand how you feel about the entire thing. And then let her help you figure out what to do."


    Byron nodded. "That woman is so smart, even if we have vague ideas about something, she can see through all the bullshit ande up with clear answers."


    Leonardo nodded.


    Candace''s razor sharp intelligence was one of the most attractive things about her that had drawn him in the first time he met her.


    After her intelligence, it was herpassion. If he told her how everything went down, maybe she would bepassionate enough so that she wouldn''t be so mad at him.


    Or at least, even if she did get mad, perhaps she would think about it for a bit and eventually feel sorry for him.


    And maybe once she started feeling sorry for him, she would find a way to help him out of this mess he''d found himself entangled within.


    "Thanks you guys." He took a deep breath. "I don''t know what I would do without your help."


    "Hey Man." Byron smiled and pped him on the back.. "Never forget. We''re brothers!"

 Chapter 260 - Dragon Glass

    It took more than three days of flying through what was now known as te''s Tunnel before the warship Raptor 556 finally made it to the edge of dragon space.


    Now that te''s Tunnel was a safe zone, more and more ships began traversing it, back and forth, which meant it got safer and safer as more traffic began to build up.


    That also meant a couple of traffic jams out there in space.


    Once they reached the edge of dragon space, it didn''t take long for the Princes to get in contact with Duke Erden''s forces.


    They met up with one of Duke Erden''s Draken w warships which led them to the Raptor 650 that Erden and Mother Gwen were currently on.


    Mother Gwen was standing within the hangar waiting for them when the three Princes debarked.


    "Mother Gwen!" The three Princes called out as they saw her beautiful familiar face.


    "Gentlemen! What brings you to this far-flung ce, as if I didn''t know." Sheughed and hugged each of her boys.


    "We''re here to see our wife. How is she?"


    "You can ask her yourself. She is currently with the Twins on Avalia, seeing the sights and living it up."


    "Ahhh, the lucky twins." Lucas sighed with envy.


    "Why don''t you join them? I''m sure they would be happy to see you." She suggested.


    Byron grinned. "She would be happy. I''m not so sure about Jason and Jared."


    Mother Gwenughed. "I won''t pretend to know how the seven of you deal with Candace because my mind still cannot wrap itself around how seven men can im one wife."


    Her eyes grew tragic. "I saw how badly it can end up when there is one man for five women, but Candace is not the Emperor. Perhaps the eight of you will have a better time of it all."


    "So far so good." Lucas grinned, nudging Leo, who gave a brave smile.


    She nodded. "If you all can make it work, I''m more than happy to see you seed. Candace is an amazing woman, although I don''t even need to tell you that."


    "She''s our whole world." Byron murmured, almost to himself.


    ==========


    The woman who was Byron''s ''whole world'' was currently jouncing and bouncing around the Avalian semi-arid desert on a lompii, what looked to her Earthly human eyes to be a cross between a camel and an ostrich.


    All around them were soft golden dunes of fine particle sand with a few scrub brushes that stuck out like pariahs in the stark monotone greige desertndscape.


    "Ahhh. I need a softer cushion than this!" She moaned as she slowed the lompii down. "She bounces far too much!"


    Jason and Jared bothughed.


    "Lompiis only have two legs, so they bounce a bit when they run around, but out here, it''s the best way to get to see the nativends."


    "Yes. Tell me again, what exactly are we out here to see?"


    Jared twisted his mouth into a funny shape.


    "I wanted to see the colorbinations of the greyish-green trees in conjunction with the silvery golden sands."


    "Don''t forget the little red road-runner looking birds." Candaceughed.


    "Yes! We can add to the greige colors, deep cherry streaks of red. Those birds ran by us so fast I barely even caught sight of what it looked like!" Jared mused.


    "I''m particrly interested in this sand." Jason pointed to the dunes around them.


    "What''s so special about sand dunes? They''re just dunes." Candace looked around at the unendingndscape.


    Above them was a deep azure blue sky and around them were swell after swell of the sandy hills with surfaces that shifted and meandered with each gust of desert wind.


    Jason hopped off his lompii and reached out with his finger.


    "Take a look, but don''t look directly at the hot spot." He shot a beam of energy from his index finger into the sand.


    Candace winced and looked away as the spot where he pointed at turned into molten ss.


    For a moment, nothing happened other than the ss pooling into a small t disc. As it cooled, however, it began to solidify into a radiant silvery gold object.


    Jason levitated it into the air and began spinning it around.


    "Take a look. This is beautiful metal ss that is normally used for starship windows and other such structures that require unbreakable ss."


    Candace pursed her lips. "So what''s the difference between this ss and what we see on all the transport pods and starships?"


    "The difference is color." He stopped the spin and brought it closer to Candace. "Don''t worry. I rapidly cooled it so it''s touchable. See the colors?"


    Candace nodded. It looked like the jagged spirals of a molten sun.


    "That is beautiful." Her eyes glowed with appreciation. "Are you going to make jewelry out of that?"


    He nodded. "The world of Avalia is one of a handful of ces that I''ve seen with the crustbination of silica and metals that make this sort of natural coloration."


    "We can add them of course, during the normal process of making metal ss for shipbuilding, but it doesn''t quite have the randomness of the colors of Avalian metal ss."


    "Wow." Candace whistled. "It''s like¡­dragon ss."


    "Dragon ss." Jason''s eyes sparkled. "You''re a genius! That''s what we''re going to call this! It will be a big hit and we''ll be able to establish a small Dragon ss nt here!"


    "Oooh. Does that means we stay here for part of the year?"


    "Only if we want to. Otherwise, we set it up and let someone else manage it."


    Candace blinked and nodded with confused agreement. "Yay for Dragon ss!" Sheughed along with the twins.


    The sun was starting to dip lower into the horizon when a transport pod slowly made its way towards the trio waddling along on three lompiis.


    With a soft swish, the podnded a few yards away from them and an opening appeared.


    "Well look who tracked us down." Jaredughed and waved at the upants who were climbing down from the pod.


    "Oh my gosh!" Candace grinned and whooped. "I can''t believe you three are here! Did you miss me?"


    "As soon as you left, I missed you." Lucas pulled aedic sad face towards her which made Candaceugh.


    "It will be my turn with you in two days," Byron grinned. "I was okay waiting, but¡­"


    Byron jabbed a thumb at Leonardo''s direction.


    "Someone missed you so badly, he insisted oning to see you."


    Candace turned tender eyes towards the blond man in his white physician robe.


    He stood with a hesitant stance that was very unlike the usual confidant, happy, determined Leo that she knew so well. It was so slight of a difference that had Candace not been observant, she would have missed itpletely.


    For them to travel all this way just to see her, especially knowing that she would return in a few days, indicated that there was something more to it than just a few guys who were missing her.


    She mbered off her lompii and walked over to the three of them.


    Reaching out, she gave each of them a hug that told them she missed them just as much as they missed her. Lucas and Byron had fat grins on their faces.


    Leo''s aqua blue eyes misted. His mouth set in a determined line. He was not going to cry in front of his brothers and his woman.


    "Let''s get back to the city." She rambled cheerfully, leading the way back to the lompii and pretending not to notice that Leonardo was in tears.


    "We haven''t had dinner yet, and there is this ce that roasts a whole pig on a spit for an entire day. You guys will love it!"

 Chapter 261 - The Empress Emerges

    That night, over the flickering glow of a pit fire, with people all around them, Candace and her five husbands sat cross-legged on arge woven nket.


    They watched the dancers swaying and stomping on the sands, listened to native drums and aboriginal music, and shared avish meal consisting of spit-roasted pig along with half-a-dozen side dishes of root vegetables and sweet breads.


    To wash it all down, there was some sort of dark brown beer that made the guys smack their lips with delight as they clinked mugs over and over again.


    At first, everyone was simply grunting at small discussions, their mouths too filled with greasy roast pork to say much.


    As their hunger began to be satiated, conversations took on a much more serious tone.


    "She did what???" Candace red at Leo. "How dare she!!!"


    "Well¡­" Leo tried to exin some more, but the more he talked, the angrier Candace looked.


    "You tried to help her heal and she dogged you like that? What the hell???"


    "By the time I realized what had happened¡­"


    Candace took a long swig of her bitter dark beer and cleared her throat. She had to calm herself. Leonardo was looking nervous, as if he thought he was to me for any of this.


    The truth was, sexual assault was never the victim''s fault. Unfortunately, society always looked to me the victim, which made the crime that much worse.


    She turned back to look at him, her eyes full ofpassion. Reaching out, she pulled his head onto her shoulder.


    "My poor, poor husband¡­" Candace was muttering into his ear, all the while, patting and rubbing his back with gentleness that made Leo feel as if he was a young child beingforted by a much older woman.


    "This is what happens when you try to be nice to people who don''t deserve it. They take advantage of you!"


    With just that one gesture, Leo immediately knew he was loved and protected. She had clearly shown that whatever had happened to him was just a tragic event that had befallen him and he was meless for the incident.


    Suddenly, hope began welling within him. She was not going to me him. She was going to make everything alright.


    Leonardo was a very tall man and she was a very short woman. It was such an awkward hug that he could barely keep himself from sprawling over her.


    Nevertheless, with one hand propped on the ground and the other around her small fragile body, Leo managed to maintain the precarious perch. He would be damned if he allowed a precious hug like this from her go unappreciated.


    "Okay. Let me finish this amazing mud pie dessert and then we go find a quiet ce so I can talk to Olivia myself."


    She stuck a fork into the dark brown chocte dessert and began shoving it into each man''s mouth, irregardless of whether they wanted it or not.


    Leo bravely took the bite without saying a word. He was just so grateful to be sitting near her that he would eat real mud if she said that was what he needed to do.


    "It''s your dessert. Why are you feeding it to us?" Lucas grimaced. He didn''t exactly like chocte much, but how could he refuse a fork that was being shoved at his mouth?


    "I only wanted a couple of bites but I didn''t want to waste the rest of this amazing sweet thing." Candaceughed. "I can''t eat too much of this or I won''t be able to dance."


    "So you make us finish it for you." Jared''s mouth drooped in aedic disy of misery.


    "It doesn''t taste that bad." Byron smirked as he licked his lips of the chocte bits still smeared from her fork.


    He left off the part about the fact that it didn''t taste that good either. He was with Leo. Whatever his woman made him eat, he was going to try his best to like it.


    "Then you eat it all." Jason clenched his teeth together, refusing the single bite of mud pie that Candace was smearing all over his lips.


    The menughed at the mess that she made of Jason''s mouth. Their eyes softened as she leaned over and kissed the mess off his face.


    She truly did love each of them with no bounds and no reservations.


    Once they were filled with food, everyone trooped back to the hotel where the twins and Candace were staying.


    It was arge tower that rose up high into the Avalian skyline, and their room was on one of the upper floors.


    Through therge ss panes, they could see the entire city below, glittering in the night like rare diamonds.


    The moons shimmered above the dark sky like three colorednterns, added festivity to an already sparkling bustling cosmopolitan metropolis.


    While the five men showered the dust and grime off their day, Candace skipped the shower and spent some time within her mind space, talking with te and Dante.


    As they went over the situation between Olivia and Leonardo, her two husbands back in Erenveil began to rally their own special forces to assist her with her various requests.


    "You''ll need to do this¡­" te informed her.


    "And what about¡­" Dante suggested.


    "Good idea. Also¡­" te continued.


    "And as the final nail in the coffin, we are going to¡­" Dante cackled with glee.


    "Darling, we are going to need to look at you for a moment." Dante suddenly insisted.


    Suddenly, a virtual monitor popped up, split screen, showing both Dante and te.


    "Sweetheart¡­" Dante shook his head ruefully. "You look like something the cat dragged in. Where have you been all day?"


    Candace grinned cheekily. "We were out all day in the Avalian desert. I was riding on a lompii, and afterwards, we ate spit-roast pig outside while the aborigines danced to ancient drums."


    She groaned and rubbed her backside.


    "Riding a lompii looks fun but it really hurts your butt!"


    "You rode a lompii, huh? Wouldn''t a hover pod be much morefortable?" te raised an eyebrow.


    Candace blinked. "Jason and Jared said lompiis were the only things that could get us around out there in the desert."


    te and Dante looked at each other.


    "I''m going to kill them." Dante looked fierce. "The fools wanted to ride a lompii and made you ride one with them!"


    "Oh you mean hover pods would work out there?"


    "OF COURSE!!!" The both of them yelled.


    Candace bit her lip. Suddenly, she doubled upughing.


    It would be just like them to make her ride that lompii for the sheer experience of running around in the dessert on an ostrich-looking-camel with two legs and a water hump.


    "Go take a shower and get dressed in something splendid. You will need to look like the Empress that you are." Dante insisted.


    "Yes. Wear the best outfit that Jared made for you, along with the jewels that Jason made. Go!" te brushed a hand.


    Candaces grinned and threw them a kiss as she ran for the bathroom. The sooner she cleaned up, the sooner she would be able to face the bitch who tried to harm Leonardo.


    Within the hour, Candace and the Princes were once again regrouped in the formal sitting room overlooking the jeweled cityscape.


    They were all dressed as if they were visiting dignitaries in Avalia instead of to getting ready for bedtime, as they should have been.


    This was an important showdown.


    Candace stood at the center of the sitting room, dressed in splendid regal robes of white and jewels of amber gold. On her honey blonde head was a jeweled diadem, her wrists were filled with bangles and fingers glittering with rings.


    At hermand, the Princes got her in touch with Olivia Faraday who was still in deep space onboard the Alpha Vetiver Hospital.


    As soon as Olivia Faraday''s pale heart-shaped face came onscreen, Candaceunched into her immediately, with no preamble.


    "So I hear you''ve been going around telling everyone that you and Leonardo are married."


    Candace crossed her arms over her chest, her head tilting back in regal stance, her eyes narrowed with dangerous intent.

 Chapter 262 - A Criminal Assault

    Olivia stared back at Candace, her brown eyes ring with intensity.


    "What is it to you?" She spat.


    "You two are not married. There has been no wedding, no announcements. Stop making up lies and making him look bad!" Candace threw back.


    Olivia sniffed. "For your information, the Emperor has sent out a marriage decree to my family. Arrangements are currently being made for us to be married within the month."


    "Olivia. You can''t marry him." Candace gave her a stony look. "He''s already married to me. Retract your statements now."


    Olivia gave her a frosty stare. "I am not iming something that is not based on reality."


    "Your reality is skewed, Olivia." Candace raised an eyebrow. "He is my husband."


    "You need to get over yourself, Candace. You can''t marry all the Princes of Erenveil even if you''re the Prime Avgo Female." Olivia sneered.


    "Do you know what the Prime Avgo Female turns into?" Candace gave a cold hard smile. "I turn into the Empress of Erenveil. You really do not want to piss me off."


    Olivia sniffed with disdain. She looked as if she wanted to say something confrontational, but at thest moment, she gave a slight bit of capittion.


    "We will be sisters-inw. I do not want to ruin our rtionship over this matter."


    Olivia pursed her lips, as if extending an olive branch of peace.


    "Look. I don''t have any quarrel with you, Candace. Even during the Avgo Event, we didn''t have any dealings because I was disqualified so early on. If you pick a fight with me now, it will only make you look bad."


    Candace smiled, an upturn of her lips that did not reach her eyes.


    "You think too highly of yourself. We don''t have a rtionship, and after today, we will never meet again. If you want to live a peaceful life and die of old age, back off my husband."


    Olivia sniffed with indignation. "You''ve won the Avgo Events. You''re the Prime Avgo Female and you have three Crown Princes as your husbands. Why are you picking a fight with me?"


    "Listen up and listen carefully." Candace pointed a finger at Olivia''s face. "This is yourst chance, Olivia."


    Candace threw her a deadly look. "Back off my husband."


    "Not going to happen, Candace. I am pregnant with Leonardo''s child. I cannot allow you to destroy my family like that. He is my husband, the father of my child!"


    Candace''s eyes glittered with anger. Olivia had been given three chances to back off. Three strikes.


    She was dead meat.


    "Hmmm. I heard all about that night you were with my man. Let me ask you this, Olivia. What did you do to Leo to make him pass out after only two mojitos, hmmm?"


    Olivia''s eyes were wild. "I did absolutely nothing!"


    "Is that right? In that case, absolutely nothing will show up when we rey the visuals of that night, right?"


    "What???" Olivia''s eyes widened in surprise.


    "Oh, you didn''t know that the ship you are on is a warship that has been equipped with medical devices to be used as a hospital during wartime?"


    Olivia''s eyes widened.


    Candaceughed. "All warships have visuals constantly recording at ALL times during a war, in the event that there is foul y and evidence needs to be gathered and submitted for sentencing."


    She clicked her tongue. "Tch tch tch. I wonder what will show if I start looking at the time around four weeks ago when Leonardo was trying to heal your wings."


    Candace snapped a finger.


    A visual recording that te had prepared of Olivia and Leonardo began to roll.


    At first, it was just the two of them,ughing and drinking a couple of drinks. Leo looked rxed and was saying something that made Oliviaugh.


    Candace sighed and sped the video forward until the second ss of mojito was made for Leonardo. At that moment, Olivia reached over and handed him the ss.


    Candace paused the video and began to y, frame by frame.


    "I wasn''t going to do this because I love my husband, Olivia." She turned and gave an air kiss at Leonardo. His eyes gleamed with tears. "But you gave me no choice."


    The frames continued to roll, in slow motion, frame by frame. With a single action of her finger, Olivia dumped something from her ring into Leonardo''s drink.


    Candace paused the screen and turned to Olivia with a deadly gleam in her hazel eyes.


    "Olivia. Do you know what the penalty is for assault on a member of the royal family?"


    "I was¡ªthat was not an assault! I was¡ª" Olivia suddenly realized that she was implicating herself and went quiet.


    "I gave you three chances to back off because I did not want to hurt my husband by going back over this filth, but since you refused toply, I had to show the evidence of what you did."


    Candace pointed her finger at Olivia.


    "Once this evidence is shown, you will have no other recourse but be tried for assault on the Imperial Prince of Erenveil, Doctor Leonardo."


    "But he is not hurt!" Olivia jumped up, shouting.


    "You damaged his distinct and perfect reputation Olivia, and caused him great emotional distress. Would you like to see more of this visual recording?"


    Without waiting for Olivia to agree, she rolled the remaining clip.


    As the visual continued, it didn''t take long for Leonardo to be woozy and disoriented.


    Within minutes, he had slumped onto his seat. Olivia was seen making a quick gesture with her hand and a couple ofrge attendants carried him away.


    The next visual cut into a scene within Leonardo''s quarters. He had been stripped of his clothing and was lying on the bed unconscious. His golden blond head was lolling on the pillows, his chest moving in rapid shallow breaths.


    The clip continued rolling, this time in double speed, showing Olivia removing her own clothing and mbering onto the bed next to him.


    At this point, Olivia was not even looking at the visual. She already knew what was going to happen next.


    The visual showed Olivia reaching out and fondling Leonardo''s muscr body even as he remained unconscious.


    Reaching lower, she began touching and petting his manhood hoping for some physiological response from him.


    Around Candace, the brothers gasped. A few looked away while the rest looked on in horror. She was actually assaulting him as hey there unconscious!


    Leonardo''s face reddened with embarrassment. He was a man, but this was not something he wanted his wife and brothers to see.


    His lipspressed into a thin line, but he said nothing. This was important evidence that needed to be shown so that he could be cleared of Olivia''s machinations.


    The visual continued, showing Olivia trying for at least half-an-hour, fondling and ying with his limp member. Once she realized she could get nothing to happen, she settled for nestling into his body and promptly fell asleep.


    Candace sped up the visual until the artificial morning sunlight began to slowly lit up the room.


    At the point Leonardo woke up, Candace paused the visual.


    "So. Olivia. You tried your best to get my husband to be sexually aroused, forgetting one important thing."


    Candace raised a single middle finger in a vulgar disy.


    "Sexual assault on an unconscious man is hardly arousing! That is criminal!"


    "And now you say you''re pregnant. Was it immacte conception or did you y around with some random guy and tried to pin the baby on my husband?"

 Chapter 263 - Charged And Sentenced

    "Don''t you dare! I''m pregnant and the baby belongs to Leonardo!" Olivia cried.


    Leonardoughed. It was a low bitterugh. He moved behind Candace and joined in the conversation between them.


    "Olivia. If I couldn''t even get it up while I was unconscious, how do you think I could possibly get it up while I was awake and aware that you are not my woman?"


    Olivia was beyond reasoning. She continued to cry out the same words over and over again as she rubbed her still smooth stomach.


    "This is our baby! You are the baby''s father! Our baby!"


    "I never slept with you beyond the one night that you drugged me. I''m a doctor, Olivia. Give me some credit for at least knowing how babies are created." Leonardo scowled.


    "You are the baby''s father. Everyone knows that! Even your father!" Olivia began to scream wildly. "Don''t you dare deny or reject your own blood!"


    Leonardo''s aqua eyes zed over. He hadpletely tuned out her screeching maniacal screams. At that moment, he was not the physician, trying to save lives. He was an Erenveil Prince, seeking justice for himself.


    "For the crime of willfully drugging a member of the royal family, you are hereby sentenced to being incarcerated within the royal dungeons for the rest of your life, however long you are allowed to live." Leonardo began to intone.


    "What??? No!!! How dare you! I am your wife!"


    Leonardo narrowed his eyes. He wasn''t done yet.


    "For the crime of sexually assaulting a member of the royal family, you are hereby sentenced to death AFTER you have given birth to your bastard child."


    Olivia''s eyes began to grow wild.


    "You can''t do this! I am the Princess of Laroche Gardens! My father will not allow this!" She screamed.


    Leonardo gave a bleak chuckle. "What goes on in a warship is determined solely by the Captain''s orders. No one can interfere with ship justice."


    Oliviaughed. "More the fool you. Captain Hemming''s not going to do anything to me."


    Leonardo sneered and waved a hand, making contact with the Captain of the Alpha Vetiver Hospital.


    "Your Royal Highness." An older male in a captain uniform appeared on the virtual monitor.


    "Hemming. Take Princess Olivia Faraday into custody until I return."


    "Sir¡ª" Captain Hemming''s eyes darted back and forth between Princess Olivia and Prince Leonardo.


    "Yes¡ªyes Sir." He nodded.


    Leonardo turned a burning gaze at Olivia.


    "Listen up, and listen well. I am Leonardo, the Third Prince of Erenveil. On that ship, I outrank the Captain."


    "In fact, I outrank everyone in Erenveil except my three older Crown Prince brothers." His fangs began to grow with deep anger. "No one can protect you."


    As Olivia was taken away by two of the onboard royal guards, screaming and yelling, Leonardo turned back to the ship Captain.


    "Hemming."


    "Yes Sir."


    "That is your child she is carrying."


    It was not a question. Leonardo was stating a fact.


    He had seen the way Olivia looked to Captain Hemming, pleading for help. He had also seen the Captain, furtively looking back and forth, unable to do anything for her but desperate to save his child still inside her.


    For a moment, the Captain''s eyes darted about like a frightened bird, but then his body drooped in defeat.


    "Yes Sir."


    "You cannot save Olivia. If you want to save your child from certain death, do not allow her to leave the ship until I return."


    "Yes Sir." The man nodded and disconnected from the call.


    For a moment, everyone in the room could barely breathe. No one wanted to be the first to say anything.


    Suddenly, Candace threw her arms into the air and jumped onto Leonardo. He barely had a chance to catch her when she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.


    "Woooottt!!!" She screamed, making his ears ring with the sound. "You did great!!! I''m so proud of you."


    Leonardoughed, trying to keep his bnce. He felt Lucas and Jason steady his back from behind to keep him from falling backwards due to her sudden onught.


    He reached out with hesitant hands to pat her back. It suddenly felt as if he''d grown a huge love wart on the front of his body.


    "So what''s our next step?" Jared asked.


    "We have to go back to the Alpha Vetiver Hospital." Candace insisted with anger simmering in her hazel eyes. "I am not going to let that woman have a chance to escape. She needs to pay for her crimes."


    She turned back to Leonardo. "Love. You have to contact your father and tell him what happened. Do it now while we are all still here with you."


    Leonardo looked around at all his brothers. They all nodded in agreement.


    "Call Dante and te. They need to be in on this conversation as well." Byron chimed in.


    It didn''t take long for all seven brothers to be part of the 3D conversation within their hotel room around the seating arrangement by therge windows overlooking the glittering city lights below.


    As the 3D visual of the Emperor winked into view, the brothers ceased their light banter and turned to their father with varying emotions flickering amongst themselves.


    "Harrumph. All you boys are together for this call? I must say I am surprised. Has something major urred?" He turned to Candace. "Do you have a major happy surprise to tell me?"


    Candace wrinkled her nose. What in the world was he talking about?


    The brothers roared withughter. They had already told the Emperor about the Avgo situation, but apparently he seemed to be rather confused about it all.


    Leonardo cleared his throat.


    "Father. I want to let you know that I have ced Olivia Faraday into custody on my ship. Within the next few days, I will transfer her to the Erenveil Royal Dungeon where she will remain until she gives birth to the child she is carrying."


    "Wait wait." The Emperor held up his hand. "Are you referring to your wife, the little butterfly Olivia? That cute little girl with the ck and yellow wings? That Olivia?"


    "Father, I am talking about the Princess Olivia Faraday from Laroche Gardens." Leonardo rified.


    "Son. What the hell are you talking about? She''s your wife. You can''t throw her in the dungeon."


    "Watch me, Father."


    "Leo. She''s pregnant. Even if you don''t like her very much, which I have no clue why not because the girl is stunningly gorgeous, why would you put her in¡ª"


    "She drugged me and assaulted me Father." Leonardo cut into the Emperor''s rambling. "And the child inside of her is not even mine."


    The Emperor grimaced. "How do you know it''s not your child? Don''t you have to wait for the fetus to be a bit older before you can determine who the father is?"


    Leonardo chuckled. "We don''t need to go through all that. I never slept with her. She got her sperm donor elsewhere."


    "But¡ªbut she insisted that she slept with you!"


    "Father," Leonardo rubbed his face. "Why would you believe in her and not your own son?"


    "Leo, I am not saying you''re lying to me, but I am curious as to why she would lie to me. There were quite a few people who saw you and Olivia share the same bed."


    "Yes." Leonardo nodded with grim savagery. "Those were the same people who hauled me off to bed, drugged and unconscious.. They were the same people who stripped me naked and put me on the bed for her to pose with."

 Chapter 264 - The Seven Co-Emperors

    "Oh my stars." The Emperor gasped. He turned back to Leonardo. "And what about the fetus?"


    "The child belongs to someone else." Leonardo''s eyes were grim.


    The Emperor shook his head.


    "That''s a shame, but you know that I have already sent out the marriage decree and her father has epted. At this point, what people will see is you putting your wife and child into the dungeon."


    "I don''t care."


    "Son, they will dere war!"


    "War for what?" Candace jumped up, her blood boiling past the point of containment. "For a woman who slept with another man and is trying to pass off that child as the heir to an Erenveil Prince?"


    "Candace. This is not your business child. Have a seat and let me talk to my son."


    Candace gasped. "Father. Leonardo is my husband. This is more my business than it is yours!"


    "Candace. You cannot marry Leonardo. He is already married."


    "That''s absolutely correct! He is already married." She patted her chest with an emphatic hand. "He''s married to me!"


    She turned to Dante. "Do you have the marriage documents, Love?"


    "Right here waiting for you Baby Girl." Dante smiled and gave a gesture.


    Appearing immediately in front of each person was the marriage document that had been signed by the Emperor and the various Court Advisors.


    In clear Erenveil script were all the seven names of Candace''s seven husbands. Dante, Byron, Lucas, Leonardo, Jason, Jared, & te.


    The Emperor sputtered. "How¡ªhow is this possible? I only wrote in the three names of the Crown Princes!"


    "Are you sure, Father?" Dante raised an eyebrow. "I was there that day and I saw all seven names documented very clearly with my own eyes."


    "I saw it too. I was also there!" Lucas grinned.


    "As was I." Byron nodded with his hand over his heart.


    "You¡ªyou boys¡ª" He stammered, looking confused. "But why? You are all still very young! Why would you want to limit your potential so much for a single woman?"


    "What potential are you talking about Father? We are all at the top of our game, doing the things we enjoy the most. How has Candace limited us from doing what we love to do?"


    The Emperor sighed. "There are so many amazing and beautiful potential mates out there!"


    Leonardo rubbed his face with a wearied hand. "Father, I look around and all I see are women like Olivia Faraday."


    "I agree." Jared shuddered. "Totally disgusting."


    "Which makes our wife all the more precious to us." te intoned with seriousness.


    "Absolutely. I feel so blessed." Lucas gave a silly grin and a deep happy sigh. "Do you realize that in the entire gxy, there is only ONE Prime Avgo Female, and she is our wife?"


    "And before you say anything Father," Jared held up a hand. "I truly only want to be with my wife. I am not interested in taking a royal consort. This is non-negotiable."


    "Likewise." Jason said.


    "But I have sent out¡ª"


    "We have sent out retractions, Father." Lucas informed him in the same dazed happy voice that he had been using the entire night.


    "Retractions? Are you daft? What gives you the right to retract my decrees?"


    Candace rose and faced him. "You can ept that the retractions have been sent out using your power as current Emperor, or you can fight the retractions and find yourself the much-loved ''former-Emperor''."


    "You¡ªyou¡ªare you trying to usurp the throne?" The Emperor shook with rage.


    "On the contrary." Candace smiled with patience. "You are still the Emperor because the Seven Co-Emperors have decided to allow you to remain Emperor for awhile longer. How much long you remain the Emperor depends on what happens within the next year."


    "I am still the Emperor!" He raged.


    "Father, didn''t you talk to your advisors about the archaic portion of ourws, taken from the The Ellipsoidal Macrocosm?" Dante asked.


    The Emperor scowled.


    Of course he had talked to them about it, and he definitely did not like what he heard. He had figured if he ignored it, then it would go away into obscurity.


    Unfortunately, his sons and daughter-inw were not going to let it go. They were going to insist on taking up the reigns.


    To be perfectly honest, the Emperor had set it up so that one day in the near future, his sons would take over so he could rest and retire infort with his wives.


    But this was not yet that moment. They were currently still waging a war against various factions of the gxy. He still had too much to do!


    "Obscuredws should be done away with." The Emperor brushed his hand in a dismissive manner.


    "Father," Byron shook his head. "It''s not an Erenveilw. Ites directly from the Ellipsoidal Macrocosm which means it can''t be changed or voted off the books. It''s one of the inalienablews, a specific directive from the gxy."


    Lucas nodded. "Once the next Primary Avgo Female has chosen her mate, or mates, she immediately bes the next Empress, making all her chosen mates Emperors. That''s how you became Emperor."


    "I became Emperor because I was the Crown Prince!"


    Byron shook his head. "Had rissa chosen someone other than you, that someone would have been Emperor. You just got lucky she didn''t know that and ended up marrying you."


    "Pfft. I don''t believe in all that ancient mumbo jumbo." The Emperor blustered.


    "It''s not ancient mumbo jumbo Father. The Avgo power is very real." Lucas murmured. "It was the Avgo who chose all seven of us as Co-Emperors. You cannot stop that from happening."


    The Emperor blinked in irritation and nced at Lucas a couple of times. Since when did his extremely shy and mentally dull son be such a decisive, intuitive, sharp man?


    He stared at Lucas more closely.


    "What the¡ªwhat is the matter with youtely, Lucas? You used to be the best looking son of mine. Now you look like a homeless bum!"


    "Really?" Lucas grinned and rubbed his tousled long hair, bleached almost white by sun and salt water. "Candace, do I look like a homeless bum?"


    Candace turned to him with a smile. "As long as you''re happy Sweetheart, you can wear beach gear and surf all day long if you feel like it."


    "However!" She threw a warning nce. "You are going to have to clean up nicely before your wedding. I refuse to marry a man who is going to show up to his wedding looking like a homeless beach bum."


    Lucasughed, his amber eyes dancing with delight. Because she epted him exactly as he was, he could be himself without worry of being judged.


    He no longer needed to be an actor and fake being happy. He truly was happy!


    "Speaking of which," te raised an eyebrow. "When exactly is our wedding?"

 Chapter 265 - [Bonus ] The Butterfly King

    "As soon as possible." Both Dante and Byron called out.


    "I agree." te nodded. "We need to ensure that nothing like what happened with Leo urs again."


    Jason shuddered with distaste. "As long as people still think that even one of us seven Princes is still avable, we will continue to get osted and threatened by all these crazies."


    "Let''s get married as soon as everyone gets back to Erenveil." te suggested with a wolf grin. "I want to bepletely owned by my wife as soon as possible!"


    "Is that enough time?" Jared pondered. "I need more than three days to make all of us matching wedding outfits."


    "How about off-the-rack clothes from a department store?" Candace suggested with a bright smile.


    "Off-the¡ªwhat? What in the world are you talking about woman?" Jason scratched his head.


    Candaceughed. "Never mind. How long do you need to create your masterpieces?"


    Jared and Jason nced at each other for a couple of minutes and began muttering to themselves.


    "If we get everyone off that huge masquerade ball to do this¡­"


    "I can have that jewelry show deferred¡­"


    "And all the shoe makers¡­"


    "The silks need to be sent from Emporia¡­"


    They finally turned back to Candace.


    "We need at least two weeks time. We also need to find a good location."


    "I can find us a good location." Dante spoke up.


    "And with all of us at one location, we will need high level security, which I can provide." te said.


    "I got the perfect A-level entertainment groups I can call on for music and dancing. They all owe me many favors." Lucas grinned.


    "I can take care of the food and drinks. I have very good connections for that." Byron chimed in.


    "And I''ll find the flowers, birds, and butterflies." Leonardo threw in.


    Candaceughed. "I feel so useless. What can I do to help?"


    Leonardo tweaked her nose. "If we are going to be doing all this work, we need your strength and love to keep us going. You have to remain healthy and beautiful."


    He was still holding onto her body, hoping she would not demand to be set down. He wanted to hold her for as long as she would allow him.


    He''d nearly lost this woman and now that she was back in his life, he never wanted to let her go again.


    "Listen to the Doctor, Love." Byron admonished. "For the next two weeks, no risk-taking like you want to do all the time."


    "No crazy dancing. Just normal stuff." Dante chimed in.


    "Her normal stuff is kind of crazy." Jasonughed.


    "We''ll just have to heal her with our inner energies." te smiled.


    He would never forget the first time he healed her at her home on Earth. He had been the first one to kiss her that day, and she didn''t even know he had done it.


    The Emperor listened in on all the wedding talk without saying a word. They seemed so happy about it all. Who was he to insist that they do things the way he wished.


    And besides, he couldn''t go up against Candace if he wanted to. With a few simple words based on her understanding of theirws, she could browbeat even him.


    He nodded with satisfaction. Thebination of Candace along with her seven men would be more than sufficient to run the gxy in as smooth a fashion as possible.


    He sighed. His time was fading and it was time for his children to take over. Once the wedding was officially announced, he would talk to the Advisors to n for a smooth transition of power with arge ceremonial coronation.


    That would be another huge g event¡­


    ============


    On the other side of the gxy, high above the flower fields of Laroche Gardens, King Ophiucus Faraday was in a panic.


    He was a short fat man who had butterfly wings that could never get him off the ground because he had gained too much weight. Still, he liked to show them off so he kept them continually sprouted behind his back.


    His gold and ck wings were at the moment, fluttering and quivering with agitation as he walked back and forth in front of his gold gilded throne.


    He had gotten word from his own people that Olivia had been arrested and was currently sitting in the ship''s brig awaiting to be flown back to Erenveil where she was to be incarcerated at the Erenveil high security dungeon tower.


    His hands shook, even though he had taken to holding his own hands to keep them from shaking.


    He had to get her off that ship before shended in Erenveil because once she entered the Erenveil Dungeon, his chance of getting her out was next to none.


    "Get me in touch with Emperor Rex!" He roared at his advisor who was standing around looking more and more useless by the moment.


    "Yes, Your Majesty." The man began making the calls needed to reach the Emperor.


    The Emperor, being the Emperor, was not one who could be easily contacted, but in this case, it was the King of a neighboring kingdom, a powerful insectoid world, no less.


    It did not take more than fifteen or twenty minutes of channel changes to get to the Emperor.


    "Ophiucus!" The Emperor called out in greeting.


    "Emperor Rex." King Ophiucus sighed. "What is going on with the children? Why is my daughter in the brig?"


    Emperor Rex sighed. He had mentally prepared himself for this very moment, but when it came, he found himself at a difficult situation.


    Ah well. Nothing could be gained by beating around the bush. Best course of action was to simplyy the truth out on the line, no matter how badly it reflected on everyone.


    "I''m afraid she has done something that, to my son, is unforgivable." Rex shook his head with regret.


    "Nothing is so unforgivable as to be thrown in jail!"


    "Ophiucus, your daughter cheated on Leo with some random man and got pregnant. Are you saying that''s forgivable? Who do you think my son is? Some chump?"


    "Rex. Come now. She''s barely four months pregnant. Aren''t you jumping the gun a bit in rejecting the fact that it could be your own grandchild?"


    Rex sighed. There was no saving face with this man.


    The reason why it took the Emperor so long to respond to King Ophiucus was because he was going over the visuals, not just the one from Leonardo''s bedroom but also the one from Captain Hemming which Rex had procured directly from the ship''s technical crew.


    "She was caught on visuals doing many things. If you are interested in seeing them, I can forward you the visuals."


    King Ophiucus stammered. "Rex. Whatever she''s done, surely it is not so horrible as to be given a death sentence!"


    "She drugged and assaulted my son, Ophiucus." Rex ground out. "I was perfectly fine with her being his wife even though he was not thrilled about the prospect, but an assault on a member of the royal family is not, and has never been eptable."


    King Ophiucus sighed. "Is there anything I can do at this time to save my daughter''s life?"


    Rex stared at him.. "There might be."

 Chapter 266 - Warrior Princess Poppy

    Poppy pulled the fencing mask over her face and carried her sword onto the fencing piste where the match was to be held.


    Her opponent was already there. He looked tall and formidable, but Poppy was no joke. She had been fencing since her early teen years.


    They began to parry and lunge at each other¡ªattack and riposte, neither giving nor losing much ground.


    Her opponent had height and weight on her. Poppy had speed and agility. They seemed to be fairly evenly matched and the duel continued for some time until with a final shout, her opponent hit the final touch and won the match.


    "Good job." He called out.


    "Thanks." Poppy muttered and turned away, sweating buckets.


    Any match where she had to work that hard, whether she won or lost, was a good match. Still losing was not preferable to winning.


    She pulled off her fencing mask and threw it at her handler, letting loose a cascade of shoulder-length deep red hair into the light. It was damp with sweat and dangling down her back like clumpy red strings.


    She was definitely not a pretty sight, but Poppy didn''t care. She was an Erenveil warrior. What was a bit of sweat and funk?


    As she walk into the back area, Poppy unstrapped her arm bands and detached the sword wires. Without a word, she handed her sword and gloves to her handler.


    Her white fencing outfit was drenched in sweat so she began stripping even before she made it into the shower.


    As the warm water streamed across her face, Poppy closed her eyes and tried not to think about anything. Too much had been happeningtely, none of it very good.


    The war had been dragging on and on, causing people to be weary of fighting.


    At first, it was just a few border skirmishes between the battle-hardened outliersprised of avians and insectoids who had been scuffling over the same old tired territory.


    Eventually, it had involved the Larouche Gardens insectoids and the avians of Coraline Moons. Fighting was now intense around that area, with neither side gaining much ground before being pushed back again.


    It was the inevitable culmination of an ancient sh. Both sidesid im over the territory, calling it holy space belonging to their ancient ancestors who were ironically enough, humans.


    Poppy sighed.


    The term ''Holy Space'' was so oxymoronic. There was no such thing because the Erenveilian gxy was in constant motion as it orbited around another gxy.


    What they fought over was the rtive distances between the various worlds that were also spinning in their own orbital voyages around their home stars.


    But it was a truism that the more knowledge was avable, the less people were inclined to care about the truth. In the end, what they thought were truths was good enough for them, irregardless of whether the truths were really true or not.


    She squeezed lime-scented soap onto her hair and body and scrubbed herself until her skin tingled.


    Inhaling the fresh sparkling scent, Poppyughed as she remembered Jasonining at one point that she smelled like dishwashing liquid soap.


    What they didn''t realize was that she and te shared one thing inmon.


    Whereas te only wanted to see a clean white environment around him to escape the bloody filth of war, she only wanted to surround her senses with fresh citrus scents to rece the smell of blood, vomit, feces, and all the charred, burned bodies that came with heavy intense fighting.


    It was the sad consequence of being a warrior who could never escape the frequent visitations of post traumatic stress brought on by horrific memories of violent encounters.


    By the time Poppy emerged from the hot shower, her stomach wasining. She needed food.


    Her handler hadid out another set of clean space warrior ck bodysuit for her, along with the insignias that identified her as Commander of Dante''s armed guards, the Special Forces.


    Poppy threw on the clothes and made her way to the dining hall to fill her stomach.


    She had a couple of hours at least, before she had to meet up with Dante and te for their weekly overview meeting. It would be time for her to destress and just rest her tired mind and body.


    The dining hall was filled with people from across the sector of space she was currently patrolling.


    Some were visiting dignitaries that had been caught in the crossfire. Others were business executives who were enroute to take care of urgent emergencies and had found themselves stranded.


    Here and there were a few youths, students far away from their own home world. There was even a young mother with two small children.


    All were disced due to the war which was dragging on for longer than it should.


    As the attendant brought her a tter of what looked to be some sort of thick vegetable and mystery meat stew over mounds of rice, she blew on a spoonful of the food and stuffed it into her mouth, uncaring of what it tasted like.


    This was not high level eating. This was just to quell the stomach''s rumblings.


    "Mind if I join you?" A male voice asked in formal polite Erenveilian speech.


    Poppy looked up.


    It was the man who had beaten her at fencing not an hour ago.


    "Be my guest." She indicated the chair across from her with a careless wave.


    He gave her a grateful smile, set down his tter filled with steaming hot food that looked to be of the same caliber as what she was eating, and sat down.


    Even though he had showered and cleaned up, just as she had, she could still catch his basic smell, a musky sweet cinnamon scent that reminded her of a warm tasty dessert.


    He wore basic white bodysuit¡ªa safe nondescript color which tagged him as a neutral. It was what most intergctic travelers wore to remain neutral and prevent people from misidentifying them with one faction or another.


    There were no other identifying badges or insignias on him to give a hint as to his home world. For all intents and purposes, he could be a ship captain or a deck hand. There was no way to tell.


    The man was quite tall with a wiry frame that was deceptively strong. She knew how strong he was from the way he so handily beat her at one sport that she was truly good at.


    He had thick shimmering silken strands of silver hair hanging slightly past his shoulders. It was the kind of hair that would be found on dolls and tinyp dogs, not on strong dominant males.


    His skin was almost translucent they were so pale¡ªand so wless it was as if they were made of the most precious magnolia petals.


    His eyes were a light crystal blue that looked out on a world with the kind of rare joy that young children exhibited. His lips were a lush deep pink that reminded her of the kind of face that belonged on a doll¡ªsharp cheek bones, high thin nose, and a pointed chin.


    Even his pale petal ears were pointed at the tips.


    "So.. What, pray tell, is an elf doing on my ship?" Poppy''s eyes crinkled with a slight smile.

 Chapter 267 - The Elf From Marakaran

    Elves were a misnomer.


    The term referred to the ancient fictional andpletely nonexistent tall fairies that had been rumored to be around long before there were humans and other humanoid beings around the gxy.


    From what Poppy could remember of her biological humanities sses, Elves were, in fact, another subset of humans, gically drifted to better survive the world in which they found themselves after the great migration.


    For the most part, they tended to be rather good looking as a whole due to a particrly evil eugenics breeding program early on at the beginning development of the elven poption.


    Only the tall good-looking humans with pale hair, pale eyes, and pale skin were allowed to remain on the various worlds they inhabited. Those who did not fit the mold were allowed to live, but not allowed to bear children.


    Over thousands and thousands of years, the lineage bred so true that all the progeny tended to look very simr to each other. It was like a purebred poodle or Holstein cow. If you saw one, you''ve seen them all.


    Just like this tall, good looking elf who was smiling at her, showing perfect white teeth with sharp canines. He was hardly one-in-a-million. He was one amongst trillions of duplicates.


    The man smiled at her, unaware of her internal thoughts about his ancestry.


    "My name is Ash. I am part of the delegate from my home world Marakaran, here to figure out how to keep the increasing violence from creeping towards our sector of space."


    "Hmm." Poppy took a sip of the swill that passed for coffee onboard the Raptor 396.


    They had stopped to pick up a small group of war refugees at thest port of call, and he could have been one of those fleeing that smoking ruined world.


    "Are you a war refugee, Ash?"


    The manughed, his crystal blue eyes crinkling. "Not at all. I am here only to ensure that I have a home to go back to."


    "I see." She licked her spoon full of coffee creamer. It didn''t hurt to take people at face value and slowly figure out what exactly their ulterior motives were.


    "My name is Poppy. I am the ship''s Captain." She leveled a good-natured gaze at him.


    "Since we have had previous dealings¡ªmeaning you beat my ass on the piste arena awhile ago," she grinned in good sport. "It would seem that you and I have some predestined fate."


    "You are a very worthy opponent, Mdy." He nodded once, his tinum hair falling partway over his face.


    Poppy smiled. She could never resist pretty bois.


    "Let me extend a friendly hand to you. If I can be of any assistance, please don''t hesitate to ask."


    She held out a hand, which Ash took within both his own firm warm hands. He smiled at her with a warmth that radiated all the way to his eyes.


    "Thank you. And, likewise. If I can ever help you with anything, please don''t forget to call on me."


    "So tell me a little about Marakaran." She prompted.


    Ash nodded. "My world is not a huge world. Nor is it particrly wealthy. But it is a tranquil warm space to live, and we lead simple lives without much to threaten our existence."


    Poppy nodded. "Has the sudden tourist boom in your sector cause issues?"


    Ash shook his head. "It''s not the tourist boom that is causing problems. It is our proximity to Haribou."


    "Ahhh." Poppy nodded with understanding.


    Haribou was Ana?se Paroles'' world. It was also one of the wealthiest worlds in the entire gxy due to the silicate people''s knowledge of how to create exquisite weaponry.


    "Haribou is famous for being extremely neutral so that it can sell weapons to all sides of a conflict without favoritism. What has it done to your world?" Poppy wanted to know.


    "We are a world of abundant unspoiled natural resources." He sighed. "Haribou wants to use our world as a staging area to sell their weapons."


    "What?" Poppy''s eyes widened with surprise. "Why? Marakaran is a tourist destination. It does not scream of war machinery."


    He nodded his head. "No, it does not, but the people who buy what Haribou sells are very wealthy and they want to be wooed and dined on the best before they shell out their vast wealth to umte weapons of mass destruction."


    "I see." Poppy nodded.


    He sighed. "What we have to sell is pristine tropical beaches, millions of ancient waterfalls, thousands of snow-capped mountains, endless azure oceans filled with colorful corals and fishes."


    His eyes glowed with life and love for his world.


    "We have deep ravines of virgin evergreen forests, rolling hills of sun-drenched meadows, and white sandy deserts under a dazzling blue sky."


    His crystal blue eyes narrowed. "Haribou wants to use our beautifulndscapes as a beautiful backdrop to store and showcase their weapons to be sold off to the highest bidder. They n to build huge ugly ss buildings all over our world, at the most beautiful spots, in order to wine and dine their clients."


    Poppy sighed. She had been to Marakaran. She had seen its perfect utopian paradise with her own eyes.


    She had also been to Haribou. It was an ugly world of ss and metal.


    There was nothing that was living or green. It was all very cold and austere and a dull shade of grey blue, and the silicate people liked it just fine.


    To them, that was the color of extreme wealth. It was what made them the kind of money that allowed them to be able to buy entire worlds like Marakaran and transform it into yet another money-making world just like Haribou.


    It would be a crying shame.


    "Have they begun their process of acquisition?"


    Ash''s eyes grew tragic. He nodded without saying a word.


    "Then there is nothing I can do. Once the agreements have been signed, it''s a done deal."


    "There must be something that can be done! My world will die!" Ash''s voice rose in panic.


    Poppy looked at his beautiful tragic blue eyes and something inside her melted just a little.


    "Look." She turned away. "I can''t promise anything, but¡ª"


    She turned back to look at him. "Let me talk to my brother and see what he knows of this. Dante has his fingers into just about everymercially profitable venture there is."


    Ash nodded with gratefulness. Everyone knew who Prince Dante was. If anyone had a way to help his world, it would be Prince Dante.


    "Please let me know if there is anything I can do to facilitate whatever you need to do."


    Poppy stood up. "Same time tomorrow. Meet me at the fencing piste. We can have another match and at that time, I may have more information to tell you."


    He nodded with grateful eyes.


    As she walked away, Poppy could feel a warmth exuding from the elf named Ash. He seemed genuine enough, but she needed more information.


    What she could do to help him personally, Poppy had no clue, but to perhaps save a paradise from dying was a worthy cause, even if it had nothing to do with this pretty boi elf.

 Chapter 268 - The King Of Marakaran

    That night, as Poppy went through her usual night time routine, she called up her oldest brother Dante.


    "What''s my little sister doing?" Dante''s tired smiling face popped up in front of her.


    "Yikes!" He shouted, holding onto his pounding heart as he stared at the whitish blue stuff Poppy had smeared all over her face.


    "Oh rx. It''s just my sleeping mask." Poppy waved an irritated hand at him.


    "Oh Lordy, you scared me." He breathed. "My wife doesn''t do that at night. Why do you do it?"


    "Heh." Sheughed. "Candace already has a husband. Several atst count. She doesn''t need to do any of this."


    "You''re a beautiful woman. You do this and no man will be able to sleep with you." Dante frowned.


    "Oh hush. Until I have someone, I will maintain my nightly mask."


    Dante sighed. "So something must havee up for you to be sharing your nightly beauty ritual with me at thiste hour instead of catching up with your beauty sleep."


    "You''re upte too." She looked behind him, seeing the familiar war room from inside his moon that he barricaded himself into when work piled up to the ceiling.


    "Thebination of my own businesses along with all the work that piles up from Erenveil is crushing." Dante rubbed a tired hand across his eyes.


    "How was it done before?" Poppy frowned, seeing how exhausted Dante looked.


    Dante sighed. "Father and Byron shared the work before. Once I became one of the Crown Princes, Father piled all his work on me."


    He shook his head. "This would have been fine except I was already overworked with my own business ventures. His full load, on top of my own work, is literally drowning me."


    "Ask one of the other brothers to help you." Poppy suggested.


    "Yeah like who?" Dante gave her a dry look.


    "Lucas?" She suggested. "Isn''t he between projects right now?"


    Dante rolled his eyes. "Lucas isn''t trained to do this sort of work. He''s an actor. A very good actor, but he is definitely neither a businessman nor a ruler of a realm as vast as Erenveil."


    Dante began counting on his fingers.


    "Leonardo is too busy with the hospital ships. Jason and Jared have their fashion businesses alongside the private security details they have to oversee. You and te are run ragged at the front lines, especially with this never-ending war. Byron is stuck in bird territory trying to put out war fires."


    "What about Candace?" Poppy raised an eyebrow.


    "Candace is my wife. I can''t¡ª" he gave a wild gesture. "I can''t ask her to¡­"


    "Share the burden? Partner up? Pull together?" Poppy sighed. "I swear. You are my blood brother but sometimes, I think you came out of a dinosaur egg."


    Dante gave her a miserable look. "I want my wife to have a happy life doing the things she likes to do. I don''t want her to work herself to death trying to help me with this crushing work load that I''m under."


    "So instead, you''re working yourself to death and trying to turn her into a widow?" Poppy pursed her lips.


    "Talk to Candace, Brother." Poppy suggested gently. "Tell her what you''re struggling with and see what she says."


    Dante nodded. "Okay Sis. I''ll do that."


    Poppy nodded. "Dante, the reason for my call at thiste hour is something I figured you can help me with. I''m sorry to dump even more work on you, but you''re the only one I can think of who might be able to help. Do you know anything about the world of Marakaran?"


    "Marakaran¡­sounds familiar. Hang on." He dug through some virtual files until he found what he needed.


    "Here we go. It''s a resort world. It makes the bulk of its wealth on luxury tourism."


    Dante narrowed his eyes. "There is a small but significant trade business for their beautiful ocean pearls. They also have a thriving trade in rare valuable tropical fruits and vegetables. It''s good money but nothing like weapons orputerized systems."


    Poppy nodded. "I happened to be talking to a person who lives on Marakaran. He told me that Haribou is looking to buy the world as a staging area to sell their weapons."


    "Is that a bad thing?"


    Poppy nodded. "He says it will destroy their natural habitat and turn Marakaran into a dead world in a matter of decades. He asked me if there was any way I could prevent what Haribou will do to Marakaran."


    Dante scratched his cheek. "This sounds serious. If they''ve already made ns to convert this paradise world into one of the weapons worlds, then there isn''t much we can do after the fact."


    Poppy sniffed. "I''ve only been to Marakaran once and I remembered thinking that if I ever got married, I would make my husband take me there for our honeymoon. It looks like I won''t get that chance in the future."


    "That beautiful, huh?" Dante''s eyes suddenly grew sharp with interest.


    Poppy nodded.


    "Go to sleep little sis. Let me dig around a bit and find out what the deal is."


    Poppy nodded, said her goodbyes and it was lights out. She had a date early tomorrow morning with Pretty Boi Ash to duel to the death with fencing swords.


    As Dante closed the visual monitor between himself and Poppy, he opened up a new visual monitor and began scanning through images of the world.


    It was, indeed very beautiful. So beautiful in fact, that it instantly became Dante''s vision of the perfect destination wedding for himself and his brothers and wife.


    Unfortunately, holding a wedding with the entire royal lineage of all seven Co-Emperors and an Empress in a location that was so rifle with turbulence was almost a no go, even with te''s warships keeping a tight security around the world.


    He rubbed his jaw, thinking of different ways to get what he wanted. After a few minutes, Dante called his attendant into the war room.


    "Yes, Your Majesty?" The attendant bowed.


    "Get me in touch with the King of Marakaran."


    "Yes Sir."


    It took almost twenty minutes to locate the King of Marakaran. During that twenty minutes, Dante was able to clear out a nice fat stack of documents that needed to be done.


    It had gotten sote that Dante was about to call it a night when the alert sounded that a call wasing in.


    "Your Majesty, the King of Marakaran."


    Dante nodded at the attendant.. "Put him on."

 Chapter 269 - CandyLand, Marakaran

    Within seconds, the pale androgynous face of the King of Marakaran popped up on the virtual monitor hovering above Dante''s work desk.


    "Prince Dante." The King of Marakaran greeted.


    "King Ashwyn of Marakaran." Dante responded. "I know it''s ratherte¡ª"


    King Ashwyn held up a hand. "No, please. I am grateful that Princess Poppy was able to convince you to talk to me. I am eternally grateful to her."


    "So you are the person she spoke with today."


    "Yes."


    "She didn''t tell me she spoke to the King of Marakaran."


    King Ashwyn blushed. "She didn''t know. I introduced myself as Ash, amon elf."


    Dante smiled. "Isn''t that a bit deceiving?"


    Ashwyn shook his hand in protest. "No! I just didn''t want her to have any preconceptions or be on guard. It''s so¡ªexhausting to have to¡­"


    "I understand, believe me." Dante sighed. "So, King Ashwyn¡ª"


    "Please just call me Ash."


    Dante nodded. "And you can call me Dante. Let''s be frank with each other and cut to the chase. It''s gettingte and I don''t know about you but I''m exhausted."


    Ash nodded with a weary smile. "As am I. I have a very early fencing appointment with your sister."


    "Fencing? That''s her favorite sport." Danteughed.


    Ash grinned with anticipation. "She is going to kill me tomorrow."


    Danteughed. "So tell me, Ash. You are the king of Marakaran. How was it that this situation regarding Haribou could have happened during your watch?"


    Ash sighed. "My world is a democratically-driven world, whereby we all vote into reality, any possibilities regarding the direction our world moves."


    Dante nodded with understanding.


    Ash shrugged. "Unfortunately, with such a world, the poption has to be fairly educated in worldly events and are a bit discerning about consequences of their actions or their votes tend to go to the smoothest talking politicians, regardless whether he is well-intentioned or not."


    Dante nodded with understanding. There were many forms of government within the gxy. Most tended to do well, but sometimes, the extremists caused quite a bit of grief on either ends of the government spectrum.


    "My people have been sold a bill of goods by the Haribou representatives and have voted to sell off their world to the highest bidder and turn themselves into indentured serfs to serve the needs of their Haribou masters." His blue eyes grew tragic.


    "So what is the point in having a king?"


    "I am simply the mouthpiece of the popce. I go around and spread good cheer to all elf-kind, like some sort of Santa us or Fairy Godmother." Ash gave a brave smile.


    "I try to champion the causes that will benefit my people, but whether or not they listen to me ispletely up to them."


    Dante clicked his tongue. "Tch tch tch. Well, that''s a waste of kingly space." He rubbed his nose. "I''m not even an emperor yet and I''m already about as dictatorial as theye. If I had to wait for things to happen on a vote, my businesses would all crumble to dust."


    "Well, there''s the difference. You run businesses. I govern a democratically-led world."


    Dante sniffed. "Your form of government does have its benefits IF the people are educated enough to govern themselves. If not, things go south quickly."


    Ash took a deep breath. "I am all for the people wanting to govern themselves. I do want people to have the freedom to be able to have their voices heard."


    He shook his head. "But I want them to still have a kingdom to govern. If thises to pass, we will have nothing, and in fact, will be lorded over by dictators from another world."


    Dante stared at Ash for a moment.


    "Has the vote been cast yet?"


    "No. It will, in a week, but already the polls are indicating it will be a close vote, with the win on the side of the Haribou representatives."


    "Is it toote to add another candidate?"


    "Who?"


    "Me."


    "What?"


    "Well, not ME, me, but my conglomerate, CandyLand."


    "Candy¡ªCandyLand? What is that?"


    "It''s just an amusement theme park conglomerate, but it doesn''t matter what it is. I''m not interested in winning."


    Ash frowned in puzzlement.


    "I''m not grasping what you''re trying to tell me."


    Dante sighed. "Look. If there are only two options, the majority wins, right?"


    Ash nodded.


    "But if there are three options, two of which make VERY SIMILAR amounts of money, the side that wants money is going to be divided."


    Ash gasped. "And meanwhile, the side that opposes it will remain opposed, no matter how lucrative either option will be."


    "Yes. If Ie in with an offer that your greedy side wants, I will be able to split the ''yes'' vote between CandyLand and Haribou Weaponry."


    "Which means you both lose and we win back our home world." Ash covered his face with trembling hands. It just might work. "You only have one week left¡ª"


    "Don''t worry. I have some big guns on my end. By the end of the day tomorrow, EVERYONE from your world is going to know about this new offer from me."


    ===========


    After Dante ended the call with Ash, he immediately ced a call to Lucas.


    "Hey Man." He called out as soon as Lucas came online. "How close are you to Erenveil?"


    Lucas rubbed his bleary eyes. "It''s fucking two in the GT morning. What in hell cannot wait till morning?"


    "I got a job for you."


    "Not interested." He snorted. "I got a full time job now. It''s called Candi-handler."


    "You need to do this PRECISELY BECAUSE of Candace."


    Lucas blinked. "Pray tell."


    "I want to hold our wedding in Marakaran. I need your help to do this."


    "Marakaran?" Lucas coughed for a moment as he tried to orient himself to the discussion. "I remember that world. We did a huge male swimsuitmercial there a couple of years ago."


    "Oh yes that''s right. I remember seeing you in those swimsuits. Didn''t you get voted Best Hunk in the Gxy or some such drivel that year?" Dante muttered.


    Lucasughed. "It was Male Model of the Year Award, and yes, I won first ce. I was also there in one of my movies."


    "So what do you think about the ce?"


    Lucas sighed. "Marakaran is one of the most beautiful worlds in this gxy. I remember thinking back then that if I ever got married, I''d take my wife there on our honeymoon."


    "It''s about to the sold off to Haribou for their weapons sales force."


    "Oh no. No no no!" Lucas shook his head with horror. "If Haribou takes over, that ce will die a rapid death. The silicate people don''t care about living organisms. To them, ss is life. Everything else is in the process of dying."


    "That''s why I need your help. I want to give our wife the most beautiful wedding in Marakaran. You are going to have to help me wrestle Marakaran back from the Haribou people."


    "How exactly?" Lucas frowned, still not able to grasp the situation.


    "You are going to be the spokesperson for CandyLand Marakaran."


    "Huh?" Lucas covered his mouth with his hand. "You''re nning on setting up CandyLand in Marakaran?"


    "No, no. We''re just going to PRETEND to set it up so we can split the yes votes. Both Haribou and CandyLand will be rejected in favor of keeping Marakaran pristine. Get it?"


    Lucas'' eyes popped.. "Count me in. What do you want me to do?"

 Chapter 270 - The King And Queen Of CandyLand

    Within twenty-four hours, Candace found herself standing in the middle of a gumdrop world, dressed in some bright pink rubbery dress that looked like fondant icing draped over her body.


    Her long blonde hair was artfully arranged with lollipops and taffy flowers of bright blues and yellows and reds. In her hand was a huge scepter made of arge gold foil-wrapped chocte kiss stuck atop a red and white candy cane.


    By her side was her husband Lucas. He had been nicely cleaned up by the stylists and no longer looked like a homeless beach bum.


    His blond hair had been dutifully re-dyed a nice shade of gold-pink running in streaks all over his bright pale blond head.


    The mega star''s razzmatazz glitter and mour was back!!!


    Pink-gold was Lucas'' signature color, one that was instantly recognizable as the gxy famous award-winning Second Prince of Erenveil, and he yed it up to the hilt.


    He was simrly dressed in some rubbery fondant icing royal clothing that were more suited for a clownish male monarch than his usual serious self, but for this particr CandyLand set, it was perfect.


    On his head was a crown made of gold decorated with dozens of colorful jelly beans. In his hand was a grapefruit-sized cluster of yellow rock candy with a ''C'' stuck on top, indicating it was the realm of CandyLand he was reigning over.


    They were both standing on top of a round tform that had been decorated with stic frosting to look as if it was the top of a beautiful white frosted cake.


    All around them were more of the same rubbery fondant flowers in multitude of colors. The green peppermint trees were covered in gumdrop lights, and the bushes held roses of red and pink bubble gum clusters.


    All day long, they spent working with the production crew on the shoot.


    The dialogue was cheesy and cringe-worthy but the staged kisses between Candace and Lucas were so real that many of the stage hands blushed and had to look away.


    There was no way to fake the kind of passion that Candace and Lucas shared. They had known the kind of intimacy that spouses shared and it was very evident in the way they touched and looked at each other.


    "And CUT!" The Director yelled out at the final scene. "Okay! We''re done for the day. Tomorrow, we will be shooting the gond ride on the chocte river. Please learn your parts so I don''t have to keep pausing the shoot."


    "Sorry¡­" Candace grimaced. She had never done anything like this before, and suddenly being thrust into Lucas'' world was dibobting and unnerving.


    "No no! You did great!" Lucas hastened to reassure her while giving the Director a mean look.


    How dare he talk to Candace in that manner? Didn''t he realize Candace was the Empress of the gxy?


    Jason and Jared grinned as they joined them for the walk back to their section of the ship.


    One more day flying and they would be back in Erenveil space. It was quite amazing how capable Dante was.


    A singlemand from him had resulted in a nearby cruise ship being deployed to meet up with the Raptor 650 to take them back to Erenveil within two days.


    Mother Gwen and Lyra had tearfully sent them home with the promise that they would return within two weeks to attend their wedding.


    Meanwhile, onboard the cruise ship, a movie stage hadpletely taken over one of the ballrooms,plete with director and crew.


    At this point, they were allunched head-over-heels into Lucas'' world of cinematography and acting.


    Each scene was shot and reshot over and over and over to capture the most nuanced aspects. It got to the point where, if dialogue had not beenpletely remembered at the start of the shoot, it was most definitely engraved in the mind by the end of the shoot.


    Lucas was the main star of the show so luckily, the scenes were mostly of him. Candace however, being the queen of his CandyLand Kingdom, had quite a few speaking parts.


    "You did a fantastic job, Love!" Jason swooned. "I think I have a huge crush on you."


    Candaceughed. "Isn''t that a bit much, since you''re my husband?"


    "No it''s not!" Lucas sniffed. "I have a crush on you too!"


    Jared coughed. "You guys stop it. Who in the world has crushes on their wife?"


    Jason pursed his lips. "Weren''t you the one who kept pulling out that picture of Candace and staring at it with drool running down your mouth?"


    "I wasn''t drooling!" Jared huffed.


    "Picture? What picture?" Candace wanted to know.


    Jasonughed and waved his finger, showing an image of Candace and Lucas in one of their faked photo-op pictures that won The People''s Choice Award for Couple of the Gxy. Above the image of the two lovebirds was the single word Lucandace.


    "Oh my word!" Lucas guffawed. "He was drooling over my fake photo-op wife from the People''s Choice Award! Hahaha!!!"


    Jared looked upset that his brothers were teasing him so much.


    "Oh hush. You guys stop teasing him." Candace pped at both Jason''s and Lucas'' arms.


    She reached out and gave Jared a hug. "It''s okay Sweetie. I love you too."


    Jared leaned down and gave Candace a swift hard kiss on the lips. Trust Candace to always make him feel loved and wanted. The crush that he had just moments ago denied had grown evenrger than before.


    "Let''s go and take a look at tomorrow''s outfits that I made for you and Lucas." he ushered them forward, changing the subject.


    ===============


    For the rest of that evening, while she and Lucas were being fitted for new clothes and shoes by the twins, Byron and Leonardo were in talks with Dante and te over 3D visuals, making short and long-term ns.


    "We need to make sure that this war ends soon. I do not want to bring my child into this gxy in such chaos churning all across the gxy." Byron shook his head.


    te pounded the table in front of him. "You think you have it bad. With a war raging like this, I cannot take any time off at all to be with my wife."


    "You and me both." Leonardo sighed. He wasn''tining about the work that had to be done, but it was hardly fair when the other brothers were able to do their work wherever they wished, but he and te had to be out at the skirmish lines all the time.


    "Bottom line is, conflicts require the fuel of weaponry to sustain itself." Dante pointed out. "Without weapons, the wars die off forck of something tounch at the enemy."


    "That is true. Choke off the supply of weapons and you''ve starved the war on both sides." Leonardo agreed.


    "Choking off weapons means we have to neutralize Haribou." Byron nibbled his lower lip. "Or at least, the weapons manufacturing parts of Haribou."


    te nodded.. "Once the avians and the insectoids run out of weapons, we can dominate both sides and keep them from scrimmaging all over the gxy."

 Chapter 271 - Nap Time

    "Lean in towards Lucas a little bit." The Director ordered. "A little more. Lucas, move your hair back a little¡ªyou''re hiding your wife''s face too much."


    "Okay. Let''s take it from the point where the gondolier sings O Sole Mio." The Director raised his hand and gave a quick motion to start.


    There was no doubt who was the star of the show.


    Lucas was wearing a pair of pink pants that ended at the knees, with strange pointed toe shoes to match.


    His white broadcloth shirt was full and billowy, but although it was tucked into the back of his pants, he might as well not have worn one at all because none of his buttons were used.


    His sun-bronzed torso, made even darker against the whiteness of the shirt, was out on full disy due to the exuberant use of the fan-generated wind that was blowing directly at them.


    A strong steady gust continued to blow his long pink-blond hair and shirt back from his body revealing his bare pecs and abs that had darkened from all those weeks surfing on his paradise ind.


    As his side-kick partner, all Candace needed to do was sit on the gond stool and smile, say a few words as prompts so that he couldunch into his well-rehearsed and heart-felt words written by some love-struck script writer.


    She wore a simple white dress that was not very fancy because it was mostly used as a foil to keep the eyes fixated on that muscr bronze body of the movie star standing next to her. Even her face was partially hidden away by a big hat rimmed with fake candied fruit.


    The director knew what he was doing. It wasn''t that the Prime Avgo Female wasn''t beautiful or that she wasn''t famous. Of course everyone knew who the Prime Avgo Female was.


    Focusing on the Prince meant that Lucas would be able to carry most of the acting work and cover for herck of acting skills.


    Jason and Jared sat back and watched the show with eager eyes. They loved watching Candace perform with Lucas.


    Surprisingly enough, although she had no previous acting experience, Candace was a natural actress who provided a perfect counterpoint for Lucas. All she needed was more experience, which at this point totaled exactly two days of screen time.


    The two of them were obviously a natural match for each other, as Lucas did not have to act as if he was in love with his wife.


    In fact, Lucas was so obviously in love that it was oozing out all over the screen. The director had seen this and was capitalizing on the extremely handsome actor''s emotions, drawing each ounce out as much as he possibly could.


    The twins smiled as they kept their eyes on their wife-turned-actress. Today was thest day of the two weeks that the twins were supposed to share with her.


    It sounded like a lot of time¡ªtwo weeks, but the reality was, there had been so much extraneous activity that they had only been able to sleep with her for half of that time.


    The remainder of the nights had been mostly of Candace crashing on the bed alone after an exhaustive day doing something with Lyra or Mother Gwen.


    Of course, this was crucial business and they did not begrudge her the need to take care of Mother Gwen and Lyra, but a tiny part of them felt shorted.


    After today, there would be two weeks where she would not be able to spend time with them at all since it would be designated time with Leonardo and then Byron.


    Those two were important for the Avgo shards they still held within their hearts. Without the final two shards, their infant could not be conceived.


    It was not just the twins who would be short-shifted. During the week that would have been te''s turn, they were supposed to get married. This meant te would have to wait a bit to get his full week.


    At least that was the schedule that they had been tentatively given by Dante.


    In reality, things shifted ording to life events. Absolutely nothing was set in stone.


    Several hourster, the Director cut the scene and sent them home. He had gotten exactly what he wanted and he was happy with the shoot.


    As Lucas helped Candace back to where the twins were seated, they stood up to give her hugs.


    "Great job Honey."


    "You looked amazing Darling."


    "Thank you! I can''t believe you men were able toe up with these crazy amazing outfits!" Sheughed.


    Jason and Jared grinned and gave each other high fives. She loved their designs!


    Candace blew stray strands of blonde hair from her eyes.


    "Oh my gosh. I''m so tired. Would you all mind if I just went to my room and took a quick nap?"


    "I was going to suggest that." Lucas smiled tiredly. "We''ve been up very early this morning doing this shoot and I need a nap myself."


    "We''ll see you for dinner?" Candace suggested hopefully.


    Lucas yawned. "Absolutely. Get some rest Love."


    He leaned down and kissed Candace. Straightening up, he giving a quick wave to his brothers and headed down the hall towards his room.


    "We''ll walk with you to your room then." Jason offered as he linked his arms with Candace. Jared took her other arm and they escorted her to her room.


    "Want toe in?" Candace asked.


    "You want us to take a nap with you?" Jason''s eyes brightened.


    "Your bright eyes don''t look too tired." Candace pursed her lips.


    Immediately, Jason''s eyes drooped, looking more tired than an old porch hound.


    "I''m super tired! Oh boy, am I tired." He gave a fake yawn. "I''m so tired I could sleep for days on end. Absolutely."


    Candaceughed as Jason and Jared opened the door for her.


    "Come on in." She moved in ahead and reached up to pull the basket of fake candied fruit off her head.


    The men helped her take the fruit basket with sad shakes of their heads.


    "Why did you design this thing so damn heavy?" Jared fussed. "She had to wear it for eight hours!"


    "No choice. The light stic stuff looked so fake, the Director rejected it immediately." Jason sighed.


    Candaceughed as she stripped off the t rubbery fruit roll-up that covered her body. In minutes, she was standing in the room wearing nothing but her bra and panties.


    Jared and Jason looked at each other. They had to control their urges. She was exhausted and needed to sleep.


    "Hmmm. I''m so tired.. Let''s just pile on the bed and sleep, shall we?" She patted their arms and headed towards the bed, leaving a trail for them to follow that consisted of a single pair of panties and ace bra.

 Chapter 272 - All Systems Go

    [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT]


    Without wasting a single moment, they all jumped into bed with her.


    Their brains were on fire but they pushed all the erotic thoughts into the back of their minds and tried hard not to think about anything but sleep.


    "You guys." She grumbled. "How am I going to sleep if you''re all like this?"


    She pushed them back a bit. "You''re still fully dressed. Take off your clothes so it''s morefortable."


    Take off the¡ªoff the clothes? Could they do that and just sleep? With a beautiful naked wife next to them, was it even possible?


    Jason and Jared shrugged. They didn''t think so, but what did they know? They were just simple Imperial Princes.


    Whatever she asked them to do, they would do.


    Quickly, they shed off their shirt and pants, leaving their underwear on. It was their final line of defense agains her naked nubile body.


    As they sidled up next to her, their skin touched hers and they each felt a surge of heat that exploded from their sr plexus, radiating outward until their entire bodies were flushed with desperate aching need.


    "Hmmm. You both are so hot." She murmured in a sleepy voice and reached out with smooth cool hands to touch their abs.


    Her fingers began ying with their hard stomach muscles, almost as if she was teasing them.


    They looked at her face. Her eyes were closed and she looked as if she was half asleep.


    The twins could barely breathe as their breaths got caught in their throats.


    Forget sleeping. They could die of delicious torture at this moment.


    Unable to hold back, their bodies began to inadvertently buck as they rubbed their swollen members onto either side of her hips. Their hands reached tentatively for her breasts and began fondling her.


    The more they fondled, the heavier Candace began to breathe.


    "Oooohhh. Feels good." She murmured, touching their buttocks and feeling the softness of the fabric of their underwear.


    "Why don''t you just take these useless things off," she suggested. "You men have grown out of them."


    They looked down at their bodies and grinned.


    Her eyes were closed. How could she see that both their penises were already so aroused, they were poking halfway up out of their underwear bands?


    This must be her green light, thumbs up, all systems GO signal!


    Quickly shedding thest remaining articles of clothing, they happily mbered back under the covers with Candace and began taking turns kissing and licking her body.


    It had been almost a week since theirst lovemaking session and their bodies were famished.


    The twins began kissing her face, paying close attention to her ear lobes. As their tongues dipped into her ears, she moaned with pleasure. How could the feeling of tongues in her ears feel so erotic?


    "You like that, Love? Hmm?" One of them murmured as his tongue plunging into her mouth, tasting, caressing, sucking.


    Meanwhile, the other breathed into her neck and began suckling her, leaving dark red kiss marks on her pale skin.


    "Hmm. Your skin smells so good."


    Candace wound her hands into their hair, gasping and moaning with mounting ecstasy. They were driving her crazy and her body was starting to burn up.


    They continued downward, assaulting her senses with their lips and tongue on her breasts, suckling and tasting, licking and tonguing her until it felt so good that she cried for more.


    They paused there and began kissing her stomach. More red kiss marks appeared all over her abdomen as they suckled and tickled her with their kisses.


    Jason paused and reached with both his hands to push her legs wide open. His fingers parted her petals until he could see the depths of her dark hole.


    Leaning down, he began licking and kissing the lips in between her legs until she was mewling and moaning, barely able to breathe.


    As Jason continued thoroughly kissing her womanhood, both of Jared''s hands were on her breasts, kneading and stroking them, using his sensitive fingers to touch her nipples, rolling and gently pinching them until Candace''s body wracked with pleasure.


    Jason''s tongue continued plunging into her depths until Candace screamed in orgasmic pleasure, gushing out in cascades of love juice.


    Jason flipped her onto her stomach and ced her on top of Jared''s body.


    "I''m going to enter you, Love." Jared whispered.


    She nodded, feeling Jared gently inserting hisrge bulbous head into her entrance. She was so wet that it took only a slight push for him to plunge his entire shaft into her body.


    "Haaaaaahhh¡­" Jared breathed with ecstasy as he began gently moving his hips, sliding himself in and out with a steady regr rhythm.


    Meanwhile, Jason was feeling around in the crevice between her buttocks with his finger.


    Oh Lord, what was he doing!


    Her eyes widened as she realized he was going to enter her backside.


    The two of them began holding her steady as Jason continued to work his finger into her body. It took a couple of tries, but finally, Jason was able to get his entire finger into her depth.


    As Jared began pumping himself into her body, Jason poked at her rear end with his finger, getting her body used to the feeling of being loved from the rear.


    Candace moaned and cried at the feeling of beingpletely filled up by her men. The feeling was at once strange and exciting. So much so that she came within a matter of minutes, triggering an orgasm from Jared.


    They switched ces after that and it was Jason''s turn to enter her.


    With a few gentle thrusts, he entered her body and began thrusting while Jared was above, lubricating the inside of her buttocks with his finger.


    Ten minutes of thrusting and she hit her third orgasm as Jason emptied himself into her, grunting with the joy of release.


    After they rested for a moment, the twins grabbed her and took her into the shower. They beganthering themselves and her up with mounds of sweetly scented soap, cleaning her thoroughly.


    As they cleaned her, their erections came back full force.


    Once was not enough for them.. They wanted more and she was the only one who could provide them with the release they needed.

 Chapter 273 - Double Stuff

    [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT]


    "Ready for us, Baby?" Jared whispered in her ear. "We''re both going to try and enter you at the same time. If you are ufortable or don''t want to do this, just let us know, okay?"


    "That''s right, Love." Jason kissed her cheek. "This is supposed to be fun for all of us. If it''s not fun and you''re notfortable with it, just let us know and we can do other things that are more to our liking."


    She nodded, knowing what they meant.


    Once again, she climbed onto Jared''s body, even as Jason knelt behind her. This time, they fully lubed themselves and her, and they were ready to go again.


    From under her, Jared slowly began thrusting his member into her womanhood while, from above and behind her, Jason slowly began pushing his hard lubed shaft into her rear end.


    "Aaaaaahhh!!!" She gasped.


    "Am I hurting you?" Jason asked gently.


    "No. I was just¡ªstartled." Candaceughed nervously.


    "Rx Love. Once you rx, it will be much more pleasurable for you." He suggested, rubbing the small of her back with his warm palms and firm thumbs.


    At first, Jason went very slowly, but then once he hadpletely entered her, he and Jared both paused so she could get used to the both of them being inside her at once.


    For Candace, it was an entirely new feeling. It was very simr to the first time Dante had made love to her virgin body.


    He had touched and thrust his body into areas of her body that she did not even know existed and it felt strange and delicious at the same time.


    The twins were now doing the same thing and she was feeling that same slight trepidation mixed with the thrill of trying something she had never thought of trying before.


    This was new. And strange.


    And she wasn''t sure she liked it much¡­


    But then they began rocking their bodies gently into her. Their sighs and pants of pleasure filled her ears, making her body more and more aroused.


    As she became more stimted, she became more wanton. The most decadent, carnal sounds began to emerge from her throat to join that of the men''s uncontroble panting.


    They were heating up so much from all the bodies in motion that it was hard to tell whose sweat was whose, as Jason dripped on Candace and she in turn, dripped on Jared.


    It was so erotic to feel two muscr lusty men pounding their thick meat into her body that she quickly reached the zenith of her desire.


    This time, however, she remained at near peak, riding the pleasurable waves continuously until the men were unable to hold back the tides of their pleasure any longer.


    Their faces contorted with intense pleasure, and they caught their breaths as the pleasure became almost too much to bear.


    "Haaaaaahhhh!!! Ahhhhhh!!! Ooooooooohhh!!!" They all gasped and groaned together as they came in toe-curling, sweat-inducing, shuddering climaxes.


    As their male members orgasmed within her, she felt powerful waves of ecstasy roll through as her body squeezed and gripped their hard shafts with her powerful muscles.


    Within seconds, they spent themselves and fell back against each other, panting and heaving.


    It was then that Candace decided that she did like this strange new double-loving after all.


    She liked it very much.


    After the second triangle love match, their bodies were so worked up and sweaty, it was time for another cooling shower.


    "Come on sleepy head," Jason prodded Candace as he gently pulled her up and lifted her onto her feet. "We have get you cleaned up again."


    "But why? I already took two showers today." She pretended to grumble even as her hands touched her sticky sweaty body.


    "Because we have to join the other guys for dinner in a little while, and with their excellent bat noses, they will know we''ve been working you into a dither instead of letting you sleep." Jared chuckled.


    "That''s not a bad thing." Jason gave a wicked grin. "I don''t mind if they get a little jealous."


    Jared shook his head. "They know today is ourst day with our wife. They''re not going to get jealous. However, they will get upset at us because we didn''t let her take a nap."


    "Hmm. Regardless, we all need to get cleaned up again." Jason gestured at the shower. "Let''s go, let''s go. The sooner we clean up, the sooner we can let her rest for at least half an hour before dinner."


    The twins chattered back and forth as they adjusted the water temperature and then led her back under the warm spray of the steaming rain-shower head.


    With a soapy wash cloth, Jared knelt down in front of her and began cleaning the front of her body.


    As he rubbed her body with the cloth, Jason poured liquid soap on his hands and began to rubbing gently between her legs, working up a richther.


    She tried helping out bythering their hair with shampoo, but there were two of them and only one of her, so after a few awkward attempts, they made her stop and just stand there while they took care of her.


    With slow tender touches, Jared began to massage the soap into her scalp with gentle circr motions, washing out the sweat that had been dripping from her head.


    Jason continued to wash her body until he was satisfied that every inch of her body was squeaky clean.


    They both worked on her until she was once again covered in thick suds.


    Then, they rinsed her off, wrapped her in a warm towel, and sat her on the teak stool while they went back into the shower and finished cleaning themselves.


    Then, they dried her hair and body with a warm blower and the three of them headed back to bed.


    Since the sheets werepletely drenched in theirbined bodily fluids, it took them a few more minutes to change the bedding before they would allow her to resume a supine position.


    By the time they were ready to take a nap, it was almost time to get up and change into something presentable so they could join their brothers for dinner.

 Chapter 274 - [Bonus ] Dual Transformation

    With only fifteen minutes left before they had to get up and dress for dinner, they decided just to lie there and let their bodies recover from all the loving.


    The twins were lying on either side of Candace, resting their heads on her stomach.


    She was gently rubbing their soft green hair that was almost dry when she suddenly remembered something that she was supposed to ask them.


    "So, remember what I asked you guys about a couple of weeks ago, where I noticed you didn''t change into bats when you came?" Candace asked.


    "Of course we remember." Jared mumbled, half asleep. "Except you never brought it up again."


    "Yes. I was going to ask you, but then I forgot."


    "You¡ªyou forgot? How could you forget something that important?" Jason''s eyes slowly opened.


    "I''m sorry. Was it important?" Candace murmured. "I just thought it was because you two had better control than your brothers."


    Jason and Jared both turned their heads and looked at each other.


    "Darling. We don''t transform into bats and we don''t lose control of our bodies during sex because we''re not¡­" Jared paused for a moment, not knowing how to exin.


    Jason sighed. He twisted his body until he was facing her, his head still on her stomach.


    "We''re not normal, Candace." He sighed. "You are the only one who knows that because you are our wife."


    "Huh?" She gave him a questioning nce. "What do you mean?"


    "Let me see if I can exin it in simple terms." Jared cleared his throat.


    "For us, being a human does not requires mindful transformation. Being a bat however, requires mindful transformation."


    Candace frowned. "I don''t quite understand. Are you telling me that being human is the default for you?"


    They both nodded. "That''s exactly what we are telling you. For example, if we were to be knocked unconscious while we were in bat form, we would transform back into human form because it really is our default."


    "That sounds really normal to me." She shrugged. "What''s so strange about that?"


    "Darling. What do you think the default state is for our other brothers?"


    Candace thought about it for a moment. Suddenly her eyes widened and she gasped with surprise.


    "When they lose control, they revert back to being bats!"


    "Precisely!" Jason and Jared both spoke up.


    "But why¡­"


    Jason shrugged. "We don''t know. Maybe it''s because our mother is not an Avgo female?"


    "Neither is Byron''s mother." Candace pointed out.


    "But you haven''t slept with Byron yet. You don''t know if he will turn or not."


    "Actually, I have seen Byron transform into a bat when he was losing control. It was the day when he found out he was no longer the Crown Prince due to his illegitimate status."


    The twins nodded. "In that case, we have no idea why we are the way we are. It could be due to one other thing that makes us¡­abnormal."


    "What is that?"


    "We can also turn into mermen." Jared muttered in such a low voice, Candace thought she was hearing things.


    "Say what?"


    Jason cleared his throat. "We don''t just have the ability to turn into bats. We can also turn into mermen, just like our mother can."


    ""Wow!" Candace gasped. "Howe you never told me?"


    "It''s something that we try to hide away." Jared''s face was grim. "If it were ever to be revealed that we did not breed true, our mother would be rejected by the Emperor."


    "Breed true?" Candace''s mind grappled about, trying to figure out exactly what they were talking about. "What in the world are you talking about? How much truer can you possibly be?"


    "You don''t understand." Jason sighed. "The royal bloodline is a pure lineage of blood bats that breed true."


    Jared nodded. "When a child is born of the Emperor''s lineage, that child cannot transform into his mother''s lineage. He or she can only transform into a bat."


    "Ohhhh." Candace nodded. "I remember hearing someone tell me that my children could only be bats because their fathers were all blood bats."


    "That''s right. Unfortunately, we can not only transform into bats, we can also transform into mermen." Jason''s face flushed with embarrassment.


    As she stared at both of them in astonishment, the twins looked away, unable to meet her eyes.


    "Please keep this secret for us, Candace." Jared pleaded. "We have kept this dualistic nature a secret all these years to protect our mother."


    "We don''t care what happens to us, but if this gets out, she will be disparaged and ridiculed." Jason mumbled.


    "That''s ridiculous!" Candace scowled. "Why would anyone think such trash!"


    "It''s because our mother is the Emperor''s only wife who was not an Avgo female." Jason responded. "Many people think that because she is not an Avgo female, ours and Ariana''s gics are of inferior stock."


    "No one has ever been able to prove that we are inferior to our other brothers and sisters." Jared shook his head. "However, if they knew that we could transform into mermen, they would absolutely point out that it was due to the inferior genes from our mother."


    Candace took a deep breath. "But you men are bats. The only people who can change into blood bats are those who have at least on blood bat parent."


    "Hmm yes, that''s right." Jason nodded. "We got lucky. We were able to morph into bats with our first transformation.


    "Yeah. We didn''t actually shift into mermen for at least another year, and by then, we were able to hide it fairly well." Jared grimaced.


    "Ariana is barely ten years old. She''s too young to morph because she hasn''t hit puberty yet, but our mother is very concerned. She is not sure if Ariane will morph into a bat first or a mermaid first." Jason confided.


    "If you''re so worried about her transformation, why not send her and your mother to Avalia and let her live with Mother Gwen for awhile?"


    Jason and Jared looked at each other for a couple of minutes, but then Jared sighed.


    "That would mean she would have to leave Father."

 Chapter 275 - [Bonus ] Candaces Mermen

    Candace pursed her lips and thought about the entire situation for a few minutes.


    Something was not right about how the twins were thinking about all of this, but she couldn''t quite put her finger on it, at least not yet.


    "You said that the Emperor would reject your mother if Ariana morphed into a mermaid instead of a bat. Why would your mother stay with a man like that?"


    "Because he is the Emperor. For us to be considered Princes and for Ariana to be considered a Princess is important to her. It is our birthright after all."


    "But a birthright should remain a birthright no matter how a person matures and ages." She reasoned.


    "The natural growth and development of a child should not be the reason for a birthright to be taken away." She scratched her head in frustration.


    "That''s not a birthright. That''s not a right at all. It''s like saying, ''you''re my child but only until I decide on a whim that you''re not.''"


    Candace shook her head, her voice rising with annoyance. "That''s just stupid! You don''t have to live under that dark cloud any longer!"


    She sat up and reached out for both of them, gripping their necks in a tight embrace.


    "You two are now Co-Emperors alongside your brothers. That will never change for as long as you live, no matter what shape you transform into." Her eyes were fierce.


    "Furthermore, your sister will also forever be a Princess, irregardless of whether she bes a bat or a mermaid!"


    The twins looked at each other as sudden understanding dawned on them.


    "You''re right." Jason suddenlyughed. "Once we be Co-Emperors with our brothers, this no longer even matters."


    Jared''s eyes began shining. "We''ve just been hiding this for so long, it''s be second nature."


    Candace scowled. "You should NEVER have to hide your true selves away!!!"


    She pressed a hard kiss on each of their foreheads.


    "You inherited both sides of your parents'' lineage. There''s nothing wrong with that. It''s how gics work!"


    "In fact, your mother''s mer side is just as valuable and precious as your father''s blood bat side. Thebination of bat and mer is what makes you both so unique."


    Her eyes glittered with unshed tears.


    "I treasure that, and I want you to embrace everything that makes each of you rare and precious. Do you understand???"


    They both reached out and crushed her into their bodies, unable to say anything. With just a few words, she had made them feel worthy and precious.


    They stayed together in that mutual embrace for a few minutes until Candace raised her head. Something else was nagging at her.


    "So I have another question. Our children¡­will they be able to transform into mer people also or will they just be bats?"


    Jared and Jason looked at each other.


    "We¡ªdon''t know. We''ve never had a wife or child, so we have no idea, but¡­what if¡­" their eyes mirrored the worry that they had carried all this time.


    If the babies they bore with her did not breed true, would she reject the children? Would society look down upon them?


    Candace raised an eyebrow.


    "Are you asking me what if the child that I carried inside my body and cherished for months and months, and then bore with great pain, could change into merfolk as well as a bat?"


    Her eyes began shining. "I can hardly wait to see what they can do!"


    Candace gave them with a huge grin. "We could build a huge ocean vessel and live on it part of the year, when it''s warm."


    She pped her hands in delight. "You and the kids could swim around all you wish as merfolk. Even Lucas would have a st. He loves the ocean so much!"


    The twins began tough. Candace was the Empress who chose her Emperors after all. Who would dare demean or look down upon the very children that she carried and gave birth to?


    "You know what I would do?" Her eyes gleamed as she continued to think about the possibilities.


    "On the cruise ships away from natural waters, I would build huge swimming pools for everyone so you two can continue to swim as mermen!"


    Suddenly, Jason and Jared felt a huge burden lift from their very souls. No matter how inferior their gics was, she would never think less of them.


    More importantly, she would be able to protect her babies with the kind of fierce love that truly powerful women would be able to provide.


    "How hard is it to transform into mermen?" Candace suddenly asked.


    Jasonughed. "Do you want to see?"


    Candace bit her lip. "Only if you want to show me. I don''t want to make you both feel¡ª"


    "Oh stop it." Jared shushed her lips with his own. "You''re our wife. If you can''t see this, then something is wrong with us for not being able to trust you enough to show you what is essentially part of our true self."


    "Do you need to be in the water to transform?"


    They nodded their heads. "We just took showers, but we can run a warm bath and just get our bottoms wet for a bit to show you. Come!" They pulled her off the bed and back into the bathroom.


    Within ten minutes, the bathtub was filled with lukewarm water and they both sat on the edge of the tub with their legs submerged to their knees.


    "Don''t you have to bepletely in the water to transform into mermen?" Candace gave them a dubious look.


    "Haha. No. We just need to get a little wet is all. It helps with the transformation."


    They grinned at each other and then looked at her.


    "Ready?"


    Candace nodded.


    Just as they merely shrugged into their bat wings when they transformed into bats, the twins did not have to do any strange mumbo jumbo to turn into mermen. They simply transformed.


    One moment, they were simply naked men sitting on the tub''s edge and the next, they had slipped into the tub and were resting their human elbows on the tub''s edge as their fish tails sshed in the tub water.


    Candace gasped with wonder as she reached out towards their silver-green scaled fish tails.


    "Can I touch?"


    "Go ahead."


    "It''s so smooth and cool." Candace murmured, touching the smooth skin on their bodies.


    "Do you have¡­you know¡­"


    "A penis?" Jasonughed. "Right here Darling." He pulled a p apart and his member popped out from a slit near the pelvic area of his tail.


    We''re like dolphins and whales in that we do have normal sex, as opposed to, you know¡­spraying our semen all over some eggs on the sea floor." Jaredughed.


    "When it''s not in use, we keep it in this little pouch inside this slit right here, you see?" Jason pulled her hand towards his body and allowed her to touch his partially erect penis.


    "Does it work the same as when you''re human?"


    Jason doubled overughing. "Of course, Love. Would you like to try?"


    Candace shook her head. "We don''t have time."


    Jaredughed. "That''s a shame. Maybe in the future, you can try it, see if you like us better as mermen, batmen, or humans."


    Candace stood there with her arms akimbo.


    "I like you two in any form as long as you are still the same two people that I know and love.. Don''t try to change and don''t try to hide what you are, or you two are in big trouble with me, you hear???" She warned with intensity.

 Chapter 276 - [Bonus ] Money Pit Marakaran

    The first mini-moviemercial ying up the positives of CandyLand released within twenty-four hours of the conversation that Dante had with Ash.


    During that time, Dante''s attendants were rushing around, creating a realistic set of business documents that would allow CandyLand to look as if it would be a powerhouse of apeting force against a major businesspetitor, the weapons system of Haribou.


    Best case scenario was that CandyLand and Haribou Weaponry would both lose and Marakaran would win. Worst case scenario would be Haribou wins.


    Of course, Dante knew that war and strife was far more profitable than bringing joy and cheer to families and kids, but sometimes, he had to make do with whatever weapon was avable on hand.


    If CandyLand won, Dante would simply bite the bullet and make it happen.


    Setting it up at such great expense and taking so little profit would essentially make CandyLand Marakaran a money pit, something that the fiscally astute Dante cringed at.


    Had this been a normal business dealing, both he and Marakaran would have been able to make money off the tourists.


    The way that it was set up, this CandyLand would not only make no money but would also be a financial drain on the other CandyLand resorts which would have to partially support Marakaran CandyLand with its profits.


    Unfortunately, there was no other way topete with what Haribou was offering the investors and legitors on Marakaran, so Dante did what he normally did in uncertain times like these.


    He threw caution to the wind and took a gamble with what wasing from his heart.


    Conservation of the beauty of Marakaran, along with aiding the elven world in resisting the war machine that was Haribou was something that he would do his best to back.


    "Hold on." Dante tapped at the paper. "This is not going to be sufficient to attract the support of Marakaran legitors."


    "Your Royal Highness¡­" The attendant hesitated. He had pushed the numbers as far as he dared. Any more and the shortfall woulde directly out of Prince Dante''s pockets.


    "Add a third more incentive money here. Double the bonus there. And¡­take a full percentage point off here."


    "Sir!" The attendant''s eyes bulged.


    "Do it." Dante mmed his hand on the document.


    "Yes Sir." The attendant bowed and took the document away to make the necessary changes.


    By that very afternoon, in all the melee of war propaganda of doom and gloom by the Haribou public rtions, a happy cheerful child-friendly CandyLand mini-movie starring the explosively popr Prince Lucas and the Prime Avgo Female Candace began showing up everywhere.


    It was supposed to have only been released within the boundaries of Marakaran, but in the age of instant visuals, there was nothing that could keep such a well-produced piece of visual art from being scattered far and wide throughout the gxy.


    People shared the mini-movie to friends and family. Celebrities talked about Marakaran and the new CandyLand theme park that was rumored to be nned at that bright beautiful paradise resort.


    Suddenly, everyone was moring to book their next vacation on the paradise of Marakaran so they could see the newest andtest CandyLand world in the making.


    Ratings and bookings for tourism went through the roof!


    In a matter of 48 hours, there was zero avability for the normal tourist to book a stay on the entire world of Marakaran, stretching out for over a year.


    Everyone wanted to see, not just CandyLand being built but also Marakaran in all its natural splendor.


    There was also the promise of seeing their beloved movie star Prince Lucas and his wife, Candace Farrah, rumored to have been the inspiration and namesake for Prince Dante''s CandyLand resorts.


    Informal polls began to pick up spikes in the numbers of people who were already firmlymitted to voting for CandyLand over Haribou Weapons.


    Even those who were staunchly against the development of anything on Marakaran were starting to change their tune and singing the praises of a possible CandyLand Marakaran.


    It got so heated, Ash made a quick call to Dante.


    "Yes yes," Dante nodded and rubbed his eyes. "I know what you are going to say, Ash."


    "What are your ns, now that my people are moring for a CandyLand on Marakaran?" Ash grinned.


    He was not opposed to the idea of having CandyLand on Marakaran. It was in keeping with the fact that Marakaran was already a hot tourist destination.


    Nothing would change other than the fact that they would be even more exclusive and more luxurious. It would be even more difficult to book an adventure on Marakaran, pushing it into the realm of exclusivity for the very wealthy.


    Everyone knew Dante protected his investments with guard ships that were basically Erenveil warships painted a nice friendly color.


    With Erenveil protection flying around Marakaran space, Ash would not have to worry about hostile takeovers which meant more people would feel safe toe visit.


    "I wasn''t going to put a CandyLand on Marakaran." Dante admitted. "It was just to split the vote, but I almost can''t pull out now."


    Ashughed. "It would be a shame if you did.


    I have seen the document you have drafted. It''s very generous on your part and may not seem as if it would be beneficial to you, but I promise you it will be quite lucrative for you. How many have you already set up?"


    Dante blinked. How many did he have?


    "I have four in the eastern quadrant. Three in the southern areas of insectoid space. One in the northern sector, and one in dragon space."


    "So this would make the tenth CandyLand you''ve created."


    "Again, I wasn''t going to set a CandyLand in Marakaran because I know how expensive the real estate is there. It would not be profitable for me."


    "Don''t worry. I will give you tax rates and real estate prices that you will not be able to turn down. You were doing this as a favor to me and my world and I will not forget that." Ash smiled.


    "Oh yeah?" Dante raised an eyebrow.


    "Absolutely. I have done research on your CandyLands. You try to work with the environment that you find yourself in. You don''t try to change the environment to suit your schemes."


    "Well that''s the whole reason for CandyLand. It''s a safe ce for kids to visit when their parents are on vacation at the more adult areas. It''s an extension of their vacation that their children can also enjoy. It shouldn''t stick out like a sore thumb."


    "I like that. Let''s move forward with this, Heavens willing of course." Ash smiled.


    They ended the conversation with real ns to begin initial stages of nning and development, depending on the votes within the next four days.


    Once King Ashwyn disconnected from the call, Dante shut the folder that was currently in front of him.


    He was done¡ªso done they could stick a fork in him and the fork would drop.


    "Hold everything for the next twenty-four hours." He called to his attendant and rose from the desk.


    His wife was going tond soon and he needed to be at thending site to greet her.

 Chapter 277 - Candis Back!!!

    Within two hours, Dante and te were at the Erenveil spaceport looking out through therge ss windows at the huge desertednding pad.


    "I can''t believe all our brothers missed her so much that they left to go be with her and the two of us are still stuck here, doing busy work." te murmured to Dante.


    "Somebody has to keep the lights on." Dante rubbed his tired eyes. "If you and I weren''t here to keep the ce up and running, there wouldn''t be much for our wife to return to."


    te sighed. "You''re telling me. I''m trying hard not to get involved in all the border skirmishes between the birds and the bugs, but it''s like wild fires. You put one me out and another pops up!"


    "But look at it this way, we''ll look good by saving Marakaran so that we can throw a crazy amazing wedding that will make our wife happy." Dante smiled.


    "Yeah. That''s all that matters. As long as Candace is happy, I''ll do anything for her." te grimly agreed.


    Dante''s eyes narrowed even as he scanned the skies looking for signs of his bride''s ship.


    "We need to choke the weaponsing out of Haribou and we need to do it quickly. It''s what''s feeding the mes."


    "Yeah. I haven''t had the chance to talk with Jason yet." te scratched at the beginnings of a shadow growth of beard. He hadn''t had a chance to shave this morning and was starting to look a bit grizzly. He hoped Candace wouldn''t be turned off too badly.


    "Hmmm." Dante harrumphed. "I don''t even know if Ana?se Paroles is still interested in Jason, especially since he rejected her proposal and threw her off the Raptor 650 the day she came to visit him."


    "No way to know unless we try. Father did have a good n. If Jason can infiltrate and staunch the flow of weaponry all over the gxy, it really would stop all the fighting once everyone runs out of ammunition."


    teughed. "Jason ditched Father''s ns without hesitation."


    "Yes. We''re basically going back to doing what Father had suggested, but the difference is¡ªJason would only be pretending to be interested in Ana?se Paroles, whereas Father really wanted him to marry the girl."


    "It seems rather cruel to lead her on like that just to take advantage of her affections." te muttered.


    "All this killing of innocent civilians caught in the crossfire between the bugs and the birds that''s currently happening is far more cruel." Dante shot back. "Haribou is ying both sides, causing strife all over the ce to sell weapons to everyone. Nobody wins but them."


    "I know Dante. I''ve seen the injured within Leonardo''s hospital ships. Kids, infants, young mothers, old people. They had nothing to do with any of this but they are the ones paying the price." te shook his head.


    "Still, Ana?se Paroles is just a Princess of Haribou. The real culprit to all of this is her family. I wonder if we can somehow get to the family without making her a target."


    "The quickest easiest way to get to the family is going through Ana?se Paroles. She''s the obvious gateway. It''s far too hard to reach them any other way."


    "What about reaching them through heads of states?" te suggested


    "Nope." Dante shook his head. "They don''t care about positions of power. They only care about wealth and the amassing of that wealth via warfare."


    "Bastards." te threw back.


    Dante raised an eyebrow. "But look at it this way. They''re really just a one-trick pony. Their only industry is warfare. That''s what keeps their lights on. If they have nobody to sell their weapons to, they quickly be insolvent."


    te nodded and sighed as he caught sight of the ship that had finally appeared from the skies above Erenveil spaceport.


    "Looks like we have to try number 31, the Beauty Routine* to win this war." He shook his head. "Jason is not going to like doing this."


    ===========


    As Candace stepped off the ship, the first thing she saw were two male bats flying towards her. She quickly made her way down the steps and ran towards them.


    "Oh my gosh! You guys actually came all this way to meet me!!!" She cried as she jumped up at them.


    Dante and te smiled and swooped down, catching her body as if she was prey and they were raptors. With her secured between them, they rose up into the deep blue crystal sky.


    "Aaaaaahhhh!!!" She shrieked with exhration. "Don''t drop me!!!"


    te and Dante bothughed. There was no way they would ever let go of such a tasty morsel as their wife.


    They flew her around for a couple of rounds before bringing her back to the rest of the brothers still standing around on thending surface.


    Byronughed. "If you two are done clowning around, let''s go inside and have a burger. I''m famished."


    "Are you telling me space food doesn''t agree with you?" te snickered.


    "Warrior rations are super yummy and all that, but you know there is nothing quite like a big sloppy burger from Erenveil." Byron responded with vigor as they all trooped into the the spaceport building with their full entourage of attendants and guards.


    Over burgers and fries, the brothers chattered amicably between themselves as te and Dante doted on Candace, feeding her morsels of food from their own tes.


    They were still trying to catch up on all the fun times that the away team was having when an alert sounded. It was Poppy.


    "Candi!!!" Poppy called out, waving her hands enthusiastically.


    Candaceughed. "Where are you? When can we meet?"


    "Tell your men to bring you to Marakaran. I''ll be there for the next couple of weeks!"


    "Wow! What''s in Marakaran?"


    "My Dear," Poppy crinkled her eyes. "Nobody told you that is going to be the site for your wedding? We''re all getting things prepared for you there!"


    "Oh haha!" Candaceughed. "I''m sure we''re going to be headed there quite soon. Lucas and I have been shooting somemercials for a possible amusement park to be located there."


    "You don''t have to y it down." Poppyughed. "We all know it''s CandyLand and my brother named it after you."


    Dante grinned mischievously even as the brothers roared withughter.


    "Well, gotta go! I have to get things set up on my end." Poppy waved.


    "We will be there as soon as possible." Candace waved back.


    "Then I''ll be seeing you when you get here. Don''t let my brothers bully you too much!" Poppy threw a kiss at Candace and signed off.


    "So when are we leaving for Marakaran?" Candace asked, looking around at all her men.


    "No time like the present." te pped his hands and two attendants appeared through the entrance in front of them. Between them was a huge white box with arge pink bow. They came and ceremoniously ced the present in front of Candace.


    "What''s this?" Candace''s eyes grewrge.


    "Open it and see!" The men all chorused around her.


    ==========


    * From the ''Art of War'' by Sun Tzu.. Strategy 31 involves using beautiful men and women to infiltrate and confuse the enemy.

 Chapter 278 - The Gift

    "A present? For me?" Candace gasped.


    "It''s an early wedding present from all seven of us." te smiled. "We would wait to gift you your wedding present on the day of the wedding, but you need this before then."


    Candace''s eyes widened. She reached out and pulled the bow off, unboxing the gift with eager hands.


    There was a huge amount of tissue which she pulled off and left all over the floor around them. By the time she was able to remove every single piece of fluffy tissue out of the box, there was a mound of white tissues all around her and she was staring at an empty box.


    Scratching her head, Candace began scrambling on the floor, feeling around the tissue mounds. Had she identally pulled it from the box and it was hidden somewhere within the tissues?


    te sat there without saying a word, his face deadpan.


    Lucas swallowed down hisughter and acted nonchnt and half-bored.


    Dante narrowed his eyes as if he was staring down a business opponent, all the while trying not tough.


    Byron put on his best diplomatic regal face.


    The twins looked everywhere but at Candace.


    The only one who could not hide his amusement was Leonardo, but Lucas slid in front of him, using his body to hide Leonardo from Candace''s view.


    She turned her face upward to look at them.


    "Did I miss something? There''s nothing in the box."


    "Did you look a bit more carefully?" Dante suggested with tenderness.


    Candace poked her head back into the box. Her eyes widened. There truly was something in the box!


    It was a tiny envelope that was affixed to the bottom with some sticky tape.


    Since the box was fairlyrge and she was fairly small, Candace had to double up her body in order to reach into the bottom of the box.


    The men held their breaths and tried not tough as they looked on at their wife, or at least the little bit that they could see of her.


    At that moment, the only part of her showing was her shapely buttocks sticking up into the air, stretching out the spandex rear part of her ck warrior bodysuit.


    The rest of her was inside the box as she reached for the envelope, pulling it out from the bottom.


    te reached out to steady her hips so she wouldn''t identally pitch forward into the box. He didn''t waste the opportunity to gently stroke her bottom either.


    "I got it!" Candace called out in a muffled tone as she pulled her head out from within the box. "It''s some kind of envelope."


    She stood there, looking at it with curious eyes.


    "It says, To My Bride, from Your Loving Husbands: Dante, Byron, Lucas, Leonardo, Jason, Jared, and te."


    Candace paused for a moment, her eyes misting.


    They spent their days giving her everything she could ever want or need, and they felt they had to give her a present for her wedding too.


    "Thank you." She took a deep breath and dashed a tear of joy from her eyes.


    "Open it Love." Leonardo urged.


    She nodded and tore the envelope apart.


    Inside was a small square card. She pulled it out and looked at it.


    "I''m not sure what this is." She wrinkled her brows. "It looks like some sort of designation point."


    She stared at it for a few seconds more. "It looks like a set of spacetime coordinates."


    She turned back to the brothers.


    "Is there something there?"


    Dante grinned and nodded.


    He opened up a virtual monitor and scanned in the coordinates from the card.


    In no time t, the spacetime coordinates zoomed in on an object.


    It was a ship!


    "Oh wow!" Candace pped her hands with excitement. "This looks simr to the Raptor 650!"


    "No no no, Darling." Jasonughed. "This is the Candace 001. It has beenpletely redesigned by me and Jared, inside and out!"


    Jared nodded. "That''s right Love. When we were out delivering the Raptor 650 to Mother Gwen, we realized that you were so in love with the ship that we decided to gift you one."


    "But we quickly realized that we couldn''t provide everything you would need due to the scope and scale of this project," Jason gave a wry grin. "So we engaged all our brothers."


    te raised a finger. "You will see that this is most definitely NOT a reimed warship. That''s much easier to do and it was what I gave Mother. Yours has been custom built from the ground up."


    Danteughed. "It''s a good thing Candace. You don''t need all the ammunition storage tanks or military-style cubicles taking up valuable space for other more important things like a ball-room style dance floor or a huge heated swimming pool."


    Lucas grinned. "You will find that the Candace 001 is almost like a traveling vige, with actual people living on there. Entertainers, musicians, crafters, bakers, chefs, baristas¡ªan entire tinymunity. Their only job is to take care of US and any guests we bring onboard."


    "There''s even a small but very well-equipped hospital onboard. I have my best doctors stationed there." Leonardo added with pride. "Of course, while I am with you there, I will be your personal physician."


    "We did this so that you could travel around and be with any of us, at any time you wished." Byron chimed in.


    "I took care of all the traveling visas and entry permits and all the documents that a gctic Ambassador would need to travel around the gxy. That means this ship can go just about anywhere, even into pirate territory." Byron smiled with pride.


    Lucas hugged himself, unable to contain his excitement. "It wouldn''t matter where in the gxy we had to be at to do our work, you could always drop by any time in your ship and it would be our home for the duration!"


    "And for security," te held up five fingers, "I have five small guard ships that will continually surround your cruise ship at all times. It has its own docking bay underneath the ship and refuels within the mother ship Candace 001."


    Dante nodded. "They will be rotated between my fleet and te''s so that you will always be safeguarded no matter where you are."


    "We had to give this gift early for you because we wanted to take it out on its maiden voyage." Jason grinned.


    "And what better way to do it than right now, while we are all here and need to get to Marakaran anyway.." Jaredughed.

 Chapter 279 - The Candace 001

    The exterior of the Candace 001 was a pearly rose-gold, in keeping with the fact that she was the holder of the pink Avgo gemstone.


    Its slick exterior was wless and seamless, with an externalnding bay and the hangar under the ship for docking transport vehicles and guard ships.


    Once they boarded from one of Dante''s fancy high-end transport vehicles, the men took Candace on a quick tour of the ship as she began heading towards Marakaran.


    First stop was the Command Deck where eight egg-shaped Command Chairs faced a huge panel window that stared out into the depths of a space filled with stars.


    The chairs were arranged so that each of them had their own chair, with Candace''s chair ced in the middle of the brothers.


    Then it was onto the dining hall where dozens of covered round tables filled a chamber with high ceilings dripping with crystal chandeliers and a Jason-&-Jared custom-designed carpet in a profusion of muted colors.


    They moved onto the bright kitchen where four head chefs covering cuisines from various worlds from around the gxy.


    There was even a chef from Earth who was so excited to be there that he assured Candace she could enjoy, among many other things, corn dogs, burritos, or macaroni and cheese and not feel badly about having a chef make it for her.


    Then onward to the huge theater that doubled as a concert hall for various music and theater shows for her to watch live shows as well as put on her own shows.


    Immediately behind the theater was the ball room that doubled as Candace''s dance floor, giving her more than ample space to run and dance to her heart''s content.


    The music system was positioned so that it didn''t matter if she was running full speed from one end of the room to the other, it would remain consistent and full. The lights were perfectly designed. It was a dance floor that rivaled the one that had been made for her in Dante''s Moon.


    There was also a library that had been created for her. At the moment it was a bit sparse.


    "We left it mostly empty so you can fill it up with treasures you gather on your journey through all the worlds." Jason grinned. "If you need more space, there is room on the other side of this wall that can open up to amodate more treasures you collect."


    "Yes. Your other library in our moon is still there for you, waiting for when you return to it." Dante reassured her.


    They led her onto the arcade where the twins ran around showing her all the fun things to do there. It was very simr to the arcade they had yed at on the Raptor 650 with one big difference. This one was all geared towards her.


    The bowling alley had a specific row of different colored balls specific to her weight preference, along with bowling shoes in her size on one shelf.


    The skating rink had skating outfits and skates in her size waiting for her in an alcove outfitted with everything she needed to skate.


    There was also a Jason&Jared clothing boutique store but there was nothing for sale in there. It was basically a huge wardrobe with things that were all her size and all designed specifically for her.


    "Take a look at this. We designed a new perfume for you!" Jason pulled out a small round ss bottle with a pump spray.


    "Our producers begged us to release it to the general public, but we t out refused. No one else is allowed to use this scent except for you."


    "Ooooh!!!" Candaceughed. "Exclusive perfume!"


    "Only for our wife." Jared announced with pride.


    Without wasting a beat, they took her onto the bedroom suites located on the upper decks of the ship.


    There were seven ptial suites that surrounded a muchrger suite for Candace.


    Each Prince''s suite of rooms consisted of a bedroom equipped with king bed with an adjoining bath room with double showers and a hot tub.


    There was a living room parlor with a wet bar on one end to make all the various mixed drinks that the Princes liked so much. The seating arrangements consisted of various couches and wing chairs arranged in clusters.


    There was also a dining room with spaces for ten people, just in case nobody wanted to go to the dining hall. Andst but not least, there was afortable office so each of them could work if they needed to while she visited them.


    Her set of suites was simr to each of theirs but designed in a softer and more feminine manner. Her bed was round instead of therge king-shaped square, and the flokati rugs underfoot were cream-colored and thick piled.


    On the walls were images of Candace in all her Avgo Events. Some were ethereal and graceful, as the one where she made the ballet jump on the sky walk.


    Others were of her, sweaty and battered from the roughness at the beast hunt. One in particr had her holding onto a bloody snake head. From what she remembered, the actual head was still in the library inside Dante''s Moon.


    There was also a fairlyrge image of a badly injured Leonardo carrying her in his arms. Both of them wore the ragged bloody royal gold outfits of the Erenveil Empire and looking as if they had barely escaped assassination.


    Another one was of te, flying into the Coliseum with her in tow and dropping her off in front of a live audience.


    As she walked through her suite, looking at all the images on the walls, Candace could barely hold onto her tears.


    "Oh wow¡­this is all so overwhelming!!!" She gasped as she met each of her husbands'' eyes. "Thank you all for this amazingly generous gift."


    She took a deep breath and steeled herself. "I don''t know how to thank each of you, my amazing wonderful husbands."


    "What is there to thank?" teughed. "We''re just providing afortable and safe home for our wife so you will never feel as if you are homeless."


    "That''s right," Dante agreed. "And besides, what the hell are we going to do with all the money we make if we can''t spend it on our wife and our soon-to-be-born child?"


    Dante began rubbing her t belly.


    Candaceughed, pushing his hand away with some embarrassment. "I''m not pregnant yet."


    "But you have my Avgo shard in there and it''s proven that it is a living being. In my mind, you''ve already conceived.." Dante pressed his lips to her temple.

 Chapter 280 - Marakaran Paradise

    Marakaran was a fairlyrge world, covered with blue oceans and fairlyrgend masses that looked lush and green with life.


    From above, it resembled Earth, but as they got closer, Candace realized that it was different. Earth was much more polluted, much less pristine.


    Marakaran was an absolutely perfect jewel, shining with wless brilliance and rity.


    Candace was standing at therge ss window looking out onto the world below with Lucas when Dante approached her with a couple of sses of champagne in his hand.


    "Beautiful isn''t it?" He handed her a ss.


    Candace took it with a murmured ''thank you'' into his mind and began sipping with appreciation.


    "Hey, where''s mine?" Lucas grinned.


    "Get your own drink. I only have two hands and I have to take care of my wife first." Dante took a sip of the champagne.


    Lucasughed and signaled for an attendant to order his drink.


    "Wow. It looks so alive and pristine." Candace breathed with appreciation as she stared out the window at Marakaran.


    "The oceans are cobalt blue and the continents are emerald green. It looks like a sparkling jewel floating out in space!"


    "Wait till CandyLand gets built there. You will have a permanent vacation penthouse there waiting for you to visit since part of every single CandyLand also includes a luxury hotel on-premise." Dante announced with a bright gleam in his bottle green eyes.


    "I hope it gets built near Heliconia Beach." Lucas rubbed his hands in anticipation. "It''s a surfer''s paradise. The wave action is always good there."


    Dante grinned. "I haven''t talked that level of detail with Ash yet, but let me throw that idea out and see what he says."


    "Ash?" Lucas shot an appreciative eye at Dante. "You mean THE elusive King Ashwyn of Marakaran? No way!!!"


    "What am I, chopped liver?" Dante sniffed with faked hurt pride, even as Lucas grinned with mirth.


    "Seriously, is there any other Ash that I would take the time out of my busy schedule to talk to?" Dante raised his eyebrows.


    "I''m impressed." Lucas whistled. "It''s hard to reach that man. He''s always out somewhere doing something."


    "No kidding." Dante shook his head. "The first time I tried to contact him, it took me twenty minutes to get through." He pressed his hand to his chest. "ME!!! The Crown Prince Dante of Erenveil Empire had to wait that long to get in touch with him!"


    Lucas and Candaceughed. Normally, it was Dante who left people waiting because his schedule was so hectic.


    "Whatever you do, and whatever happens, Marakaran is such a beautiful ce that I''m sure it will be a huge sess." She assured him with a mental kiss.


    "And we hope it remains that way." Dante murmured into her ear, returning her mental kiss with a wet sloppy real one of his own.


    "I promise you that I''m going to try my best to keep it as natural and unspoiled as possible while still allowing the inhabitants to livefortably."


    They continued to watch the ce until it was time tond.


    By the time they were able to touch down on their tiny transport pod, it was nearly time for lunch.


    "Brothers! Candace!" Poppy yelled as she ran across thending field with her arms wide open.


    A man in basic white bodysuit with long ash blond hair followed behind with an indulgent doting look. He was quite tall with a wiry frame and skin so pale it was almost translucent.


    As he got closer, they could see that his eyes were a light crystal blue and his lips were a shell pink. He had sharp cheek bones, high thin nose, a pointed chin and pointed ears.


    This was most definitely an elf from this world.


    Candace broke into a bright smile as she caught sight of Poppy ran up to her.


    "Poppy!" She yelled and waved enthusiastically.


    "Oh my gosh, you all look so great!" Poppyughed and hugged them all with great joy.


    "Let me introduce you to my good friend Ash. He lives here on Marakaran." She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards them.


    "Ash, this is my family. This is my brand new sister-inw Candace, and her husbands are these dorky brothers of mine."


    She pointed to each, introducing them in turn. "This is Dante, Byron, Lucas, Leonardo, Jason, Jared, and te."


    Ash and Dante nodded their silent greetings. It was their first physical meeting as they sized each other up and made a few quick changes in their estimates of each other.


    In Dante''s eyes, the man who looked at his sister with such gentle fondness deserved special consideration. Poppy had not had a particrly gentle life and deserved to be loved with gentle kindness.


    As for Ash, in his eyes, Dante was a fair honest man who dealt with his business partners in a straight-forward manner. It would seem that Dante''s fame of his word being worth his entire fortune was absolutely correct.


    Everyone else greeted Ash with a fair amount of curiosity. Poppy did not have many friends and to have such a striking man follow her to thending field was something that would be noteworthy.


    It quickly became obvious that Poppy had no idea he was the King of Marakaran.


    She chattered non-stop with Candace about the beauty of the world and the location that she had managed to scout, thanks to her new friend, the tall pale elf behind them who seemed to know all the best ces to do all the most fun things.


    Meanwhile, behind her, Ash gave a silent signal pleading for the men to keep his secret from Poppy.


    Dante raised his eyebrow but said nothing. He would have a small quiet chat with Poppyter, but this was probably not a good time to cause Poppy distress.


    Lucas was the only other person who knew what was going on. He took a deep breath and zipped his mouth.. If Dante wasn''t going to say anything, who was he to pop the surprise bubble.

 Chapter 281 - A Palatial Wedding Destination

    As Poppy led them through the space port and out into the heart of the capital city of Marakaran, she led them into a floating pod that took them to their destination.


    The streets were clean and broad with few hover pods as people seemed to prefer walking around. Everyone that the saw were well-dressed and tall. Everyone had the same silvery blonde hair as Ash himself, and everyone looked happy and peaceful.


    The rumors were not wrong. This truly looked to be a paradise in the middle of an area of space that was roiling in conflict.


    The hotel that they would be staying at was a sprawlingplex that was a series of ptial buildings with a dozen tall towers topped with onion domes that were in a multitude of stripes and swirls in reds and greens, blues and pinks, yellows and oranges.


    The gardens were sculpturallyplex and artfully arranged, with stone statues of beautiful damsels and handsome muscr warriors in various poses of living their daily lives.


    Some were carrying water vessels that sshed real water into basins below. Some carried stone baskets filled with real flowers growing in real dirt. Some were holding up tall trees with their hands.


    And then there were other stone statues that were flirting, kissing, hugging. A few were even pushed up against the buildings looking as if they were copting.


    As they continued to walk through the grounds and buildings, Poppy pointed at a particrlyrge grassy area with arge white gazebo with flowering vines growing up and around the structure.


    "That is such a beautiful spot for the ceremony!" Poppy pointed at the gazebo. "We could string lights and drape long white fabrics to make it looks dreamy!"


    "Here, we can put huge pots of flowers," she pointed to a shaded section. "And we can also have little flower girls walk around, with baskets of flowers!"


    As she walked with them, she continued to talk out the details. The more she walked and talked, the more Candace''s eyes zed over. She had no idea what was in Poppy''s mind.


    All Candace could think of was the sheer size of the ce. Theplex was sorge that it looked like a grand pce!


    There were more of the life-sized antique carved marble statues inside the ptial construction.


    Ancient wall tapestries and oil paintings that looked as if they were worth a fortune were hung everywhere, singly and in clusters of uncurated collections.


    The carpets on the floors looked so priceless, Candace was even afraid to walk on them! All around them were furniture and ent pieces on disy that looked as if they belonged in a museum.


    All of this, Candace took in with her discerning eye.


    She was an archaeologist, a passionate student of antiquities. She could see the details that most people would miss about the age of a particr piece of furniture or a marble carving.


    None of these things looked to be the kind of furniture or decoration that a resort would have, not even a high end luxurious one.


    "Wow Poppy. Are you sure this is a hotel?" Candace breathed as she looked around at thevish surroundings. "This looks more like a king''s pce than a ce where guests stay the night!"


    "Oh no worries. Ash introduced me to the hotel management staff and they assured me that they had booked the entire ce for your wedding."


    "The¡ªthe entire ce?" Candace gasped. "That''s gotta be expensive!!!"


    She looked around and pointed at one of the paintings on the wall. "That looks like an original masterpiece. It''s really old! And look at the weathering on this marble statue! Take a look at that piece of furniture over there¡­"


    Poppy clicked her tongue and waved her hand. "Tch. It''s a super high end resort. They have good stuff!"


    She pursed her lips. "Besides, all your husbands make so much money, they can afford to spend a little on your wedding. Right, brothers?"


    She turned back and gave the men a thumbs up signal.


    The brothers were walking behind her and all looked at each other with knowing nces.


    Candace was far more astute than Poppy and had realized from just walking through that this was no mere hotel.


    For Dante, it was very clearly a royal pce.


    King Ashwyn''s royal pce, to be exact.


    "What do you think we''re made of, money?" Dante threw a casual look at Poppy. "What kind of prices did the management staff say we had to pay?"


    Poppy stuck her nose up in the air. "Whatever they ask for, you can absolutely pay it."


    Dante raised an eyebrow causing Lucas'' face to redden as he struggled to contain hisughter.


    Byron raised a finger and was about to say something when Dante gave him a discrete wink. He and Lucas shot a warning nce at Byron who began chuffing into his hands.


    As Crown Prince for so many years, one of Byron''s jobs was to be a visiting government dignitary, and he had been at the Marakaran Pce before.


    For Poppy to lead him back to it and proudly proim it to be some fancy hotel made himugh. What in the world was the King of Marakaran up to?


    Poppy smiled. "They told me they would give you a good discount, seeing this is your first marriage."


    HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!


    All the brothers roared withughter, unable to contain their hrity. As if Candace would allow any of them to have a second or third marriage.


    Ash waved a hand, his eyes crinkling with mirth.


    "Do not worry. I have connections with the owner of the ce and he has assured me that prices will be very amodating to ones such as yourselves."


    Dante smiled. "Please pass along to the owner of the ce, my heartfelt gratitude and thanks. Tell him I will make it up to him one of these days."


    Ash nodded. "I have no doubt. Please enjoy your stay here, and congrattions again all of you, for your joyous marriage celebration."


    Dante nodded with heartfelt appreciation. As the group continued through the pce grounds, he began nning various things in his head.


    To stay at King Ashwyn''s pce and to have their wedding held on the grounds of the royal kingdom was something that he had not originally nned on but it was absolutely perfect.


    For Poppy to be able to pull this off was nothing short of a miracle, and one that he was grateful for.


    Only the best for his Candace.

 Chapter 282 - Slave Auction

    Far away, on Emporia, a man was silently watching the royal group disembark from the cruise ship Candace 001.


    The visual feed wasing from his own world''s intelligence unit, discretely spying from space. It had alerted him of something important happening on Marakaran¡ªso important that all the Princes of Erenveil were congregated there at the same time.


    He watched with mild curiosity as he saw the Erenveil brothers and the blonde woman named Candace with whom he had met the day he rescued her from the band of pirate thugs that had surrounded her on Emporia.


    She seemed healthy and cheerful and he was happy for her.


    His interest and attention increased dramatically however when he saw Poppy emerge from the space port structure and run towards them.


    He smiled with tenderness. His beautiful Poppy, the red haired Princess from Erenveil.


    She was in her usual ck warrior outfit, her deep red hair flowing in waves that caressed her shoulders and billowed out behind her. She walked with the natural lithe bounce of a powerful female fighter, with barely suppressed energy and strength.


    She was his pride and joy.


    Poppy was barely sixteen when he firstid eyes on her, a frail battered flower that had been stripped of everything including her dignity.


    She was a certified virgin, something that was highly sought after, especially a beauty such as her, with red hair and heavens knew what color eyes.


    She came from an upper ss family. It showed in her stance, her bearing, her gentle rearing. Her skin was unmarred and her hands were fragile and unscarred from heavy work.


    How she came to be separated from her family was a mystery.


    All under-aged children and youths who made it to this ve trading ce were either runaways who had gotten snared by the ve traders, sold by their family, or stolen from their home worlds and brought into pirate space.


    It didn''t matter any more. From this point forward, she would belong to the highest bidder.


    She was standing on the tform in all her naked beauty wearing nothing but her long red hair. Her skin was pale baster and her aureoles the color of pink pearls. Her eyes were downcast so he could not see what color they were.


    But it wouldn''t have mattered if they were red or green or blue. She was so beautiful, his heart had been lost at that moment.


    Encircling her thin regal neck was a circlet of tinum from which a dainty tinum chain was attached. The chain was bound to the pink marble column behind her, looking as if it was holding her in ce.


    It was just a formality of course, an indicator that she was a ve. She could have just yanked on the chain and it would have broken easily, but what was the point? Where else could she run to?


    She was on a ve ship in the middle of deep pirate space.


    The girl''s starting bid price was high. So high that most of the bidders at the auditorium gave a sigh and sat back to watch the high rollers y their game.


    Mattheus Cordera had attended this ve market to search for a male attendant to take care of his gopher duties, but all that flew out of his mind when he saw her.


    Along with all the other bidders, Mattheus did note that day with the kind of funds to purchase such a high quality ve as the red haired girl.


    There were only two other bidders who could even approach the start price. They were gutless grizzled men he knew well.


    One of them dealt in drugs. The other was a high-level visiting dignitary who lived on the right side of space but often came to pirate space to find luscious treasures such as she.


    The bidding began in earnest as the two men locked horns. The price for the girl began to rise meteorically.


    After five minutes of bidding, the visiting dignitary was starting to falter. Even he was not willing to part with that much wealth just for a single girl.


    As the auctioneer began to wind down the bid war, it looked as if the drug lord would take home the girl. It was then that Mattheus could no longer sit still.


    He called out in a strong voice his bid, slightly higher than the drug lord''s bid price.


    A gasp rang out all over the auditorium. This was a young upstart. Where would he get the money to pay for a bid this high???


    The drug lord shrugged and made another bid.


    Mattheus gritted his teeth and bid higher by a slight amount.


    This went on three more times until the drug lord threw up his hands and gave up.


    He didn''t need the girl that badly. He had several dozen wives at home he hadn''t seen in months. There were a few that he hadn''t spoken to in over a year.


    After the auction had ended, Mattheus had gone to the back office to finalize the deal.


    Without hesitation, he had hocked his beloved warship over to the dealer for the amount of currency he needed to transfer over to the auctioneer.


    The moment he did that, he was essentially homeless, but Mattheus didn''t care. Fortunes came and went but there was only one red haired girl with the fragile face and body.


    Mattheus would never forget the moment when she was led into the room to meet her new owner. They had given her a short white shift to wear, but they might as well not have bothered.


    It was so thin that it was mostly see-through and provided little to no warmth at all. She was standing there in front of him, barefoot and shivering, staring at the floor.


    "What is your name?" He had asked her with as much gentleness as he could muster.


    "Poppy." She had responded listlessly, still staring at her feet.


    Mattheus'' heart nearly broke at that moment. He had not known who she was. He just saw a shattered girl that he felt the urgent need to protect.


    "Come. Let''s get out of this rat-infested hole." He reached out his hand.


    As he led her away, she had followed him without protest.


    Where else could she go? She was in deep pirate space with no clothes, no papers, no money.. There was no escape other than death.

 Chapter 283 - [Bonus ] A King Of Worth

    Mattheus sighed and shook his head, remembering their earliest, hardest days.


    Since Mattheus had pawned away his ship to have the money to purchase her legal papers, all he had left was the tiny one-room transport pod that he had taken to the auction ship.


    Of course, at the time, Poppy hadn''t known that they were essentially homeless. She had thought that this was where he normally lived.


    She had seemed scared of him and would not talk much so he let her sleep on the only bed in the transport pod while he made do with a mat on the floor near themand chair.


    It seemed to reassure her tremendously that he had not tried to physically assault her as soon as he got her inside the transport pod, and that made him happy. He did not want that haunted look to remain in her eyes for the rest of her days.


    It was an entire dayter that he finally got the chance to see the color of her eyes.


    Since she had no clothes, and he had burned all he owned at that time on buying her from the ve auction, Mattheus scrounged around for spare change to purchase two basic ck bodysuits and a pair of boots for her to wear.


    When he brought them to her, he hadid them on the bed next to her.


    "Wear these for now. They''re not fancy or high quality, but they will at least keep you warm. When I can get more money, I''ll buy you better things."


    She had turned to him at that moment and looked straight into his eyes, and Mattheus had nearly choked on his own breath.


    The girl had warm intelligent violet eyes full of a regal fearlessness that reminded him of his own mother''s gaze.


    But his mother was the Queen of Emporia whereas this girl¡­heavens knew who this girl was.


    Those unique violet eyes were looking into his own sea green eyes with confidence.


    "Thank you for the clothes. I know you spent all your money paying for my freedom. You don''t need to spend anything more on me."


    "Why don''t you let me worry about that." He had tried to reassure her. He did not want her to think that she was stuck with an impoverished man for the rest of her life.


    Mattheus Cordera knew his worth. He was the once and future king of Emporia. She just didn''t know that yet.


    "It''s not that hard to make more money. Give me a few months and we''ll be back on track again." He gave what he had hoped was a reassuring smile, but Poppy had not responded.


    She had never asked for anything more from him after that point, so in order to give her some spending money, he had to make it seem as if he was hiring her to do some basic work for him.


    It was at that point onward that she became his gopher.


    She would ''go fer'' this and ''go fer'' that, running around taking care of the small mindless tasks that allowed him to do the moreplex things.


    The one thing that nearly broke his heart was when Poppy cut her long red hair short and turned herself into a young prepubescent boy to more easily run his errands without getting harassed by the pirates.


    He understood why she did that, but the knowledge still did not make it easier for him to have to ept the fact that she had to hide her beauty in order to live in his world.


    The transport pod would be their permanent home for the next six months while he worked various high-risk gigs to pay off the pawn broker who was still holding onto his warship.


    By the time he had gathered enough funds to pay the pawn broker to reim his warship, Poppy hadpletely turned into his right-hand man.


    He remembered the day he had proudly shown her the ship that he had been able to reim.


    She had smiled as he took her around to show her the interior and when he asked her which bedroom she wanted to im, she had looked at him with those strange violet eyes full of surprise.


    "Why should I choose a bedroom for myself? I''m supposed to sleep with you. Isn''t that the reason why you bought me?"


    He had sputtered at that moment, realizing then that she had been told by the ve trader that she was to be the bedmate of the person who would own her.


    She had literally taken that to mean ''sleeping'', rather than having any sexual contact, and since the transport pod only had one room, they were actually sleeping in the same room every single night.


    Because he did not want to correct her assumption, they had continued to share the same bedroom throughout the first few years, although after he had regained his ship, he had ced a small bed inside the captain''s bedroom so that he no longer had to sleep on the floor.


    After the first year, even though he had begun to make serious money again once he regained his ship, Poppy never wore anything other than the basic ck bodysuits that a warrior or space pirate would wear.


    Throughout the twelve years she stayed with him, Mattheus had tried his best to shield her from the evils and nastiness of the pirate world and had given her a safe home. In return, she had given him all her love and had treated him as the only family she had.


    Sadly, it was the pure wholehearted love of a younger sister for her older brother. There was nothing more between them because she simply never saw him as anything more than a brother and protector.


    There was a reason for this and it took Mattheus almost a year to figure it out when, one day, Poppy inadvertently turned into a bat. He had confronted her and she had told him exactly who she was.


    That was the day when he realized she was an Imperial Princess of Erenveil who was living with a lowly space pirate.


    Mattheus knew one thing. He could never win her love if he continued to be amon space pirate.


    At that moment, Mattheus Cordera made the decision to retake his kingdom from the uncle who nearly killed him and stole his throne.


    But to retake the throne meant he had to be King of the Pirates. If he couldn''t even do that, there would be no way he would have enough power to do what he needed to do on Emporia.


    It had taken him over a decade of careful nning to achieve the first goal. He had worked like a mad man to be the Pirate King.


    And then finally, after the heist of his life, the abduction of an Erenveil Prince to force the hand of the Emperor to take down his uncle Mortimer Cordera, he had finally been able to reim his rightful position as King of a world that was legitimate and not on the pirate side of space.


    He was finally worthy enough to offer himself to Poppy.


    But somewhere during his frenzied quest to be a legitimate king, Poppy had left him to go back to her family. He couldn''t force her to stay with him, so he had to let her go.


    Mattheus sighed as he looked at the visual stream and saw the way that King Ashwyn looked upon his precious Poppy. There was no hiding the supreme interest or the tilt of his head as he looked upon her with adoration.


    The more Mattheus looked at the visual stream, the angrier he became.


    King Ashwyn was a king of a world, but damn it, so was he! Wasn''t he good enough for her?


    Mattheus snapped his fingers.


    "Yes, Your Majesty." His attendant came to his side.


    "Get my ship ready. I need to go to Marakaran as soon as possible."


    "Yes, Your Majesty."

 Chapter 284 - Too Many Guests!!!

    As the nning for the wedding became more and more frenzied, Candace and Poppy threw themselves into the preparations.


    It was mind-boggling the amount of work that it took to organize such a major event. There were menus to finalize, flower choices and colors, dress styles to co-create with the twins, quarters to provide distant guests, and a myriad of other things that Candace had no idea were even part of the wedding.


    "One of the first things you have to choose is the wedding colors. From there, things will flow much more smoothly." Poppy was saying as she went over the list of things that they needed to do.


    Sheughed when Candace gave her a nk stare.


    "I can''t choose for you or it would be a ck and white affair."


    "But the twins have told me that since I''m the Pink Avgo gemstone holder, it needs to have some pink¡ª" Candace pursed her lips in thought.


    "Yes, but nobody is insisting on a single color for your wedding. Let me ask you this. What''s your favorite color?"


    "Hmm." Candace scratched her head. "I like all colors. I enjoy a blue sky, green leaves, orange sunsets, white lilies, yellow sunflowers, and red lipstick."


    Poppy gave a puzzled frown, mouthing the words ''red lipstick''. That didn''t fit in with all the other color objects that Candace threw out.


    "Okay, how about this. What colors do you like to look at ced side-by-side with pink?" Poppy tried again.


    "Ahhh. I like the way Lucas'' blond hair glistens next to the pink highlights the stylists put in his hair." Candace''s eyes grew dreamy as she thought about her hunky Lucas.


    "Okay, gold is one color we can add to the pink. Any others?"


    "Oh and the twins'' green hair looks awesome next to the pink too." She suddenly remembered how handsome they looked when they worked with the pink fabrics for her dresses.


    Poppy grinned. "Looks like you are focusing on all the hair colors."


    "It''s hard to choose. Dante''s blue hair looks good with the pink too. Ande to think of it, so does te''s raven ck hair."


    Poppy flicked her red hair, as if to remind Candace that there was one other hair color she could use.


    "Hmm. Does red go with pink at all?" Candace mused as she bit the tip of her finger.


    Poppy grimaced. She would NEVER wear pink, but Byron was her closest brother and he was being left out of this color scheme.


    "You have to add it in because I''m going to be your bride''s maid and I have to be able to wear something to your wedding." She suggested lightly.


    Candace nodded. "You''ve convinced me, my beautiful red-haired bridesmaid. Let''s add red to the color scheme! Wait a moment, what are the colors again?"


    Poppy scratched her head. "Atst count, it''s pink, blue, gold, green, ck, and red."


    Candace''s face twisted in a strange funny shape. "Do those colors work for a wedding?"


    Poppy shrugged. "We can take these color ideas and let Jason and Jared look over them."


    "Good idea." Candace brightened. If Jason and Jared were involved, it would turn out great, no matter what.


    "Now. We have to talk about the numbers of invitations that have to be hand-signed. Already, the numbers areing in from all sides of the wedding parties. It''s in the thousands."


    "WHAT??? NO!!!" Candace howled in protest.


    Poppy rolled her eyes. "Honey, you have SEVEN grooms! They have friends, family, important people they can''t NOT invite."


    "Like who???"


    "Well, all seven men have veryrge extended families. You can''t NOT invite their mothers'' families, can you?"


    "Mothers'' families absolutely must be invited." Candace sighed.


    "But that''s not all." Poppy shook her head and began listing on her fingers.


    "Think about all the directors and movie moguls Lucas works with, all the heads of states Byron works with, all the CEOs of huge corporations Dante works with, all the powerful military heads te works with, and all the heads of the medical world Leo works with."


    She waved her hand in frustration. "I''m not even going to go into all the people the twins work with because I have no idea who''s in their intelligence group."


    "And that''s not including Father''s guests. He deals with Kings and monarchs of entire worlds. You can''t leave them out of something like this or they think it''s a slight to their world."


    "The Emperor¡­" Candace''s eyes nearly popped. She hadn''t thought about that.


    Poppy''s violet eyes softened. "Let''s talk about you, Honey. Who are you going to invite?"


    Candace paused. "Me?"


    She thought about all the people she had known in her life, all of whom were no longer even around.


    Her parents had adopted her as a young child and had cared for her in the most basic manner. They had clothed and fed her, and sent her to school, but there had not been much of a warm family atmosphere.


    Both had died in a car ident when she was away at college and that had ended all family ties she had with anyone on Earth.


    After she graduated from university, the only people she hung out with on the rare asion were co-workers who she barely knew. Even her bosses had turned against her and sent people from Earth to kill her.


    "I honestly don''t know anyone well enough to invite, and there is no one on Earth that I would care to invite."


    Poppy bared her teeth. "So we''re going to have literally THOUSANDS of people on the grooms'' side and not a single person on the bride''s side?"


    This was not good. Candace needed at least one guest.


    Poppy scratched her forehead. "What about that girl Jeanie?"


    Jeanie?


    Candace wrinkled her brows, trying to remember if she knew of anyone named Jeanie.


    "Oh you mean Jenna Natoli, the cougar from Calend." Candace smiled. "I guess I could invite her."


    "Okay, at least there''s one guest on the bride''s side." Poppy smiled, trying not to feel too badly for Candace.


    "But we really have to figure out how to limit the numbers of guestsing." Poppy shook her head in consternation. "Honestly, there are too many guests. We are going to have to hand-sign thousands of invitations. Thousands!!!"


    Hand-sign? Candace''s jaw dropped.


    "Don''t we have rubber stamps?"


    Poppy gave Candace a grimace. "That''s the height of gauche. We can''t do that or we will be considered extremely rude."


    Candace shook her head. "Nobody has ever seen my signature."


    "What does that mean?"


    "That means I can have a dozen attendants sign my name on the card and everyone will never know that it wasn''t me who signed the card." Candace grinned.


    Poppy sighed. "You are too smart for your own good."


    She didn''t want to break it to Candace that they could not allow attendants to sign the invitations because those were official government documents, ording to Erenveilws regarding royal marriages. Anyone who did not have some sort of official capacity would invalidate all the invitations.


    This meant it would have to be Poppy herself, or at the very least someone in Poppy''s position, who could sign the invitations.


    All several THOUSANDS of them!!!

 Chapter 285 - Only For You

    "Wait. What??? No!!!" Jason waved frantically in protest.


    "I am not going to have my beautiful wedding themed in blue, green, yellow, red, pink, and ck! No, no, no." He shook his head, giving her a horrified stare.


    "Those are the color choices the bride has picked." Poppy tried to reason.


    She was feeling a bit overwhelmed by her brothers. Candace had run off to taste cakes with the chef while Poppy went in search of the twins to discuss the color choices but it seemed the twins were not buying the choices Candace had picked.


    "Where is she getting these horrid color choices from?" Jared huffed. "That blue looks positively evil, and that shade of green reminds me of horse poop!"


    "But¡ª" Poppy tried to interrupt.


    "And look at that garish yellow," Jason pointed at the color samples. "How tacky is that? And the brassy red is¡­ugh!" He shuddered.


    Jared sighed. "The only color sample she picked out that is eptable is the pink. I think she went as close to the avgo gemstone''s shade as she could."


    BAAAM!!!


    Poppy mmed her hands onto the table, disrupting all the color chips that Candace had so lovingly chosen.


    The twins jumped, startled by Poppy''s sudden violent outburst.


    "She chose all those colors because they were her favorites! And do you know why they are her favorites? Hmm? Do you?" Her eyes glittered with anger.


    They shook their heads.


    "She chose them based upon the colors of your hair! That color you called horse poop green is the shade of green that reminded her of your hair!"


    Poppy reached out and yanked on one of the twin''s long locks.


    "O!" Jared yelled, rubbing his head.


    She stuck the color sample chip next to his hair to demonstrate.


    Sure enough, the color chip was a very good match to the shade of his brownish-green hair.


    Jason grimaced. "She thinks we have poopy heads?"


    "No!!!" Poppy heaved a big sigh. "She loves all of you, warts and all. She wanted that day to represent all of you, and she needed to pick out colors that most represent you, so she went with your hair colors!"


    The twins looked at each other. Their foreheads touched for a moment, as if they were sharing a single thought.


    "Okay Poppy." Jason finally spoke up. "We''ll figure out a way to work with these colors."


    Jared nodded his agreement.


    Poppy patted both of their arms. "Good! Stretch your design skills. Incorporate all those colors int something that will look good. I have great faith in your abilities!"


    The twins nodded and walked away, mumbling between themselves.


    "¡­how the hell are we going to incorporate te''s ck hair color into this wedding scheme¡­"


    "¡­yuck. I can''t believe our hair is such a gross green color¡­"


    "¡­well, at least we still have the one good pink color from the Avgo stone¡­"


    She was still standing there trying to put the color chips back into their order when she felt a presence behind her.


    Poppy turned her head.


    "Ash!" She grinned. "I''m d you''re here. You have been chosen to be an esteemed signer of some very important royal documents!"


    "What???" Ash blinked at her, looking a bit panicked.


    Poppy bared her fangs. "We have literally THOUSANDS of invitations that have to be sent out by tomorrow and we need to hand-sign them all. There is no way for Candace to sign all of them herself, so we need some help."


    She tapped Ash on the chest. "You will get a chance to sign some VERY important documents! Royal invitations!!!" She grinned.


    "Oh¡­" Ash looked relieved. "You mean signing invitations¡­"


    Poppy''s face broke down. "Please, please, please, help us!"


    She began fake crying. "I can''t take up all of Candace''s time to do the signing because she has too many other things to do, but I can''t do all of them myself and I don''t know anyone here in Marakaran but you."


    Ash began chuckling gently to himself. She had scared him for a moment there when she started off the conversation with signing important royal documents. She would not know that he did that every day of his life as King of Marakaran.


    "I will do my best to help you. I promise." He ced a hand over his heart.


    For this woman, he would do most anything, including sign all the thousands of wedding invitations that she wanted him to sign.


    Poppy threw her arms around his neck and gave him a body-crushing hug.


    "Thank you!" She pecked him on the cheek. "How did I get so lucky to have such a nice friend as you?"


    She turned away and pped her hands for an attendant,pletely missing out on the fact that Ash had almost choked on his own breath.


    Poppy had just kissed him!!! And he had almost missed their first kiss because it had been so sudden!


    He reached up and touched his cheek where she had pressed her lips. It wasn''t as if he had never been kissed before by a woman, but this was so different. So very different.


    This was his Poppy who had just kissed him!


    "Can you bring the invitations and some nice fountain pens here? We need to start this right away or it won''t be ready to be delivered." She informed the attendant.


    "Yes, Your Royal Highness."


    "We''re going to sign them right here?" Ash looked around at the soft cushioned willow chairs and rattan table covered with a ss top that Poppy had set up within the gazebo area to n out the wedding.


    "Why not? This is such a beautiful spot to be doing wedding preparation work, don''t you think?" Poppy chortled. "I''ll have the attendants bring drinks and sandwiches and you and I can sit here and sign Candace''s name on as many of these invitations as we can."


    "You¡ªyou and me?" Ash mumbled. "Just the two of us out here?"


    "Yes. I don''t know anyone else I can trust with this."


    Ash felt his spirits rise into the clouds. He gave an indulgent smile at Poppy.


    "Make mine a lemonade." He paused. "And I like cucumber finger sandwiches."


    Poppyughed. "You''re so cheap to hire as aborer to do this work. Lemonade and cucumber sandwiches it is."


    "Only for you, Poppy." Ash grinned.. "Only for you."

 Chapter 286 - The Valley Of The Shadow Of Death

    Mattheusnded on Marakaran under a deep dark cloud of his own creation.


    Taking only two attendants with him, He made his way through the bright clean streets of Marakaran, heading towards the area where his intelligence crew had told him Poppy was located.


    This close to the king''s pce, no transport pods were allowed except for peace keeping pods and the few high level official pods. Since Mattheus hade under the guise of a normal tourist, he had not been afforded the pomp and circumstance of a visiting dignitary.


    That meant he walked like all the other ordinary folks who were here at the capital city of Marakaran.


    As Mattheus walked, he tried to put aside the images of the tall striking blond man making goopy eyes at Poppy every time she turned away. That told him one thing. She didn''t yet know this man was going ga-ga over her.


    Mattheus had to put a stop to all this nonsense before she realized she had a suitor.


    With his brain zing on and on about the tall elf and Poppy, Mattheus paid scant attention to his surroundings.


    The sky was blue, the clouds a soft puffy white. The birds sang sweet songs of joy, in harmony with the heavenly harps that were being yed by invisible cherubs hiding in bushes and covert locations that were sufficiently sized to ce well-hidden speakers.


    The people of Marakaran and the tourists walked around with gentle smiles on their faces and even saying hello to him as they walked past.


    It couldn''t get more sickly sweet and paradisiacal than this, but if there was anything that drove home to him that paradise was nothing more than a state-of-mind, it was this.


    He was walking down the streets of a Marakaran paradise and he felt as if he was walking through the Valley of the Shadow of Death.


    This beautiful ce was where his Poppy was currently staying at. How the hell was he going topete against paradise?


    Sure, Emporia was a pretty nice world. At the very least it wasn''t a pirate area where things could get a little edgy around the corners, even when you threw money at it.


    Still, Marakaran was known throughout the gxy as a ce where people brought their loved ones on long-awaited vacations and honeymoons.


    Nobody would ever think of Emporia as a honeymoon spot unless they loved to scuba dive and spend time in underwater hotels or take cruises and spend their time on a huge ocean voyage to the various archipgo chains around Emporia.


    Most of the inds that were above water were not that well-developed because the vast majority of the upants on Emporia were merfolk.


    Mattheus'' face was grim as he reached the steps that would take him to the pce gates.


    As he stood, looking up, his stomach suddenly quailed. What the hell was he doing here? Why did he think this was such a great idea? And look at this ce.


    It was huge!


    His Emporian pce was sprawling and massive but this ce had fucking colored onions on the tops of its towers!


    How the hell was he going topete with colored onion domes???


    There was another huge issue. He didn''t have a royal invitation to the King''s home. How was he supposed to gain ess into this ce?


    As he stood there with his several attendants trying to figure out the best possible way to gain entry, a familiar face walked by.


    "te!" He called out.


    The Primary Warrior of Erenveil paused and turned towards the sound of his name being called out with such a casual tone.


    "Oh it''s you!" te grinned and headed towards Mattheus and reached out a hand. Mattheus took his hand with much relief. He actually knew someone here.


    "If you''re here to attend the wedding, you''re a little bit early, Mattheus. It won''t happen for another two weeks."


    "No. I''m here to see Poppy."


    "Oh that''s right." te smiled. "She''s your little proteg¨¦e from pirate space. Hang on."


    He reached into his pocket and pulled out a heavy gold pass coin.


    "You are going to need this to get in and out of the pce. Take mine. All the gate guards know who I am so I don''t really need it."


    "Hey, thanks Bro." Mattheus gave a grim smile.


    "Don''t mention it. Just¡ªwhen you see Poppy, don''t be surprised if she puts you to work doing menialbor to help out with the wedding details." He gave a deep sigh. "She''s been running me ragged all day."


    "Oh yeah?" Mattheusughed. That sounded so much like Poppy. "What has she got you doing?"


    te rubbed his eyes. "I''ve been put on beer duty. It''s my job to go taste all the beers and get the best stuff to be delivered to the wedding site."


    Mattheus raised an eyebrow. "And you consider that to be a terrible deal?"


    "It is if I have to start tasting from six in the morning until six at night! I think I''m going to just pick something out and say I''ve tasted it and it''s just fine."


    Mattheusughed. "Well, congrattions on your uing wedding te. I''m really happy for you."


    te smiled and pped him on the back. "I''ll return the congrats at your wedding."


    As te walked away, Mattheus'' smile faded. His own wedding was moving farther and farther out of reach the longer he stood out here.


    With a sigh, he headed for the entrance of the king''s pce.


    As te predicted, the guards didn''t even bother to look at him. All they cared about was whether the gold coin was the real deal.


    Once he and his men had gained ess to the pce, he went looking for Poppy.


    The ce looked sprawling and ptial on the outside, but the true magnitude of its scope and size could only be experienced once he was inside the ce.


    Courtyard after courtyard, pond after pond, tree after tree. There were so many structures within the pce walls that it was amazing no one ever got lost in here.


    It was a good thing Poppy was so uniquely identifiable. Everyone he met had recalled seen a tall beautiful princess with vibrant purple eyes and shiny deep red hair that barely reached her shoulders.


    He only had to ask three random servants passing by to find out her location.


    As he got closer to the courtyard where the servants had told him she would be, he could see the green expanse of grass surrounded byrge gnarled oaks. At the center of the grassy area was a gazebo.


    Within the gazebo was the red haired woman who had taken his heart so very long ago.


    Next to her was the damn sted silver haired elf who was at this very moment, making goopy eyes at Poppy!

 Chapter 287 - Forging Signatures

    Mattheus strode forward, seeing nothing but raging red splotches and streaks in front of his eyes.


    "Oh my gosh! Matt!" Poppy yelled out and jumped up from her seated position at the table. In seconds, she had run up to Mattheus with arms open wide.


    "How in the world did you know I was here?" Sheughed and threw herself into his arms.


    He stood perfectly still as she hugged him, trying to control his raging emotions which were threatening to explode from his body. He didn''t know whether to be furious or euphoric.


    With great restraint, he wrapped his arms around her and gave her back an awkward brotherly pat.


    It wasn''t because he didn''t want to do more than that. It was because he was afraid if he did, he would end up crushing her into his body and kiss her until they both fainted fromck of air.


    "Come! There''s someone here I want you to meet!" Sheughed with excitement and pulled at his hand, leading him towards the table at the center of the gazebo.


    Growling with internal rage, Mattheus followed Poppy as she pulled on his arm, rushing him to get to the table where the elf was sitting at.


    "Ash! Look who showed up!!!" Poppy yelled out with cheer. "This is my closest family member, Matt."


    She turned to him with bright eyes. "Matt, this is Ash, my new fencing friend I met here on Marakaran."


    Matthew fixed his eyes on the pale blond man with the pale blue eyes and the pale pale skin. His name suited him quite well. What an ash!


    "I''m d you''re here Matt, because I need your help." Poppy chattered on, oblivious to the probing nces the two men threw at each other.


    Without waiting to see if he was even willing to help her, Poppy pulled him down and made him sit next to her.


    "Here is a fountain pen. And here are a stack of invitations." She was already prattling on and on without even bothering to see if he was listening to what she was saying.


    Of course Matthew was listening, but he was also wondering what in the world she was asking him to do.


    In a matter of seconds, Mattheus had figured it out.


    "You see how Candace signed this first invitation?" She pointed to the one that was on the table in the middle of the stacks and stacks of unsigned invitations.


    "Try to copy the way she signs as closely as possible. We have thousands of invitations to sign, so do the best you can, but not too ''best''. We need to get this done as quickly as possible."


    Across the table, Mattheus could see Ash struggling not tough.


    It made him even more furious, but he could not explode in front of Poppy. She had done nothing wrong. She had merely asked him to do some trivial thing to help her out.


    Mattheus sat holding onto the pen, staring at the invitation. What in the world had just happened? He hade here for the expressed purpose of¡ª


    "What are you waiting for?" Poppy interrupted his thoughts. "We have to send these invitations off by the end of the day. Start signing!"


    Mattheus nodded and began signing.


    As he began copying Candace''s flowery signature, he pressed his lips together and tried not to think about all the official court documents that were still waiting for him to sign on his desk. Some of those had to do with the governance of Emporia and some had to do with the governance of pirate space.


    He had abandoned all that work to fly half-way across the gxy to this world just to sit here and forge some woman''s signature on thousands of wedding invitations.


    Worse yet, he was sitting in the middle of a gazebo across from a pale blond elf who had not stopped making goopy eyes at his woman!


    As the male elf and the merman sat forging Candace''s signature on the invitations, Poppy called the attendants to bring cucumber and BLT* sandwiches along with lemonade and club soda. Ash had made his preference known and Poppy already knew what Mattheus liked.


    As for Poppy herself, she wasn''t too picky of an eater and couldfortably flutter between the elven vegetarian preferences and the bacon-lover pirate king.


    As they worked, the red haired princess kept up her non-stop chatter about nonsensical bits of news and tidbits of gossip to the two stoic silent men sitting alongside her.


    "You know, the two of you have really nice looking longhand script. I can write, of course, but my handwriting is not very pretty." She wrinkled her nose.


    "I remember my brother Byron telling me something about this." Poppyughed, shaking her head.


    "Hmm? What was that he said?" Ash prompted her gently.


    She raised her eyebrows and gave him an incredulous look.


    "He told me that he once spent an entire summer as a child with a script tutor doing nothing but sign his name ording to the prescribed methodology so that when he signed important documents, it wouldn''t look like chicken scratch."


    Ash and Mattheus both burst outughing. It was so very true. They had both been subjected to the same rigorous scriptwriting training as young Crown Princes.


    "You two areughing, but I assure you, it''s no joke!" She grinned. "I wonder what other strange oddities that he had to learn to be Crown Prince."


    Of course, neither could tell her of the various things they had to endure as Crown Princes so they both wisely kept their mouths shut and their heads down, scribbling out Candace''s name, over and over and over.


    By the time lunch arrived, the three of them had cleared out a fourth of the invitations. Those that were done were immediately hand-carried to the delivery pods and sent off to the most far-flung ces like Avalia, where delivery time was at least three days.


    "I''m d to see you were able to arrive safely to Marakaran, Matt." Ash smiled as he ate his cucumber sandwich.


    "Thank you." Mattheus picked up a BLT sandwich. "The space around this world has stabilized quite a bit due to te''s warships prowling everywhere."


    "I hope you are okay with BLT. I know you like them." Poppy smiled.


    Mattheus nodded, feeling a streak of pride that Poppy knew his preferences and was taking care of him without needing to ask.


    "It''s interesting that bacon looks and tastes like bacon everywhere I go, from here to Emporia, and even pirate space."


    Poppyughed. "Pirate space? I thought you were still trying to stabilize Emporia."


    "I was. Still am." He bit into the sandwich. Had he not felt this urgent need to be with her, he would be on Emporia still, trying to keep it from crumbling into hundreds of warring nations.


    "I know you have been invited to the wedding but it''s two weeks away. What are you doing here so early?" Poppy asked as she sipped her mixed drink.


    The fortunate happenstance of being around one man who liked lemonade and another who liked sparkling water meant she could drink sparkling lemonade.


    "I came because I was worried about you." Mattheus admitted grudgingly.


    Poppy hid her smile behind the BLT she was munching on. It was so sweet that he worried about her.


    Ash looked up, his crystal blue eyes gleamed. "She is here with all seven of her brothers and a new sister-inw. What is there to worry about?"


    Mattheus put down his sandwich and looked around.


    "I see nobody here but you and Poppy. Had I not arrived, it would have been just you and Poppy. That''s what I am worried about."


    ================


    A BLT is a sandwich consisting of bacon lettuce and tomato slices.

 Chapter 288 - Everything For Real

    Ash''s grin faltered. "I would never do anything to hurt Poppy."


    "I''ll be the judge of that."


    Mattheus didn''t even bother to pretend to smile back. He just wanted to jump up and punch this smug elf in the face.


    Ash raised a regal eyebrow, sensing overwhelming hostility projected directly at him by Poppy''s ''family member''.


    "What exactly are you worried about?" Ash leveled at him with a cool look. "Do you think that Poppy does not have enough sense to be able to pick out people that she can be friends with?"


    "That''s not what I mean¡ª"


    "Or do you think she makes such poor choices in rtionships that you have to monitor her every move?"


    "I didn''t say that either." Mattheus scowled.


    This elf was amazingly cool and collected. A worthy opponent had it been anything other than this.


    He nced over at Poppy who was sitting there chewing on her BLT sandwich, not looking at either of them. He couldn''t tell if she was upset that he and the elf were at odds over her.


    What was pissing Mattheus off the most was that normally, he was also very calm, cool and collected. It was just that when it came to Poppy, he could not hold onto his coolness.


    "Of course she is very capable and resourceful." Mattheus reparteed. "I just want to be there for her¡ªjust in case she needs me."


    "But she''s fully-grown, Matt." Ash pointed out in a soft steady voice. "She''s fully capable to do her own thing, be her own woman¡­find her own man." He leaned in and regarded Mattheus with intense blue eyes.


    "Ash," Poppy smiled and looked up at him. "It''s okay. I don''t mind that Matt fusses over me and worries about me."


    "But isn''t he a little bit over-protective of you?" Ash leaned back.


    Poppy grinned. "He''s just doing the best he can, trying to take good care of me."


    Poppy turned back to Mattheus.


    He was so adorable when he acted like her doting overprotective brother. He had done that all through the years she''d grown up with him and it always made her feel special and protected.


    "Matt. I''m perfectly safe here." She reached out for his arm. "This ce is so beautiful and tranquil, and now that you''re here, I couldn''t be any safer."


    Mattheus ground his teeth. She was right, of course.


    This was a ce that a beautiful Imperial Princess like Poppy belonged in. It was luxurious, bright, peaceful, and safe. Not even in Emporia could he provide a ce like this for her.


    Mattheus held his breath and tried not to choke on the despair that was welling up through his throat.


    "Tell you what." Poppy said as she reached for her drink. "After the wedding, how about you and I go on a joyride across pirate space in a little transport pod, like we used to?"


    For a moment, Mattheus wasn''t sure if he heard her correctly.


    "What¡ªwhat do you mean?" He turned to her with shocked eyes.


    "I really miss those days, Matt. We used to just fly around in space, sometimes on fumes hoping we''d make it to the next refueling station before we ran out of fuel and had to drift in space until an emergency vehicle could reach us. Don''t you remember?"


    Mattheus looked down at his hands.


    Those were the hard and hungry times when they could barely make ends meet. Why did she have to harp on them in front of this wealthy king when they''d left that so far behind them and he had built a much better home for them?


    "It was the best times of my life, Matt." Poppy smiled with nostalgia. "Those were the days when it was just you and me against the world. All we had were each other."


    Mattheus choked on his own tears that threatened to rise above his Adam''s apple and pour through his nose and eyes.


    He choked them down HARD.


    "We''ve left those bad days far far behind, Poppy. We can now have the best of everything." He muttered.


    "But those were the best times, Matt." Poppy took a deep breath and let it out slowly.


    "I wouldn''t trade those days for the world. It made me stronger and more self-reliant. It made me who I am today."


    Her eyes moistened. "You''ve taught me so much that I don''t know how I''ll ever be able to repay you."


    Ash took a sip of his lemonade. It was way too sour.


    "It sounds as if you had a good experience growing up in pirate space." Ash turned his crystal blue eyes at her.


    Poppy nodded. "Only because Matt took good care of me. If it hadn''t been for him, I don''t think I would be alive today."


    "It''s a good sign of parenting." Ash smiled. "It''s also good parenting to know when to let go and give the young ones a chance to fly on their own."


    Matt red at Ash. Fuck his pompous know-it-all attitude. He was about to give a brash retort when Poppy wrinkled up her nose and gave Ash a bright grin.


    "He''s not my parent Ash. He''s only a few years older than me. We sorta grew up together and he watched over me like a big brother."


    Ash cleared his throat. "Big brothers need to let go as well, so little sisters get a chance to explore their surroundings and meet new people."


    "That is true." Poppy agreed, but then she pped at Mattheus'' arm. "You didn''t do a good job teaching me how to fence properly! Ash keeps beating my butt in fencing!"


    Mattheus looked up with surprise. What in the world did that have to do with anything?


    Ashughed. "I''m much taller than you, Poppy. I have longer arms, and stronger core muscles because I am a man. It''s not that he didn''t teach you well enough. It''s just that you''re not as physicallyrge as I am and you don''t have as long a reach."


    "But Matt is just as big as you are!" And then she paused as something sank in.


    "You''ve been letting me win all this time, haven''t you?" She turned to Matt with a scowl.


    He reddened and turned away. It gave her so much joy to win, and it also gave him so much joy to see her happy when she won. Why would he take that away from both of them?


    "Poppy," he tried to reason with her. "The whole point of dueling was to teach you how to fight well enough to defend yourself. Beyond that, as long as you had learned the lessons I taught you, who cares who wins or loses? Dueling is just for fun."


    "Grrrr." Poppy growled and pinched his forearm. "From now on, don''t let me win. Fight for real!"


    Mattheus smiled and reached out to touch her head.


    "Okay Poppy. From now on, everything is for real."


    "Everything?" She looked up with clear violet eyes.


    Mattheus nodded.. "Everything."

 Chapter 289 - Playing For Keeps

    Dinner that night was held outside at the barbecue area under Marakaran''s single blonde moon.


    There were dozens of lit fabrterns in a multitude of colors hanging on low willow branches surrounding therge lotus pond and along the broad stone pavers that led to and from the group of partiers and the kitchen area.


    This courtyard was one of thergest ones in theplex despite being located deep within the heart of the pce.


    As an attendant turned themb on the roast pit, other attendants scurried about serving curried rice dishes onrge t banana leaves and soups in coconut shells.


    There were silver tters of roast potatoes and carrots and huge baskets of hot butter rolls. There were bowls of corn on the cob and bowls of fresh greens.


    There were baskets of fried chicken and baskets of steamed dumplings. There were at least three different kinds of soups beingdled out into bowls and served to the royal family.


    Mounds and mounds of Marakaran food beganing out of the nearby kitchen, carried by tall thin silver-haired attendants wearing white balloon pati pants and nothing else.


    There were fancy mixed drinks served from tall spirals made from speckled animal horns, and there were round goblets made from the shells of some deep ocean mollusk.


    The party was well underway when arge group of attendants walked in through the entrance.


    Following behind them was the Emperor''s entire family, including his Empress Anastasia and his two remaining Royal Consorts, Fatima and Theodora with their girls in tow.


    "Father! Mother!" The Princes eximed and stood up.


    "Your Majesty!" The remainder of the party also called out and stood at attention.


    Emperor Rex waved his hand. "At ease, at ease. It''s a casual barbecue. I''m just here to wish my children well and to eat some good food."


    Heughed as he looked about the ce.


    It really was a grand pce. In some aspects, it was even grander than Erenveil pce which was starting to get a little grungy and in need of refresh.


    "King Ashwyn!" Emperor Rex called out. "This is quite an amazing pce!"


    Ash bowed, his heart plummeting into his stomach.


    There was no way he could ignore the Emperor when the promation was aimed directly at him.


    "Thank you, Your Majesty."


    Poppy turned sharp usatory eyes at Ash, mouthing the word ''King Ashwyn''???


    He nced at her without saying a word. The chance for him to exin was gone, as the Emperor strode over to him with hands outstretched.


    "It''s been awhile since I''ve been back here but it never ceases to amaze me how beautiful this ce is. Your pce is absolutely stunning!"


    Ashwyn reached out to grasp the Emperor''s hands.


    "It''s an honor to receive such distinguished guests as yourself and your family. Please enjoy your stay here."


    As the King and the Emperor traded introductions, Daisy and Ariana quickly made their way towards Candace.


    Pushing aside their brothers, they each chose a spot on either side of her and clung onto her upper arms refusing to let go. They had not seen her in awhile and was not about to let this opportunity to sit with her go to waste.


    Their brothers grudgingly moved around Candace to give room for the little girls. Little sisters always trumped husbands when it came to family events such as these. Besides, they hadn''t seen their sisters since thest family barbecue.


    "Want some roast meat?" Lucas handed Daisy a te full of sliced roastmb.


    "Have some carrots and potatoes too. They''re good for a growing girl like you." Leonardo pressed the vegetables on Daisy.


    On the other side, Jared and Jason were also pushing food onto their sister Ariana.


    "Trust me, the baked stuffing is amazing," Jason ced a dish of stuffing in front of Ariana as Jared ced a roast chicken leg on top.


    "I want what she''s having!" Ariana pointed to Candace''s dish which held baked eggnt.


    "Me too!" Daisy mored even though she had no idea what it was that Candace was eating.


    Candaceughed. "This is baked eggnt."


    "Egg¡ªeggnt?" Ariana and Daisy looked at each other.


    Lucasughed. "Trust me. You don''t want eggnt. Just eat what we give you."


    On the other side of Candace and the young girls was Poppy and her two men.


    One was tall, dark, and handsome and the other one was tall, bright, and handsome. It was almost like they were opposite poles and she was the colorful red-head fulcrum at the center.


    At the moment however, the ''bright and handsome'' one was struggling to keep his equilibrium because she was giving him the obvious cold shoulder treatment.


    Everyone held their tongue and discretely looked away as Ash''s secret burst like a confetti balloon, raining down bright colorful specks of joyful micro explosions.


    Judging from the stiffness of Poppy''s back, Ash was not going to be able to sneak through this one without at least a tiny bit of pain.


    "Poppy¡­" Ash tried to make conversation with the, now very cold and unapproachable, red hair woman sitting next to him.


    She turned away, pretending interest in a caramelized roasted slice ofmb.


    Seeing her interest, Mattheus speared it and ced it on her tes along with a few pieces of caramelized roasted baby carrots.


    It was now fairly obvious to Mattheus that Poppy had no idea Ash was really Ashwyn, King of Marakaran and he could see the very familiar stiff face and clenched jaw she made when she was boiling mad.


    He tried hard not to look smug, but he couldn''t help feeling euphoric because the one thing that Mattheus knew, which Ash didn''t, was that Poppy hated to be lied to.


    It was her number one pet peeve.


    Ash tried again.


    Clearing his throat, he reached out to touch Poppy''s hand.


    At thest moment, she yanked her hand away to reach for some candied flower petals.


    "Poppy. Please talk to me." He begged in a soft tone.


    Without turning her head, she muttered through smiling lips.


    "There''s nothing to talk about."


    "I know you''re upset¡­"


    "Who me? Why would I be upset?" Poppy smiled with venom. "It''s not that big of a deal that someone I thought was my friend, straight up lied to my face."


    "It''s not¡ªlike that. I didn''t say anything at first because¡­"


    "Because you thought I would go ga-ga and crush all over you, and you didn''t want the drama?" She turned hard violet eyes at him. "Or because you didn''t think I was worth your time to tell me a little about yourself?"


    Ash sighed, shaking his head. "No Poppy. When we first met, you treated me like a friend, and I didn''t want to say anything that would cause you to stop treating me like a friend."


    She turned away from him, fixing her stormy violet eyes into the distance.


    "I treated you like a friend because I wanted to be your friend, but you didn''t treat me like a friend because you lied to me!"


    Her violet eyes filled with tears and her voice dropped to a harsh whisper.


    "I feel like such an idiot, telling my family this was a hotel that they could stay at for a good price. I can''t even face them now." She covered her face with her hands.


    Ash sighed. "They still love you and have never thought less about you."


    Poppy stood up.


    "Yeah well, I think less of myself now. Candace tried to tell me this wasn''t a hotel and I just brushed her aside like she was clueless¡ªwhen the real clueless idiot was me."


    Ash stood up and reached out for her hand, but again, she brushed him away.


    "What a stupid fool I was to trust you." She turned away from him and walked off.


    Mattheus jumped up and followed immediately behind her.


    This was his final chance to make it real and y for keeps.

 Chapter 290 - Heart To Heart

    Ash moved to follow her, but Byron grabbed at his forearm.


    "Rx and have a seat, Ash." He handed Ash a shot ss filled with something clear. "Give her a little time."


    "She hates me now." Ash sighed with sorrow.


    Byronughed. "I know my sister. She''ll stew and fume for a couple of hours and then it will all blow over. Then you can bring her a tiny gift and she''ll ept it, and you''re back in her good graces again."


    "For real?" Ash turned to Byron with hopeful blue eyes.


    "Yep. She happens to like cherry cordials."


    "What are those?" Ash frowned.


    Byron made a gesture with his fingers, "You know¡ªthose chocte covered cherries with the gooey white sugar inside¡­".


    Ash shook his head. "There is plenty of chocte on Marakaran, but I''ve never seen a cherry."


    Byron rubbed his chin. Obviously, there were no cherries here on Marakaran.


    "It''s okay. If you don''t have cherry cordials, rubies work just as well."


    Ash''s eyes brightened. "Rubies I have plenty of. Does she like them set in gold or tinum?"


    "She likes gold but if all you have is tinum, she''ll take that as well. Just make sure the rubies are high quality and of a decent size."


    Ash nodded with a grand smile and gestured for an attendant to handle the details of a spectacr ruby gift to present to Poppy.


    =============


    Meanwhile, Mattheus quickly followed Poppy as she ran into a secluded area on the south side of the gardens.


    No one followed them at that moment, which was a good thing for all involved. At least Ash was smart enough to give Poppy a bit of space so she could calm down rather than try to follow her and piss her off even more.


    "Poppy." He called out to her.


    She ignored him, turning the corner into another section of the pce.


    Mattheus quickened his pace and caught up with her as she rounded the corner.


    "Oh my gosh!" Poppy breathed in amazement at the small enve she had discovered.


    It was a tiny courtyard situated next to one of the side buildings that had been taken over by clumps of palm trees.


    Although it wasn''t exactly abandoned, as there were signs of someone taking care of the area and sweeping up debris, it had mostly been left to grow as it wished.


    The fountain at the center was no longer sprinkling merrily, as were all the ones that they had seen. Instead, its water was murky, with small round lily pads growing from out of the dark water.


    From below the water''s surface, small orange shapes darted furtively, once in a while rising up to gulp fresh air.


    "Goldfish!" Poppy danced over to the fountain and peered into the cloudy water.


    "Looks like it. Normally, muddy standing water like this breeds mosquitoes and other nasty bugs, but the goldfish have been eating them, so the biosphere is fairly bnced."


    He looked around. The groves of palm trees protected the various ferns growing underneath, and small wildflowers were given shelter to bloom where they wished.


    Even tiny baby tears were growing between the cracks of the pavers, sheltered from the harsh sun by the fronds above.


    "This ce looks untended, but it''s actually very carefully managed. It''s been allowed to return to a semi-natural state but in a carefully managed fashion."


    "To be natural AND tended at the same time." She turned back to him. "Is that what you''ve done with me?"


    Mattheus took the two steps that separated them.


    Reaching out, he touched the top of her head, as he had always done, but then his hand slid down and he tipped her chin up so he could look into her startling violet eyes.


    "When I first met you, you were barely sixteen. Still a child in my world. I protected you so that you could remain a beautiful child. And you eventually matured into a beautiful woman."


    Poppy smiled. "You''ve taken very good care of me all through the years. I couldn''t ask for a better guardian."


    His eyes narrowed. "You didn''t need guardianship once you reached the age of 21."


    "And yet I kept hanging around, refusing to leave." Poppy twisted her lips into a funny smile. "Where else can I go and get spoiled and taken cared of?"


    "I¡ªI''ve always thought you would find someone who would sweep you off your feet," he sighed. "And you would leave me eventually."


    He shook his head. "I didn''t think you would leave me because your family finally recognized you as the Princess you had always been."


    Poppy gave him a wistful look.


    "I left you so I could get a chance to be with my family and experience what it''s like to have real brothers and sister, mothers and a father. I find them to be such wonderful people."


    "I''m happy that you were finally able to reunite with your real family." He closed his eyes. "But I''m also sad¡­"


    "Because I left?"


    He nodded. "I miss you, Poppy."


    He began stroking her hair in the gentle way he normally did when she neededforting. This time however, he was doing it because he was the one who neededforting.


    "We can always visit each other as often as we wish." Poppy suggested.


    Mattheus shook his head. It was now or nothing. Go big or go home.


    "I know you''ve always thought of me as your older brother, someone who looks after you like a guardian."


    Poppy stilled. Her face turned serious.


    "But Poppy," his voice turned hoarse. "I''ve never once thought of you as my little sister. Not once."


    "Then what¡ªwhat was I to you?"


    "You were EVERYTHING to me." He admitted for the first time, even to himself.


    Poppy blinked. Her lips quivered but she remained silent.


    Mattheus turned away, unable to face her direct violet stare. He had kept this secret hidden away for so long precisely because he was afraid she would turn away from him.


    That chance was very real.


    If she thought that he had turned into someone she could no longer feelfortable around, it was possible that she would distance herself from him and he would rarely, if ever, see her again.


    "You never said anything or even dropped a hint." She breathed.


    "I never said anything when we first met because you were still so young and I didn''t want to take advantage¡ª"


    "You didn''t want to take advantage of me but you did everything you could to get me to fall for you." Poppy pursed her lips.


    "No¡ªno, that''s not¡ªPoppy. You were a teenager who had gone through a traumatic experience. I¡ª" He protested as he saw her eyes narrowed with intensity.


    "You never told me anything but you provided everything I needed and took care of me without asking for anything in return."


    That familiar stiff face and clenched jaw she made when she was boiling mad was back on her face.


    "You were trying to get me to like you, weren''t you?"


    "What? No!" He protested as she turned away.


    "Wait, Poppy." He reached out for her shoulder, but she moved away, brushing him aside.


    To hell with giving her space. This was hisst chance to make her understand.


    Matt ran after her, pulling at her arm.


    "Poppy. STOP!" He ground out. "I''ve always held back because I didn''t want you to feel ufortable living with me. You only had the once safe home to be in. I didn''t want you to feel that you had to run away from home to get away from me."


    He reached out for her other arm, turning her to face him.


    "But you''re not stuck living with me any more. You''re the captain of a warship. You can choose to walk away from me and you would still be okay."


    "Look." He searched her eyes. "You told me to fight for real with you. From now on, everything is for real. I''m not going to hide my feelings for you any more."


    He gave a sigh.


    "I love you, Poppy."

 Chapter 291 - Hopeless Crush

    For a moment, Poppy felt a thundering p that hit at her heart.


    The man she''d had a kiddie crush on for years had just told her he loved her and she had no idea what to say to him.


    She was an adult woman whomanded an entire warship full of hot-blooded male warriors. She had gone into battle, killed countless enemy troops. She was no star-struck child who was faced with an idol for the very first time.


    It was just a childhood crush, this thing she felt for Matt.


    She was barely sixteen when she first met him. She had never really even talked with a man who was not one of her brothers or her uncle.


    Her crush on her benefactor had always been something she hid because Matt was a dashing handsome pirate who yed the pirate world and crushed the opposition in the palm of his hands.


    And Poppy¡­


    Poppy was just a delinquent young teen who had been sold into his world at such a price that it nearly beggared him just to rescue her from the ve traders. She was a young girl he had to provide for even though he himself was also struggling to survive.


    And then without warning, the man who she considered to be her benefactor suddenly turned into a rising star.


    Like a dark knight, he rose from the ranks and conquest after conquest, literally turned Pirate space into his own domain. Within a matter of ten years, he had officially bing the undisputed King of the Pirates.


    The higher he rose to power and fame, therger Poppy''s crush grew, but Matt doted on her and treated her as if he was her older brother.


    She could not destroy that perfect rtionship with him by revealing her crush. It would have made things so awkward for both of them.


    So she killed the crush.


    She had stomped on it and squelched it and buried it until there was nothing left of it.


    Nothing left.


    "I''m¡­" Poppy cleared her throat. "I¡ª"


    She never got any farther than that as Mattheus crushed her into his arms and his warm soft shapely lips covered her mouth.


    "Aaaahhh!" Poppy gasped with surprise.


    She had imagined this so many times as a young girl, but she could never have expected for his kisses to be like this.


    As his tongue thrust in between her lips, she quivered uncontrobly.


    The crush that had died a miserable death for so many years suddenly red back to life.


    No, no, no, she thought with wretched misery. It had taken so much effort for her to kill that disease of a crush. So many days and nights of ying the unwanted crush beast.


    All it had taken was a single kiss from the Pirate King and it had once again red out of control. That dreaded crush had taken over her soul once more, obliterating all her banal ineffectual protests.


    Letting out a soft whimper, she gave up and surrendered herself to his kisses.


    As Poppy''s body melted into his and her arms began winding around his neck, Mattheus pushed his tongue deeper into her mouth, tasting, caressing, suckling.


    He had been dreaming about holding her in his arms for so long, but the reality was so much more soul-melting that could not get enough of her taste.


    "Haaaahhh. Mattheus." She moaned into his mouth, causing him to shudder with a deep soulful longing.


    She began seeking out his pulse points, picking up on the strong scent of his blood.


    Poppy exhaled a ragged breath.


    She could smell the blood running through Mattheus'' arteries and she was craving his warm viscous bodily fluids.


    She began to lick at the warm expanse of his neck as her fangs began lengthening. As her fangs grew, her craving for him increased until it was all she could do just to maintain her human form.


    "Hmmm." Mattheus smiled with hope, seeing the blood bat side of her projecting out.


    "You''re starving for me, aren''t you? Bite me then, my love. Take what you need. All that I am is yours."


    Poppy''s eyes zed over, even as she fought down the sudden primal urge to pierce his neck with her sharp teeth.


    She could not do this to Matt. He was her only anchor in this gxy.


    "I can''t do this to you. Not you." She breathed in quick shallow breaths trying to recover her bnce. "We will be forever linked in a way that is irreversible."


    "Do it! I''m giving you permission. No scratch that." He hissed. "I''m begging you to please bite and take my blood."


    She could hear the pounding of her heartbeat thundering through her head.


    Her mouth opened and she hissed with anticipation.


    At the moment when she could no longer hold back, almost against her will, Poppy closed her eyes and slowly sank her fangs into Mattheus'' warm throbbing neck.


    "Aaaaahhh¡­" Matt sighed as he felt a slight sting which vanished almost immediately from the pain killer that Poppy released into his body.


    And then he felt a warm rush as Poppy''s liquid injection hit his bloodstream. It started at the point where she bit him and within seconds had raced throughout Mattheus'' entire body.


    His body shook with ecstasy as he felt Poppy sucking on his neck and taking his blood into her body.


    Mattheus wound his fingers into her red hair, shaking from her injection. He was heating up rapidly, unable to contain his quivering. It felt like his body was on a drug-induced high.


    Poppy pulled back, her lips stained with his blood. As she licked his wound clean of blood, an insistent voice began moring into Mattheus'' head.


    ''You can no longer escape. You are now mine.''


    "Pop¡ªPoppy..." He murmured, eyes zed from the effects of the drug.


    ''Yes Matt?'' The voice in his head prompted even though Poppy''s tongue was still licking at his wound.


    "I think I''m going crazy. I can hear you in my head."


    ''You''re not going crazy Matt. I''ve shared my essence with you and now we are mind-linked.''


    "Really? I can¡ª" he took a deep breath. ''I can talk to you mentally now?''


    ''Yes.'' Poppy smiled.


    ''I love you Poppy.'' He whispered into her mind.


    ''You''d better!'' The voice in his head responded with fierce.

 Chapter 292 - [Bonus ] Rubies Are Red

    As the wine continued to be poured from the casks that had been brought out by the servants, Ashwyn waited with nervous restlessness. His attendant had been gone for over an hour and had not yet returned with what he had asked for.


    As thenterns began to dim, he gestured for the attendants to relight them all. Each fuel source onlysted two hours, and the first set of fuel cones had barely been lit when Poppy took off in a huff.


    Two hours. He hoped it was enough time for her to calm down a bit so he could at least talk to her.


    "Your Majesty," a voice called out behind him.


    Ashwyn turned. "Do you have it?"


    "Yes, Your Majesty." He bowed and proffered a small t box.


    Ashwyn took the box and opened the top.


    Nestled within the velvet lining was a pendant fashioned from deep gold, holding arge ruby tear drop surrounded by diamonds.


    It was a fairlyrge ruby so the piece was quite heavy. It was also exquisite.


    "Very good." He closed the lid and tucked the box into the inner breast pocket of his robe. He hoped this was a good enough peace offering and Poppy would be happy with it.


    Now, he could either wait for Poppy to show up or he could go look for her.


    A quick look around at therge gathering convinced Ashwyn to sit and patiently wait. He had no idea where she was anyway.


    As the lights of the pcenterns began to glow brightly once more, Ashwyn stood up and began walking around the perimeter of the group.


    He did not want to look as if he was pacing, but that was exactly what he was doing. Where in the world had she gone to that she would not return to the dinner when all her brothers and her sister-inw was still here?


    He was about to throw caution to the wind and go look for her when Poppy reappeared, with Mattheus in tow behind her.


    Ashwyn moved towards her.


    "Poppy." He called out.


    She stopped and turned her violet eyes towards him.


    Ashwyn let out a silent breath of relief. She no longer looked so angry. In fact, her eyes held a strange glint that Ashwyn could not put his finger on.


    "Can we please talk?" He asked her outright, hoping that she would not refuse him in front of everyone.


    "Just for a few minutes, Poppy." He begged.


    She pressed her lips into a thin line and nodded.


    "Come." He extended his hand and she reached out for him.


    The moment their fingers touched, Ashwyn felt a warmth suffuse his entire body and his body began to tingle in a way that he just knew¡ªhe knew the chemistry that he felt for her was real.


    Ashwyn had heard of chemistry between people but this was the first time he had ever felt it so clearly before.


    At that moment, he knew he needed to find a way to be with her, but he also knew one thing for certain. Chemistry between two people on any level could not be created. It either existed or it didn''t.


    He knew that he could not make Poppy physically attracted to him. All he could do was create the right conditions for her to discover what chemistry was possible between them.


    He led Poppy over to the west side where the green house was located and ushered her through.


    This time of the evening, there would only be small fairy lights strung about the bushes and the small trees growing inside the ss dome. It would be tranquil enough for him to be able to talk to her.


    He had to find a way to open up the opportunity for her to be able to feel chemistry to whatever degree it existed within her. It would either happen or it wouldn''t.


    "Poppy. First things first. Please¡­let me humbly apologize for not being clear with you from the very start who I was."


    "I was just afraid that¡­that once you knew I was the king of this world, you would prejudge me and decide it wasn''t worth your time to get to know me for whatever reason."


    "Reason? Like what?"


    "Well¡­" he waved a hand. "Being with a king has its drawbacks."


    "Oh? Like what?" Poppy raised an eyebrow.


    "I don''t know. Maybe you enjoy cruising all over the gxy and don''t want to be stuck being on one world all the time. Or maybe you think kings have lots of concubines or consorts around and you don''t want to be one of a bevy of wives."


    "And is that what you have? A bevy of wives?" She gave a small smile.


    "No!" He protested immediately. "No. I''ve never been married and I don''t have anyone at the moment."


    His face turned red. "My father just passed awayst year, so I haven''t been king for very long. My advisors are looking for wives for me but I''ve been¡­pushing them off as much as I could."


    "Why?" Poppy gave him a questioning look. "Do you prefer to be with a man?"


    "No!!!" Ashwyn covered his eyes with flustered hands. "I am only attracted to women¡ªI mean, not lots of women, just¡ª"


    Poppy was now trying hard not tough.


    He sighed. "I''m doing a terrible job of trying to talk with you."


    He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small box.


    "This is a gift to say I''m sorry. Please don''t be mad at me."


    Poppy looked at him for a moment and reached out for the box.


    "Hmmm." She turned the box around in her hand. "A box this small can only hold one thing."


    "I hope you like it." Ashwyn murmured.


    She looked up at him with sparkling violet eyes and opened the box.


    "Oh my!" She gasped, pulling out the ruby pendant on its gold chain. "This looks like¡­"


    "It''s called the Amaryllis Ruby." He breathed.


    "Isn''t this part of your world''s Crown Jewels?"


    He nodded.


    Poppy handed it back to him. "I can''t take your world''s Crown Jewels. They belong in a museum or something."


    He sighed. How did she know he''d had his attendant take it out of the pce''s museum and polish it up just to give it to her?


    "If you don''t ept it, then it means you are still mad at me."


    Poppy looked up at him and shook her head.


    "If I tell you that I''m no longer mad at you, will you take this back?"


    "No. Once I give something away, I hope the person I''m giving it to will not reject it."


    "But this is too valuable for me to take."


    Ashwyn''s blue eyes softened. "I made a terrible mistake when I first met you and did not clearly tell you who I was."


    He sighed. "I even lied about the pce being a hotel because I wanted you to bring your family here to hold their wedding but I didn''t know how to present it to you in a way that would allow you to ept."


    "I''m truly sorry, Poppy. Please ept this gift and give me another chance."


    Poppy looked down at the Amaryllis Ruby. She looked up at Ashwyn.


    "When you say ''chance'', what are you talking about?"


    "Give me a chance to pursue you. I know we''re barely even friends, but I believe if we''re given a chance to get to know each other, we could be much more than friends."


    Poppy stared at him and slowly nodded.


    Ashwyn closed his eyes and heaved a sigh of relief. He took the box from her hand and pulled the chain out.


    "Then let''s start with this."


    He reached behind her and fastened the chain around her neck.


    "You are so beautiful, I can barely breathe when I am this close to you." He whispered.


    Poppy reached up to touch the ruby. "Does this mean we are now friends?"


    Ashwyn smiled. "Something like that."


    Most couples were friends, weren''t they?

 Chapter 293 - [Bonus ] The Mermaid

    After a few hours, dinner began to wind down. Eating became less of a focus as dessert and more drinks began to be passed around.


    And then as the night wore on, the little cute umbre drinks were reced by the harder drinks as someone brought out a bottle of liquor with shot sses which began to be passed around from man to man.


    The women decided to take a walk around the gardens to take advantage of the cool evening air. It also gave the men a chance to be slightly raucous and tipsy in thefort and safety of the barbecue grounds with attendants all around them.


    Poppy and Candace, along with the rest of the Emperor''s wives and girls began their walk around the pond, following the lights of thenterns that were lit along the stone paths.


    Daisy and Ariana ran on ahead,ughing and giggling at the various statues and stone animals along the way.


    They were heading towards the red bridge which crossed the pond midway and had begun to climb on the bridge by the time the women were able to make it to the foot of the bridge.


    Daisy wasughing at something Ariana pointed at in the water and she swung her body over the edge of the handrail to better take a look at whatever it was Ariana was pointing at.


    Suddenly, the handrail detached from the bridge and splintered, causing Daisy to lose her bnce.


    "AAAAAAHHHHH!!!" Daisy screamed as she pitched into the water, headfirst.


    SPLASSSHHH!!!


    The women heard the cry and began running towards the bridge.


    SPLASSSHHHH!!!


    There was a second ssh as Ariana jumped into the pond following her little sister.


    All the men jumped up from where they sat and ran to the area where the women and girls were.


    As the women reached the midsection where the girls had entered the water, they could see two small heads bobbing in the water.


    Ariana was holding onto little Daisy and swimming towards the shoreline. As she reached shore, the men were the first to make it to the water''s edge.


    "Daisy! Ariana!" Their brothers cried out. The men reached down and lifted both the girls up out of the water.


    The little blonde Daisy was soaked and covered in some kind of seaweed kelp which clung to her dress in long ckish green strands.


    Nothing clung to Ariana at all.


    Nothing clung because from the waist down, she had turned into a mermaid!


    "Oh my God," someone whispered.


    "Here, put this over her."


    One of the men pulled off his royal robe and they covered her with it¡ªbut nothing could cover up the long fish tail of the little mermaid Ariana.


    The women ran back towards shore, crying with distress.


    "Oh my poor girls!" Royal Consort Theodora ran to a soaking wet Daisy and picked her up, but then she turned to Ariana and reached out to touch her wet green hair.


    "You''re such a great older sister. Thank you for saving Daisy!"


    Ariana pressed her lips together. Her face looked scared.


    She was in big trouble and she knew it. She didn''t dare look at her mother.


    Candace and Poppy had reached the girls by then and were trying to console them.


    Jason picked her up and held onto her body in a protective stance, even as Jared held onto her hand.


    The silvery greenish-blue fish tail stuck out from under Jared''s robe, looking more and more out of ce.


    Ashwyn gestured once. "Please follow me into one of the chambers so we can get the girls dry."


    Lucas reached down and picked Daisy up.


    "I''ll carry her, Mother." He reassured Theodora as he and the twins followed Ashwyn. The rest of the women flocked along, looking worried and unnerved.


    Emperor Rex remained standing, fixed in one spot with his other sons. He could not believe that his little daughter had turned into a mermaid.


    He had never tested any of his children for royal lineage. Why would he? He had been confident that they were all his children.


    But Ariana had turned into a mermaid!


    Rex had no idea what to think. Was she his child or does she belong to another man?


    Byron pped him on the shoulder.


    "Don''t be too worried Father. The girls seem none the worse for wear."


    Emperor Rex stared at him, unable to say a word.


    "It''s a lucky thing Ariana swims like a fish and was able to rescue Daisy so quickly!" Byron tried to reassure the Emperor.


    "Like? Like a fish?" The Emperor stuttered. "She IS a fish!"


    "Father, it''s not as if it''s all that strange." Dante turned to the Emperor and tried to reason with him.


    "It''s not strange, no." Emperor Rex muttered. "Not if you''re a mermaid."


    "But Father," te grimaced. "Mother Fatima is a mermaid."


    "Yes but her boys, the twins, are bats! I didn''t expect Ariana to be¡ªto be¡ª"


    "To be like her mother?" Leonardo shook his head.


    The Emperor turned to Leonardo. "You are a doctor. You, more than anyone know that we blood bats breed true!"


    "Until we don''t." Leonardo shrugged.


    "What are you talking about?" Emperor Rex huffed. "The blood bats have bred true for thousands and thousands of years!"


    "Father," Lucas shook his head. "What does it matter? It''s not as if she is any less your child."


    "I don''t know that." Rex spat. "What if her mother¡­her mother¡­"


    Rex paused. He could barely even think the thoughts.


    te turned to him, appalled. "You''ve held Ariana as a newborn, cared for her as a toddler, and raised her as a young girl. Now that she''s reaching puberty, you suddenly decide that she''s no longer your child?"


    "She''s not a bat." Rex pointed out.


    "She''s still your flesh-and-blood." Byron reached out for his father but the Emperor yanked his arm away.


    "I don''t know that! I need to talk to Fatima." The Emperor''s eyes were intense.


    "Talk to me about what?" The diminutive mermaid with long greenish brown hair came back out, her soft brown eyes were filled with disappointment.


    "Fatima." The Emperor turned to her. "Come with me.. We need to talk."

 Chapter 294 - [Bonus ] The Empress Reigns

    He ushered her over towards the red bridge and left the brothers standing by the edge of the pond.


    They stood there, respecting his need for privacy to talk to his consort but could not walk away, just in case Mother Fatima needed their support.


    Alone with his third Consort, the Emperor turned to her.


    "What is going on, Fatima? Why is Ariana¡ª"


    "I don''t know. I was not expecting it." She turned back to him with daggers in her eyes. "But don''t you dare treat her as if she has done something wrong. That girl jumped into the water to save her sister!"


    "I am not talking about that and you know it. Of course she did something heroic by saving Daisy from the water, but why did she turn into a mermaid, Fatima. Exin that to me."


    Emperor Rex''s face was starting to turn red. He began breathing heavily, the smell of alcohol flooding the space between them.


    Fatima narrowed her eyes. "I don''t know. It''s not as if I understand gics very much."


    "But the gic oue of the blood bats is not hard to grasp. We are on the throne for the single reason that blood bats breed true! What do you think will happen to the throne if we do not breed true?"


    Fatima closed her eyes and gave a deep sigh.


    "Rex, she is a ten-year-old Third Princess. Whatever happens to the throne is not going to have anything to do with her. She has absolutely zero impact on your precious royal lineage."


    "That''s not what I mean, Fatima! Everyone knows that blood bats breed true. Do you know what happens to children that don''t breed true?"


    Fatima winced. What was he trying to tell her?


    "They are cast out as illegitimate because OBVIOUSLY they are not the children of the reigning monarch blood bat!"


    "Are you telling me that you are going to cast my daughter out as illegitimate?"


    Rex''s violet eyes grew red as his fangs began to grow. Fueled by the abundant amount of alcohol he had imbibed with the rest of his sons, he was starting to lose control of his own rage.


    "Tell me the truth, Fatima. Who is Ariana''s father?"


    Fatima looked at him and beganughing. Even as sheughed, her eyes grew cold.


    "Wouldn''t you like to know." She spat at him.


    With a roar of rage, Emperor Rex reached out and pped Fatima''s face. His razor sharp bat ws dug into her cheeks and ripping them to shreds.


    "Aaaaaahhhh!!!" Fatima screamed in horror.


    Her cheeks were shed into bloody ribbons.


    Suddenly, from behind, te tackled his father down onto the grass as Leonardo ran to Fatima and began frantically trying to heal her face with his own energy.


    "Fatima!" Anastasia ran towards them and ced herself in between the Royal Consort and Rex.


    She had seen the struggle from within the room that the girls were in and had run out, leaving Theodora inside, tending to Daisy and Ariana.


    Turning to Rex, she cried out in outrage.


    "Are you out of your fucking mind??? What is wrong with your ass???"


    "Stay out of this Anastasia!" Rex roared with rage.


    "I most certainly will not!" Turning to te, she pointed at the Emperor. "Take him away!"


    ==============


    As te escorted his father back to his Raptor for temporary restraining and questioning, Leonardo took Mother Fatima to one of his own ships, the Alpha Fuchsia Hospital.


    It was a stroke of luck that Leonardo had sent themand only a day ago for the ship to apany him while he was down on Marakaran and it was currently hovering above the paradise world.


    He needed all his equipment and staff to do the kind of emergency treatment that was needed on her face.


    Everyone trooped back to Candace''s suite of rooms.


    The Princes huddled around Candace on therge sofa sectional while Anastasia and Theodora sat with their arms around Ariana and Daisy on therge bed.


    Ashwyn and Mattheus sat on the divan opposite the Princes and Candace, looking on as Poppy wore out the carpet in front of them, pacing the floor and trying to make sense of the entire situation.


    How in the world did a happy joyous asion such as a family wedding turn into such a hot mess?


    She had always known Father was a royal pain in the ass about certain things, but this took the cake. There was no excuse for his actions. Absolutely none.


    He had tried to rip Mother Fatima''s beautiful face off with his bat ws! And for what?


    FOR NOTHING!!!


    The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.


    "We need to call Mother Gwen." She spoke up suddenly.


    "I agree." Dante second her announcement.


    Within minutes, Mother Gwen''s face appeared on the virtual monitor, hovering above them.


    She was smiling broadly, expecting this to be a happy group call in regards to the wedding, but her eyes grew serious, seeing everyone''s unsettled, dismal faces.


    "What''s going on?"


    "Mother Gwen¡­" Poppy took a deep breath. "Father has gone ballistic. He just shed Mother Fatima''s face to ribbons."


    "WHAT??? Is he a mad dog???" Mother Gwen jumped up, her face pale with rage.


    "Tell me exactly what happened." Shemanded.


    Quickly, Poppy recounted what she knew, and the brothers filled in what she missed.


    Gwen rubbed her face.


    "Oh my God."


    Suddenly her head snapped up. "Do not allow Fatima or Ariana to go back to the royal pce. That man has lost his privileges to be with her!"


    "How far away are you, Mother Gwen?" Byron asked.


    "Lyra and I are on our way there. We should be back in Erenveil space within twenty-four hours."


    "Come straight to Marakaran." Dante spoke up. "We will meet you at the space port."


    Once they got off the call with Mother Gwen, Poppy plopped herself down next to Mattheus and Ash.


    "I''m so worried about Mother Fatima." She murmured, covering her face.


    Beside her, the two men rubbed her shoulders and sat in silence, lending her their unspoken support.


    "She is in the best of hands." Lucas consoled.. "Leo will ensure that she will heal up nicely and won''t have any issues."

 Chapter 295 - The Prime Warriors Dilemma

    "This is all my fault." Ariana spoke for the first time, her face breaking into tears.


    "What?" Anastasia looked down at Ariana''s pale face. "No, Darling!" She protested. "None of this is your fault."


    Next to her, Daisy started to cry. "It''s not Ariana''s fault, it''s my fault!"


    Theodora shook her head and grabbed her daughter into her arms.


    "Sweetheart. None of this is your fault and none of this is Ariana''s fault." Her eyes grew hard. "The only person at fault is the one who acted violently!"


    "Momma, if I hadn''t fallen off the bridge, Ariana wouldn''t have jumped in to save me." Daisy cried into her mother''s arms.


    Ariana''s eyes were full of tears. "No Daisy, you fell because the bridge broke. I caused all this. If I hadn''t transformed, nothing would have happened!"


    Jason and Jared looked at each other. They got up and came towards their little sister.


    Kneeling in front of her, they reached out and gathered Ariana into their arms.


    "Ariana. Don''t even think that. Both you and Daisy are innocent in all of this."


    Ariana started to cry. "I honestly didn''t know I had transformed. One moment, I was treading water and trying to pull Daisy''s head above water, and next thing I knew¡ªnext thing¡ªI¡ª"


    She cried even harder as words struggled to surface but was choked off by her tears.


    "Next thing you knew, you had transformed into a beautiful mermaid." Mattheus murmured, his eyes full ofpassion.


    He had seen the transformation himself the moment it happened, when her tail had shed above the water surface.


    Ariana shook her head, choking back sobs. "I don''t know what''s wrong with me."


    "There''s nothing wrong with you, Sweetheart." Mattheus sighed. "You are a beautiful little mermaid, just like your mother and your entire merfolk species."


    He smiled gently.


    "You realize, in this room, there are four of us merfolk."


    Ariana looked up at him. "Four?"


    Jason and Jared nodded.


    "There is you and Mattheus. He is the King of the merfolk world of Emporia." Jason pointed out.


    "And then there is me and Jason, your brothers." Jared smiled.


    Ariana''s eyes widened. "You and Jason are mermen?"


    They both nodded, amidst the surprised stares and ck-jawed surpriseing from everyone except Mattheus and Candace.


    "How¡ªwhen¡ª" Lucas stammered.


    "Puberty, I presume." Mattheus smiled.


    The twins nodded.


    "Luckily for us, we turned into bats first, so Father didn''t think anything of it." Jared confirmed. "Half a yearter, when we transformed into mermen, no one saw, and we kept it a secret."


    "But to hell with that!" Jason snarled. "I''m not keeping this a secret any more. I''m half-bat half-merman. Why do I have to be ashamed of half of myself? Why does my sister have to cry and feel ashamed about being who she is?"


    "You don''t have to hide it, Love." Candace spoke up. "I''ve told you that before. Now I''m going to insist you all speak out and tell everyone who you truly are."


    Anastasia sighed. "I agree with Candace. It''s not as if it''s a huge surprise. Everyone knows Royal Consort Fatima is a mermaid."


    "Does that mean I get to tell everyone I''m half-lion?" Lucas grinned at his mother Theodora and his sister Daisy.


    "Can you turn into a lion?" Candace''s eyes widened.


    "Sadly no, although I have tried many times." Lucas gave aical sad face. "s, all that happens is my bat wings pop out."


    As if to prove a point, his dark wings extruded and began to p back and forth in a pathetic feeble manner.


    Daisy and Ariana began tough at Lucas'' antics, their tears drying up rapidly.


    Mattheus grinned. "Ariana, Jason, Jared. As King of the merfolk of Emporia¡ªI wee you back into the shoal."


    ==============


    te stood at the Command deck of the mother ship Raptor 600 staring out into the depths of dark space.


    They weren''t very far from Marakaran, hovering above the blue-green world, but for all intents and purposes, they werepletely off-world.


    As Prime Warrior of Erenveil, he could only act within his powers once he was within intergctic space.


    Had they stayed on Marakaran, he would have had to turn the Emperor over to the King of Marakaran to prosecute and judge.


    Ashwyn was standing next to te at the time and had pushed him to take the Emperor off his world so he would not have to deal with it.


    So now it was in te''s hands. Lucky him.


    He took a gulp of the water goblet in his hand as he thought carefully about what he needed to do as Prime Warrior of Erenveil. The position he held was independent of the ruling faction for this very reason.


    If the Emperor or someone wielding the powers of the throne were tomit a heinous crime, he was the single check and bnce needed to handle the criminal investigation and subsequent judgement.


    It was not an enviable position to be in because he had to judge and sentence his own family members.


    He drained the goblet and handed it to the attendant standing nearby.


    "More water." Hemanded.


    Not that it did anything to alleviate the alcohol in his bloodstream, but it was better than nothing.


    He, along with all his brothers and his father, had been drinking way too much on Marakaran and now he needed a way to clear out the alcohol, or at least dilute it somehow so that he could think clearly on this situation.


    te frowned into his hands.


    To be fair, this was a personal act of violence that did not affect the gxy or the world of Erenveil.


    In essence, the Emperor was not trying to kill the Crown Prince who would have been the next Emperor. Nor was he trying to kill an heir of the Crown Prince which would affect future gctic governance.


    Furthermore, it waspletely spontaneous and in the heat of the moment, as opposed to a premeditated action. The Emperor had simply been drinking far too much of the sweet wines and had lost control of his anger.


    pping at the Royal Consort would have been a terrible act of violence against her but it would not have caused much physical damage¡ªexcept for the fact that his ws had extruded at the wrong time.


    te closed his eyes and sighed. He knew how easy it was to hurt the ones closest to him.


    He himself had lost his head a couple of times around Candace when they were making love and had nearly shed her skin to ribbons when his fangs and ws had appeared at the moments leading up to orgasm.


    He had tried to keep his hands off her during such times, but he could see how easily it would have been to inadvertently hurt her.


    But this was different. The Emperor had reacted with violence, not with love.


    Even if te''s ws had somehow touched Candace during their lovemaking, it would have been gentle touches that might have scratched her lightly. Those light scratches would have been simple and easy to heal with his energy touches.


    It would have NEVER gouged her face the way his Father''s ws had dug into Mother Fatima''s face. That was a forceful p with ws extended!

 Chapter 296 - [Bonus ] The Pop-up Vote

    He reached out to themand console and called up Leonardo.


    "How is she?" te asked without preamble.


    Leonardo sighed.


    "Tell me. Don''t leave anything out." te pressed.


    "Her left cheek ispletely destroyed. When I was able to get her to the hospital, the strands of her skin had fallen off, exposing all her teeth and gums. Almost half her face is gone."


    "What about her eyes?"


    "Thankfully, his w missed her eyes so she can still see out of her left eye, but he sliced off part of her ear. She only has half of her left ear intact."


    "Is it possible to reconstruct her face?"


    Leonardo nodded. "It will be a long road to full recovery. I can only heal if there is something to heal. She''s missing so much of her facial skin that the best thing to do for her is a skin graft which will take several weeks to heal."


    "Even with your energy healing?"


    "I can''t use it that much. This is her face we''re talking about. If I go too fast, there will be too much scarring which would be disfiguring. Furthermore, she won''t be able to control her facial nerves which take even more time to grow and heal properly."


    "The wedding¡­" te hissed sharply.


    "We could postpone the wedding¡ª" Leonardo muttered, but even as he said the words, he knew it was impossible.


    "We can''t, Leo. It''s timed to coincide with a multitude of things which must happen at the right time. This is not just our wedding, it''s also a political situation. Invitations have been sent out."


    te scratched his head. "You''re going to be there, right?"


    Leonardo gave him a disgusted look. "No matter what happens, I cannot miss my own wedding. My wife will kill me!"


    te grinned. His wife would kill him too, if he missed his own wedding, but then he sobered up when he realized something important.


    "Mother Fatima is not going to be able to make it to her sons'' wedding."


    "No, she''s not." Leonardo confirmed.


    "Neither will Father." te grimaced.


    "What''s going to happen to him, te?"


    "What do you think will happen to him?"


    Leonardo shrugged. "He''s a monarch. Isn''t he absolved from criminal charges that have nothing to do with governance while he is still an Emperor?"


    te sighed. "Normally yes. While assaulting Mother Fatima is a terrible crime, it is not a crime against Erenveil''s world or the gxy in general."


    "So what will you do?" Leonardo gave him a pitying nce.


    "I cannot charge him with personal crimes, but I can hold him without charges onboard the Raptor 600, at least until after the wedding."


    Leonardo looked dubious. "This is an official event. Will keeping Father from attending be a good idea?"


    =============


    "That''s a terrible idea." Dante threw out, interrupting te.


    All the brothers were in Candace''s suite of rooms, seated around her lounge area, sharing arge pitcher of sangria.


    "Dante, I cannot simply allow Father to attend the wedding, knowing that he has destroyed Mother Fatima''s face to that degree." te insisted.


    "I was there, te. I saw what he did." Dante''s look was dark and thunderous. "But we have hundreds and hundreds of kings from across the gxying from all the major worlds."


    "And?" te threw back.


    "Think about it te." Dante sighed harshly. "Without Father there, they will think something is horribly wrong, or we are staging an uprising, or he''s secretly been kidnapped. They may think that it''s a great time to start a revolt if the Erenveil Empire just lost its Emperor."


    "We don''t want him at our wedding." Jason spat. "He has shown how he feels about our mother and sister."


    Byron shook his head. "This is an intergctic affair. He simply cannot be absent. It would cause a huge ruckus and we would not be able to exin his disappearance to anyone''s satisfaction."


    "But because of him, my mother cannot even attend my wedding! She is right now, in great physical pain and distress!" Jared hissed with fury.


    "Okay, all of you please calm down." Leonardo threw up a hand. "Take a deep breath and drink up your monthly dose of blood wine Sangria."


    He gave a lopsided grin.


    "I don''t want any of you to get too hungry and begin draining my wife. She''s borderline anemic AND she''s going to be pregnant very soon."


    He threw a nce at Candace, who was at the moment sleeping on the bed in the far corner, having run herself ragged all day trying to organize the wedding''s myriad of details.


    The brothers all sighed and drank down their allotted blood that had been mixed in with the sangria.


    Lucas cleared his throat. "What if we let him attend, but only for a very short amount of time, like a quick ''hi folks, I''m here!'' And then we yank him back into istion again."


    "That would work." Dante rubbed his face. "Even if it was only for about half an hour, it would mollify all the heads of states who will be there."


    "No. Absolutely no." Jason shook his head.


    "Do we need to vote on this?" Leonardo put down his crystal ss and looked around.


    He sighed. "All in favor of allowing Father to attend the wedding for half an hour, raise your hand."


    Immediate, Dante, Byron, and Lucas raised their hands. That left te, Jared, and Jason opposed to the idea.


    Damn it. Leonardo scowled. He was the tie breaker yet again.


    "Look, guys." Leonardo picked up the pitcher and poured another ss of sangria. "I have been working on healing Mother Fatima for thest twenty-four hours. I, more than any of you, know the extent of the damage that''s been done to her face."


    He took a gulp of the sangria. "However, I am also one of the ones out on the front lines every day, healing the wounded from wars and conflicts."


    Leo sighed, staring into his red blood wine sangria. "I know how trigger-happy some of these kings are. It wouldn''t take much for them to attempt a conflict to erge their space holdings."


    He looked up at the twins. "I know you''re going to hate me, Jason, Jared¡­but I have to vote for the thirty-minute Emperor Pop-Up scheme."


    "Leo!" Jared mmed his rocks ss onto the table, startling Candace, who woke up with a gasp.


    Jason pped the back of Jared''s head with annoyance and ran to Candace''s side.


    "Sorry Babe¡­go back to sleep." He soothed her. "We''re just being a little bit noisy."


    Candace turned a sleepy face at the men and sank back down into the pillows. Within minutes, she was again fast asleep.


    te turned back to the men and nodded.


    "I understand. We''ve voted. Let''s just move forward with this, and after the wedding, we can all simply take over Father''s position as Co-Emperors.. Thereafter, we won''t need to consider his presence during meetings of Heads of States."

 Chapter 297 - [Bonus ] Blood Bats Breed True

    Back aboard the Raptor 600, te reluctantly made his way to the bedroom suite that loosely held the Emperor.


    Rex had been ced on the lowest possible security hold, with only two guards outside his doorway and no lock on the door. The only thing that was keeping the Emperor within the bedroom suite was his own sense of moral authority.


    To leave the bedroom without permission from the Prime Warrior would mean that the Emperor thought he was wrongfully med for the crime he had justmitted.


    This was absolutely not the case. Rex was not challenging the fact that he had done a very bad thing. He was, in fact, horrified of his own actions and was sitting on the floor with his head in his hands.


    The door opened and the Prime warrior walked in.


    "Father." te called out.


    "Son." The Emperor did not look up from his seated position, his head still resting on his raised knees. "What is going to happen to me?"


    "Nothing at the moment, Father." te sighed.


    He didn''t have to say it but they both knew that there would be ramifications for the Emperor''s actions. What those ramifications were, not even te couldfortably predict.


    He gritted his teeth as he looked at his father''s abject miserable stance.


    The most powerful man in the gxy had been reduced to this sniveling mess of a weakling. What had happened to his father?


    "How¡ªhow is Fatima?" Rex asked, his voice dropping to almost a whisper.


    "How do you think she is?" te''s mouth hardened. "She just lost half her face."


    The Emperor sobbed into his hands.


    "I didn''t mean to do it. I was just so angry that she would cheat on me. I didn''t¡ªI didn''t realize I had transformed partially into a blood bat and my ws had extruded."


    "Father¡­" te choked down his fury. "Why would your first reaction be that she cheated on you?"


    He was the Prime Warrior, judge, jury, and executioner of the royal family. He had to get through this part without losing control of his emotions.


    "Have you thought about the possibility that maybe the reason why your little girl changed into a mermaid is because YOU are also HALF-MERFOLK???"


    For a moment, Rex said nothing.


    Of course he knew his mother was a mermaid, but the important thing was that HE was not and had never been a merman.


    Having a mother who was a mermaid hadn''t stopped him from bing a full-fledged blood bat! It had also not stopped Jason and Jared from bing full blood bats!


    Everyone knew that only the blood bats bred true and anyone else who did not be a blood bat was someone else''s child, borne out of wedlock.


    "Father." te gritted his teeth. "Did you know that Jason and Jared are not only blood bats, they are ALSO mermen?"


    "What???" Rex raised his head and stared at his son.


    "That''s right, Father. Since you are half-merfolk and their mother is full mer, the twins and Ariana are three-fourths mer! The chance of them being mer is far greater than the chance that they would be blood bats!"


    "But blood bats breed true!" Rex spat.


    Then, as if chanting an old tired mantra, Rex rubbed his head, muttering to himself.


    "Blood bats breed true. Blood bats breed true." He continued to mumble to himself.


    "I am a full blood bat. I am full blood bat. My children cannot be anything other than full blood bats."


    "Pshahh!" te cursed. "How is it possible for you to be so smart in so many subjects and areas, and so ignorant in the basic biology of gics? We''re not living in the dark ages!"


    te turned away, unable to gaze upon the man who he resembled so much. He tried again to reason with his father.


    "The twins and Ariana are gically far more merfolk than they are blood bats. It would be strange if they didn''t have mer abilities."


    "But blood bats breed true!"


    "And they do, for the most part." te agreed. "The twins fly around in the sky with the rest of us on their bat wings. But Father, they can also swim in the oceans with the rest of their merfolk while I cannot join my maternal wolf pack because I am unable to transform into a wolf."


    "Son, you should be proud of your blood bat origins."


    te threw up his arms. "Father, I am! But that should not prevent me from being proud of my maternal genes as well!"


    He took a deep breath. He was not here to pick a fight or cause a scene with his father. He had a job to do.


    "Father. I am here to inform you that you will remain in this suite for the duration of the time that it takes for the wedding to take ce."


    "The wedding!" Rex looked up at his son. He hadpletely forgotten about the wedding.


    "Yes. The wedding." te sighed. "You will be allowed to join the wedding, but only for half an hour, after which you will be escorted back to this suite for the duration of time that we will be here on Marakaran."


    Rex stared at his son. He should have been upset that te was ordering him to be under house-arrest, but he could not help feeling a sudden surge of pride in the fact that this was the voice of the Prime Warrior speaking to him.


    This was his youngest son, doing his job as a Prime Warrior.


    With a nod, he indicated his abeyance. At the very least, te was allowing him to be at the wedding, if only for a short while.


    te turned on his heels and left without a backward nce.


    He was unsure what to do with Father after the wedding, but he wasforted in knowing that whatever it was, it would be put to a vote.


    He and his brothers would chip in their thoughts ande out with a solution that would make the most sense for everyone involved.

 Chapter 298 - One Squeeze Means Yes

    There was a sterile antiseptic smell to the spotless white corridors that went on forever within therge Alpha Fuchsia Hospital ship that Leonardo had called to orbit around Marakaran.


    Gwen held onto Erden''s hand as she walked through the hallway that was to take her to the suite that Fatima had been admitted to.


    Immediately upon entry into Marakaran space, she and Erden had taken a transport pod directly to the hospital ship, leaving Lyra and S¨¹ren to join the rest of the royal family down on Marakaran.


    She desperately needed to check on her sister consort to see if there was anything she could possibly do for Fatima.


    Sensing her distress, Erden gave her hand a gentle squeeze and breathed softly into her ear.


    "It''s okay Darling. I''m right here with you."


    She nodded, feeling bolstered by his presence.


    It was such a new and unusual feeling.


    All those years married to Rex, she was alone most of the time. He only sought her out when he needed her or when he wanted her to join some group event. For the most part, she was alone, even for very important situations and asions.


    Being with Erden meant she didn''t have to walk alone, even to a stark and miserable ce like this. She never had to ask him to be with her and he never even asked if she needed him.


    He was just there, a rock-steady presence beside her as she moved forward into the hospital room where Fatima was admitted.


    The door to her room was wide open. Gwendolyn peeked in and saw a small frail woman lying on the hospital bed covered by a white hospital nket.


    Her eyes were closed and her long green hair had been bundled up inside a white surgical cap to keep it neat and away from the trauma wound.


    All around her were various monitors and gadgets that she was hooked up to.


    At first nce, there was nothing that seemed out of the ordinary. She was still the same Fatima that Gwendolyn had known for years.


    As she moved in closer to Fatima, she could see more of her face. Her eyes were closed and nothing was obstructing her breathing, but it was shallow and fluttery, like a bird''s breath.


    There was a lot of swelling on her face, so much so that her normally frail thin visage looked fat and distorted.


    Arge silicone gel sheet was holding a skin graft that covered her entire left cheek, extending all the way past her jaw, partially down to her neckline.


    Gwendolyn''s eyes teared and heart ached for Fatima. This beautiful woman had beenpletely devastated.


    She was so badly injured, and yet at the moment, she was all alone with her pain and suffering.


    Her children had visited of course, but they had a wedding to organize. They could not stop the proceedings even if they wanted to, due to the highly political nature of such an event.


    To some extent, Gwendolyn could understand what Fatima was going through. They were both sister-consorts of the same husband-family and had endured the same kind of life.


    But it wasn''t as bad for Gwen.


    Simr to Theodora, rissa, and Anastasia, Gwendolyn had been an Avgo Female.


    This was not true when it came to Fatima. She was just an ordinary Royal Consort, married into the pce purely for political reasons.


    That and because Fatima was quite beautiful.


    Of all the Royal Consorts, Fatima was at the bottom rung for daring to be ordinary in a world where the females who surrounded the Emperor were extraordinary.


    The only thing she had going for her was that of the five wives who surrounded the Emperor, she was one of the most beautiful.


    Her beauty was now gone.


    "Mother Gwen." A voice sounded by the doorway.


    Gwendolyn turned to the sound and was immediately crushed into a hug by strong arms.


    "Oh Leo," Gwen sniffed, unable to hold back her tears. "What in the world is going on with Rex?"


    Leonardo pulled back with a sigh.


    "Father lost control when he saw Ariana turn into a mermaid. Mother Fatima was an easy target so she took the brunt of his anger."


    Leonardo shook his head with sorrow. He pulled a chair towards Fatima''s bedside and took Gwendolyn''s hand.


    "Have a seat, Mother Gwen." He ushered her onto the chair. "Mother Fatima is awake. She is on a lot of pain medication but she can hear you."


    He took hold of Fatima''s hand and ced it in Gwendolyn''s hand.


    "One squeeze means yes. Two squeezes mean no."


    He turned to Fatima.


    "Mother Fatima. Can you hear me?"


    Fatima''s hand squeezed once.


    Gwendolyn felt the squeeze and began crying.


    Beside her, Erden said nothing, simply wiped her tears with a handkerchief.


    "Mother Fatima, are you in any pain?"


    Fatima squeezed twice. No pain.


    "Good, good. Mother Gwen is here to see you."


    Another single squeeze.


    Leonardo turned back to Gwen. "I''ll leave you alone with her for about ten or fifteen minutes. I''m sorry but that''s as much as I can give you because we are prepping her for surgery."


    Gwendolyn nodded. She turned back to Fatima.


    "Sweetheart. It''s me Gwen. Can you hear me?"


    Fatima squeezed once.


    "Good. Good. I know I left for awhile, but I''m back now and I''m here for you honey."


    One more squeeze from Fatima.


    "Fatima. What Rex did to you, it''s just so terrible, I can''t even begin to tell you how horrified I feel." Gwendolyn began to cry again.


    "You know you don''t have to stay with him."


    Fatima squeezed her hand again.


    "You must also protect your little girl, Fatima. The way he reacted when he saw Ariana transform into a mermaid¡­she cannot remain with him. Take her with you ande stay with me."


    For a moment, Fatima was still.


    And then a tear rolled down the side of her face that was perfect and beautiful.


    And with every ounce of bravery that was within her, she squeezed Gwendolyn''s hand one more time.

 Chapter 299 - [Bonus ] A Mad House

    Down on Marakaran, much of the original joyous spirit had disappeared due to the tragic assault on the Royal Consort Fatima, but the wheels were already spinning and they were not stopping for anything.


    Decorations and food were already arriving at the pce on huge container transport pods. Barrels and barrels of wine and preserves were being carted out from the cers.


    Everything was in a continuous state of motion regardless of the mood that the ce was in.


    Jason and Jared were standing in front of therge design board, throwing magic colors at the various designs they had quickly sketched up onto the visuals monitor with frustrated hands.


    Their faces were thunderous, their mood, terrible.


    "That horse-shit green." Jason snarled. "Do we really have to add that color to our wedding?"


    "It''s not much worse than te''s damn hair color." Jared grumbled.


    "You''re telling me! I had to get te to stand in the sun for fifteen minutes to get the shade just right. How is it that we didn''t know his hair isn''t actually ck, it''s a very dark shade of blue?"


    Jared ran a frustrated hand through his unruly green hair. "We can at least use that ck-blue for all the grooms'' royal robes and extend the ck-blue to the ribbons around flowers and such."


    "But where the hell can we use that ugly shade of green???" Jason cursed as he mmed his fists on the table.


    "How about peridot?" Jared shrugged. We can add peridot to the jewels. It''s greenish-brown looking, and can be nice if it''s done right¡­"


    "Okay fine, but what about that evil blue that''s supposed to be Dante''s hair color?" Jason muttered.


    Jared sighed. "Call him. We need to do an in-depth inspection of his hair. While you''re at it, call Byron too."


    "Why is Byron''s hair so damn brassy?" Jason threw up his hands. "Why can''t it be a nice deep red like Poppy''s"


    "''Cause he''s a guy and he doesn''t take care of his hair like she does¡­" Jared squeezed between his eyes, feeling the full force of a headacheing on.


    Jason threw a disgusted look at Jared and extended a healing finger, which he poked unceremoniously at Jared''s temple and zapped him once with a bolt of blue light.


    "O that hurt!" Jared howled.


    "But your headache is gone now, isn''t it?" Jason threw back.


    Jared blinked his eyes, searching around for the source of the pain that his brother had sted away.


    "Yeah¡­it''s gone. I hope you didn''t kill off some of my brain cells¡­"


    As the twins muttered and cursed, on one side of the cavernous work shed they had taken over, the cobblers were banging away, making shoes for the entire wedding entourage.


    On the other side, a dozen seamstresses were sewing the various patterns that Jason and Jared kept throwing at them. It was an unending stream of sewing.


    Towards the center of the work shed, metalsmiths were melting gold and tinum into various jewelry pieces that had been designed by the twins and the engravers worked continuously on their art pieces.


    Beside them, the gem polishers were cutting and polishing stones that would be affixed to the clothes and shoes and jewelry.


    Running around between the artisans were assistants, attendants, and advisors, carrying supplies, tools, and refreshments. There were deliverymen bringing bolts of fabrics for the clothes and stacks of leather for the shoes.


    The artisans were hardly allowed to be away from their stations. This was a peak production time. They were waited on hand and foot so they could work continuously without have to stop to do the more mundane tasks.


    It was a production on a mini-scale of the same sort that their manufacturing nts on all the various worlds created around the clock, every day without pause.


    But even with that much push to get things done, the twins were still in a mad rush, and they had very good reasons to panic.


    "Change of ns you guys. Quick change of ns!" Poppy had sashayed into their production line and announced with grand regal gestures.


    "No changes, Poppy." Jared threw back without even looking up at what he was doing. "We''re already slightly behind schedule."


    "I don''t want to hear it. You have no choice here." Poppy insisted.


    "Poppy. We have Candace''s wedding dress to create, along with all seven grooms'' robes. If you make us rush, some of us Brothers will have to go pantsless." Jason scowled.


    "Although it might be entertaining to see a few pantsless men standing around, I''m afraid this is absolutely necessary." Poppy had loftily replied, her pretty red lips pouting with insistence.


    "What now?" Jason muttered.


    If they didn''t let her tell them what she came to say, Poppy would just hang around and bother them the rest of the day.


    "We need three groomsmen to attend us three bridesmaids."


    "Hell no." Jason and Jared both yelled out. "There''s not gonna be any groomsmen because all of us brothers have already been turned into grooms!"


    Poppyughed.


    "You don''t get a choice here, brothers-of-mine. We are Imperial Princesses. We REQUIRE three male attendants!" She grinned wickedly, "and I found three sexy Kings to attend us!"


    "Pray tell¡­" Jared sighed with resignation. If these three Kings were the ones he was thinking of, there was no way to refuse them.


    "I managed to convince Mattheus, Ashwyn, and S¨¹ren to be our new groomsmen!"


    Jared nodded. Yep. Just as he feared.


    There was no way to refuse Ashwyn. They were using his pce to stage the wedding. No way to refuse Mattheus, he''d done so much for them throughout their time in dragon space. And no way to refuse S¨¹ren who was already engaged to Lyra which meant he was technically a Brother.


    "How in heck did you convince three kings to be your attendants?" Jasonughed with derision.


    Poppy showed a set of perfect pearly white teeth.


    "Well, don''t say anything but they''re our three ''fetch-and-carry'' men," Poppy pressed a finger to her lips. "It doesn''t take much for me and Lyra to get them to do all sorts of stuff for us. Hehehe." She cackled.


    Jason and Jared waved her off and grimly went about their tasks. All of these outfits had to be done in twelve days because they had lost the first two days to the craziness that surrounded their father and their mother.


    Their mother¡­


    At a time when all they wanted to do was to be there for her, they were stuck on paradise, rushing around like mad dogs, making celebratory clothing and jewelry for a huge wedding that included themselves.


    A wedding that would not include their own mother.

 Chapter 300 - The Cost Of It All

    The days marched forward with relentless speed.


    There were fittings that needed to be scheduled for all members of the family, excluding the Emperor and Mother Fatima.


    There were also rehearsals that needed to be attended by everyone¡ªagain, excluding the Emperor and Mother Fatima.


    The menus had to be chosen and approved.


    Candace was in the middle of tasting and approving the menus, which consisted of breakfast, lunch, and dinner for all the guests on that day.


    "Why do we have to provide so much food?" She frowned at one of the advisors during the tasting of smoked salmon.


    "The guests are flying in from all over the gxy, Princess. They cannot bring all the food and drinks they need so we have to provide food for them."


    "Yes but breakfast, lunch, and dinner???"


    The man nodded. "Most of theme from very far away. They will be spending at least one day here, if not more. You have to feed them all."


    Candace had frowned at the budget for the sheer amount of food that was being ordered. The number looked huge. She had no idea how much that many jemals were, but she knew how much food was being calcted by the advisors.


    "That''s enough to feed an army."


    "Yes, Mdy. There has to be enough food to feed thousands of guests, including their entourage. You can''t leave the guards and attendants hungry for a whole day."


    "How are we going to pay for it all?" She gasped.


    The advisors looked at each other. "Perhaps we could discuss this together with one of your husbands." They suggested.


    "Wait a moment. Let me contact one of them."


    She narrowed her gaze and threw a query into the mental space that connected her to the men.


    ''Anyone here?''


    ''What is it Darling?'' Dante responded.


    ''Dante. I''m talking to one of the advisors about the cost of all this food for the wedding.''


    ''Hmm. Whatever it is, I''m sure it''s fine, Darling."


    ''Dante, it''s 500,000 jemals. I have no idea how much that is, but it sounds so excessive¡­''


    ''How much?'' Dante asked again.


    ''The advisor said 500,000 jemals for one day''s worth of food.''


    ''Does that include the alcoholic beverages?'' Lucas chimed in.


    ''No.'' She sobbed. ''That''s a different tab.''


    ''Hmmm. We will need to figure out the cost of the wine and beer as well.'' Lucas murmured.


    ''I have that taken cared of.'' te came online.


    ''I went beer tasting the first day I got here, and then I took a detour to price out the wines as well. I got the prices down to the number I was happy with and it will being to the pce a day before the wedding.''


    ''Good job te.'' Lucas said.


    Dante paused for a moment, finishing off what he was doing with someone nearby. Then he gave Candace his full attention.


    ''I''ll talk to the advisors about the food costs. You just keep tasting and picking out the foods you like the best and leave everything else to me.''


    ''Thank you Dante.''


    She finished the salmon tasting and then it was onto the amount of desserts that had to be finalized.


    "Fifty¡ªfifty tiered cakes?" Candace had gasped. "But there are eight tiers for each cake. Who''s going to eat that much cake?"


    "Mdy, each tier cake can only feed 120 people. Fifty cakes will be able to feed 6,000 people."


    "We don''t have that many peopleing to the wedding." She gave him an evil eye.


    "Mdy, it''s always good to have extra¡­"


    "Halve that. I don''t even think 3,000 people will be eating cake. Half the people there are men, and many of them don''t even like to eat sweet things."


    "Mdy, twenty-five cakes may not be enough¡­"


    "We also have fruit tarts, pies, eirs, and ice cream. There is plenty of sweet stuff to go around. If there is not enough cake, cut the slices a bit smaller."


    "Yes, Mdy." They bowed their heads.


    By the end of the day, Candace had gotten word from Leonardo that he had ordered all the flowers and decorations.


    He had also engaged Poppy and Lyra to help him take over the job of being Flower Ladies and they had begun the process of creating floral charts for what types of flowers go where and what colors go with what.


    With the two Princesses running around, assisted by their three ''fetch-and-carry'' men, things began to move more quickly.


    Several groups of attendants were creating huge sculptures out of tulle and satin and fresh flowers to be used as decorations around the stage area and the dance areas.


    Meanwhile,rge fabric drapes and decorations were being hung by the attendants all over the pce and the grounds.


    Amidst all this craziness, the first of the dozen music bands began arriving with their equipment and entourage.


    They had been called by Prince Lucas himself and were ecstatic that they would get backstage viewing of the most eagerly awaited wedding of the gxy.


    Candace did not even bother to ask Lucas how much each of those bands would cost. She had no idea what the budget was for entertainment.


    In fact, she also had no idea how much all the wedding outfits and jewelry for the entire wedding party would be. Jason and Jared had taken that on without batting an eye.


    Amidst all this frantic movement, the first of the visuals collecting pods began to appear.


    When the visual pods first started showing up, Candace was not happy.


    "Why are the visuals collecting pods showing up and following me around? I''m finished with all the Avgo Events!"


    She had wailed at her husbands as they sat around the fire pit in the courtyard outside her bedroom suite, drinking spiced cider and toasting marshmallows.


    "It''s actually not something we can control." te sighed. "A royal wedding this grand is not something that can be keptpletely private."


    "He''s right." Lucas shook his head. "If we don''t allow the legitimate venues toe in and take care of the visuals, we can''t control the quality of unauthorized visuals."


    "But what''s to stop the unauthorized visuals, even if we have the legit ones do the visuals?" Candace grimaced.


    "You''re burning your marshmallows Darling." Byron reached over and took her stick from her hand.


    "The legitimate groups will do their own policing of the illegal stuff because they will want to be the exclusive sources for the visuals that get spread throughout the gxy." Leonardo grinned.


    Byron handed the marshmallows to her. "Here you go. Careful, it''s hot."


    "And of course, since the legitimate sources will be selling high-end advertising, we will be profiting from it all." Dante smiled.


    "Profit?"


    "Haha. Yes. Very profitable!" Jason grinned, his face looking evil and distorted from the mes flickering within the fire pit.


    "What kind of profit are we talking about?" She blew on the marshmallow and ate a gooey piece.


    "Enough profit so that they are footing the entire bill for the cost of our wedding." Jared announced smugly.


    Candace''s eyes widened.


    "There is one drawback though." Lucas wrinkled his nose.


    "What''s that?"


    "The old goat Lorem Ipsum is going to be the main announcer for the wedding." He informed with resignation as all the brothers moaned and covered their eyes.


    te growled with dissatisfaction. "He''d better mind his Ps and Qs or his chin whiskers are mine again!"

 Chapter 301 - Unfortunate Knocking

    That night, Candace got a knock on the door.


    It had to be one of the attendants bringing herst minute things to look over before the morning''s craziness started again.


    "Hang on, I''ming." She threw on a light robe over her night shirt and ran to the door.


    ''Rx, it''s just me.'' Byron called out inside her mind.


    Candace''s eyes widened.


    "Byron!" She gasped and threw the door wide open. Reaching out, she pulled him into the room.


    "Aren''t you supposed to be meeting with the bird delegates this evening? At least I think I heard you saying something about that."


    Byron reached out and touched her head.


    "I was. I canceled at thest minute because I didn''t wanted to spend thest day of my week with you having to pander to nasty old war birds that are trying to find every single excuse to start more fights."


    "Byron¡­" Candace reached out and rested her forehead on his chest. "I know. This was supposed to have been your week. We were supposed to spend time together, get to know each other on a more intimate level¡­"


    "I''m not ming you, Love." He lowered his head and dropped a kiss on her honey blonde head.


    "We''re eight days away from our wedding. Even with all the attendants around us helping with the nning, staging, and execution, it''s such a huge event that it''s still a frenzied time for us."


    Candace closed her eyes and sighed. "It''s still not fair."


    Byronughed. "I am an illegitimate son who somehow got to be Crown Prince for most of my life. And just when I thought I lost everything, including you, Father allowed me to share the title alongside my other brothers."


    He bent down and picked Candace up. "I thought I had lost you forever and had to leave Erenveil, but then suddenly, I became your legal husband."


    Byron chuckled. "You''re right. It''s not fair. How did I get this lucky?"


    Candace looked down into his upturned face. "But you didn''t get your week, as promised."


    Byron''s eyes misted. "It''s just postponed, right?"


    Candace nodded vigorously.


    "See? I''m not missing anything. We are simply using this time to get our wedding organized."


    His brownish-red eyes darkened. "I want to stand beside you and proim with pride that I am your husband next week and I can''t do that if we don''t take the time to organize our wedding."


    He gave a happy sigh. "Nothing wrong with dyed gratification. And besides, I''m already legally married to you. That means we have the rest of our lives together. What''s one week out of a lifetime?"


    Candace smiled and pressed a kiss onto his forehead. He was such a generous loving man. Even when things weren''t perfect, he made them perfect simply by looking at it in a different light.


    "Give me a raincheck on our week." Candace whispered. She reached out


    "Meanwhile, we still have tonight, if you''ll have me." She gave him a furtive look.


    "Oh my God, Woman. Do you even have to ask?" He growled and began nuzzling at her neck.


    "I''ve been lusting after you ever since I first met you, jumping on Leonardo''s priceless piano and trying to bash our heads in with that antiquemp base." He carried her over to the bed and set her down.


    "Over that entire time period, I''ve fallen in love with you so many times, I''ve lost count." Heughed into the base of her throat as he pressed her body onto the bed. "That never affected the ''lust'' part though."


    "I never knew. You''ve been such a perfect gentleman through it all." She reached out and ran her fingers through his soft red hair.


    "Only because I was Crown Prince and had to be impartial to all the Avgo Females," he hissed as his tongue found a beautiful spot in between her breasts where he began licking. "But Love, I have never wanted anyone but you."


    His fingers began to pluck at the individual buttons of her blouse, causing herce bra to peek through.


    "Oh mercy me. It''s a front sp bra." He hissed with need. "Are you trying to kill me, Woman?" He breathed as he gently nibbled on the rounded tops of her breasts.


    Candaceughed nervously. Why would front sp bras kill him?


    Reaching with eager greedy fingers, he unsnapped her bra sp and released both her breasts from the bounds of her clothing.


    Byron choked in a breath and began devouring her nipples, first one, then the other.


    "I can''t believe how beautiful my wife is." He muttered thickly. "I can''t believe you''ve been my wife for weeks and this is the first time I''ve had a chance to even see you like this."


    "As I said. You''ve been deprived of your time with me. I''ll make it up to you, I promise." She smiled.


    "Hmmm. What are you nning on doing with me, huh you little tease?" Heughed gently as he tore thest of the pearl buttons from the front of her blouse.


    The twins were going to kill him for damaging the blouse they made for Candace, but at this moment, Byron did not care in the least.


    His little tease wasn''t just lying around either. Her hands were all over his body, reaching through his white broadcloth shirt and touching all of his chest muscles.


    "Are you nning on tearing my shirt off?" He chuckled.


    "Oh you mean like you just did with mine?" She countered with a grin.


    "Go ahead, Woman. I''m waiting for that satisfying ripping sound of you tearing my shirt apart to get at my body."


    "Hmm. You asked for it!" She giggled and reached out with both hands, yanking on the front.


    For a moment, nothing happened.


    She yanked harder.


    One button popped off, but the others remained stubbornly stuck to the broadcloth white shirt.


    "Aaarrghhh!!!" She growled, pulling ineffectually on the front of his shirt. "It would actually be faster if I just unbuttoned them and take the shirt off in the usual manner."


    Byron couldn''t help it. He burst outughing.


    As his body heaved with helplessughter, he helped her rip his shirt by tearing it apart with his own hands and then allowing her to fling it to the ground.


    "Now that we''re both naked from the waist up, what do you think is the next step, hmm, Woman?"


    Candace grinned and began tugging at his pants.


    Without waiting for her to make another attempt at tearing off his trousers, Byron pulled it off for her, kicking his pants to the ground.


    Instantly, his manhood sprang into attention, long and hard and eager for her touch.


    "Your turn." He motioned with his fingers at her belly button. With one finger, he pulled at her waist band and in one swift motion, had taken off the soft stretchy material.


    "That''s not really fair. My clothes are softer than yours, and much more fragile."


    Kneeling on the bed with her legs between him, Byron reached out and separated her thighs.


    "It''s all you will ever need to wear around the pce, Love," he muttered.


    His eyes swept over her entire body, twin mes of desire burning within his pupils.


    He opened his mouth and moistened his fingers.


    As his wet fingers reached out to touch her womanhood, a knock on the door sounded.

 Chapter 302 - Sexy Stone Statues

    For a moment, they both stared at each other with horrified eyes.


    It wasn''t because they were ashamed to be seen naked in each other''s arms. They were already legally married and it wouldn''t have been a huge scandal or anything of the sort.


    It was just because they weren''t expecting anyone.


    Byron put a finger to his lips and shushed Candace as he stared at the door. If they remained quiet, maybe whoever was at the door would just go away.


    Unfortunately, that was the worst thing to do in the circumstance because whoever was at the door figured no one was there.


    There was the sound of the key being turned in the doorway, and then the sound of someone turning the knob.


    The door creaked inward.


    "Mdy?" It was the advisor who was supposed to have arrived with the ns and schedule for the following day''s worth of activities.


    There was no response from the Princess. No one was in the room.


    She walked into the room, carrying with her a soft leather briefcase and arge white box.


    Where in the world would the Princess have gone to? She was supposed to try out the second ball gown for the first dance to make sure everything fitted well before the wedding.


    There were also scripted dialogue to be delivered in front of the visuals cameras before and after the ceremony, along with from-the-heart marriage vows that had been written by some of the best scriptwriters. They would have to be rehearsed and memorized so they could be spoken with at least a modicum of realism in front of the visuals.


    She clicked her tongue as she noticed the cast-off clothing strewn about the floor.


    It wasn''t a slight against the Crown Princess Candace who was busy from morning till night with the wedding arrangements. She was royalty and it wasn''t her job to clean the room.


    The advisor was not happy with the servants who were supposed to be taking care of the Princess'' room. This was uneptable. There were five of them and they only had one job¡ªtake care of the Princess.


    They were not doing a very good job.


    She ced therge box and the briefcase onto the table and went to pick up the discarded clothing.


    Walking over to the dirty basket, she threw the clothing in and closed the lid. With a slight turn, she made another quick sweep of the room to make sure that everything was clean and in its ce.


    She was almost certain that the Princess had returned to her room, but no one was in the bathroom and no one was in the suite. Perhaps she had gone for a walk outside to get some fresh air.


    The advisor walked over to the french patio doors and peeked out.


    The night air was fresh and cool, lightly scented with the perfume of freesias growing inrge pots around the patio doorway. It was a soft gentle night¡ªperfect for a short walk, but no one was out here.


    She inhaled with appreciation and closed the door, locking it with an automatic flick of the fingers.


    Without further ado, she went to pick up the smallundry basket with the discarded clothing. She needed to make sure they would be washed tomorrow morning, to be back in the Princess'' closet by the end of the day.


    Within minutes, she had exited the room, turning off the lights as she walked out the door.


    From between the giant broad elephant ear leaves by the side of the french doors, Byron and Candace looked into the room that the advisor had just left.


    The woman''s efficiency was truly amazing.


    "Did she just lock us out?" Candace whispered with horror.


    "What''s more important is that she took my clothes with her." Byron''s chest began heaving as he startedughing.


    They were standing outside, at night, not wearing a stitch of clothing, with a locked door between them and their own bedroom.


    "How are we going to get back in?" She covered her mouth with dismay.


    Byron was still chuckling. "The lock is not a big deal. I can melt it off with magic, but having all my clothes taken away¡­" he beganughing again.


    Candace gave him a dumbfounded stare which made Byronugh even harder.


    He was about to usher her back inside when they heard the sound of someone walking through the courtyard from one of the other rooms.


    It was a male gardener and he wasing straight towards them.


    Candace scrunched up her face in horror, even as Byron ced his hand over her mouth.


    "Shhhh." He shushed her and pushed her closer towards the wall.


    ''Don''t move. Don''t make a sound. We''re going to be stone statues for a few minutes.'' He muttered into her mind.


    ''Okay.'' She responded.


    With a touch of magic, he turned their skin and hair into the color and texture of pale marble stone. He also stiffened them a bit so that the night air would not be able to ruffle through their hair.


    The gardener wasing closer.


    ''Don''t breathe.'' Byron warned into her mind.


    Another minute went by and the gardener had walked past the life-size stone sculptures of a naked couple in an intimate embrace. They were standing in the middle of the tropical garden, frozen in the act of making love.


    He cast an admiring eye at the beauty of the stonework. Whoever the artist was, they did such an amazing job that the stone sculpture almost looked real.


    Almost. He shook his head. All fake chiseled stone.


    Nobody in real life looked that good.


    All those bulky male muscles. Damn. The guy was so well hung! And the girl¡ªshe looked too hot to be real.


    As he walked past, Candace had the sudden urge to sneeze. She tried to hold it in but it wouldn''t stay held in.


    "Achoo!"


    The gardener stiffened and turned towards the direction of the sound. It was most definitely the sound of a girl sneezing.


    He peered through the bushes with suspicious eyes.


    There was absolutely no one in the courtyard but himself and half-a-dozen sculpted stone statues scattered around the garden.


    Suddenly, the gardener felt his hackles rise. This courtyard must be spooked by something ghostly or unnatural.


    With a slight shiver, he took off running for the doorway on the other side of the courtyard.


    As the doorway mmed shut behind the gardener, Candace and Byron broke downughing. They held each other up as they melted into helpless peals and chortles.


    The sounds of their barely audible heaves and muffled guffaws could be heard throughout the courtyard. Luckily, there was no one else in the courtyard to hear them other than a few scattered stone sculptures and some small birds.


    ''Let''s go back inside before another person walks by.'' Byron called out into her mind.


    They walked back to the french patio doors and Byron broke the lock with his magic.


    As they walked in, he shot two streams of energy, one at the french doors they had just walked through and the other at the doorway of the suite. He had welded the lock mechanisms shut.


    Now, no one would be able to interrupt them.


    He turned back towards Candace, his eyes sparking with amusement,ced with passion.


    "Now. Where were we?"

 Chapter 303 - Hurt So Good

    [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT]


    From the me of a single tealight candle that they lit just for a bit of ambience, Byron and Candace began slow dancing in the middle of the room.


    Her arms were entwined around his neck and he was holding her body close to him. They were swaying to a faint strand of music that Byron had called forth with a gesture of his hand.


    Within the semi-darkness, their skin glowed a luminescent pearly shade of fragile petals.


    The perfume of musk and muguet rose up into the air,bined with the scent of their warm bodies, intertwined into the unique aura of their first dance together as husband and wife.


    Byron sighed with bliss.


    Throughout all that time, even when they were outside pretending to be stone statues in the darkness amongst the flowers and bushes, his desire for Candace never subsided.


    Now that they were alone once again, his passion began to me even hotter. Their bodies were touching in all the right ces as they continued to sway to the music.


    When he could no longer hold back his desire for her, Byron picked her up and carried her to the bed.


    He had to cut short the dance. He had gotten so hard that the length of his male member was getting in between the two of them and making it difficult to dance with her.


    Candace did not protest. Not only could she sense his urgency, she could also see and feel it.


    Without a word, they began exploring each other''s bodies with fingers and lips and tongue.


    He touched all the crevices of her body with his lips, moving from the hollow of her neck to the pulse points behind her ears while her hands moved from his back to his pecs, touching and caressing his lower abdomen.


    Byron inhaled sharply as her hands began wandering around his pelvic area, touching his inner thighs and his lower back. Her hands grabbed onto his buttocks and squeezed their firmness.


    She was touching everywhere but his hardness and it was driving him crazy. At this point, she didn''t need to touch him at all. He was just about ready to explode.


    As his lips and tongue explored her face and neck, his fingers never stopped ying with her breasts, arousing her to fevered pitch.


    "Aaaaahhhh." She sighed with delicious wanton.


    "You like that, Love? Hmm?" He murmured as his fingers gently pulled at her nipples while his lips trailed a line down towards her breasts.


    As his mouth took over where his fingers had been, Candace arched her back and took it all in like a happy kitten. She ran her fingers through his red hair, murmuring and gasping with intense pleasure.


    He moved lower, towards her inner thighs and separated her legs. Here was the point where he had gotten so rudely interrupted by the advisor, whom he was going to have a talk with as soon as possible.


    He spread her lips open and lowered his head to dip his tongue into her opening.


    Candace gasped as her pleasure center began to fire on all cylinders.


    Byron smiled. He loved to pleasure her, partly because he loved hearing the sounds she made and partly because it was making him more and more aroused.


    His tongue began flicking at her bud, gently at first, but then as she rose higher and higher, he slowed his licking down. His lips surrounded her bud as he began suckling it gently.


    As she mewled and moaned with pleasure, Byron pushed a finger into her depths to ease her open and get her ready for hisrge girth.


    She was so tight inside that he needed to ease her opening a bit so his stiff engorged male member could fit. It wasn''t long before he was able to insert two fingers, even as his lips continued to suckle her clit.


    Thebination of his lips and his fingers was causing her to reach new heights of ecstasy. Candace was so wet, she was dripping into his hand and onto the bed.


    "Haaaaaaahhhh! Haaaaahhhhh!" Candace gasped, panting in quick gulps as she clutched the bed sheets with grasping fingers.


    She was almost ready toe. She was ready for him.


    "I have a payload to deliver to you, Love." He murmured.


    Sweat rolled down her face as she smiled up at him.


    "It''s going to hurt you, that Avgo shard." she reminded him.


    "I am so looking forward to the pain as well as the pleasure." He growled as he grabbed her thighs and threw her legs over his shoulders.


    Grasping his member, he aimed hisrge bulbous head at her opened flower and rubbed it around until his shaft was sufficiently wet from her juices.


    Then he slowly pushed his shaft into her body, inching forward until he was hilt-deep within her. He held still for a moment so she could get used to his girth and then he started in a slow rhythmic rocking motion, pressing himself into her.


    Their lovemaking was gentle.


    Until it wasn''t.


    Byron began giving in to his body''s demands to take over. He started thrust harder and harder, faster and faster.


    Leaning onto her body, his hands reached for hers and their fingers interlocked. Then, they held onto each other and began rocking in a rhythm as old as time.


    Candace gasped as his manhood hit against her womb, sending her closer and closer to the edge of climax. Her body began shaking and she moaned with wanton desperation.


    The heat between them was like a raging fire burning out of control. The scent of theirbined sexual excitement was turning him on more and more.


    As he continued to thrust into her, Candace squealed and shivered, feeling his thick veiny shaft rubbing against her swollen tingling bud.


    Her body began to experience micro-bursts of pleasure, exploding everywhere within and around her womanhood.


    "Haaaahhh, haaaahhh, aaaahhh¡­feels so good Byron." She whimpered. "Don''t¡ªdon''t stop."


    "I couldn''t stop now even if I tried, Woman." He panted.


    As Candace was experiencing the multiple orgasms brought on by his lovemaking, Byron could feel his self-control begin to slip.


    His neck veins bulged and sweat poured from every inch of his skin as he continued pumping and thrusting himself inside her.


    His passion began to rise and Byron began slowing down. He desperately tried to control his raging desire, but it had run away from him. There was no holding it back.


    As he began to lose control of his body, his fangs began to grow. His wings extruded from his back and his ws began to lengthen.


    "Sheath¡ªsheath your ws Love." Candace panted.


    "Sorry. I won''t hurt you, I promise." Byron murmured, quickly retracting his ws.


    Candace''s orgasms continued as he maintained his steady thrusting. He gritted his teeth as he felt his own sensations of impending orgasm building up.


    The closer he got to his own orgasm, the more his thirst for her blood grew. He tried to ignore it but it could not be ked.


    It was as if the act of lovemaking triggered the primal urge within him to take into himself, a small part of her life force.


    Unable to abstain, Byron sought out her right carotid artery and sank his sharp fangs into her soft skin.


    "Aaaaaahhh!!!" She squealed.


    ''I''m so sorry, Love,'' he spoke into her mind as he injected her with his serum.


    ''I''m just so thirsty for you.'' He whispered mentally as his mouth sucked her blood into his body.


    ''Drink as much as you need, Love.'' She assured him even though she knew he would only ever take a tiny amount of her blood.


    Candace could feel the warmth of his liquid serum flowing through her bloodstream and racing throughout her entire being as rolling waves of pleasure rolled through her body.


    She began to convulse, her body trembling as another orgasm began to hit her body.


    As she felt his mouth on her neck, gulping down the blood from her body, she quivered with ecstasy as she felt the length of his manhood pulsating inside her.


    He was starting toe.


    At the moment of ejaction, he clutched at his chest, his face scrunching up in pain.


    "Aaaaaaargghhhh!!!" He cried out with the pain of release.


    The shard that was the Avgo embedded within his heart tore away from the muscles that were holding onto it and an electrical discharge ran through his body, coursing through his penis.


    With ast agonizing burst of pleasure, Byron exploded within her body, returning to his beloved woman the Avgo shard that he had been protecting all this time within his heart.


    "Holy hell." He gave a swift intake of breath as he rubbed Candace''s sweat-drenched hair.. "That hurt so damn good."

 Chapter 304 - Jenna The Spotted Jaguar

    A gold transport pod flew towards Marakaran Pce and swooped down to the ground. The door swished open and a pair of shapely long legs emerged onto the steps.


    Quick to emerge was the tall lithe form of a spotted jaguar. Her body was quite human, if one could ignore the swish of a golden tail behind her, swirling up and coiling like a snake.


    Not only was she beautiful, she was also fashionably stylish. On her strong lean body was a ck dress that was an obvious JasonJared creation, from the detailed styling to the opulence of onyx and diamonds detailing.


    The ck dress perfectly suited her golden-furred spotted jaguar pattern of swirls and spots. Herrge nted cat eyes were the color of bottle ss and she had a cute pert pink nose.


    She smiled as her eyes took in the magnificence of the Marakaran Pce. As she gave a purr of satisfaction, the glint of sharp fangs could be seen.


    She made her way to the front of the gates with her two attendants and turned to look at the pce guards. The dozen silver-haired elven guards were standing fixed to their spots, stupefied, with jaws that had dropped to the ground.


    The spotted jaguar licked her lips with her pink tongue, looking sleek, sexy, and downright dangerous!


    "What do I need to step through the gates?" She purred.


    One of the elven guards cleared his throat.


    "Either a pass or an invitation¡­" he began, but stopped short as she shed an invitation in his face.


    His eyes red. This was the invitation that came from the bride''s side. It was the first one he had seen toe through the gates.


    This woman was no joke.


    Jenna Natoli walked through the gates with her head held high. She had no idea that she was the only guest invited by Candace herself, but it didn''t matter. She was one of the Queens of Calend and would have been invited anyway.


    As soon as she entered the pce itself, an elven attendant took a record of her entry and ushered her to her assigned room. Her attendants followed behind, pulling along her luggage with them.


    They walked through hallway after hallway, courtyard after courtyard, until they reached one of the inner courtyards.


    Reaching out with a thin silver key, the elf unlocked the door and pushed it open.


    "This is your suite of rooms for the duration of your stay. If you need anything, please let us know."


    Jenna nodded and walked in with her two attendants.


    The room was spacious, with arge bed at the center, and a seating arrangement on one side. Two doors led off the main room. One of them was a full sized bathroom and the other was an adjacent room with two single beds for her attendants.


    She smiled. They had thought of everything.


    As her attendants began unpacking her luggage, Jenna sat down at the desk and inspected themand console.


    She needed to tell Candace that she had arrived but wasn''t sure how to use themand console that Marakaran provided for their guest''s use.


    An alert sounded as a call came through. Jenna epted the call and found herself staring at the beautiful face of the Primary Avgo Female, Candace Farrah.


    "Jenna!" Candace''s face broke into a bright smile.


    Jenna curled her lips up into a smile. Cats didn''t really smile very well because it looked devious and evil, but it was a way to at least show visible happiness that humans like Candace could recognize.


    "I came a bit early, in case you needed help with details of the wedding."


    "Oh that is so very kind of you. Have you had lunch yet? It''s almost noon. Maybe we could meet up and have some food, catch up."


    Jenna nodded. She had eaten arge breakfast, but a small lunch with the bride was something she was very amenable to.


    "Tell me when and where." She purred.


    ===========


    The private courtyard behind Candace''s suite had been set up with a linen-covered table and two settings for lunch.


    As attendants came and went, bringing polished silverware and crystal footed sses, Candace was putting the final touches to the small present she was wrapping.


    "Candace." A low pleasant female voice called out from the entrance.


    "Ahhh! Jenna! Wee!" Candace turned to the cat with a bright grin.


    The cat came closer to Candace and for a moment, said nothing. She leaned in closer and sniffed.


    "You smell almost pregnant." She smiled. "Congrattions."


    Candaceughed. "We''re either pregnant or not. How can we be almost pregnant?"


    Jenna grinned, her sharp pointed teeth shing.


    "I smell a man all over you. If you aren''t pregnant yet, you soon will be."


    Candace''s eyes widened. She had showered and was dressed in clean clothing. Furthermore, she had not met up with anyone after Byron had left in the early dawn before the attendants arrived. How was it possible for Jenna to smell a man on her?


    Jennaughed. "You cannot mask the scent of a man with baths or showers, Candace. His scent exudes from your very pores."


    The cat stretchednguidly. "But it''s good that your men take good care of you. I would not expect anything less."


    "You only smell¡ªone man?"


    Jenna shook her head. "I smell five men on you. The invitation states that you are marrying seven men, so obviously, you have not had the chance to touch the other two yet."


    Her tail swished as if she was giggling. "What a harem you have, Candace. I''m jealous."


    "Five?" Candace looked puzzled. There was Dante, Byron, Lucas, Jason, Jared, and te. That was six, with Leonardo being the only one she had not yet been with.


    And then her eyes widened with understanding. Jason and Jared were identical twins. Their scents would have seemed to be the same person to Jenna.


    Jenna reached out with gentle hands and touched Candace''s shoulder.


    "I received a marriage decree from the Emperor, dictating that I had to marry one of your husbands, the Prince Jared."


    Candace frowned. The Emperor truly was a meddler.


    "Don''t worry." Jenna smiled again, that malevolent twist of the lips that made her look downright evil. "I found a fool-proof, iron-d way to decline the invitation."


    "How?" Candace''s eyebrows raised.


    Jennaughed. "I responded to him to let him know that I preferred women and was not going to marry a man."


    Candace nearly choked.


    "You¡ªyou''re a lesbian?"


    Jenna leaned closer to Candace. "I''ve never tried, but it seems to be quite an interesting prospect, don''t you think?"

 Chapter 305 - Avgo Sisters

    For a moment, Candace thought Jana was joking.


    But no. The cat was serious!


    "Ummm. Haha!" Candace gave a nervousugh. "I''ve never thought about that before. I''m actually quite happy with my husbands though."


    Jenna leaned back, her eyes crinkling in amusement.


    "Well, if it makes any difference, I only said it to disqualify myself so the Emperor wouldn''t continue to pressure me into marrying your husband Jared."


    "In the same way you disqualified yourself at the final Avgo event?"


    Jenna''s tail twitched. "By that point, I had realized that the Crown Prince waspletely yours from the top of his hair to the soles of his feet. The grand prize no longer appealed to me."


    She waved a hand with a regal air. "And besides, we''ve fought together against amon enemy. In my world, where jungle rules are abided by, we''re nowrades."


    Candace nodded, remember the time when they had chased after the man who had tried to assassinate her.


    "I wanted to thank you for helping me that day, Jenna." She indicated at the present that was on the table next to the cat.


    "Please ept this gift as a sign of my gratitude."


    Jenna looked down at the gift box.


    "You''re the bride. I should be gifting you something."


    "Please open it." Candace gestured again.


    Jenna reached out for the small box and tugged on the bow, undoing the ribbon around it.


    As soon as she pulled the lid off, Jenna''s eyes teared up.


    Nestled within the ck velvet of the box was a yellow topaz replica of the Avgo gemstone that had disappeared the day the Prime Avgo Female had been announced.


    It was now once again in her hands.


    "I took the liberty of having Jason create a replica of the Avgo gemstone you possessed. I hope you''re¡ª"


    Jenna jumped up and grabbed hold of Candace in a fierce hug.


    "I retract what I said. We are notrades. We are sisters!"


    Candace smiled into Jenna''s furry shoulder.


    "We''re sisters." She concurred.


    Jenna pulled back. "Were you able to keep your Avgo since you won?"


    Candaceughed. "The Avgo split itself into seven shards and embedded itself into my seven husbands."


    "What?" Jenna gasped. "So what will happen next?"


    Candace shrugged. "I started sleeping with each of them and the shards came back to me."


    "Oh my Lord!" Jenna breathed. "And have you collected all of them yet?"


    Candace shook her head. "I have one more to collect."


    "Well then what are you waiting for, Woman? That''s the most important thing you have to do, and you need to do it NOW!!!"


    Jenna sprang up. "Who is the missing Prince?"


    "Leo¡ªLeonardo."


    "You need to call him here now. Do it!" Jenna insisted.


    "But¡ªBut we''re sisters having a pleasant lunch¡­"


    "Call him now. I will stand on guard while you collect the final shard."


    "But our food hasn''t arrived yet."


    "Forget the food, Candace. You need to collect that shard and you needed to have done it weeks ago!" Jenna shook her head.


    "I don''t know what you''re thinking and why you waited so long. There is nothing more important than this. I mean¡­what if he loses that shard?"


    "How can he lose¡ª"


    "I don''t know!" Jenna threw up her hand. "Off the top of my head, I can think of a few scenarios. Want to hear them?"


    Without waiting for Candace to respond, she began listing them on her long carmine wed finger.


    "He could have a wet dream in the middle of the night and identally expel it onto his bedding. He could get too horny and can''t wait till the wedding and decide to jack off in the shower."


    Jenna''s eyes lit up. She was on a roll.


    "He could be osted by some girl who wants to be his next concubine and be forced into having sex with her. He could even just be in physical need and grab some random pussy and kitty-style her for sexual release."


    Candace stared at Jenna with a horrified expression on her face.


    "I need to call him."


    "Yes!!!" Jenna agreed.


    With a trembling hand, Candace pulled out hermand pad and called up Leonardo. She could not contact him with her mind because he had not shared the mind link with her yet.


    His breathtaking handsome face appeared on visuals immediately upon her call.


    "Sweetheart. What are you doing?"


    Candace smiled. "I''m having lunch with my sister, Jenna. I need to talk to you about something."


    Leonardo''s aqua blue eyes warmed. "I''m listening, Love."


    "Leo. Can you meet up with me?"


    Leonardo nodded. "Where and when?"


    "Now. In my bedroom." She took a deep breath.


    Leonardo blinked. "Aren''t you and Jenna having lunch right now? Wouldn''t I be¡ªintruding?"


    Jenna shook her head and bared her fangs. She waved her hand in protest.


    "Not at all!" Candace gave a forcedugh. "She and I are almost finished." She lied, even as Jenna nodded and gave a thumbs up.


    Leonardo did not look convinced but he nodded.


    "Okay then. I''m finishing up with one small thing. I''ll be at your door in¡­" he nced his time piece. "About fifteen minutes."


    "Hurry!" She prodded before finishing the call.


    "Now, quickly." Jenna ushered Candace back into her bedroom. "Go in there and wait for him. I will be on guard and take care of all the attendants and the servants so they don''t bother you."


    "But you just got here and¡ª"


    "Hush." She ced a hand on her lips. "Get yourst shard and then we''ll do something fun together to celebrate you getting your Avgo gemstone back together."


    As Candace disappeared into her bedroom, Jenna turned back to all the attendants who were still setting up the first course of the lunch.


    "The Imperial Princess is going to be busy with one of her husbands in their room." She announced with regal authority.


    "If any one of you value your heads," her red-tipped ws sprang out with deadly intent. "You will stay away from Princess Candace''s room and you will tell all your staff to stay away until further notice."


    Jenna swept her hand in a grand gesture.


    "Go!"

 Chapter 306 - [Bonus ] Mistress Cancandy

    As soon as Leonardo walked into his wife''s bedroom, the little minx had jumped into his arms.


    "Let''s do it now!" She growled as she began attacking his neck.


    Leonardoughed and tried to remain standing upright even as he held her entire body in his arms.


    Candace had never seemed to be the kind of woman who would be dominant and agressive, but she was literally attacking him with her kisses at the moment.


    "Wait. Haha." Leonardoughed and pulled back to look at her. Was this really his wife?


    "What brought this on?"


    He had been checking up on a cardiac arrest patient not fifteen minutes ago, and although the man had stabilized, thest thing on Leonardo''s mind was of a sexual nature.


    And yet, as Candace began gently biting and nipping at his shoulder and corbone, Leonardo''s carnal desires began to rise.


    He had been waiting patiently for this moment for a very long time. His brothers had warned him not to identally discharge the Avgo shard and he had been extraordinarily careful.


    So careful in fact that the situation with Olivia Faraday had scared him nearly out of his mind. That was the moment when he realized that he could have so easily lost his chance to be with the woman he loved so desperately.


    Candace seemed as if she read his mind.


    "I nearly lost you to that butterfly girl." She growled like a she-lion, stirring up Leonardo''s dormant desires. "I need to lock you in and im possession NOW!!!"


    "I never want you to have to do without, or even look as if you''re avable so that other women will go after you!" Candace pounded on hisrge shoulders with her fists.


    Leonardoughed and carried her to the bed. He sat her on hisp and began running his fingers through her long blonde hair.


    "Oh my precious Baby. I''ve been waiting for this moment for so long and now that it''s here, I ampletely unprepared."


    "Why? This is your week. It starts today!"


    Leonardo shook his golden head. "I saw how busy you were. I didn''t think I had a chance with you this week."


    Candace sighed. "It may be that this is the only day we will have together for this week, but I promise you, I''ll make it up to you after the wedding craziness is over."


    Leonardo leaned his head into her body.


    "Right now, there are two very important things. First is thest Avgo shard I still need to imnt in you. Second is the wedding. I can''t even feel as if we''ve safely transitioned as one unit until these two are done, and that thought causes me to worry."


    "Worry?"


    Leonardo nodded. "The day that Olivia Faraday¡­" He shuddered. "I was scared to death. I had to run to you and stay by your side. It still scares me to this day that I nearly lost you¡­"


    "Shush, My Love." She whispered into his mouth as she began to kiss him.


    Before Leonardo had realized what happened, she had pushed him back onto the bed and had begun pulling off his white healer''s robe.


    Next to fall onto the floor was his shirt, which she struggled with for a moment before finally yanking it over his head.


    His powerful muscr frame appeared before her eyes and her eyes lit up like twin torches.


    "Oh my. You have golden down on your chest and stomach!"


    He raised an eyebrow. Hadn''t she been with Lucas?


    But then he suddenly remembered. Lucas had to shave his torso for his on-camera work with body visuals shots which meant Lucas was essentially shaved bald as far as his body and pubic hair was concerned.


    "We lions are quite hairy." He chuckled. "And I don''t have time to shave my body like Lucas does."


    "No need." Candace was already attacking his male nipples with her mouth. "I love the hair on your body."


    She was already starting to pull off his shoes and was starting to unbuckle his pants.


    Leonardo chuckled gently. He found that his woman''s dominant behavior was so amazingly arousing he could barely wait to see what would happen next.


    He had been worried about how to approach her so that she would not be afraid to be with him, but at this moment, it was all he could do to keep from sumbing to her advances.


    He reached out to help her remove his pants and got a p on the wrist.


    "Hands off my man!" She growled, causing Leonardo to shake withughter. What in the world was this woman up to?


    Leonardo found out rather quickly.


    She had taken his own belt and tied his wrists to the ts on her headboard!


    Of course, as strong magically as he was, it would have taken mere seconds to unbind himself, but Leonardo was tickled pink.


    She was going to try some fun bondage on him! This he had to see.


    Except he couldn''t see anything!


    Candace had covered his eyes with a silk scarf and was whispering in his ears.


    "You are mine now. You can''t get away so you might as well lie back and take what I give you."


    Leonardoughed. "Am I supposed to call you Mistress?"


    Candace giggled. "That sounds like fun! Okay, call me Mistress."


    Leonardo licked his lips. "Yes, Mistress Cancandy."


    "Haha!" Candaceughed. "I can''t believe you still remember that first night when we met. You were the one who asked me what my name was."


    "It was me, yes." Leonardo nodded. "You introduced yourself to me as Cancandy, and that''s what I think of when I think of my wife."


    "Don''t forget." Candace tried her best to growl deep in her throat. "That''s Mistress Wife to you!"


    Leonardoughed.


    Hisughter stopped the moment when he felt her lips begin trailing downward onto his abdomen. He could feel her tiny kisses and her soft wet tongue licking at his abs, lightly tickling him and setting his body on fire.


    He began growling when he felt her hands separate his thighs.


    The lion''s growl turned into a choked gasp the moment her mouth touched his manhood.

 Chapter 307 - The Taming Of The Lion

    [WARNING: MATURE CONTENT]


    "Oh my God, Candi¡­"


    "Uh-uh. No no. She gave him a yful nip on the thigh. What is that you''re supposed to call me again?"


    "Mis¡ªmistress Cancandy." Leonardo gasped at her nip.


    "Good boy." She purred, licking like a cat at his manhood.


    Unable to see her movements, Leonardo suddenly had a vision of Candace as a powerful lioness, taming him with her long wet tongue. It was such a powerful vision that he gasped as a strong deep thrill ran through him.


    Loosely tied up as he was, Leonardo had to surreptitiously magic the belt bond a bit tighter for fear that he would identally slip out of the bounds she had ced on his wrists.


    But it was thest thing that he could consciously do because after that, Leonardo could only react.


    "Ohhhh¡­aaahhhhh¡­haaaaaaa!!!" He moaned and sobbed as she did things to him that he could not see but could definitely feel.


    She tickled his body with soft things, warm things, silky things, wet things.


    She trailed her fingers, swirling around and around the base of his hard member, refusing to touch the head of his shaft.


    "If you want me to lick you, beg me." She whispered.


    Leonardo''s breath contracted. Beg her? He had to beg his own wife for¡­


    But then the delicious tingling sensation of her tongue touching all around the base of his testicles and in between the hollowed crevices of his male member and his thighs made Leonardo mewl like a little kitten.


    "Say, please lick my balls, Mistress Cancandy." She murmured.


    Leonardo''s mind was swirling in a thick hot sweaty messy soup. He could barely think. All his focus was aimed directly at his loins and what this woman was doing down there.


    "Please¡­please lick my balls, Mistress Cancandy." He muttered.


    Suddenly, he felt his testicles being taken into her mouth and suckled with just enough force that he cried and sucked in his breath. The pleasure was so intense and she had barely even started.


    The more he mewled and moaned, the more she suckled his sacs. First one, then the other. She tongued the balls round and round inside her mouth, touching and rubbing the base of his testicles with a firm finger.


    Then she did something that was so unthinkable, he nearly went insane.


    With a lubed finger, she gently inserted it into his back door and began gently rubbing his prostate.


    "Haaaaaaaahhhhaaaaaaa¡­" he heard the high pitched sound of moaning that wasing out of his mouth and he could not believe it was him that was moaning.


    His breath got caught in his throat and he could not breathe. The sensation of his prostate being tickled and his balls being sucked at the same time was causing him to mentally break down into a quivering ball of sensations¡ªa climactic high that never ended.


    With his eyespletely covered and his hands tied up, he had no higher rational senses and no way to stop what was going on. But why would he stop her? She was sending him into sexual paradise.


    "Leo. Say, Please lick my cock, Mistress Cancandy."


    This time, there was no hesitation.


    "Please lick my cock, Mistress Cancandy." His face twisted with pleasure at the finger up his butt that never stopped its wriggling motion on his prostate.


    Suddenly, he could feel her tongue sliding up the base of his shaft and then his manhood was sucked down to the base!


    Unable to see anything, all Leonardo could feel was a wet oral passage that sucked him in a rhythmic manner.


    "Aaaaaaarggghhh!!!" He growled, feeling his fangs and wings beginning to extrude from his back.


    She pulled his shaft from her mouth and retracted her finger from between the cheeks of his buttocks.


    "Careful of those ws. Sheath them Darling." She cooed.


    Leonardo did as she told him to do and then waited.


    "Leo. Say, Please fuck me, Mistress Cancandy."


    Leonard smiled. His little minx.


    At that moment, he wanted to magic the wrist bounds off, grab her and make torrid, hard, rough love to her, but she was running the show at this moment. He couldn''t spoil her fun.


    "Please fuck me, Mistress Cancandy." He said with the kind of meekness that would have never happened in a day of his life, except that he was yacting with her, and it was fun.


    In a smooth motion, his Mistress Cancandy had straddled him. With a gentle motion, she positioned his manhood directly in between her petals and sank him deep into her body.


    "Haaaaaaahhh!!!" He breathed.


    This was not fun. This was excruciatingly pleasurable.


    His mighty lioness had dominated him, taken away his ability to do much other than gasp and moan and pant¡ªand beg and plead and act subservient to her strong domination.


    His insides quivered.


    If he thought he loved her before, when he first saw her walk the ss walkway to rescue his brother, then this was a hundred times more potent.


    If he thought he loved her when she threw her body between him and a bomb that was about to explode, covering his head and ears with her hands to keep him safe, this was a thousand times more effective.


    As she bounced on top of him, he could hear her breathing and crying out his name.


    "Aaahh. Aaaah. Leo¡­oh my God, Leo. You''re so big, oh Lord! Feel so good¡­"


    Her moaning was causing the tides of his desire to rise higher and higher.


    He could feel the heat being generated between their bodies. He could smell the sweat and sexual juicesmingling between the two of them.


    She chose that moment to touch her lips to his and they began to kiss and make love at the same time.


    Without the ability to see, his mind continued to make up the most crazy and amazing sights. The lioness was riding him, dominating him, and he was helpless in her hands.


    He felt the waves of his desire spiking over and over and over until the spikes wereing in more urgently.


    Growling in his throat, Leonard strained against his shackles.


    His Mistress Cancandy reached up, released his bonds and took off the silk scarf.


    Her beautiful face swam into view.


    "Candace," he breathed and wrestled her onto her back.


    "Oh my God, Woman. You''re driving me insane!" He grounded out and began pounding himself into her.


    Harder. Faster. More intense.


    His cheek rested on hers as he bucked into her like a frenzied mad man.


    "Grrrrrrrr". He roared like the lion he was. His fangs grew longer as his thirst for her blood began to turn him into a beast.


    "Bite me." She offered coyly.


    He didn''t need a second invitation.


    Leonardo took a deep breath and fastened his fangs directly onto her smooth pale neck. With gentleness and care, he sank his fangs into the throbbing arteries.


    Immediately, his serum hit her body and she quivered with ecstasy, her blood spurting out in hot red abundance.


    Leonardo fixed his mouth around her wound and took a few gulps of her precious blood. He continued to lick her wound until she was healed, and then he turned his warm aqua eyes towards her.


    ''Can you hear me now?''


    ''Absolutely Leo.'' She responded.


    ''I love you, Wife.'' He sent into her mind, even as his body surged and he reached the bursting point.


    Leonardo''s face grimacing with the pain of pleasure as he felt the Avgo struggling from his heart.


    "Aaaaaarghhhh!" Leonardo growled as the pain in his chest blossomed.


    At the moment his manhood erupted within her, he clutched at his chest as he worked through the intensity of pleasure and pain.


    Within seconds, he released his seminal fluids and returned to Candace the Avgo shard she''d given him.


    "Haahh! Haahh! Haahh!" He panted for a minute, trying to recover.


    Perhaps it was because Leonardo''s was the final Avgo shard to be reunited, and he was a doctor which meant he was able to monitor his wife''s condition.


    Perhaps it was because the time between the Avgo collection was fairly long, and the shards had been waiting so patiently that they had run out of patience.


    Whatever the reason was, Leonardo could feel the difference in Candace immediately.


    One moment, she was quivering with physical pleasure, riding the same orgasmic wave he was.


    The next moment, she was clutching at his arms, her face wracked with pain.

 Chapter 308 - A New Life Begins

    "Wife. What is it?"


    Candace shook her head, her face scrunching up. She was barely able to breathe, her pain was so strong.


    With a quick touch of his finger onto her temple, Leonardo


    Leonardo pulled himself out of her and began doing an impromptu physical check-up.


    Gone was the lover being dominated by his woman. Back was the doctor trying to care for his patient.


    His hands began to glow a blue color as he checked her abdomen for any internal bleeding or blockages.


    What he found shocked him to the core.


    ''Oh my God. You guys!'' He called into the mindspace that Candace had set up for the brothers.


    ''What''s up?'' te was first to respond.


    ''Hey Leo! Wee to Candace''s Husbands Club!'' Jared whooped out a greeting.


    ''What''s going on?'' Dante asked, a little distractedly due to his work.


    ''Something''s wrong with Candace. She''s in a lot of pain.'' Leonardo yelled into the mind-space. ''You guys need toe to her bedroom. NOW!!!''


    Without waiting for them to respond, he disconnected and went back to concentrate on Candace. He didn''t have time for chit chat.


    He quickly got himself dressed and cleaned her up with a wet towel before throwing a clean sheet over her naked body.


    At this moment, she was no longer an object of desire. She was his patient.


    Leonardo went back to monitoring her womb with his medical energies.


    She had collected all seven shards and they were floating within her body, but it wasn''t a random meandering. It was a strange purposeful float.


    He projected what he could feel into a virtual monitor above her bed and continued to move his hands around on her abdomen to maintain visuals.


    When he found what he was looking for, he locked the frames into position to maintain visuals of her womb.


    Within a matter of minutes, all his brothers had burst into the room and were gathered around her, panting and heaving from having to rush there.


    "What¡ªwhat''s that?" Lucas asked, pointing to the image on the virtual screen.


    "Looks like it''s our Avgo shards, dancing around in a pattern." Dante squinted at the visuals trying to see clearly, the shards among all the background noise of her internal body.


    "Recognize the pattern?" Leonardo asked.


    "It looks like a¡ªa heptagon?" Lucas responded.


    "Close. It''s actually a heptahedron." Leonardo nodded. "Seven-sided, three-dimensional structure. This is one of the sacred geometries of life."


    "Wait, wait." Byron held up a hand. "I remember the twelve sacred geometries when we were learning basic magic theory from our teachers, but I never heard of the heptahedron being a sacred geometry before."


    Leonardo sighed. "The twelve that you''re talking about, Egg of Life, Flower of Life, Tree of Life, et cetera, has to do with the basic shapes that make up the universe and life in general. This one is different."


    He indicated at the visual that was urring in real timeing from Candace''s body.


    "This is a sacred geometry that forms in order to receive a soul into a new vessel that is being formed."


    "What???" Dante gasped


    Leonardo''s face twitched. Being the most intelligent brother has its drawbacks. What was to him, simple to grasp, wasplex to others around him.


    How could he find words and make it simple enough so that his brothers could understand?


    "Okay, so we all know that the Avgo isn''t just some random gemstone. It''s actually alive. It chose all of us as its father, remember?"


    The brothers all nodded.


    "But it couldn''t form for the longest time until all the fragments had been collected."


    te crinkled his eyes at Leonardo. "Hurt like hell, didn''t it?"


    "Like a heart attack." Leonardo admitted with a shake of his heart. "I thought I was going to die and leave her a partial widow for a moment there."


    All the brothers chuckled and nodded with understanding. They remembered all too well the pain they each felt at the moment the Avgo tore away from their heart.


    Leonard pointed to the virtual monitor above Candace''s sleeping form.


    "Look at the way it''s moving!" He pointed to the motion of the seven shards. "It''s forming into a seven sided heptahedron."


    He used his finger and drew a blue shape into the air, infusing it with magic so it would remain as a 3D shape. Then he twirled it so that it spunzily in the space between the brothers.


    "See that? There are seven sides and each side has exactly the same surface area." He pointed to various areas of the spinning shape. "There are four equal triangles and three equal four-sided shapes that look like kites."


    He gestured with emphasis. "Each of those triangles and four-sided shapese from one of us. This shape needs all seven of the shards to be able to create the heptahedron."


    His six brothers stared at what Leonardo was pointing at and gave vague nods. They understood basic magic, but the geometric mathematics were moreplex to grasp.


    "So what does all that have to do with the shards and Candace?" te stared at the blue heart that was moving the blue fumes around inside it.


    Leonardo pointed to the visuals monitor above Candace''s head.


    "Gentlemen, you are seeing in real time, our tiny child being created."


    As they stared with fascination at the spinning points of light that Leonardo pointed out, they suddenly noticed that it was going straight for the egg, which looked like a huge round sphere hovering in the background.


    In no time t, it had been subsumed by the egg and had disappeared.


    "And BAAM!!!" Leonardo announced with great cheer. "Her egg has been fertilized by the Avgo shards."


    "Wow that''s a huge egg!" Lucas murmured, fascinated.


    Leonardoughed. "It''s magnified so you can see the details. This is so tiny that we wouldn''t be able to see anything just by looking at its actual size."


    "That heptahedron fertilized only one egg." Dante mused. "Looks like we''re only going to be getting one child."


    "But what about the sex of the baby?" Jared asked.


    "Doesn''t that depend on the individual sperm?" Jason added.


    Leonardo nodded. "Normally, yes. But this is the Avgo we''re talking about. It''s so far beyond my level of understanding that all I can do is continue to observe what is happening to her."


    "I''m okay with only one child." te murmured, and all the other brothers agreed with him.


    But then suddenly, before their eyes, the egg split into seven separate eggs.


    "Holy Mother of the Universe!" Byron breathed.


    "Does that mean we each get our own baby?" Jason rubbed his jaw.


    "No." Leonardo stared with fascination at the turn of events. "It means we share in parenting all seven children. Do you not see what just happened?"


    He nced at each of the brothers, swearing to himself. Why was he the only one who understood basic human physiology?


    "The seven shardsbined into one and fertilized the egg."


    The men nodded.


    "The egg underwent mitosis that resulted in seven individual eggs."


    The men nodded again.


    "This means each child will have half its genes from Candace and half its genes from ourbined gics.. What each egg gets from us men is luck of the gic draw, but for the most part, we are fathers to all the babies, not just one."

 Chapter 309 - Pre-wedding Frenzy

    Morning came and went, and Candace was still out like a light. It wasn''t until almost noon that she began to stir from her deep slumber.


    For a moment, she didn''t know what had awakened her, but then her stomach growled again. It was a deep, loud, extremely embarrassing rumbling. At least it would have been embarrassing had there been anyone in the room.


    She rubbed her stomach and blinked. She had skipped lunch with Jenna Natoli and had romped around with Leonardo but it shouldn''t have gotten to the point where she was this hungry.


    She sat up and swung her feet onto the floor.


    Any type of food that had legs and coulde to her would be of the uncooked and still living sort. For anything else that was in the least edible, she would have toe to the food.


    As Candace stood up, the room began to melt sideways.


    "Whoa!" She gasped and sat back down. Why was she so dizzy?


    She tried again but only got as far as the wing chair before copsing onto it, breathing heavily. Why was she so weak and woozy?


    She probed around in her mind, going to the shared mind-space.


    ''Hey¡­guys?''


    ''Baby! You''re awake!'' Jason squealed.


    ''Oh my gosh!'' Lucas yelled.


    ''Hold it! Don''t get out of bed. I''m on my way!'' Leonardo''s voice came on strong and insistent.


    ''How are you feeling?'' It was Dante asking.


    ''Are you still in pain?" That was te.


    ''You haven''t eaten anything for awhile. I''ll bring some hot soup over right away.'' Byron chimed in.


    ''Hold on,'' Candaceughed. ''What''s all the special treatment for? Am I dying or something?''


    ''No Darling,'' Jared chirped. ''You''re not dying. You''re just pregnant.''


    ''I''m what???" Candace''s eyes bulged in shock.


    ''Pregnant! You''re having our babies.'' Lucas confirmed with augh.


    ''But¡­how do you know?''


    ''We were there. We saw you get pregnant.'' Jasonughed with glee.


    Candace grimaced. Talk about tall tales and grandiose make-believe. How could they possibly have seen something that could only be happening inside her body?


    She was about to respond with something waspish when the door opened and a stream of men came in, each bringing something with them.


    "What are you doing out of bed?" Leonardo scowled and went to the wing chair.


    She looked up into his thunderous face, wondering why he was so upset.


    "What''s wrong?" She looked at him and the rest of the brothers who were standing all around.


    "You''re not allowed out of bed until the doctor says it''s okay for you to be out of bed." Leonardo leaned forward and picked her up from the chair.


    "And I haven''t said you could be out of bed yet." He grumbled into her ear.


    As Leonardo deposited her back into bed, Jared covered her with the quilt and began fussing over her.


    He and Jason wiped her down with a warm wet cloth and brushed her hair.


    GRRRROWWWLLLL.


    Her stomach groaned again. It made such a loud sound that her face reddened.


    "Sorry. I don''t know why but I''m super hungry."


    The men allughed.


    "The babies are crying for food." Byron came forward with a covered bowl while te pulled a small table over to her bedside.


    "I can¡ªI can feed myself, Byron. No need to spoon-feed me. I''m not an invalid" Candace grinned, taking the spoon from him.


    "You''ve been unconscious for days." Dante reached out to touch her head. "We''ve been so very worried."


    "Days?" Candace''s eyes widened as she chewed on the chicken soup. "Hmmm. This is good. Did I miss the wedding?"


    The men looked at each other and beganughing.


    "How can you possibly miss the wedding? It''s not as if it can happen without you, Woman." Byron chuckled.


    "Rx, you''ve only been sleeping for the better part of three days." te reassured her. "There are still a few days left before you have to marry us."


    "Oh my gosh! I lost three days???" Candace''s eyes grewrge. "But there''s still so much to do!!!"


    "Rx, Wife." Leonardo touched her head. "Everyone else has been chipping in and we''ve done most of the things that needed doing."


    "That''s right," Lucas grinned. "All you have to do is rest, rx, eat, and take care of those babies in your tummy."


    Candace inhaled sharply. "All those babies in my tummy? How many are we talking here? Two? Three?"


    "Seven." The men all chorused together.


    ==========


    The days rolled by like lightning over water. The sounds of thunder rolled over head with the rain and the wind and the sun and the surf.


    Candace slowly recovered from her initial shock of bing Avgo pregnant. The idea of having seven babies at the same time was at first, daunting, but with the men''s assurance that it would be fine, she limated to that reality.


    Although she was not showing yet, the eggs had imnted which caused her to lose a lot of energy and she found herself tired and sleepy part of the day.


    Jenna popped in asionally to alleviate her boredom with tales of grandeur. It seemed that elven men had a penchant for spotted cougars¡ªwho knew!!!


    Candace hadughed. "Honey, it''s not just elven men. Have you looked at yourself in the mirror? You''d y any man who came walking around."


    Jenna shook her head. "None of your husbands even looked at me twice. I''m telling you. It''s the elves. They like cats!"


    Her sisters Poppy, Lyra, Ariana, and Daisy also came by with sweets and flowers, bringing gossip and cheer.


    Apparently,cking the main female lead to focus on, Lorem Ipsum had done individual interviews with the other Imperial Princesses. There had been a rather substantial spread done for Poppy, Lyra, Ariana, and even Daisy got a good amount of air time.


    "It was like a floodgate opened up, Candace." Poppy harped on. "Suddenly, Erenveil began to be flooded with messages from kings and dukes around the gxy."


    Lyra smirked. "They were crawling out of the woodwork and prowling about. It was like this was the first time they''d even known there were princesses in Erenveil."


    Candace hadughed. "Have you all gotten your bridesmaids dresses?"


    "We did a fitting yesterday." Poppy smiled. "You have three bridesmaids." She indicated at herself, Lyra, and Ariana. "And you have a special flower girl!" She reached out and gave Daisy a pat on the head.


    Candace turned towards Daisy. "Do you like your dress?"


    The little girl''s eyes were shining. "I love it! Brother Jared putce flowers all over it."


    "I can''t wait to see it." Candace smiled.


    And of course, her husbands took turns staying by her side, just in case she needed anything, or simply just to work next to her.


    There was always a floating desk nearby that Dante or te or Leonardo would use to work at while they kept an eye on her.


    And all those fancy rehearsals for a fancy scripted wedding¡ªall those went by the wayside.


    "We''re not putting on a show for you people to watch for fun." Byron put his foot down. "Go take visuals of the twenty-five wedding cakes!"


    "But all the major visuals productions are here!"


    "Tough. My wife is not feeling well and we''re only going to do the basics. If you want to do some major visuals, go run visuals on the progress of CandyLand Marakaran." Dante brushed his hands at the attendants, throwing them out on their ears.


    The night before the wedding, Candace could barely contain her excitement.


    She was supposed to have been the one walking down the aisle towards her husbands who were to stand on the tform waiting for her, but Leonardo made the entire production change the script.


    "Haha!" Lucas hadughed. "We''re going to walk up the aisle?"


    Leonardo nodded. "She''s gotten much stronger, but I don''t want to take a chance that she will get dizzy and faint half-way, so we''re going to have her just stand up there on the tform and wait for us."


    "Since we are the strong ones, we will walk to her. I think that''s a splendid idea!" te raised a fist and Jason bumped fists with him in agreement.


    Whoever heard of the grooms walking up the aisle to meet with the bride who was standing at the altar waiting?


    But the men were adamant and all Candace could do was smile and nod in agreement.. It was their wedding and they could do what they wished.

 Chapter 310 - The Eve Of The Wedding

    On the morning of the wedding, everyone woke up early, including Candace, who had been sleeping so much that she was already up before the dawn.


    The attendants bathed and washed her hair, and then sat her on the dresser chair wearing nothing but a robe as she waited for her wedding dress to be delivered.


    "Ready for us, Love?" Jason and Jared popped in with a huge white box.


    Candace turned to them with a bright smile. "I can''t believe you''re both here personally! I thought you would just send the dress over and a couple of attendants would be dressing me."


    Jared grinned and dropped a kiss onto her upturned face. "Why would we allow anyone else to dress our wife on our wedding day?"


    Jason came up behind him and also demanded a kiss, which Candace gave with joy.


    He snapped his fingers and a group of attendants began pulling into the bedroom, trunk after trunk of things to be used on her.


    As Jason began to work on her hair with expert hands, Jared worked on her makeup, insisting that they could not trust the attendants with such an important detail and they needed to make sure it was done correctly.


    Then they helped her with the underthings and her petticoat.


    Last but not least, they dressed her in the wedding gown that they made for her. It was deceptively simple, a white A-line dress that floated with every breath of wind.


    The fabric was made of a type of cloth that was magicked so that it shimmered in the light like millions of butterfly gossamer wings pieced together.


    Attached to her shoulders were magical petals of fragile white flowers that bloomed behind her. It was created in a simr fashion as the dragonfly wings that they had made for her previous ball gown¡ªreal looking, butpletely illusory.


    The strapless bodice was covered withce and seed pearls, held up by nothing but sheer magic. Candace was ecstatic. There was no need for glue or constant tugging to keep it up.


    They had thought of everything, including the shoes which were t ballet type shoes made of somefortable stretchy material in a white color.


    It was certainly not Cindere ss slippers, but it did have the JasonJared signature symbol on it, so it was legitimately high-fashion¡ªat least that was how Jason was selling it to Candace when he saw her face fell at the sight of the uninspired looking shoes.


    "Darling, certainly, it''s not the kind of wedding shoes you were hoping to be able to wear, but keep this in mind." He made a firm gesture. "Your gown is long and will cover your shoes up. Nobody will see it anyway."


    "But I will only be standing in one spot, so I won''t be walking much." She protested.


    "But Wife," Jared smiled. "You''re pregnant. You are not allowed to wear anything but tfortable shoes like these until after you give birth."


    "That''s right." Jason''s face was firm. "We cannot chance a trip-and-fall ident which could hurt you and the babies."


    When they put it that way, she epted the shoes with a smile. It wasn''t too much of a concession in the end.


    "Anyway Darling, don''t worry about what''s on your feet." Jared''s eyes gleamed. "Concentrate on what''s on your head!"


    The twins lifted from a small gold chest, the royal Empress crown that Empress Anastasia had sent to the bridal chamber. It was a heavy ornate thing with seven radiating points embedded with seven priceless gemstones.


    "Take a look." Jason was pointing at the stones on the crown. "There''s a blue sapphire, a red ruby, a golden topaz, a green emerald, a purple amethyst, and a pink sapphire."


    "Wow, that pink stone looks like my Avgo gem!" She gasped with delight.


    "It''s the same quality and almost the same size as the replica Avgo gemstone I made for you, but this one is far older."


    Jason looked at it with discerning eye. "It''s been on this crown for at least a couple thousand years."


    Jared smiled. "As far as style is concerned, it''s not something that we would design for you, but it''s a ceremonial piece that had been in use for thousands of years by so many Empresses of Erenveil."


    "It''s your right to wear it." They both announced with finality.


    "Okay. Let''s try it on you. See how it fits." Jared dered, carefully cing it on her head.


    "This one doesn''t look like the normal one that Empress Anastasia wears." Candace murmured, looking at herself in the mirror.


    Jasonughed. "The one that Mother Anastasia wears is a light-weight one that we designed for her. This is ceremonial and never used much except for times like these."


    "That''s right. This is the real deal, Darling." Jared pursed his lips as he looked at the crown on Candace''s head. "It has only ever been used to crown an Empress. Thest time it was used was when rissa became Empress."


    "Okay. Take it off her." Jason pped his hands at the attendants.


    "But why? It''s so pretty!" Candace protested.


    "It''s really heavy and you don''t need to wear it right now. We''ll put it on you when you''re ready to walk onstage." Jared reasoned as he ced the nes and bracelets on her.


    "But¡ª"


    "No arguments." Jason gave her an evil eye. "I don''t want you to get a headache before the wedding starts."


    By the time they were done dressing and jeweling her, Candace had turned into a royal Empress bride, minus the heavy empress crown.


    Unfortunately, the twin grooms were still in their working bodysuits.


    The rest of the men had trooped in, wearing their grooms robes of a deep ck that was actually a very dark blue, with their dark capes trimmed in white fur with ck ermine tips.


    Their hair were left untied and flowing down their backs in regal style and they wore huge medallions made of heavy gold on their chests with various colored center stones that represented the same stones on the Empress crown.


    They all looked like the heart throb Emperor Grooms that they were¡ªexcept for the twins who still wore their working bodysuits.


    "Oh my word, Wife. You look good enough to eat!" Byron turned his hungry eyes at her.


    "Hush. Drink your sangria blood wine so you don''t drain my wife dry, you goblin." Lucas snarled with a grin as Candaceughed at their lighthearted banter.


    "How are you feeling? Any difort?" Leonardo came towards her and began touching her body, checking for anomalies.


    "I''m feeling good!" Candace smiled. "I''m just a little hungry all the time."


    "The babies are demanding, aren''t they?" te smiled.


    Candace nodded. "I''m sure it''s just because I''m still getting used to being pregnant. It will probably get betterter on."


    Dante shook his head. "It probably won''t get much better. After the wedding, you''re going to be mostly on some modified form of bedrest."


    "Bedrest?" She looked up at him.


    Dante nodded. "That many babies are going to take a huge toll on your body, but don''t worry. We''ve got a system in ce so you will always be near us."


    "We''ve already started making maternity gowns for you." Jared smiled. "You will love the designs. They are very cute."


    "You twins are not ready yet." Lucas stared at them, stating the obvious.


    "We were taking care of the Empress Bride." Jason gave a dry response as he dabbed a touch of lip gloss onto Candace''s lips with his little pinky while Jared sprayed a touch of perfume onto her d¨¦colletage.


    "And now she''s done. Give us ten minutes to change.." He announced as he and Jared disappeared into the bathroom to change into their grooms wear.

 Chapter 311 - Lorem Ipsums Grandstand

    "Ladies and Gentlemen! My name is Lorem Ipsum! Wee to the biggest event of the century! We are delighted to bring to you, the very best of Marakaran and all the Behind-the-scenes activities surrounding this momentous asion!"


    The very familiar sound of Lorem Ipsum reverberated all through the courtyards and the pce halls as the various massive virtual screens popped up everywhere.


    Suddenly, visuals of the long-legged white faun dressed in a perfectly tailored ck suit and bow tie began showing up in every virtual monitor across the gxy.


    His cloven hoof toes peeked out from under his pants, unshod, and his tail whipped back and forth with excitement.


    Lorem Ipsum''s horns were impressive, jutting back behind his skull in double arcs that were genteel and wicked at the same time. His silvery white goatee was once again curled and gelled into a perfect question mark, looking even better than before the plucking.


    He reached out both hands and gave his customary dazzling show of blue and pink electric sparks which shot from his fingertips.


    AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!


    Wild screams of delight came from the canned noise. It had to be canned since the gardens of Marakaran were filled, but mostly with dignitaries, kings, and important people, and none of them were screaming.


    He quickly began to run through all the events leading up to the wedding.


    There was regal music ying in the background as the visuals showed the twins hard at work making what looked to be wedding apparel.


    There was Poppy running around directing attendants and handing off boxes and boxes of wedding invitations. There were even visuals of te, taste-testing beer and wine.


    Obviously, Byron''s directive to go take visuals of the cakes had been followed because suddenly, the cakes were on disy.


    "From the numerous types and styles of cakes that the pastry chefs have been concocting to the numerous floral arrangements the decorators have been creating, we''ve been showing you the best of the best."


    More visuals sshed onto the virtual screens showing heart-shaped towers of cakes in pink and red, flower-shaped cakes in yellow and orange, blue and violet cakes arranged on tforms that included staircases and morning glory flowers.


    There were cakes that looked like a small ice castle and cakes that looked like sculptures of dolphins and dancers and even a bust of the Emperor.


    There were enough amazing looking cakes that the entire show could have been focused on them and the viewers would have been thoroughly satisfied.


    The flowers that Leonardo ordered were also on disy. Thousands and thousands of flowers were being arranged into tall sophisticated designs by dozens of floral designers. Huge sculptures of ribbons andce were also shown erected everywhere.


    The decorations and cakes melded into images of the various bands and solo acts that were being called in. They had been ying since early that morning and the shows were broadcast all over the gxy.


    It was a crazy hodgepodge mixture of elite ssical music andtest popr music styles, and interspersed between the shows were images of Lucas making arrangements with the directors and the band leads.


    "The event is just about ready to begin, Ladies and Gentlemen." Lorem Ipsum''s goat face came back onscreen.


    "The guest list is a highly kept secret, but I can assure you that only the top levels of society are allowed through the gates of Marakaran, and at this very moment, there is no way to even fly through Marakaran space."


    "But we''re going to let you take a peek into the ceremony, Ladies and Gentlemen. These are views you would never get a chance to see any other way, since this ce has beenpletely off-limits to everyone except those who are allowed ess."


    He led the viewers through the stately gardens of Marakaran pce and paused in front of the ss tform that held, at the center, a white gazebo with open sides. It was decorated with fresh flowers and white fabric draped from top to bottom.


    The visuals moved forward, where a small podium was erected.


    Within the podium was a small, nondescript thin man who was standing there, whistling a strange tune.


    "Ahh. Pardon me, Sir. Might I enquire your name and title?" Lorem Ipsum asked.


    The man smiled. "My name is Ray Torra. I''m the Custodian of The Tower on Earth"


    "Ah. Custodian Ray Torra." Lorem Ipsum did not sound too impressed. "What is your role at today''s ceremony?"


    "Oh not much. I just hang out to make sure everything c''est si bon."


    Lorem Ipsum gave a nervousugh. "Ahaha. Well, thank you for that enlightened response."


    He gave a gesture and they moved towards the group of wedding party who were clustered to one side. This boring old man wasn''t going to make good visuals.


    "Ahh. I see the bridesmaids!" His eyes lit up. They were most definitely more exciting to broadcast than the old custodian at the podium.


    "What lovelydies!" He approached the bridesmaids. They were all dressed in pink to reflect the predominant color of the wedding.


    Lorem Ipsum turned to the cameras. "I am delighted to introduce to all of you, some of the most beautifuldies of the wedding procession. This is Princess Poppy, Princess Lyra, Princess Ariana, and Princess Daisy!"


    The cameras panned over the princesses who dutifully gave a smile. The princesses had been told this would be part of the ceremony, so they stood there and endured Lorem Ipsum''s chatter until he finally left to cover the visuals for the three groomsmen.


    The groomsmen, being Kings, were far morefortable with visuals being taken of them at all angles. They stood there and spoke with eloquence, all the questions that Lorem Ipsum shot at them.


    "And there you have it, Ladies and Gentlemen. Three major Kings who are, might I add, still single and avable for any interested females out there who might like to try their hand atnding a king for a husband."


    The three kings nced at each other with barely suppressed disgust.


    Who said they were single? Who said they were avable? Who said they wanted to be swamped with squealing females out tond them as wealthy husbands?


    They were about to correct those terrible misconceptions when the sounds of the wedding music began to y all over the speakers. The three kings took off. This was their cue.


    Lorem Ipsum turned back to the visuals gathering pods.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen, we''re getting very close to the moment when the wedding party will be gathering." He waved his hands with excitement.


    "Let us get to the front entrance where everyone will being through the floral entrance. We cannot miss that sight."


    The visuals pods aimed their lenses at the floral entrance.

 Chapter 312 - And It Begins

    First to walk through was the boring old man that Lorem Ipsum had discounted heavily at the beginning of the day.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen, presiding over the wedding ceremony is Ray Torra, Ancient Elder of the Erenveil royal family and the Custodian of The Tower on Earth." Lorem Ipsum read from his cue card.


    His professional visage never faltered, but his insides quailed. This was the Ancient Elder of the royal family. He was no mere custodian!


    Lorem Ipsum kicked himself for not having the foresight to focus more visuals time on this very important figure, but he did not have time to reflect on much because the next two people waiting to enter through the floral gate were the Emperor and Empress.


    As they two walked through the entrance, the music took on a more pompous feel. This was, after all, the currently reigning monarchs of the Erenveil Empire.


    They walked down the small path, nodding vague greetings to either side and then took their ce onstage.


    "Aaaaaaand" Lorem Ipsum''s eyes lit up. "We''ve finally made it to the moment we''ve all been waiting for! The Empress bride will be showing up next, Ladies and Gentlemen!"


    The visuals all moved towards the highly decorated floral entranceway where the Empress Bride was supposed to show up.


    As the music reached its crescendo, a white transport pod swooped down andnded in front of the floral entranceway. The three bridesmaids in fluttering pink gowns and the flower girl with a crown of roses on her blonde head immediately converged towards the pod, waiting for the bride to appear.


    The pod opened and Poppy reached in steadying Candace as she helped her out of the royal pod. To her other side, Lyra took hold of her other arm and they both levitated her out of the pod and set her on her feet.


    As the visuals caught the first visuals of Candace and the bridesmaids, more canned cheering and apuse came through. This was actually the first time they had been able to see Candace Farrah again since the veryst Avgo Event, and the audience was enthralled.


    Ariana followed immediately behind them, holding onto Candace''s short train to keep it from snagging on anything while Daisy walked ahead of them, throwing flower petals on the ground in front of the bridal procession.


    They led her slowly towards the ss tform that had been strategically ced close to the entrance area.


    Once Candace reached the tform, she could feel Poppy and Lyra using their magic to lift her up onto the tform. They did it so effortlessly that it seemed as if she was the one elevating herself.


    Of course, Candace had no magic of her own that wasn''t directly rted to the Avgo. It was now this Avgo magic that was at work inside her womb, causing Candace to be so weak and infirmed she could barely walk.


    Once they ced her on the tform, the bridesmaids continued to stand next to her as they waited for the grooms to appear.


    The music began to swell on the other side of the courtyard, where the very long, elegantly decorated walkway led to the ss tform.


    This was supposed to have been the walkway that Candace was to walk to the sound of stately music, with her beautiful shoes and long regal wedding train trailing behind her. All that had beenpletely eliminated, including the shoes and the long train.


    Nothing was allowed around Candace that could be considered a possible trip hazard. Even the long walk up the ss tform had been twisted into something of a parody. Instead of the bride getting the glory of the long walk up the aisle, it would be the seven grooms and their three groomsmen.


    First to walk through were the three kings who were the groomsmen.


    It was a strange arrangement because the bridesmaids were supposed to be walking alongside the groomsmen. At thest minute however, Poppy and Lyra insisted on walking beside Candace to lessen the chance of her getting dizzy or fainting.


    It was a legitimate concern. Candace could not stand or walk too long before bing light-headed.


    The extremely strong, highly athletic woman who could dance for hours and fight off armed warriors had been turned almost into an invalid. She was barely able to keep upright with seven avgo babies imnted inside her womb, sucking up all her strength.


    The groomsmen walked down the path first, followed by Dante, Byron, Lucas, Leonardo, Jason, Jared, and te rounding out thest of the men.


    For some reason, watching the men felt a bit anticlimactic. It was somewhat of a let down after all the hype and build-up.


    It wasn''t because the men were not handsome heart-throbs. They were.


    It was because, aside from Lucas, none of them knew how to do a cat walk, and this was exactly what it was supposed to have been¡­a cat walk for the men.


    They weren''t even trying to do a practiced stately dignified walk. They just basically strolled down the path as if they were getting in line at a seafood buffet table.


    The music bravely continued until they reached the ss tform where they levitating themselves up and walk around the tform until they were lined up behind the Empress Bride and her bridesmaids.


    All the visuals gathered around, capturing the vision that was before them of the bridal ensemble.


    Ten men dressed in ck stood behind five women. Three of the women were dressed in pink, with a smaller flower girl dressed in a much paler pink dress decorated with flowers.


    The bride was at the center of the group, in her magically enhanced white dress with her flower wings. It was a stunning disy that was worthy of the asion.


    The music faded to a stop.


    From one side, the thin modest figure of the Ancient Elder, Ray Torra of the Erenveil royal family made his slow shuffling way to the front of the podium.


    He was a small man, but his voice boomed with authority.


    "To all of you who are here as witnesses to his asion, I thank you foring to my progenies'' wedding. They are the youngest in a very long lineage of Erenveil emperors going back thousands of years."


    He turned back to the wedding ensemble and smiled.


    "Each of them have been very fortunate to have met their Empress at a time when they were able to make the connection work. Believe me, this has been a long time in the making."


    He turned back to the audience. "The Avgo worked for all of them in very mysterious and magical ways. Even I waspletely amazed at how it all happened."


    "Needless to say, when they approached me and asked me if I would do the honor of marrying them, I epted with joy. It is not just my sacred duty as the Ancient Elder of the Erenveil royal family, it is also my greatest pleasure."


    He turned back to Candace.


    "Child.. Come to me."

 Chapter 313 - [Bonus ] Demigods

    Candace stepped forward until she was standing next to Ray Torra.


    He took hold of her hand, and suddenly, Candace felt a huge infusion of power, giving her the support she needed to continue to stand upon that stage, even as her strength was gging.


    "Breathe deeply and stay calm," Ray Torra whispered into her ear. "I''ll go as quickly as I can so you can get off the stage and get some rest."


    Candace took a deep breath and nodded. The old man looked unassuming and frail, but in reality, he was amazingly strong. No wonder all her husbands were so in awe of him.


    "Dante. You first." He called out to the blue-haired Crown Prince who was standing at the front of the line. "Come up here."


    Dante quickly moved into ce and Ray Tora took hold of his hand. He joined Candace''s hand with Dante.


    "Are you both in agreement to be married?"


    Dante and Candace looked at each other.


    "Yes." They both spoke with conviction.


    Ray Torra nodded. "Very good. Candace and Dante Farrah, you are now husband and wife."


    He made a gesture to Dante to vacate the spot.


    "Quickly." Ray Torra whispered. "Your wife is tiring fast."


    Dante grinned and moved to one side, even as Byron came up immediately behind him.


    Again, Ray Torra joined Candace''s hand with Byron.


    "Now then, are you both in agreement to be married?"


    "Yes." They both said with grins, remembering the stone statue moment they shared.


    "Candace and Byron Farrah, you are now husband and wife." He waved a hand. "Move along. It''s Lucas'' turn."


    Lucas moved forward and Ray Torra joined Candace''s hand with his.


    "Are you both in agreement to be married?"


    "Yes." There was no hesitation as they smiled at each other, remembering their time together.


    The weather on Marakaran was so very simr to the tropical sea shore of Lucas'' Ind that it almost felt as if they were still in their own little paradise.


    "Candace and Lucas Farrah, you are now husband and wife."


    He shooed Lucas away and pulled Leonardo towards Candace.


    Ray Torra joined Candace''s hand with Leonardo.


    "And you. Are you both in agreement to be married?"


    "Yes." They spoke clearly and with much love. Leonardo was a simple man who was very clear about what he wanted and who he loved. There was no doubt in his mind that she was his wife.


    Ray Torra cleared his throat. "Candace and Leonardo Farrah, you are now husband and wife."


    Leonardo had barely vacated his spot when Jason and Jared came up together.


    "Did I say you both could be up here at the same time?"


    "But we''re twins." Their eyes danced with mischief. "We want to marry her at the same time."


    Jason grabbed her left hand and Jared grabbed her right hand.


    Ray Torra sighed. Whatever. It was their wedding, not his.


    "Are you three in agreement to be married?"


    "Yes." All three said simultaneously and thenughed as the crowdughed along with them.


    This was real genuineughtering from the crowd and not the Lorem canned stuff. They were truly funny guys.


    Ray Torra heaved an exasperated sigh. "Candace, Jason, and Jared Farrah, you are now husbands and wife."


    Last to approach the front was te. He stood there, trying hard not to shed a tear.


    As the youngest, this wasn''t even something that he could have dared dream would happen, but it was actually happening to him.


    "It''s okay to cry tears of happiness, Son." Ray Torra said softly and with gentleness as he joined their hands.


    te blinked as a single tear fell from his eyes.


    "Are you both in agreement to be married?"


    te and Candace looked at each other.


    From the first moment te had caught her in midair above the buildings of LA, he had known she was a special woman.


    This special woman was now going to be his wife, and Ray Torra was asking him if he agreed? Was he stupid? Why would he disagree???


    "Yes." Candace said while at the same time, te spoke emphatically. "Absolutely!"


    Ray Torra nodded. "Very good. Candace and te Farrah, you are now husband and wife."


    He turned to all the brothers. "Come back around here and join hands with your wife while I speak the final words."


    Dante, Byron, Lucas, Leonardo, Jason, and Jared all gathered around and reached out to touch her hand.


    Since there was only one of her and seven of them, she reached out with both her hands and took hold of all their hands, or whatever fingers of hers they could grab onto.


    Ray Tora raised his arms up.


    "And so, by the powers that have been entrusted to me, without further ado, Candace, Dante, Byron, Lucas, Leonardo, Jason, Jared, and te Farrah, I pronounce you all husbands and wife."


    AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!! The crowd went wild.


    Although it was an expected announcement, it was still something that was highly anticipated, and they were all ecstatic that they had been able to witness such a momentous event.


    "And now for the crowning moment." Ray Torra gave a signal.


    On cue, the eight crown bearers came up to the tform with their red pillows bearing the seven Emperor crowns and the one Empress crown.


    Each brother approached and knelt on a pillow before Ray Torra so he could ce the crowns on their heads.


    It wasn''t so much that kneeling showed a sign of respect. The truth was, they were all much taller than normal men and Ray Torra was a rather short man, made even shorter by advanced age.


    By the time he reached Candace, Ray Torra shook his head.


    "Don''t kneel. I don''t want you falling over with dizziness. I can reach you just fine, child."


    He reached out and with care, ced Candace''s Empress crown on her head.


    "I''m trusting you to be a good wife to my boys and a good mother to your babies. Treat each of them with love and kindness and they will love and care for you and your children for always."


    "I will." She smiled.


    Amidst the cheering of the crowd, Ray Torra raised his hand onest time.


    "Now that this marriage has been formally finalized, Candace, Dante, Byron, Lucas, Leonardo, Jason, Jared, te. I also pronounce you all the new reigning Co-Emperors and Empress of Erenveil!"


    Amidst the loud cheering from the crowd, Dante picked Candace up and carried her across the ss tform with his brothers following closely behind.


    They all got into the white transport pod that Candace had exited earlier.


    In full view of the entire wedding gathering, the pod rose up into the bright blue Marakaran sky and disappeared from view.


    Where they went, nobody knew except for their immediate family and a few close friends. For just a few short days, they would halt the gxy''s demands on them and simply be with each other.


    Even demigods needed a vacation once in awhile.


    [END OF BOOK TWO]


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