Chapter 28 – Some Like It In Between

~ Nicolette ~“Mr. Andretti?” I called out, wondering where the man was just as I admitted myself in.Not surprising at all, his tent was bigger than mine. Where I stood, I believed it was the receiving space. I could basically see a shoe rack in the corner and a coat hanger on the other side. As opposed to a five-in-one space like mine, his had sections to define every part of the tent, so I couldn’t exactly see where he was as of the moment.I waited for him to answer, giving him a full minute, before calling out again when he didn’t.“Ira?”This time I used his first name just as he requested.But still, there was no reply, and that definitely made me feel uneasy.If he was expecting me, he should have already shown himself, not play hide-and-seek.A great part of me didn’t want to stay longer, so with a huff, I retreated, turning back toward the opening, but before I could sweep the flap to the side, his voice filled the room.“Nicolette.”I moved my head to the sound of the voice

Chapter 29 – Some Like To Be Alone

~ Nicolette ~“Well, to start off, you are supposed to be dead,” the king announced, resting his eyes on me with no hint of humor.I didn’t think he was joking, though.Men like him don’t joke around. Men like him and a king, in fact, only speak words with weight.I shifted in my seat, suddenly nervous. My existence just got questioned. I should react violently to it, but I stayed calm and allowed him to explain some more. Maybe. Just maybe, I might find a reason to connect this to Lucien’s drunken complain of me two nights ago about me being dead and all.“Nine years have passed since you died. The circumstances of your death were unfortunate and, shall we say, unexpected,” the king continued.There was definitely a hint of bitterness there and a mixture of disappointment. I could hear it, see it clung to him despite the lack of expression on his face.“Our people lamented for you for days. I saw your body turn to ashes after the last rites were uttered. We believed you dead, but her

Chapter 30 – Some Like To Bitch

~ Lucien ~I never let my guard down. Never.But unfortunately, I did not expect Ira to pull off a stunt like earlier. It was unfortunate I didn’t see the mirror behind them. Guess I was too attentive to Nicolette’s wellbeing. But hell, Ira actually had a twin mirror, like the one safely secured in my second penthouse suite.It damn had the same swirling Zaxonian silver in it, had the same magical properties I recognized as from an Arryahn’s. It even had the same carved frame, which should have sent warning signals in my brain.Fuck.When Nicolette and Ira disappeared in a flash of light, I knew immediately to where. To the Kingdom of Foressa. Ira’s trademark royal suit was a dead giveaway.Without hesitation, I raced to follow them, hoping I’d be dropped in the same location.I wasn’t.Where I landed, it was at the highest cliff of a mountain, overlooking the sea of the Eurasian border, the second kingdom I didn’t expect to be visiting soon.Damn the mirror, I thought.There must be

Chapter 31 – Some Like To Shoot

~ Nicolette ~To sulk in my room would probably be unpractical and unproductive. Yes, I was suddenly thrust into this world and bombarded with a lot of new truths, making my head split in confusion, but it wasn’t me to just lie around and do nothing.The optimistic part of me said I might as well take advantage of the situation. It wasn’t always I got to be in a new environment with new people and new sights to see. And the best part of this was I had a personal assistant who spoke good—if not fluent—English.Rather a big leap from my bad experience the first and second time I was here.Shera was a really helpful maid. She made me feel exactly like a princess, although I didn’t really want to. She readied a bath for me last night, and I mean a swimming pool-sized bath of Roman style; sent plates and plates of delicious Foressan grub, which I hardly touched, by the way; made my enormous bed and smoothed out the creases; and lastly, chose a sleeping attire for me, a gauzy peach-colored

Chapter 32 – Some Like The Dark

~ Nicolette ~And a long night it was indeed.But I didn’t get bored at all. The Foressan people made me feel welcomed and loved. And I, just like that, felt a strong bond with them.They were true people. No pretense. No bullshit. I found myself a member of their family more than with the king and the prince.Ira was nowhere in sight. Since the last time I saw him this morning, he never made his presence known again. Or probably that was what he wanted me to believe. For all I knew, he was just hiding in the shadows, observing me from afar.In the late evening, we rode back to the castle.One family, the family of Sion, insisted we stay in their house. I was about to say yes, but guess what?My brother, appearing out of the darkness riding his own animal, answered for me.Of course, he declined the invitation.Sion’s mother, who I had come to know as Mother Shay, prostrated in front of us and never met the prince’s eyes. She was that submissive under a stiff royal presence. With a hea

Chapter 33 – Some Like To Snuggle

~ Nicolette ~By my insistence, we headed out to the capital town again. This time, Sion got his own animal—same as Shera’s. It would seem that my plan of avoiding the king, the prince, and Ira was going well, but when we reached the border of the town, Ira’s figure came into view.He wore a smile for me, all dressed up in this military uniform I had come to know as worn by a higher rank. His long brown hair was tied into a ponytail, high to his head. He had a sword at his side, secured by his belt and scabbard.As always, caution and an uneasy feeling alighted inside me when he came near.“I knew you’d come back here today,” he said, still riding the animal. With his reins, he positioned the beast to the side, aligned with mine, and with that, we were both facing the town’s entrance gate.I made a little noise in my throat and answered him, “The people here are better company than the castle.”He nodded. “True. You said that yourself in the past.”An amused laugh escaped my lungs in