"It's her birthday."

  He thought to himself as he shadow-jumped through the cold, quiet halls of the palace. It had been over two years since he had seen his wife and children. Two years since he had seen the sweet girl that claimed him. He ducked back as he heard a group of loud voices rushing down the other end of the hall he was on. He pressed deeper into the shadows to wait. Peter couldn't afford to make mistakes now. He was tense. He missed them all.

  As he waited, he twisted his wedding ring around his finger with his thumb while the other hand fiddled with the locket he had worn for so long with his Lady's image. It was harder to keep the women he loved out of his mind. His thoughts couldn't help but go back to that spring day when he first finally met Miza. He was 35 that year. He had finally made it from street patrol and, after three months of general watch, had gotten into a royal faction. He was assigned as part of the general protection detail of the youngest princess. Rarely in her presence, but always there to protect and serve.

  He was on crowd patrol during the spring festival, where the young princess was to dance. He had watched the dance, enjoying its story. The dances she performed were old and new. It was one of the many things the devout young Princess had brought back.

  The festival dances told stories of the Lestania of the past. He learned that the lady had recruited people to dance with her. This was a story of awakening when the Goddess energy would replenish and she could travel the veils to visit her human companions across the human realm.

  In the middle of the dance, the drums stopped abruptly. Miza had unexpectedly stopped in the middle of her dance. Her arms fell to her sides as she stared ahead. There was a commotion when she didn't move as her fellow dancers tried to attract her attention, then she collapsed.

  He felt an urgent need to run to her side but saw her personal guard and her fiance there before he could move. He focused on maintaining the crowd as curious onlookers and concerned citizens tried to see what was happening to the Lady. The men both held her limbs while she thrashed and screamed in pain.

  The screaming stopped, and there was silence. He could remember hearing Valon's pained cry that she wasn't breathing. He couldn't bear not knowing what was happening through the silence. He turned his head as he heard gasp to watch as much as he could.

  The girl was glowing. Very literally, she was luminous. Her brown skin was glowing like a radiant sunset. He did not fail to notice that the king and his son had sat stoically upon their daises during all of this, and he felt hate for both of them.

  A member of the lower clergy stepped through the crowd, rushing towards her still body. The person approached the men, and that was when he could see the tear-stricken, terrified faces of both men. He watched as the member of the clergy hurriedly spoke to the men. What they said must have soothed the men because Valon let go of the girl and lay her back on the ground, shifting out of the way.

  Peter couldn't hear the words the clergyperson said, but he watched as they placed a palm on the princess's heart and another on her forehead as they began to speak. He saw what appeared to be large ancient Lestanian script appear on her skin. She convulsed again as the light faded. Right as the writing disappeared from her skin, she sat up with a sharp yell, looking around frantically, and at that moment, he felt a weight settle into him. A comfortable weight like a warm, heavy blanket on a cold night.

  The clergyperson bowed, stepping aside to let Valon and Donte take her into their arms as they soothed their terrified minds. He heard Valon call for an escort, and he quickly stepped forward before the chance for him to be given orders to do so could even occur. Peter didn't know what spurred him at the moment to do that as he was a loyal soldier who followed his orders, but as he approached her, she looked up and pointed at him and then the young clergy member silently. Donte instructed them to follow and he did, and it was the moment his life changed. The moment he, Laura's, and his children's life had changed. She had chosen him. He was her chevalier. Her mate. Her protector.

  Aside from the early struggles Laura had with the idea of losing her spouse and later settling on the concept of sharing her spouse with another, those four months were lovely. He had still not entirely adapted to the fact that his mate was their youngest princess, who was just rising. She was only three years older than his oldest child, after all. But she was their Goddess Incarnate, and he was one of hers. There was no denying that.

  It had been two lonely years of hiding and gathering information where he could so that the Nest leader, Valon, could plan their best defense. Two years of being blocked from the awareness so that Miza wouldn't try to get to him before he could get what he needed for them. Two years was so long.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  The voices faded.

  His last message from Valon was two months ago. Mark Anthony had found a way to contact the Nest in the human realm and threatened Miza. It was time to attack at their earliest convenience. He was told to gather the last of the data he could. Valon told him he had to get out because Mark Anthony was aware they had a spy in Lestania.

  He stepped forward cautiously to move to the next shadow, his memories of Miza, Laura, and his children pushing him forward. His heart ached for them all—to witness the bond his women had built, to watch Miza play with the kids, to nest with his consortium.

  It wouldn't be long before they recognized his ability and realized which one of her chevaliers was here. Mark-Anthony's supporters had become more organized and had gained more knowledge about their Nest. If he was caught now that would be dangerous for Miza. As Lestania was passing through the human realm this week, it was time to go. If he made it out of the Verdant Palace Compound, he would be in the human realm tonight. Hopefully he would be with Miza and the others by the end of the week.

  Silence. Peter began to move again with thoughts of his family and the upcoming battle in mind. Fear, anxiety, and excitement ran through him.

  ~

  Mark-Anthony had always been an imposing figure. It wasn't just his physical form he honed for years. It was his mind. It was a twisted, dark place, and while no one would voice it in denial of the truth, he was a testament to how deeply venuemaos had dug itself into the royal family.

  From the vile things his faction was involved with in the human realm to the ways he interacted with his people in Lestania. Even as the young heir, people were terrified of him. There were whispers in the palace about the things he would do to people if he were in a mood.

  If he made you his plaything, his new obsession, it was not a blessing. Now, as he approached the room in the small cabin he had purchased in the human realm, a sadistic smile spread across his face. He felt the antiipation bubbling up in his chest at the satisfaction he would feel when he was done. .

  He opened the door to the back room. The group of people let out terrified whimpers and cries. Mark-Anthony relished in their fear. Looking around the room, he watched two of his brothers, his sister, and his father as they all huddled against the back wall. The broken remnants of the people he used to call family. His eyes focused on his favorite pet as he walked towards him, grabbing him up by his hair.

  "Hello, Father." He said, pulling the man up to him, tugging harshly as his father gritted his teeth. He looked over the man, savoring the look of him full of scars and yellow-brown splotches from deep bruising that had yet to heal. " I apologize for not visiting sooner. I know you missed our special dates, Father." He said nonchalantly as he dragged him into the room next to the one he kept his family locked in.

  Maximilian weakly fought against his son as he opened the door and shoved him in. This room was smaller. Mark-Anthony kept it immaculate. He chose this room because the natural lighting was just right for his "art," and the view of the mountains was exquisite, especially at sunset.

  Against the window that looked out towards the mountain view was a table full of implements that he had regularly used on Maximillian over the last two years. Never too much. Always just enough to make him pray for death, but that wouldn't come. At least not yet.

  "We had an incident. Peter Rochefort was spotted leaving the isle." He threw his father to the floor, kicking him hard before stepping back. He took off his jacket. Then, as he started rolling up his sleeves, he began to speak again.

  "My men unfortunately lost track of him, but I trust that they will catch up to him. Your little princess has been sloppy lately. There are whispers in the human underground." He laughed softly. Max watched him warily as he walked to the table. He picked up a leather strap and turned to face the fallen emperor.

  "She thinks that she can play games against me. Win against me. Take what is mine." He scoffed. "She is wrong, and she will learn."

  "I learned a little secret about you, Father, one that I have been hiding." As he adjusted the strap in his grasp. "You always knew who she was. You pushed her away to hide her because you knew she was the Goddess reborn." He sighed deeply.

  "I thought about it for a while. I don't think you wanted her to take the throne because you were afraid Kathryne's daughter would die like her predecessor. You made us think you hated her so that you could keep her from being viewed as special, but you gave your second to her."

  "You gave my mentor and your best friend to the girl who murdered your beloved mate. Not because you understood that Kathryne's child still needed to be cared for, but because you knew that he was the only other person you could trust to care for her. Did you tell him? Did you tell him your plan, or do you think her connection to the Goddess drew him into loyalty to her and to betray me."

  He smiled at his father, and the man pushed himself further into the wall, maintaining his silence as the strap came down on his body with a sickening crack that echoed off the walls.

  "It's okay, Father. I am not to be crossed. She will learn that, and so with Donte, but for now, the lesson is yours to bear." He grunted from the exertion as he struck him again and again.

  Mark Anthony's laughter filled the room, drowning out the soft cries of pain from his father. The strap came down harder this time as he took in his father's fear and pain. Yes, the blessed Goddess Incarnate would pay for crossing him.

  kitty