members of the crowd nodded in support of his words, but several more, including Valen, only glared or shook their heads.
“Everyone here was happy to leave the planet in Alyssandra’s hands when Queen Annalecia was deteriorating and nearly at death’s door. However, now that Alyssandra has ascended, you wish to second-guess her at every turn.” Grayson made a sharp, chopping motion with his good arm. “Enough. Are there any questions about the Seer or the triangle itself? If not, there is no more business to be discussed today.”
He turned and walked off the dais, his anger and frustration burning with each step. A sea of voices followed him out into the hall until he slammed the door behind him.
“It’s a good thing I won’t ever have to rule—diplomacy is definitely not my strong suit.”
“Well, if I have to be abducted to another planet, this isn’t a bad place to be taken.” Katelyn took a drink of the strange tea and let the odd citrus-almond flavor flow over her tongue. She placed the cup on the table in front of her, leaned back in her chair, and closed her eyes as the distant thump of her previous headache slowly faded.
A light breeze played across the second-story balcony and brought the lush scents of gardenias and roses that spoke of a garden nearby. The sounds of running water, the soft chirrup of birds, and the gentle whoosh of the wind through the trees all lulled her, sending a tendril of peace deep inside her as though she’d suddenly come home.
The thought startled her.
She was certainly comfortable with her life in Phoenix, but she had never experienced this deep, intuitive knowing of a place like she did with this one, as though she was created specifically to exist here. All her internal alarms told her this place was as real as Earth, and not only that—she knew she’d been here before, as improbable as it sounded.
The thought irritated her. She had worked her ass off to carve out a life for herself in Phoenix. She co-owned her own business, she had friends—well, Rita, at least. She also had several steady customers and money in the bank, which offered her freedom to make her own choices. After all, that’s what true freedom was.
She looked around, bringing herself back to the present and her circumstances here, not that she had a clue in hell where “here” happened to be, other than a planet called Tador. She didn’t even know why she’d been brought here. Holly insisted Grayson had brought her here to save her from the “Cunts”—whoever happened to be unlucky enough to have that moniker.
All questions to Holly, the lady’s maid, had only gotten Katelyn strange answers. Katelyn had given up finding out more until she recovered from her “energy hangover,” as she had termed it. This morning she had gladly followed Holly through the winding halls of what the maid kept referring to as the “castle,” and out to this beautiful balcony for breakfast.
Katelyn’s only worries had been her shop and Rita. Her meticulously organized partner would freak when she saw the destruction of the shop. But, even worse, she would worry when she found Katelyn’s purse, but no sign of Katelyn.
Hopefully Rita wouldn’t panic. For someone who didn’t believe in magic, crystals, Seers or anything “woo-woo,” as Rita called it, the woman had helped Katelyn make her new-age shop a success. After all, what better place for a Seer to open?
Besides, Holly had insisted that Grayson would be able to get word to Rita that Katelyn was alive and well and…hmmm, maybe Katelyn was better off just sticking to “alive and well” for now. She didn’t think telling Rita she was on another planet hiding from killer Cunts would go over real well.
She opened her eyes and looked out at the panoramic view visible over the short balcony wall. Thanks to the food and drink Holly had provided, Katelyn felt almost human again. Which meant her questions had returned, along with her energy.
She sat in one of the two surprisingly comfortable wooden chairs that almost seemed to contour to her body. The chairs sat around a small round table covered with a bright blue tablecloth. More food and drink than Katelyn could ever eat was spread before her, including tea, several fruits she recognized (and several she didn’t), pastries, eggs, sausages, and some type of blue pudding that smelled like a vanilla milkshake. Everything was neatly arranged on what Katelyn’s untrained eye took to be fine china edged in gold.
She had sampled almost everything, rationalizing that someone recovering from any type of hangover needed something in their stomach. Besides, maybe the calories wouldn’t count on Tador, or wherever the hell she was.
A soft knock sounded against the frame of the open balcony door.
Katelyn glanced over to see a stunning woman with dark hair that flowed nearly to her ass. Thin braids were scattered throughout her hair, and small lavender beads peppered the braids. Skimpy cotton boy shorts clung to shapely hips, and a half top of the same material allowed the bottom curves of the woman’s full breasts to peek out from the underside of the top. Lavender eyes a few shades lighter than Grayson’s studied Katelyn with warm curiosity.
Hard, hot arousal hit Katelyn like a sucker punch to the stomach. Slick moisture rushed to dampen her slit, and her nipples hardened into tight points, surprising her.
She had never been attracted to a woman before, and she wasn’t sure how to feel about these foreign sensations. Thoughts of how those full lips would feel against hers spilled through her mind. Her heart galloped with a combination of shock and forbidden desire.
The woman’s bewitching energy buzzed against Katelyn’s, causing Katelyn’s lips to curve into a smile.
“Hi, Katelyn. I’m Queen Alyssandra.”
Queen? “I guess, because Holly called Grayson ‘Prince,’ that makes him your brother or something?”
The woman laughed. “No—actually, he’s from a different royal family that’s no relation.”
Katelyn stood, glad the action no longer caused the room to tilt. “It’s nice to meet you…uh…Queen.”
Alyssandra laughed and waved Katelyn back to her seat. “Please, call me Alyssa. I’ve only been on Tador for a few months. I’m not used to the full formalities of my office yet.” Alyssa eyed some sticky pastries on the table in front of Katelyn. “Do you mind if I share some of your breakfast?”
“Help yourself.” Katelyn watched as Alyssa gently bit her lower lip, the pink flesh pillowed around even white teeth. A sudden urge to soothe the skin with her tongue stabbed through Katelyn, and she bit back a gasp as her body reacted.
Oh, my Goddess! I’m losing my mind.
Katelyn wrestled her mind back to the conversation at hand. “If you’re the queen, I should be thanking you for all your hospitality.”
Alyssa plopped into the chair across from Katelyn and snatched a baked pastry with blue filling and powdered sugar scattered over the top. She broke off a piece and slipped it between her lips and then leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes. As she chewed, she moaned in almost orgasmic ecstasy.
A vivid flash of bringing this woman to orgasm strobed inside Katelyn’s mind. Her nipples hardened into tight, painful buds, and she winced against the intense sensation.
Not a vision—just her own overactive imagination.
Katelyn swallowed
