by Sadie Carter
“The Empress?” she asked.
“I do not know.”
Even if she hadn’t died from the battle, then she might follow the Emperor into death. Dex’s father was dead. That meant he was now the new Emperor of Zerconia. “I need to see Zoey.” How would she cope with all of this?
Darac nodded. “Dex has asked that you attend her. I have been called to the war room.”
“The war room?”
That tension in her stomach tightened.
“We have been at war with the Coizils for years. We have fought them, but usually only when they instigated a fight. This is different. They murdered our Emperor. Now we go on the offensive.”
Holy shit. Maybe wishing life was little less boring was going to come back to bite her.
***
Willa entered Zoey’s quarters, glancing around for the other woman. She saw her standing in front of the windows.
“Zoey?” Willa stepped forward. “Are you okay?” She winced after asking that question. Of course she wasn’t all right, why did she even ask that?
Zoey turned, eyes wide in her too-pale face. “No. No, I’m not.”
“I’m so sorry, that was a stupid thing to ask.”
Zoey turned back to look out the windows and Willa stepped up beside her. “I’m sorry about the Emperor.”
With a sniffle, Zoey nodded. “Me too. Dex is devastated. No one else would be able to tell, but I can. He may not have always agreed with his father, but he loved him.”
“Of course he did.” She really didn’t know what to say. Damn it, why wasn’t Mila here? She would be so much better than this. Willa prayed her friend would be okay.
“We don’t even know if Liula survived. She could well have died when he did.”
Willa slipped her hand into Zoey’s, noticing how cold it was despite the heat of the day. “Why don’t you come sit down, I’ll get you something to drink.”
“Can’t drink alcohol when I’m feeding the baby,” Zoey told her but let her lead her away to the sofa.
“Oh, Zoey, I’m so sorry.” Willa knelt in front of her. “What can I do?”
Zoey watched her for a long moment. This fragile woman with pale skin, bruises under her eyes and lank hair wasn’t her friend. She looked like she might break with the lightest touch. “I don’t know. I don’t know what to do. Dex is Emperor now.”
“Yes.”
“Mila and Koran are missing. We don’t know if they’re alive.”
“They are.” They had to be. She couldn’t let herself think any other way.
“And I’m the Empress. And a mother. And a mate to a man who has just lost his father. What do I do?”
Willa took a deep breath then let it out slowly. “You look after Elodie. And yourself. And you be here for Dex when he needs you.”
“What about Mila and Koran? And the old bat? I complain about her, but it doesn’t mean I want her to die.”
She squeezed Zoey’s hands between her own. “I know. You leave them up to me. I’m going to go with Darac. I’m going to find them.”
“You’ll take care of Mila, Koran and the old bat. I’ll look after Elodie, Dex and the rest of the Empire.”
“Yep. We can do this.”
Zoey nodded. “We can do this. Together.”
She just prayed they weren’t too late.
Thanks for reading Alien Morsels! I hope you enjoyed it and if you did, please consider leaving a review. Read on for an excerpt from Alien Mine, Thor and Lucy’s story.
Excerpt from Alien Mine
She was terrified. She’d lived through a war already, and it wasn’t pretty. In the end, there might be a winner, but no one really won. Certainly not the women and children.
Lucy knew she should just keep her head down. This wasn’t her war. She didn’t owe anyone anything.
And yet… these people had given her a home. They’d protected her. Opened up their lives without expecting anything in exchange. They’d saved her and the others when the Coizils had attacked.
How could she not help?
The question was, would they believe what she had to tell them? And when they found out, would they use her for their own gain?
She shouldn’t trust them.
And yet…
Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door.
“Coming!” A male voice called out. Suddenly the door opened, and there he stood. Shirtless, he was thick with muscle and so damn gorgeous her mouth dropped open a little in shock.
“Lucy, are you okay? Is there something wrong? I was getting ready to leave. I’m leaving on one of the search ships, looking for Koran, Mila, and the others. But if there is a problem—”
“I’ve come because of that.”
“Are you afraid? You do not have to be. You and the others will not be left unprotected.”
“I am not worried about me. I am worried about you. Thor, I’ve come because I can help. I can help you find them.”
Read more about Thor and Lucy’s story in Alien Mine, due out September 1st.
Grab it on pre-order soon!
