Chapter 4

• I lay there with my eyes closed, taking an inventory of how badly I’d drained myself this time. I hadn’t over done it in fifty years, maybe more. I didn’t feel ill or dizzy, so maybe not as bad as I thought. A faint beep registered, what the heck was that? Opening my eyes, I brushed my hair off my face, noting it was slightly grey still. Jolting, I sat up fast. I looked at the monitor beside me and then to the I.V. pole, then to the needle stuck in my arm. A hospital.
• OMG. I couldn’t be in a hospital.
• Taking a deep breath, I focused to try and make the beeping slow back down. I looked around. No windows. Crap. Okay, so I was in a hospital hooked up to an I.V. and heart monitor, all bad news for me. If the nurses came in to check on me and saw that my hair had changed color… I was in for the rest of my life, with tests and prodding. I wasn’t feeling that at all. I stared at the thin bracelet around my wrist and wondered what that monitored. I took it off slowly and watched the monitors. Nothing happened. I dropped it beside me on the bed.
• Shifting, I swung my legs over the side of the bed. I still had my clothes on, so that was a plus. Nothing was more awkward then trying to escape with your butt hanging out of a hospital gown. I stopped all movement when I spotted the table. On it sat my surujin, gloves and what I was pretty sure was a jam sandwich and glass of juice. My backpack was on the floor beside it.
• WTH??
• I stood up, making sure the monitor and I.V. didn’t disconnect and alert the staff. The door was open a few inches. I’d have to move fast once I pulled out this needle and took the pads off my chest. I glanced back at the table—and the sandwich. Shaking my head, I decided that nourishment would have to wait.
• Voices in the hall had me freeze where I stood, like a statue.
• “How’s she doing?” A man’s gruff voice asked.
• Shivers went down my spine. I didn’t know how I knew this, but I was positive it was the man I’d healed.
• “Everything seems normal.” A woman answered.
• “Alona, I watched her hair turn to white. That is not normal.” He scoffed.
• “Well, aside from that and her eyes darkening, everything checks out.” She sounded pleasant. “How are you doing?”
• He made an annoyed sound. “I’m fine. Wasn’t as bad as I’d thought.”
• “How’s Quinton’s savior doing?” A man asked.
• “She’s not my savior.” Quinton growled.
• “She’s still resting but seems to be fine.” The soft-spoken woman said.
• “And the family, how are they, duchess?”
• Duchess? My nurse was royalty? That was—odd.
• “They’re doing as well as can be expected. Liza has them at one of the safe houses until we can find out why Willis Hubert wanted them.”
• Someone snorted. “I think we know why he wanted them.”
• “Bastian said they have Alterealm DNA. It’s faint but there.” Another male answered.
• Alterealm? Was it possible? I hadn’t heard that name spoken in one hundred and twenty years. Not since my mother had passed away. So that left me wondering if they were the people my mother had warned me about. One had dark eyes. I held my breath trying to decide if I should bolt out the door and make a run for it. Logic predicted I wouldn’t get far with the number of voices outside the door.
• “Ah, and how long can we expect Bastian’s company, brother?” A jovial male asked.
• “He’s not budging until he speaks to our mystery guest. Says he needs to know how she came to be.”
• “What does that mean?” A woman asked.
• “We’re not entirely sure.”
• “Michael and Arius guarding Nathas?” She sounded amused.
• “Yes. Keeping Autumn and Paisley off him is quite the task I’m told.”
• “Never a dull moment, my newfound family.” Yet another male’s voice.
• Someone snorted. “Happy to keep you entertained, Emil.”
• “Everyone stay out here, we don’t need everyone hovering when she wakes up.” One of the first voices said.
• Eyes wide, I realized they were coming in. I backed up to stand behind the head of the bed putting as much distance as possible between the door and whomever was coming in.
• Two very tall, and handsome men stepped into the small room. They had pale blond hair and were identical, except for one having a goatee. Their eyes were not dark. They looked familiar, then I realized why. I’d heard them described for many years. I knew who they were. My mouth dropped open and it felt like my heart flipped inside my chest. “Blond and beautiful.” I whispered. Stepping out from the bed, I bent at the waist and bowed my head. “Your Majesties.” I held the position as my mother had told me I must do until they acknowledge me.
• “We’re famous.” The one said. “And beautiful.”
• A hand touched my head lightly. “Rise.” The other one said without a trace of amusement in his voice.
• I straightened up and looked at them, biting my lip so nothing inappropriate would fly out of my mouth. I was standing in front of Alterealm’s twin kings.
• “How do you know who we are?” The one without the goatee asked.
• “My-my mother told me all about you and Alterealm.” I decided to stick to the truth. Did kings still behead people? Yeah, the truth was best.
• “I see. Where is your mother?”
• I looked from one to the other, wishing the one looking amused was asking the questions instead. “She died a long time ago.” I whispered.
• “I’m sorry to hear that.” His tone was softer.
• “Was she a resident of Alterealm?” The other one asked.
• “Yes, your majesty.” I nodded.
• “Have you ever been here before?”
• I looked around the room. “We’re in Alterealm?” I heard the beeping speed up. Reaching down, I pulled the pads off my chest so it would stop monitoring me. I stepped over and flipped the machine off.
• I was in Alterealm. Finally. Safe from my father’s people. I spun around and pointed to the device I’d taken off. “Is that a porter? Mother described them, but it looks nothing like that.” I rolled my eyes. “Of course, your technology has probably advanced times ten by now.” They were both giving me an odd look.
• “It’s actually a stabilizer.” The one with the goatee held up his arm, “this is a porter.”
• I nodded. “Of course. You’d want to make sure I didn’t die when you brought me over.” I stopped and looked from one to the other. “Thank you, and so you know, I spent thirty years trying to ferret out someone from here to bring me over.” I smirked. “Your people are very discreet, and I never found one.”
• “That’s good to know.” The serious one gave me a serious look. “That we’re hard to detect over there.”
• I nodded again. I looked at the I.V. and then pulled it out and hung it over the bag. “So, now what? Do I have to pass a test or something to be a full citizen?” I heaved out a loud breath. “I can’t believe I’m finally safe.”