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“Bella, you have to sleep,” Edward whispered, walking to where I was standing in the mess hall. I was staring at the vastness of space, looking at how the stars twinkled innocently and holding a cooling cup of tala root tea. Normally, it soothed me, but the tea unsettled my stomach.  I wrinkled my nose, knowing that my cousin, Norelle, found her death among these same stars. “You haven’t rested since we got the news from Captain Riker.”

“I can’t sleep,” I said, narrowing my eyes, walking to recycle my tea. “Not with the Alliance preparing to slaughter our people. Not with what they did to N’essie, Norelle, Marcusi. It’s overwhelming and sickening, ti’ane.”

“We won’t let that happen and we will avenge the deaths of N’essie and Norelle. We will hopefully save Counselor Marcusi and reunite him with his mate,” Edward replied, turning me to face him and cupping my cheeks with his large, warm hands. “But, in order for us to be at our best, we need to get as much rest as possible. Once the battle has begun, we can’t sleep until it’s over.” He ran his fingers down my spots, which continued to glow a deep orange, the color of determination. “I’m certain that Rose can give you a sedative.”

“No. I do not want to be groggy tomorrow,” I muttered, shaking my head and putting my ear against his chest. I listened to the steady thrum of his strong, pure heart, allowing the beats to calm me. It worked better than any sedative that Rose could have administered or the tala root tea. As I snuggled closer to my mate, my eyelids grew droopy. Edward bent down and picked me up easily, sweeping me off my feet. I leaned my cheek against his shoulder, allowing his warmth to continue to calm me. By the time we got back to our quarters, I was nearly asleep. Edward tucked me into our bed and curled himself around me, protecting both of us from the impending battle. If only we could stay entangled in each other’s arms, hiding away from the dangers that were awaiting us.

“I love you,” he whispered, his lips pressing behind my ear. His arms tightened around me and I let his strong body and his pacifying actions to lure me further into sleep.

Empress Nirabelle's Imperial Fleet Uniform

Imperial Crest

Edward and Bella's Mating Bands

Edward's sword

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“I thought you broke up with him?” I asked, arching a brow at my sister. “You said you were. He’s a lazy douchebag.”

“I said I wanted to take a break, but we’re still kind of together,” Elizabeth argued half-heartedly, looking longingly at the door. “But, I don’t really care about him anymore. What I felt for him is nothing compared to what I feel for Charanel. Where’s Charanel? I’d really like to go to him.” She got up and started walking to the door. I guided her back to the sofa. Bella sat next to her, looping her arm through my sister’s, keeping her in the office.

“He’s getting the same conversation as you are, Elizabeth,” Bella chimed in, rubbing her shoulders. 

“Describe how you’re feeling. Don’t skip anything.”

“I can still hear Charanel’s thoughts. He’s thinking about me,” she blushed. “He thinks I’m beautiful and he’s curious to know if my hair is as soft as it looks.” She bit her lip, furrowing her brow. “I can tell what he’s feeling.” Her blush deepened. “He’s really turned on. He really wants to kiss me and taste my skin …”

“Okay, enough,” I said, cringing slightly. “I don’t need to know that.”

“Was it intense? All-consuming? Like, complete desperation to get next to him?” Bella questioned. 

“Or was it more of a warm glow that surrounded you in this perfect bubble of love?”

“Warm glow,” Elizabeth nodded, her pale skin turning a bright pink. “He’s my mate? Are we mates like you?”

They’re not like us, Edward. You had to admit, our reaction, even if it was through a view screen, was pretty intense, Bella said mentally. I nodded in agreement. “You are definitely mates, Elizabeth, but not te’atée mates. Now that you’ve seen him and connected with him, you will have to mate with him in a year or you will both die, unfortunately,” Bella murmured, her nose wrinkled. “We never separated Charanel from the females since he had that delay. Something in his mind never clicked. He just saw all as playmates, not as a romantic mate.”

“And now, since that delay has been repaired, the chemical reaction, recognizing his mate, recognizes me?” Elizabeth asked. “But, I met him. Before, at your mating ceremony. Wouldn’t I have had some sort of reaction then?”

“Did you think he was attractive?” I questioned.

“I thought he was handsome, but I knew he was delayed. Some of the nobles sitting at our table called him yanhesh, and saying some other nasty things about Charanel. I got irrationally upset when they did. I never said anything, but I had to walk away for a moment,” Elizabeth murmured. “I was going to crack some heads if they continued bad mouthing him.”

“I think,” Bella said. “I think that you were so irrationally upset about that commentary because you felt the beginning of the mating bond. It couldn’t fully form until Charanel had the damage to his brain repaired. Now that he’s ‘normal,’ you both are experiencing the full extent of imprinting. You are not like Edward and me, though.”

Elizabeth Cullen

Harry

Charanel

Cygnarus boiler room

Bridge

Shuttle Bay

Corridors

Battle Bridge

Imperial Battle Cruisers

bsh'took

dk'took

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I sat on my throne, glaring up at the rafter that became N’essie’s final resting place. The throne room, after it had been thoroughly investigated, was now clean. The pirna wood floors were now shining in the mid-morning sun. It all looked too innocent, but what we found in that room will forever be burned into my memory. Even in death, N’essie was terrified. Her yellow eyes were open and her mouth was caught in a silent scream, portraying her absolute fear. They would pay for what they did to her. All of them will feel the fear that she endured for her entire life and that ultimately ended it.

I was so angry. Somehow, N’essie had been transported off the Enterprise and down to the surface, tortured and murdered. On top of that, Counselor Marcusi’s life hung in the balance. Aro and Caius had him abducted from his home, disappearing into thin air.

How did they get off the planet?

How did they get N’essie off the Enterprise without causing the alarms to go off?

How could any of this happen and how did I not know about it?

I clenched my hand into a fist, hissing as the sutures tore at my skin. The pain was nothing. I could withstand this pain. It was a reminder of what I needed to do to protect my people. And I would protect them. In my father’s name, in his honor, I’d save the Cygnarian people. For my mate, I’d fight for our love. For N’essie? I will avenge her death and make her captors suffer the same fate by my own hand. “I promise you,” I growled, looking down at the bandage on my palm. The blade I’d used to cut it was safely around my ankle. 

Bella's H'aaruune gown

Bella's ajur stone circlet

Edward's H'aaruune mourning suit

Edward's mourning circlet

Lanterns for the H'aaruune rite

N'essie's casket

Imperial Burial Ground

Elizabeth Cullen

Ceremonial Blade used for the Blood Oath

Modified Cygnarian Insignia

Renien Ocean 

Imperial Fighter

Aeroshuttle

Imperial Fleet: Cygnarus

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“So, where do we go from here?” Edward asked. “As far as we know, the Alphans and Remans are licking their wounds, repairing the damage to their ships.”

“We shouldn’t sit back. We need to prepare for a fight,” Jasper replied, leaning forward on the conference table. “Admiral, are we getting anymore back up from the Federation?”

“We are expecting another ten star ships and fifteen war ships,” Admiral Cullen replied, reading from his tablet. “They should be here within a week or so. The available engineers from the ships in orbit are working on the Cygnarian fleet to retrofit them with sensors to accurately locate the Reman vessels. We have half of the ships surrounding the planet done and the others are being completed as we speak.”

“What about the Imperial Fleet?” Senator J’ran asked.

I furrowed my brow. “What’s that?” I replied.

Senator J’ran scrubbed his face, muttering under his breath. “The Emperor, or in your case, the Empress, has a highly trained fleet of fighters to protect the planet. Didn’t the Council of Elders tell you about this?”

“No,” I growled. More proof that the Council is behind this, Edward. He nodded imperceptibly. 

“How many ships are in this Imperial Fleet and how do I mobilize them?”

“There are over four hundred attack fighters and three war ships,” Senator J’ran said, walking to the computer console on the wall of the conference room. He punched in a few commands and the cliffs overlooking the Renien Ocean appeared. “This cliff face is a holographic projection. Your Imperial Fleet is located inside. Well, the attack fighters. The larger war ships are on Cygnarian Prime, hidden in the subterranean tunnels.”

“How do you know about them?” Edward asked, his skepticism ringing through our connection.

“I was the Wing Commander of the Imperial Fleet until I was forced into retirement five years ago,” Senator J’ran answered, rubbing his left arm. “I was injured in a border skirmish and I couldn’t fight as well, hand-to-hand. I joined the Assembly of Nobles shortly after that and stayed until your father’s death, when your uncle strong armed me out of my seat, claiming it was his.”

“Can he do that?” Rose asked, arching a brow. “Isn’t there some sort of election?”

“In theory,” Senator J’ran chuckled darkly. “Each continent on Forx is divided into roughly twenty smaller districts. A noble represents the districts. For the most part, the nobles have a legacy that keeps them in power. If there is no heir, then there is an election and a new noble is chosen. That’s what happened when I got my spot in the Assembly. Senator To’mas, who was the noble who lived in the Imperial City, died in his sleep and he didn’t have an heir. I ran and I won his spot. When Emperor Charel died, Norex raised holy hell, saying that he should be a part of the Assembly of Nobles, representing the Imperial family, despite Empress Nirabelle ruling Forx.”

Cygnaria Prime

Empress and Emperor Imperial Fighter

Imperial Fighters

Cliff face overlooking the Renien Ocean, Imperial Fighter Shuttle Bay

Hangar on Cygnaria Prime, home of the Imperial Battle Cruisers

Imperial Battle Cruisers