THE SCENT OF THE FRESH clean sheets had Sian pressing them to her face, inhaling deep. Snoring quietly beside her, Daron lay in the same position, having not budged all night. Or rather, all early hours, she thought to herself; it would have been one or two when we got to bed. Spreading her limbs out Sian stretched hard gritting her teeth against the pangs from her protesting muscles then relaxed them all. The pleasurable sensation drew her back into sleep before she could consider anything.RIRAE'S SOFT CRY WOKE CITAAN. Before she could lift her head from his chest Gredel smoothed a hand across her forehead.'I'll get her.'Rolling off him onto her front Citaan watched as he climbed off the large bed to stand beside the cot where Rirae lay kicking her legs, her whimpers of hunger gathering strength.Watching his face soften to adoration as he bent to scoop his daughter up made a lump rise in her throat, tears silently tracking down her cheeks. He turned with Rirae cuddled agains

'RASHID!' LISPED A YOUNG VOICE that brought an instant smile to the Lieutenant's face. 'Wait, wait for me!'On his way outside, Rashid paused as young Dekan ran panting after him, fair face flushed pink. Walking briskly after him came the chambermaid, Lucia, a mother of three other tykes, whom Rashid had asked to watch the little orphan. Catching the wee boy by the back of his shirt, she bobbed her head to Rashid about to drag the protesting child off.'Wait,' Rashid said with a smile. 'Is he fitting in well?''Oh yes, sir,' the woman released her hold. Dekan darted to his side, clinging to the back of his pants by the knees, hanging on tight. 'He's got along well with my three, though he hasn't slept much. I'm expecting to find him asleep in the corner sometime soon.''Nooo!' Dekan shouted. 'I'm not sleepy!'Both adults chuckled and Lucia made a motion to the boy. 'Come on Dekan, let's leave the Lieutenant to his business.'Dekan clung tighter to Rashid's pants. With a smile R

WRAPPED SNUGLY IN A KNITTED blanket, Rirae cooed from where she sat safe in a sling that crisscrossed her father's broad chest. They'd strapped her facing outwards so she could kick her legs and Citaan giggled as the baby had a sudden active spell, tucking her knees up with her feet close to her backside then thrusting them down, repeating the whole motion several times in a row fast.'I think she's enjoying that,' Citaan said to Gredel, smiling at her little girl. 'Are you having fun?'Rirae squealed, the high pitch making both her parents flinch and did the move again, this time adding fist pumps.'Don't encourage her,' Gredel said with laughter in his voice. 'It isn't comfortable!'Tipping a hand to her mouth Citaan giggled at the pained but adoring expression her husband wore while he caught his daughter's tiny hands as they walked along the corridor toward the Griffons Quarters.They'd sought permission from Elena to get back to their manor for a few days. Instead, they'd bee

THE METAL CUFFS FELT COLD, causing shivers along his limbs. In that instant a portion of his mind recognized that he dreamed, the lack of clanking from the chains giving it away, but the shadow creature baring its fangs at him caught the rest of his mind. In the dream of a memory Alek scrambled away, coming up hard against the cool marble wall. Saliva dripped from the long thin teeth. The creature hissed again, splattering its drool against the shield surrounding him, but Alek still flinched, heart racing. She liked to lift the shields. The chunk of flesh missing from his left arm the latest injury from her vomit inducing version of amusement. He had nothing left to vomit, his stomach achingly empty for ten days straight now. The lack of food, and now lack of water left his mind wandering, convinced he could hear her, his princess, crying out for him. He wavered on the edge of reality, unsure of everything. The semi-permanent darkness made him unsure of night or day.The sudden lack o

SPREAD ACROSS A FLUFFY KNIT rug that swelled out in stripes of taupe, tan, and cream over the wood floor, Sian frowned at the page of the book she read.'A zu-gyn, zugyn.'The strange word matched the curious looking creature which to her eyes looked like an upright horny shell backed snail. It had a wide spread foot that looked more like a jagged edged flipper, with a split in the centre that allowed the creature to hobble and hop from lake to lake.'Won't be seeing any here then,' she mumbled while turning the page to the next creature.A thud outside made her look up from the pages. With a gasp of delight, she froze, not wanting to startle it. Moving just her eyes down, she fumbled back several pages with her index finger, moving as little as possible until she found it. Looking up, she compared it. Same wings by the looks, same colouring for sure, bit of a mane though – sexual dimorphism perhaps? Looking back down to the page, she mouthed the name, hyxn. A sudden ear-splittin