Elina

Severin gently shakes my shoulder to wake me up. "We are here now." I slept like a log and didn't even feel us land. He helps me unbuckle myself from my seat and leads me out of the ship. My legs feel weak and unsteady so I lean on Severin. The sharp lights outside the ship blinds me and I turn my face away from the light.

"Elina!" A shrill voice calls for me as I walk down the ramp and my head whips up in the direction of the voice.

"Nim!" My eyes are big as saucers as I stare at the Farnder that I know so well. When the initial shock wears off, tears form in my eyes and I sprint off in her direction. I fall to my knees in front of her and throw my arms around her shoulders and cry. "Nim." I say again, still unsure if it's really her. She puts her long thin arms around me and hugs me tight.

"It's me. Thee is alright now." She comforts me. My whole body is taken over by exhaustion and I feel Nim stumbling, trying to keep me upright as I slump against her. "Help. Elina is too heavy." She cries out and strong arms circle my waist. In my exhausted state I almost think that it's Lazarus.

I'm lifted up onto a gurney and wheeled off at a fast pace as I feel my consciousness cease.

***

Lazarus

"Captain! We have gotten word that your mate has arrived at the headquarters of The Intergalactic Committee. She has lost consciousness and is currently being examined for any injuries." A young man is standing at the door to the gym. He looks a bit apprehensive about being in the same room as me and I can't blame him. I have been anything but nice and polite to anyone trying to speak to me this past week. I release a breath that I didn't even know I was holding when he's done with his report and I wave him away without a word.

As soon as he has left the room I fall to my knees, burrow my face in my hands and cry from happiness. Or is it from relief? I don't really know and I don't think I care. The only thing important is the fact that she's been recovered from Garon's filthy paws.

After a few short moments I get up and briskly walk to our room. I haven't been in there for more than a total of thirty minutes since she was abducted. Everything reminded me too much of her. Her smell still lingers in the room and her shoes still stand by the door. I take them in my hand and walk over to the couch to sit down with them in my lap. When she gets back here she will not leave my lap, ever! I smile at the thought. But my thoughts of our reunion soon get interrupted by my communicator. It's the call I've been waiting for.

"How is she? Did everything go as planned? What has he done to her?" I blurt out before my brother even says hello.

"Slow down. If you keep throwing questions I won't be able to speak." He pauses to make sure I'm quiet. I sit, perched on the edge of the couch. Elinas shoes have fallen out of my lap to the floor and I bend down to pick them up. "Everything went as planned. We were able to locate Garon first and he was assassinated. Elina was scared when we found her but I'll tell you. She's a real fighter! She'll be a great queen and mother." I smile at what he's saying. Of course I already know that she will be as great a queen as our mother. "When we arrived at the headquarters she fainted but that's understandable. She's been under a tremendous amount of stress."

"Is she alright now?"

"I left her to the medical team so I don't have the latest. I have just finished my report and am on my way to the medical wing as we speak."

"Can I speak to her? If she's awake that is." I can hear my own eagerness. I'm still pissed at the council for keeping me out of all this and that they used her medical condition as reason for her to be taken there, before being reunited with me.

"I'm sure you can speak to her soon. But first everything has to be checked to see that she's alright and the baby as well." He falls silent. "I'll tell you what. I go and see how she's doing and what they have found out and then I'll contact you again?"

"Yes, do that." I answer and we hang up.

As I wait for Severin to call back I lean back against the backrest of the couch and stare out into space, both literary and hypothetically. Soon my com calls again.

"Yes."

Severin gives a snort of laughter at my eagerness. "She's still asleep. Nim is still giving her a checkup but for the time being she's all right. All tests that have been run shows she's in good health, there were some antioxidants that were a little low but nothing alarming. And the baby is doing just fine. It's growing as it should and seems perfectly healthy. She has taken good care of your child." I can hear the smile in his voice and I release a breath, breathing out most of my worry and angst from the past week.

"But her body shows signs of abuse. She has bruises on her face, legs and arms and those are the only areas I have seen. I know for sure that I will not be entitled to all the information about her injuries." His voice is apologetic about the scarce information but I feel much more at ease. Both Elina and our baby are healthy. I also feel anger about the fact that Garon has beaten and abused my mate.

"Thank you, Severin! I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't done this for me." It means a lot that it was my brother and not some random warrior that handled the retrieval of my mate. I trust my brother with my life and I knew he would take great care in this mission.

"Always, brother."

"Always." I answer and the line goes out. Tears of relief form in my eyes. I know that she probably has emotional scars from this but the fact that her body is healthy and that our baby is alive and growing is enough right now. Soon my eyes close on their own and I fall into the deepest sleep in a week's time.

***

Elina

My head hurts like hell as I wake up to the sound of beeping next to me. Groaning, I throw out my hand to try and make it stop.

"Elina, thee has awoken." I hear the squeaky voice of Nim next to me. I scrunch up my face in pain from her high tone. "How are thee feeling?" Her voice has gone down a few notes from her happy squeak at my woken state to a more comfortable tone. I peel my eyes open. The lights are dimmed to give a soft glow and make it possible to see without burning my cornea. Nim has a big smile on her thin lips as she looks at me.

"My head hurts." My voice is raspy like I have downed a bottle of whisky and smoked a pack of cigarettes. "And I'm thirsty."

"Here. Me has some pain relievers for thee to swallow." Nim says and I sit up with her help. She takes my hand to place two pills in and holds out a glass of clear liquid to me. I quickly swallow it all down and lay back down on the bed. I look around the room. I can see that it's not a medical room that I'm in. It looks more like a bedroom with a large comfortable bed, a dresser, a large bookshelf and a desk with a chair. It is very anonymous with its soft blue walls and dark gray furniture. I can see a few frames of pictures and in the bookshelf there are some decorative figures.

"Where am I?"

"Us is at the headquarters of the Intergalactic Committee. This room is Prince Severins private room. The prince insisted that thee would be more comfortable here." I nod my head at that. It feels a little strange to be in my brother-in-law's room but I have to admit it beats a medical room.

"Where does he sleep then?" I scrunch my brows together. and Nim gives a small smile at that.

"The prince has been given a guest bedroom now." Nim falls silent and I can see she's building up courage to say something to me. I give her a pointed look and nod my head that I'm ready to hear. "All test that we have taken shows that thee is in good health and the baby as well." She smiles an insecure smile and then her face falls again. "The examination that me performed showed a lot of injuries to thees private parts. There are no permanent damage but it shows that thee has been treated badly." I turn my head away from her. I don't want to look her in the eyes. I can't look at her. I feel dirty, disgusting. I have betrayed Lazarus. Tears form in my eyes. Nim puts her hand on mine and I pull mine back. "Thee should understand that nothing is thees fault."

"You don't know what happened. It is my fault." I whisper and my voice breaks. I roll to my side and pull the cover up over my head so Nime can't see my shameful tears. Nim gives a pitiful sigh and stands up.

"Me will let thee rest. Me believes that Prince Severin will want to meet thee now that thee is woken." She makes her way to the door and I hear her leave. When the door closes my tears start to fall and soon my whole body is shaking with sobs.

I don't know how long I cry but I stop abruptly when I feel the bed dip. I didn't hear the door open or someone walking up towards the bed. A strong, hard body is being pressed against my back and a pair of strong arms envelope me in a tight hug. The male doesn't say anything, just holds me. His smell is similar to Lazarus, as is the feeling of his body close to me. I know that it isn't Lazarus but somehow I also know that it's someone closely related. It's like I can sense it on the smell and feel of his body. The feeling of him holding me slowly calms me down.

When my sobs have died down and I'm breathing slowly and steady again he speaks up. "Are you in any pain? Is there something I can do to ease your discomfort?" He sounds so much like Lazarus and my heart breaks and tears fall once again. I shake my head, there is nothing physically wrong with me except exhaustion. "Do you want to talk about it?" His voice is soft and comforting.

"I don't know if I can." I gasp out between sobs.

"Do you want me to leave?" He is so considerate and I shake my head again. "Then I'll lay here until you can speak, tell me to leave or fall asleep."

"No. Don't leave if I fall asleep. I don't want to be left alone." I bring my arms out from beneath the bedspread and firmly grip his arms around me.

"Then I will stay." We lay silent for a long time, him just holding me and me crying silently in his arms. Eventually my tears dry up and I feel ready to speak.

"He will never forgive me." I whisper and for a long time Severin is silent. I don't know if it's because he knows that it is the truth or he's contemplating how to answer.

"There is nothing for him to forgive." He says eventually.

"Do you know about pseudo twins?" I held my breath as I awaited his answer. He was silent for a long time before he gave a sigh.

"Yes. I also know that Lazarus and Garon were pseudo twins. It wasn't a problem at first but after our mothers died there was a tear in our relationship. Then Lazarus got seriously injured in battle. My uncle thought that it should be Garon that would take the title of crown prince instead. But my father refused and they fell out. My uncle and Garon were exiled and left Galdrion and went rogue. They have tried to overthrow my father several times."

"Why would they want Lazarus to be disowned for being injured?"

"He was on the brink of death. With no mate to help him through the chances for him to survive was very low. My uncle said it was because he was weak and insisted that it would be to Galdrians advantage to have the strongest as the next king. The fact that my father and uncle are twins was also a fact that he wanted to be taken into consideration. He challenged my father for the position of king but my father won." He's silent once again. After several minutes he again started to speak. "But this is not what you were asking for." A deep sigh follows his statement. I don't answer him.

"Pseudo twins can share a mate. This is what concerns you, isn't it?" I feel my eyes tear up again and I nod my head. Sighing again he continues. "You have to know that once mated it is extremely hard to resist your mate. The pheromones affect you too much. But remember that it is only a bodily reaction. From the injuries I have found out you had on your body I would say that you resisted him as much as you could. That, Elina, requires an immense amount of strength. Strength worthy of a queen." His arms squeeze me tight for a moment in a reassuring gesture.

"I didn't resist him every time." My voice is broken and I can barely get the words out between my sobs.

"That you could resist him even once is an achievement in itself. Now, I think it's better if you rest. When you have been given a clearance I am taking you back to Lazarus." With those words he falls silent again and soon I close my eyes and fall into the best sleep I have had since being abducted by Garon.