Dinner was a strained and silent affair.
The brothers tried to make small talk, but eventually, everything died down to a miserable dribble of polite conversation. By the time desert was served, no one was talking at all.
Candi felt sad but at the same time, she also felt happy. She was sad that the six Princes sitting around her were sad. She was happy because Dante was on top of the world, and there was a possibility of her being pregnant.
All these emotions were valid, and she respected them all. Life was like that, and emotions were real even though they were fleeting and changed with the wind.
She spent that night, alone in her room. Dante had dropped her off inside, kissed her, and left with the promise that he would return the following morning to escort her to the Avgo Event, which would be held at the Abzu Gardens of Eden.
Since Candace had prepared extensively for this specific Event, she didn't feel unprepared. What she felt was nervous.
If it had been a dance routine or a piano recital, or even if it was a scholarly presentation of her archaeological work, she would have just snapped her fingers and gone through it.
But this…this was something so far outside her realm of experience that she wasn't sure it was something she could pull off.
Candi thew her shoulders back and took a deep gulp of air. She was going to trust that Lucas knew what he was doing. They had practiced and prepared for it all week.
There was nothing more to do but simply execute the plan.
Morning came stealing through the cracks under the drapes, slowly lighting up the room she was in. Candi had already showered and dressed, and now she was simply waiting for Dante to arrive and take her to breakfast.
'Are you awake yet, Darling? I'm walking to your room right now.' The familiar deep rumble of Dante's voice called out inside her mind.
Candi yelped with joy and jumped up to open the door.
He was still down the hall a ways, but as soon as he saw her poking her head through the doorway, he ran the last three steps to get to her.
"My, my. You look excited. Is that for me or because you're super hungry for breakfast?" He called out.
Of course, he never gave her the chance to respond because his lips had already claimed hers. His tongue danced inside her mouth, tasting and suckling her as his hands tenderly caressed her head.
Five minutes of nuzzling and kissing and sucking and they were still standing outside her door.
"I'm so hungry, Baby Girl. How about we skip breakfast and just stay inside your room all day?" He muttered as he tasted her lips again.
"Are we skipping the Avgo Event too?" She licked his lips with anticipation.
Dante pulled back with a low growl.
"Let's go get you fed, you kill-joy woman." He straightened up from his crouch. "There's a pretty big difference between our heights."
"Yes. I'm 5'2" and you're 6'4". That's a fourteen inch difference!" She complained.
"As long as we fit each other in areas that count, it's all that matters Baby Girl." Dante smiled.
The breakfast area was empty of everyone so she and Dante ordered a few small items and went to a corner table.
"Are the guys avoiding us?"
Dante shook his head. "Lucas, Jason, and Jared are all out taking care of last minute things for your event, while Slate and Leo are getting the warships ready for any sudden strikes from the other side."
"What about Byron?"
Dante shook his head. "I haven't seen him since last night at dinner."
Candi nodded, hoping the men were all okay.
"I'm too nervous to eat." She pushed her toast away and concentrated on her coffee.
"It's okay Baby Girl. I'll take you back after your event and feed you a nice fat lunch." He licked his lips. "And then after that, you're going to feed me your delectable body because I am starving for you."
"Promises, promises." She smiled.
==============
After their quick breakfast, Dante accompanied her to the Abzu Gardens of Eden where he dropped her off inside her dressing room, immediately attached to the stage.
The Abzu Gardens was a 2,000 acre parcel of land that held a stunning display of flowers that were grouped in artful order of colors, sizes, and scents.
It was to be expected for a world of butterfly people.
The stage where the Avgo Event was to be held was a huge stage that was located at the center of the Abzu among all the flowers of the place.
Candi was so nervous that she did not look around much and by the time she reached the backstage area, all that she could see were the four plain walls of the dressing room.
Dante bent down and gave her a last quick kiss.
"Wait here. I'll go get Lucas and the twins, and I'll be back."
She nodded and went to the vanity mirror and sat down on the only chair in the room.
Since the twins were supposed to bring her stage costume with them, she had on the same white suit she had worn the previous day to get to the planet.
The stylists would be doing her hair, so Candi had pulled her blonde tresses back into a high ponytail to keep them out of the way.
Her unadorned face with those familiar hazel eyes stared back at her in the mirror, tense and anxious as she waited.
And waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Twenty minutes before the event started, Candi realized something was badly wrong. The twins should have been here by now to help her dress.
She ran to the door and peeked out. There was no one around the hallways.
She thought about leaving to go find them but then realized that she had no idea where to go.
She needed to contact someone.
'Dante.'
'…'
Candi took a deep jagged breath.
If he was not responding, it was either because he was sleeping, which was impossible because it was getting so close to show time for her.
Any other option was not acceptable and she did not even give thought to them.
'Dante!!!' She screamed this time, into the silent airwaves between her and the man who was now her husband.
Why was Dante not responding?
'Dante. Don't scare me Baby. Say something!'
'…'
Something was wrong. Something was seriously wrong!
They would have never abandoned her at a critical time like this, especially when they all had said they would be there for her.
She breathed in quick successions to calm herself, and then reached out to the only other person she had a mental connection with.
'Byron?'
Please, please…answer me, she prayed to everything that was holy.
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