Never Lie To The ET1

*Adam*

Well, shit.

Lying to your ET1 is the last thing a good ET2 should ever do.

Technically, ET1 Mark is not my ET1, at least not at this time, and technically I am not his ET2, and technically I didn't lie. I said I would watch her, and I will. As soon as I find her.

Too many damn technicalities.

Well, first things first... I have to find Malena Milly so I can keep an eye on her. She was complaining endlessly about her clothes, so I don't know why she wouldn't want to follow me to the dressmaker. After all, that's the only way she's going to get new clothes. Honestly, I don't understand women.

But... I know someone who does.

'Shelby, my love,' I call softly into the mental link. He loves it when I do that.

'That?' reply.

Goddess, your voice is sexy. 'I need your help,' I say. 'Somehow... I lost sight of Malena Milly.'

'That?' I hate when he screams on the mental link.

'I know,' I say. 'I do not know what happened. 'She was right behind me, and now she's gone.'

'Well,' Shelby says, sounding a little agitated, but even that sounded sexy. 'Where was she last?'

'Following me to the sewing room,' I say. 'She was complaining about her clothes to Gene, then he ordered me to take her there, then he just stopped following me.'

'How did you not feel he was gone?' Shelby asks.

Well, I don't want to answer that. I know she likes me to think about her all the time, but this isn't the time for that with Kamila missing. Thoughts of Shelby's beautiful body were definitely distracting me before I realized that Malena Milly had disappeared. 'I don't know,' I say. I'm lying again, and this time to my partner. I think that's worse than lying to an ET1.

'Well, look at the place where you last saw her,' he says. 'I'll be there right away.'

My heart jumps a little knowing that my partner is coming to be by my side, but I chide myself because that thing I'm pretty sure she was thinking while I was talking to her is right. Now is not the time to act like lovesick babies.

So, I retrace my steps, heading back towards Gene's chambers. Maybe I had some unfinished business with him and thought I would somehow take care of his clothes myself. I don't understand women at all. Was I supposed to try them on myself for the dressmaker?

As I approach Gene's room, I hear the shrill, raspy voice of Malena Milly. I sigh in relief, although I can't believe she's happy to hear that devious sound. At least I know where she is, and I can do what I told Mark I would do: keep an eye on her.

Just when I get to the door, I hear Malena Milly say: —Did you know that there is a secret pas...age where the door leads to the middle of the forest? Almost anyone could enter the castle that way, and Kane knows where he is.

I freeze in place and slowly back away from the door. I know the ET1s will want to know everything Malena Milly knows about Kane, so I need to hear this without her knowing I'm here. I back away, painfully slowly, taking care to take a step each time one of them speaks to muffle the sound. When I feel pretty sure I'm far enough away, I listen.

He's talking about the secret pas...age, and some kind of door that's not really closed but sounds like it is.

And Kane knows where it is. And he's planning to storm the castle.

After being shaken by that news, I feel warm entering the hallway and inhale the scent of my partner. I want to close my eyes and enjoy the sensation, but instead I turn around and put a finger against my mouth to indicate that he should shut up. She nods and walks carefully towards me, her steps completely silent from her. How she does it with those shoes, I have no idea.

He puts his arm around me when he reaches me and listens to the end of the conversation between Gene and Malena Milly.

'She's coming,' Shelby tells me in the mental link, and we move around the door and hide just as Malena Milly storms out of Gene's room in a rage, which is usually her natural state.

'What do we do?' Shelby asks in the mind link as Malena Milly walks down the hallway.

'We follow her, and tell the ET1s,' I say.

Malena Milly is walking quickly now, and seems to be heading back to her room. I guess the clothing issue doesn't matter anymore. Shelby and I stay back until she turns the corner, then we sneak up to the end of the hallway and look around at the next one, spotting Malena Milly just as she turns the next corner.

We follow her this way for a while before she goes into her room and slams the door shut. I can hear fluttering in there and wonder what she's doing.

'He's packing,' Shelby says in the mental link, although I hadn't asked him what he thought was going on. I guess she reads my mind all the time.

'To warn Kane,' I say, then I think of the ET1s and call them.

They respond, one by one.

'What's happening?' ET1 Tristan asks.

'Kane,' I say. 'Malena Milly was talking to Gene. Kane knows about secret pas...ages, and apparently, he knows about some door in a tunnel in the woods that may or may not be closed. 'He is planning to storm the castle.'

'Well,' says ET1 Tristan, 'he's not doing it now, because his full forces are right in front of us.'

'And Malena Milly is trying to leave, or escape, or whatever you want to call it,' I say, adding to my report.

'Do you have any warriors there that you trust?' ask.

I know Gene's warriors well, and I know the difference between those who would actually die for the crown and those who would probably be working for Kane right now. “A few,” I say.

“Put them with her,” says ET1 Tristan. —Stay there and keep an eye on Gene... and he finds that damn door. If we can seal it, that would help.

"Be careful," adds ET1 Mark. —We really have no idea how many troops Kane has, so he may have sent a few to infiltrate the castle. As much as I think Gene is a cruel idiot, we need him to stay alive for now.

“Okay,” says ET1 Reece. —As far as we know, Kane took Kamila as a distraction to get us here and away from there.

"Better put some guards with Gene," says ET1 Tristan. —We're about to go into action here, so we have to go.

“May the Goddess be with you,” I say, and lower my head to say a silent prayer. Shelby does the same, even though she hadn't been in the conversation. I guess she knows that everything that's happening right now is life-threatening.

I send a message to some of the warriors I trust and instruct them to go to the king's chambers immediately and not leave until I am there in person.

“The whole kidnapping could be a trick to empty the castle,” I tell Shelby in a whisper. —I've sent men to protect Gene, and I'll send some to guard Malena Milly too, then we have to find that damn door.

I send another message to different warriors to come protect Malena Milly, then we wait for the warriors to arrive. I instruct them to enter the room if they stop hearing her there, because for all we know, there may be a secret exit right there in Malena Milly's room.

Now, it's our turn to act. The only entrances to the secret pas...age that I'm sure of are in the library, Gene's room, and Kamila's room. Since Kamila's room is so far from here, and we can't explain any of this to Gene in his state of mind, I take Shelby's hand, intertwine our fingers, and we run towards the library.
I hope we are not running towards our deaths.