Page 5 of 3013: Wonderland

Lucian Adaro tossed the crumpled form of Willard onto the ground next to James and Beatrice, then he turned his attention toward Juliet. “Are there more guards following you?”

Unable to speak, she simply shook her head. It felt like she was having an out-of-body experience. She could see and hear everything, but it felt as though she were disconnected from her own body. Like everything was happening to someone else, and she was in jeopardy of just floating away.

But everything came rushing back in startling clarity when Jade spoke again.

“Juliet Langdon, you have been granted sanctuary. Do not worry. They will never hurt you again. You are safe.”

Safe.

Hearing that from one of the most powerful beings in the universe broke the dam that had been holding back all of her emotions. Juliet started to cry, then she started to laugh. Everything she was feeling poured out of her until she was a sobbing, hysterical mess. When the strength left her legs, she started to collapse. But before she fell to the floor, Emma was there, wrapping her arms around her, holding her up.

“I’ve got you. We’ve got you now,” Emma whispered, tears clouding her own voice. “You are finally free.”

Free.

With the promise of that freedom still ringing in her head, Juliet closed her eyes and gave into the blissful darkness ready to claim her.

Chapter Two

“They are atit again.”

Juliet sighed from where she was sitting at a table with Emma and a Tarin female named Melody. They were in the Sky Bar, the new female-only lounge that was located on the rooftop of Exodus. The Sky Bar had become a favored hangout for females of all races. Patrons liked the feminine ambiance, the pretty décor, and the special selection of food and drinks that were offered there, but what Juliet really enjoyed was the spectacular view.

It was a beautiful day out, so they had opened the purple crystal sky dome halfway. Sitting out in the open air and enjoying a view of the entire city while eating breakfast had become Juliet’s favorite way to start the day since she’d come to the sanctuary.

Standing up, she walked around the table and joined Melody by the railing. Glancing down, she winced when she saw the crowd that had formed below. Since the rooftop bar was magically soundproofed, she couldn’t hear the shouting and chants coming from the sea of people. But she didn’t need to hear them to know they were being loud as hell.

For days, there had been utter chaos outside of the sanctuary. She felt bad about it since it was entirely her fault. Not that anyone who lived or worked at Exodus blamed her. Actually, they all thought it was pretty damn entertaining.

She, on the other hand, wasn’t as amused by the mess she had caused.

Since it was mid-morning, the bar wasn’t open to the public yet, so they had plenty of privacy. Still, Juliet kept her voice low as she returned to her seat and said, “I thought they would have given up protesting already.”

Melody leaned over in her chair to glance down again and huffed in irritation. “Don’t those people have jobs? They’re blocking traffic.”

Juliet had met Melody shortly after she had arrived at the sanctuary, and they had instantly clicked. Even though they were from different planets, she and the Tarin female had a lot in common. Melody had been born into captivity and had been sold to a Tarin lord who had fallen for her after he saw her dance at a festival.

For years, she had been a slave, but her spirit had never been broken. When a handful of Dragon Warriors had arrived on the planet and joined the fight to end slavery on Tartarus, she had finally been freed. Since she’d come to Earth, she had gotten in the habit of changing the color of her hair every few months. Right now, her hair was a vibrant red. With her black eyes, the combination made her look a little scary.

“We should start tossing things off the roof and see how many of them we can hit. We could make a game of it,” Melody said with a sly grin. “Double points for hitting a protestor carrying a sign.”

That made Juliet and Emma laugh.

“While that would surely be amusing, I have a feeling some people might take issue with that,” Jade Vyper announced as she appeared next to their table, along with her cousin, Princess Alestra Lux, from Ilius.

Juliet startled in surprise by their sudden appearance, then she smiled at the newcomers. She didn’t think she would ever get used to the way the magic users appeared and disappeared at whim, but she loved watching them do it.

Like Jade, Alestra was a beautiful female with bright magenta-colored hair and glowing lavender eyes that gleamed silver in the light. She had recently come to Earth to visit hercousin, but after a mishap had caused her to crash-land on the planet, her arrival had caused quite a stir.

She was mated to Jais Starr, a big Krytos who was one of the managers of the sanctuary. Although Juliet liked Alestra and Jais very much, she found them just as intimidating as the Dragon Warriors. Thankfully, they had been nothing but kind to her. Because of that, she considered them friends, even though she was still a little nervous being around them.

“Do not worry about the protestors,” Alestra said as she and Jade sat down at the table. “They are simply a nuisance, nothing more.”

“The protestors are being drowned out by your supporters anyway,” Emma chimed in.

“Both groups are causing a disturbance,” Juliet pointed out.

Melody snorted. “This has actually worked in our favor. Exodus, the Sky Bar, and the club downstairs have been packed to capacity all week. If anything, your notoriety is damn good for business.”

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