The smell of alcohol was overpowering. Every breath she took, every exhalation reeked of the acrid burning odor.

“Hmmmm.” She groaned as she tried to open her eyes.

The ceiling was white and there was a light fixture above her so at least she knew she hadn’t gone blind or died and found herself in heaven.

Heaven didn’t have light fixtures. At least she didn’t think they did.

“You’re awake.”

A man’s voice came from somewhere to her left. She turned her head and saw a ruggedly handsome man with strong proud jaws, hawkish nose, piercing green eyes, and seaweed in his hair.

He was dressed in glittering green scale-looking clothes that reminded her of Helene Cordera’s evening gown the first time she saw the mermaid.

She blinked again and her eyes refocused properly. The seaweed turned into dark green locks hanging down his back and over his hard chest muscles.

“Who—” she coughed as the alcohol fumes choked her. “Who are you?” She rasped through burning vocal cords.

The man chuckled.

“Who I am is not an interesting question. The interesting question is—who are you?”

“I’m just a nobody.” She managed to choke out.

“You’re hardly a nobody. I traded a Prince of Erenveil for you, that should tell you something important.”

“It tells me you’re an idiot.” She coughed into her hand.

“What you just said told me you’re clueless as to your real worth.” He chuckled and moved closer to her.

Candi could not respond as she needed to cough again. Whatever they had used to knock her out, it was super potent.

“Have some water.” He handed her a glass.

“No thank you. Anything you give me is most likely poisoned.”

He laughed and took a sip.

“There you go. If it’s poison, we can die together, like ancient lovers.”

She glared at him.

“Go die on your own. Leave me out of it.”

The man laughed.

“The water will help your throat to recover from the intubation we needed to put on you.”

“Why did I need intubation?” She snarled. As if she didn’t know.

“We shot you with a neurotoxin to keep you from killing any more of our men.” He said with a regret-tinged voice.

“It should have been a much lower dose because you’re such a tiny female, but the guy who gave you the dosage used the same amount on you as he did the big guy we traded for you.”

Candi choked again and began coughing in fits. It hid her sudden surge of anger.

“Don’t be too upset. You killed thirteen of our men, plus I had to put down the dog who over-tranquilized you and nearly killed you.”

He began counting on his fingers.

“So that makes fourteen big strong men of mine you’ve taken out, all by yourself with your tiny little dancer body.”

He handed her the glass of water again.

“Drink. It will help your throat recover.”

Candi looked up. She took a deep breath and reached out for the glass.

At the last minute, she batted it away with a snarl.

The glass flew from his hand, dashing against the wall with a loud CRASH!!!

“Go suck on something hard and horny!” She growled.

The man threw back his head and laughed.

“Hahahaha. Oh my Lord. You’re a feisty one. No wonder you have three Erenveil Princes going after you!”

He gestured once and a physician stepped forward.

“Is she well-hydrated?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. She is receiving intravenous fluids and is well-hydrated.”

“I guess you really didn’t need the water after all. It’s a shame you broke my crystal tumbler.” He shook his head and gave an audible sigh. “Now you’ll have to use paper cups so you don’t make a big mess.”

Candi ignored his ribbing.

“That man called you Majesty. Are you some sort of royalty?” She needed to figure out who he was and why he was interested in her.

The green haired man gave her a sad smile.

“My name is Mattheus Cordera. I am the Once and Future King of Emporia.”

She gave him a blank stare.

He laughed again.

“Very few people know who I am. You are among the very rare tiny group who know of my existence.”

“I thought the King of Emporia’s name is Mortimer Cordera.”

“Ah. Yes. My Uncle who loved me so much, he tried to kill me and destroyed an entire space port to root me out.”

“So he took over your throne and you’ve kidnapped me so I could go talk to him to try and get your throne back.” Candi gave him a dry desultory look.

Mattheus Cordera’s body shook with laughter.

“I am finally beginning to understand why those Princes are so enamored with you. You’re a barrel of laughs.”

“Get to the point.”

He leaned in closer, his bottle green eyes intense.

“You are the Avgo that is destined to win the competition. The man you take as a mate will be the one who stands beside you and rule the galaxy.”

Candi closed her eyes and swallowed, trying to keep from another spasm of coughing.

“You know I came in third in the last event, right?”

“Only because my cousin Helene was such an idiot and tried to ambush you.”

“There are still five other Events. My chances of nailing all five are super low, especially the magic one.”

He laughed again.

“You keep underestimating yourself. You worked magic the first time you appeared on the stage.”

Candi shook her head.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

He leaned back and regarded her with amusement.

“Weren’t you the one who canceled out the old goat’s magic with your own? We all saw you shut down the windstorm.”

“Yeah but that was…”. She scratched her head. “That was…”

“That was pure, unadulterated magic. It counteracted against the old goat’s magic so effectively, it killed the whirlwind in less than a second.”

He let out a breath and stood up.

“I’m just surprised you didn’t use magic to clear out my men when they came at you.”

Candi cleared her throat.

She could do that?