Page 23 of The Void

Before he could answer, there was a knock on her door and Beth walked in.

“Morning,” Beth said cheerfully, not stopping even after she noticed them on the bed together. “I have the morning schedule, for both of you.” She set a tray down on the table by the door. “You’re both to meet the general after the morning meal.”

“The general?” they both said in unison as they sat up.

“I didn’t know there was a general,” Mia told him.

“Well, we shouldn’t keep him waiting then.” He jumped off the bed when he realized that the woman wasn’t going to leave them alone.

Beth held up her hands, stopping him. “You’ll need to be properly dressed to meet him.” She glanced down at his clothes. “There are appropriate clothes waiting in your rooms. As well as servants to help you dress.” Beth waved her hands towards his rooms.

He glanced at Mia, who just shrugged in response.

Then Beth clapped her hands and the servants that had been in there earlier walked in, holding a new dress for Mia.

When he walked into his room, there were two men waiting for him and strange clothes laid out on the bed.

For the next half hour, he was basically man-handled. The two men dressed him, shaved him, did his hair, and even put his socks and shoes on for him.

Whenever he tried to tell them he could handle something on his own, he was given a strange look until he shut his mouth and took the offered help.

Then he was shown back into the dining hall they’d eaten in the previous night. Mia was already there, sitting at the same table.

“That was fun,” he said when he sat next to her. “You could have warned me.”

She was smiling at him. “How does one warn someone that they’re about to be dressed like a child? Still, you look good in this style of clothing,” she pointed out after running her eyes over him. “Still just as dangerous and sexy looking.” She winked at him.

He groaned. “Can’t you…” He waved his hands like she did when she conjured up something. “And put me back in my own clothes?”

“Nope, when in Rome,” she pointed out. “Or in this case, Atlantis.”

He shrugged as a younger girl stepped up and poured their drinks.

This was the youngest person in the realm, the one Mia had talked about. He wanted to ask the girl questions, but Mia stopped him.

“I’ve tried talking to her and others,” she said softly after the girl left. “Most people either can’t speak English or won’t talk to me.” She shrugged. “I’m thinking it’s the first. After all, my ancestors didn’t just drop into the United States and speak perfect English. They came from here. And when I try speaking Mandarin…”

“You speak Mandarin?” he asked.

“Of course I do,” she said in a perfect accent.

“Impressive,” he replied in the language, causing her eyebrows to jerk up.

“A man of many talents,” she said.

“My family has business all over the world. I know six different languages.”

She smiled. “I know ten, including a dead one.”

He nodded in defeat. “What do you think this general wants to meet with us about?”

“I suppose it’s to discuss the coming war between light and dark?” Mia answered with a shrug. “We’d better eat so we can disappoint him and tell him we have no clue how to fight, let alone win.”

Chapter Seven

After the meal in the hall, she and Lucas were shown into a large room in the lower floors of the building.

It was strange, there was an entire city, yet this was the only building people lived in. She had yet to go into any of the other buildings that surrounded them. Were they just empty shells?