Women in the small kingdom of Aeriana are disappearing.
Iris Daniels, a budding painter in the East Territory, is trying to keep her head down. In a kingdom filled with abilities, music, and Destined love, Iris is determined to build a career out of...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
""Don't you think you've done enough?"
"Eliza, I'm just getting started.""
—Season 2, Episode 4, Aerianan Drama An Ace Like You
King Demitri's illness had stolen all the strength from his muscles. It had been a gradual change, one he hadn't noticed until he sat down and thought back to how he used to be. But along with his stamina, all his muscles had weakened.
And the knowledge of that only put more pressure on him. He could not give up. Would not break. Not until he had a suitable replacement in place.
He needed one day. Just one day to rest and relax before the stress of either his job or the illness came pounding at his door.
But he'd never get that day. He was born into a family with power. He had a responsibility to his people to show up to work every single day of the week, even when it got hard. Especially when it got hard.
And although he loved his younger cousin Catalina, today had been more difficult than most to get up, dressed, and ready for the day. Looking back, he wondered if maybe his subconscious had known of the difficulties that were only steps away from his door.
Demitri pasted a polite smile on his face and stood to greet Catalina. "My dear."
Catalina, in a carefully tailored navy pantsuit, bowed her head slightly to greet him in return. "Your Majesty."
"I do hope you'll forgive me for the odd summons," he told Catalina and gestured for her to settle into the white suede armchair across from him in the sitting room.
He'd asked the staff to set up some tea and small finger foods in his own personal sitting room today. Other days, he usually picked one of the three parlors in the palace so that the staff could see him and know he was well. However, today he lacked the energy to do even something as simple as pull himself from his own room.
There was also another reason he'd chosen his private rooms today. He could not anticipate Catalina's reaction to the news and for that alone, that meant he had to tell her in private. Where he could give her a chance to digest everything he was about to tell her.
Catalina's dark hair was a pin straight curtain along her back as she sat. She'd always been extremely careful with her own presentation, never a hair out of place, even in the middle of a windstorm.
It was because of that she'd often landed herself among the beauty magazines and makeup articles across the kingdom. Yet even with that attention, she'd never been egotistical either. No one in this kingdom would ever use the word egotistical to describe Catalina.
