Chosen Bride of the Seven Dark Princes

"Candace!" The twins jumped up and ran to her side as they each took one of her arms and escorted her back to the Tiki Bar.

Suddenly, their world was sparkling and joyous again. Their muse and the source of their artistic inspiration was here!

"Cancandi!" Leonardo breathed. Leave it to his woman to grasp the intricacies of biology that his own dunderhead brother failed to comprehend.

They say that the brain is the biggest sex organ in the body and Leonardo could not agree more. There was nothing more exciting to him than an intellectually brilliant woman.

Slate smiled. "There's my girl," he murmured under his breath as his body began to respond to the mere sight of her walking across the garden.

Slate could not control his reaction to her. The woman physically aroused him merely by walking into the room!

Images of their lovemaking began to appear before his eyes and he had to look away before he embarrassed himself in front of his brothers.

Lucas smiled as he saw her walking towards them. Her eyes met his and he looked away as shyness rose on his cheeks like the bloom of a virgin rose bud.

He knew that she was too high above him to even think about having a chance with her but nobody could take away Lucas' right to hope and dream that she might think of him as someone she could be with.

Byron stared at the woman destined to be his bride. His throat tightened and his chest swelled with emotions that he could not put a name to.

He had no doubt in his mind that she would be the winner of the Avgo. In his mind, she was already his wife.

He had been preparing since the start, his mind and soul to receive her into his inner sanctum, to be his mate and the mother of his children. The thought gave him such a thrill that he could barely breathe.

Dante's green eyes glinted with something that looked suspiciously like tears. He turned away, and when he turned back, the momentary reflection of light that bounced off his bright green eyes were gone.

No one knew of his emotional break down but Candace and his servants. He had always been too emotional, felt too intensely about the people and things he cared the most for.

The depth and breadth of his emotions was something that Dante wrestled with every day of his life. She was like the balm to his tortured soul and the medicine he needed to control his mental and emotional demons.

He needed her to survive this crazy world.

Escorted by the noisy and chattering green-haired twins, Candace was completely unaware of all the internal turmoil of the Princes. She turned to all of them standing around the Tiki Bar and waved with an excited grin.

As she came closer, the attendant made a drink and placed it on the bar for her. She frequented the Tiki Bar quite often and he knew exactly what she always asked for.

Dante smiled and picked up the drink, intending on bringing it to her, but then he raised his eyebrows as his nose picked up the scent of the drink.

"Water?" He asked the attendant.

"The Princess always asks for water, Your Royal Highness."

Dante nodded and brought the drink over to Candace.

"I'm glad you could join us." He handed her the glass.

Candace took the drink from his hand and took a sip.

"Hmmm. How did you know I wanted this?"

Dante indicated with his head at the attendant on duty.

"I hire excellent help, and they all only have one duty—to take good care of you."

"So tell me," Dante asked as he led her back to the group, with the twins following behind. "What did the Ellipsoidal Macrocosm say about the Avgo?"

Candace sipped her water and sat on the bar stool they pulled out for her.

"I don't know if I should say anything. I'm sure you all are far more knowledgeable about the Avgo and the Ellipsoidal Macrocosm than I am."

"Don't be too sure," Leonardo's aqua eyes twinkled. "Most people have never even read the book although it is supposed to be required reading for all ages."

"I'm guilty of that. I've actually never read it." Lucas blushed and looked away.

"I don't blame you," Jason's face fell. "It's a rather boring book that only philosophers read. I think I scanned through it once just to be able to say that I read the thing."

Jared turned to Candace. "But we are curious about what you were able to gather from it. It could help shed light on this whole confusing situation."

Candace looked at the men. They seemed to be intensely interested in what she had learned.

"Well," she cleared her throat. "It starts off sounding like it would be some creation story about the universe and all, but that's not the bulk of the material."

She narrowed her eyes in concentration as she tried to recall the words as closely as she could.

"If you read carefully, the Ellipsoidal Macrocosm talks about the Avgo in very poetic detail."

"In chapter six, section ten, the Avgo Females who are chosen from among the myriad of females across the galaxy are selected for specific traits."

"Such as?" Byron asked. His eyes opened wide with wonder. This woman was quoting a book from an ancient language and notating the specific section and chapter.

"Well, the desired traits change throughout the ages. Sometimes, it's for traits that have either been lost due to active genetic pruning or inadvertent inbreeding."

"At other times, it's desirable traits that have sprung up independently from the general trends on some far remote corner of the galaxy."

"Ahhh. Is that why sometimes the pink Avgo shows itself? Is it looking for someone specific to its…spectrum?" Dante mused.

Candace scratched her blonde head.

"Well, we all know that the color pink doesn't actually exist on the visible spectrum of rainbow colors. Maybe the trait of being able to see the color pink is one that's targeted."

"Of course the color pink exists." Lucas touched his pink hair. "I color my hair this way because it attracts the visuals and the crowd."

Byron held up his hand.

"Wait. I don't see any color in your hair other than the pale blonde color that you and Leonardo both have."

Lucas turned to Byron, his eyes wide open with astonishment.

"Byron. Don't tell me you're partially colorblind!!!"