Chapter 8

The orchestra started to sort themselves out, get comfortable and tune up. The school choir came in, having stayed to the end of the day and being brought by the two people movers. When Yvonne was heading for her place, she stopped by Willow.

“I just met your driver, Sebastian. He’s quite a hunk, you lucky girl.”

“I’ve never noticed, Yvonne. He is very helpful and could be described as good looking.”

“Says the girl who he takes home at night.”

“But, Miss Yvonne, he has a chaperone in Max. We’re never alone!”

Our first morning in the UK was brighter, a communal breakfast taken in the conservatory and garden, bunkhouse style in the way everyone clubbed together. I still felt like shit, my usual reaction to long haul flights, but Maz and I had been woken by our daughter at about seven, Maz pretending to be asleep even after a prod from the girl. I understood why when LC finally turned to me for permission.

“Dad?”

“Yes, love?”

The slightest of twitches from her, and then that surge of confidence, or maybe hope, that warmed my heart.

“Can I play with the dogs again?”

Chapter 7

He took them upstairs and showed them the large office that overlooked the car park and the road, with toilets, a storage room and lunchroom. It was all dusty from lack of use.

“If you want to use this and we have closed the office downstairs, we can give you a key and code. The other buildings are open all the time except public holidays.”

Then, they went outside to the back building, where they were told to stand to the edge of the open area in case a forklift came in. It was a large open space with plenty of light.

Romance in a Carnival Mirror

A Transgender Paranormal Romantasy

From the Paranormal Visitor Universe

Chapter 1: Midnight Escape

By Sasha Zarya Nexus

Both kindred spirits June and Goldie who found each other at the Carnival are hunted by the Shadowmaster.
Will June's sacrificial love overcome the Shadowmaster and save her friends?

Copyright 2025 by Sasha Zarya Nexus.
All Rights Reserved.

Ellie's Voice

© 2025 by Grace Ann Hansen

Chapter 4: “A Closed Delivery”

Descent to the Surface

Desert moons always smelled like rust and regret. CL-9C, if the nav log was right, hadn’t seen rainfall in thirty years. Maybe longer. The air shimmered with heat rising off the cracked concrete surface, the dust swirling like a heat haze, a gritty, almost suffocating blanket that clung to everything. The rhythmic thump of the Indira’s engines, a steady pulse against the desolate silence of the moon, vibrated through the floorplates, a constant, almost physical reminder of our precarious existence.

Chapter 6

Willow was still sitting at the kitchen table when her parents arrived home. She was swept up in hugs and kisses from both of them.

“Fantastic show, darling. It was a real treat. I saw the Bishop with the Russell’s and the Head, and they all had big smiles. The comments that I heard from others was all positive. A lot were shocked but excited by the last song. Did everything go all right with you? What did Gina think of her outfit?”