Savage King: New Worlds - Milly Taiden Page 0,66

of the morning went by fast. During her break, she sat at the back entrance to the diner, talking to her mother on the phone.

“Kaia,” her mom said in that authoritarian voice, “did you buy any food?”

“No, Mom. DJ and his girlfriend don’t buy any food. When I buy it, they eat it all when I’m at work and never replace anything.” She glanced at her black Nikes. They were her only pair and already they were torn from overuse. She’d need to buy another pair soon.

“Your brother is allowing you to live at his house. The least you can do is pay half of everything and buy some food.”

Her shoulders slumped. “I’m already paying the rent and half of the bills that aren’t mine.”

“Whatever,” her mom said, dismissing her. God, she always did that and it just made Kaia feel more alone than before she’d called. “Are you okay?”

She didn’t really want to know. She just said those words to act like she cared. Damn. Was she in a shitty mood or what?

“I’m fine.” Her mom never noticed when her responses were clipped or heard the exhaustion in her voice.

“Okay. I gotta go. I’m going to the spa today. Have you spoken to your dad?” The spa, that was a luxury she could never afford but heaven forbid her mom offer to treat her sometime.

“Not yet.” She knew without a doubt he’d be calling in the next few minutes and then he’d start crying over whatever financial problems he had. Problems he always expected Kaia to solve.

“Listen, your grandmother gave me this ugly old-style necklace with a gemstone that looks like something a little kid put together. She said it was supposed to go to you on your twenty-first birthday.”

Kaia sighed. “Mom, I just turned twenty-two.”

“You did? When?”

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Elf King

Chapter One

Avery lifted her battle axe and threw it into the back of the ogre in front of her.

“Sorry, bmooner46,” she said, adjusting the mic on her gaming headset. “Never turn your ass end to the landscaping.”

Bmooner46 snorted loud and clear through the speakers. “You damn bush-camper. Only a chicken shit hides in the bushes, santa’s_helper.”

She smiled. “Maybe,” Avery replied. “But who’s dead and who’s going to kick everyone else’s ass?” Well, not this go around. As soon as her mother got home from her ER shift, she was dragging Avery shopping for “proper” office attire. Avery’s post-graduation corporate job started next week, and she wasn’t looking forward to it. In fact, she dreaded it.

“I wouldn’t be too proud about that, santa’s_helper,” bmooner46 said. “It’s a Friday night and look where we are.”

So she didn’t have a boyfriend, wasn’t in a relationship. Most of her interactions with guys her age were done in virtual reality. Big deal. Having a man in her life was not a necessity, but it sure would’ve been nice at times. Like every night and weekend.

No, she reminded herself. If she’d had a significant other, he would demand too much of her time, and making money as a professional video game player took a lot of hours.

Shifting position in the leather recliner her parents bought for her return home from college, she moved her character through the game. Up ahead were mythicals which called for swords and big-ass blades to take down. Usually, fantasy monsters were easy to kill, but sometimes they were a pain in the neck. Humans were easy. Just shoot them till they died.

Bringing up a hand axe, her character threw it from a hundred feet away. It landed in the dead center of a green skull. As she ran across a bridge, half a dozen more creatures jumped over the sides from below, ambushing her. Damn sneaky, but nothing she couldn’t handle. Selecting a long knife, she jumped and came down, sinking the dagger to the hilt into an eyeball.

Her fingers were a blur on the controller as she battled her way through, barely thinking about which buttons to push. When she was in the zone, mostly during big competitions, she could fight her way through an entire level in record time and not remember how she did it. Only the best of the best of the best made it to the Gaming World Championship.

On the side table, her phone rang. That had to be her mom telling her she was on her way home.

Avery looked forward to spending quality time with her mother on their girls’ out night since her father was at his office in