A Switch Spin-off
Copyright © Eve Newton, 2014
Copyright © Eve Newton, 2017
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
Readers Note:
This is just a quick short story which tells the other side of the Switch and should be read after Switch, The Forever Series Book 7. Just a little look into the world of Other Aefre and what happened during and after the Switch. Enjoy!
Prologue
Miami, USA, February 2013 - Aefre
I wake up in an unfamiliar bed with cotton sheets. White cotton sheets. Ergh. Is this a hotel? I peer around in distaste. How on earth did I get here? And where is here?
“Aefre. You’re awake,” Constantine says to me in English, which is odd, as he strides towards me in an unfamiliar suit and sits next to me on the bed. He drops his mouth to mine with a quick kiss me and I blink at him and kiss him back with a deeper kiss, which he responds to after a slight hesitation. At least he is here. He peers at me before he says, “Your husband called, he is running late but everyone else is here. They want to see you. Can’t even go a day without your company.” He stands up abruptly.
I frown at him. “My husband? Everyone?” I ask in English as he is talking to me in the language.
He tilts his head and frowns. “Are you well, my sweet? Did you have another dream?”
Dream? “No, I am fine,” I say. “Give me a minute?”
“Of course. I like your accent. Decided to go with a change after a thousand years?” he asks with his perfect smile.
What does he mean a change in accent? I have had a perfectly cultured Italian accent, which I find quite charming, especially when talking in this language, for as long as I can remember. Whatever is going on, I seem to be somewhere that is not my world. I smile at Constantine, who doesn’t appear to be my husband, but someone else’s, as I notice the ring he wears. It is not the ring I gave him, and say again, “A minute please.”
He is looking at me curiously. “We will be in the sitting room.”
I nod as he closes the door. The first thing I notice then is that my own rings are all different. And I have no markings on my arms. I peer over my shoulder and see that I have the Dragon on my back. I look again at my hands. Well, not my hands. Long black nails that go with the, I squint at it, 5-carat black diamond engagement ring and black diamond wedding ring. I have a ring on my thumb, which on closer inspection appears to be the one made of Faerie Silver and the blue diamond is on my right ring finger. Wherever I am, it seems I am not married to Constantine, but to some other man who is running late. I wonder why Constantine has given me this ring, what I think of as my centuries’ late engagement ring, to wear on my right hand. I quickly get out of the bed and get dressed, pulling on a smart black pants suit and white shirt from, well, that’s a good question: where? I look at myself in the mirror. I look like me. The only difference is my posture. I pull myself up to my full height as I slip on the shoes left by the dresser. Hm, Louboutins. Good to know that Christian is also here.
I pick up the phone on the bedside cabinet and see that the date and year is the same. The time reads 7:45 PM. The damn thing is locked with a passcode, but I am pleased to see that the lock screen is a photo of myself and Constantine. Well, what I can only imagine is another “me” and her Constantine. Somehow it appears I have switched bodies and lives and time with another me. I always wondered if alternate universes exist and apparently, they do. Seems she has the power to move through the space/time continuum. I certainly don’t, but I try to get back to Italy and my time anyway and fail as I expected. I will just have to sit this out until she finds a way to switch us back. I look out of the window and I don’t know where I am. Well, I suppose I will have to go and face this “everyone” he spoke of. Whoever they might be. Should I mention that I am not theirs? One doesn’t know the proper protocol for something like this. I decide to wait and see.
I exit the bedroom, and “everyone” turns to stare at me. Hm, quite the crowd. I take them all in one at a time, starting with Constantine.
Chapter 1
Miami, USA, February 2013 – Aefre
“My sweet? Is everything okay?” Constantine asks me as I just continue to stare at him.
I nod and shift my gaze to Sebastian, who is standing next to him. Oh, my sweet Sebastian. I gaze at him adoringly and his eyes widen in astonishment, but then close as I adjust my features. She apparently does not have a relationship with him yet. What a pity. Everyone is silent as I carry on my inspection of this group.
“Liv,” a voice comes from the door. “I am so sorry I am late, but I had to wait for the script changes, and it took longer than we expected.” A dashingly handsome man strides towards me and sweeps me up in a passionate kiss. I guess this is the husband then. I kiss him back momentarily and then pull away. He stares down at me with eyes so beautiful they make me want to cry. He hands me a pile of leaflets and says, “Also, seeing as we are going to London next week, I thought you could help me familiarize myself with the city, what with it being your hometown and all.”
My hometown? Well, yes, technically it is where I was born and lived out my human life. She must still live there.
A devastatingly good-looking young man, with the clearest blue eyes I have ever seen, jumps up from the sofa. “Lizzie hasn’t been back in decades, I’ll help,” he says and plucks them out of my hand.
Lizzie? The other one called me Liv. This is getting confusing, and is she English or not? I’ll just go with it.
“Of course, anything to help,” I say to him in the best English accent I can muster, hoping it doesn’t sound too fake. I assume she goes with an upper middle-class accent, as do I in my own language.
He peers at me curiously. “Thanks. So, what did I miss?” he asks, gesturing around the room.