The Champion's Ruin

by Kristen Banet

  “You’re the first noble Alchan has formally declared since he took the throne,” Rain pointed out, smiling. “Isn’t that special?”

  Her amethyst eyes were big, looking between Rain and Alchan, but Rain saw the moment something shifted. Alchan didn’t do anything, but something changed, and the little female was trapped in his dominant amber gaze.

  “I’ve never thought about what I wanted,” she whispered. “Other than to leave the temple. I wanted more freedom.”

  “Then you’ll have more freedom, but be careful. Freedom is a big world, and it can be overwhelming. I’ve seen hundreds…thousands of Andinna escape slavery. They all look at the world with the same eyes, full of wanting and fear.” Alchan stood up and sighed. “Rain, you’re going to lose your private bedroom.”

  “I never use it,” Rain reminded him with a smile. “Let me move my things out. Lilliana, did you bring anything?”

  “I left it with my horse,” she said softly, looking between them, her eyes frantic. “Please, don’t let me disrupt your life. If anything, let me help. Please. I’ll clean. I’ll cook. I’ll do anything. I’m sorry for this.”

  “You haven’t done anything,” Alchan growled. “I’ll get your things. Rain, clear out the room for her?”

  “Certainly.”

  Rain jumped up as Alchan left the room, then the house. They were going to have to make this work. Lilliana needed a place where she could learn to spread her wings and would be protected. Rain was okay with giving her that.

  His fear of her tearing Alchan away from him was barely a consideration now as he cleaned up the room he never used.

  “When you are in here, Alchan won’t bother you,” he explained to Lilliana as she helped him. “And you don’t need to do any of that. You don’t need to take care of our house or anything.”

  “I want to,” she said softly. “For both of you being so…kind. I had a different impression of His Majesty.”

  “Alchan is a bedru, and most people think that only makes him mean, vicious, too dominant for his own good, and dangerous because of it. It’s not all that a bedru is,” Rain said softly. “When I started training with him, before we started sleeping together, I was in a really vulnerable place. I had been through something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. He took me under his wing when he didn’t have to. He reminded me how to be strong when all I wanted was lessons in sword work and combat. He’s protective and possessive. He’s arrogant and powerful, but he’s more than a shallow puddle of stereotypes others judge him by. He’s more than the king, more than just a leader. Give it time, and his behavior today won’t surprise you. It’ll be what you expect from him.”

  Rain picked up the only trunk he kept in the room, now full of the clothing he had left all over the floor, and walked out.

  She’ll see. If anyone can help her find her place in the world, it’s him.

  6

  Mave

  Mave sat with her husbands, the rest of the Company, many of the different leaders from around the valley, and in one tiny section of the war room, Seanev and his closest warriors. Kenav was missing from this drama, something Mave was glad for. They were still waiting on the western army to come back from the spring campaign Kenav was leading.

  The first thing Allaina had done was explain to her the full scope of what Lilliana was. Mave had felt terrible for her reaction, absolutely awful. Allaina had echoed that but didn’t give any sympathy. It was just what they were. When Andinna, like bedrus and ahren, existed, they were against the natural order of their people, which left dominant females in charge. It only made sense a dominant female wouldn’t want anything different.

  “You are a real asshole,” Luykas said, breaking the silence. “Really, Seanev. He’s just found a consort, who is also a cherished member of our community, and you bring an ahren and dump her on his head without a single warning.”

  “Take it up with my wife,” Seanev said stiffly. “I wanted to slowly introduce them. Tell Alchan she existed first. The right way to…try to do what Leria wanted. She was the one who packed Lilliana up and put her on the road with me.”

  “And what did Leria want to do?” Mave asked, making more than a couple of people in the room pale. “Someone, please explain.” She had a feeling, but she wanted Seanev or anyone to fucking own up to it.

  “Arrange a marriage of convenience,” Seanev explained. “Alchan needs to produce heirs. If we win the rebellion, there needs to be someone who can take over after him. He’s not allowed to grow old and die without having children. Leria and I have known about Lilliana since she was born. She’s even a good age, only nine hundred years old. She’s young enough to be healthy and old enough to carry—”

  “Don’t talk about her like she’s a broodmare. No female should ever bear a male’s child without agreeing to it,” Allaina growled from her place. Mave looked over to see Yenni reach out and grab her, holding the mativa in place. The last thing this situation needed was a female attacking a male, especially a mativa attacking another mativa’s husband. The infighting that would set off would destroy the rebellion from within.

  Mave stood and looked around the room, trying to guess the mood. There was a lot of anger—anger she could fall into if she wasn’t careful—but in the absence of Alchan, she and Luykas were his representatives. She would stop Allaina with Yenni if she had to, but Senri’s growl behind her made her realize there were a lot of dangerous females in the room. Even pregnant, Senri knew how to swing a battle axe.

  And she had her battle axe.

  “I agree with you,” Seanev said, bowing his head to Allaina. “That was why I thought this needed to be done slowly. To give them a chance to meet each other, to understand the need, and come to their own agreement. That’s how it’s been done before when the times called for it.”

  “She wouldn’t have said no,” Senri snapped. “Just because she would say okay doesn’t mean she wants it. That’s the problem with ahren. They have no backbone, and you put one in the path of the most dominant Andinna alive, a bedru at that!” Senri snarled and stormed out of the room.

  “Allaina, Yenni, will you go with her?” Mave asked, hoping to make herself the only female in the room. She agreed with them, but their tempers were somehow hotter than hers.

  But only because her rage was cold.

  Allaina opened her mouth, then closed it, narrowing her eyes at Mave. After a moment, Allaina smiled, revealing fangs, and turned her cutting glare to Seanev.

  “I’d say good luck, but honestly, I hope she fucking castrates you.” Allaina turned on her heel and walked out of the room as Seanev’s guards tried to step forward and surround him.

  “Don’t,” he ordered his guards before looking at Mave.

  “I don’t know why you play her games when you disagree with them,” Mave said softly, stepping closer to her brother, going around the table. “But if my king is hurt by this, you’ll both pay for it. Is that clear?” She stopped in front of him.

  “I’m going to assume you being his Champion is worth more than my being your brother.” Seanev was angry now. Whatever hurt he had when they had finally met was gone. Now he was pissed, and Mave knew the cause. She still picked others and everything over him.

  “No. Him being my brother is worth more to me than you being my brother,” she corrected, smiling. “Because unlike you,”—Mave reached out and adjusted her brother’s chest piece, noticing it was a little off-center from the trip—“he put me first. He puts everyone first. You only see Leria. You only see what she wants and what she believes is best.” Mave held the chest piece now, pulling him closer. “Even when you disagree with her, you would rather make your king, your sister, and everyone here fighting for the Andinna, miserable than piss off your wife. That’s why Alchan means more to me. He’s a better brother.” She shoved him back, letting him stumble into his guards. “As for Lilliana? We’ll hold him to the same standards we hold him to with Rain. If he tries to do anything to her that she isn�
�t okay with, we’ll kill him. Because I know Alchan well enough to know he would do it himself once he crossed that line.”

  “My Champion knows me too well sometimes.” Alchan’s voice swept over the room once she was done. “Seanev, you’ll tell Leria if she ever tries to meddle in the life of her king again, I’ll strip her of her title as mativa, exile her from Anden, and leave her territory to be chopped up among the lower mativas. You’ll be more than welcome to go with her. As it stands, tell her when this is all settled, Allaina will be the capital’s mativa, and Leria will not be allowed to grow her territory any further until my fury has subsided.”

  “Yes, Sir,” Seanev whispered. “How is Lilliana?”

  “It’s now Lady Lilliana. Something in this world needs to give her the power your mativa obviously tried to strip from her. Go get your warriors settled in. We’ll talk more tomorrow,” Alchan dismissed him.

  Mave didn’t move, waiting for Alchan to step up beside her. A hand wrapped around and touched her shoulder and pulled her to his side as they both stared at the door Seanev used to leave.

  “Thank you, sister. You know I’ll hold you to that promise.” His voice was soft and low.

  “I do. How is she? I’m sorry for my reaction to her. Please let her know I would never hurt her.” Mave felt it needed to be said, and when she angled to look at Alchan, there was amusement in his eyes.

  “I know you wouldn’t, and she understands how dominant females react to her. Can I have everyone but the Company clear out?”

  The rest of the high-ranking Andinna left, Andinna she barely knew, leaving her only with her favorite faces.

  “What are we going to do with her? We can’t send her back to Leria,” Nevyn was the boldest, asking what they all wanted to know.

  “Rain is currently getting her settled in our spare room. As much as I respect and appreciate the leadership of the females here, she’ll be staying with me to keep tensions from rising as everyone tries to fight their own instincts. I’ll find her something to do that has nothing to do with my bedroom. I’m sure Leria will be very excited to hear her ahren will help the rebellion.” The sarcasm dripping off Alchan’s tongue made everyone in the room either chuckle or growl. “I have no intention of trying to woo her, so don’t ask. She’ll be allowed into the village with free rein, something she’s never been allowed before, though I asked her to keep Rain with her. He’s with her right now, getting his old room cleaned up. If anyone can help me, we need to find her things, so she’s comfortable.”

  Nevyn and Varon stepped forward. Kian was next. Mave smiled at her father, and he smiled in return. He was too good a male to leave a female with little help.

  “Tomorrow, we’ll begin the preparations to send Seanev and five hundred warriors out to the summer campaign. We’re still waiting to hear from Kenav as of this morning.”

  “Are we dividing east and west for the summer campaign or sending Seanev to do all of it?” Luykas crossed his arms, frowning.

  “Seanev will be handling all of it. He’s an experienced general and has handled large campaigns before,” Alchan answered. “I would love it if Kenav got back before I send Seanev out, but that might be a fool’s hope. Keep them in your prayers.”

  “Brother, with Leria, maybe we can work something out a little less harsh.” Luykas sounded concerned, but Mave knew Alchan in this mood.

  “My decision is final,” Alchan growled softly at Luykas. “She’ll live with it, or she’ll die testing my patience. I can’t tolerate meddling. If I allow it now, I’ll spend the rest of my damn life trying to stop it. She’s crossed a line, Luykas, and everyone here knows it. The entire damn village knows it. I found a Consort she didn’t approve of. I don’t think we all need a lesson in why Rainev and I can’t reproduce. She wants me to pop out a daughter to be queen because she hates me.”

  “You know that’s not the only reason,” Luykas said in a hushed, urgent whisper. “Don’t start those sorts of rumors, they’ll make you look bad. You know why it’s important to have a daughter or any fucking heir, Alchan. I’m not saying Leria did the right thing. She’s a bitch, but if you overreact, people will worry about the future of our people. The rebellion is strong. We’re getting stronger every day. Everyone is starting to wonder what comes next. That includes who succeeds you.”

  Mave kept out of it. Her knowledge of how to make the appropriate political decision was weak at best.

  “It’s not an overreaction,” Alchan growled. “Yet. I already wanted Allaina to continue being the mativa closest to me when this was all said and done. I know how to work with her. As for anything else, once I cool down, she can go back to being a power-hungry bitch.” Alchan ran a hand through his hair, showing a moment of vulnerability as he looked at his brother. “And I know about the heir problem. I know. Let’s go get this done. Help me with her things. I want you to meet her.”

  Alchan walked to the door, touching Mave’s shoulder as he passed. Luykas followed him, kissing her cheek. Nevyn, Varon, and Kian went in silence.

  “This was a shit show,” Mat said, coming up to her side. “Sad Bryn missed it.”

  Mave snorted. “Wow.”

  “You know he would have backed you up, just as well as any of us. He’s small, but he’s scary.”

  “He is,” she agreed, nodding slowly. “So, what do we have planned for the rest of the day?”

  “Well, if you get your swords, maybe we can go train with Emerian and Trevan. Dave is probably with them, too.”

  “Zayden, do you want to come?” she asked around her big husband.

  “No, I need to get to Senri’s guards.” He stepped up and kissed her goodbye.

  Once he was gone, Mave smiled at Mat. “Just you and me, huh?”

  “Would you be upset if I told you that sometimes I really like it this way?” He gave her an arrogant smirk she knew so well. “I like to think when I have you to myself, I can keep you busy and satisfied enough, we might not need the others.”

  “You love them,” she accused.

  “I do but as brothers. I love you,” he reminded her, his tail hooking with hers. “I love you more than any of them.”

  She couldn’t respond to that the right way, so she continued to smile and said something she knew would get to him. “I know.”

  Mat laughed and groaned at the same time as they headed for the small clearing where Emerian and Trevan practiced. She didn’t love any of her husbands more than the others but had learned she loved them differently. Unique pieces of her family needed unique pieces of her heart. They were different males, and that led to different care. Mat wanted to be her consistent husband, always by her side. Bryn wanted to be a quiet presence who basked in the light of the family when he had been through so much darkness. Luykas was a partner on and off the battlefield, even when their relationship was the battlefield. And Zayden was a family man. He wanted to take care of everyone and got upset when he couldn’t.

  So, she could never tell one of them she loved him more than the others, only differently.

  When Mave and Mat entered the clearing, she saw her odd friends lying in the grass, laughing about something, a few wineskins around them, a couple of them empty.

  “Well, we’re dealing with potentially ruining problems for the rebellion, and you three are drunk on wine,” she teased as she walked closer. “I’m going to assume training is off the schedule today.”

  “We trained all morning,” Emerian said with a grin. “We decided to have a good afternoon.”

  “Of course,” she said softly, looking at his pretty, angular face. Luykas had been heavily influenced by his Andinna side, but Emerian was so very Elvasi. His dark skin hailed from one subset of the Elvasi people. His angular face, with high cheekbones and the pointed ears…if someone removed the Andinna parts of him, he would almost blend in with the race they were at war with.

  But his black eyes, holding blood-red irises, gave him away. Even if the horns, tail, and wings were stripped away, thos
e black eyes made sure the world knew he was Andinna, even if he was only half Andinna.

  He’s damn pretty. I don’t blame all the females for wanting him.

  “What happened?” Dave asked, looking up from his notebook. Mat sat down next to him and sighed, giving her a look that begged for her to explain.

  “It’s complicated and not really my business,” she said pragmatically. She had just gotten out of the war room. She didn’t particularly want to rehash the drama. She wanted to tell Emerian what she needed to tell him and move on with her day.

  “Emerian, a few friends of mine have mentioned some of the females are really interested in you. You know you’re allowed to interact with the other Andinna now, right?”

  “Yeah. Luykas told me to keep my weapon on me like everyone else, but other than that, I’m free to do whatever.” Emerian shrugged. “Why?”

  “Well, I’m…” Mave huffed, looking at her husband, who only chuckled at her expense and offered no help.

  When she turned back on the pretty mutt, he was looking at her with his head tilted, confusion and innocence on his face. That was why she didn’t act on her attraction. Emerian had gone through so much in his life, but there was something beautifully innocent about him. She felt like she was too dark and could harm that innocence.

  “You’re allowed to sleep with the females if they invite you to,” she finally said, rushing it out. “No one is against having a good time in this village.”

  “I didn’t even know there were females looking,” he said, turning to look at the sky. “Don’t really pay attention to everyone else. I just do my thing and let them do theirs.”

  “Just go up to them when you see them watching you and introduce yourself. If there’s one you’re particularly interested in, let her know. She’ll tell you if it’s a possibility, and you can go from there.” Mave reached out for a wineskin that wasn’t empty and took a sip. They had the good stuff reserved for the upper ranks of the rebellion. It made sense. “We don’t want you accidentally losing a chance for something because you don’t know the way of things. You should have a full Andinna life.”