“Ah, we’re just missing Senri!” Gentrin grinned as Willem stopped next to him while Mave and Kian finished a semi-circle around the warrior with only one hand.
“Heard you got a promotion,” Learen said to her, smiling. “King’s Champion.”
“It’s not the only change. She did us the honor of being formally adopted into our family.” Kian couldn’t have sounded prouder. “Senri asked her, and she said yes.” He reached out and grabbed her horn, holding her so he could kiss her temple. “Now, we have a daughter to dote on.”
“And I have parents who refuse to let me forget it,” she said, trying to push him away.
There was laughter, so much of it, as they led Learen into the village. Senri found them in the small market, getting skewers of meat to snack on as they listened to Learen’s journey from Olost. The entire family being together wasn’t as common as any of them wanted, but that was the cost of the rebellion. There weren’t enough hours in the day.
“When I heard about what happened to Alchan’s village…” Learen sighed. “I wished I had stayed. My wife disagreed.”
“Of course,” Senri said with a smile. “She sounds like a smart female, wanting to keep her husband alive. Where is she now?”
“We’ve been in Kerit. We were some of the first to arrive from Olost, but with my…problem, no one forced me to come here. I wasn’t ready, either.” He lifted up the stump where one of his hands used to be. “She’s still in Kerit, setting up a household for us. She’s always wanted to come home, and Kerit is near her home village. After a couple of seasons, I grew tired of being so far out of the fighting. She gave me her blessing to come here and find my own way to be useful for the rebellion.”
“Alchan is busy for the rest of the day, but maybe we can steal Luykas from him and find you work,” Mave said. “I’m sure they’ll be glad to see you.”
“I know Dave has been managing much of the trade routes and numbers. If you show any aptitude for it, they’ll be happy to have an Andinna who once was Company to join that team,” Kian mentioned.
“Dave?” Learen frowned, looking between them.
“A human, the one that helped me, Matesh, and Rainev, escape the Empire. A dear friend,” Mave explained. “That’s not a bad idea. You all keep talking. I won’t get in trouble for interrupting whatever meetings they might be in.” She was up and moving before any of them could stop her. She went straight for the war room, catching her husband walking out.
“Luykas!” she exclaimed, smiling. “Good news for you.” She wrapped her arms around him as he smiled just at the sight of her.
“Good news, like you’re willing to take the rest of the day off?” He leaned in and kissed her.
“No. Good news, Learen is here and wants to help with the rebellion,” she corrected. “Kian had the idea he could help Dave. Take some of the load off from you and Alchan’s shoulders with the trading routes between our communities. He actually came in with a caravan from Kerit.” As she explained that to him, she caught Seanev landing nearby. He glanced their way, then walked to the war room. Mave took in every detail of that short moment. Her brother had half of his arm bandaged. He’d been hurt in the last week.
I’ll ask Alchan about it later. He won’t let Seanev go to battle with a serious injury.
“Really?” Luykas’ eyes went wide. “Well, let’s go then.”
She led him back to her family and the warrior, watching how Luykas and Learen laughed when they saw each other. The last and only time she had seen Learen with anyone from the Company, they had talked about how things had gone wrong, addressed old issues, and repaired old pains. Now, it was a joyous reunion. The rebellion was changing everything.
The talks were off, and Mave, wrapping her arm with Senri’s, felt good.
“This is the best part of the rebellion,” Senri said softly as they walked together. “Seeing our people come together again, this time with hope instead of desperation.”
“It’s amazing,” Mave agreed. “And it’s only going to get better.”
“It is. Now, what are your plans for the afternoon?”
“I’ll be doing light training with Emerian.”
“Your new nemari. I’ve heard.”
“So has everyone else.” Mave chuckled. “Do you want to watch?”
“I would love to,” she said, holding Mave close. “I’ll never turn down a chance to watch my daughter show off.”
“I won’t be showing off! I’m training him!”
“Sure.” Senri snorted.
11
Alchan
Alchan ate a quick lunch with his brother before watching him leave. He heard Mave outside but didn’t go investigate, only smiled to himself, wondering if they had felt each other in the blood bond and knew somehow. He enjoyed seeing them together, seeing them happy. He was always taken by the light in their eyes when they saw each other, even when they were angry at each other. And his sister, his Champion…she had four reasons to be happy. Luckily, his brother was one of them and hadn’t yet found a way to piss her off enough to lose that cherished place in her life.
If there’s one good thing about my rule, it’s her coming so far from where we found her. If I die, I’ll take that with me. And my brother is happy. So, two good things.
He had never wanted a sister growing up. He had never wanted to rescue Mave. He hadn’t really wanted to keep her in the Company.
I was a fool, but they’ve all forgiven me for it.
Alchan looked over his papers, seeing the numbers of troops he had spread out across Anden, the numbers of guards Senri trained and posted throughout the Dragon Spine mountain range, and the numbers of crafters he had in Leria’s community and Kerit. It threatened to give him a headache. He tried to avoid thinking about these numbers as much as he could, which wasn’t often. Normally, the only respite he found was his bedroom, where Rain allowed him to forget what was beyond their door.
He started flipping over the loose papers, trying not to think of what was on them. He wanted one afternoon where none of this was a worry, but as the rebellion grew, his chances to sneak away for even a meal were disappearing. Looking at the maps, letters, and other mountains of things he had to deal with, kept his mind off other problems, though—Rain and Lilliana.
Rain, his Consort, the first person Alchan had ever dared to love openly and the first to openly love him in return. Lilliana, a problem wrapped in a very pretty package that made Alchan painfully aware of everything that was wrong with him. And there were a lot of things wrong with him—painfully, awfully wrong.
He loved Rain, and every time he looked at the male, he wanted that body underneath his own. What Alchan wanted to avoid was when he looked at Lilliana, he felt the same thing for different reasons.
She could be mine.
Rain purposefully teased Alchan’s possessive monster, making it feel less vicious, less terrible. Alchan loved Rain for that acceptance. Rain found pleasure in the possessive creature Alchan could be.
Lilliana brought it out by just breathing. Her very nature made his monster wake up and take notice, and thanks to Rain, Alchan’s control was loosening in unacceptable ways. Finally, there was a female he could have and claim, who wouldn’t get snappy with him, wouldn’t test his will. There would be no need for violence because she didn’t have that level of fight in her.
As that thought entered his mind, Alchan broke out in a cold sweat. All he could do was try to ignore it. He could live through this if he didn’t indulge it.
Thank the Skies for Mave. She’ll stop me. If anything happens, I can trust her to stop me.
A knock made him look up to Seanev in the doorframe.
“We have a meeting,” Alchan said, sighing. He wasn’t in the right place for this meeting, not after the morning he’d had and the obscene things running through his mind. “Come in.”
“Have you eaten?” the male asked softly. “You often forgot to during the War. Hertesh and I would have to force you a
nd Luykas to sit down and eat.”
“I’ve gotten better at eating while I work. He and I just had our midday meal.” Alchan understood what Seanev was trying to do, and in a sense, it worked.
Alchan could remember the times when Seanev was one of his closest friends. Luykas and Alchan had worked alongside General Lorren for so long, they had become his sons as much as Seanev and Hertesh were. Before Alchan and Luykas had risen through the ranks and earned their reputations, the two Lorren sons were often considered as Javon’s heirs. They still were because Alchan couldn’t just be a military leader anymore. He had to be his grandmother’s heir. Luykas needed to be even more—a spymaster, a general with no army, and a prince, whenever that was necessary.
Thoughts of the past helped Alchan slowly move past thoughts of Rain and Lady Lilliana. He was certain Seanev had no idea what he was thinking about, but the warrior had helped him in more ways than one. Alchan’s mind cleared in the silence that followed his answer, and he was grateful. He needed to be a king now, not an uncontrollable bedru.
“Good, good,” Seanev said softly.
“You wanted to have a private meeting with me before another meeting. What is it?” Alchan looked at the intelligent commander and saw the sad brother and the last, lonely son of greatness—all of them applied. Alchan had been all of them many times in his own life. He’d changed, though. Only a few years ago, he might not have seen with as much clarity, which was the secret skill of those who ruled. They had to see everything, even if it was uncomfortable to look in a mirror because a ruler’s people were his or her mirror.
Alchan didn’t just see the ethereal, though. He saw the physical, and the bandage on his general’s arm was a problem.
“I…” Seanev trailed off, bringing a hand up to his mouth, rubbing his jaw in thought. “I wanted to apologize for Lilliana. In private, just me and you. I needed to…”
“Try to justify it?” Alchan said, a growl rumbling in his chest at the mention of the ahren now living in his house and unintentionally eroding his control over himself. He was angry, but not at her. No, he was angry for her. He was angry at himself for what he was privately thinking about. If he lost control, she could get hurt.
“No, only to ask for forgiveness,” Seanev said softly, walking through the room slowly. Alchan turned away from the table as Seanev walked around it and knelt, his head lowered. “I disagreed with Leria, but I allowed her to do it anyway. I should have fought harder in the name of my king to protect his interests and well-being. I knew you as a boy and as a man. I knew you would never condone the way Lady Lilliana was treated, even if it was a silent treatment. She was not ordered to take your bed, Leria only implied it, knowing better.”
“Do you think it would have been better your way?” Alchan asked, crossing his arms.
“I do,” Seanev said honestly, looking up. “I think a small introduction through letters would have been vastly more appropriate for both you and Lilliana, who would have needed time to adjust to possibly being courted and the concept of living away from the temple where she was raised.”
“Why?” Alchan growled. “She might be the only female I can tolerate in a bedroom, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have—”
“And you are the only male who would ever accept her,” Seanev said. “I never claimed it was a good idea, only better than my wife’s. I also know if Lilliana, you, and Rainev could talk out everything before meeting, there was a chance she could have had a family, too.”
Alchan realized the truth in Seanev’s words.
An ahren could never find a normal Andinna male who would accept a long-term relationship without the threat of losing him. Females, even those like Yenni, were driven away by the submissiveness of Lilliana’s kind. It was in her blood, her bones, her very soul. She was made to yield, made to bend. She was her most natural when she did those things, and it was easily abusable. To ask her to be dominant was to ask her to go against her very nature and was vastly unfair. Just as it was unfair for anyone to ask him to submit. It went against his nature and was dangerous to everyone around him.
“Who is she to you?” he finally asked, wondering why Seanev was fighting for her, realizing now that he was. Seanev wanted to see the ahren happy as much as he wanted to see the rebellion succeed.
“A male’s duty is to handle those things his female might have missed. To cover her weaknesses and help her be strong by providing a strong unit around her. Lilliana is one of Leria’s weaknesses. She can’t control her instincts around the ahren. For many years, I was the one who did check-ins with Lilliana to keep my wife from having to put herself in a position of weakness by seeming cruel. I grew attached to the girl as she grew up. She probably never knew I was there, but in a way, she was like my warriors. Mine, not my wife’s.”
“The same reason I’m keeping her in my home.” Alchan reached up and rubbed his temples. He didn’t miss how attached Seanev sounded as he spoke of Lady Lilliana. He knew how attached a commander got to his warriors. Alchan felt it with his Ivory Shadows. “You’re an honorable male, Seanev. I’m sorry the circumstances have put us on opposite sides of a war we shouldn’t be fighting. You can get up, apology accepted.”
Seanev rose up, wincing as he used his injured arm to grab the table. “Thank you, Alchan.”
“What happened to your arm?” Alchan asked, pointing at it. “Can I look?”
“It’s nothing. Personal business.”
Alchan narrowed his eyes on Seanev, who seemed to shrink for a minute, stepping back.
“Seanev, what did you do?” There were very few reasons for a male such as Seanev to have an injury for ‘personal business.’
“I warned her,” Seanev whispered.
“You warned who of what?” Alchan snapped. He could probably put it together, but he wanted to preserve some denial, just for a moment. He had once cared for this male and didn’t want to think about what Seanev was probably referring to.
“I warned Leria if she forced me to bring Lilliana down here, someone I had protected since she was a child, Leria would pay for it. We have a blood bond, Alchan, and while most don’t talk about it, dominance can be exerted through it.”
Alchan’s eyes grew wide. What Seanev described was taboo.
“You fought to stop her,” he gasped. “And she—”
“I didn’t draw a sword, but I did everything I could to convince her not to go down her path.” Seanev cut him off, speaking urgently for a moment. Probably because drawing a sword could be grounds for execution, depending on the circumstances. “A male’s second responsibility to his female is to tell her when she is wrong. And as a commander, I have the responsibility to protect the helpless, even if it’s from a mativa…even if it’s from my mativa.”
“She bent you through the blood bond.” It was taboo, but not illegal. Alchan couldn’t punish her because Seanev had agreed to the blood bond. Even two dominant Andinna like Mave and Luykas had never even attempted to do that to each other, which told Alchan about Leria’s state of mind.
“She did.”
“And you’re…” Alchan nodded to the bandage.
“Bloodletting,” Seanev finished, nodding. “Weakening the bond as best as I can. I’m planning to leave her, but when I’m in her presence, it’s harder to think. It’s all her, and my world is different. Then I get away from her and see things clearly again. I see my ruined future with my own sister, and you, my king, and Luykas, my friend. If I have it my way, I’ll never see Leria again. There are more important things in my life I want to focus on, and she’s…not allowing me to do that.”
“Skies, Seanev, she’s your wife…You’ve loved her for a long time.” Alchan was trying to rationalize, but it sounded hollow coming from him. He didn’t want to see Seanev alone, but excusing an abusive female fell flat.
“For a thousand years, we did wonderfully, but she…she refused to apologize or make any attempt to speak to me about Mave after…after that came out,” Seanev said
softly.
“She’s scared,” Alchan decided, nodding at his own judgment of the female. “She’s had power alone for so long with no one over her. If I produce a female heir, she’ll have someone who can relate to her better than me and a bunch of other males ever could.”
“She’s done nothing illegal, and she’s been good to our people for centuries.” Seanev sounded a little bitter. “She’s the perfect mativa to everyone.”
“She hasn’t been good to all her people,” Alchan pointed out. “She hasn’t been good to you or Lilliana, or Yenni, who is now shacking up with my mativa. No one realizes I know that story. You’re right, though. Leria is a good mativa to most. However, it’s the ones she’s failed who tell the better tale.” Alchan reached out and touched his friend’s shoulder. “And even if she was good to everyone, she hasn’t been good to you. And for that? Leave her. You are welcome to stay in this village until you are ready to tell her. I’ll find some excuse for you to stay. Did you leave a good commander with the rest of your forces up north?”
“I did,” Seanev said, nodding. “And I told him this was a possibility. Not the personal reason, only that I might be needed down here to fight for you until this is over. I was a respected commander in the first war and have been hoping to return to that and uphold my own reputation better than I have.”
“Good.” Alchan felt the need to correct this. In the end, many of these situations were brought about by the unusual circumstances of their times. Normally, there would be no king they had to force to breed. Normally, a male would have a network to lean on if his wife was abusing her power and position, especially if she was a mativa. There was supposed to be balance, where the mativas kept each other in line and prevented them from falling into the trap of being dominant. There were lines they couldn’t cross to prevent from becoming cruel, and they had to help each other deal with those.
There was supposed to be a queen who could boast the power of the goddess Lariana, who forced the mativas into line, not that the mativas knew about the power. That queen would be answerable to the goddess herself.
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