by Zara Zenia
“What do you think will happen now?” she asked. “With everything?”
“I have no idea,” Draklan said. “I think I really would have killed Bhatraz if—”
“I know,” Margot said. “I know. But I couldn’t . . . your mother wouldn’t have survived it. And I couldn’t let you live with that either.”
“He’s clearly not well,” Draklan said. “But I don’t know if he’ll get better in time.”
“Let’s focus on something else,” Margot said. “Something positive. I need some positive right now.”
“Well . . .” he said. “Are you planning to stay?”
“Where?” she asked. “Right here, in bed with you?”
“On Tamarax,” he said. “With me. After all of that? My family is positively mad.”
“Yes, of course, I’ll stay,” Margot said. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve fallen in love with you.”
“I’ve fallen in love with you too,” he answered and leaned up to kiss her. “Against all odds.”
“Against all odds,” she said and leaned into him. “But—”
“But?” Draklan asked. “You love me, but you can’t actually stay?”
“No.” She smiled. “It’s just that we aren’t legally married, are we?”
“No,” Draklan said. “We aren’t legally married. But we could change that, if you want.”
Suddenly, a knock came at their door. Margot sat up, not wanting to be caught in a private moment. Draklan looked confused and sat up as well.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Captain Jonas, sir,” said a voice.
Draklan murmured, “He’s one of the search team in charge of finding the matchmaker.”
“We tried to contact you but there was no answer.”
“Come in,” Draklan said, making sure they were both sitting up and properly dressed.
“Thank you, sir,” Captain Jonas said and entered the room. “We have Miss Drax.”
“Wh–what?” Draklan asked.
Margot’s jaw dropped.
“We have Miss Drax in the prison,” he responded. “We caught her making an illegal purchase and brought her in. They are minor charges, but it was the nail in the coffin.”
“She’s here now?” Margot asked.
“She is,” Captain Jonas confirmed. “And I understand that today has been . . . quite the chaotic situation. But your instructions were to come right away if we brought her in.”
“That’s correct,” Draklan said and turned to Margot. “Do you have it in you?”
“I . . .” Margot paused. “Sorry, this seems so strange, but . . . I’m not angry at her anymore.”
“What?” Draklan asked.
“Yes, she matched us illegally,” Margot said, “but look how it turned out.”
They were looking into each other’s eyes, and Captain Jonas took a step back. “Perhaps I’ll come back later?” he said.
“That would be a good idea,” Draklan replied as he drew Margot in close. He clearly couldn’t resist her now.
As soon as Captain Jonas closed the door, they fell upon on each other, their kisses coming passionately. They couldn’t keep their bodies apart, and Margot could feel Draklan’s desire grow.
“Is it okay?” he asked. “If I . . . if we try?”
“Of course,” she said. “I’ve been wondering what it feels like to sleep with you in a bed.”
He grinned at that as he kissed her neck. “I suppose that's something we haven’t done.”
“Exactly,” she said, leaning back as he began to kiss lower.
She knew that the walls in the palace were pretty well-insulated in terms of sounds. She knew that her moans of pleasure wouldn’t be heard, but she still tried to bite her lip as he began to kiss her collarbone and then lower, pulling off her shirt.
“You look stunning,” he said as he leaned back to marvel at her. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to last very long, seeing you look like that.”
“Don’t worry about lasting,” she said as she lay back. “Just—”
She didn’t need to finish her sentence. He undid his pants as she pulled up her skirt, and in a moment, he was in her.
“Oh, God,” he groaned as he slid inside her. “You’re so tight. You’re so . . . wet. Oh, God.”
“For you,” she whispered in his ear as he began to thrust. “It’s all for you.”
Draklan fit inside her perfectly. He seemed to be hitting her pleasure spot with each thrust, and she felt the pleasure build inside of her. Draklan was her dream, her fantasy, and she couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have him desire her. She focused on his lean muscles moving above her, and she lost herself in the feeling between her legs.
“Come for me,” he whispered to her. “Come for me.”
“I need . . .” she gritted her teeth. “I need more. Harder. Faster.”
“I can give you that,” he said, increasing his thrusting.
She moaned, bracing herself against his arms. “Oh, God.” She closed her eyes. “Oh, my God, I’m going to . . . I’m going to come.”
“I need to feel that,” he said. “I need to feel you do it. Come hard.”
“Oh, God,” she said and then felt her walls clench. She moaned as she came, grabbing his forearms. Her tight walls spasmed against his hard member, and he gritted his teeth, trying to fight the waves.
When he heard her moan, Draklan exploded into her, yelling as his orgasm hit him. He collapsed beside her as his vision darkened, panting.
Margot had slept with men before, but Draklan was without a doubt the best that she had ever had. “That was . . . oh, God, that was amazing,” she said as she panted in time with him. “Thank you.”
“Thank me?” He turned to her. “Thank you!”
“Mmm.” She rolled over and lay on his shoulder. “Oh, God, I can still feel it.”
“You need more?” he asked.
She snuggled into his shoulder. “Maybe,” she answered. “If you wouldn’t mind.”
Reaching his fingers down, he started with putting two fingers inside her. Margot reacted right away, flipping onto her back and arching her hips. She was dripping wet from the last time, and it didn’t take much for him to work her back to another orgasm. Her hips shook as he plunged his fingers into her.
“More,” she moaned, her head thrown back. “More, please, more.”
“I can do more,” he said and put another finger in. It began to stretch her, and she reacted positively to that, groaning and twisting.
“Make me come,” she panted. “Please, make me come.”
It wasn’t a hard request to fulfill, and within seconds, she was screaming again. Draklan must have known she still needed more and continued thrusting. She was a quivering wet mess by the time he pulled out, her face the picture of bliss.
“I think I love you,” she said, rolling over to snuggle him again.
“You think?” he asked.
“I . . . think I do,” she said, half in jest. “I mean it.”
“I love you,” he said more firmly. “And I think I’ve known that for a long time. I don’t think I could have gotten through any of that without you.”
“Without me?” she asked in confusion. “You knew how to do everything. You knew how to manage the trails, you came up with the idea to use the Apexes . . .”
“But without you,” he said, “I might have given up. I think without each other, we might have given up,” he said as he kissed the top of her head. “Are you satisfied?”
“Yes,” she said. “For now.”
“Well, luckily, we have the rest of eternity,” he said, and then must have realized what he’d said because he added, “If you want to.”
“Are you asking me to marry you?” she teased.
He rolled over. “If you want,” he said. “If you’ll have me.”
“Should we go out and thank Miss Drax then?” Margot asked. “Rather than punish her?”
“Oh, we are going to
punish her,” he said. “But then we can thank her. About my question, though . . .”
“Yes,” Margot said. “Yes, I will marry you again! Although I have one condition.”
“Anything,” he said. “You can give me any condition and I will meet it.”
“I would be happy to redo a ceremony here,” she said. “One where I actually know what is happening would be great. But . . . I would like to do one on Earth too.”
“Deal,” he said. “Although I have no idea what an Earth wedding will be like.”
“I have an idea,” she said. “And if you’re okay with it, I can plan all of it.”
“Yes, of course,” he said. “Whatever you want.”
“Mmm.” She closed her eyes, fighting the urge to sleep. “We should . . . deal with all of this, don’t you think?”
“Drax?” he asked. “She can wait.”
“Well, yes,” she said. “But your brothers. Poor Pralmav must be so upset.”
“I think he’s probably rather proud of himself,” Draklan said. “He went against the odds, and he won. That’s Pralmav's favorite thing.”
“And Bhatraz . . .” she said softly. “What will you do with him?”
“I don’t know,” Draklan replied truthfully. “I suppose that’s up to him. I’ve never seen him like that, Margot. He was so broken, so . . . I don’t know how to describe it. I don’t know if he can be responsible for his actions, given the state his mind was in.”
“That’s up to you,” she said. “I won’t tell you how to handle your brother. But I know it must be bothering you.”
“I think I’ll leave dealing with him for last,” Draklan said as his eyes fluttered closed. “I need to sleep. We’ve had a rough few days.”
“I was trying not to give in,” Margot answered. “But I think I’m going to have to give in.”
“Shh,” he said, brushing her hair out of her eyes. “Just for one afternoon, let’s give in.”
Margot intended to sleep for only a few hours and thought that they would be awake for dinner. However, before they knew it, the sun was shining in the windows and the birds were chirping.
“Oh, no,” Margot said, sitting up. “Oh, no. We slept through the night.”
“It’s not the worst thing in the world,” Draklan said as he woke up, rolling over. “And the fact that I get to see your face . . . well, that’s all right.”
“Mmm.” She yawned. “Imagine all the chaos that has happened while we’ve been asleep though.”
“Hopefully, none,” he said as he sat up. “We should go down though.”
Margot was a bit apprehensive about leaving the room, only because she had no idea what awaited them. She was grateful that no one had bothered them when they were asleep, but she supposed that the whole palace knew they were getting through an ordeal.
Given the fact that everyone was staring at them as they walked, she had a feeling that the whole palace knew every detail.
Draklan spent a moment or two talking to one of his main footman, in their outer chambers, and getting the details on what they had missed.
“My brother, as predicted, is in the prison,” Draklan said. “They’re waiting for my word. Our sisters-in-law are both in the medical bay, and from what I can tell, Pralmav has not left Milinna’s room. Which is a rarity in itself. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him skip work before.”
“Is she all right?” Margot asked. “Milinna, I mean? I assume that Rabbina is there because . . .”
“He broke her cheekbone as well as her nose,” Draklan said. “She’ll receive treatment for that, and then . . . I assume she won’t stay. This could be a publicity issue, never mind the trauma she has experienced.”
‘Where first?” Margot asked, seeing that he was overwhelmed.
“To be honest,” Draklan replied, “I think the prison. I need to see what state Bhatraz is in.”
“I can stay with you,” she said. “Or go?”
“I’d like you to stay,” he said, taking her hand. “We’re together in this now.”
Margot felt her heart flood with love as they walked down the hall and took the hallways to the prison. The Tamarax prison was below the palace, and Margot had never seen it. As soon as they were down in the lower level, she shuddered.
It was not a pleasant place. Margot felt like she could feel all the residual energy of the years of prisoners, and she shivered.
She had never been in a prison before, and they had always seemed like faraway places when she was on Earth. She had never known anyone who was in prison, and she had never known anyone who was in charge of a prison.
She knew her life on Tamarax was going to be different, but this was something that she never expected.
She also couldn’t imagine putting a member of her family in jail. She wasn’t sure how the brothers would repair their relationship after this.
Bhatraz was in the corner of a large cell that was more luxurious than the rest. Margot hung back a bit as Draklan approached the bars of the cell, and Bhatraz locked eyes with his brother.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
Draklan turned to the guard and nodded, and Margot watched as the cell opened and Draklan dropped her hand to step in.
She noted that the guard didn’t lock the cell behind them. It was a matter of trust and respect, and Bhatraz raised his head in appreciation.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “There’s no excuse for what I did.”
Draklan didn’t say anything for a long time, watching his brother’s tiny movements.
“I wouldn’t have been able to survive,” Draklan said at last, “watching what happened to Father. You did.”
“But did I?” he answered. “Or did I slowly die inside?”
Draklan chose another path, speaking calmly. “I haven’t been to see your wife yet,” he said. “But I am not sure that she is interested in seeing any of us.”
“I wouldn’t blame her,” Bhatraz said. “I’m not making excuses for myself, but Mother’s pressure, combined with a toxic marriage . . .”
“Mother is another person on my list,” Draklan said. “And I’m not willing to accept your excuses. But I am willing to forgive you.”
“You . . . are?” he answered, clearly shocked.
“For trying to kill me,” Draklan replied. “But . . .”
Before Margot could say anything, Draklan's arm moved and he punched his brother square in the face.
Margot screamed.
Bhatraz reeled, but he stayed standing. “I deserved that,” he said mournfully in a way that broke Margot’s heart. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
She didn’t know that Bhatraz was capable of breaking down the way he did. Her soul hurt, listening to his sobs.
“This isn’t over,” Draklan said. “And it won’t be easy. Your mind is not what it used to be. If you have any chance of recovering, you will need to be diligent and work with a mind healer. It won’t be quick.”
“Anything,” Bhatraz said. “I’m willing to do anything.”
“Rabbina will need to go,” Draklan said. “I suggest three times her dowry as a release.”
“Yes,” Bhatraz said. “Out of my personal accounts. Please . . . apologize to her as well.”
Draklan said nothing for a long time and then placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “It’s all right,” he said at last. “It will be all right.”
“I hope,” Bhatraz said, “that one day, it will be all right.”
A few more moments passed between them, and then Draklan left his brother, indicating that the guard should lock the door.
“Are you all right?” Margot asked him as he came back to her. She had tried to make herself invisible but close enough to Draklan that he felt her support. “I love you.”
“I know,” he said. “I’m all right. That was just . . .”
“Difficult?” she asked.
“Yeah.” He leaned into her briefly. “All right, next stop.”
“Wom
en have a dowry here?” Margot asked as they headed toward the hospital wing.
“Yes,” Draklan said as they walked. “You didn’t know?”
“Did you pay a dowry for me?” Margot replied.
“I’ll have to ask the matchmaker,” he replied.
She laughed.
When they got to the hospital wing, there was a choice to make.
“Why don’t I go and see Rabbina?” Margot said after a few moments. “In case she feels . . . vulnerable.”
“That’s a good idea,” Draklan said. “I’ll leave you to that and meet you in Milinna's room.”
“Sounds good,” Margot said, happy that they were acting as a team.
The two princesses were on opposite ends of the hospital. Technically, Rabbina didn’t need to be there anymore, as her broken cheek was taped up and her pain was well controlled. However, her eyes were wide, and she actually jumped when Margot came into the room.
“What do you want?” she snapped.
Margot held out her hands in innocence. “I just came to see how you were doing,” she said. “I was concerned.”
“Why would you be concerned?” Rabbina sniffled. “I ruined your life.”
“You didn’t,” Margot said. “To be honest, you made it more difficult, but you certainly haven’t ruined it. You’ve changed it.”
“Oh.” Rabbina took a step away. “So that’s it. You’ve come to tell me you’re happy about your marriage to your perfect husband.”
“I’ve come to release you from yours, actually,” Margot said gently. “If you want to be released. Bhatraz has made the offer to pay you three times your dowry, and you are free to go. Of course, he’s hurt you, and that’s not right, so . . .”
“Please, do you think I care about this?” Rabbina pointed to her cheek, which was bruised. “I’ve done much worse to him.”
“Oh . . .” Margot said. “I mean, that doesn’t make what he did all right.”
“We are so toxic,” Rabbina said. “And now he’s embarrassed me. I can’t wait to get away from this place.”
“Then you’re free,” Margot said.
“Make no mistake,” Rabbina said. “You are in a dangerous spot with this family.”
“I know they can be . . . difficult,” Margot said. “But I love my husband.”