by Viola Grace
“He’s only nineteen!”
She snorted. “So? How old were you?”
He paused and blushed. “Right. You don’t want to know.”
He twisted his arm, and she spun under it before landing lightly against him.
She smiled. “I think we might get to that conversation eventually.”
“What did you do when your hormones kicked on?”
Tydella shook her head. “You don’t want to know.”
He narrowed his eyes. “We might get to that conversation eventually. What did you and my brother discuss?”
“The endgame for this situation. There are two that I can think of, and neither is properly palatable.”
“What do you think our options are?”
She shrugged. “They are the same as having always been outlined to me. I get pregnant, and I am under high security at the palace, with or without you. If you come, you are now the Imperial Prince Consort; if you don’t, you are here as your parents’ heir, and I will be in the imperial palace learning to knit.”
He spun her out again before cuddling her against him. “That sounds unpleasant.”
“They are my family; this is the spot I was born to. I either have to live with it or occasionally sneak off for a few days with a stranger in rut.” She smiled. “I do a lot of stuff, but I do it with eight people chasing me around. It’s just my life.”
“So, when I come to live at the palace, what will I have to know?”
She stumbled in surprise, and he caught her before kissing her, where everyone could see them.
She stared up at him. “You are serious?”
“Of course. I can still come back here to visit, you know. In fact, we can have family trips.”
“Not until we have at least two children. The imperial heir will not be allowed to travel until there is a second child for safety.”
He smiled. “I know. Your father and I spent a few hours talking. He is slightly terrifying.”
“Only slightly?” she chuckled. “Yeah, my mom taught him everything he knows.”
“She is... formidable.”
Her parents danced past, and her mother sing-songed out, “And she is listening.”
Tydella laughed, and Ador smiled.
She sighed. “They don’t care. They get an heir and a grandchild either way.”
He nodded. “I have spoken to my mother. She has accepted you, and my father was enthusiastic the moment that he knew you were the imperial heir carrier. My mother now knows about the pregnancy and has waxed enthusiastic.”
“Do you think Malin will adjust to being the heir?”
Ador nodded. “He is studious with a sense of adventure when it comes to research and advancement for our people. He is smart and will definitely be a good choice for the next king when I am elsewhere.”
She smiled. “My father is looking forward to training the new emperor or empress.”
They danced for an hour or possibly more, but she started to yawn and slump against him.
Ador sighed. “I would have danced until midnight with you.”
She patted his chest. “We can try it again when I have had a chance to sleep. I am so damned tired.”
“I am sorry. I was lost in the magic of the moment. You need your rest, especially now.”
She chuckled. “I just need normal sleep. This has been a complex week.”
He kissed her forehead. “Last dance, and I will see you to your suite.”
“Thank you. I will have to say my goodnights to my parents, but they are on their way past, so it should be easy.”
She caught her father’s gaze, and he and her mother paused. She smiled. “I am going to get some rest. As much as I would like to remain here, I am exhausted.”
Her father looked concerned. “You looked wiped out, bright star. We will make the announcement of your union now.”
She looked blearily at Ador. “Announcement?”
“We need a formal engagement if I am to wed you before you are showing.”
“Oh. Right.”
His parents paused the music, and Ador raised her hand to his lips to kiss it. “I promise you rest soon.”
“If you are thinking about sex, this will be an only child.” Her voice was flat.
The imperial couple and the royal couple stood together and announced the engagement of their children. It was all a blur for Tydella, and that made her mad.
Ador kissed her, she kissed him, and she fainted.
Tydella was facing the imperial physician when she woke up. Her room was crowded. There was something small and annoying under her back. She widened her eyes, sat up, and got out of bed. She applied her shoulder to the mattress and got it up before she could reach under it and throw the small gold ball to the side. She sighed and let the mattress thud into place before she climbed back between the sheets, ignoring those around her.
The doc smiled. “So, you are fine, just need some rest. Maybe a little more food. It looks like you have been running on empty.”
“It feels like it.” She looked at her two shifts of guards, the king, queen, and her parents. Ador was standing behind the doctor. “So, if you all will be on your way, I will get some actual sleep.” She beckoned to Ador. “But not you. You have to stay.”
He inclined his head.
Her mother came and hugged her. Her father ruffled her hair, and she swore to see them both over breakfast the next day.
When the door was closed and her guards visible outside, she sat up again and clawed at her clothing. Ador held her hands and swiftly untied the closures of her gown, helping her free of the floaty, gauzy fabric.
Naked with her skin feeling pleasantly cool, she climbed back into bed and pulled the sheet over her. Ador paused for a moment, and then, he got undressed and climbed in with her.
He curled up behind her and held her, his arm wrapped around her waist and the other under her shoulder and wrapped around her arms. She was snug, she was safe, she was sleeping.
The light in the room was bright when she finally stretched and smiled. Ador was next to her, and she kissed his shoulder softly. “Good morning.”
He gave her a narrow-eyed look. “Are you sane again?”
She was surprised. “Was I not?”
He held up his left hand. “I tried to change positions, and you bit me.”
She looked at his hand, and she frowned. “Does it still hurt?”
He shrugged. “A little.”
“Where?”
He pointed to the side of his index finger.
She took his hand in hers, kissed it, and swirled her finger across the indicated area.
She looked at him through her lashes, and his eyes remained narrowed, but a motion under the sheet indicated that he was waking up.
“I just have one question for you, Ador.”
“Yes?”
“Have you packed? I have to get under higher security as soon as possible.” As she spoke, she straddled him, backing to rub her sex against his erection.
He grabbed her and flipped her to her back. “How many times have there been attempts on your life?”
“Fifty-seven that have made it to the point where they were registered. Some of the assassins sent to me have simply disappeared. The Kadurans won’t take on the contract, and anyone else is just not really up for the task.”
He stroked between her thighs and sucked softly at her breasts. He was being very careful, but that care was setting her senses on edge. Time stretched into an expanse of white light that shifted into Ador’s face when he slid into her. He pinned her hands above her head and rocked into her slowly.
She flexed her fingers against his and arched her hips to meet him as he carefully and deliberately eased her through pleasure and over into release. He kissed her softly and helped her into the shower, holding her and making sure that every inch of her was cleaned and cleared. She glared at a few of his efforts, and he
chuckled.
Once she had toweled her hair dry, she brushed it into her normal straight wave.
She sighed at the friendly silence between them. He had his morning routine, she had hers, and they got out of each other’s way when someone needed a sink or mirror.
She walked into the bedroom and went to look for her wardrobe. Her clothing options had been pared down to leather leggings, a vest, and a robe with the royal insignia. Boots were standing next to the outfit.
Her choice had been made for her. The story of her life. She looked over at Ador as he came out of the bathroom.
She walked up to him and wrapped her hand around his neck, pulling him down for a sweet kiss. “Thanks for being the exception.”
He frowned. “What?”
“You were the one thing, the one person that I chose.”
He smiled. “You had no choice.”
She chuckled. “You have no idea what kind of weapons systems my ship has. I was startled for two minutes. I came here because I chose you.”
He was surprised for a moment, and then, he wrapped his arms around her waist. “So, you wanted me.”
“Yes.”
“You wanted to be my lover.” He leaned down and nuzzled her cheek. The velvet of his skin made her toes curl.
She whispered against his ear, “Yes.”
“Did you know that you were susceptible?”
She blushed. “No. I had a Kiidar-Mael reaction.”
Her reference to the stimulated ovulation made his body radiate delight.
He chuckled again. “I am going to be smug for a very long time.”
She pressed her forehead to his chest. “I know. I have accepted that, but at least I have had my one moment.”
He lifted her chin and smiled. “You can choose me at any moment of any day, and I will be there, Tydella.”
She sighed and kissed him when he got close. “Thanks for being my choice.”
He grinned. “Now, I will meet you in your parents’ dining room, so you can get dressed in something cute and meet me there.”
He disappeared into the hidden panel, and she snickered at why she had been placed in that room.
She got dressed and checked the weapons hidden in her clothing before heading to her parents’ room.
She had her mate, and he was one of her own choosing. Her family had gone along with it, and for that, they were going to get some time off while she took position as regent. They would get some time off, and Ador would get a trial by fire. It was a win-win for everyone.
Chapter Eleven
It seemed that having Ador as co-regent was the stabilizing factor that the empire needed. Of course. Tydella sighed and lay back in her husband’s arms while he frowned at a data pad.
“What is it, Tydella? Baby kicking again?” He smoothed his free hand over her belly.
“No, just relaxing, and it has started making all of my exhalations sound like a sigh or grunt.”
He put the pad down and looked at her. “I have heard a number of rumours about your parents, but didn’t you once say that you would tell me how your parents’ met?”
“Oh. That.” She chuckled. “Well, once, twenty-six years ago, my father had a price on his head. Kaduran assassins were dispatched to kill him so that a distant relative could take over the empire. My mother got there first. She found that the emperor had barricaded himself in a corner of the palace, and she set about killing him.”
“What?”
She laughed. “She sliced his arm and chest, he caught her and disarmed her, and then, her senses were dulled slightly because he was in rut. So, they spent a week together, and she returned to Kadura.”
He frowned. “What?”
“She used her inherited funds to buy the contract on his life. She paid for it, and she now owns the exclusive right to kill Emperor Tyadino. She has held that over him for the last quarter-century.”
“What happened then?”
“Obviously she returned, and to everyone’s shock, the emperor went into rut again. Less than two months from the previous round. It came shrieking to a halt three days later, and their union was formalized in the only way available to them. She’s not Kiidar, she’s not royal, and she wasn’t selected or genetically screened. When he refused any other mate, that is when a few other attempts were made on them, but Mom took care of them. The Kadurans have a presence at court, and they are in every corner and every hallway. For me, this is the safest place in the universe.”
“Because you are surrounded by your people.”
She laughed. “I am surrounded by my mother’s people, her relatives, and my relatives, but I am not one of them. My resemblance to Kadurans is literally only skin deep.”
He pressed a kiss to her temple. “How so?”
“The Kiidar-Mael for one. There was no way that I should have been receptive. Not all the math in the universe should have made it possible, but biology is a sneaky bitch. The moment I saw you on the station, things swung into motion.” She patted her belly. “So to speak.”
He pressed a kiss to her temple. “So, the doc knew?”
“No, I asked him to not file the DNA. He had already gotten clear STD screens, so that was his primary concern. He probably found out right about the time your mother started to be nice to me.” She chuckled and then paused. “How is Malin doing?”
“Very well. They are looking to do a trial and leave him in charge when this child arrives.” He patted her belly.
“Well, the guards are due to start having their families soon. Abra is going to be the first, so this little one is going to have plenty of folks to play with growing up. Folks who are authorized to play with them that is.” She chuckled.
“Did you grow up with anyone?”
“Tutors and mentors. I only got to see children from a distance. I am excited that this little one is going to have some friends. Hell, if it wasn’t for those incoming infants, I would never have left the party and headed for my personal shuttle. Then, I never would have been at customs and certainly would not have met you.” She smiled. “Very glad it worked out the way it did.”
He chuckled. “Me too. Your mother is a very interesting combat instructor.”
“Yeah, but don’t worry too much. She wants more grandkids. She always wanted a big family.”
He kissed her and rolled her to her side. “If I must, I must.”
She laughed then moaned and soon was rocking into her spouse as he rocked into her. Three more months and their child would be in the world... until then, they could practice all they liked.
* * * *
And so began the Imperial Dynasty begun by a stubborn emperor, a deft assassin and their unlikely offspring. The child of the imperial princess and her prince started the reign of a wild family who would do anything for their people and the ones that they loved.
Author’s Note
Whew, I always thought the princess and the pea was straightforward, but I seem to have made it unnecessarily complicated. Ah, well.
I have a handful of fairy tales that spring to mind... so I am continuing for another three or four books.
Thanks for reading,
Viola
About the Author
Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specializes in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.
An artist who enjoys a story that catches you up, whirls you around, and sets you down with a smile on your face is all she endeavours to be. She prefers to leave the drama to those who are better suited to it, she always goes for the cheap laugh.
In real life, she is now engaged in beekeeping, and her adventures can be found on the YouTube channel, Mystery Bees Apiary. Just look for the cartoon kittens.
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