“The War Lord – Halden – will challenge King Ediskrad. They will duel. If during the battle, the War Lord were to see you, it might give him the boost he needs to take the Power from the King. This Eon will finally fall and Rodnekow'E might become what it once was.
The man sighed as he looked aroung the ruins of the city. “I used to dream that this place was real – that Sidel was more than legend. And now, I see that it is. I can imagine what it once was. This Eon has thinned the blood of the R'kowe, it is time for it to be finished. My brother and I will help you get closer once the battle has started.”
*
Apparently claiming that he had returned Matrise to her home world was all the goading that Ediskrad needed. The King charged Halden his blade hissing against the metal shaft in its sheath as it was pulled forth. Ediskrad swung the blade high as he charged forward.
“You will die. Here and now! With all of these witnesses to watch your disgrace and death.”
Halden swept the men surrounding him and the King with a glance; he saw on the faces of nearly every man, barely disguised loathing. The men hated the King. When Ediskrad’s notoriously powerful swing came crashing down to cleave Halden into pieces, Halden caught the blow on his own blade and swept it aside.
Fighting the momentum of his swing distracted Ediskrad long enough for Halden to step aside and make the duel official before the witnesses of the R'kowe warriors.
“No, I will not die. But at the end of this, the Power will leave you for me. Your Eon will finally end, and Rodnekow'E will at last be able to heal. I challenge you for the power – my youth despite my cycles entitles me to fight you for the position.”
A hush filled the square. Everyone seemed to be shocked – even Ediskrad. It was as if the King had never bothered to notice that Halden had a firm grasp of Power, that the Power had kept him at his fittest.
Now the King noticed. Now he saw the threat that Halden had always posed, but had never initiated staring from gold and black eyes. The twin less man, the anomaly, the most powerful of the warriors that had served him, Ediskrad could now see the Power sparing in the air around Halden.
Unlike Ediskrad’s recent displays, the Power that surrounded Halden was not black, it was an iridescent haze of promise. It was waiting to reveal its color for when Halden took the Power of the Eon from Ediskrad.
Halden listened as murmurs caused a buzz to blossom in the ancient square, but above it all the King’s rage-filled roar erupted into the air. Halden braced himself as Ediskrad charged forward, the duel had started.
*
Tucked between the two twins Matrise was guided through the flanking men that circled the fight waging at the center of the square. Unlike other brawls she had witnessed, not a single spectator shouted or cheered or even uttered a word.
So, Matrise heard every grunt, every hiss of pain, every panted breath as she waited to see the condition of the fighters now that the duel had been waged for several minutes.
They finally reached the inner ring, her body still sandwiched between the twins that obviously favored Halden for the duel, Matrise leaned to look around the one that guarded her front. She winced as she saw Halden stumble back from a hard blow of the golden one’s sword.
The hit landed, the blade hacked an impressive gash into Halden’s shoulder. Brilliantly red blood ran from the wound, it ran from several wounds. Halden’s chest, back, arms, and thighs were littered with injuries. Of course, the King didn’t look any better.
Still, the stumble cost her mate. It gave the bloodied King another opening. The twins protecting her hissed and Matrise gasped in horror. Halden must have heard her as his gilt fogged gold and black eyes found her gaze. They held for a moment and then cleared – Halden allowed himself to drop to his knees, facing away from the King.
As that final sweep of his gold-hued opponent’s blade sliced a long river into the thick muscles of Halden’s back, Halden speared his own sword back. It flew up from beneath his arm as his elbow bent and his shoulder lifted to give the blade lift and strength.
The heavy sword found home in the King’s chest and shoulder. The man might survive the wound, but when the blade that had cut ribbons into her mate clattered to the stone and moss covered ground, too heavy for his now useless grip, it was obvious that the duel was finished.
The defeated King stumbled back, reeling as Halden yanked his blade from the King’s flesh and drug himself to his feet. Suddenly the square was filled with a cacophony of noise as the men, the warriors cheered at the defeat of the King. Many surged forward to congratulate Halden.
They were freaking her out as they continued to refer to Halden as ‘Highest Majesty.’ Before Matrise could get wrapped up in the celebration of the moment, a movement caught her eye.
The defeated King – the more malicious of the pair she had met when first she awoke on Rodnekow'E – his face distorted by rage, surged toward Halden’s back. A long dagger was in the man’s hand as he obviously intended to plunge it into the back of his defeater.
Warriors shifted, intending to intervene – to protect the man that was apparently their new King. But none moved fast enough.
*
Halden sensed the threat, and spun. But he found himself frozen where he stood. Much as Ediskrad, as the former King realized he was dead. Halden and the warriors around him stared at the hilt of the dagger that speared through the fallen King’s neck.
Almost as one, the Warriors surrounding him, Halden, and even Ediskrad – with the final beat of his heart – turned and stared in wonder at the woman who had yanked the blade from Mishtlan’s side and flung it into the throat of the man who had hoped to claim her.
A sound gurgled from Ediskrad’s lips as blood poured form his mouth. He couldn’t form the words, but Halden knew what was said – still here? He didn’t bother to answer as Ediskrad fell and his blood pooled around him. The warriors ignored the quite finally finished King and gaped at the woman they had really been sent to secure for the now dead man.
“And you refuse to hunt,” Halden managed to ask over the pain he was starting to feel – the slice down his back was the most notable.
“If you had killed him the first time around, I wouldn’t have to. I think you need some King lessons – it helps to finish things. Ages of wars on Earth proved that much.”
Halden chuckled, and even as Tajka pushed through the crowd to attempt to staunch the bleeding wounds that covered his body, Halden crossed to his mate. He ignored her protests at getting covered in blood and lifted her, setting his lips to hers to the cheers of the warriors around them.
*
The warring commands of the Power had been visible even in the Cliffside city. The R'kowe had stared up at the sky as clouds had seemed to lurch then darken. Sparks had lit the sky in a final burst of energy.
The darkness cleared and the skies of Rodnekow'E were at peace for the first time in 600 cycles. The Twin Kings Eon of Power was finished as both twins were now dead. The clouds seemed to shimmer in pastel hues on a backdrop of swirling lavender and brilliant blue.
Epilogue
Halden climbed the spiraling stairs. He had been surprised when, as he was looking for his bond made, he had been informed that she had gone up into the tower. Matrise had refused to take the tower chambers that had housed the last Eon’s royals.
Though she had insisted that the spaces be redecorated – tawdry she had called the Twin Kings’ tastes. Even if she had no intention of inhabiting the spaces, Matrise had been very particular about wiping the Twin Kings’ influence from the palace.
Halden was excited – in the two cycles since their bonding Rodnekow'E had greatly stabilized. The skies weren’t totally blue, but cool, relaxing, pale heather with the occasional forget-me-not swirled through. Many of the older generations theorized that the sky understood that Rodnekow'E was in a period of healing. The world, it seemed would recover from the damage of the previous Eon of Power.
When he finally reached t
he chamber he had first seen his mate in, Halden found the same woman rummaging through the drastically different room.
“What are you looking for?” Halden nearly laughed as Matrise jumped with a squeak and spun to stare at him accusingly. It would have been more convincing if her behavior had been less conspicuous.
“Shit!” she exclaimed, making Halden shake his head – the woman had yet to curtail the language she was fond of. “A man of your size shouldn’t be able to creep around like a damn bandit the night.”
“I do not creep Matrise. I walk, calmly and rather obviously.”
“I still claim bullshit.”
“What is this bull you insist of referring to the excrement of?” He asked knowing it would make his mate a little crazy.
“An animal on Earth. A large one.”
“Large or small, I fail to see what relevance it has here.”
“Use a colloquialism on an alien planet and the indigenous get all sorts of wrapped up in it.” Matrise snapped. “Now, are you up here just to drive me nuts or did you clime the gazillion stairs out there for an actual reason?”
Halden laughed. The sound was still rough in his throat since he didn’t use it but almost exclusively with his mate. “Tell me why you are up here and I will answer the same.”
Matrise sighed and rolled her eyes dramatically. “I am looking for those drawings I did the first time I was in this room. I wanted to look at them and see what a significant change has taken place on this planet in the last two years.”
Halden had to smile – the idea was sweet in his opinion. “They are down in the room I have claimed as my office, he stated simply.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Oh – Ok.” Matrise started toward him where he leaned against the door frame, but jerked to a stop. “Wait, why are you up here.”
“I was looking for you. We are going somewhere.”
“Where?” She asked suspiciously.
Halden only smiled and murmured, “Surprise.”
*
The man was up to something. He had drug her from the palace, through the city and upward. Toward the top of the plateau. Many of the palace staff – she had a problem thinking of people as servants – had told her that no one went up to the plateau.
Apparently there was a great, sprawling city up there, but under the Twin Assholes, as she still thought of the former Kings, the planet had protested and the city had become uninhabitable.
Halden had gotten a Rahūt from what Matrise could only describe as a metropolitan barn, bridled it, and tossed her on its back before climbing up himself.
Matrise smiled as she remembered the first time she had seen one of the animals – miniature four-tusked wooly mammoth– the description was still perfectly accurate in her opinion. The Rahūt steadily moved through the city, and climbed the ascending ramps of the streets.
“Are we going up to the plateau,” Matrise asked her husband over her shoulder.
“In a way.”
“We really need to work on your communication skills Halden – you are so often clear as mud.” She felt his chuckle rumble through his chest at her back.
“You will see. I think you will like it too.”
“Uh-huh,” Matrise scoffed.
*
The Rahūt climbed over the uneven slope of boulders and gravel much easier than Halden had the first time he had surmounted the edge of the plateau.
They were moments from the upper jungle so he laid his hand on the pommel of his sword resting against his back, just in case there were any surprises. The Rahūt angled around the last large boulder and he heard Matrise gasp.
“There is a jungle up here?”
“Yes, it is the Upper Jungle.”
She laughed, “Of course it is. If there is a Lower there must be an Upper.”
“Well what are the jungles called on your world?” Halden demanded in response to her tone.
“Well, there is the Amazon, the Congo, the Corcovado, the Nainital – those are the four main ones that are left – but that doesn’t count the northern forests.”
“Enough.” Halden sighed at his mate’s giggle. The woman…It always seemed as if he played into some verbal trap she had set.
*
The jungle was pretty. A little warm considering. Still, the Upper Jungle had more flowering plants than she had noticed in the Lower Jungle during her and Halden’s escape driven foray. She wondered if the presence of blooms was courtesy of Rodnekow'E’s lowering temperatures.
Matrise noticed a couple of animals, which she could never remember the names of, shuffling around in the foliage. The Rahūt would drop its head to collect something from the ground to munch on occasionally. As pretty as the place way, Matrise couldn’t help but notice the sun lowering in the sky through the small gaps in the canopy.
“Are you planning for us to stay out in this jungle over night? If so, you really should have brought more than what you did,” Matrise commented.
“We will not be staying in the jungle.” Halden answered simply. Still, simple or not – the man could not provide a clear and comprehensive answer.
Matrise shifted one leg to the same side of the Rahūt’s back as the other so that she could turn and look at the compelling man she got to call her mate. She looked up at him and stared.
Matrise simple started at him in silence. Seconds ticked away into minutes, minutes into moments. The man didn’t cave.
“And you call me stubborn,” Matrise muttered. Halden shifted the reigns in his hand and moved to turn her back forward. “Excuse you!”
“I thought you might like to see where we will be staying the night.” Halden had that grin on his face that told Matrise he knew he was driving her nuts and it was an intentional effort.
Matrise turned to glance forward and found her whole body following. She couldn’t believe what she was looking at. Apparently the stories of a city up on the plateau were true. However, no one had mentioned what an oasis it was.
She could see deep slashes of blue cutting across the city. There were riotous clusters of blooming plants and fruit bearing trees. Where the Cliffside city leant itself to a sort of dark medieval ambiance, Odnek was a paradise of lush, tropical greenery.
“I thought this place was uninhabitable…”
“A lot has changed in two cycles,” Halden murmured. Matrise turned to look into her mate’s face and found a brilliant smile lighting his face.
“I see that,” she agreed as she turned back to get a good look at the exquisite city.
*
It had been breathtaking. Matrise had fallen in love with Odnek as much as she had Sidel. There was something about the ancient cities that their more contemporary counterpart on the cliff, quite simply, lacked. There was an understated elegance and artistry that simply resonated in the space despite the centuries of abandonment.
Halden had finally urged the Rahūt into a courtyard and turned it loose to wander the space and munch at its discretion, after he had slid from its back, plucked Matrise from her perch, and slipped the bridle from its head. He had taken her hand and led her up a sweeping set of steps into one of the buildings.
They wandered through the vast and sprawling expanse of the structure. After climbing a couple of staircases, Matrise found a room with a spectacular view off a wide balcony that opened into the room. She tossed open the five sets of paired doors, effectively opening the entire wall of the room and casting the light of the sunset into the large chamber.
Matrise found that the huge room was in fact a bed chamber as it housed one of the largest beds she had ever seen.
“No wonder it is still here. It must have been constructed within the room. There isn’t a doorway either headboard or footboard could fit through.”
“Lucky for us,” Halden returned.
“You plan on sleeping on that? What if the mattress is home to some sort of small animal?”
“I doubt it. Bed cushions have been m
ade with shalut for as long as anyone can figure, because it repels those small creatures long after the fabric holding it has turned into nothing.”
Matrise stayed back as Halden stripped a heavy coverlet off the large bed – just in case he was wrong about the small animals. But when the dusty coverlet was pulled away smooth sheets gleamed dully in the light.
Matrise came closer and sighed in relief – not only were the bed clothes clean enough for a night and seemingly free of other inhabitants, they appeared to have no form of nap, meaning no velvet.
Matrise reached out and to her husband’s apparent humor stroked a tentative hand over the sheets – nope, not velvet. Yay!
“Satisfied?”
Immensly, Matrise thought, but instead answered Halden with a solemn, “I suppose it will do.”
He laughed as she expected he would before suddenly scooping her up and tossing her into the air. Matrise shrieked as gravity did its thing and she landed with a whoosh on the bed. Before she could get a good lather going to fuss at Halden he was stretching out his deliciously large body over her smaller one.
“What do you think you are doing?” Matrise demanded with mock censure as her toes curled in her boots.
“I thought my mate might require a bit of entertainment,” Halden answered with a smile.
With a chuckle, Matrise wrapped her arms around that thick bronze neck and pulled that wicked mouth down to her own.
*
Halden took his time nibbling and suckling on his mate’s lower lip. Ever since his first fantasy, the activity remained one of his favorites; it was a delightful benefit that Matrise enjoyed the play of lips as much as he did. She enjoyed his lips elsewhere, he considered with a mental smirk, but lips-to-lips was always delightfully satisfying for them both.
He rubbed his mouth against hers – two cycles had passed and still he felt as if touching her cause him to be filled with all the heat and intensity of a raging inferno. Her lips were smooth and soft against his, and then as he tilted his head to get better access when her lips parted beneath his, that heat seemed to rush forward and solidified as her tongue slipped forward to eagerly play with his.
Alien Lords' Captive (Celestial Mates Book 6) Page 10