He finally opened his eyes, and they shone with his anger. Straightening away from the wall, he stepped close to her. “I am King of Ulan. Everything is my right,” he said quietly.
She didn’t back down, because she could do pissed as well as he could. She looked up at him with her knowing smile and countered, “I am Queen of Ulan. Everything is my right, too, and I choose not to separate a child from its mother.” She turned and continued back to their rooms.
Khursid and Qamar, who had waited a little ways away, bowed to Malik, then followed Adrienne. They parted ranks so Adrienne could say over her shoulder, “Consider this a learning experience, Malik. Don’t give away something that isn’t yours to give in the first place.” She tossed a wave over her shoulder.
Feyr and Travers joined Malik. Travers put Malik between him and Feyr, which made Feyr smile. The cat turned his attention to his longtime companion and asked in an amused tone, “How do you like marriage so far, my friend?”
Malik growled and entered the room, glaring at the she-cat as he stalked towards her. She shrank from him and shielded her cubs with her body while Feyr sat between her and Malik.
“Move, Feyr,” Malik commanded softly.
“Make me.” His manner was relaxed but he was ready to spring should Malik try to hurt his mate or cubs. It wouldn’t be the first time he and Malik fought physically.
“I would never hurt your mate and cubs; I expect the same courtesy,” he said.
Malik gave another growl and left the room. Travers made to follow him, but Feyr stepped on the tail of his robes. The man looked at Feyr with a startled yelp.
It truly is like a drug, thought Feyr. But he hadn’t stopped the mage to revel in the man’s fear. When Travers started tugging lightly on his robe, Feyr extended his claws and sank them through the fabric, gripping the floor beneath. That got Travers’s attention, and he stopped trying to free his robe and went still as a statue.
Feyr nodded. Let Travers think Feyr meant him harm. It was better than the harm Malik would do to the man in his present mood. Feyr found amusement in this situation, since Malik had thought the scene in the throne room was a fluke. Feyr knew better.
His gaze turned to his own mate. She relaxed. Without loosening his grip on Travers’s robe, he reached out and nuzzled her neck. “He will not harm you,” he soothed.
“You cannot be so sure of that,” she challenged. She looked out the door. “Adrienne does not fear him?”
Feyr thought on this. “She did at first. I smelled it on her.” He paused to remember when it had changed. He finally said, “Adrienne is a match for him. I think her outburst in the throne room some time ago showed her how much power she has, over Ulan and over Malik.”
Mushira’s scream got Adrienne’s attention. She stood in front of the windows and watched the gardener-flower battles. She turned to ask what was wrong, but surprise stopped the question on her lips. Feyr’s mate stood in the doorway with the little blue and grey tiger-striped cub clutched in her mouth.
“Mushira, shut up,” Adrienne said when the woman didn’t stop screaming.
Mushira’s mouth snapped shut but she started whimpering instead.
“Go hide in the bathroom, if it’ll make you feel better.” She had to keep herself from laughing when the woman ran flat out to the bathroom and slammed the door shut. Adrienne shook her head at the absurdity. “Why she’s more scared of you than Feyr, I’ll never know.”
The she-cat placed the cub on the floor and sat on her haunches. She replied, “The people of the palace believe Malik only sends Feyr after those who anger him, because Feyr is his pet. I have no such bonds in this place.”
“A loose cannon, then,” Adrienne said with a shrug. “To what do I owe the honor?” She signaled the she-cat to come fully into the room.
“You do not fear him,” she said from her perched position by the door.
“Feyr? No, he’s been nothing but—”
“Malik.”
Adrienne was confused. “You do.” She nodded, then admitted, “I did at first, too. He killed two men right before my eyes. I’d never seen a dead body before that moment.”
“Why do you not fear him now?”
Adrienne sat on the window seat. “He promised to never hurt me. I didn’t believe him until my little temper tantrum in the throne room the other day. We may get pissed off with each other but he’ll never hurt me.”
“He would hurt me.”
“Feyr wouldn’t let him.”
The she-cat nodded, then looked at the cub who sat patiently between her front paws. She gave it a push. “I have changed my mind.”
Adrienne stared at the little cub as it ran to her. She slid from the window seat and sat on her knees. The little cat jumped onto her lap, purring loudly. “Why?” she asked.
“You showed courage when I did not, could not. Though it is as you say, Feyr would protect me, I cannot stop being scared of Malik. None of us can,” she admitted. “I cannot have reservations about giving up a son to a female who shows more courage than me.”
“Malik hasn’t given you the same promise as me,” Adrienne offered.
The she-cat shook her head. “I see it in you. Even if you had no such promise of him, you would still defy him,” she said. She gave her cub one last look, then looked up at Adrienne. “Take good care of him.”
“He won’t be weak. Feyr will ensure that he isn’t.”
The she-cat gave another nod and left.
Adrienne looked down at her new acquisition with wonder. The tiny cub had already fallen asleep. She stroked his head and smiled. It had made her angry when the she-cat denied her, and Adrienne placed all the blame on Malik for getting her hopes up. Her little argument with Malik wasn’t planned—or wanted—but it had worked in her favor. In the end, her way was best.
“It would seem our argument had merit after all,” Malik said from the doorway. He stepped into the room, regarding her and the cub. His expression showed relief at the sight they afforded him.
He regretted his outburst after Adrienne refused to simply take the cub. But Malik’s anger was at his lack of control of late, not at Adrienne. First Saj and then the she-cat. Everyone had started to disobey him. Did they think marriage weakened him somehow? He would have to disillusion his subjects of that misconception before this whole situation got out of hand.
Still, it was stupid of him to anger Adrienne so soon after getting her back and he realized that.
He’d decided to return to their bedroom and make amends when Feyr’s mate passed him headed in the same direction. Malik had hung back to see the she-cat’s intentions.
Adrienne looked up at Malik. She wanted to give him a nonchalant look but couldn’t pull it off. Her happy mood wouldn’t allow for superiority. She did manage to say coyly, “Were we arguing?”
Malik moved to her side, stooped, and laid a kiss on her cheek. “What will you name him?” he asked.
Adrienne closed her eyes at the kiss and sighed as she felt Malik’s anger soothing. She hated when he was angry, and not just because she felt it. “I’m not sure yet.”
He nodded.
Malik’s joy at Adrienne’s new pet didn’t last long. The little cub wouldn’t leave Adrienne’s side. When Feyr finally came to retrieve him so Adrienne and Malik could retire for the night, the cub latched onto her and wouldn’t let go.
“No, no, no,” the cub cried. His small claws dug into the ground near Adrienne’s feet to keep Feyr from picking him up. “Wanna stay! Wanna stay!”
Feyr reasoned, “You cannot stay, my son. Malik and Adrienne wish privacy.” He grabbed his son in his mouth and gave a quick tug. The cub lost his grip on the ground with a perturbed kitten noise. Feyr nodded to Malik and Adrienne before leaving with his son.
Adrienne chuckled at Malik’s relieved sigh. “He’s just a baby, Malik. You can’t blame him for wanting to stay. His mother left with his siblings after she gave him to me.”
“Oh, I understand the
little one’s need to be near you better than you know, my Adrienne,” Malik said in a husky voice. He started towards her. The look in his eyes told her exactly what he planned to do when he reached her.
She giggled as she dodged to the side. He gave chase, as she knew he would. Malik caught up with her near the bathroom and pulled Adrienne back against his chest.
He whispered, “Shall we continue this on the bed or in the bath?”
Adrienne tilted her head to the side. “I can still hear him.” Finding out the cub could speak at such a young age had surprised her. He sounded like any baby, mispronouncing words and stumbling over syllables, but he could speak. Malik explained it was the magicks of Ulan at work again. Everything could be traced to the magicks of Ulan, it seemed.
“Who?” He pressed a kiss to her neck, then caressed up her side and cupped her breast.
“Feyr’s cub,” she answered. She turned in Malik’s arms. “I can still hear him crying.”
“He will stop,” assured Malik. He bent to kiss her and stopped. The concerned look on Adrienne’s face coupled with the feel of her worry did nothing for his amorous mood. He sighed and let his head fall forward to rest on her shoulder.
Adrienne kissed his cheek. “If you’re this frustrated over a cub, you’re going to hate having children.” She gave him another kiss, then turned away from him. She called out, “Feyr, bring him back. He can sleep here tonight.”
“I do not wish to make a habit of this, Adrienne,” Malik grumbled.
“You wanted me to have him, remember?”
“A decision I regret more and more as this night wears on.” He waved his hand towards the door, opening it for Feyr.
The cat entered, cub in tow.
“Are you sure you want him here?”
Malik opened his mouth to say no, but Adrienne cut him off. “It’s fine, Feyr. Malik will get over it.”
* * *
Adrienne sat on her throne and totally ignored the goings-on around her, focusing on her cub and his antics. Currently her little one amused himself by running up and down the stairs of the throne dais.
She was all smiles and didn’t notice that her joy had rubbed off on Malik. Despite having the little cat in their bed every night for the last five days, Malik enjoyed Adrienne’s happiness at owning the cub. The people of the palace, noticing the fair weather and Malik’s good mood, decided to take advantage of it and have problems resolved they would normally suffer with.
The woman who currently aired her problem before the throne wrung her hands and rushed her explanation in the hopes that she would get through it before Malik’s good mood wore off. There were two other equally nervous women behind her.
The woman continued with her explanation, “That is why I have come before you this day, Your Majesties. No matter what spells are cast, the animals continually return to decimate our crops. We have brought the problem to the attention of the Mage Guild but—”
“Stop,” Adrienne yelled.
The woman stopped with a gasping breath.
Adrienne’s command wasn’t for the woman. She ran down the dais steps, past the woman. Her cub had decided to claw his way up a tapestry towards a window—an open window. Normally she wouldn’t worry so much, except the throne room was on the second floor of the palace, a very high second floor. Cat or not, the fall would kill him.
The cub ignored her command and continued to climb. He got to the ledge with a look of satisfaction. His satisfaction turned to an angry kittenish whine when Feyr jumped up on the ledge and grabbed him.
Feyr jumped back to the ground and dropped his son at Adrienne’s feet. She picked him up and headed back to her throne. Everyone watched her, but she ignored them, saying to Feyr, “I think your mate gave me this cub because she didn’t want to deal with him, not because she respected me.”
Feyr laughed. “You might be right, Adrienne.”
The cub lazed in Adrienne’s arms, content despite his earlier upset. Feyr took up his regular position between the two thrones. Adrienne stepped around Feyr and went to Malik.
She smiled at Malik when he raised a questioning eyebrow. “Portal, please,” she requested.
Malik pointed slightly to his left and an orb appeared, forming into a portal that led to their room. Adrienne peeked in and spotted Hani and Nimat pulling out clothes for lunch. They curtsied to her when they noticed her. “Is the door closed?” she asked.
Hani looked over at the door, then back at Adrienne. “Yes, Majesty. Why?”
Adrienne gave the cub a good toss. She knew he would land on his feet so she didn’t bother aiming for the bed. Besides, that would mess up the clothes. “He’s grounded,” she explained. She nodded to Malik and he closed the portal.
She took her seat again, smoothing her skirts and smiling at the waiting people. The woman in front of her continued wringing her hands in agitation.
Without preamble, Adrienne asked, “Has anyone tried talking to the animals?”
“Only you would think of that,” Feyr said with a chuckle.
Adrienne looked down at him. “What? It only makes sense. Everything in Ulan is magickal. Maybe those squirrel things have a reason for being such a nuisance. Did anyone bother to ask them?”
“I did not think you were listening, my lady,” Malik said. He rested his head on his hand as he regarded her.
She waved that off. “I’m a woman. I can multitask.” Her attention turned to the woman at the bottom of the throne dais. “Well? Has anyone tried talking to them?”
The woman shook her head quickly.
“Okay, so someone from the Mage Guild who can talk to animals will be sent to your farm to see if an understanding can be reached,” Adrienne declared. “If that doesn’t solve the problem, let us know and we’ll try something else.” She looked at Malik for his agreement. “Right?”
“It sounds like a viable plan to me, my lady,” he agreed with a smile. He looked at the nervous woman and asked, “Did you have another matter?”
The woman shook her head again. She curtsied and her friends behind her followed suit. They fled from the edge of the throne dais in obvious relief.
For her first act as queen, Adrienne thought it went well. Maybe ruling wouldn’t be so bad after all. She smiled at Malik and he nodded.
The next case was about to be announced when the crowds parted. Adrienne couldn’t believe her eyes. “What in the…” she started.
Her cub ran towards her as fast as he could. He ran all the way up the steps and jumped on her lap, snuggling his head under her breasts. “Again.”
Not far behind him was Nimat, who fell to her knees at the foot of the throne dais steps in exhaustion. “I’m sorry, Queen Adrienne. I opened the door to run a short errand and the little one got out.” She took several breaths before she finished, “He runs so fast.”
Adrienne looked down at the cub. He cocked his head to the side with a grin that could only be described as mischievous. She gave his head a pat. “You’re a little ball of mischief, aren’t you? You know good and well I wasn’t playing with you.” She looked up at Nimat with a smile. “It’s okay, Nimat. I’ll take care of him. Go ahead and return to what you were doing.”
Nimat got to her feet, curtsied, and left the throne room.
Adrienne lifted the cub in front of her face. He stared at her as she stared at him. He purred. She said, “Mischief.”
He replied, “Adri.”
“Adrienne, my son,” Feyr said.
“It’s all right, Feyr. Many of my friends back home called me Adri. It’s good to hear the old nickname again. Do you like your new name, Mischief?”
Mischief purred louder.
“Good, because it suits you,” she said as she lowered him back to her lap. After a moment, she put him on the floor in front of Feyr. When he jumped back on her lap, she put him back in front of Feyr. He didn’t try a second time, since Feyr placed his paw on Mischief’s back and held him.
Malik got the proceedings und
erway again. They resided over three more cases before Malik called a recess for lunch. Everyone, except Feyr and Mischief, filed out of the throne room and left Malik and Adrienne alone. Malik pointed to his side to open another portal to their bedroom, since they would have to change before lunch.
Adrienne placed her hand on top of his. “Let’s eat in the garden.” Then it wouldn’t matter what she wore, since no one would see her. This constant changing of outfits had gotten old.
“If you would like, my Adrienne,” Malik agreed. He changed the portal’s destination to the secluded gardens below the royal chambers.
Mischief zipped passed them with Feyr hot on his heels. Adrienne laughed at him. Everything excited Mischief. He explored everything, whether he should or not. Any new room was a mystery to be solved.
The only room Mischief went out of his way to avoid was the bathroom. In true cat fashion, he didn’t like water. Malik used Mischief’s aversion to his advantage and secluded himself and Adrienne there whenever he wanted privacy.
Malik mused, “With the little one thusly engaged, it would be so easy to whisk you away to our rooms so I can ravish you.” He laid a kiss on her neck.
“Malik,” Adrienne scolded with a mock frown.
“May I, My Queen?” he asked in a deep, rumbling voice. He laid another kiss on the curve of her shoulder.
“No. I’m hungry.”
“As am I.” He slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.
Behind them, someone cleared his throat.
Malik gave an annoyed sigh. He said without turning, “Adrienne and I are taking lunch in the gardens, Saj.”
Saj replied, “Very well, Majesty.” He bowed and left.
Malik escorted Adrienne through the portal and closed it behind him.
Adrienne asked, “What about our guards?”
“Do you feel so unsafe around me that you must have your guards?”
“That’s not what I meant, Malik,” she rushed out.
He said in a soothing tone, “I merely jest, my Adrienne. As for our guards, they are hidden so we can enjoy our time together with the illusion of privacy.”
Adrienne Page 18