by Meg Xuemei X
He grinned. “The Mysthian food is refined, just as they said.”
“Who do you think we are?” I asked. “Barbarians?” I pointed out sharply. “And don’t forget that you’re eating the royal cuisine, the choicest meals.”
“Come here,” he ordered. “Sit on my lap while I eat.”
Would he ever stop bossing me around?
“No,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I know where it will lead.”
“You’re my mate. Aren’t you supposed to satisfy your male’s need?”
“Is that how you angels treat females?”
“I treat you fine,” he said. “You know I treat you fine. All I want is a bit of affection from you.”
I snorted. “If I do everything you want, I’ll never get out of bed.”
“And what’s wrong with that? Don’t I satisfy you? You didn’t moan your complaints when I fucked you.”
My face flamed. I not only mated a sex manic—though secretly I was glad he was always hot for me—I also bonded the ultimate angel alpha who knew only domination and conquest. A small voice in the back of my mind whispered, He also protects and sacrifices and leads.
“You do understand I come from a different culture and background than you, right?” I said.
“I hadn’t had a female companion for over two thousand years!” he growled. “Do you know what that did to a full-blooded angel male?”
Earth! Like it was my fault! “Fine,” I said, rising from my chair and moving toward him. I sat on his lap just to shut him up. “Happy now?” I asked, then regretted that I challenged him again.
He gave me a kiss on the lips. “Now, open your wicked mouth. You need to eat. It’s also my responsibility to feed my female.”
I had no idea about the angels’ mating culture, but I believed that it must involve a lot of feeding, fucking, and protecting. Angels were an advanced race. They were also, in many ways, more primary than any race I’d known. I let him put the last piece of bread into my mouth just to appease him.
And then he was about to feed me soup while I sat on his hard length. Just as I wondered if he would stick his cock inside me while spooning me soup, someone knocked urgently on the door.
“Will we ever have peace?” the prince asked. “I can’t even finish a normal meal with my mate!” At least this time, he skipped the line of “punishment is in order.”
Angels often killed their inferiors if one looked at them wrong. But in my realm, Seth’s angels would have to abide by Mysthian law.
Before we permitted anyone to enter, Hector swung open the door and strolled in. “Empress,” he said, dropping to one knee before straightening up again.
I had aborted the constantly kneeling practice. My subjects were to kneel only on formal occasions now, but some loyally held on to the old ways.
“Empress, I apologize for the interruption, but—” Before my captain finished, my generals barged in, and Gabriel after them. Both sides exchanged heated words.
I jumped off Seth’s lap. We weren’t even properly dressed.
“What on Earth—” Seth snarled, lightning sparking from his fingers. “Can’t my mate and I have peace in our own home?”
“Calm down, Seth,” I said, my heart fluttering at his declaration of home.
“The generals and the prince’s captain request an immediate audience with Your Majesty and His Highness,” Hector explained. “I tried—”
“It’s an emergency!” General Goodwin yelled.
“I don’t care,” Seth growled. “My bedroom is a sacred place for my mate and me. In the future, there will be boundaries set and strict orders obeyed!”
The generals’ hard gazes flickered between Seth and me. I sighed inwardly. I would need to work out with my mate the whole power-sharing thing and who should do the talking in front of my court. This wasn’t his court, after all.
I gave Seth a quick look before turning to my generals. “What’s the urgency?”
“The angel lord’s fleet is coming to Mysth! A full invasion!” General Goodwin said, then glared at Gabriel accusingly. Evidently, he had initially received the news from the angel captain.
“The Lord of All Angels is leading a battalion of battleships toward Earth, Empress,” Gabriel said, then reported to Seth. “The Reapers will level the whole planet, Your Highness. They’ve eliminated two-thirds of our force.”
I controlled an inner shiver at the dire news, but Seth’s arm firmly wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer to him.
PRINCE SETH
My father was leading his fleet Reapers to Earth for a bloodbath—to pay back my betrayal and the humiliation caused by Rose and me. Our combined powers had blasted away his astral avatar in front of Agro’s army—his army—and diminished a small part of his inherent power. He would never forgive us.
He wanted a second round to show all the angels, including the Fallen, his full power. He would take down my mate and me, and then blow up Earth.
He had had a bitter taste of my mate’s great elemental magic and would do anything to harvest her. It would make him stronger and replenish the power we’d taken from him.
“How long do we have?” I asked Gabriel while putting on my shirt.
When my father confined me with his power, he had stripped me of my weapons and confiscated my communication device. He had tried to use it to disband my army, but had failed. My warriors were loyal only to me.
Without my device, I had to rely on Gabriel’s brief.
“Three days,” Gabriel said, “if the rest of our ships can stall your father long enough.”
“How many Reapers are coming?” I asked.
“Five thousand,” Gabriel said, “all at warp speed. They’re approaching this galaxy.”
The Mysthian generals’ faces went pale. The Mysthian captain cursed. They might have a chance to withstand Agro’s army with their reinforced magic walls, the combined powers of their empress and me, Gabriel’s warship, and the joint Dragonian and Mysthians army.
But with five thousand of the most advanced battleships heading toward us, we stood no chance. Mysth’s magic walls would melt when those Reapers nuked Earth.
Before my father ground the planet to dust, he would demonstrate his might and demand earthlings deliver my mate to him in exchange for Earth’s survival. He would watch Earth mortals besiege Mysth. He would even turn the Dragonian rebel against the fey.
When he finally had my mate, he would take his time to reap her. He wouldn’t grant her a quick death. He would make me watch as he drained her.
Rose leaned on me, her face ashen.
I wrapped my arm around her to give her my strength. I wouldn’t let my father get to her. I was her protector and anchor. Always would be. My mate stopped shuddering.
“We have battleships, as well,” one of the generals said in a tight voice, as if trying to convince himself we would hold.
“Those five hundred ships are a child’s toys against the Reapers,” Gabriel said.
“Even one Reaper can level Earth,” Ephraim said grimly. He’d just entered the room. “But five thousand of them? Skies! What kind of statement does he want to make?”
“He wants to remind all angels,” I said, “especially the Fallen, of what he’ll do to those who go against him. He’ll hunt down my mate and me first.”
Gabriel studied Rose intently. Before I growled a warning, as I wouldn’t allow any male’s gaze to fall upon her longer than necessary, Gabriel asked, “Empress, could you pull out the same Earth magic that destroyed the two scout ships? If we can amplify it and strengthen my High Prince’s Sky Power, we’d have a nasty surprise for his Lordship. We need to take you to ThunderSong and meet the Reapers before they enter the Earth’s portal.”
“Are you fucking crazy, Gabriel?” I snarled. “You want to put my mate on the frontline of a space battle?” I would strike him if he came up with another stupid, thoughtless idea.
Rose’s hand squeezed my shoulder to ease my temper, but I ign
ored her. I wouldn’t allow anyone to put her at risk.
“How dare you ask Her Majesty to fight on the frontline?” the Mysthian generals also growled. “She’ll use her great magic only at the very back of the army!”
But Gabriel wouldn’t let up. “The combined Earth Magic and the High Prince’s Sky Power might be our only chance.”
I sent him a death glare. This asshole should have talked to me in private with his opinion. And now that Rose had heard it, she would jump to act on his lousy, dangerous counsel.
“I’ll go where I need to be,” Rose said.
“Rose!” I said.
She ignored me. “But I’m afraid I won’t be of great use in the sky. My magic draws from Earth. Once I leave its bound, I become weak.” She gave me a quick glance. “I know this because your High Prince once took me to the high sky.”
“What if you stay within Earth’s atmosphere?” Gabriel asked, stubbornly risking being struck down by me.
“She’ll become the target of five thousand battleships!” I said, a menacing power rolling off me.
Except for my mate, everyone in the room flinched, though they fought not to step back. The empress gave me a chiding look.
“Let’s test it,” she said, fixing her eyes on Gabriel, which I didn’t like. She must have sensed that I tensed beside her and turned to me immediately. “You can’t protect me this way, Seth. We have to try, or your lord father will burn the planet.”
“For the first time, I agree with Prince Seth,” the Mysthian lead guard said. “If we lose you, Empress, we lose everything.”
“We’ll test the empress’s magic within Earth’s atmosphere,” Gabriel said. “The Reapers are still three days away.”
If it were merely a testing, I might let Rose try it.
“Where is ThunderSong?” I asked. It should be patrolling Earth and guarding the portal to this realm.
“Above Earth, Your Highness,” Gabriel said. “Our last resort is to take you and your mate to your planet Valhalla.” He swept a glance at the Mysthians in the room. “Of course, we’ll take as many of you as ThunderSong can manage.”
I was thinking the same thing, only I wouldn’t wait for my father’s fleet to reach Earth. We could start evacuating now and stay under his radar. My mate’s safety was my priority.
“No, Seth,” she said, fully aware of my unspoken intention through our mating bond. “We won’t run. Though my people’s survival is everything, I won’t abandon the entire Earth species. It’s wrong. And even if we escape, your lord father will hunt us forever. How long and how far can we run and hide?”
I had never run from a fight, but I would run and hide for my female’s safety. I couldn’t afford to lose her. But she was right. My father now knew my weakness. He would expect me to flee out of fear and desperation. He would broadcast my cowardice to all the angels, and then hunt me down like a beast.
“Fine,” I said. “We stay and fight.”
“No matter what the end is,” Rose said softly, “we’ll be together.”
I squeezed her hand on my shoulder. “Bring ThunderSong within beaming range,” I ordered Gabriel. “Let’s go test the empress’s magic.”
“Aye, my liege.” Gabriel grinned and pressed a button on his wrist armor.
A hologram window appeared. Gabriel and I talked into the holographic device at the same time. Half a minute later, the First Officer’s voice returned, “ThunderSong is within range.”
“Beam us up,” I ordered.
“All ten heat signatures?” the First Officer asked.
I scanned the room. “No, just Gabriel, Ephraim, my mate, and me.”
“Not a chance!” the Mysthians shouted. “We won’t leave our empress in your care alone, even if you are now her consort!”
“Unofficially,” one of the generals amended.
It took a miracle for the Mysthians to accept me as their prospect consort emperor, but I knew they would never truly trust me. Fortunately for them, it wasn’t their trust or acceptance I sought. I would be nice to them for my mate’s sake, but I had my lines drawn and they would not cross them.
“Beam up all ten,” I said in a clipped tone.
Gabriel gave me a questioning look. I shrugged, but pulled Rose into my arms to shield her. As long as she had a smooth ride, I didn’t particularly care how the others felt about teleporting. After all, they asked for it.
“Now!” I ordered my First Officer.
Limelight fell on each one of us and twirled. Rose jumped onto me before I stood straight, her hands clasping behind my neck and her legs wrapping around my waist. I chuckled. She thought it was going to be like flying. However, I didn’t clarify it since I enjoyed her clinging to me like that. It was adorable.
I kissed her to distract her as a vortex of darkness sucked us in.
To their credit, the Mysthians made no sound at the vertigo brought on by the teleport.
We landed on the ThunderSong’s bridge, surrounded by pointed guns from the ship’s crew.
The Mysthians instantly drew blades, ready to spring to their empress’s defense. They found her with me, and their pissed-off expressions told me that they thought I’d betrayed them and might hand over their Morning Star to my lord father to save my ass.
“Clear,” Racer, the First Officer, called. “High Prince and the captain are on the bridge!”
The crew dropped their weapons and saluted.
“It’s a precaution,” I said to the angry fey.
Rose climbed off me, her face flaming pink. “You could have just explained this beaming thing earlier.”
My arm remained around her waist possessively. “How do you feel, love?” I asked with a smile. “Are you up to the test? You don’t need to do this if you don’t feel—”
She drew a deep breath and closed her eyes to concentrate.
We waited.
When she opened her eyes, she said in a slight panic, “I don’t feel any of the Earth magic in me. Maybe I’m too far from the planet to draw its power.”
“We’ll drop the altitude and try again,” I said, brushing a soft kiss on her lips before strolling to the view-screen to watch the feeds from our networked fleet.
War waged brutally out in intergalactic space. My battleships that headed toward Earth had met the Reapers.
My hands formed fists as I watched hundreds of my battleships break apart and burst into flame across the vast space in the wake of my father’s assault. Yet none of my ships fled. They tore into the enemy’s fleet to stop them from reaching this galaxy and to protect my refuge.
My father lost almost equal numbers of battleships, but his fleet still outnumbered mine three to one.
The Mysthians gathered behind me, their eyes wide. The primary earthlings hadn’t seen anything like this.
“A Reaper came through the Earth’s portal!” the pilot called.
“Go blow it up,” I ordered.
“A perfect time to test your mate’s ability,” Gabriel said. “Under pressure, her magic might surface.” He turned to her. “Empress, we rely on you to save our asses.”
“You don’t talk to her that way!” I snarled.
“I have to try,” Rose said.
ThunderSong shot up in a whoosh, lurking in the blind spot of the portal.
A Reaper shaped like twin arrows burst through the gate, which opened like a liquid mirror.
“Your show, Empress!” Gabriel shouted.
Rose threw up her hands toward the Reaper, as I wrapped her in my arms from behind to infuse my power into hers and to enhance her magic. My lightning would hurt ThunderSong if I hurled it from inside the ship, but her magic would bypass it and find the target.
However, the power I fed her hit a dead echo.
No storm, lava, or light rose from my mate. She was too far from Earth to draw upon her magic. My lightning alone couldn’t bring down the enemy ship even if I flew out of ThunderSong to strike it. My father had taken measures to strengthen the shield of his
ships to counter my bolts.
Rose tried again and again, but failed to conjure her magic. She turned to me with a humiliated, panicked, and helpless look. “I—can’t, Seth. I’m sorry.”
“It’s expected, love,” I said. “Now we’re sure you need to stay on Earth to use your elemental magic.”
Fortunately, Gabriel hadn’t counted on Rose’s miracle. ThunderSong blasted energy beams toward the Reaper, hitting its tail as the twin-arrow ship returned fire. We had a hit on the left edge. Then, another ship popped out from a new portal just as Racer alarmed the crew.
How could there be another portal?
Gabriel didn’t care, and he wasn’t curious. “Fire at will!” he shouted and cussed. “Sneaky bastard!”
“Hold fire on the new ship!” I countered his command. I had recognized the symbol on its hull: the black lightning bolt. My symbol, even if it wasn’t my ship.
The ship with the lightning symbol opened fire on the Reaper. ThunderSong immediately dove and blasted lasers from under the arrow ship’s belly before hurrying away.
Tearing from its belly, the Reaper exploded.
“Hail the lightning ship!” Gabriel and I ordered at the same time. I gave him a glare, and he shrugged.
“They’re hailing us,” the First Officer reported diligently.
“On screen!” Gabriel and I called again.
“While I’m here, Gabriel, I give the orders,” I said.
“You have the bridge, Highness,” Gabriel said as if doing me a huge favor.
A powerfully built female angel appeared in the hologram, her white wings spread in greeting, a smile tugging at her lips.
“Adrianna!” Ephraim sucked in a breath.
“Fuck me,” Gabriel whistled in delight.
Ephraim gave him a glare.
Adrianna had fought shoulder to shoulder with Gabriel, Ephraim, and me three millennia ago before she’d disappeared. I knew she’d joined High Commander Camael. Ephraim would have gone with her if it weren’t for his loyalty to me.
I was glad my father had kept sending me to conquer new galaxies rather than hunt the Fallen. If he had dispatched me to fight the rebels, I would have slain a legion of them.