by Zoey Ellis
He was shocked to see the number of people that filled the garden, and the guests that attended. Of course her team were present, as well as Mother Orlee and some of the rulers, but also Emperor Drocco, his twin Alpha nieces, and some of the merchants he had grown business relationships with. Amara had certainly been busy. Elion and Kyus sat next to each other but neither looked happy. In fact, Kyus seemed tearful. Clearly things had not improved with them.
To one side stood Banon and Emric, both looking relaxed and content. Their ceremony had been incredibly private, with only Malloron and Amara in attendance, but it had been perfectly suited to Emric’s preferences and Malloron was intrigued to see them so happy—it made him realized he’d never witnessed such expressions on any of his servants before.
He made his way to Drocco, who looked positively bored and slightly irritated, but rose as Malloron approached. “Congratulations.”
Malloron dipped his head. “Thank you for coming to our wedding, and allowing Cailyn to help Amara.”
“Do you know the kind of agitation I would suffer if I refused?” Drocco scowled. “Believe me when I say, I'm not doing it for you.”
Malloron chuckled. “Then let me extend my thanks for allowing Cailyn to come and soothe Amara when she needed it.”
Drocco made a noise in the back of his throat. “Again, it was not solely for you, but I accept your thanks.”
Malloron hesitated. “You gave me knowledge from your keep when you didn’t have to, Emperor. I am thankful for that.”
“We are allies,” Drocco shrugged. “And I am aware of the desperation of needing one’s Omega… if you recall.”
Malloron smiled. “I would like to extend an invitation to you the next time that Cailyn decides to visit.”
Drocco frowned. “What for?”
“Although we are allies, I feel that more could be made of our alliance. You have frequently provided me with assistance, and I do not feel that I've done the same for you. I would like to see if there's anything I can offer when you come here.”
Drocco’s frown deepened, and Malloron knew he was very likely suspicious, but he would only be able to improve the alliance if he was able to get Drocco to visit and take an interest in his Lands. “Why?”
“A true alliance between us would benefit not just our Lands, but our Omegas and our children. Eventually they will grow and want to travel and visit each other. I would feel more secure knowing they are visiting the Land of a true ally.”
Drocco nodded slowly. “Agreed.” His black eyes narrowed. “But you have not shown yourself to be trustworthy, Malloron. Just because you have an Omega now doesn’t mean I will trust you.”
“I understand. I aim to work on that,” Malloron said. “I have an alliance with a shinno in the Southern Lands and I fear it will keep me honest, even if I don’t want to be. I will make the same efforts with you.”
Drocco’s gaze sharpened. “What kind of alliance?”
“I joined his tribe.”
“What tribe?”
“Nyek.”
Drocco stared at Malloron, the suspicion in his eyes turning to shock. “You are a member of Tribe Nyek?”
“Do you know them?”
“I have heard of them,” Drocco muttered, stiffly.
Malloron nodded. “So you know I am being sincere when I say I will try.”
Drocco’s eyes swept the garden for a long moment. “I am surprised you made such an alliance. Tribe Nyek will kill you if you dishonor them.”
“I don’t intend to,” Malloron responded. “But I could use your assistance with that.”
Drocco continued surveying the garden, but he didn’t seem to be seeing it. Finally he returned his gaze to Malloron and nodded. “You have it.”
Malloron held in a breath of relief as Cailyn approached and told him they were ready.
As he took his place in the center of the altar, the horn sounded, and Malloron turned towards the doorway and found himself looking at the most beautiful sight.
Amara decided to wear a rich indigo dress that matched the color of his robe. It was simple and elegant, showing off her curves beautifully, especially the one at her stomach. Her hair had been curled, and styled up, allowing tendrils to bounce down around her ears. On her head sparkled the crown he loved to see on her, especially when naked, and her eyes sparkled with a joy of their own as she looked at him.
She stepped toward him, the smallest of the tenebris-children, and the most disobedient, tottering along next to her as she held their hands. But her eyes did not leave his.
When she arrived, he drew her into his arms, hardly able to believe that such a beauty belonged to him, but knowing that there was no one else he would want to claim.
“I love you, chameleon,” he murmured, allowing himself to forget everything else.
“I know,” she smiled. “I love you too.”
The wedding itself went smoothly, and Malloron was aware it was being broadcast to the entire Lands of Eiros. Every single ruler had sent gifts, and together they had decided that the day would mark the very first holiday for the Land of Eiros. Of course, citizens were overjoyed by that, but Malloron knew that any such day could be detrimental to the running of the Lands. The citizens of Eiros were still very much the same as they had been before, and crime was still rife in many of the countries. If there was a day when no one worked, it could be chaos, and he had explained that to the rulers when they expressed their desire for it. However, they explained they had a plan in place to deal with any unusually high reports of crime, but he knew it would still come down to him if things got out of hand.
Emric spoke to the crowd eloquently about the Visant Royal family, explaining their relevance and importance to the rest of the Lands. Once Malloron and Amara had said their vows, he declared them true mates, bonded mates, and king and queen. The crowd echoed the sentiment, cheered their approval, and the cheers from the castle city could be heard in the distance.
Malloron turned to Amara and lifted her into his arms. Drawing on magic to surround him, he floated up in the air, carrying his Omega with him.
“Malloron,” Amara gasped. “Where are you going?”
“I want some time with you on my own,” he growled. “No children, no Mothers or Omega sisters, no Emric; no one but the two of us.”
Amara threw her head back and laughed, and the sound sent his heart soaring.
“You have always been selfish, Malloron,” she said, threading her arms around his neck and pressing her forehead to his.
“And I do not apologize for it,” he rumbled, lowering to kiss her.
“But what will we tell our guests?” she said against his lips. “They’re waiting to congratulate us.”
“We tell them we went to see our kingdom.” He thrust his tongue into her mouth and her half-hearted protests were lost in the urgency of his kiss.
They soared over their Lands, Malloron carrying Amara in his arms as he had once before, but that time, she had been blind and he had been panicked and bleeding. This time, everything was perfect, and the final thing he desired before the twins arrived was to see his expansive Lands while holding his beautiful queen; her stunning blue eyes on him, as always.
EPILOGUE
MALLORON
Malloron watched as the very last pleasure chamber was closed. Oddly, he felt a twinge of sadness among the relief.
He had always known Amara would not be happy with the continuation of the pleasure chambers, especially with the way the restrained had been sourced, but as unsavory as she thought it was, it was his first achievement both as a royal and within the Western Lands. It was the first thing he had been known for, and even praised for by some, and much of his reputation was tied to the success of the chambers.
But he had to admit that it was a relief they were closed. They were at the heart of any real argument between him and Amara, and as much as he liked her eyes lit up with fervor, the pleasure chambers disgusted her; he felt it in the bond, and it h
ad soured many moments between them.
He had set about trying to find a solution that would not only bring in the money that the pleasure chambers did, but also finding something to do with the restrained. Essentially, they were programmed servants or slaves; they no longer had their own free will, and setting them free was not an option.
He and Amara had debated it for years, researched possible options, spoken to specialists and their allies, and only in the past year had narrowed down to a few options.
"Thank you," Amara said, wrapping her arms around his torso. "I know you are doing this for me, and I very much appreciate it."
He kissed her forehead, curling an arm around her small body. "I am not only doing this for you," he confirmed. "I'm also doing it for our sons," he glanced pointedly at her four-month pregnant stomach. "And our daughter."
Amara grinned up at him. "I think it's going to be a girl this time too."
"It is easy for us to find out, Amara," he said wryly. Although they had three sons and two pregnancies, Amara never wanted to know the sex of the child before giving birth. She claimed she wanted it to be a surprise and that it didn't matter because they already had so many sons and daughters anyway from the tenebris-children.
Amara shook her head adamantly. "We cannot break tradition," she grinned. Pulling him away from the empty chamber that was once punctuated with cries of ecstasy, slapping of flesh, and moans of distress, she led him up to the more pleasant parts of the castle.
It became apparent over the past six years that the tenebris-children were not aging normally. Carilla studied them closely and determined that they were aging, but extremely slowly. Now that the tenebris was being used within their bodies, they weren't able to age out as quickly as they had been before, which meant that it would be decades before they would be free of the tenebris, by which time Malloron would be an old man and they themselves would be only just be reaching adulthood.
Malloron was glad as this meant that he would live a long life with both his mobility and sanity, but of course, Amara was a little disturbed by it. They spent a few days in their nest, discussing the implications, but there was nothing else that could be done without removing the tenebris from the children. And there was no guarantee that once it was removed, that it would behave in the same way it had before. So all they could do was continue to examine the children and aim for Malloron to make the best of his life. Malloron was happy with this, because he had everything that he could possibly want or need, but after the twins were born, Amara pointed out to him that once the children aged out, there would be no more tenebris. Their sons would be subjected to insanity like every other Talent-crafter, if they chose to use it and that disturbed him somewhat. He couldn't see how any Visant King could effectively rule without the Talent. It just wasn't possible. Over the years, Talent-crafters had begun to grow again in the Lands. They weren't prevalent as they had been before he’d taken over, but they could become so. How were either of his sons to rule if they could not access magic?
Amara wasn't as concerned as he was, but she did worry about the children in the Lands that would be taught to use the Talent too young. She was trying to come up with a plan using all of their contacts and allies and specialists, like Carilla, that could potentially provide a solution. But Malloron found he had trouble sleeping worrying about the concept that no more Visant kings would have the tenebris to support their rule. When he was young, this concern was the number one priority for his father, and why he had trained him so vigorously. It was a hard thought pattern to come out of, especially when he could see himself so clearly in the twins. They were almost identical to him, dark hair, brown eyes, striking Visant features. He couldn't just do nothing. So after a couple of weeks of worry, he decided to contact an ally.
"Malloron," greeted Emperor Drocco. "I thought Cailyn and I weren’t due until next week."
"You’re not, I just have a question for you."
“Yes?”
"How are my sister’s twins doing? I didn’t speak to them much at the wedding… I’m not even sure why they came. I’m not their favorite family member, I’m sure."
Drocco's brows lifted. "They are doing well," he responded slowly. "They are an integral part of the Lox and they appear to be content here. They came to the wedding because your brother got into contact with them."
Malloron tensed. "My brother?
“Yes, the one at the wedding.”
Elion. “Do you know if they are in contact with any other family members?"
"Yes. They are visited regularly by family," Drocco shrugged. "I do not know much more about that."
Malloron nodded. "Have they ever spoken to you about how magic affects them as twins?"
Drocco stared at him for a long moment. "You are asking because of your own twins?"
Malloron nodded. "I want to know the likelihood that they will go insane, like most other Talent-crafters."
Drocco took a breath. "From my understanding, they are protected. It is not impossible, but there are elements to their make-up that make it unlikely that they will go insane as early as other Talent-crafters."
"What do you mean, what protects them?"
"When I met your nieces, they said that they were strong Talent-crafters in their own right, but together they are more powerful than most other Talent-crafters, especially from your family line. Now, I assume they are not true Alphas, but your boys will be. Therefore, I suspect that they will be well into old age before they go crazy."
Malloron nodded, exhaling in relief. "Thank you. I'm not sure if Amara will approve of me teaching them magic when they come of age, but it is good to know that if I do I'm not sentencing them to insanity from before they reach my age."
Drocco made a face. "You know how I feel about magic."
Malloron grinned. “Indeed.”
After they bid farewell and the portal closed, Malloron headed to the window to watch his sons play, grateful that they had options. They were only six, but only one of them would be able to rule, and it would be a difficult choice because they were both equally matched in almost everything at the moment. Perhaps if they learned the Talent, it would become clearer who was more suitable, but he knew Amara may not be happy with such a distinction.
He watched them stumbling about the garden, a strange feeling embracing him that they were playing in the same area he was once immobilized by his own siblings. The difference with his boys was that they were inseparable and highly mischievous.
Suddenly Zannox yelled and Malloron suddenly realized with distaste that they weren’t playing, they were fighting.
Drawing on magic, he floated into the air and soared out of the window toward them as their nursemaid was trying to pull them apart.
"Stop!" he ordered.
The nursemaid backed away, but the boys were too busy screaming at each other to listen to him, so he used magic to pull them apart. "I said stop!"
Zannox began to cry while Lok sulked, tears in his eyes. Lok was usually serious while Zannox was more playful.
"What are you fighting about?" Malloron bellowed. “You do not fight!”
"He said," began Lok, "that Mama loved the other children more than she loved us."
"I didn't," Zannox pouted. "I just said she has been loving them longer than she has loved us." He turned his large brown eyes to Malloron. "It's true, isn't it, Papa? They are older than us, aren't they?"
Malloron's anger trickled away and he slowly released the magic.
He knelt on the grass and beckoned them close.
"Mama does not love the tenebris-children more than she loves you," he stated, as they ran into his arms.
"See!" Lok shouted at Zannox.
“She knew about you first when you were growing in her stomach,” Malloron explained. “But even if that’s the case, being born older doesn’t mean you are loved more.” His mind flashed back to his siblings, and Elion. “You are brothers. You are the oldest and you have a younger brother and a baby sis
ter on the way. You do not fight with your brothers and sisters.”
Both boys nodded, miserable that they were being scolded.
“Are the other children our brothers and sisters too?” Lok asked.
“Yes.”
“They don’t play with us,” Zannox said, his dark curls bouncing as he shook his head. “We try and try and they don’t play. They just follow us.”
“They don’t know how,” Malloron said, gently. “So they like to watch you instead. But they protect us so we must protect them. And that means, no fighting between any of us.”
Both boys nodded again.
“Do you know what your name means Zannox?”
He shook his head, his curls whipping around on top of his head.
“And your name Lokllaron?”
Lok shook his head too.
“They mean honor in different cultures. The culture of Tribe Nyek—to act with honor,” he said pointedly to Zannox, “and the culture of the Lox—to live with honor,” he said to Lok. “And I expect you to uphold that word.”
“What does it mean?” Lok breathed.
“You will learn over time, but right now, it means you will love your brother regardless of what he says,” Malloron replied. “And it means you will make sure you do not lie to your brother,” he added to Zannox.
“Yes, Papa,” they both said, almost in unison.
The boys looked at each other and grinned. Zannox grabbed Lok’s hand, pulling him away from Malloron and into the garden, giggling as he dried his eyes.
“Well, that was interesting to witness.”
Malloron turned to see Amara leaning against a tree truck, grinning. “Very insightful,” she mused.
Malloron scowled as he strode to her, eager to have his hands on her again. “You put me in that position. I wanted to name them words from the Ancient Tongue.”