Chapter Seven
"I know some day you'll have a beautiful life.
I know you'll be a star in somebody else's sky. I wish it could have been mine."
~Anonymous
Davos
I remember thinking Blake was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen on our wedding night.
His little belly was rounded sweetly, and I had a hard time keeping my hands off him.
I would never have told him, but I’d noticed his nipples were slightly swollen too, and there was a tiny bit of dried milk around the tips.
He would have died of embarrassment and pulled away and tried to hide if he had known.
But it was only because of the hormones flooding his body, and every male bearer reacted slightly differently.
I used to think his looks had been sent by the gods, but I’d changed my mind.
Now I thought they must be straight from the devil, sent to torment me and tempt me beyond all reason.
I decided I would keep him with me and never part with him, no matter what he wanted.
I’d lock him up if necessary. I would breed him every chance I got and keep that little belly of his full of my babies.
The thought occurred to me as I sat in a council meeting the next morning, writing his name and making circles and little stars around it on a notepad.
It was all I could do to stay still in my chair and not go looking for him right then.
Just to practice a bit. I might need a lot of practice.
It bothered me how much I thought about him.
Everything I felt for him was oversized.
Too much, too big and he was a terrible distraction, just like the late king, my uncle, had once feared.
I used to think when I first found him with Werros, and I’d been so hurt and angry, that I would fuck him enough that I’d tire of him and not be so obsessed. That would take away his power over me.
But fucking him, no… loving him, only made it worse.
Things were going badly at the moment with the war.
Or if not badly—we were still winning—then at least not as well as I would have liked.
After the Myrthian debacle, the Lycans had dropped their neutrality for good and declared themselves to be allies for the Alliance, after remaining neutral for many years.
I was afraid their army would be formidable.
The Nilaniums had declared themselves for the Axis, but the Nilaniums were basically pirates, who made their living preying on Alliance ships up and down the space corridors, though they also did some perfectly legal trading as well.
They were fierce fighters, but I suspected they had no real loyalty to anyone but themselves.
Once inhabitants of the planet Nilania, their home had been destroyed in a supernova event over a hundred cycles ago.
They had become nomads, traveling and living on their ships.
They were warlike with most planets, but they liked us Tygerians for the diamonds we used in trade.
It helped that they were more than a little afraid of us too.
A leader of theirs named Atlanthium Rabb had requested a meeting with me on Leeria, which was in neutral territory.
He had said he had information he could only give to me, and it was too “dangerous” for him to meet on Tygeria.
He’d refused to say why, but he said it would be well worth my time.
I’d told him I wouldn’t go down to the Leerian surface, suggesting that if I came at all, I’d meet him only on my ship.
He had agreed to my terms, so I’d decided to see what he had in mind.
I figured it was some kind of treachery, but I was curious.
And to tell the truth, I was spoiling for a fight.
In case this was some kind of ambush, and it probably was, I would have a large force accompanying me.
There was glory in setting the universe on fire just to watch it burn from the hottest part of the flames.
When I used to express this same thought to Blake, he’d shake his head and say, “and this is why I’m afraid Tygeria might actually win this terrible war.
” None of you have any sense of self-preservation at all. ”
“Ah, nobyo,” I’d say as I twirled him around in the air before kissing him breathless. “Life is so short. We have to live it fiercely and squeeze out every drop of pleasure while we can.”
It was shortly before I was to leave to go to Myrthia. And everything had changed after that. So I was well aware of the risks. It only made things more interesting.
I decided that when I went to meet Rabb, I’d take Blake with me.
Part of me hated the idea, in case something happened, and we were attacked.
But another big part of me didn’t want to leave him here alone.
Never again. The pain of his betrayal was still too fresh, and too many men wanted what was mine.
I’d keep him near me for the foreseeable future.
I was selfish enough that if I died in battle, I wanted him to go with me.
Both because I didn’t want anyone else to have him after I was gone, and because I needed to take him to the afterlife with me.
I’d probably have to bribe some god to take him in, seeing as how he was a human and all.
If that didn’t work, I’d follow him down to hell, I supposed.
I certainly couldn’t do without him for all eternity.
I went down to the royal quarters to find him. When I opened the door to my chambers, without bothering to knock, I might add, because why should I? And I found my beautiful nobyo entertaining a visitor—that fucking priest Evoq.
Some say that people don’t really see red when they’re angry. Those people don’t know what they’re talking about. A red haze dropped over my eyes and it was all I could see for a moment.
It was the middle of the day, and I was usually in meetings at this time.
I was sure the priest knew that, so I obviously was not the one he’d come to see.
At any rate, I never would have allowed him access to the royal quarters, and I’d be changing that right away. He was no longer welcome in the palace.
I knew I’d probably surprised him by coming to my rooms so unexpectedly, and I glanced first at him and then around the room to see who else might be there. I was also interested to see what else I might have caught Blake doing.
Blake acted as if he were startled by my sudden appearance and would have jumped to his feet if Evoq hadn’t put a hand on his knee.
I found I didn’t like that at all and the red haze darkened.
I stared at his hand on Blake until he pulled it away.
It could have been the low growl that was coming from my throat as well that convinced him.
I inclined my head toward Blake first. “Good morning, Lieutenant. Tell me, have you married anyone else since I last saw you?”
His eyes widened and then he gasped and glared at me.
I saw that damnable temper of his flaring and had to smile.
His blue eyes flashed, and his lips stuck out in a pout that made me want to kiss him.
I decided that I would. I walked over and took his lips in a rough mauling that left him gasping for air.
I fondled him a little while I had him at my mercy, right in front of Evoq, wanting him to see it.
“Is that a no? Not married again yet? Oh well, the day is still young.” I picked him up and pulled his legs around my waist. Then I sat down with him in my lap, his body toward mine and away from Evoq.
“And Evoq,” I said, turning my head toward him, and before Blake could say anything he’d regret, I pinched and then rubbed his little ass.
“How surprising to see you here, all alone with my mate.” He had at least a shred of decency left, as he blushed a bit as he gazed back at me.
I caressed Blake’s ass again just because I could.
He was squirming in my lap and trying his best to hide it.
“I came by to speak with you, Davos, but you were in a meeting, so I decided to drop by and check on Blake. See how he’s doing. I hope that was all right.”
“Your Majesty…” I said, correcting him. “And no.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Hmm? Oh, you will address me only as ‘Your Majesty,’ and my mate as ‘the King’s Consort.’”
Evoq smiled and stood up to bow from the waist. “Of course. I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I apologize.”
“And no, it’s not all right to see my consort without someone else being present. It’s for your own safety, really. My consort might have attacked you and forced you to marry him. It was lucky for you that I showed up when I did.”
I ignored the hiss that came from Blake and inquired solicitously, “What did you want to talk to me about anyway?” I pulled Blake’s head down on my shoulder and held it there.
He gave Blake a nervous glance before continuing. “I heard that you are meeting with Atlanthium Rabb near Leeria quite soon.”
“Did you now? You have an amazingly fast network of spies, sir. I congratulate you. I’ve only just finalized my plans.”
Blake bit my neck. Hard enough to draw blood, so I let him up and he gave me a smug little look. I leaned toward him and bit him back—not very hard, though he yelped and clapped a hand over the bite, looking outraged.
Evoq pretended not to notice our interaction.
“I have no spies, Your Majesty. Atlanthium Rabb called me himself after he spoke with you. We’re supposed to be meeting soon, you see—we have a trade to finalize.
The church purchases various items from the Nilaniums, and I’ll be negotiating a new and better price.
And he suggested that I might catch a ride with your ship to meet him and save him a trip to Tygeria. ”
I stroked Blake’s ass again and he squirmed. “What’s the matter, nobyo? Did you have something to say? No? My mistake.”
I turned back to Evoq. “Where were we? Oh, you said Rabb told you about our meeting. Did he really? Unfortunately, giving you a ride is not possible.”
“May I ask why not?”