27. Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Zalen
S ated and utterly exhausted from our time on the throne, Maera slumped against me as I praised her and ran soothing hands down her arms. I kissed her neck softly, my chest filled with the honor of having this beautiful and strong woman all to myself.
“Sofna,” I whispered quietly enough she couldn’t hear, and the spell made her fall fast asleep. It wasn’t one she couldn’t wake up from on her own, but it would last longer. A revolting sensation swirled in my stomach at the act, but she needed to rest. We had a long journey ahead of us.
Carefully, I dressed her back in her nightgown and then covered her with my cloak. While I didn’t mind if everyone in the Kingdom heard her pleasure, I wouldn’t allow anyone else to see what was mine alone.
With one arm beneath her knees and the other around her back, I held her to me and left the Aedum throne room. She didn’t know it yet, but riding my cock was the last she would ever see of this place.
After today, it would burn to the ground.
Opening the doors with a whisper, I found Thane and several of my men waiting outside. They had surrounded the thirteen Elders of Aedum—the only ones they were instructed to keep alive in the castle. Many of them gasped when they saw Maera unconscious in my arms.
A cruel grin spread across my lips. I could only imagine what they assumed I had done to their precious Samanya heir.
I lowered my head to Maera’s so my lips brushed her forehead.
“Daufr,” I whispered, temporarily taking her hearing. I didn’t want to wake her while I threatened the Aedum people.
“I am Zalen Drolvega, heir to Damanthus and soon-to-be King, ever since one of your people killed Makkor, King Airo.” I raised my head with a cold expression, looking down on the cowering group. “Aedum is no more. King Erix died by my blade, and I claim the Kingdom and its heir for my own. Through forbidden magic, his power now resides within me. Your power now resides within me.” The look of dread on their faces had me holding back a triumphant grin. “You vowed your lives and loyalty to the Samanya line. That will not change. You will protect and follow Maera Samanya until your death. She will still be your Queen, but I will be your King.”
Their expressions of apprehension and outrage were enough to relay they got the message. It looked as if I was stealing away their future Queen, as if she was an unwilling participant, unconscious and limp in my arms.
I turned and walked away, leaving them with the Vord. Thane followed behind as I descended the castle steps.
“Hlyda,” I muttered under my breath, restoring Maera’s hearing, and kissed her head softly. My boots crunched against the gravel as I stepped off the last stair.
“So, that was very…kingly of you. No grand threats?” Thane said loudly, coming up to my side as we walked toward the treeline where our horses had remained.
“Keep your voice down,” I scolded, glancing at Maera to make sure she didn’t wake. “I don’t need to scare them. They already think I’m the vicious beast who killed their King and stole his daughter.”
“Which you are…” he said carefully.
“I am. But they will continue to hold fealty for their stolen heir—and therefore me. Especially since their magic now rests in my hands. Have the rest of the Vord arrived?”
“Yes. Along with the rest of those loyal to you.” He jutted his chin toward the other end of town, and I saw my men surrounding the city, prepared to stop anyone who tried to leave or retaliate, and informing them of their new sovereign.
“Good. Everything is going according to plan, despite the timeline having been moved up so quickly. With all of the major cities being invaded at the same time, the Kingdom will be under control. I want these people to know who killed their King and who now has become their new one. Let them see what happens when someone attacks the Drolvega line.”
We approached the treeline and Thane ran a hand through his long hair. “What makes you think they won’t start some kind of rebellion? What makes you think they’ll be loyal to you after fucking and kidnapping the Samanya heir?”
Even my life-long friend had no idea Maera wasn’t being taken against her will—not that she was actually aware of it.
I turned to face him with a smirk. “Because I absorbed Erix’s power, the power of Aedum. And after I fully take over this Kingdom, I’m going to make her Queen of Damanthus.”
***
My horse gracefully galloped through the trees on the way back to the Damanthus castle. Dawn was breaking as the first rays of the morning’s light trickled across the sky, painting the clouds above in a spectrum of purple. I had imagined this day for years—the day I would take Maera with me to Kanth without having to hide my true intentions.
I relished the feel of her warm, soft body in my arms.
Maera stirred slightly, nuzzling against my chest. She looked up at me with tired eyes, still half asleep. “Zalen?”
“It’s me, love.”
She looked around without moving her head. “Hmm. Where are we going?” she asked sleepily, her eyelids already fluttering shut.
“Home,” I said.
I didn’t know if she heard me before she fell back asleep. Thane wasn’t far behind me, and we were quickly approaching Kanth. I was eager to return with my prize and show her what it truly meant to be mine—beside me.
When we arrived, I dismounted with Maera still in my arms. She startled awake when I hit the ground and Thane took my horse, taking it with his to the stables around the side of the castle.
At first her face lit up with elation when she looked up at me, but then her eyes widened when reality reasserted itself.
“Oh my—” She struggled out of my hold, and I placed her on her feet.
She gaped at the sight of the castle, her eyes traveling up and up to the top of the stone towers, taking in the Damanthus castle for the first time.
“Zalen! I thought that was a messed-up dream!” She spun on me, her hair whipping around her shoulder. “Did you really… Dear God,” she gasped. “You really killed my father in the middle of the night, then fucked me on the throne and brought me to Kanth?!”
I nodded.
She smacked my arm with that adorable fiery look in her eyes then attempted to shove me when I smirked. I couldn’t help it. Her passion was endearing. It was one of the things I loved about her.
I had expected her to react this way. I grabbed her wrist when she went to hit me again, pulling her against my chest. Grabbing the back of her head, I kissed her roughly, ravaging her mouth with my tongue and taking her breath away. She didn’t resist me, and after only a second her tongue met mine with a flaring intensity as she gripped my shirt and pulled me closer to deepen the kiss.
She backed away abruptly. “Zalen,” she said breathlessly, her lips red and swollen. “We have to talk about this. I…” She glanced around, conflict washing over her face. “I can’t be here. Your father—”
“Is dead,” I finished.
Her eyes snapped to mine, and her lips parted. “How—”
I swallowed her words when my lips crashed into hers again.
It felt so good, so freeing to be able to claim her mouth whenever I wanted. I pulled back and took her hands in mine.
“Come with me. I promise to tell you everything.”
I trailed a finger down her jaw then gripped her chin, pulling her face up to mine to kiss her softly once more. I needed her willing to accept me for what I’d done—what I was willing to do for her.
“Okay,” she whispered. I knew she was still apprehensive, many questions probably spinning in her mind. She never thought we’d get to be together. She never knew I’d been planning this since the day I fell in love with her. I had never wanted to tell her—couldn’t stand the idea of letting her down—so I kept it hidden until everything was in place. Allowed her to believe we’d never have more than a few stolen hours in our cottage .
I nodded and led her into the castle.
With both of us having lived in a castle all our lives, it wasn’t surprising she didn’t feel the same awe others did. She didn’t gasp in wonder or marvel at the size. To her, it was just another structure. But her eyes wandered, learning the complicated layout as I guided her with my arm around her waist down hallways, stairs, and around corners. She gave a nervous nod to each of the guards we passed, and politely smiled at the keepers going about their duties. We reached a single wooden door, and I opened it and gestured for her to enter as she released a relieved sigh to be away from others.
Even after my father was killed, I remained in my same bedchambers. It was nearly as spacious as the King’s, and it had a better view from the balcony—one I wanted for Maera, to be able to watch the sunrise over the orchard. She always loved sunrise.
Maera strolled around the room with her hands fidgeting behind her back, observing the large four-poster bed, two wardrobes, a desk, and two sitting chairs by a large arched window overlooking the orchard. I leaned against the wall with my hands in my pockets and my ankles crossed, wondering what she was thinking as she stared out the window hugging herself.
She would need time to adjust. I knew that. But I didn’t want her to feel as if she was here against her will. This was her home now, even if she didn’t know it yet.
After several moments, she took a deep breath then turned to face me. Even sleep deprived and still in her nightgown, I could see the regal Queen she had been trained to be. It was in the way she held herself. It was in her blood, her eyes, her stride. The voice she had been forced to lock away.
How I wished to hear her finally roar.
“It’s a lovely room,” she said, but I could tell her thoughts were far away from these four walls.
“I’m glad you like it.” I stepped toward her then stopped when she raised her chin. I could see the fire in her eyes, and I couldn’t help but be drawn to them. “Do you like the orchard?”
She glanced back at it briefly. “Yeah. It’s nice.”
“Just on the other side is an entire garden. It’s filled with plants and herbs of every kind that are tended to around the clock. It’s new, but thriving. I’ve made sure of it.” I smirked, hoping it would pique her interest. She wouldn’t have to forage anymore.
Her eyes widened. “Do you really? We never had anything like that at the castle. Father thought all herbs needed to be monitored so witches wouldn’t have access to anything threatening,” she said irritatedly, rolling her eyes. “Can I see it someday? I won’t disturb it.”
“You can disturb it all you want. It’s yours.”
“Mine?” she repeated the word like she couldn’t believe it. “Well…what about the other witches? Won’t they need it too?”
I shrugged. “They have their own. This one was made just for you.”
She started to smile before it finally hit her. Her eyes glazed over in thought, and I could see her working things out—that her presence had been expected for a long time now.
“You planned this?” she whispered, but it was more of an accusation than a question.
“Yes.” I gently wrapped my fingers around her arm and guided her to sit down in one of the chairs.
“All of it? My father and yours? The invasion of Aedum?” she asked.
I nodded, proud she had figured it out even when no one else had.
“How long were you planning it?”
“Around two years,” I said impassively and sat down in the opposite chair. “But I didn’t kill my father; someone beat me to it, and I don’t know who. That poses its own issue, but we’ll get to that later. I was going to wait until I was King and went through the Drehiri ritual to inherit my royal magic before I invaded Aedum, but when you left the tala thread…” I shrugged. “Everything was already in place. I only had to move up the timeline. I took over my father’s magic, then I killed yours and did the same thing.”
She looked at me like I had horns growing out of my ears. “Why?”
“Because,” I stood from the chair and placed my hands on the arms of her chair, leaning over her and making her look me in the eye to understand the truth in my words, “I made a promise we would be together. Neither of our Kings would have allowed it, so they had to be removed. And I refused to give you anything less than you deserved. One Kingdom wasn’t enough, so I gave you two. And I’ll give you the rest. I’ll give you the world.”
There was nothing I wouldn’t give her.
“Zalen, I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t want this.” She shook her head sadly.
“Didn’t? Or don’t ?” It was our fate whether she realized it or not. “You do want it. You just think you’re not supposed to.”
“I—”
“You what?” I cut her off. “You didn’t want me to kill that spineless bastard you called father? You didn’t want me to kill your bitch of a mother? The one who sold you to the captain of the royal guard,” I sneered. Thinking about it now, I wondered if I had been too merciful with their deaths.
Maera’s eyes narrowed. “At least my father didn’t kill people in their sleep,” she clipped. “And my mother didn’t sell me. The captain—”
“Only wanted to fuck you and get you pregnant, to secure his place as successor to the throne. Then what do you think he would have done, after he bred you like a prized horse and had what he wanted? He beat his two other wives to death, you know. Your father and mother knew. They’re the ones who kept it buried.” My anger rose thinking about him even touching Maera. At the fact that her parents would have allowed it. They definitely hadn’t suffered enough.
Maera’s eyes were wide, and her breaths quickened as I continued.
“I knew about every single person who was anywhere near you, Maera. Do you really think I wouldn’t?”
“You’ve done all this for me ?” she asked doubtingly.
And I would do it all again.
“Of course.”
“Why?” she breathed.
I reached up and held her face in my hand. “Because my life has been yours since the moment I loved you.”
Her eyes searched mine, though I didn’t know what she was looking for. “Is this really happening?”
“It already has, love.” I had promised I would take care of her, and I always would.
Her body eased as I moved closer.
“Do you want me, Maera?” I said, my lips so close I felt her breath. I already knew her answer.
She looked into my eyes and whispered after a moment, “Yes.”