63. Chapter Sixty-Three
Chapter Sixty-Three
Zalen
T here’s something to be said about power. It wasn’t something as simple as strength at a man’s fingertips or even the control it offers. It rested in the hungry eyes of the forbidden woman I fucked on fallen Kingdoms. The eyes of my Queen.
Power was the domination of fate—the ability to take something out of your control and force it to yield.
And I wanted more. I wanted it all. For myself and for my Queen.
Exhausted and utterly spent, Maera and I slept well into the afternoon hours the day following our wedding and coronation. Once we were rested, we went our separate ways as if it were just another day. With the battle we anticipated coming our way, she needed to continue her work on honing her brewing as much as possible while I went to my study to continue to monitor the invasion efforts.
It didn’t sit right with me that witches were forced to rely on external sources for their strength, while sorcerers held their strength on their tongues and fingertips. It was simply a fact witches were inherently weaker. But I refused to accept that fate for my wife. I would find a way to make her stronger than any man that walked this Godforsaken land.
While Maera spent her time enhancing her abilities as best as she could, I scoured every text I could find on the Drehiri with the help of Thane.
“So there’s nothing at all about witches? No one’s ever tried?” I asked Thane as he sat on the other side of the table with multiple open books before him.
“Not that I can tell.” He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. “Only Kings have the authority to decide who goes through the magical ritual. And from the looks of it, not a single one permitted another besides themselves—man or woman.”
The concern wasn’t if Maera could go through it, it was how it would affect her. It was an intense and painful process on the mind, body, and soul—changing the very fabric of their being and lacing their veins with more magic than anyone else. Since she would be the first witch, there was no telling what would happen, how greatly she’d be enhanced or how harshly she would suffer.
The transition into the higher power was permanent, only to be released with death.
But she could do it. She was strong-willed, and if her past proved anything, she had the tolerance to withstand it.
“What’s the update with Shara?” I asked, giving myself time to think.
“The report that came in this morning showed even more masses being assembled, and they’re moving closer to the border.”
“We’re going to need to act soon then,” I sighed.
“If you are wanting to stick with the infiltration strategy, then yes. But…”
I raised a brow. “But what?”
He bit his cheek in thought for a moment. “Have you considered having a contingency plan? What if they breach the blockade line and come into Damanthus while half our forces are inside? The Kingdom would be vulnerable, and Kanth would be their target. At the very least, you should have a plan in place to relocate the Queen up north to a secure location.”
That was why we were here. The plan wasn’t to relocate Maera but to give her the strength to overpower anyone who dared threaten her. But if all went according to plan, that would never happen.
“That won’t be necessary. Maera will be going through the Drehiri. Tomorrow. I will do it right after her,” I stated.
“After? Why not before?” He tilted his head to the side.
“Because both of us will be vulnerable during, as well as immediately after, and I want to make sure she’s alright before I go through mine. I don’t want to be completely compromised while she’s going through hers. She needs to have her new power while I go through my ritual. I’ll be confined within the Drehiri, so if anything happens, she needs to be able to defend herself during that time until the ritual is complete.”
“The recuperation period takes hours though.”
“Which is why she will be doing it at dawn, and I will take it at dusk.”
The Drehiri was a process of transition and, as such, coincided with the transition of the sun from light to dark. It was more fitting as well for her to complete the Drehiri at dawn, emerging in light while I emerged darkness. It was unclear if it actually made a difference, but I enjoyed the symbolism regardless.
“And after you come into your power, we’ll infiltrate Shara,” Thane said with an approving nod.
“Two more things need to happen. You’ll be taking the following Drehiri window for the Innon Kingdom. Which means you have to get married,” I said firmly .
“I—”
“What? You thought you wouldn’t have to? It’s not some personal request, it’s law.”
“Yeah, I get that. I just… I didn’t even think of that. It’s not like I’ve known this was coming my entire life.” He shook his head. “Who will I marry?”
“Doesn’t matter to me.” I shrugged. “So long as she’s devoutly loyal.”
“You don’t want to pick her?” He tilted his head to the side.
“I will if you don’t.”
Thane ran his hand through his hair and blew out a sharp breath. “We’ll be allied sorcerers in their higher power. This will be a first.”
“Exactly. No one will suspect it.” I rose. “And two sorcerers in their higher power are greater than one.”
With a plan in place, it was time to fill in Maera.
“Get everything ready to head into Shara. I’ll see you at the House of Elders at dawn. And find a wife before I find one for you. You’ll marry after my ritual,” I commanded then left in search of Maera.
I didn’t have to go far to find her because she found me. Or more like barreled into me as we came around a corner in the tower at the same time. I caught her just as she nearly fell from the impact, fumbling and dropping papers and vials in a frenzy.
Her hair was in a disarray, and her skirt had traces of herbs where she had rubbed her hands.
Maybe I should remove it, so she wasn’t so filthy. Or just lift it and press her against the wall again as I—
No. Stop. Talk first, then fuck.
“Oh God, Zalen. You scared me,” she said, catching her breath. Her eyes fluttered, meeting mine.
Shit, I have problems if her eyes alone make me hard .
“Didn’t mean to scare you, love. But I was coming to find you,” I said, releasing my arm from her waist and bending down to pick up the scattered pages.
Anera came out from behind her and playfully pounced on the pages. I shooed her away, and she growled at me.
Mangy beast…
“Me too!” Maera exclaimed. “I wanted to tell you what I did!”
Anera mewled, pawing at Maera, likely wanting to be fed.
“What is it?” I asked as we stood, and I took the rest of her belongings from her hands.
She looked so giddy with her wide grin and bright sparkling eyes. “Use the silencing spell on Anera.” She nodded down to the annoying cub.
Gladly.
“Kyrr,” I hissed with a vengeful smirk, twisting my hand and closing it in a fist to cast the spell.
But nothing happened. The damn cat still whined at Maera.
The spell didn’t work. My eyes widened and snapped to Marea, who was beaming up at me. “What did you do?”
“I made a potion that makes someone immune to spells. And the best part?” she squealed. “They’re not immune to other potions! So if someone took this one,” she pointed to one of the bottles in my arms, “and we wanted to counteract it, all we’d have to do is get some of this other one on their skin. They don’t even have to drink it!”
All I could do was stare at her in awe. I had never heard of anything like this being possible.
“I tried it on Riva—don’t worry, she was happy to be part of my experiment. Then she went to one of the guards, and he tried a confusion spell on her, but it didn’t work! I tried it too, and again, the same result. And same thing with the sorcerer who was guarding the entrance. I guess Riva knows him well, and he was a willing participant when she asked.” She shrugged.
I couldn’t believe it.
“Maera,” I breathed. “This changes everything.”
If we could get this recreated and distributed to the Vord, we’d be unstoppable in Shara. The threat of the new King was as good as extinguished.
I dropped everything in my arms and grabbed this incredible woman around her waist and hoisted her up, her legs wrapping around me. Fuck it, I couldn’t contain myself. Her cleverness deserved a reward.
“You bright, brilliant witch.” I crashed my mouth onto hers, pressing my tongue between her perfect lips and claiming her.
She giggled gleefully against me and looped her arms around my neck. I spun and pushed her up against the wall. With her holding herself up, my hands came down to her thighs and gathered her skirt to push it up to her hips.
“Minn astir,” she said breathlessly. “Not right now. I need to get back to my alchemy room.”
“Yes, right now. I want my face between your legs.” I lifted her leg to put it over my shoulder as I began to get down on my knees.
“Thistle,” Maera whispered.
I halted, instantly stopping at the sacred word. Without hesitation, I placed her feet back on the floor and lowered her skirt then took a step back.
“Thank you,” she said with a soft smile.
I leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead. “You don’t have to thank me for that. That’s why we agreed on it in the first place.”
While Maera was a gentle soul, I was hard and rough and ruthless. It was important for her to have a single word that could stop anything that went too far.
“I promise I’ll make it worth your while later.” She rested her head back against the wall, running her fingers down my arm and grabbing my hand.
“That’s not how this works,” I said gently.
She had only ever used the word once before, and I wanted to make sure she didn’t feel guilty for it.
She shrugged. “But I think you should get rewarded for it.”
My brows raised. “Oh?”
She leaned forward to whisper in my ear, “I’ll let you fill my mouth for your patience.”
Tempting little witch.
A low growl rumbled in my chest at the thought of her promise, the image of her head bobbing up and down in my lap. I was more than happy to wait.
“You better run along back to the alchemy room and finish up what you need to do. Because tonight, I’m going to stuff my cock in your mouth until I’m spilling down your throat,” I promised with a wicked tone.
She sucked in a sharp breath, and her cheeks reddened. She cleared her throat. “So what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?”
My mind was temporarily blank. I had become distracted by the thought of her lips eagerly wrapped around me. I blinked the thought away, clearing my head and forcing myself to remember the importance of what was about to come.
“With what’s developing in Shara, I want to take extra precautions and ensure your protection. And you remember what I said was the best way for me to protect you right?”
She nodded with a concerned look.
“Good. Because I want you to go through the Drehiri tomorrow. At dawn. ”
She didn’t move apart from her eyes darting between mine. I was waiting for her to push back a bit, but to my surprise, she acted as if it was the obvious thing to do.
“Alright,” she said with a shaky breath and swallowed her nerves. “I’m the Queen, and I’m the only one who has ever had this opportunity. I won’t pass it up. What do I have to do?”
“Nothing. The Elders will talk you through it. There’s not much you can do while the ritual occurs. You’re essentially immobile during the process. It’s not pleasant, as I’m sure you’ve heard, but you’ll survive. And just think about what kind of potions you’ll be able to brew once you’ve come into your higher power,” I said with a light tone, hoping she would think of the additional benefits of this rather than concentrate on the negative effects. “And,” I continued and brought her hand to my lips. “I’ll be there the entire time. It doesn’t take but a few minutes, but I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She nodded and gave a half-smile. “Okay. But what about yours?”
“I’ll be doing mine tomorrow evening. And you’ll be there too. Then Thane the following morning after he marries tomorrow night.”
She relaxed a bit and pondered for a moment. “Can I bring Anera?”
I sighed and closed my eyes, trying not to roll them. “Yes. You can bring Anera.”
She beamed and lifted to her toes, kissing me quickly. “Good. Then I’ll see you tonight.” She winked then gathered her things, skipping down the hall with the cub trailing behind her.