Chapter 10 #2
Still, there was nothing I could do for Lyr now.
She didn’t know the truth. She hadn’t seen Andromeny’s vision like I had.
She couldn’t accept that it was inevitable that Rhyan would die.
That it had been prophesied and fated by a string of events threaded together long before we were born.
She couldn’t know that nothing she did in that moment, and no amount of power I shared with her, or strength she’d acquired would change the end.
I’d seen what would happen. I’d seen that he would awaken as the most powerful and dangerous akadim the Empire had ever known.
And I had seen that because of this shift, a spark would ignite.
One that would grow into a raging flame.
A fire that would engulf all of Lumeria.
I could still see the images Andromeny had shown me.
The army of akadim. The flames. Rhyan at the head. Arkturion over an army of the dead.
Lyriana would understand eventually—when it all burned down. When the fires flared. And if she didn’t—then … Well, the sides were chosen. It wouldn’t change anything for me.
But maybe Jules would come around. My throat dried. Maybe Meera.
I pushed thoughts of them away, willing the pinching in my heart to stop.
Because missing them didn’t matter. Because missing them only hurt.
And right now, my feelings about them, about everything, were of no consequence.
The mission was more important. It had to be more important.
As was the outcome. And I had work to do. It would be a long road ahead.
I rolled my shoulders back realizing I’d gotten too lost in thought. A mistake I knew better than to make, particularly with the present company.
The eyes of the vorakh, the former chayatim, were on me now, taking me in.
They were remembering I was there when they were freed.
I could hear my name in their minds being whispered, repeated and moved through dozens upon dozens of thoughts.
Some of the vorakh were in awe of me. Some were confused.
Mostly though, they were scared. They feared the akadim who stood guard behind me.
Little else mattered to them beside that.
Soon, their fear would dissipate. They would relax when they saw the demons work beside them.
And their loyalty and strength to our cause and to us would grow when they were fed and clothed and treated fairly.
Aemon and I would heal them, we’d give them what they needed, and protect them.
It wouldn’t be long now before they became the most powerful network of mind-readers and visioners in Lumeria.
I smiled to myself. A weapon the Empire hadn’t seen coming.
Particularly in Rhyan.
Andromeny had though. But she’d kept that vision secret. Hidden the outcome from the Emperor in a sea of potential outcomes.
Me Maraaka, Aemon purred into my mind, looking over at me. His dark eyes swept down my body, then back up, stopping at the crown on my head, and then his gaze shifted beyond me. To the akadim.
He grinned, pride in his eyes and aura as he extended his arms, inviting me to join him. His fresh Rakashonim scar was red against his left wrist. A second, smaller scar ran beneath it.
Ah, my kitten has become a queen. Come. Admire our army with me. And let them worship your beauty. Let them see what I am fortunate enough to worship in the dark.
And in the light, I thought.
He smirked, and I could already imagine his thoughts.
The two of us on display. Fucking in front of all of them—a captive audience who couldn’t look away.
My gasps and moans would fill the sky as our army and court tried to silence their groans, watching us in their own barely masked desire.
Aemon taking me from behind—everything on display, everything raw.
My core heated and my stomach tightened, suddenly seeing it clearly, unsure if the thought or images had generated in my own head or his.
He could push his own thoughts out. Not just in commands to akadim, but to other Lumerians.
Something I realized only recently, he could do for some time. But he wasn’t the only one now.
I held my head up high, my heart thundering in my ears in thick, echoing beats. I glided forward, opening my mind just a little more—scanning carefully through the thoughts of our new court.
Lady Morgana Batavia? That’s Lady Morgana.
Queen now, I pushed the thought back, and the chayatim who’d thought it suddenly stilled, her aura exploding with shock as her eyes widened.
Wasn’t she missing? Kidnapped by akadim? Fuck, are we now kidnapped by akadim?
I was with my soturi, I thought. You were kidnapped by the Emperor, not us. Now you’re free. Now you belong to our court.
A smile spread across my lips for the first time in public since my Revelation Ceremony. It no longer pained me when I read minds. My shard had seen to that. And I was able to listen to and respond to more than one thought at once.
Morgana and the Ready are together?
They’re vorakh, too. They can read your mind. Stay focused. Stay focused.
Gods, I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be here.
You are here. My eyes shot to the chayatim thinking the last thought. A young female mage with long dirty-blonde hair. Ka Daquataine from Damara from the looks of her. You have been freed from your masters. Show some gratitude.
Her mouth tightened, and she nodded, before staring at her lap, her hands folded neatly. Apologies, Your Grace.
Your Majesty, I corrected.
Then I was in Aemon’s arms, his hands low on my back as he drew me in, and at last I kissed him. Accepting him for who he was, acknowledging what he was. Not the man in the dark, my lover in the shadows. He was my king.
Maraak Moriel.
He bit my lower lip, his tongue pushing past it, as he hardened against me. I love it when you call me king in your mind.
I moaned, missing this. I’d gone without his touch for months. Without any touch. It had been far too long.
Aemon pressed a languid kiss to my neck, his hand snaking to my ass in a way that told me my earlier thought had definitely come from him.
Keep that up, I thought, and you won’t hear me call you that again. Because if he was inside of me, our minds would close, there’d be nothing but silence, nothing but the sound of our joined flesh. The way it had always been.
He laughed. You’ll just have to scream then, out loud. So they can all hear.
You’d like that, wouldn’t you, I thought, and licked the side of his neck, biting his earlobe.
You have no idea how much. “Shall we then, my queen?” he asked, his voice low in my ear. “My strong and beautiful queen.”
I smiled. “Yes.”
Aemon nodded to Andromeny, and took my hand in his.
And at this, our public display of affection and desire, the akadim began to growl and hiss and roar, their voices louder than before.
Their claws were snapping, the sharpened edges clicking together, and their lips had been pulled back to reveal their fangs.
I lowered my gaze realizing that other parts of their bodies were now standing at attention. The entire scene was grotesque.
Aemon’s nostrils flared in annoyance.
And it was at this Godsdamned moment that Parthenay dared to approach us, a look of victory in her eyes.
I told you. They have their natures, she sneered. They can’t even look at their beloved queen embracing their king without wanting to rage and rape. Go back on your command. Before it fails completely.
Aemon looked at me, his dark brows furrowed before he pulled everything from my mind.
Everything I’d allow. My commands to the akadim.
The way I intended to rule. It felt like my mind had been scraped, and I nearly stumbled back from the assault.
But the thoughts he’d gleaned were nothing I wouldn’t have freely given.
His eyebrows knit together in a deep V. I see.
I shook my head. They’re my soturi, and they will do as I command.
I agree they are, and they should. But their nature, he thought, is another story. Nature cannot be compelled.
They walk in the daylight! They maintained a more normal body structure. So forgive me, but your argument on nature is null. If they can walk in the sun, if they can evolve to think and plan, why not this? I don’t care what anyone says. I’ve forbidden my akadim from raping. And that’s final.
He laughed, looking between me and Parthenay. Kitten, you have to know, some parts of nature will never be mutable. And this I fear is sealed in stone. To command otherwise endangers your rule. Something I will not have.
You see, Parthenay thought. Now tell them. Her eyes narrowed on me. Tell them they have free rein, my queen. They’ll serve you better when you admit that they can act as their nature demands.
I caught Lissa’s eye, and then thoughts from the chayatim began to shout again into my mind. Their fear was overwhelming now. And for the first time since I’d taken possession of my shield, of the orange shard, I felt pain in my head. One of my old headaches from mind-reading was returning. Fuck.
They will fight better if they’re allowed … certain freedoms, Aemon thought. A satisfied man always does. His nostrils flared and he looked away, effectively ending the debate between us.
Parthenay looked elated, her face shifted into the sneer she wore so well.
Aemon stepped forward, positioning himself in front of us, his arms raised.
“Look at this most brave and worthy soturi. The fiercest in the land. You have been given an honor. You will fight. You will kill. And you will do so for our glory, for all of our glory. When you have done all that is asked of you, then, and only then you will feed. And you will feed well.”
The roars were deafening. I shivered as a chill ran down my spine. Because no one, not even the akadim, had mistaken his meaning.
Aemon, I thought a warning in my tone.