even be trained if that’s your wish. I would recommend you have my Consort, Rainev, with you.” He gestured to Rain, and Rain didn’t contradict him.
I can be her escort. That’s fine. She needs to have her own life, and she’s never had one. Maybe I can teach her how to do that, so she won’t always need someone to take care of her.
“I would also like you to live here,” Alchan continued. The way her face paled made Rain sick, and he knew Alchan would hate it. “Not to be my lover against your will, female.” That growled sentence made Lilliana hunch. “I want you to live here so we can protect you from the stronger personalities in the valley. Over half of those living in this valley are warriors. We have a handful of very dominant females. I don’t believe you’re in danger, but it would be easier on me if you agreed to live here, where I can keep an eye on everyone. Leria didn’t look out for you. Seanev, that fucking prick, didn’t look out for you. They’ve handed you off to me, and I would never take you to bed without your express permission to do so, so banish that thought. Instead, I will do something they should have—give you what you want. So, tell me, Lady Lilliana, what do you want?”
Rain smiled to himself, proud of his lover and king.
“I’m not a noble,” she whispered, making herself smaller with every word.
“I’m King Alchan Andini of the Andinna, ruler of Anden, and a son of Lariana, the White Dragon. It’s my duty, my honor, and my privilege to give nobility to whoever I damn well please. You have found yourself at the bottom for too long. While you’ll never be dominant in the same way I will never be submissive, I will give you what power I can. So, you are now Lady Lilliana, a noble of the Andinna. Now, please tell me what you want.”
“You’re the first noble Alchan has formally declared since he took the throne,” Rain pointed out, smiling. “Isn’t that special?”
Her amethyst eyes were big, looking between Rain and Alchan, but Rain saw the moment something shifted. Alchan didn’t do anything, but something changed, and the little female was trapped in his dominant amber gaze.
“I’ve never thought about what I wanted,” she whispered. “Other than to leave the temple. I wanted more freedom.”
“Then you’ll have more freedom, but be careful. Freedom is a big world, and it can be overwhelming. I’ve seen hundreds…thousands of Andinna escape slavery. They all look at the world with the same eyes, full of wanting and fear.” Alchan stood up and sighed. “Rain, you’re going to lose your private bedroom.”
“I never use it,” Rain reminded him with a smile. “Let me move my things out. Lilliana, did you bring anything?”
“I left it with my horse,” she said softly, looking between them, her eyes frantic. “Please, don’t let me disrupt your life. If anything, let me help. Please. I’ll clean. I’ll cook. I’ll do anything. I’m sorry for this.”
“You haven’t done anything,” Alchan growled. “I’ll get your things. Rain, clear out the room for her?”
“Certainly.”
Rain jumped up as Alchan left the room, then the house. They were going to have to make this work. Lilliana needed a place where she could learn to spread her wings and would be protected. Rain was okay with giving her that.
His fear of her tearing Alchan away from him was barely a consideration now as he cleaned up the room he never used.
“When you are in here, Alchan won’t bother you,” he explained to Lilliana as she helped him. “And you don’t need to do any of that. You don’t need to take care of our house or anything.”
“I want to,” she said softly. “For both of you being so…kind. I had a different impression of His Majesty.”
“Alchan is a bedru, and most people think that only makes him mean, vicious, too dominant for his own good, and dangerous because of it. It’s not all that a bedru is,” Rain said softly. “When I started training with him, before we started sleeping together, I was in a really vulnerable place. I had been through something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. He took me under his wing when he didn’t have to. He reminded me how to be strong when all I wanted was lessons in sword work and combat. He’s protective and possessive. He’s arrogant and powerful, but he’s