“No. Good news, Learen is here and wants to help with the rebellion,” she corrected. “Kian had the idea he could help Dave. Take some of the load off from you and Alchan’s shoulders with the trading routes between our communities. He actually came in with a caravan from Kerit.” As she explained that to him, she caught Seanev landing nearby. He glanced their way, then walked to the war room. Mave took in every detail of that short moment. Her brother had half of his arm bandaged. He’d been hurt in the last week.
I’ll ask Alchan about it later. He won’t let Seanev go to battle with a serious injury.
“Really?” Luykas’ eyes went wide. “Well, let’s go then.”
She led him back to her family and the warrior, watching how Luykas and Learen laughed when they saw each other. The last and only time she had seen Learen with anyone from the Company, they had talked about how things had gone wrong, addressed old issues, and repaired old pains. Now, it was a joyous reunion. The rebellion was changing everything.
The talks were off, and Mave, wrapping her arm with Senri’s, felt good.
“This is the best part of the rebellion,” Senri said softly as they walked together. “Seeing our people come together again, this time with hope instead of desperation.”
“It’s amazing,” Mave agreed. “And it’s only going to get better.”
“It is. Now, what are your plans for the afternoon?”
“I’ll be doing light training with Emerian.”
“Your new nemari. I’ve heard.”
“So has everyone else.” Mave chuckled. “Do you want to watch?”
“I would love to,” she said, holding Mave close. “I’ll never turn down a chance to watch my daughter show off.”
“I won’t be showing off! I’m training him!”
“Sure.” Senri snorted.
11
Alchan
Alchan ate a quick lunch with his brother before watching him leave. He heard Mave outside but didn’t go investigate, only smiled to himself, wondering if they had felt each other in the blood bond and knew somehow. He enjoyed seeing them together, seeing them happy. He was always taken by the light in their eyes when they saw each other, even when they were angry at each other. And his sister, his Champion…she had four reasons to be happy. Luckily, his brother was one of them and hadn’t yet found a way to piss her off enough to lose that cherished place in her life.
If there’s one good thing about my rule, it’s her coming so far from where we found her. If I die, I’ll take that with me. And my brother is happy. So, two good things.
He had never wanted a sister growing up. He had never wanted to rescue Mave. He hadn’t really wanted to keep her in the Company.
I was a fool, but they’ve all forgiven me for it.
Alchan looked over his papers, seeing the numbers of troops he had spread out across Anden, the numbers of guards Senri trained and posted throughout the Dragon Spine mountain range, and the numbers of crafters he had in Leria’s community and Kerit. It threatened to give him a headache. He tried to avoid thinking about these numbers as much as he could, which wasn’t often. Normally, the only respite he found was his bedroom, where Rain allowed him to forget what was beyond their door.
He started flipping over the loose papers, trying not to think of what was on them. He wanted one afternoon where none of this was a worry, but as the rebellion grew, his chances to sneak away for even a meal were disappearing. Looking at the maps, letters, and other mountains of things he had to deal with, kept his mind off other problems, though—Rain and Lilliana.
Rain, his Consort, the first person Alchan had ever dared to love openly and the first to openly love him in return. Lilliana, a problem wrapped in a very pretty package that made Alchan painfully aware of everything that was wrong with him. And there were a lot of things wrong with him—painfully, awfully wrong.
He loved Rain, and every time he looked at the male, he wanted that body underneath his own. What Alchan wanted to avoid was when he looked at Lilliana, he felt the same thing for different reasons.
She could be mine.
Rain purposefully teased Alchan’s possessive monster, making it feel less vicious, less terrible. Alchan loved Rain for that acceptance. Rain found pleasure in the possessive creature Alchan could be.
Lilliana brought it out by just breathing. Her very nature made his monster wake up and take