you are the only male who would ever accept her,” Seanev said. “I never claimed it was a good idea, only better than my wife’s. I also know if Lilliana, you, and Rainev could talk out everything before meeting, there was a chance she could have had a family, too.”
Alchan realized the truth in Seanev’s words.
An ahren could never find a normal Andinna male who would accept a long-term relationship without the threat of losing him. Females, even those like Yenni, were driven away by the submissiveness of Lilliana’s kind. It was in her blood, her bones, her very soul. She was made to yield, made to bend. She was her most natural when she did those things, and it was easily abusable. To ask her to be dominant was to ask her to go against her very nature and was vastly unfair. Just as it was unfair for anyone to ask him to submit. It went against his nature and was dangerous to everyone around him.
“Who is she to you?” he finally asked, wondering why Seanev was fighting for her, realizing now that he was. Seanev wanted to see the ahren happy as much as he wanted to see the rebellion succeed.
“A male’s duty is to handle those things his female might have missed. To cover her weaknesses and help her be strong by providing a strong unit around her. Lilliana is one of Leria’s weaknesses. She can’t control her instincts around the ahren. For many years, I was the one who did check-ins with Lilliana to keep my wife from having to put herself in a position of weakness by seeming cruel. I grew attached to the girl as she grew up. She probably never knew I was there, but in a way, she was like my warriors. Mine, not my wife’s.”
“The same reason I’m keeping her in my home.” Alchan reached up and rubbed his temples. He didn’t miss how attached Seanev sounded as he spoke of Lady Lilliana. He knew how attached a commander got to his warriors. Alchan felt it with his Ivory Shadows. “You’re an honorable male, Seanev. I’m sorry the circumstances have put us on opposite sides of a war we shouldn’t be fighting. You can get up, apology accepted.”
Seanev rose up, wincing as he used his injured arm to grab the table. “Thank you, Alchan.”
“What happened to your arm?” Alchan asked, pointing at it. “Can I look?”
“It’s nothing. Personal business.”
Alchan narrowed his eyes on Seanev, who seemed to shrink for a minute, stepping back.
“Seanev, what did you do?” There were very few reasons for a male such as Seanev to have an injury for ‘personal business.’
“I warned her,” Seanev whispered.
“You warned who of what?” Alchan snapped. He could probably put it together, but he wanted to preserve some denial, just for a moment. He had once cared for this male and didn’t want to think about what Seanev was probably referring to.
“I warned Leria if she forced me to bring Lilliana down here, someone I had protected since she was a child, Leria would pay for it. We have a blood bond, Alchan, and while most don’t talk about it, dominance can be exerted through it.”
Alchan’s eyes grew wide. What Seanev described was taboo.
“You fought to stop her,” he gasped. “And she—”
“I didn’t draw a sword, but I did everything I could to convince her not to go down her path.” Seanev cut him off, speaking urgently for a moment. Probably because drawing a sword could be grounds for execution, depending on the circumstances. “A male’s second responsibility to his female is to tell her when she is wrong. And as a commander, I have the responsibility to protect the helpless, even if it’s from a mativa…even if it’s from my mativa.”
“She bent you through the blood bond.” It was taboo, but not illegal. Alchan couldn’t punish her because Seanev had agreed to the blood bond. Even two dominant Andinna like Mave and Luykas had never even attempted to do that to each other, which told Alchan about Leria’s state of mind.
“She did.”
“And you’re…” Alchan nodded to the bandage.
“Bloodletting,” Seanev finished, nodding. “Weakening the bond as best as I can. I’m planning to leave her, but when I’m in her presence, it’s harder to think. It’s all her, and my world is different. Then I get away from her and see things clearly again. I see my ruined future with my own sister, and you, my king, and Luykas, my friend. If