in front of Alchan. “Did she really ask for her nobility back?”
“Yes, and made some ridiculous claim about how we could be a family again,” Alchan growled, standing so quickly, he nearly knocked Luykas over.
Mave searched her memory, trying to find any reference to Alchan’s mother. She had never heard of the woman before, not that she could remember. By Alchan’s growl and pacing, she knew it wasn’t a good thing. In fact, it hurt him deeply.
“I can’t fight the battle if you don’t tell me who the enemy is and how you want me to proceed,” she said, stepping in front of him. “I can’t help if I don’t know what’s going on. Why are we upset that your mother is here? She’s your mother.”
“Seventeen hundred and fifty-six years,” Alchan said, looking down at her. “That’s how long it’s been since I’ve seen my mother.”
“That’s a…very long time,” she said. Her math skills weren’t great, but that meant he hadn’t seen her since he was a child before he reached his majority at one hundred years.
“It is,” he agreed. “She left. When our father’s affair was exposed, how he betrayed my mother and had a child with an Elvasi noblewoman, my mother left.” Alchan breathed hard. “The problem was and will always be, no one can just leave a bedru. Not safely. We get attached and violent if we think we’re going to lose something important to us. We’ll kill whoever we need to kill and will do whatever is needed to keep the person with us, even if it’s against their will.”
“Which is why you’ve given everyone free rein to kill you if we feel like you’ve crossed the line,” she said softly, nodding. “And your mother wanted to leave your father.”
“And he would have kept her,” Alchan said with a bitter smile. “So, my grandmother gave her a new identity, a new life. She didn’t just leave my father…she left me, too. She gave up her maternal rights and her position. Gave it all up, just so she could be rid of my father.”
“Now, she’s back, asking for all of those things,” Luykas snapped. “Bitch.”
Alchan snarled, and something not quite right entered his eyes. Mave had seen insanity before and would never forget it. She had seen Alchan walk this fine line every time he looked at Rain when the young male touched anyone else. She had just never seen her king’s control so fraught.
“Mine,” he growled.
“So am I,” Luykas reminded him, obviously unperturbed. Mave resisted the urge to put herself between them. The words made Alchan blink and nod.
“You are,” Alchan said, looking down. “I came out here because, in the end, Grandmother was right. It never goes away. She walked into the war room, and I remembered every single feeling—the ownership, need, and anger from that day. I could bury it and forget it for a long time, then she walked in, and it all came rushing back. I just…need an evening to deal with it. I was already feeling raw and just needed space.”
“Okay,” Luykas said, nodding. “We’ll let you have that. Do you want me to take charge of the final details for Seanev?”
“Yes. He’s taking…one thousand warriors. It’s a big force, but I know he can handle it.”
“He’s led larger,” Luykas agreed.
Mave crossed her arms, letting them talk out the rebellion work while she considered the situation with Alchan’s mother. This female had hurt Alchan. She had left him.
“What’s her name?” Mave asked, interrupting them talking about supplies for Seanev’s campaign.
“Asari,” Alchan answered. “My mother’s real name is Asari. I didn’t ask what her new identity was. It’s better if she can go back to it without me knowing.”
“Do you want her to go back to it?” Mave asked softly. “Because I can handle that.”
Alchan studied her as she studied him. Mave would burn the world down for Alchan if he asked. In all her time, he was the only ruler she ever respected, the only one she allowed to hold her on a leash. It was a very long leash, but she let him hold it. Her role as his Champion meant she could do things no one else could. She could do this for him. Luykas could run the entire rebellion, but only she could fight his personal battles. That was the point of being the Champion—to fight his battles in his place when it was ill-suited for him to step onto the field of war.