goes back to Leria’s community with the next trade caravan. Unharmed. If you feel you can convince her, you’re more than welcome to try. Even as king, I can’t force her because she’s broken no law,” he said, looking down at his hands. “The only thing she did was cut open a wound I thought had healed, and that’s not…illegal.”
“Tell me about it,” she ordered, stepping closer. Her king was feeling vulnerable, and she knew he wouldn’t put up a fight. She needed to know why she was going to fight the battle, and he obviously needed to talk about it.
“She was the first person who made me realize that I was a monster,” he whispered. “The first, but not the last. I…lost control the day she decided to leave, lost the veneer of being civilized. I wanted to hurt people to get her to stay. I was angry enough to…” Alchan closed his eyes. “It’s best she leaves. I’ve done well in the last seventeen hundred years, learning to control it, but she takes me back to a day when I couldn’t. She takes me straight back there. With Rain and Lady Lilliana relying on me to be stable, that’s…dangerous.”
“She’s your mother. Is it possible she loves you and is willing to accept it?” Mave wanted to make sure Alchan was serious. “Rain accepts it. He loves you for it, I think.” She knew it, actually. Rain had told her once Alchan’s bedru nature was something of a blessing. It meant Rain would never truly have to worry about losing his king’s love. A bedru didn’t fall out of love. Once they were claimed by the passion, they refused to let it go, even when it threatened to kill them.
“She could have talked things out with my father. She could have discussed a different way of doing things. He could have been controlled if he truly loved her. Instead, she decided she never wanted to see him again, and not even her own son could convince her to stay.” Alchan smiled, but it was a bitter thing. “Do I blame her for wanting to end her relationship with Behron? No. I blame her for doing it in a way that nearly ruined my life and got me killed.”
Mave inhaled sharply.
“Behron tried to kill Alchan shortly after she left,” Luykas filled in. “I was on my way to the Capital and hadn’t met them yet. It was your father who told me what happened.”
Of course, it was. My father was so entwined with the lives of every Andinna alive from the time, he pops up in nearly every story.
“He nearly did,” Alchan said with a bitter smile. “You know what the worst part was? My mother still didn’t come back. Not even when her only child was possibly dying. The entire damn country knew, so it’s not like she didn’t hear about it. She decided that staying away from my father was better than protecting her son.”
“I’ll make sure she goes,” Mave promised. “I’ll leave you two to talk about Seanev’s campaign. If I see Rain…”
“He’s spending the day with Lady Lilliana,” Alchan said, looking away. “Tell him to come here after dinner if he wants, but only then. Lady Lilliana’s needs and wants can’t be neglected because an unpleasant figure from my past has shown her face. Seanev will know where my mother is.”
“Okay. I’ll deal with her and find Rain.” She walked away, her mission set—she would convince this female to leave.
“Mave?” he called softly. She looked back at him. His amber eyes held so much pain. She knew why he ran here. Only the king’s most trusted friends could see him like this. “Thank you.”
“No need for thanks,” she said, nodding her head in respect. “Thank you for trusting me.”
She left them there, jumping into the air once she was clear of the water. Flying over the village, she looked for Rain or Seanev. She couldn’t find Rain, even though his blue should have made him stand out, but Seanev was pacing with his nose in a book near the war room. She landed near him, making him look up from what he was reading.
“I was just with the king. Tell me this wasn’t another trick of Leria’s.”
“It wasn’t,” he said softly, looking defeated. “Leria had no idea who this female was, and Asari didn’t tell me until we were halfway here. I could have sent her back, but I had no legal right to. I had