“What’s going on?” Lila mutters over her shoulder to Link and me. We remain at her back, guarding her from any kind of rear attack. My power crackles at my fingertips, as I am on high alert for an ambush. Something is not right here. I have visited Saxon at his aunt’s castle in the past, and it is usually full of people bustling back and forth. At this moment, there isn’t even a servant in sight. I purse my lips at Lila’s question.
“I will not speculate, but Xenos has always been a kiss ass to the queen. Don’t get me wrong, she loves them both, and as far as I know, Saxon has an extremely good relationship with her, but when she asked for volunteers to join the circus, Saxon was the one who stepped up. Xenos refused, saying it would be beneath him. It split their clan in two. Maybe Xenos has decided to take Estrella and Radella’s side. If it would benefit him, he would in a heartbeat.”
Lila doesn’t like this information, and she hisses her disapproval of Xenos’s lack of loyalty. “Have I finally found a brother-in-law I’m going to dislike? I knew I couldn’t be so lucky to like all of them.” She stops and raises an eyebrow at me. “Remind me, do you have any siblings? I don’t remember you mentioning any, and neither did your mom or dad.”
I bow gallantly and grin. “Alas, they broke the mold when they made me, and I am my parents only child.”
She rolls her eyes, which seems to be a permanent response when we are conversing. Maybe I should have Link check her for an ailment.
She turns her attention to the good doctor. “And you? Do you have any family you haven’t mentioned yet?”
He shakes his head. “No, only my mother and father, and you already know how unpleasant my mother can be.”
“Mm-hmm,” she agrees. “I need to make a folder to keep everyone straight for birthday and Christmas invites. Yours and Nikos’s mother, as well as Saxon’s brother, will go on the hate list. They only get one chance, and he blew it. I will reserve judgment on the queen of Vilax until I meet her and any other family members you have brought to the table.”
I’m about to remind her that birthdays and Christmas are strictly Earth traditions, but the doctor elbows me, and a whoosh of air escapes my lungs as his elbow digs into my side.
I glare at him. “What the fuck, man?” I snarl, but he nods at Lila, and I notice her eyes glistening as she whirls back to continue forward.
Oh fuck, our wife is upset. Now I’m going to have to kill Saxon’s brother. Fuck, I hope he will forgive me. Things are going to be awfully uncomfortable in the marriage bed if he actively hates me, but then I’ve always enjoyed a violent hate fuck. It makes sex interesting if you don’t know whether you will survive to orgasm or not.
We stay silent, and Saxon and Xenos’s conversation sounds like it gets more aggressive with hissing and snarling, but try as I may, I still can’t make out any actual words. Finally, Saxon throws up his hands and stops keeping pace with his brother, waiting for the three of us to catch up with him. We continue to follow his brother, but at a distance.
“Stay alert. Something is not right, and Xenos wouldn’t tell me what’s going on.” Saxon sounds frustrated, and I can feelhow much Lila wants to wrap him in her arms and give him a hug. Our wife is so loving and kind, and I will kill just about anyone to keep her that way.
“I didn’t bring any weapons,” she mutters, sounding annoyed at herself. “I’ve gotten pretty good with my lightning whip, and Tirrian and Silac have been teaching me to throw knives.”
Aww, isn’t that adorable? She wants to go in armed for Saxon. How did we get so lucky? “Never fear, my sweet,” I murmur and release a burst of power, conjuring a beautiful sheath of throwing knives on each of her sexy thighs. My cock hardens at the tantalizing sight of weapons being so close to her tight cunt.
She stumbles and looks down, gasping in surprise. Lila turns back and throws her arms around me. “Thank you,” she says and gives me a fleeting kiss on the lips before turning forward. I puff my chest out with pride, and I hear Link snort and feel his amusement scent the air.
“Don’t be jealous, I haven’t forgotten about you. I give gifts to all my loved ones, my sexy cyborg.” I conjure him a harness holding a crossbow and a dozen bolts.
I wink at his surprise, and he shakes his head. “Are you taking a leaf out of Nikos’s playbook? You sound ridiculous,” he mutters, but he pulls the crossbow out and admires the construction before returning it to the holster.
I keep my power sparking at my fingertips, not needing a physical weapon to do damage, but when I look at Saxon, he’s frowning.
“I’m not sure we should be taking weapons into our tribunal meeting. We will probably be required to remove them, since we will be in front of the queen.”
As we arrive at the door Xenos disappeared through, Saxon frowns. “That’s strange, the throne room always has guards at the door. There should be at least two keeping watch at alltimes.” He reaches for his sword, pulling it from the scabbard on his back. Lila and Link also arm themselves as I wave a hand, and the doors burst inwards.
The room is dark and silent, and as we step cautiously into it, I hear a rustling of someone’s clothes off to the side and brace myself for an attack.
“It’s an ambush!” I scream and blast fire into the air to light up the room so we can see our attackers.
The lights come on and the crowd of people in the room shout, “Surprise,” just before my magic hits the chandelier in the middle of the ceiling, launching fragments of glass all over and plunging the room back into darkness.
The silence is even more deafening than before.
“What the actual fuck is happening here? Are we being attacked?” Lila’s voice is loud, echoing through the throne room.
We hear someone clear their throat awkwardly. “Ah, not exactly.”
A small spark lights up somewhere down the back, and someone lights a candle. Whoever holds the candle walks toward us. I decide to help out with the lights, since I had a hand in destroying the chandelier, and throw some light balls into the ceiling, illuminating a gathered crowd dressed in their finery. The person holding the candle comes into view. It is Sabine, the Vilaxian queen, with her blood rose, Aleister, and their twin daughters, Mehira and Musette.
“Nephew, I apologize for startling you and your companions. We wanted to celebrate your joining.” She looks from Saxon to Lila and smiles. “So we took the liberty of researching Earth customs in honor of your blood rose. Maybe we made a mistake.”
Saxon just gapes at his aunt, but a smile spreads across Lila’s lips, and I can feel how much she likes what she just heard. Oh,the queen just earned some major brownie points. I bet she went to the top of Lila’s like list.
