Emmett's mouth twitches. "The farmer is requesting compensation for crops destroyed by shadow beasts, not sheep."
"Shadow beasts, sheep—both leave dung everywhere and make too much noise." I wave dismissively. "Tell him it's an honor to have his pathetic crops trampled by creatures of the Shadow Court. Next."
"You execute people for suggesting less foolish ideas," Emmett murmurs under his breath.
"Did you say something, General?"
"I said perhaps we should consider his position, my lord."
"Fine." My good mood from having finally mated my Omega makes me unexpectedly generous. "Pay him. Double. Triple. Whatever makes him stop talking." I lean toward Emmett. "Though remind me to feed the next petitioner to the shadow hounds if they're equally tedious."
Emmett's face remains impressively impassive. "Feeding citizens to shadow hounds creates extensive records to maintain. Which you despise reviewing. Which means the task falls to me."
"Your suffering sustains me almost as much as theirs would. It's mutually beneficial."
My thoughts drift back to the truth I gave Seraphina —that our fated mate bond can never be broken. The realization flickered across her face like shadow and light. She is truly mine, forever bound by fate and sealed by my bite. The knowledge should bring me satisfaction. Instead, it leaves me unsettled.
Because I felt this way once before. With Julia. And that ended in blood and betrayal and two centuries of refusing to even consider another mate.
"The court session is concluded," I announce abruptly, rising from the throne. The remaining petitioners exchange confused glances.
"But my lord," the court chamberlain protests, "there are still seventeen?—"
My shadows lash out, cracking like a whip against the marble floor and leaving a deep fissure. The chamber falls silent as my Alpha scent floods with dominance.
As the courtiers scatter, Emmett approaches. "Should I reschedule the remaining petitioners?"
"Feed them to the shadow hounds for all I care."
"As tempting as that sounds, it would create significant administrative burdens." Emmett falls into step beside me, his formal mask slipping now that we're alone. "May I ask what has you in such a pleasant mood today?"
"I had an interesting night."
Through the bond, I feel Seraphina stir in our chambers, slowly waking.
"With Lady Seraphina, I presume?" When I shoot him a dangerous look, he merely shrugs. "Half the palace heard the walls cracking in your private chambers. The servants are wagering on whether the east wing will collapse before winter. And there were reports of Omega cries that suggested a mating bite was finally given."
Heat flares in my chest—Alpha pride. Let them know their Shadow Lord finally claimed his Omega so thoroughly that the stone couldn't withstand it.
"Speaking of entertainment," Emmett says carefully, "Lady Isla has requested another audience this morning. She's been our guest for three days now and grows more insistent with each passing hour. She waits in the small council chamber."
I had already seen the Beta woman. What could be so urgent?
"Ah, our twilight guest with wandering hands still hasn't departed. I thought after the interruption by my Omega, she might have taken the hint."
"Apparently not. And based on the smile she wore at this morning's meal, I suspect she may have overheard some of last night's activities. The way she inquires about the 'structural integrity' of the east wing is particularly pointed. As is her curiosity about whether the Shadow Lady is 'recovering well from such vigorous renovations.'"
The idea of Isla hearing Seraphina surrender to me, hearing my Omega beg for my bite, is both satisfying and strangely invasive. That was private—the completion of our mating bond, her screams as I claimed her completely.
"Tell her to depart for her own territories. I'm busy brooding dramatically about my newly mated status."
"She's been waiting since dawn. Lady Isla is most persistent about the urgency of these border incidents."
Border incidents. The reports from our patrols have been troubling—six engagements with Light Court forces in the past month, all in disputed territories near the Neutral Zones. Each incident escalates tensions further, and Isla's people always seem conveniently positioned to mediate.
I pause, an idea forming. Seraphina's jealousy was delicious—the way she surrendered herself completely afterward, begging for my bite, even more so. What might happen if I provoke that possessive Omega fire again? And perhaps my mate's strategic mind could prove useful in determining Isla's true motives.
I sense Seraphina's growing alertness, her Omega instincts immediately aware of my Alpha satisfaction and plotting.
