“I love you too.” He brushed his lips over my forehead. “Now, there's a warrior in our home who has fought hard to win the chance to spend time with you. He has honored you by killing your enemy and has knelt to my father to accept a ducal crown. I don't want you to love him, Mvarra, but I must insist that you hold to your bargain with him. He has earned your friendship, at the very least, and my respect.”
“Wow,” I whispered. “How did you change so much without me noticing?”
“I haven't,” Malik protested. “I'mtryingto change. My instincts tell me to lift you in my arms and carry you as far away from him as I can take you. I'm fighting those instincts because Bleiten have rules. Traditions.Honor. We made an agreement with Braxis, and we can't back out. But the agreement is merely for him to spend time with you and for us to give him a chance to win our approval. Nothing more. You are my mvarra, and Braxis Fengoth can't change that. Nothing can. He doesn't worry me. You, however, I worry about. Especially when I see you toss back a swig of acoo like a Troll.”
“I'll have to tell Waluk you said that. He'll be so proud of me.” I grinned, thinking of my Troll friend who distilled the acoo I'd just swigged.
Mal took the bottle and put it back in the cabinet. “Are you ready to face him now?”
I took a deep breath and let it out. Then something occurred to me. “Was that Alex in the room with you?”
Malik chuckled. “Yes, he arrived shortly after Braxis, we were just getting around to discussing the reason for his visit when you walked in.”
“Forest fires!” I used one of my adopted father's favorite curses. “It could be important.”
I pushed past Malik and went back to the office. Braxis had returned to his seat but was hunched forward on his forearms, looking pathetically forlorn. Kyrian, Cyprian, Everan, and Alex were watching him with various degrees of sympathy. At the sound of my footsteps, they all looked up. I skimmed Braxis's openly wounded stare and latched onto Alex.
“What happened? Why are you here?” I demanded.
“Hello to you too, Mara.” Alex chuckled. “Nothing's wrong. I've just come to let you know that I've spoken with Leshing today. We've got everything planned for Beijing. He has an event tonight, and he suggested that you attend with him. I thought it was a good idea, so I stopped by to see if you were free.”
“Who is this Leshing?” Braxis growled.
“No.” I pointed at him. “You don't get to growl like that over me.”
Braxis's jaw clenched, his eyes twitching angrily, and something snapped in me. Maybe it was the strain of waiting for him to return. Maybe it was my fear of what I could feel for him. But I found myself snarling at him as I had with Everan.
“You are not my mvarro, Braxis. You are not even my dvarro,” I went on. “You are here because I agreed to get to know you better. But I want to make it very clear that you have no claim on me. I don't belong to you!”
The room went still. Utterly silent. A muscle ticked in Braxis's jaw. The newest Duke of Hell got to his feet and stepped over to me slowly, as if afraid he might startle me into bolting again. With his gaze locked on mine, he knelt.
I gave a little gasp, my hard expression falling, but stood my ground.
“I don't know what I've done to offend you, Amaranthine, but I beg your forgiveness.” Braxis held a fist over his heart. “You're right, I'm here as a friend only. An ally. With the hope of becoming more. But I don't have any claim on you. It's the opposite. You own me. My heart belongs to you. My every thought is yours. My body, yours. My sword is ever at your disposal. Command me, and it will be done, Princess.”
I let out a shaky breath as a tear trickled down my cheek.
“That is why I growl at the mention of another man's name,” he went on mercilessly. “Because I am yours, but you are not mine. I will strive not to show my fear and jealousy if you will allow me to stay. But if you wish it, I will leave now and never again stain your light with my darkness.”
“Fuck me,” Cyprian whispered in awe. “The warrior's a poet.”
I made a whimpering sob as I stepped forward and pulled him into an embrace. He was so large that his head rested on my chest, even with him kneeling and me standing. I wrapped one arm around his broad shoulders and stroked his hair with my other hand as I laid my cheek atop his head.
“Damn you,” I whispered. “You couldn't have simply told me to go fuck myself?”
Braxis laughed, a rich deep sound that vibrated through my chest, and lifted his stare to mine. “Now what would that have won me? Definitely not an embrace.”
I laid a hand on his cheek and said softly, “Welcome back, Braxis. You may stay.”
“Thank you, pretty pixie.” He winked at me as he stood. Then he looked at Alex. “Now, who is Leshing?”
I rolled my eyes. Braxis had just rolled over my fear and anger with his courtly words, won my approval, then went right back to behaving as if I was his. I went over to kiss the Rians hello, giving up on the current battle. I'd win the war later.
“He's a man currently assisting F.E.A.R.,” Alex started to explain to Braxis.
I tuned them out as I reached my Triari consort.
“That was interesting,” Kyrian said before he kissed me.
