As long as Alara remains within the walls of Arya’s palace Malich will be worried. He can see the hope in Arya’s eyes every time she looks at her sister. It’s the same hope he used to have that his older brothers would accept him and welcome him back with open arms. It never happened and eventually he made his peace with it. He loves his brothers, but they’re not to be trusted. Ever. copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡIulHH1uAoE
From birth they were taught one thing and one thing only…duty to the crown. Malich covets the crown as much as his brothers do; only he was groomed for it. His ambition and intellect made him the better choice. While his brothers treated the crown as something they were owed, Malich worked for it. copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡGTcYOX0ivu
They’d forsaken many lessons for pretty faces and the touch of soft skin. While Malich also had those wants, the crown always came first. It always would. copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7jfs7QEU0F
Arya’s relationship with Alara is the same way. She craves that closeness the way he once had and probably has hopes they will actually become sisters one day. Perhaps they can, but the potential cost of being wrong isn’t a price he wishes either of them to pay. Then there is the matter of Alara’s Darkin abilities. She wasn’t born with that power, it was given. And only someone powerful could have gifted her that.copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJ9fqQgVrE
Malich’s thoughts travel back to the day he and Arya first met. The day she was handed over to him…the day theywere handed over to him. Twins. Cassian Vale had asked him to keep them safe, but twins would stick out like a sore thumb, so he did the only thing he could think of. He took Alara to an orphanage and kept the feistier one for his army.copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡz7yL6mJ6Ee
“If you’re planning to scold me, save it,” Arya enters the room and his thoughts.copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡAMyQeFGTzH
“No,” he smiles shaking his head. “Your life…your mistakes.”copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡztqIIRzZM0
“No reverse psychology either,” she narrows her eyes at him. copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡEm8c8eyRkc
He laughs, closing the space between them and setting a gift in her hand. Her eyes light up and she quickly tears into the box. Her smile fades when she sees what’s inside. “Hushstone?”copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6UZFLels7U
Malich had a ring commissioned with a hushstone placed where a diamond should be. “I knew you would go soft where your sister is concerned. At least if you’re wearing this it will keep you safe,” he explains.copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡaGoBp6sY6f
Arya casts him a pointed glance then slides the ring on her finger. “I would’ve gotten a gift for you, but there wasn’t really anything I could find that said arseholethe way I wanted it to.”copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡZKB7WKluCF
Malich laughs, taking all of her in. He wants her as much as he wants the crown and refuses to let another moment pass without touching her. His fingertips caress the contours of her face and his lips graze hers. Her breath catches in her throat and he smiles. He likes that he can affect her breathing…her pulse, and watches as she flushes red.copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡHIAHomVJO2
Pulling her closer, he tastes her lips and groans. It’s been way too long. His hands move quickly, reaching to undo her clothing, but she stops him. “We should wait until our betrothal is complete,” she breathes against his lips.copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡDYJ2z8827f
He pulls away, “You’re joking, right?” copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡh6ZTdVDzqf
“No,” she laughs. “Not to mention my citizens are uneasy about you and Alara being here all the time. I don’t want to give the nobles any reason to question me.”copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡf7YQOmcJ50
“It sounds like someone is enjoying being Queen,” Malich smiles.copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡMJYwLxFUzN
“And soon you’ll be my King.”copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9RT8L74oHu
As much as he doesn’t want to, he calms the throbbing in his pants. “What are we to do with our time now then?”copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡEWBDMqZYa5
“Talk,” she suggests.copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡYXPXtBv9v5
Malich arches a brow at her. “The last thing a male wants to do is talk, especially when there is a perfectly good bed in the room.”copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡWFWQOHYS6F
Again Arya laughs. “Even if it has to do with politics?”copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡmLBYoopomz
Now she has his attention. “Such as?”copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡulxji1UNaq
“Have you received my requests?”copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡS75PXTxWMD
He has. “That isn’t politics Arya, it’s negotiations. Usually one party makes a request and then an offer of equal value in return. The former you covered, but the latter…the latterwe have yet to discuss.”copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡB8od7NBwbY
Arya smirks. She already knows where his thoughts drift. “If I were to concede, would you grant them?”copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5GjCZCEUqO
Malich thinks on it for a second before replying. “You can have Eli and Lola, but my soldiers will remain.”copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡkiVq8TkFP6
“First off, it’s Lilaand second, why must they remain?”copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡjrfIEmvgSH
Malich waves off the first part of statement, clearly focused on the latter. “I’ve already lost Navi, Ihsan, and you. I can’t afford to lose any more of my skilled assets Arya.”copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡeYnyBnafhA
“Okay but Lumi’s family is from the Seelie Court. I owe her the land her father owned and she doesn’t go anywhere without Jax. Ever since they’ve become lovers they’ve been glued together.”copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4BTZ22TmHJ
“And Rayu?”copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡs0aHIP3e6W
“He’ll be hurt if I take Lumi and Jax but not him,” she pouts. He smiles at her attempt to garner his pity. copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡVkUiTvG4LX
“You’re an extortionist,” he huffs a laugh. “Anything else?”copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡFPzyPBAIXi
“A nymph. You’re the only one within the planes with a civil relationship with them.”copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡsqiD81tcfz
This raises his suspicions and he asks, “Why do you need a nymph?”copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8aT3tNzaRk
“I have need for their particular gifts,” she carefully answers his question without answering it completely. This only makes him more suspicious.copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7w9G5YiFHg
“For what?” He presses.copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡYaHgNPig2x
Arya’s eyes search the room before serving him a poor lie about servants stealing from her and wanting to keep her valuables hidden. He narrows his eyes at her and backs her up against the wall behind her. He’s amused she even attempts to lie to him. She never could. “You, my love,” he grazes her lips with his own, sliding his hand up to her throat. As much as she fears his grasp around her neck, it also turns her on. He leans in close, taking her lobe into his mouth with his tongue. “Are a liar. And a poor one at that.” Arya mutters a curse and he pulls back to watch her surrender to his touch, tracing her lips with the pad of his thumb. “Concede,” he commands.copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡQaIJecxNmo
“Sod-off,” she challenges him instead. “Give me what I want.”copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8uUhb0gtGY
He smiles, lifting her up by her neck. She wraps her legs around his waist and he presses his hardness against her core. She groans at the feel of it, her eyes pleading with him for more.copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡJE9qVXgdei
“I know what you want,” Malich rests his head against hers. “Concede.”copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡL4tuNHGlv3
“So we’re back to this again,” Arya smirks. “We both know I won’t give you the satisfaction.”copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡJDxEVIEcck
“You want something from me and I want something from you. Concede, and we both get what we want.”copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡbVYkmThD7v
He waits for Arya to come to her senses. After an intense staring contest, she finally utters the words he wants to hear. It only takes a moment to get her out of her clothes onto her bed. They spend several hours tousling between the sheets to make up for lost time before coming up for air.copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡVSzomn63IB
“I can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives like this,” Arya smiles up at him. She lays on top of him, staring up at him from his chest, her chin resting on the back of her hands. “And I can’t wait to have children with you.”copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6sfE6amKny
Truthfully, it’s all he’s thought about lately. She’d be a horrible wife, objecting to his every command and forcing him to grovel whenever he wants something, but he has no doubt she’ll make an excellent mother. copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5yu3TRXau5
“Soon,” he smiles, “But I have some things I’d like to accomplish before we start having children.”copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡGqXgPkDVnm
“Like what?”copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡxuOM8VXvFk
“My parents…I need to find my mother and father.”copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4LTyOMqMXU
Arya knows better than anyone the void he feels not knowing where his parents are. She’s felt her own void since she was a young female, wondering where the people who were supposed to care for her had run off to. Now she knows they were citizens of the Seelie Court. A Court that died along with most of its citizens. Her parents had escaped, but where had they escaped to? And when the others had come back, why didn’t they?copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡRDlPUa9x5x
Taking a deep breath Arya presses a kiss into Malich’s chest. They have so much in common. More than either of them had ever stopped to take note of. copyright protection113ＰＥＮＡＮＡUD2JpaEnGk
ns35.175.201.14da2
