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. 8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡbICTBjN16A 維尼
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. 8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡu57mMkeOzt 維尼
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. 8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡ54TKYVGize 維尼
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.8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡctDp2RA1p2 維尼
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.8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡm6ZeHMnfgH 維尼
“If you’re planning to scold me, save it,” Arya enters the room and his thoughts.8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡGDQf6gU9Ic 維尼
“No,” he smiles shaking his head. “Your life…your mistakes.”8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡH8AOZHhasb 維尼
“No reverse psychology either,” she narrows her eyes at him. 8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8NxRwTU5mT 維尼
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?”8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡFeOGy3isRW 維尼
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.8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡFegpdikBc7 維尼
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.”8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡLzShvU8xvJ 維尼
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.8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡGaiWlsPns6 維尼
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.8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2IXtbJzTt2 維尼
He pulls away, “You’re joking, right?” 8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡDEJqXvcdEU 維尼
“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.”8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡWQMvL0tqQ2 維尼
“It sounds like someone is enjoying being Queen,” Malich smiles.8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡXdsMBGeGbe 維尼
“And soon you’ll be my King.”8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8rrMVNpTSi 維尼
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?”8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡSTRA58sUEp 維尼
“Talk,” she suggests.8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡUivMYUcD8M 維尼
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.”8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡgtl0ruoeaH 維尼
Again Arya laughs. “Even if it has to do with politics?”8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ7nebc56C0 維尼
Now she has his attention. “Such as?”8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡK20g2llg4e 維尼
“Have you received my requests?”8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7GcZgGN755 維尼
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.”8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡD9LD42aYL3 維尼
Arya smirks. She already knows where his thoughts drift. “If I were to concede, would you grant them?”8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡBOKZRtzpna 維尼
Malich thinks on it for a second before replying. “You can have Eli and Lola, but my soldiers will remain.”8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡwWDAVAoNpW 維尼
“First off, it’s Lilaand second, why must they remain?”8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡbR3kxE1Yxd 維尼
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.”8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡcoF3dQtMzY 維尼
“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.”8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2wN8Zpg0FI 維尼
“And Rayu?”8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8sKTRODJpE 維尼
“He’ll be hurt if I take Lumi and Jax but not him,” she pouts. He smiles at her attempt to garner his pity. 8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡxdYPv4uaLf 維尼
“You’re an extortionist,” he huffs a laugh. “Anything else?”8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡ18c835vnzl 維尼
“A nymph. You’re the only one within the planes with a civil relationship with them.”8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡCU6sU0BL0n 維尼
This raises his suspicions and he asks, “Why do you need a nymph?”8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡpUYDqoHkpL 維尼
“I have need for their particular gifts,” she carefully answers his question without answering it completely. This only makes him more suspicious.8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡstVBMXGg7h 維尼
“For what?” He presses.8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡcMpIAFi4Nu 維尼
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.8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJJkL9PQfr 維尼
“Sod-off,” she challenges him instead. “Give me what I want.”8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡKUHiwG6rSu 維尼
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.8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4jRWkvjLiK 維尼
“I know what you want,” Malich rests his head against hers. “Concede.”8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡuNTeQSSNjI 維尼
“So we’re back to this again,” Arya smirks. “We both know I won’t give you the satisfaction.”8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡXxQewahw3n 維尼
“You want something from me and I want something from you. Concede, and we both get what we want.”8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡpuT3PQuFmz 維尼
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.8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0NNA1f9hx5 維尼
“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.”8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡLHNM1Qbtz1 維尼
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. 8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡRGlKAgJ4yR 維尼
“Soon,” he smiles, “But I have some things I’d like to accomplish before we start having children.”8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡh2oNtkRZzz 維尼
“Like what?”8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡpD8kbU8ZyD 維尼
“My parents…I need to find my mother and father.”8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡArfbZJ2mwY 維尼
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?8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4PbpE0aK2L 維尼
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. 8964 copyright protection280ＰＥＮＡＮＡaHA4GADobP 維尼
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