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 protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡFsnejBDab4
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 protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡwLDs5pb1H6
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 protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡKVqkWc2BlD
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 protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡuhrBvyONau
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 protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡg1BosLl15P
“If you’re planning to scold me, save it,” Arya enters the room and his thoughts.copyright protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡXJ7vm6yAzJ
“No,” he smiles shaking his head. “Your life…your mistakes.”copyright protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡdG7S1xmuxE
“No reverse psychology either,” she narrows her eyes at him. copyright protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡFKbs5K6lZH
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 protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡB1hYNsIXsc
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 protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡ23JqXRZeub
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 protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡXuxwPVLAlY
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 protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡeKwX3gWPQk
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 protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡm8VGoDQbq0
He pulls away, “You’re joking, right?” copyright protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡ66yupCkZU1
“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 protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡld6ONA1pKQ
“It sounds like someone is enjoying being Queen,” Malich smiles.copyright protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡm9e5RwY51X
“And soon you’ll be my King.”copyright protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡiUEDKCWvyh
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 protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡu25wveSXV0
“Talk,” she suggests.copyright protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡjRpuM2YljW
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 protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡrMHxfTuyI2
Again Arya laughs. “Even if it has to do with politics?”copyright protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡn3gfv1gsnW
Now she has his attention. “Such as?”copyright protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡwSAeIsvxyr
“Have you received my requests?”copyright protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡeuoXM9CViM
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 protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡal888VesWA
Arya smirks. She already knows where his thoughts drift. “If I were to concede, would you grant them?”copyright protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡsdGO1socFR
Malich thinks on it for a second before replying. “You can have Eli and Lola, but my soldiers will remain.”copyright protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡNwfiFAfbN0
“First off, it’s Lilaand second, why must they remain?”copyright protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡtF1sYFOSC2
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 protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡBHUr3ae6p0
“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 protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡdFs127SlOo
“And Rayu?”copyright protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡO7F4LHMGj9
“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 protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡChWqJMwsPF
“You’re an extortionist,” he huffs a laugh. “Anything else?”copyright protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡcRYKx6ocij
“A nymph. You’re the only one within the planes with a civil relationship with them.”copyright protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6IZCCewmLu
This raises his suspicions and he asks, “Why do you need a nymph?”copyright protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡsZNoxtzGM7
“I have need for their particular gifts,” she carefully answers his question without answering it completely. This only makes him more suspicious.copyright protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡK6wNjEaPHr
“For what?” He presses.copyright protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4nr8bPhMwb
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 protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡd6A3hBwJbz
“Sod-off,” she challenges him instead. “Give me what I want.”copyright protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8dxhrfS6pT
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 protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡyenluMTKcO
“I know what you want,” Malich rests his head against hers. “Concede.”copyright protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0BHRSWBycq
“So we’re back to this again,” Arya smirks. “We both know I won’t give you the satisfaction.”copyright protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡi5UluSmIBy
“You want something from me and I want something from you. Concede, and we both get what we want.”copyright protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡGuOqfVivD4
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 protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡfPGy6QgWyu
“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 protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3tSB46Movq
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 protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡEh0kpwBsRC
“Soon,” he smiles, “But I have some things I’d like to accomplish before we start having children.”copyright protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡQJ2MbnP12q
“Like what?”copyright protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡS0zZN1F6Z4
“My parents…I need to find my mother and father.”copyright protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡWejuQFkOkV
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 protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡS8EZQoo9Mf
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 protection199ＰＥＮＡＮＡh6LvG0FwFk
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