LAST CHAPTER FOR TODAY! I BELIEVE I HAVE ABOUT 10 OR SO CHAPTERS LEFT. IT'S BEEN A LONG PROCES PROOFREADING THESE CHAPTERS EVERY WEEK, SO I HOPE YOU ARE ALL ENJOYING THE READ! IF I CAN I WILL TRY AND POST ALL OF THE REMAINING CHAPTERS BY NEXT FRIDAY SO I CAN MOVE ON TO ANOTHER NOVEL I HAVE TO PROOFREAD AND FINISH. ENJOY!!
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Arya can’t believe her eyes when she walks into her sitting room to find Malich Jarrah of all people standing there. Her thoughts quickly trail to Ihsan who walks in behind her. He has a deeply rooted hatred of Malich Jarrah and she can’t blame him. Malich has shown nothing but cruelty towards Ihsan.
“Should you be here?” Ihsan asks.
Shaking his head, Malich smiles. “Probably not, but I wanted to make sure you were able to secure my mother unharmed.”
Arya tries not to take offense to the implications in his statement. “You don’t trust us?” She asks, studying Malich carefully. His lack of trust is surprising. She wonders if things between them have really gotten this bad.
“Of course I do, but I want to see her for myself. It’s been a long time my love.”
My love. This small slip of his tongue clenches her heart. Whether it is unintentional or intentional is of no consequence. She can’t allow herself to entertain any thoughts of being with him and ignores him instead.
Arya nods to Evander who leaves the room. Her gaze trails back to Ihsan who looks as if he would like to kill Malich. She looks back at Malich gauging his reaction. “Kinghood does you well,” he compliments Ihsan.
Ihsan’s expression remains stoic until Evander returns with Malich’s mother and father in tow. Malich embraces his mother and tears fall from her eyes as she kisses his cheeks, hugging him back.
He meets Arya’s gaze and nods. She nods back before turning her gaze to Ihsan. Having both him and Malich in the same room is a bit unsettling.
Malich extends a hand to Ihsan, grateful for his help. “Thank you.”
Ihsan looks down at Malich’s hand in disgust, “I didn’t do it for you.”
“I know, but I’d still like to express my gratitude.”
Ihsan scoffs. “If you want to express your gratitude you can do so by staying away from Arya.”
The mood in the room grows tense. Both Malich and Ihsan take to sizing each other up while Arya, Malich’s mother and father all exchange glances. Stepping in between them Arya guides Ihsan out of the room and into the corridor. He sighs, removing her hand from his chest.
“If you’re going to lecture me about being nice, save your breath,” Ihsan scrubs his face with his hands trying to scrub away his irritation.
“Fine, but I don’t want you going back in there. I’d like to talk to Malich alone and without the two of you measuring your cocks.”
Arya leaves before he can protest. This is Malich’s doing so she doesn’t blame Ihsan for hating his guts, but they have more pressing matters to worry about.
When she enters the sitting room Malich is saying goodbye to his parents. They both hug him and leave, offering Arya a small smile as they pass on their way out. Now it’s just the two of them.
“I guess its safe to say Ihsan still holds a grudge.” Malich speaks first.
“Can you blame him? After everything you’ve put him through, I’m surprised he hasn’t tried to kill you.”
“So am I,” Malich chuckles. “For what its worth, I regret what I did to him. It wasn’t his fault he chose to love you. The heart wants what it wants.”
“Tell him that, not me.”
His gaze goes to where Ihsan stood moments ago as if he’s contemplating her suggestion, but he doesn’t move. When their eyes meet again there’s tenderness present and she swallows hard, looking away.
If only it were that easy to get away from the likes of Malich Jarrah. He approaches her silently and she backs away until she can back away no more. Malich comes within a hair of her and she stops breathing, unable to meet his gaze or allow herself to think. He dips his head down to her level, pressing his forehead against hers and forcing her to look up as he lifts his head up.
Again Arya goes still. Their lips are mere inches apart and one twist of his head will completely consume her resolve. Thankfully, he gently nudges her head to the side, away from his gaze andhis lips, exposing her neck.
His hands, which for the most part stayed slack at his side, rose and slid around her waist pulling her into him. He holds onto her like for what seems like forever, resting his head against hers while they simply breathe as one before his grip slackens.
Arya swallows but there’s a knot in her throat. “When I can, I will come for you,” he whispers into her ear as he backs away.
Her eyes grow wide. “You can’t.”
“Did you really think I wouldn’t come for you the moment an opportunity presented itself?”
“I gave my word to him. You can’t…I won’t go back on my word,” Arya shakes her head.
“You would deny me if I come for you?”
Yes! Um…maybe? Arya realizes she doesn’t know. Malich takes a step towards her and she places her palm against his chest to stop him. He isn’t deterred in the slightest and simply grabs her wrist, removing her hand.
“You should leave.” Arya gets up the courage to say.
Malich nods, but he makes no move to leave. “As you wish, but I will come back for you. If I were you, I’d make sure its what you want before you decide to send me away again.”
He backs away and Arya finally meets his gaze. If he comes for her and she pushes him away again, she isn’t sure he’ll come back. That thought alone wages a war inside her head.Could she push him away again? Could she live with him walking away?She isn’t sure, but she made a promise and unlike Malich, she keeps her promises.
Never has any man ever had such a hold on her until Malich Jarrah. Part of her wonders if it is in fact true love or something else. Ihsan is convinced it’s from years of being in Malich’s captivity, forced to rely on him for even the most basic of her needs, but she isn’t so sure. She never felt like a captive even though she wasn’t free to leave. She felt more like a princess unable to leave her castle because of unforeseen dangers, with Malich being the head of her protective detail.
Whenever she would push him too far he would have her disciplined. When she expressed an interest in becoming a Red Dragon, he treated her the way he treated all of his soldiers.
The more she thinks about it, the more she realizes he did whatever she asked of him. When she escaped and was found with Eli and Lila, he wanted to kill them. It wasn’t to punish her as he once claimed. She knows that now. He wanted to protect her. He couldn’t be sure of how much she’d shown Eli and Lila of what she could do and eliminating all witnesses is the first thing she was taught to do as a member of the Red Legion.
All these years she felt as if Malich was punishing her. He allowed himself to be the villain in her story, but he did so because it was the only way to keep her safe. He was trying to keep his promise to the seer…to the House of Litri.
Arya was a precocious kid. She challenged authority at every turn and she was constantly putting herself in dangerous situations. As these revelations wash over her, she doesn’t see Malich approaching until it’s too late. His lips meet hers, erasing all thought, causing her heart to race.
She kisses him back, wondering exactly how long he’s been in love with her. If she were Malich, would she be able to walk away?
Her thoughts drift to Ihsan and she snaps back into reality, pushing him away. If he walks in on the two of them, their already shaky foundation of trust would be obliterated and she’d be back at square one with him.
Malich starts to leave, then stops. His expression turns grave and he tells her, “Trust no one. There is no such thing as an alliance. An alliance is an agreement between foes masquerading themselves as friends.”
Confused she says, “I don’t understand, your mother is safe. Does Kahlem still mean to go to war? He’ll lose.”
“He has Lizbet and my son,” Malich confides.
Arya groans. “I am really starting to hate him, and you should do a better job of protecting what’s most valuable to you.”
“You won’t get any argument from me there. Whatever you do, trust no one and show no mercy, even towards me. Promise me.”
At first she hesitates and then she nods. He leaves and she follows him out into the corridor where Malich and Ihsan come face to face.
“I owe you an apology for the things I’ve done,” Malich addresses Ihsan, extending his hand to him a second time. “If I could take them all back I would.”
“But you can’t,” Ihsan’s temples flare, “and don’t think for one second I buy this new you. Arya may be fooled by your act, but I’m not.”
“All the more reason she’s going to need you,” Malich nods. He leans in close to Ihsan and tells him. “Trust no one and protect Arya with every breath and bone in your body. Nothing is as it seems. If you should fail her and she is harmed I will personally see to it that you and everyone in your kingdom meets a bloody end.”
Ihsan huffs a laugh. “I was wondering when the arsehole was going to show up.”
“Fail her, and I will give you a firsthand introduction into just how much of an arsehole I can be.”
The two of them lock eyes. They have a mutual hatred for one another that knows no end. Arya steps in between them, escorting Malich to Evander before more words can be exchanged between them. She returns to Ihsan who stands pensively inside her sitting room awaiting her return.
“He warned me not to trust anyone,” Ihsan informs her, deep in thought. “Something’s wrong.”
“It’s Drakor and Amunet all over again.” Arya nods. “He made it a point to tell me there is no such thing as an alliance.”
“Which can only mean someone has defected and he’s warning us. Why would he warn us?” Almost as soon as he asks the question, realization sets in. Ihsan turns his gaze to Arya and shakes his head, astonished. “He’s reallyin love with you. Up until now I thought he was only after you to spite me or to punish me. But now…now I know its because…he’s in love with you.”
“Never mind that,” Arya waves him off. Is it really that hard for him to believe? “If someone has defected then we need to rethink our strategy. We can only rely on each other, so lets devise a plan of counterattack that will disable both the Autumn Court and Fall Court armies should they defect.”
Ihsan nods and together they devise a new plan.
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