Page 28 of Mated to the Alien Warlord

We passed a long row of servants who were lined up inside the entrance hall and greeted us by bowing their heads in reverence. Next, we entered the great hall, where we were met by so many people it nearly overwhelmed me.

"Courtiers," Vandor whispered as he rushed me through the hall quickly enough so that nobody had a chance to approach us.

"What exactly are courtiers?" I asked when we were alone inside a winding staircase.

"Mostly mayors and ambassadors from my other outposts, but there are some nobles among them whose sole purpose in life seems to be to drift from one household to another," he replied, and the tone of his voice made it clear what he thought of most of them. "Some are family members of other warlords, here to keep an eye on me, just like I have some of my cousins keep an eye on other households."

"Spies?" I asked, interested.

"It sounds harsh, but in general, kar," he acknowledged, taking mercy on me and taking a break in the middle of the stairway as I huffed and puffed, unused to climbing this many steps.

"I can carry you," he offered.

To call his bluff, I replied, "That would be nice."

Only it wasn't a bluff. He lifted me into his arms with astonishing ease and climbed the rest of the steps, taking two at a time.

"You know, I could get used to this," I said, nibbling his ear.

"So could I," he retorted, bending low and giving me a kiss without breaking his stride.

We reached a long rectangular floor with a single door at the end of it, guarded by two large Thyres.

The guards opened the doors, and Vandor carried me inside a wide airy room. Windows and a balcony covered two of the walls, giving me a breathtaking view of the Dark Sea.

"Our living quarters," Vandor announced, and I took in the sitting area, cozily arranged so one could look out. A fireplace stood by one wall, flanked by two doors, and in the corner stood a desk filled with rolled up scrolls.

"Oh, it's—" before I could express how much I loved the room, Vandor took me through one of the doors flanking the fireplace into a large bedroom.

This room was also astonishingly airy, with two walls filled with windows and a door that led to the same balcony as the one from the living room.

The center was filled with a large, round bed, and the wall next to it held a large fireplace, even though it looked a bit different.

When Vandor took me into the last room, I realized why the fireplace looked different. It extended into the bathroom so that the occupant of the bathtub could look out of a window on one side and at the fireplace on the other. "It's beautiful."

"You are beautiful," he said, kissing me and taking me straight to the bed.

"I've been dreaming about doing this all day," he confessed, taking my clothes off and lavishing kisses all over my skin.

Thefollowingdayswerefilled with work, making sweet love to my mate, and getting to know her better.

It didn't surprise me much, but I was still in awe of her when she took over the household quickly and with ease. What was even more impressive was that I didn't hear any complaints from Dryx about her invading his territory. It was the opposite; I only heard praise wherever I went.

"Lady Damaris suggested we use this spice in our meals. She says it wards off colds," Fonya gushed.

"Lady Damaris said we should add padding to the horses' bits," Rynar the stablemaster exclaimed.

"Lady Damaris said…" The list went on from the horse handler to my master of the household. Everybody was full of praise for my mate, and I couldn't have agreed more. The ease with which she entered my household and heart was amazing and wonderful.

As I had feared though the lull didn't last long. A month into our domestic bliss, a messenger arrived, summoning me and my warriors to the khazar's side to fight off another overreach on Fionbyr's part. Once more, he had attacked Steppenfort and taken all of King Helmut's horses as payment for crimes committed against him as King Helmut's warlord.

This time, I knew Gryck would not let the matter rest until Fionbyr's head decorated the top of a spike.

"I will go with you," Damaris declared.

"Riding with an army is no place for a kallini," I argued, even though I feared I had already lost the debate. Which, in all honesty, I was only making halfheartedly because I was loathe to leave her side.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "It's not like it's my first time."

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