Elias, King of Blood and Beryl, had gone rogue when he’d taken a wolf shifter as his mate, thus changing the landscape of his battle with Fire and Fluorite.
I’d forgiven him because the end result had worked in all our favors.
And I’d known better than to get between a powerful vampire and his fated mate.
Volker, King of Air and Amethyst, technically owed me for granting two of his lieutenants asylum in my territory after his…disappearance.I’d also recently returned said lieutenants to his care.
Something I’d remind him of, as I suspected he would be the first one to call and protest my offer. His susceptibility to moon magic made him eager to be rid of Nyx. Something about her fucking up his powers even more during his revolution.
Whatever. He had his mate now, and she balanced him. He’d be fine. Or at the very least, he’d trust me to handle it my way. We shared similar methodologies in our political approaches, which made him more likely to trust my reasoning.
And then there was the new House of Death and Diamond.
Baroness Sabrina might not be thrilled, but I suspected she valued our relationship enough to give me a chance here.
All the other monarchs would be more difficult to convince of this path.
Especially Odin and Lady Gabriella. But they were the ones who’d lost Nyx upon her arrival. So they’d lost their chance to deal with her as a result.
She was mine now. I’d determine her fate here.
And maybe I’ll find a way to keep her, I mused.
A powerful queen could make Gold and Garnet formidable.
Or make it a constant target for invasion and war.
Regardless, the potential outcomes would be moot if she declined my offer.
Her eyes swirled with a mixture of knowledge and intrigue.
“What would your temporary offer require of me?” she asked, intelligently having picked up on that key word.
No wonder fate paired us together.
“You will live with me,” I said, voicing the terms as I thought of them. “And we’ll work together to determine your future path.”
Because if she was truly innocent, then I couldn’t kill her. But it sounded like dropping her off in the Himalayas wasn’t an option either.
So I needed to keep her close while I decided what to do with her. It was my responsibility as her fated mate, in addition to my role in this world.
I was the king of all the mercenaries for a reason. We valued glory, gold, and blood.
And I’d taken on the task of finding this foreign entity. The bounty hadn’t actually dictated her death, just her capture. So by those rules, I’d done my job.
Now I just had to figure out what to do with her.
Because she definitely wouldn’t be able to stay long-term.
Which led me to my final condition. “You’ll need to limit your power in this realm. It’s causing disturbances, which is what inspired the original bounty.”
“Live with you, limit my powers, and work with you on my future path,” she summarized. “Hmm. Or… I could remain Houseless, use my powers as desired, and determine my own way. Which would be how I’ve always lived.”
She tapped her jaw with her free hand, her other still captured by mine.
“You said you were bored with creationism and looking for a new reality to live in. I’m giving you an opportunity to fully understand our world, which would help you decide your fate,” I pointed out.
Her decision would lead her to leave, of course. But at least this would be an amicable solution to both our problems.
