AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jakkar nodded, flashing a small, satisfied smirk. “We will see it done. In the meantime, as was witnessed by members of the senate, you have admitted to abducting a female of the harem. Theft from the government is a severe crime, but given your impeccable record as a warrior, we have chosen to be lenient with your punishment.”
Ezul felt his shoulders slump in relief, though the pinched expression on his father’s face made him wary.
“You will be stripped of your title as warrior and barred from the capitol and associated establishments until it is determined whether or not you have mated with Cordelia. Only if she corroborates the claim to your mating will your sentence be reevaluated.”
Ezul heard a pounding in his ears, the sound loud and frantic until he realized it was his own heart beating furiously. Everything he’d worked for had been taken from him in an instant.
Every sacrifice, every drop of blood, every sleepless night. All swept away as if it had meant nothing.
He’d damned himself, potentially forever, to save Cordelia’s life. He didn’t regret it, but he still felt hollowed out. What if Cordelia chose to not be with him? Or worse, what if she learned of his sacrifice and only chose to become his mate out of pity?
Reevaluate did not mean reinstate. What if Cordelia found him unworthy now that he was essentially an outcast?
Ezul could not handle any of those options. He needed her to want him as much as he wanted her. Of her own free will.
Uncertainty held him hostage even as the glass wall swirled in front of him, creating a distorted doorway to exit through. The members of the senate departed, leaving Ezul and his father to stare at one another solemnly.
“My credibility as a warrior is gone?” Ezul’s chest clenched painfully. He’d been born into the role of warrior, had spent years training to become one of the best, and in a matter of moments that life had been taken from him. And all based on a lie.
But she is safe.It was enough. It would have to be.
His father nodded. “For now, yes. But you’ve saved your Runa’s life and have quite possibly earned a mate in the process. A title only holds sway over you if you allow it, Ezul. Perhaps ‘mate’ is a better fitting title for you than warrior ever was.”
Ezul nodded. Hopefully Cordelia felt so as well.
Chapter 9
Ezulspentanotherfewhours in the capitol with his father as Jakkar and his fellow politicians officially stripped him of his titles and entered him into the database as an outcast.
The new status would ensure he had no access to the capitol building or any other government establishments within the city.
Certain shops, trading posts, and even some of his own assets were now off limits to him; punishment for ‘abducting’ his Cordelia. Even some of his finances were inaccessible while an investigation was run to determine whether he had done anything else illegal.
His father had been his escort during the entire process, keeping Ezul sane when all he wanted to do was rip apart every individual who approached him.
His mist, of its own accord, seeped from his palms, only a faint trickle, disappearing from view. Ezul didn’t need to wonder where it had gone; he knew. His mist was as fond of Cordelia as he was, and Ezul had no control over his gift when it came to her.
Of course, a part of himself would separate to seek her out and provide whatever comfort he could. A few minutes passed until Ezul felt the faint touch of her warm skin on his fingers, and he’d sighed in relief. He hadn’t realized how ardently he required the feel of her body until his phantom fingers traced her frame.
Ezul was still brooding when he entered his home within the city center, using the holoscreen on his door to provide him entry by using his handprint.
His quarters were relatively large for a male who now lived alone. Two weeks ago he had dwelled with Sahin and their other brother, Kylok, just outside the city. But as Sahin was now a mated male, they’d given up their home to suit his brother’s new status.
Well, Kylok was still managing an intergalactic skirmish, but when he returned he, too, would be giving up his current home and searching for another.
At first, Ezul had despised living alone. After a few days, however, he realized that he no longer had to deal with the messiness of others. Now his new home knew only order and cleanliness as typically he despised chaos in his life.
Typically.
But now he’d grown to think of chaos as a figure with hair as dark as the Aragnokan sky, pretty green eyes the color of gems, and a mouth that was as sensual as it was adorably irritating.
After removing his breastplate and changing into a blue tunic, Ezul sat down in a chair in his serving quarters. He stared sullenly at a dark gray wall in front of him, which lacked any sort of personality or style. It was bland, just as he felt now.
Ezul was uncertain how long he stared at the nothingness, relying on the gentle ghost-like feel of Cordelia’s skin on his phantom fingertips to keep him sane, before there was a knock at his door.
His brow furrowed at the sound, but he didn’t bother moving, more than happy to sit in the company of his own morose attitude for a few hours longer.
The knocking became incessant, vibrating the thick metal with its urgency. Finally Ezul stood, snarling at the door. A few furious steps later and he slammed his palm down onto the holoscreen, ready to pummel the person on the other side as the door slid into the wall.
