by Alta Hensley
Just as the shadows were taking over, the calls of war pierced the air. Shouts, screams, commands… even the first groans of death. What was once a stagnant silence became wave after wave of chaos.
Elbi held her hand on the hilt of her sword and palmed a knife with the other. She waited with the sounds of war all around the outside of the encampment. She waited for the doors to be opened as fear threatened to paralyze her body. So far, the walls of Casen were holding Jaden back. No one had entered, and the damage was being done to Jaden on the other side by the archers.
The question of whether she would see battle was answered by a loud crash, followed by what was left of Jaden's men storming through. It was her time to perform. Without any hesitation, she began to throw one knife after another, aiming for their eyes. Moving targets were harder, but her intentions were met for the most part. Arrows whirled around her, swords clanging against swords. People cried out in agony as weapons made contact with flesh. But Elbi focused on her knives and her duty. A tidal wave of mayhem surrounded her, with its only saving grace being that it didn't give Elbi time to think. It didn't give her time to process that she was engaged in battle. She did not have a second to consider that people were dying all around her and bloodshed became the norm.
As the knives were becoming few, the bodies surging forward slowed. The sounds of misery lessened, the howls of the night weakened, and after a time of nightmarish proportions, the fight seemed to end. Elbi stopped throwing and stood. Silence…
And then the cheers of victory roared through Casen. Had they won? Was that it? Was the attack from Jaden over? Malachi? Where was Malachi? Elbi didn't know as she stood and circled in place, searching for the answer. Was he one of the fallen soldiers? No doubt he'd led his men, charging toward his own death in the hopes of victory. Was Malachi dead?
A sound behind her brought the answer, Elbi turning on bare heel to lay her eyes upon a tall figure emerging from the shadows. Her heart skipped a beat as anticipation filled her, her breath catching in her throat as she waited to see if it would be her lover returning to her or just her mind playing some terrible farce against her.
His face was weary, and he had deep circles beneath his dark eyes. He looked very much the tired man, the warrior. He looked broken, almost defeated. And yet, when their eyes met, the doubt that had filled his gaze, the fear, melted away.
Neither of them moved for what seemed an eternity, both believing the other to be a dream, a mirage conjured up by tired minds to soothe the tormented soul. He would be the first to break that silent stillness that seemed to encompass them like a heavy blanket.
"Elbi!" she heard called from the distance. Her name bubbled from his lips like the most precious of secrets. She smiled to see Malachi charging forward, his lengthy stride closing the distance between them. She remained in position, as he had commanded, until she was engulfed in his arms and spun in a circle. "We won. It is over."
Elbi knew they both had waited with building anxiety for the battle to end, both having their own hopes as to the outcome. By the end, each had only wished it over, if just to see the other's face once more. As brutal minutes had passed and turned into hours of murder, fear planting a seed of doubt within their hearts, both had feared the other dead.
She did not speak, but the joy she felt shimmered in her azure eyes, spilling down her cheeks in crystal droplets, soon to be wiped away by dirty fingers from his calloused hands.
"I thought I had lost you." Her voice was barely a whisper above the gentle breeze that blew her hair over one cheek. She gripped at what remained of his tattered shirt, fingertips smoothing over his sun-kissed flesh.
"I was nearly lost, but I could not bear the thought of breaking your heart. No grave will hold down my love for you." His fingers, stained with blood and dirt, slid over her cheek as his lips met hers in the tenderest of kisses. Passionate, fulfilling, perfect. The pain of war, of loss, of defeat… and now victory.
When finally their lips parted, there was nothing to be found between the pair but smiles and warmth, compassion and understanding passing through the depth of their gaze. His fingers wound into her hair, the strength of his arms crushing her into him as her tears soaked his chest.
"We cannot remain here, my love. We must hurry, we must leave for Lazar tonight. We need to strike now before Jaden can rebuild."
"Just allow me to stay with you," she pleaded with him, her fingers clutching desperately at his chest, fear once again gripping her. "I don't want to be apart again."
He merely shook his head, brushing her lips with his own before he took her hand, twining their fingers together. "Nothing will separate us again. This is a promise I will make."
* * * * *
"Nico is leading the troops to Lazar now. We did not want to waste a minute," Donte informed Malachi as they stood in the main house. Donte had a gash across his forehead but seemed fine otherwise. Briar held Donte's hand as if she would never let it go, undoubtedly relieved to have the man she loved still alive. Elbi understood the feeling as she watched Malachi. Not only had they won the battle; all the women of the harem had survived the attack. Though many soldiers had died, Elbi hadn't lost anyone she'd been close to, and she was grateful to be alive and well in the same room with the man she loved.
Malachi nodded. "Good. Let us get everything and everyone ready for departure. We will leave first thing in the morning. Let everyone rest for the journey. Hopefully by the time we arrive, the Palace of Lazar will be ours once again." Malachi smiled at Elbi and squeezed the hand he hadn't released since they'd been reunited.
"What about Casen?" Briar asked.
"We are handing it over to the allied forces. It is our gift to them for all their help in defeating Jaden," Donte answered.
Malachi nodded and added, "The reign of Jaden is not over yet. We will need the continued help from our allies in order to keep Jaden at bay. Giving away Casen is our first step toward peace. Greed leads to war, and we plan to share our wealth."
"Today we won. In a few days, with Jaden being weak, we will regain Lazar. But Jaden will try to rebound and we must be ready." Donte's voice deepened as he spoke, and his face grew dark.
"And we will be ready, brother. We will reclaim the Palace of Lazar and never lose it again. When Jaden comes knocking again, we will answer the door with vengeance."
* * * * *
Deep in the desert, the clash of swords and shrill screams could be heard for miles as the harem marched toward the palace. A war had broken out two weeks ago, and when Nico and the troops came swiftly down the dunes, they attacked Jaden with a ferocity that would become legend for hundreds of years.
Now, as they approached what was once their beautiful palace, Elbi stopped and clutched her heart.
"I see it," she declared, her voice raspy from the days of travel through the harsh desert.
Other gasps and cries were heard as each person glimpsed what she observed. Their palace stood—though battered—it stood free from Jaden. Charred land, burnt structures, and smoldering fires still lingered, but there was not a Jaden soldier in sight.
Nico came charging up the dunes on horseback with pride in his eyes. Behind him rode several more men. One man had a stake in his hands, with the head of General Rhys impaled on it. The general's eyes remained wide open, his face frozen in the fear he'd felt right before someone had ended his life and beheaded him. General Rhys was dead. Elbi could barely take her eyes off the head of a man who had tormented so many. It took all of her will to look at Nico as he approached and declared, "We have conquered the Palace of Lazar! It is ours! The Palace of Lazar is ours!"
Chapter Fourteen
Donte stood up to begin the celebration. He proudly held up a wine glass and bellowed, "My friends, my family, I am honored to stand before you. We sit here and celebrate in our precious Palace of Lazar. What we once lost, we have found again. What we may have once took for granted, we now see as a prized jewel." His gaze went to Briar. "And some of us have
found the most precious gift of all—love." Everyone in the room cheered in unison when Donte went to one knee. "Will you, Briar Hope, do me the honor of being my wife?"
"Yes, yes," Briar answered, as tears streamed down her face. "I will marry you!"
Cheers erupted again and congratulations rang out. Elbi smiled and nodded at all the toasts. Although she was delighted for her best friend, seeing such complete love struck her to the core with jealousy. She tried to hide her unwelcome emotions, but tears threatened to fall. Malachi must have sensed her discomfort, because he reached for her hand. A soft squeeze from his fingers did wonders for her rampant emotions.
"So tonight," Donte continued, "we celebrate our victories. Tomorrow, we rebuild. The palace is not what it once was. In fact, it is badly beaten. But the shambles are ours, and we will make it thrive once again." More cheers broke out as Donte returned to his seat, wrapping his arms around his new fiancée.
For the next hour, everyone launched into playful banter, and Elbi found herself laughing more now than she ever had. She'd almost forgotten what it was like to laugh so easily. Fear was replaced with joy, war was replaced with friendship, and death was replaced with promise of the future.
Just as Elbi was getting ready to call it a night, and wondering where she would sleep that evening, Malachi wrapped his arm around her and leaned forward so his lips were at her ear.
"Do you mind taking a walk with me?" he asked quietly.
The heat of his breath against her skin sent a shiver down her spine and her insides heated almost instantly. She smiled and nodded, trying to keep her composure. Malachi stood and helped her out of her seat, and they slipped out of the dining room without anyone saying anything or noticing.
"Where are we going?" she asked, when Malachi took her hand and started pulling her down the hallway.
"Home," he said in a whisper, urging her to follow him, pulling her into a room.
The room they were standing in once held a lavish bed with four posts, with a canopy stretched over it. The walls were once decorated with opulent paintings, and ornate rugs once donned the marble floors. The elaborate room that was once Malachi's had been plundered, and nothing endured the possession of Jaden. All that remained was a mattress with some simple bedding.
"This will be our new quarters. It is not much now, but I will focus my attentions on bringing back the glory that you deserve," he said, gesturing to his room with a sweep of his arm.
"Our quarters?" she asked. They hadn't discussed this, and Elbi realized that she had desperately hoped that Malachi would still want to live with her even after they returned to the palace.
"Of course, Elbi. I cannot imagine spending even one night apart from you."
With her heartbeat piercing her chest, she walked up to him and placed her forehead against his body. "That makes me so very happy to hear."
"Here, let us lie down on our bed," he said softly, leading her to the mattress on the floor. He fell back against the pillows at the head of the bed and she joined him, leaning her head against his chest.
Malachi smelled like security, if there was such a smell to describe it, and she inhaled deeply as she nuzzled her face into the ley of his neck. His warm embrace made her feel as if she were sinking into his body. She felt heavy in love. She took another deep breath and released it slowly, taking in the moment of complete relaxation.
"I have been waiting for this day for so long," he murmured against the top of her head, his fingers stroking her scalp. "I have wanted nothing more than to hold you in my arms, in our home—the palace."
She simply nodded.
"What is it you want of the future, Elbi?"
She froze.
He must have felt her tension. "Why does the question bother you?"
"I don't know how you want me to answer it." She held her breath, not sure what to say or what to do.
"The truth. I simply ask the truth of you."
"I want love," she confessed.
"Do you not feel love?" he asked, as he continued petting her hair.
There was a long moment of silence. Elbi glanced up at him and before she could give him an answer, Malachi's lips were pressed against hers, and her body caught aflame. She smiled against the kiss and let her hands wander up to stroke his face. Reveling in the taste of his lips, she softly moaned with the need for more.
"I love you," he whispered against the kiss. "I love you more than I ever thought possible. The love I have for you I fear will suffocate you with the intensity."
"And I love you," she admitted freely.
"I do not know what tomorrow will bring when it comes to the palace, but I do know that from this day on, I want you by my side."
"What about the harem?" She didn't want to ask the question, because she feared the answer. She didn't want to go back. She didn't want anyone of the harem to pleasure Malachi. She wanted conventional, but feared he did not.
"The harem will serve its original purpose. We will not take away from what the harem is, what it stands for, and what it will become." He kissed her softly before continuing. "But you will no longer be part of the harem, and I have no need for it either. You will serve me as the harem once did. And I will serve you."
"Will you not miss the harem?"
Malachi smiled. "The harem gave me beauty. This I now have with you. The harem gave me surrender. This I will still demand from you. The harem gave me sex. And this, my dear Elbi, you have mastered. The harem offers me nothing I do not already hold with you."
She blushed with the memory of their sexual experiences.
He kissed her deeply, forcing his tongue in her mouth only to be met with her carnal return. He rolled her onto her back in one swift move, never breaking the kiss. He effortlessly removed her silks, exposing her body to him, and then quickly shed his own. His eyes locked with hers, casting a spell of seduction. She knew what was to come, but the anticipation nearly choked her.
"Can you leave the harem and only belong to me?" he asked as he straddled her, now nude, body. His cock stood hard and ready, and Elbi could not keep her eyes from it. "I will not share."
"I only belong to you," she panted, licking her lips in anticipation of his dick entering her mouth.
He lowered himself and kneeled before her face, his cock mere inches from her lips. "Can you surrender to me?" He placed the tip of his penis on her lips. "I will demand."
"My submission is yours," she answered, and licked the shiny pre cum that escaped his ready sex.
With a growl that rose from the depths of his chest, Malachi thrust his dick into her expecting mouth. She took the girth and began to suck with a hunger, a need, an uncontrollable urge to give the man she loved pleasure. Up and down as she closed her mouth even tighter with every move. Up and down as she moaned against his flesh, reverberating against the mass that filled her mouth. Malachi grabbed her by the hair and helped guide her head, claiming his will.
He quickly pulled out and flipped her over, positioning her on all fours. "I cannot be gentle," he hissed as he slapped her ass.
Elbi moaned at the sting of his hand, hungry for more. "And that is not what I ask. Spank me, Malachi. Show me who my master is! Spank me, and show me what will happen if I disobey you. Show me, Malachi. Show me, please."
As if she had just released the dam, Malachi began the intoxicating punishment. Spank after spank, his hand descended against her milky surface. With each searing smack, her flesh sparked. She held her position and squeezed her eyes against the sting, the pain, and against the most intense pleasure. Signs of her arousal dripped down her pussy and to her inner thighs as she pleaded for more. He continued to spank without mercy or without letting up. The force of each swat of her ass rocked her body forward, only to have her thrust her ass back, eagerly awaiting the next punishing blow.
He rewarded her surrender to his discipline by thrusting his cock into her pussy. Not gentle, not with ease, but with a capturing onslaught. He dominated; he took and captured her bo
dy. Her orgasm exploded around his cock as her screams lined the room, only to be followed by his moans of release. Nothing, nothing, nothing could compare to the impression left on her soul. To be mastered. To be conquered. To be his!
* * * * *
"Do you hear that?" Malachi asked as they lay in each other's arms. He sat up and listened. Elbi sat up as well and tried to focus her attention on the noise around her. She tried to keep the panic at bay.
"Is it Jaden? Are they attacking?" Her voice cracked, revealing the terror that came storming in.
"No." Malachi got out of bed and quickly got dressed. He threw Elbi's silks to her. A rumble shook the outside, followed by another. "Hear that?"
Elbi quickly got dressed. "Oh god! It's Jaden!"
Malachi smiled when the rumble happened again. "No, my love. I believe it is thunder! I believe it is signaling a storm. Hurry and get dressed."
They rushed outside and joined everyone else from the celebratory dinner. They, too, had heard the noise and come rushing outdoors to see for themselves.
"Thunder!" Donte confirmed, when he turned to see Malachi and Elbi running outside. A bolt of lightning shot across the blackness.
And then it happened. The sky up above opened up and drops of water emerged. Elbi turned her face toward the sky and felt the rain fall upon her desert-worn skin. Drop after drop of water came pouring out of the night, splattering onto the withered and cracked ground below.
"Rain! It's rain," came shouts from everyone around. Cries, cheers, and laughter blended with the booming cadence of the storm. Drops turned to sheets of water as the sky unleashed the storm.
Elbi turned to Malachi who also had his face turned up toward the sky, allowing the rain to drench his body. She watched as members of the harem began to dance around, their silks wet against their skin. She looked over to see Briar and Donte embracing, kissing with the rain falling all around. And then she turned completely and looked back at the Palace of Lazar. It stood in all its glory with the night sky as its backdrop. The rain began to wash away the scars Jaden had caused. The rain showered away signs of the war, washing away the soot, the filth, and the contamination of the evil that had once resided there. All that remained now was a palace being cleansed by Mother Nature herself. The rain offered a new beginning. It was their reward for their glory. They had conquered The Palace of Lazar—her home, her future, her love.
