Smiling at them he slipped between Miranda and Nat and kept his mouth shut and enjoyed the moment between the two elves that had found a reason to live and each other despite the odds stacked against them.
Bitch smacked
Standing in front of the gates to Aroth Cade waited on the messenger that tore through the city to deliver his message to the matriarch.
Crossing his arms in irritation he mused that depending on her answer it could be the last one she received.
After a half-hour of waiting his mind drifted off to the vivid dream from last night.
He had been holding a caramel-skinned baby with a shock of pure white hair and grey piercing eyes in his arms with his Promena and her father cooing over the burbling bundle of joy.
Absentmindedly smiling as he also remembered Miranda's wide smile and razor-sharp black fingernails tickling a belly laugh from the infant, he noticed the matriarch of Ipatem exiting the gates of the city followed by her husbands.
Leaving the dream of the child in his arms for later discussion with his goddess he pulled chairs and a table from the ground and sat, ready to give the stubborn woman one last chance to save herself and her city from more death and destruction than she could imagine.
"Hello Mage Cade I am glad you decided to..."
Raising his hand to silence her and keep her from digging her grave even deeper he inclined his hand towards the seat across from him and simply said "sit".
The fury in her eyes was almost worth leaving off questioning his wife about his vivid dream and as she complied he also enjoyed the looks of contempt from the six men arrayed at Liraden's back.
Giving her armor-clad husbands a smug smile he kept a minuscule amount of attention on them, if they moved a millimeter he would know and act accordingly otherwise they could stare daggers at him all they liked.
"Now I came to your country with an offer of trade and mutual growth for your race and my empire. You fucked that away by letting your people treat my family so disrespectfully along with your asinine offer, now I am coming to you with an offer to save your life. You will transfer the power of your station to Faraden and accept the same scar that you gave her and be forever named graven, exiled, and forgotten by your people. It was interesting to find out you had removed her as a threat to your throne by disfiguring her. I am going to give you a tip along with a few minutes to make your decision. If you want someone out of the way killing them is an almost foolproof plan."
Surrounding their little group in a shield dome he waited for the soon-to-be-dead or dethroned woman to make her decision.
"I decline."
Fighting a smile as the pretentious woman followed their script to the letter he signaled his Laurith to send his troops to invade the city through the tunnels he had been making for just that purpose for the last two days.
Watching her smug grin change to one of confusion then to horror as a chorus of shouts went up along the walls behind her he extinguished a fireball sent from one of her husbands before its heat had a chance to more than warm his blank face.
"Sit Liraden, your time as a symbol of your race's decadence and intolerance has ended. I ask you to enjoy the show or you can die along with your troops the choice is yours."
Watching her face contort into a livid rage he captured her curvy body in his mental grasp before breaking the spines of her husbands with a thought as she tried to launch herself at him.
Sitting her trembling body back in the seat he had turned around for her viewing pleasure he sat beside her with a half-grin on his face as the last of her husbands toppled over freeing their view of his presence.
"They will be a while so let's get to know each other better while we wait for your army to fall."
Giving the red eyes staring death at him a glance he got comfortable in his chair and delved into the depths of Liraden's mind with a smile at the devastation his army was causing.
Finding himself in the throne room where this insurrection had started he looked around and found four doors flanking the curtains behind the throne.
"Yea not that type of game."
Leaving the circuitous but ultimately linear path the elf had clearly left for any mind mages that tried to invade her mental space Cade let power spill from him, filling the large space quickly.
As the doors leading to who knows where in the matriarch's mind squealed in protest, he smiled as the walls quaked and groaned their own complaint of his brute force attack on her mind.
A sharp crack signaled the failure of her defenses and a dome covered him as the ceiling above him collapsed after the walls and doors blew outward.
Enjoying being the better mind mage for a few moments after his weeks of successes and failures against his Mira's impressive defenses he waited for his vision to clear of the scattered dust and debris.
As the dust settled from his eradication of Liraden's defenses he was privy to every memory and thought the woman had ever had.
Ignoring the many explicit events in her long life mostly but not all centered around the men currently laying paralyzed on the ground in front of his physical body he zeroed in on the specific event that had led to this point in her life, at his mercy while her city fell to his forces.
Watching the unblemished face of Faraden stride confidently into the throne room he watched a lavishly dressed orc growl irritably at an unbothered Liraden.
"We have completed our part of the shipment contract and have not received payment for two months. I caution you matriarch that making enemies of the orcs of Mustef is a bad way to do business. I implore you to make good on our contract before we are forced to take measures that would impede relations between our races in the future."
Sitting cross-legged on a platform with his hands supporting his head Cade watched the scene play out as Faraden had described it, with her being the only voice of reason regardless of her race's superior warfighting capabilities. Erot's people might be great fighters but besides the economy crippling expense Havrai and Graft had paid for the horde directed at him, the number of orcs and trolls willing to give their lives for a slight against them by a country full of mages and enchanters willing to lay down their lives at a moments notice was nowhere near up to the task of putting the dark elves in their place.
Giving the matriarch a frown as she sent the orc packing with a message stating in no uncertain terms that they would not be paying what they owed them for their services, she turned her ire towards him and his wives new friend.
Not wanting to watch the blade being offered to Liraden by Reqden create the scar that had caused her to be exiled he left her mind assured that all parties had their say and ready to deliver judgment.
Returning to the physical world he opened his mouth to hand down his sentence before a panicked shout into his mind from his Mina along with his other wives attempts to get his attention distracted him from the ex matriarch.
Dread filled him as his mind shut down except for one continuous thought, how to get to his terrified panther mate.
Assuming his mixed form from he and Nat's "baby shower" he gave the now free Liraden a savage backhand with his scaled fist before extinguishing his shield and flying toward where he felt his Mina fighting for her and their children's life.
The crunch of bones as Liraden's face was smashed to a pulp barely registered as he destroyed walls and buildings that stood in his way.
Landing amidst a firestorm in which his Mina stood in the center he held her to him and shielded them both with a protective growl before dissolving anything and everyone that didn't register as "MINE" in his draconian mind.
As silence reigned in their little corner of peace he came back to himself and shakily checked over his unconscious mate.
Seeing the horrible burns her wedding band had been healing as she fought to find a way out of the trap she had found herself in slowly heal over and black fur begin to sprout, he pushed power into the gem at its center and hoped he had made it in time.
Al
most lashing out instinctively as his goddess appeared in front of them he growled out his impotent rage as he saw a quickly healing gash on her forehead trickle blood into a silver eye.
"Everyone at home now."
His tone brooked no argument and as they all appeared in their backyard he fought to stay in control as his Mina still lay unresponsive in his arms.
Giving his wives a hard look as he checked them over for injuries he let out a shaky breath before walking to their bedroom with his Mina cradled to his chest.
Shaking with rage he mastered himself after his sweet wrapped a slim arm around his scaly waist after he found the hallway to their room too small for his increased size.
Returning to his human form the glow from his eyes dimly illuminated the hallway as he carried his pretty kitty to their bed.
Setting her healed body on the bed he let the last of his rage fall to the back of his mind as he saw her furred chest rise and fall evenly.
Sending her bloody and burnt armor to the laundry to be cleaned and repaired he kissed her brow before turning to his other wives.
A half-smile grew on his face as his Dia and Beth ran off to find something for their Dresk to eat and wear when she woke up he turned to his more combat-oriented wives with a frown as he sat on the bed and gently held his Mina's clawed hand.
"This is unacceptable, I don't think any of you knows what I would do if I lost you. We have been through this and I think this time I will be the voice of reason. Most of you carry our babies and Eve, my pixie you will soon. I think I can ask this, please stay out of any other fights. As invulnerable as I can be sometimes it has been proven that even I can come close to death. So please give me this for my peace of mind if nothing else. We have armies to call on if we need now, so please let them fight for us, and if need be I can throw some godly power at the problem and see if that works."
Watching them each place a protective hand over their growing babies he smiled as his Mira held his gaze and slowly followed suit, a mischievous look in her black eyes.
"I think I agree with you, my love."
Smiles with a few tears added in spread throughout the group as his Mina piggybacked on his speech before she was covered by the bodies of those she loved and adored in a group hug that spanned the length of their massive bed.
"You would think I died and went to heaven as you would say my Cade now off, you are smashing your children."
As his wives disengaged from their impromptu cuddle pile he kneeled over her swollen middle and pulled her up for a long kiss.
"Yes definitely heaven, now what did I miss?"
Frowning down at her smile he sent her the request he had just made to their other wives.
As her face bunched up into a frown of her own he let his rage at her near-death experience and the feeling of outrage he felt through their bond rumble in his chest as he held her golden eyes with his grey ones.
The rumbling ended when his Laurith curled up next to her Dresk and placed a brown hand over Mina's belly with concern in her yellow and red-rimmed eyes.
"I agree with our mate. We almost lost not just you today but the future of our family as well. I think we can give our overprotective mate what he wants, this time at least."
Smiling sadly at her friend and wife Mina looked up into her mate's eyes and gave him a confident nod. If this is what he wished, then as his Dresk she would make it happen.
"I will allow it."
A crooked smile crossed his face as he watched her golden eyes turn to him.
It turned to a real one as his pretty kitty showed herself to be fully healed as a soft hand cupped him through his pants.
"No you don't, you will get some of that when I allow it. Now everyone come along we have a city to watch being taken over."
Pinching a black nipple with a smile he helped his Mina from the bed before following her naked body to their living room with his other wives trailing behind, stifling chuckles at his wide-eyed gaze.
Sitting behind Faraden with his wives behind him three days later Cade rose from his seat and placed his hands on her slim but strong shoulders.
"MATRIARCH FARADEN RULES IN MY NAME AND WORD. WITH HER ASCENSION THE DARK ELF RACE SHALL RISE ABOVE ALL THAT HAS COME BEFORE AND WITH HER LEADERSHIP AGAIN WILL THE KINGDOM PROSPER. LONG SHALL SHE REIGN!!"
Adding a little light show to the placing of a mithril crown upon Faraden's brow he turned to Keraden and smiled at the matriarch's husband and consort as he held his wife's hand as the crowd cheered.
Stepping back he almost rolled his eyes as even at one of the highest points in their relationship the two elves maintained their decorum with not even a heated look shared between the two.
Assuaging himself with the fact that the two had been locked behind closed doors for the past day and a half after their late-night wedding the day of their takeover of Ipatem he imagined they had at least had a little adult time while planning this coronation ceremony.
Before her marriage and disappearance with her new husband for their short honeymoon surprisingly the new matriarch hadn't requested the old one be judged and executed for her poor leadership.
Liraden had instead been sent to live out the remainder of her years deep within the caverns below the city.
She had simply requested the woman keep her mangled face along with her now paraplegic harem of husbands stating that she would be left to her own devices while under a strict guard, despite his and his wives' opposition.
"She will be barred from the city and has no knowledge of the healing clinics we shall build, besides if she happens to get her face fixed no one in this city will side with the woman who caused so much unnecessary death and destruction when it could have been avoided by keeping her mouth shut."
That conversation had ended with the Faraden sure of her position being unassailable and Cade sealing the group behind tons of rock unbeknownst to her to make sure his chosen representative would stay in power.
After their conversation, Mina had been deeply involved in planning their friend's big day mostly out of respect for the woman but nothing distracts from small issues like checking in on your captive like trying to plan a wedding and a coronation.
As she put her impressive skills to use making sure every I was dotted his Sabine and Beth had made sure every T was crossed.
The contracts for their mine were in place and iron-clad more than up to surviving any dissenters that might think an insurrection would be a good way to go back to the "good times" with the threat of his ire backing up the documents.
He had the enchanters and mages good graces in spades as they collectively almost salivated at the thought of implementing his changes to their homes and transportation needs, all with a decent profit for him and his business.
Even after those accomplishments the joy he felt as another roadblock on his path towards his goddess and mother of his child officially giving him her hand in marriage eclipsed all else as he watched the two newlyweds bask in the praise of their citizens.
Catching his Promena's silver orbs with his he blew her a kiss as she mouthed "I love you" and that simple phrase repeated by all of his wives was worth the effort and patience it had taken to reach this point.
With the Fandreth forest as their next stop and the mysterious desert kingdom to the east after that Cade couldn't imagine anything stopping him from claiming this world and his place in the cosmos.
Epilogue
The whoosh of giant wings over the waves crashing against the port of Mustef signaled to the citizens of the merchant city that Ketoth the Red had arrived on the continent of Kandar.
Atomic Mage 3 Page 29
