Chapter 4

Siona

I woke up from the best dream and stretched in the plush bed, the silkiness of the blanket caressing my skin in an almost sensual fashion. The most wondrous soreness lingered between my thighs. I'd known being with Zerien would be amazing, but I never thought it could be this mind blowing.

Shifting to the side, I reached for him while opening my eyes. To my dismay, he was gone. By the coolness of the sheets where he should have been, he left a while ago. I frowned and strained my ear for any sound indicating he might be in the hygiene room. When I heard nothing, I called out his name. But only silence answered me.

Sitting up in bed, I debated whether to hunt him down. Not wanting to come across as a stalker, I decided to message my mother instead. A part of me felt like it was a little silly to check in with her, considering I was officially an adult. But she and I had always been very close, and she undoubtedly worried about how things had gone. The quickness with which she replied to my text message, and the obvious relief in the few words she wrote back confirmed I made the right call.

If only based on my father's possessiveness of me, I was beginning to realize that, to a parent, their child would forever remain their baby—especially their daughters. As much as I didn't want to be babied, it felt wonderful knowing that my family loved me and cared about my welfare.

I slid off the bed and wrapped the blanket around me before wandering around the suite, looking for my man. As I had suspected, it possessed the same configuration as the suite we had stayed in on Anton's Lilith Hive space station. On the left side of the living area, a discreet door—easily confused as merely being a part of the decorative wall paneling—led to an office.

I knocked before pushing it open, expecting to find the room empty. To my shock, Zerien was sitting behind the desk, barefoot and bare chested, wearing only one of his long skirts called a shaal. He was apparently in the middle of a vidcall with a stunning Sarenian female. My spine immediately stiffened. Although she looked familiar, I couldn't put a name to the face or remember where I met her.

Obviously, it had to have been back when we had been abducted to Sarenia and Zerien and I first met. Seeing how young she looked, maybe a year or two older than me, she would not have been one of the females who stayed at the Serail with my mother and me. On Sarenia, single females open to casual encounters with other males would often settle in the Serail, which could be compared to a luxury, resort-like residence.

Despite my shock, I felt guilty like I had rudely intruded when both of them turned to look at me.

"S… sorry," I instinctively stuttered. "I didn't mean to interrupt. I'll leave you to it."

"It's okay, my love," Zerien said in a warm tone. "Kaelin and I were wrapping things up. I'll be with you shortly."

I nodded and gave her a stiff smile. Her sensuous lips stretched in an almost imperceptible fashion while she gave me a curious and assessing look. With an urgency I couldn't explain, I almost ran out and closed the door.

A million thoughts raced through my mind as I made my way back to our room. No sooner did I get inside than I cursed in annoyance. Aside from wanting to find Zerien, I also wanted to grab some clothes from the second room. In the eventuality that I would spend the night here, I gave Grace a number of outfits—including underwear—to be delivered to whatever venue Anton planned on putting at our disposal.

I hurried to the other room, feeling silly as I all but tiptoed across the living room. Obviously, seeing how well soundproofed the suite was, my behavior made no sense. And even then, there was no reason for me to avoid reminding him of my presence.

But who is she? Why is he talking to her this early the day after our reunion?

I hated that my insecurities should rear their ugly heads right now. He had given me no reason to doubt him.

After pulling out the dress I would wear, I decided to shower in the en suite hygiene room of the guest room. By the time I finished and got dressed in a sexy—but far-less-teasing—outfit than the cut-out dress I wore yesterday, I felt a lot less frazzled, but just as confused… not to say paranoid.

The delicious aroma of hot breads and cooked meats greeted me as soon as I opened the door. My stomach rumbled as I approached the dining area where Zerien was laying out breakfast from the hover tray room service brought.

"There she is," Zerien said.

The love and tenderness in his eyes made me feel silly for allowing my insecurities to plant crazy ideas in my head.

He drew me in his embrace and kissed me with a passion and possessiveness that made my toes curl. Our tongues mingled. As I ran my palms up his bare back, memories of last night flashed through my mind. A soft moan escaped me. To my dismay, Zerien ended the kiss with a smug chuckle. My annoyance at having so easily given away how much he affected me faded the minute I looked at him. The way his eyes had darkened, and the lascivious expression on his face revealed just how much that mere kiss also aroused him.

"You are far too tempting, my love," he said, before brushing his lips against mine. "How are you feeling?"

The hint of worry in his voice warmed my heart.

"Sore," I said in a serious tone, before giggling at his crestfallen expression. "Wonderfully so… But I expected an encore this morning. I feel cheated."

Zerien snorted, relief, guilt, and amusement visible on his face, despite the playful glare he gave me. "I should spank you for that. But yes, I also hoped for another round. I thought I'd be done and back in bed with you before you woke. Unfortunately, the meetings first with Faolen, then with Kaelin, went on longer than expected."

I remembered Faolen well. At first, I had hated him, as he had been the hunter hired to buy me as a present for Zerien by the Guldan Ambassador Hartuk Tellin. It turned out he accepted the mission not only to avoid someone less scrupulous using me in a detrimental fashion against the Sarenian throne, but also because once he glimpsed at my soul, he realized I was Zerien's soulmate.

Over the years of Zerien courting me, Faolen accompanied him on a few occasions. The older male had grown on me, and I believed he had been a great choice as Zerien's new head of the secret service.

"An update on the traitors?" I asked, while settling down in the chair Zerien pulled for me.

"Yes," he replied with a frown. "Faolen received some tips that could lead us to one of the traitors' cells. But the measures he wants to take to pursue this would break some of our laws. He wanted my blessing."

"Did he get it?" I asked.

"He did," Zerien said, holding my gaze unwaveringly, a hard glint in his eyes.

In that instant, I got a glimpse of the ruthless man people claimed he was. As I didn't know the details of what that entailed, I couldn't pass judgment as to whether I agreed with his course of action or not. And yet, I didn't feel any discomfort about his confession. In fact, his honesty actually felt good. I would rather face an ugly truth than be blindsided by pretty lies.

"Considering what that traitor Deimos did on Haven, I can't blame you for going all out catching his remaining acolytes on Sarenia," I said in all sincerity.

To my surprise, Zerien seemed relieved by my words. Had he feared condemnation from me? How was that possible? Had he forgotten that I'd been raised by the truly ruthless and bloodthirsty Krygor Aldriss?

"And I certainly am," he said with a smile as we started filling our plates. "Kaelin was giving me an update on the preparations for our coronation as well as discussing the guest list."

"Oh! She's your event planner?'" I asked with sudden understanding.

But Zerien bursting out laughing clamped down on the relief blossoming in my heart.

"Kaelin is many things, but definitely not an event planner. She terrorizes them," he said, still chuckling. "No, she's the Head of my Council."

My jaw dropped. "Head of your Council?! But she's…"

I barely managed to stop myself from calling her a child. While I didn't know her exact age, she seemed to be around twenty or twenty-one, like Zerien. If he wasn't too young to become Emperor of his entire planet, was she too young to be the Head of his Council?

Yes, I think so.

With Zerien being such a young ruler, I would expect him to surround himself with much older advisors who could share with him the wisdom of years of experience.

"She's what?" Zerien asked with an amused expression. "Too young?"

My cheeks burned with embarrassment that I should be so obvious. "Well… yes?"

"Kaelin is only a few months younger than me," Zerien explained. "Her father is the President of the Senate. Like me, she grew up receiving in-depth training in politics and diplomacy. She knows everything there is to know about ruling Sarenia, from the important players, to friends, enemies, who can be trusted, and who cannot. I trust her with my life and pray you two will become like sisters. Kaelin will be your greatest ally once we go home."

"I see," I said in a non-committal fashion, despite the unease taking root.

Zerien's smile broadened. "Remember when you were brought to Sarenia and Ambassador Hartuk thought to make a spectacle of your father being tortured in the arena?"

"How could I forget?" I said, scrunching my face.

He chuckled again. "There were five women sitting around my father."

I nodded, my gaze going out of focus as I tried to remember the scene of Emperor Nemrox sitting on an elevated dais in the royal box overlooking the arena. There had indeed been five women sitting around his throne, each one more beautiful than the other, even though I couldn't quite remember their features now.

"Yes, his concubines."

Zerien snorted. "Actually, only one of them was his concubine. All five were the senior members of his Council."

My jaw dropped. "Those five women?! But… I thought Sarenia was a patriarchy?"

"It is," he replied in a factual tone. "Like on Braxia, the strongest and fiercest male rules the planet. While it is expected that the heir of the current ruler will take over—unless he's challenged—it's not necessarily the firstborn son. I'm my father's seventh son, but my other siblings bowed to me. Keep in mind that we are predators. We still struggle with the savage nature the Korletheans' experiments gave us. Therefore, we need the more controlled temper of our females to keep the balance."

"Right, your females are less violent," I said pensively. "Is that a law that women should form your Council?"

He shook his head while cutting into the thick steak on his plate. "No. It isn't law, but it has been general practice for at least two-thirds of the Council to be females. It can have between five and eleven members. Mine currently has seven. Only two are males. Technically, I should say three as one of the Korlethean Seers who joined me also serves as my advisor in an… unofficial capacity."

"Your people aren't ready to have a Korlethean officially sitting on your Council?" I asked in a sympathetic tone, although it was more of a statement than a question.

"Nowhere near," Zerien said with self-derision. "The population is still struggling to accept their mere presence on our homeworld. Faolen gets no shortage of grief over the fact that his mate is a Korlethean Oracle. The Goddess sure has a twisted sense of humor."

"She did give you a Guldan mate," I said, only partially joking.

He snorted. "She did." Zerien reached for my hand and tenderly caressed its back. "And I wouldn't change it for anything in the world."

I smiled, silencing my own concerns about it. "Well, I can't wait to meet that young Council of yours."

He gave me an indulgent smile. "They're not all that young. Only Kaelin and my sister Jastira, who is twenty-six. Everyone else is in their thirties or forties."

A cold shiver ran down my spine. "I remember Jastira. We hadn't spoken much when I was on Sarenia. I don't think she liked me much," I said in a nervous tone.

Zerien laughed. "Jastira doesn't like anyone, least of all me."

"Excuse me?" I exclaimed, my eyes all but popping out of my head.

His smile broadened. "She constantly looks and sounds disgruntled. It's impossible to say whether she actually is. While Kaelin will give you her undivided loyalty from the moment you arrive, you will have to earn Jastira's," he added, sobering. "But once you do—and you will—there's nothing she won't do for you."

I gave him what I hoped came across as a teasing smile to hide how overwhelming this new life increasingly sounded to me. "Someone sounds confident. What if she hates my guts?"

"She won't," he countered with certainty. "You are my soulmate. You are meant to reign by my side. Fate doesn't make mistakes."

"So what will our lives together be like?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Mine will be the same it has been the past few years, which is taking over the ruling of Sarenia, preparing for the Great War, and now rooting out the rebels," Zerien said a little dismissively. "The important thing is what your life will be in the foreseeable future."

"Mine?" I asked, surprised.

He nodded. "You will have a very important and busy first year. Aside from learning our culture and endearing yourself to our people, your main priority will be to give us two heirs in the first year."

My stomach dropped, and I gaped at him in disbelief. "Two heirs in one year? That sounds a little unrealistic, not to say excessive," I said with a nervous laugh to hide my underlying panic.

Zerien smiled reassuringly. "No, my love. It's not. Remember that Sarenian pregnancies only last three months, then you give birth to the tadpole who will care for itself until it can walk. It won't even affect your figure. So two is very reasonable. As I mentioned to you a while back, you would normally be expected to give us three offspring. But considering your other duties, I think three might be a bit much."

I shifted uneasily in my seat. "Right, but we're newlyweds. Shouldn't we have a bit of time to strengthen our relationship and get me better situated with your world before we start building a family?"

He gave me an odd look as if he couldn't decide if I was joking or truly meant what he clearly deemed a ridiculous comment.

"You're a Queen now, Siona. As rulers of Sarenia, our personal lives take a backseat to the Empire. We will make personal time for each other, but we have a duty that we're already years late on. By now, you and I should have five or six heirs," Zerien said in a gentle and reasonable tone that failed to fully hide his confusion about my apparent reluctance. "But so long as we have two males within a year, we can slow down after and space them out more if you so wish."

"But what if we get a girl?" I challenged.

He shrugged. "Then we will have to keep trying until we get two males."

"Why couldn't our daughter be the ruler?" I argued.

Once again, he gave me that baffled look that made me feel stupid. He didn't intend it that way, but Zerien clearly felt the answer was so obvious I shouldn't be asking such questions.

"Because females don't rule… On that front, we're exactly like Braxians. The most powerful male rules. Your people just went through it with Keran's ascension," he said in a self-evident manner. "Our males are brutal predators while our females are softer. You know that. We just discussed it regarding the Council…"

"Right," I said, my cheeks burning. "I guess hanging around the Veredians a lot lately has reminded me that females can also rule powerful empires."

That wasn't the reason for my unease, but it felt like a good enough response to my odd behavior. Thankfully, it landed well with Zerien.

"Ah yes! The Veredians have certainly challenged many patriarchal norms. But don't forget that our females aren't subservient," he said with a smile. "The apex alpha male may sit on the throne, but our females dominate our Council. They are the power behind the throne. If we have daughters, I expect them to sit on our son's Council when his day comes."

"I'm sure they will," I replied with a smile I hoped didn't look too stiff. "By the way, I recall from my previous stays on Sarenia that you have an amazing education system," I continued, eager to shift onto a safer topic.

Zerien puffed out his chest. "We absolutely do! There again, our females deserve a lot of the credit for it. We rival and even exceed many of the most advanced species. And now that we're better able to control our primal rage, thanks to kaa , our males are also catching up with our females in pursuing advanced studies."

I beamed at him. "That's fabulous! I've been itching to go into engineering and was hoping to enroll after our wedding."

My stomach dropped when Zerien's face went blank for a couple of seconds before taking on a hesitant expression.

"Hmmm, sure… That can be arranged. We will get you a tutor," he said gently.

I slightly recoiled. "A tutor? Why couldn't I just go to school with everyone else?"

"Because the regular program would take too long and demand too much of your time," he explained patiently. "You're going to have a tremendous amount of responsibilities over the next couple of years as you settle in your new life and role. A tutor will be able to work around your schedule and go at your own pace."

"I see," I said, trying not to sound too dejected.

He sighed and shook his head with frustration.

"You should have been raised on Sarenia. I should have put my foot down when your father demanded you remain on Braxia until adulthood. Or at least, we should have married two years ago. Then things would be easier for everyone, and especially for you. This wasn't how I wanted you to start your life among your new people. But this is what we have now. And time isn't playing in our favor."

I shifted uneasily in my seat. Over the years, Zerien expressed that same frustration on multiple occasions. A part of me agreed with him. But another felt I needed the upbringing I received on Braxia, surrounded by my mother, siblings, and especially the former Braxian Queen Mercy.

"But fear not, my love," he continued in a reassuring tone. "For all that, we will spend time together. If only while we're touring Sarenia and visiting off-world allies. I will also need to catch you up on dealing with the rebellion at home and preparing for the Great War."

I frowned, my stomach knotting further. Having noticed my reaction, he tilted his head to the side with an inquisitive expression.

"What is it?"

I tucked a lock of hair behind my pointy ear and nervously licked my lips before answering. "I didn't realize I would be traveling off-world with you," I replied sheepishly. "In my mind, I expected to have a career just like Mercy."

He once again gave me an indulgent smile. Although I knew it was because he thought what I said was cute and that it held no malice, it made me feel stupid and incredibly naive.

"Mercy spent decades learning everything about politics while helping free her sisters from slavery," Zerien said gently. "By the time she became the Dagna, she had already completed her scientific studies. You haven't even begun yours. Her laboratories were already well established. People run her labs for her. Mercy merely supervises and performs personal research in her own time. You weren't there back then, but she devoted her first year— if not longer—as Ravik's mate helping him and his people."

As much as I hated to admit it, he was correct. Once more, he shouldn't have had to tell me any of this as I knew better.

"Keep in mind that back when Mercy became Dagna, the Great War was still over a decade away. But now, it's almost upon us," Zerien continued. "Since she and Ravik stepped down from the throne in favor of Keran and Dawn, they're both focusing on the upcoming war and training the Guldan rebels."

"You're right," I conceded, forcing a smile on my face. "I did spend the past three years helping her train the female rebels."

"You have," he said smugly. "You truly are a formidable warrior. I cannot wait for our people to be blown away by you."

My cheeks heated, but this time with genuine pleasure. Zerien had never seen me fight, but he'd heard of my combat prowess. The pride he felt about it moved me deeply. At least, I had one thing to offer that he could boast about. I couldn't wait to rock his world with an actual demonstration.

For all that, the dark cloud hovering over me only expanded further. The nagging voice at the back of my mind that I had tried to silence over the past few months started shouting louder. I had to make peace with the fact that my future life would be nothing like what I had imagined.

Am I ready for that?

I hated that I couldn't honestly answer it with a definitive yes. I should be ecstatic right now instead of being constantly on the verge of having an anxiety attack.

"But enough serious talks about duty and politics," Zerien said with enthusiasm. "They can wait for a month. For now, let us enjoy our early honeymoon!"

We finished our meal and went out. With Venus Hive being one of the biggest and fanciest entertainment space stations in the Eastern Quadrant, there were no shortages of things to do. Today, my man took me to one of the four theme parks of the station. To my delight, despite making sure to keep us in their line of sight, Zerien's bodyguards—Drade and Naax—did a wonderful job at making themselves so discreet that I often forgot they were shadowing us.

Being as much of an adrenaline junkie as I was, my man was more than happy for us to get on every single one of the most blood-curdling rides. With him being a Prince and me being the big boss' little sister, we shamelessly got to cut in front of every line. For those few hours, we were everything I always dreamt of for us: a couple in love simply enjoying the pleasures of life.

We finally took a break from the rides to try our hands at the skill games. Naturally, my competitive nature kicked into high gear, especially once we got to the shooting range. That Zerien didn't try to coddle me and also went all out pleased me beyond words. Had he not gone all out to try to win would have struck me as disrespectful, like he didn't think I was good enough to stand a chance.

With our scores being so incredibly close, each of us taking the lead for a few seconds in turn, had my blood pumping in my veins. I was squealing and shouting, accompanied by his victorious grunts as we continued to compete until he suddenly stopped unloading his weapon on the targets.

For a split second, I hesitated and almost stopped as well. But he gestured for me to continue with an apologetic look. I realized then that Drade had whispered something in his ear. To my dismay, I watched him walk a few steps away with his bodyguard so that he could read something on the datapad Drade handed him over.

Although I'd forced myself to finish the round—which ended less than two minutes later—my heart was no longer in it. I won by a landslide against the other three competitors and accepted my prize with a bit of a stiff smile. When I glanced back in Zerien's direction, he was still in an intense discussion with Drade while occasionally pointing at something on the screen of his device.

"Is it always like that for him?" I absent-mindedly asked Naax, who was now standing next to me as we waited for them to finish.

"Lately, yes," the Sarenian replied in an obvious fashion.

The curtness of his tone took me aback. Forcing my gaze away from my fiancé, I cast a surprised look at the bodyguard.

"Prince Zerien fully understands the importance of duty," he said with barely veiled disapproval in his voice. "Aside from his upcoming coronation, he has many traitors to catch to ensure the stability of our home world."

"Of course," I replied with a smile I hoped would hide just how small I was feeling right this instant. "I have no doubt he will succeed."

His gaze lingered on my face for a split second. He grunted in a noncommittal fashion, then turned his attention back to his Prince. I didn't need to read minds to know he was less than impressed with me and with what he undoubtedly perceived as me ‘complaining.'

I was not the Queen he wanted for his future Emperor.