Chapter 8

Mate. She was his mate.

Azha was still getting used to the idea. When he had first told her, she was just so grateful that she had been wrong about him using her for breeding. As a result, the full reality of his announcement did not reach her immediately.

But it had been two days now since he told her, and she had already done extensive research on what the word "mate" meant to the Niri. Most of yesterday had been spent in the library.

And now, she was lounging on a couch in that same library after a long day of reading.

"You're practically glowing," Xenia said from the opposite couch.

"I'm really happy," Azha told the female.

She had told Vespira and Xenia the news two days ago as they were helping her get ready for bed that night. To her surprise, they both said they already knew. At first, she had been offended that Gravon had told them before telling her, but they assured her that that was not the case.

"Why else would a Niri king bring a human girl back to his planet and treat her this well, if not for the fact that she was his mate?" Xenia had said. "It was so obvious. Besides, Niri have a sense of smell that would be hard to explain to a human, but we could smell your compatibility."

Back in the present day, Vespira sighed. "I can only hope that I find a mate like yours one day."

"Yes, how lucky are you?" Xenia added.

She sensed no jealousy from the two females, only admiration. And Azha was glad she had these two Naga to call friends. She'd never had many friends back home, not permanent ones. Her life of slavery had made sure of that.

But she could see Vespira and Xenia being life-long friends, and the thought made her incredibly happy.

"You guys will be at tonight's dinner. Right?"

"We will. Though I'm not sure if we'll be attending as guests. The king will probably just want us there on standby should you need anything."

Azha didn't like the thought of that. She knew they were servants, and she knew they liked their jobs. She didn't want to insult them or anything, but Azha really wanted them to attend the dinner as her friends.

She really wanted their support, for tonight she would be attending a royal dinner and ball to formally announce her and the king's mating. She had yet to meet his court, or really anyone here besides Vespira and Xenia, so she was incredibly nervous.

Gravon hadn't said much of his people's acceptance, so she really didn't know what to expect. And her two friends weren't of much help in that department either, seeing as how they were always with her.

"Maybe I can ask him if you can just attend as guests. Would you be okay with that?"

"Of course! Whatever you want," Xenia said.

Vespira nodded and shot Azha a smile.

"We should probably get you into a bath now. That way your curls are dry by the time we get you ready to go."

"Good idea!"

Azha followed them to her bathroom, where they set up her bath and grabbed her a robe to put on after. Then they left her. She sank into the hot water and let her head rest against the tub.

As Azha was relaxing, she heard the bathroom door open and close, but she didn't open her eyes. She assumed it was one of the girls, who had just forgotten something.

That was until she felt a hand begin snaking down her body. Her eyes shot open to see Gravon.

"You scared me!" she shouted, playfully smacking his hand that was still on her.

"I wanted to come see you before dinner."

The look on his face said everything she needed to know about the mood he was in. His eyes appeared almost glazed over, and he couldn't take them off of her, his gaze drifting lower and lower to take in her naked body.

"Gravon…" she said.

"I did not expect you to be in the bath." His voice came out more like a husky whisper.

Chills ran through her body, and her brain couldn't fight the sensations anymore. It took over her as well, and she felt something she was absolutely sure he was feeling, too. Pure, raging lust.

She needed him now. Nothing could stop her.

Azha's hand caught his as it trailed down her chest. She guided it under the water, straight to her core. She would have him now, right here in this bath. Screw the dinner. They would spend the night here instead.

Just as his fingers touched her, Gravon seemed to snap out of it. He withdrew his hand, an apologetic look taking over his face.

"I'm sorry. I should not have…" He trailed off and shook his head. "We do not have time. And I want it to be right. I want us to wait until tonight."

"Tonight? I can have you tonight?" She didn't care about anything as long as she could have that. As long as it was really going to happen.

"Yes. I promise you, my beautiful mate."

A soft moan escaped her as he caressed her face with a hand.

"Okay," she managed to say. But all she was thinking about was that hand, those fingers, diving inside of her. That mouth tasting her the way it had on the Imperial Nirum.

"Azha…" he murmured, his tone a warning.

"Please," she whispered. She felt like she could cry, she wanted him so badly.

He looked conflicted, but he ultimately stuck to his decision.

"Tonight. We can get through this dinner, and then we will have our fun."

He looked around the bathroom.

"And tomorrow, you are moving into my room. Officially. No more of this separate quarters nonsense."

"I'll get to wake up with you every morning?"

He nodded.

To say things had changed with them since he confessed that they were mates would be an understatement. Azha had wasted no time letting herself fall for him, and she was so deep into it that she couldn't even remember what it was like to not love him.

And she would tell him all of that tonight.

Gravon began backing away from the tub. "I brought you a dress to wear tonight. I will meet you in the hall in a couple of hours when you are prepared."

She nodded, unable to say anything else. If she opened her mouth, she would probably beg him to stay and blow off this dinner.

When he left the room, she blew out a sigh of relief.

"Holy fucking shit," she murmured to herself before letting her head fall back against the tub.

How the hell was she going to get through this dinner?

Azha and Gravon entered the massive dining hall, and the entire room fell silent. Everyone bowed before them and waited until she and the king sat before being seated as well.

"Thank you all for joining my mate and me for dinner tonight," Gravon addressed the room. "And please use this night to give Azha, your future queen, a warm welcome."

Cheers rang out, though she could tell they only came from about half the room.

"You may begin eating." Gravon started the feast with his announcement.

Noise filled the room as guests began talking and clinking glasses. She looked around at all the tables filled with Niri. A lot of them met her eyes, some smiling. Others simply looked away, avoiding her gaze.

"Azha, I'd like to introduce you to Indigon, Azurite, Corallo, and Neptus. They are my closest friends of many years."

"Nice to meet you," she said, and they all bowed their heads to her.

She looked at Vespira and Xenia, who were sitting right next to her. She was grateful that Gravon had allowed them to attend as guests at the last minute.

"Azha, Gravon told us that you were born on Noxxa. How are you enjoying Nirum compared to your home planet?" the one called Neptus asked her.

"I think it's safe to say that I like Nirum a lot more. Everything here is just so unique and beautiful. I can see why the Niri don't allow many outside visitors."

Neptus nodded, satisfied with her answer.

"And who might you two be?" a different Naga asked, his eyes on Vespira and Xenia.

Xenia looked too shy to answer, so Vespira spoke for the both of them.

"I'm Vespira, and this is Xenia. We are friends of Azha's."

Azha was glad that Vespira had not introduced themselves as her servants.

"It appears she is in good company. I'm Azurite, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Azurite," Vespira said. She showed the proper amount of respect, but Azha could tell she was interested in the Naga by the way she eyed him. And judging by how he was staring right back, so was he.

Azha hid her smile and turned to Gravon, who was already watching her with a satisfied expression.

"What should I try first?" she asked him, looking at all the food in front of them.

"Start with this bread. It is unlike any bread on the entire planet."

"You say that about everything," she teased him.

"And have I been wrong yet?"

"No," she admitted.

The eight of them ate their dinner, happily engaging in conversation. It was obvious to her that everyone at the table was accepting of her relationship with the king. But she could still feel some less than approving eyes on her as she ate.

Two hours later, everyone moved from the dining room into the adjacent ballroom. Servants floated around the room on what looked like actual clouds, handing out cocktails.

"Are you okay on your own for a bit?" Gravon asked. "One of my advisors would like a word with me."

"Of course! As long as I can dance with you when you're back."

"You can count on it," he said, placing a kiss on the top of her head before winding through the crowd with another male Naga.

Azha looked around, spotting most of the guests already dancing while some stood around the dance floor, watching and chatting. Vespira and Xenia were nearby, talking to the males they had just had dinner with.

"Cocktail?" a servant asked her. She silently shook her head, and he moved on to someone else.

"She's beautiful," a lady nearby said.

"She is, but what does beauty mean if she cannot carry a clutch and produce an heir?" another Naga replied.

"I completely agree."

Her face went cold. They were talking about her.

She had said something similar to Gravon when he had told her they were mates, and he had assured her it wasn't an issue. But if these Naga were wondering the same thing, maybe he had lied.

Azha turned and walked away, not wanting to hear anything more that could potentially hurt her feelings. She kept walking, not knowing where she was heading.

"Azha?" a voice said.

She turned to see a female Naga she didn't recognize approaching her. The Naga stopped and bowed before closing the rest of the distance.

"I just wanted to come and introduce myself. My name is Hiresa. I live here in the castle. When you officially become queen, I will be one of your advisors."

"Oh, hi! It's nice to meet you, Hiresa."

"You as well, Your Highness."

"Oh, please, just call me Azha."

The female smiled at her. "You will have to get used to it. From the Coronation Day forward, everyone will be required to address you as such."

Azha smiled back. "I know. You're right."

"Oh, it looks like your mate is here to steal you. I will see you again soon." She bowed before disappearing into the crowd.

"May I have this dance?" Gravon asked, holding out a hand.

"Absolutely! But I will warn you, I'm not a very good dancer. I never really learned."

"That is perfectly fine, I don't plan on making you do it for long," he said with a wink.

"Oh?"

She knew exactly what he was alluding to, and she felt her earlier excitement coming back. Azha kept her emotions in check as Gravon spun her around the dance floor, taking the lead.

The king did a great job of making it look like Azha knew what she was doing. She was eternally grateful for that. All day, she had been imagining herself falling or making a fool of herself in front of everyone.

As they danced, she forgot all about what she had overheard from those female Naga. Tonight was not the night for worrying. It was the night for surrendering fully to her fate. To Gravon.

And she was ready.