Match Made in HeVan (8 page)

The transfer back to the palace went well, and Malpha ate the evening meal in her own bed. Wanting to be alone with his wife, he sent GemMa off. After eating, she became sleepy, so Ben let her curl up and get the rest she needed. Carrying the tray out of the room, he put it in the hallway, then went to speak with Thors and BianCa. Knocking on the door to their suite, he entered when Thors opened the door.

“Come in, Majesty, BianCa and I were just viewing the messenger reports on the KowLer communication channel. She wanted to catch up on worldwide events,” he said.

“When we’re private, please call me Ben. I wanted to talk to you about the attack on the estate. Do you think we have all our traitors now? Do you think the traitors you caught were connected to RubEn’s betrayal?” he asked.

He gave his sister a smile and sat down on one of the comfortable seats in her lounge.

BianCa turned off the viewer using the remote. Putting it down on the low table in front of her, she stood.

“I’ll leave you two to your discussions. I’m going to take a long bath. Unless Malpha needs me?” she asked.

“Malpha is already asleep. She needs the rest so she can heal,” Ben said as he stood to give his sister a hug.

“Part of that is the baby. Growing a life takes a lot of energy,” she said, hugging him back.

Just before she reached the door, she looked back at her husband. “Don’t be too long, I’ve missed having you with me.”

Thors nodded to her, his eyes heated with lust and pride. She was so beautiful, rounded with their babe. Like the other women of KowLer, she was getting close to term. He thought the way she waddled across the room was adorable.

“Call for me when you want to leave the bath. I don’t want you to slip and hurt yourself.” He didn’t turn back to Ben until BianCa had given her agreement.

“Malpha gave BianCa and me a bottle of Seraphian brandy. Would you like to try it? On HeVan, it’s very hard to come by,” he said.

“After that build up, I’ll have to try it,” Ben said with a smile.

“I sent you the images. What more do you want to know?” Thors asked.

He found some crystal brandy glasses and placed a warmer around them. Opening a locked cabinet, he took out a dark bottle with a faded label. He poured a couple of ounces of the dark liquor into each goblet. Corking the bottle, he locked it back into the cabinet and carried the drinks back to the seating area.

“Why did you allow the men to get even that close to the estate? Why didn’t you take them earlier?” he asked, lifting up the goblet to smell the aroma coming out of the glass.

He lifted it and took a small taste. The flavors burst through his mouth and warmth spread through his body as he swallowed. It was glorious¯ambrosia to the taste buds. He looked at Thors and saw the same euphoria
reflected in his friend’s eyes. Neither of them spoke for the next little while. They each lay back, drank and relaxed. It had been a long tense day and the brandy helped them push aside their worries for a time.

A call from the other room broke their silent reveries. Thors got up to help BianCa from the bath and as he did, Ben sat up straighter. That was powerful stuff. He heard some giggling from the other room and then silence. He was interrupting his sister’s reunion with her husband and part of him felt he should leave. But the other part of him knew that protection of his wife and his people was paramount. If there were more traitors and betrayers, they needed to be rooted out.

Thors reentered the lounge and hoped the brandy had done its job and mellowed the king. He didn’t want the man to go off in a rage when he learned the full truth of what had occurred. Oh, well, it was no use second guessing; it was best to get it over with.

“I wasn’t there to take the men because, like you, I hadn’t thought of the possibility there were more traitors. Or that they would make an attempt on the females. Even the duke, at his most evil, hadn’t tried to kill any on KowLer until he acted on the Nephilim ship. No, it was Malpha. She is older and has much more experience in plots and strategies. She analyzed the terrain and knew exactly where they would strike. She approached a few of the women and they built and placed the traps. When the first trap was sprung, she was alerted. She contacted me to come in and do the clean-up. She didn’t want to disturb the women.”

There, he’d said it. Now he would see how the king took this news. Thors looked at Ben with a wary eye.

“I ought to beat her! How dare she take such risks? If there had been more men… All those women could have been seriously hurt or even killed,” he ranted.

He got up and paced back and forth. Thors didn’t try to say anything, he just let Ben get the fear out of his system. Because that’s what this was: a belated fear of losing his wife, his queen, his everything. After a bit, he started chuckling. His laughter startled Thors, who decided the king was losing it.

“Ben?” he asked.

“I’m going to have to stay alert for the rest of my life, aren’t I? It’s finally starting to sink in. When you look at her, you see a beautiful young woman. I have to remember she’s so much more than that. It’s hard for me to comprehend all she must have seen and accomplished in her long life. How can I live up to that?” He sat back down, suddenly dejected.

“By remembering all you have given her that she never had before. A real home, acceptance and, most importantly, love. You are the only one who has loved her in her long life. Many admire her, many fear her. You are the only one who loves her. You’ve given her a child. The first of many, I hear,” he said with a chuckle of his own. “Keep showing her your love and acceptance and everything will be fine.”

Ben thought about what Thors had said and what he hadn’t said, too.

“Malpha has a plan. I think we’re going to implement it. We need to empower the women of the KowLer, change our culture. We’ve stopped growing as a people and our empire will fall if we do not change. Our females need to understand their worth. That’s what Malpha’s plan to take the women away was all about. Not to let the men know exactly how hard our females work, and to gain the appreciation of the men. She also wanted the women to realize their own sense of achievement. After all, just as we had to get along without them, they had to get along without us,” he said to Thors.

“And that is the biggest fear the men of KowLer have to face. When the men finally realize the women don’t really need us, will they still want us? The females of the KowLer have been oppressed for a very long time. We will have to take care that no resentments are formed and the scale doesn’t tip over in the other direction,” Thors replied.

Seeing they both needed it, he went back and got the bottle of brandy.

“She’s thought of that, too. She doesn’t want to turn KowLer into another HeVan. She believes we need more balance and sharing amongst our people. She truly is the most amazing woman,” Thors said, taking another slow sip of the brandy. “We have the rest of our lives to figure this out. Go home to your wife. I’m sure she’d appreciate your warmth and having you nearby. She might not say anything, but I’m sure she’s feeling a little fear. The attack was just today and she’s all alone,” Thors added.

“You’re right. I really don’t want to be away from her, either. We’ll talk more tomorrow.” Finishing his brandy, Ben got up and saying goodnight to Thors, he left.

Thors walked back to the bedroom. He’d kissed his wife and promised her he’d get rid of the king within fifteen minutes. He had two minutes to spare. Putting his brandy goblet down on the bedside table, he started to remove his clothes.

“BianCa, I’m back,” he said.

Lifting the covers, he slid in and reached over for her. He was disappointed but not surprised to find her asleep. Holding her close, he followed her into sleep, one hand resting on the swell of her abdomen.

Ben walked back into his own suite and entered the bedroom quietly, in case Malpha was asleep. After what Thors had said, he wasn’t surprised to find her lying in bed awake. She tried to hide the small jump she made when he came into the light.

“I was hoping you would be sleeping, you need your rest,” he said.

She looked at him, letting him see the love in her eyes. “I need you more.”

Taking off his clothes, he climbed into the bed and gently nestled her into his arms.

“Let’s both rest. I haven’t rested well since you’ve been gone. I think we’ll both sleep better tonight, now that we’re together again.”

“Yes,” was all she said, slipping into sleep.

Ben realized she had been keeping herself awake, afraid to fall asleep and make herself vulnerable. He’d never had bodyguards within the palace walls. But the recent events gave him the excuse to assign them. It would give them both peace of mind. That was his last thought as he allowed himself to drift off.

Malpha woke to intense feelings of pleasure coursing through her body. Ben lay under the covers and between her thighs. His talented tongue was licking and flicking against her clit as his fingers moved in and out of her body. An orgasm rolled through her body. Reaching down, she tugged on his hair.

“Good morning,” he said with a smile, her juices glistening his lips.

“Good morning, are you going to let me return the favor?” she asked in a slightly breathless voice, he was still stroking her with his hand. Another orgasm rolled through her.

Smiling, he pulled his hand away, got out of the bed, and returned with a cloth.

“After you’re fully recovered,” he said, cleaning her up.

She gave him a pout but didn’t push too hard. She didn’t want to risk worsening her injury and hurting the baby, especially when she’d had to argue and leave the hospital to come home.

“I’ll let you get away with this for now. But when I’m fully healed, I’m planning on going into a frenzy of my own,” she said.

“I look forward to it,” he said, giving her a kiss.

Before the kiss could get out of hand, the inter-palace communicator signaled. Stepping away from the bed, he pulled on a robe as he crossed the room to answer it. After his low voiced conversation, he came back and began dressing.

“Glynnis has arrived with her
Ankida
. I’m going to ask BianCa and Thors to keep you company as I go to the shuttle station to pick them up,” he said.

“Thank you, Ben. I’m glad they arrived today. I haven’t forgotten it’s your feast day. If I promise to stay in bed all day, would you allow me to attend the festivities?” she asked.

“We’ll see. Perhaps we can carry your lounging couch into the banquet hall,” he mused.

He was rewarded with her smile. She saw he’d had a plan in mind all along. She held her happiness close as she slowly got up to go into the cleansing chamber. She was in the shower when she heard BianCa call out. Answering her call, it didn’t take long before BianCa entered the room. With her help, Malpha was able to dry off. Her choker and chains had been lying on the bedside table, just where she had left them. Her expanding belly had made it impossible to wear the middle chain but she had BianCa help her with the other two. Then she dressed in some of her new perilo and a long flowing gown with a scooped neck. BianCa called Thors in to carry her to her lounge. She was tired again.

Lying against the slanted backrest of her couch, her long hair flowing over her shoulder and down her body like a sleek river, surrounded by soft pillows, she lounged and carefully took bites of the fruit, cheese, and dimplos. When Ben entered the room, he was reminded of another day some months back when she looked very much the same. The only difference was the glow to her skin and the roundness of the babe in her belly. He waved Glynnis and her
Ankida
into the room and then excused himself to shower and shave.

“Malpha! Honey, you look beautiful!” Glynnis said, rushing across the room to give her a hug. “Now don’t you try to get up. Ben filled us in on what’s been happening. You poor thing. Well, nothing else will happen if I have anything to say about it. How anyone can attack a pregnant woman…” she went on and on. Obviously, she was very upset.

“Glynnis, I’m going to be fine. Really, the baby and I are doing very well. Now catch me up on all the news. All the babies have been born now, haven’t they?” she asked, hoping to distract the woman. It worked.

Glynnis spent the next two hours talking about her great-granddaughters and all the other women and their children. She didn’t talk about what was happening politically on HeVan and for that, Malpha was relieved. She needed to separate herself. It would be too easy. If Addie needed her help, she was available.

Glynnis and BianCa stayed with Malpha, they were joined for periods of time by many of the other women of the palace who had become friends with the queen. Malpha could see there were now warriors guarding the doors to their suite. In the afternoon, she took a nap at Ben’s insistence. Glynnis and her
Ankida
, Rale, Rufan, and Recca, got settled in the rooms where they would be staying.

By the time everyone was ready for the evening meal, the palace was alive with excitement. Her uncles and Thors each took a corner of her lounging couch and carried her into the banquet hall while Ben walked along side, Glynnis and BianCa following behind. She was impressed with all the red and white decorations. She was crying happy tears at the roar of welcome she received by the people as they entered the room together.

A special platform had been built next to the high table. When her lounger was placed on it, she was raised high enough to look out over the table and at the whole of the room. A small triangular table jutted out from the head table with her lounge alongside it. Ben’s chair was on the other side of the point. She wouldn’t have far to reach for her food. They had thought of everything.

“Everything is decorated so beautifully,” exclaimed Glynnis.

“We’re having a feast day,” explained Ben.

The food was being delivered so Glynnis proceeded to her chair next to her
Ankida
. And the meal progressed. At the end of the meal, other members of the palace entered the hall, including all the servants and other workers.

Ben pulled a folded piece of paper from a pocket in his leather vest and handed it to his wife. He’d struggled for hours over what to write and then finally just wrote what was in his heart. Later, when they were alone, he’d give her the other gift he’d had made. He’d had an extension made for her middle chain, as well as some other new toys. For now, he waited for her to read her note. Opening the paper, she read the words.

I love you.

Forever,

Ben.

She kept the tears from falling with extreme control. She looked up into his face, a face that had become so dear to her in such a short time, she loved him so much.

“I love you, Ben, forever,” she said back to him.

Down the table, Glynnis noticed men and women sitting around the room giving and getting notes at a signal given to them by the king. She turned to BianCa, who was sitting on her right.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“Ben learned of a holy man from your Earth from a story Grace gave to Malpha. He has declared it to be a feast day on KowLer for this man,” BianCa explained.

“Oh, which holy man was this?” she wondered. There were so many.

“Saint Valentine, I believe he’s called,” said BianCa.

Glynnis looked around the room again and saw that many of the men and women were embracing and even kissing. Looking back to the king, she saw the small table had been removed and he was busy kissing his queen.