The Empty Ones (Fantasy Romance)

45. Is this how villains are made?

His eyes are streaked with gold, quite unusual for manab. Underlined with charcoal they are piercing your very soul.

Emperor Alec bin Hadar or house Kadeth is a strong, fearless leader. Handsome without doubt. Some might say a remarkable man. And for me, at this very moment, he is the reason to live.

I don't want to die until I made him suffer at least a bit. I would kill him if I could. If there wasn't that stupid stone bound with my body that makes me his slave.

He now holds the responsibility for two deaths that felt like my reason to live was ripped from me once again. So he became it. So I replaced my desire to live peacefully with the desire for him to hurt as I did.

Nevertheless, if I annoy him now it will only get me punished and that would be quite futile.

I walk back to the cursed alcove and sit down behind the newly wed.

A servant girl approaches with wine to toast for the health and plentiful magical children of the new pair.

This Highness sits with the back to me so I grab a challice, and drop a sip on the floor under the horrified eyes of whoever is looking.

If you don't care anymore about being a good example, be a horrible warning.

The servant girl whispers something again. She's probably afraid I would throw it in her face. Can't say that isn't an option but seemingly nobody bothered to see that I only do such things with a reason, when provoked...

The guests start prosternating in front of the royal couple. It's almost funny how all the wives of the Emperor except the bride are each a picture of a different flavor of disdain.

This time even more foreign guests came to pay their respects. Among them I recognize the Almeidan noble Nadaria is living with and his wife. She is not here this time.

I smother a gasp when Sahin Yatir walks up from the crowd. He is carrying a toddler of a about a star circle. It must be Salma's child. His hair is dark and so is his complexion but he has little copper horns on his forehead and big, golden eyes.

He hopes to make her love him, want him. He is indeed a cute child, and supposedly magical.

"I bid the most sincere congratulations to his Highness the Emperor and his new consort Mahrani Milé of house Betel." Strangely he stretches the name of her house. Something is up there.

It looks as if he lost weight; he is still plump but noticeably leaner. He is... Trying to maker her like him? Well buddy, that won't be easy. She is looking at them and through them at the same time, leaning now with her head on the Emperor's lap.

This is,... disrespectful to his new bride but the Emperor doesn't seem to care. Salma wants to show her husband that she doesn't care. This is so wrong on so many levels.

Well, none of mine business.

Then the child voices a shrill, "Mama?" Pointing at her. He must have told him tonight that it's her.

I wait heart in throat to see what she is going to do.

She doesn't say anything.

"Yes, this is your mama," says Sahib Yatir. "Do you want to go to her?"

No, why are you doing this? You are low key humiliating him showing foreigners that his new concubine has a child with a different man. Yes, some people know but now everyone does including the foreigners.

The child walks on wabbly legs towards them looking expectantly at Salma.

She finally reacts and says, "I am not your mama, little boy. Go back to your father. He is going to take care of you."