Abyss - Book Five of the Alpha Series - MxM

Chapter 16

Tonic and Stefan enter, followed by Haryek and Kymil, the familiar faces begin to fill in the gaps among the royalty that I will now be calling my allies. Costel has a rather interesting prosthetic leg that almost resembles a real one, if the flesh were made of wood. I can't help but be amused by Tomas's fascination with the fake limb. 

Penelope is one of the last to enter, walking with Ana, dressed in a thinner set of armour that looked much less masculine than Roksana's. They sit close to me as my guests rather than part of the entourage of assembled members that will make up the governing body of this nation.

 Where I can tell my dukes and earls feel somewhat uneasy with the amount of warrior presence, I haven't felt this safe since I've arrived. My gaze shifts to the House Lords, who seem to be eyeing my lycan muscle, and I allow them to gawk, crossing one leg over the other with a heavy sigh. It was a good time for a flex of strength, I remind myself. 

"Sit beside me," I tell my warlord firmly, gesturing to the chair nobody had dared to take. "You loom over me like a wraith."

"It's harder to defend you seated." He tells me under his breath, an edge to his tone. Glancing upward, I give little away to any empathy for his cause, and reluctantly, he sits down with a hard thump into the chair. His broad shoulders fill the space, and he reclines onto his elbow, pressing his fist to his cheek.

Mr.Balan takes his seat beside Haryek.

 Verando's expression gives nothing away. 

I try to mirror the stone image of complete indifference that he is so capable of. Almost without thinking, my hand slides under the table to rest on his knee. I almost feel silly for the quiet display of endearment, but he casually stretches and rests his hand over mine. 

"Stop smiling." He exhales without a glance.

"I'm not smiling," I grumble back. "I'm being polite." 

He makes an amused sound, and casually, his hand drags mine towards his inner thigh. I retract my limb in offense and grit my teeth at the stares and eyebrow raises it gets me. "You're a horrible person." I scowl through my smile.

He doesn't respond, though he does recline back and cross one arm over his chest, resting his other hand thoughtfully over his chin to hide the boyish grin with a pensively placed finger. I want to kick him, but the Master of Ceremonies calls for order and proceeds with the roll call, naming each person and their affiliates for the court to become familiar with. 

It seems almost like school, with a name and a face to go with a small tidbit of information that's supposed to make you like someone, only it's no longer pretend. As we examine the provided governing body, I can only conclude that it is horrendously underqualified, with all its notable accomplishments serving only to benefit family lines and secure taxes.

For a nation to procure wealth, they would do, but to make decisions as far as bringing us into the future? I struggled to think we would fare well if this lot had their say. 

 Each of my company's accomplishments brings more unease, and the civilians begin to realize they are outnumbered; I let the tension rise. I want them to fear what would happen if they tried to kill me again.

An older man is the first to speak, General Carrus, one of the newly appointed leaders of the growing civilian army. "I think I speak for everyone, Your Grace, when I thank you for your service to this country and to this cause. Without you, we would truly be lost to ourselves and this disease Corina so wrongfully spread." 

I nod, waiting for the bad that comes when a man wears such an expression. 

"There is talk amongst the other commanding officers about magical backing when it comes to fighting the Empire? Are we to be expected to stand without reinforcement?"