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She would return to the families with a ratified contract and it was scanned, and for a few who requested it, it was copied by hand in her quiet evenings.

For the copies, her scribe seal was set into the wax on the bottom corner. It was a handwritten copy by the Imperial Scribe, and while the official document went into public archives, this was something to have in the new family home.

Nexica shook her head at her. “Why do you work on those late into the night?”

“It doesn’t take long, and for the new couple to have more than a scanned copy gives them something to smile at in the hall and point at during their fights.”

“Why do you care?”

Ari set down her pen and leaned back. “You are the first one who has asked.”

Nexica sat when Ari indicated that she take a seat.

“I was born to two parents at the end of their fertility. My mother was forty-five and my father fifty-five when I came into the world. Calm play was encouraged, and I grew up seeking my entertainment in books and my focus for writing was given to me by my mother.”

She cleared her throat. “My father died at the age of seventy-five and my mother followed him into death. They had spent their lives together and could not live apart.”

Nexica reached for her hand and paused.

Ari gripped the extended hand. “My parents left me enough money to pursue my passion for calligraphy, and I am happy that they went together as I never saw them apart. I was able to leave my world because there was no one left. My aunts and uncles were already gone, my parents were gone, and because I had grown up in a situation with folks so much older than myself, I never got the hang of dealing with those of my own age. The writing, the pen work, gave me a connection to the past, to my parents that I still have every time I put pen to parchment.”

“So when you write the marriage contracts…”

“I am with my parents once again, doing what they taught me to do.”

Nexica sat back. “Do not think me forward, but do you have an interest in the emperor?”

“He appears to have an interest in me, but yes, I do find him fascinating and pleasant to look at.”

“He’s a good man.”

“Why did he and his lover fall out?”

Nexica leaned forward, her orange eyes alight. “She was pursuing marriage, and he had entered into the relationship with the caveat that marriage was not possible. She was from a noble house, and he would not unbalance the empire by giving favour to her family’s house.”

Her attraction to him came down with a thud. “That is why the emperors always marry aliens. No political ties.”

“Precisely. His father and grandfather made excellent matches. Their wives were useful and assets to the community.”

Nexica turned her hand under Ari’s. “His family chooses good women. It is something that no one can doubt.”

“Is everyone here used to the ruling family being elementals?”

“It is the way it has always been. They keep our environment stable and we keep them in power.” Nexica smiled.

“It seems fair. Does the emperor ever leave Hredu?”

“No. He remains here to keep us strong, protected and breathing our own air. Air only moves on Hredu by the will of the emperor.”

Nexica pulled back, but they were still connected by their moment.

“Where did the Guardians come from?”

Nexica shrugged. “Not all the emperors waited until they were married to begin having children. Their sons and daughters could not inherit, but they did carry the genes for the next generation to develop skills that bolstered the empire. They would not work for their father, but they did work with his brother, and he gave them appropriate positions of authority and respect.”

Ari chuckled. “That is the sort of thing they don’t show on the history reels.”

Ari put her tools away and clipped her kit closed with the table covered with drying parchments.

Nexica giggled and went to turn down Ari’s bed.

Ari followed her, working at her hands. “Can you manage to get me up half an hour early? I want to set those seals before I leave.”

Nexica winked. “Yes, lady.”

Ari shrugged off her robe and slid into the sheets. A good night’s sleep was all she needed.

The shout brought her upright in bed. She didn’t wake up easily, so it was not the first shout; that she was sure of.

Ari slipped out of bed and crept to her kit, bringing out the knife she kept there for emergencies.

The thuds and shouts continued outside her door, so she moved to the far corner of the room behind the vid screen, next to the door, and she formed up as still as possible. Her back was to the wall and her knife was at the ready.

When the door broke open, she froze and held her breath. A fight was tumbling into her quarters and she stood back and watched as her guards were overpowered. The mercy seemed to be that they seemed to want to immobilize her guards rather than kill them. The men were still twitching on the ground when the six attackers eased into the bedroom with knives raised.

Ari moved around the edge of the space and headed for the door. She ran into the hall and sprinted through the silent palace with her feet pattering on the marble.

One place she would be safe, one place she thought she had a chance was the gardens.

* * * *

A knock on his door brought Usorn out of his dreams. “Emperor?”

“Yes, Kloss?”

“There has been a disturbance in the scribe’s quarters. Her door has been shattered.”

Usorn roared in fury, blasting his windows wide and flying around the palace to the wall where Ariadne’s quarters were. He flexed his hand and ripped open her bedroom wall, from a distance. The men in her room froze when they saw him and were soon crushed against the walls.

Usorn walked into the empty room and saw no blood on her bedding. He walked toward her guards and helped them sit up. “Where is she?”

Jumic whispered one word and Usorn nodded. “Medical attention is on the way.”

“What about the others?”

“They do not need it.”

Arol nodded and sighed with relief as he clutched his ribs.

Usorn walked through the blood-spattered bedroom and flew out toward the gardens.

* * * *

With her knife at the ready, she got as far into the spiral as she could. She crept into the flowers and hid in their sweet scent.

She kicked herself at her cowardice. The panic that had gripped her had been all consuming. The gardens were the only safe place she could think of that she could access from the palace halls.

She felt the caress of wind, and the flowers above her head swayed. She could see a pair of feet and a set of legs almost as dark as the night from her crouched position.

The flowers above her moved, and she cried out as fear rippled through her. They eased apart and she was exposed to the evening air.

“Easy, Ariadne. You are safe. Your guards are being treated.” Usorn came toward her with his hands open at his sides. He was naked, but she ignored that in favour of the calming look in his eyes.

“What about those men?”

“They are no longer a threat to you. We will open an inquiry in the morning. Tonight, you are coming with me.”

She blinked. “I just want to sleep in my own bed.”

“That will not be possible. Come here, you are cold.”

She stood, and her thin gown rippled around her in the phantom wind.

“You brought a knife?”

“I keep one in my kit for slicing parchment.”

She took cautious steps toward him with the blade held flat against her thigh.

“Do you know how to use it?”

Ari shrugged. “I have had training, but I don’t know that I would be able to use it.”

“That needs to be remedied. Come now and I will get you into a warm bath and a safe bed.”

It sounded wonderful. She walked the few paces between them, and he took the knife from her, firing it into the dirt next to the flowers. “We will get it tomorrow.”

He lifted her in his arms and cuddled her against his chest.

Relief at feeling safe swept through her, and she pressed her head to his shoulder as they moved through the air.

“You can fly?”

He chuckled. “Sort of. I lift myself upward against the ground and use a hold on other objects to pull myself along.”

They soared around to the private wing of the palace. Doors to the balcony stood open, and he landed on the pathway, heading into the chamber. The doors closed and locked behind them.

“I will run you a bath. Your legs are a little grimy.” He chuckled.

Her hair was probably also a nightmare, but she didn’t mention that.

She looked down at her feet and had to admit that the red and brown dirt smeared with the green of the plants was apparent. “The most colourful I will be around here.”

He chuckled and carried her into a bathing room that made hers look like a kiddie pool.

“I like the natural tones of your skin. Your hair is a bit of a surprise. I thought it was much shorter. I will have to adjust my fantasies.”

The pool began to steam gently, but he directed her to a shower first. He set her on her feet and lifted the gauzy nightgown up and over her head.

He adjusted the temperature of the water and coaxed her into the projection of water. He threaded his fingers through her hair and pulled out bits of plant matter.

She hadn’t expected him to help her, but he pulled out the branches, twigs and leaves before kneeling with her under the spray and sliding his hands over her legs to rinse away the mud and green.

His crest of dark hair sank slightly under the spray of water. She swayed and steadied herself on his shoulders as he worked up her body with even strokes of his hands.

She didn’t know what she wanted to say, didn’t know what she needed to say, but when he stood and kissed her, her mind went blissfully blank.

The water rained over them, and she went up on her toes, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing herself against him.

Those men had come to kill her tonight, and while she kicked herself for the reflex, she was holding on to the one man who could actually defend her. It didn’t hurt that he was handsome, charming, friendly and seemed to find her sexually attractive if the hot bar of his erection was anything to go by.

He lifted her against him, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He shut the shower off and carried her out to the huge pool while his lips worked her into a frenzy.

When he jumped into the pool, she was surprised and they separated. Ari got to her feet, spluttering, and he was standing there with his arms crossed.

“I don’t want you coming to me because you are in an unstable frame of mind.”

She pawed her hair out of her eyes and glared at him. “Fine.”

The dousing had changed her mood and the coursing of adrenaline had turned her from sweet surrender to outright aggression. She waded toward him and glared up into his eyes. “Get down here, Usorn.”

Smirking, he leaned forward, and she held his neck with one hand while stroking his cock with the other. Her kiss was more of a bite as she nipped his lips. When he gasped, she thrust her tongue inside and tasted him.

He groaned, and soon, they were moving together with slick caresses under the water and duelling tongues above.

She felt the jerk of his length in her hand and smiled. The smile turned to a gasp when a hand that wasn’t there parted her thighs and slid into her. She leaned back and scowled at him. “Cheating!”

They rose out of the bath together; his hands on her waist and breast had a good grip. Towels swathed them from the side, and he chuckled. “There are advantages to having this particular talent.”

She stepped away from him and dried her hair with brisk strokes. “Nexica is going to freak out that she wasn’t here to brush my hair straight.”

Ari watched his muscles bunch and flex as he dried himself from head to toe. It was fun to watch.

She blotted at her own skin and folded the towel when she was done with it.

He took the towel out of her hands and led her to the bedroom. The bed was large enough that they needn’t come into contact with each other, but that wasn’t her intent.

He paused and tapped his ear twice. “I have Scribe Longway and she is safe.”

He tapped it once, and then, his attention was fully on her once again. “Now, what was it that I said in the baths to make you jump at me?”

Ari chuckled. “I believe it boiled down that you wanted me to want you for you, not for plucking me out of the flowers.”

“Yes, that. Pretend I just said it again.” He waggled his brows.

She walked up to him and stroked the crest of his hair, locking her hands behind his head and pulling his mouth to hers.

Warm hands caressed her back, breasts and belly in restless circles. When the cool hand parted her thighs again, she lifted her right leg to his thigh and wrapped herself around him.

She gripped his shaft with one hand and slowly pumped it, swirling her thumb in the slick precum that she was coaxing out and using his lubrication to ease her hand over him again and again.

He groaned against her lips, and she used him for balance as his internal caresses widened and went deeper with every stroke.

Ari whimpered in relief when he finally took over. She wasn’t used to doing all the work, but she had hopefully convinced Usorn that she wanted him.

He eased her onto her back and came down on top of her. He shifted his hips until the head of his cock was pressing against her. He pressed in, and she skidded backward, a startled giggle coming out of her.

Usorn looked grim, and he gripped her hips, moving inward at a slow pace. He rocked against her in tiny increments until he was able to press into her more fully.

Ari focused on relaxing and enjoying the feeling of him inside her. It was a strange mix of hot and cold, but ever so delightful.

To help him out, she slipped her forearms behind his biceps and pulled him toward her, giving him an anchor point.

He eased back and into her in a rhythm that soon went from being a struggle to a delightful burst of sensation with every inward surge.