Dark Lord (8 page)

“
The
Countess
started a panic about this imaginary alien threat
because she wants an excuse to ally with Rome
,”
Dev
said.
“No person has seen an
Asstrumnian
and none of us know if they even have special abilities.
Those winged creatures that were described may not even exist.”

“We shouldn’t talk about this here.
Meet me outside the
falinn
in a half hour.”

“You should drop the matter entirely,”
Dev
said.
“It would not be wise to meet with me alone.”

Briella
wanted to question him some more,
but
he was right about
the potential for complications.
She just needed to convince him to leave Avenal willingly.
If he was one of the hybrids, then he could not be trusted.
The documents that the
Countess
had shown her appeared authentic and the oracle had an accuracy rate of over ninety percent.
“I expect you to be there.”

Chapter
5
:
Compelled

Dev
ereux walked away from
Briella
, not wanting to draw curious eyes.
The infuriating female wished to meet with him alone and she seemed uncaring of the inappropriateness of the suggestion.
It was absurd to think they could meet alone and maintain a proper distance.
He was beginning to fear that he wasn’t immune to this mating bond business after all.
He was having
urges
, and if they were not careful, he would act on them.
The lady would probably resist at first, but she would succumb by the time he was done with her.
He had already sensed she stayed in a perpetually aroused state, probably from having to go so long without a male’s cock.
It was well known that the Countess never allowed her ladies to take pleasure from a male’s body.
They were only allowed to indulge during a Mating Period, which occurred every five years.
The
matings
would be arranged by their families and the ladies would not get the privilege of choosing their
studs.
In some harems, the mistress was not so strict with the ladies, but Nefertiti was too self-absorbed to care about anyone’s pleasure but her own.
He sensed that
Briella
had needs that she could barely control.
He could ensure
her
willingness and her fear for her life would assure her discretion.
He could take her body repeatedly, in all areas of the mansion and in hidden corners of the woods.
They would have frequent recurring bouts of sexual intercourse.
He would ignore the rigid regulations imposed on sexual positions and he would take her like a whore, with her body stretched beneath him
or positioned in such a way that he could enter her from behind.
If she balked at the idea of surrendering to his deviant ways, he would use persuasive maneuvers.
One look would be all it would take to gain her compliance,
thanks to his alien nature.
She would learn not to fuck with a hybrid.

It was a nice fantasy to hold in the back of his mind, but he couldn’t allow it to ever take hold in reality.
Should he start an affair, it would only lead to disaster for both of them.
Eventually they would be caught and Nefertiti would execute
Briella
.
He would be evicted from the harem and would have to face his mother’s wrath.
If she stayed true to her promise to him, he would have his penis and balls removed by a sharp blade and he would be forced to live the rest of his life as a eunuch.

He joined his uncles and listened to their conversation, trying to get his mind off sex.
He thought of the bizarre statue
on display and he played the words about it in his mind.
Nefertiti had spoken of the oracle when voicing her end of the world theories.
He
was familiar with the
palace
oracle.
The
Queen
based many of her decisions on the
oracle’s
prophesies.
However, he did not
believe that any alien invasion was in his future, nor did he believe that the
Asstrumnians
were a threat.
He had been
learning
as much as he could about them, and
all sources indicated that the people preferred to stay in their isolated territories.
The brief run-in with the three hybrids outside Pembroke was a unique occurrence, unlikely to happen again unless those particular hybrids came back to retrieve
Helsina
.
He didn’t think they would return.

“What did Nefertiti’s sister wish to speak with you about?” Carrick asked.

“Her job as safety officer is going to her head.
She thinks I am some sort of threat to Avenal.
She wants to speak with me further about it.
She plans to meet with me alone,”
Dev
said.

“That Avenal sister is a problem,” Carrick said.
“She has no right to ask personal questions
of
any member of
the
Queen
’s family.
Do not meet with her.
Let Caspar and I meet with her instead.”

“I’ll meet with her,”
Dev
said.
“She’s not going to stop hounding me until I do.
Let me handle the matter on my own.”

“Very well, but we will have a talk with her if she
dares to
attack your character.”

***

A half hour later,
Dev
met
Briella
outside the
falinn
.
“
For someone promoted to safety officer, you’re not using good judgment
.
We shouldn’t be meeting here.”

Briella
didn’t waste time arguing with him.
He was actually right about this meeting being a bad idea.
She knew she wasn’t being cautious and her judgment was lacking.
Even knowing this, she persisted in meeting with him alone.
She wanted to get him alone, needed to get him alone.
It wasn’t purely for sexual reasons.
What she needed to discuss with him had to remain private.
She
gestured for him to follow her and she led him to a small room down the
hallway.
She let him inside and closed the door behind her.
“We will not be disturbed here.
I agree with you that talk of hybrids should be done without an audience, especially since you may very well fall into that hybrid category.
If you are a hybrid, then you would endanger us all.
I ask that you leave voluntarily.”

“So you would rather pass this danger along to a poor unsuspecting territory?”

“
My responsibility is to Avenal, not to all of
Flourda
.
”
Briella
walked deeper into the room.
“You admit that you are dangerous?”

Dev
followed her.
“I may be dangerous.
Perhaps you
a
re a fool to
have
invite
d
me here, especially if you are convinced that I am one of those alien creatures that ravish females.
Is that not what the
Countess
said, that hybrid beasts would ravage the land?
And you invited one to meet with you alone.
What was your intention?”

She
could not picture him as one of those ravaging beasts.
She had felt it would be safe to meet with him alone, but now she was starting to have doubts.
“I thought we could have a rational conversation about it and you would agree to leave Avenal.
”

“And if I do not, what will you do then?”

She hadn’t thought that far ahead, as she had assumed he would listen to her and comply.
“I’ll continue to monitor the situation.
I’ll have to monitor it extremely closely and very regularly.
You really wouldn’t like it.”

“You may need me around if the hybrid aliens actually invade.
I
could offer
you
more protection than a Roman army.
The Romans would exact a heavy price for their protection, likely enslavement.
”

“You could very well side with the
hybrid
s.”
She
knew that allying with the
Asstrumnians
could provide him with some
benefits that the
Flourdans
would not grant, such as wealth and land.

He crossed his arms and looked at her with unwavering directness.
“I am as
Flourdan
as you.”

“
Flourdans
cannot control people with their minds.”
She paced around the room
, feeling agitated and anxious.
She had witnessed the male manipulating Nefertiti with his mind more than once, the last being his successful attempt to convince her that he had performed at the circus
.
It may seem like a minor feat, but to her, the implications were troubling.
Small events tended to escalate into larger ones.
Just look at Nefertiti herself, going from a woman with sexual peculiarities to a murderous monster.
Dev
could start out doing minor hybrid tricks, and in
hardly any amount of time, he could easily
wind up
taking complete control of the harem.
He could command others to do his bidding and none of them would even know that he was the one
pulling the strings.
Would things really be worse if he was in control of things?
She pushed that wayward thought far from her conscious mind.
She couldn’t afford to let her mind take that path, the path to betrayal and destruction.
She had a responsibility to the house of Avenal and an Avenal needed to be the one in control.
That person by rights was Nefertiti.
“Tell me the truth about yourself.
I need to know what you are capable of doing
.
I need you to show me what you can do and explain how it is not dangerous.”