The Last Vhalgenn: Colonies of Man by Kayelle Allen #SciFi #Fantasy #Romance

Such a ridiculous truth #Excerpt from The Last Vhalgenn #DarkFantasy #MFRWhooks

Updated on 06/23/2024 by Kayelle Allen

In this scene, Raik and King Orix are in her chamber. She's confessed that she's embarrassed by her own hands, which are so unlike the beautiful queen's.

Such a ridiculous truth

"I love you, Vhalgenn." When I tried to turn away, Orix set the tip of a finger beneath my chin and lifted my face. "And your hands. Why do they bother you so much?"

"Because they'll never be pretty." I pressed my lips shut, hating my own mouth for telling him such a ridiculous truth.

He set his fingers beneath my chin, and turned my face up to his. "You're more than pretty. You're magnificent. She's never once sat near the fire with me and talked."

It had been our nightly ritual. "Never?"

"Never." He brushed my hair back from my face. "I've learned to get along with her, Vhalgenn, but I never had to learn anything with you. We grew up with one another. You were my partner in everything I did. My lover, my shield-sister, my sparring partner, my best friend. My everything."

His mouth came down on mine. A feverish chill coursed through me at his touch. I'd wanted his mouth from the moment I saw him on that throne. Orix could not help but be languid and sultry and hot. Desire emanated from him like heat from an open oven. It scorched my face and I drew in a shallow breath, afraid of being burnt.

Resisting him was something I had never done, except in play. He thought I meant it that way now and made as if to pressure me, until he saw my eyes were brimming.

"Please, Orix. Don't." I pushed myself away from him. "I can't."

He frowned, confused. For him, life was simple. A need? Fulfill it. Thirsty? Drink. Hungry? Eat. Lusty? Love.

"Half the palace must know I'm here. Do you think Dahr will let this go unnoticed? She'll have someone in here to check on me before the night's through and I won't be thrown out again, Orix. I couldn't bear it."

"Vhalgenn, I promise. She'll never know."

"No!" I backed away from him. "She's no fool. She's your queen and she's risking her life to have your child. The least you can do is be faithful."

The look of horror on his face tore out a piece of my heart. Then I realized he was looking past me.

His pregnant queen stood in the darkness, right outside the door.

Characters mentioned on this page might be found in multiple books in my story universe. Download a printable book list and check them off as you read.

~ Copyright ©2024 Kayelle Allen. All rights reserved ~ Kayelle Allen participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates program, an affiliate advertising program which provides the means for sites to earn fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com. If you purchase an item listed on the site from Amazon.com, Kayelle will earn a small commission. Other sites might be affiliate links as well. These will not result in higher prices for you. Thank you for your support!

To experience art, sci-fi, romance, and space opera with unstoppable, unshakeable, unforgettable characters so real you'll swear you've met them, join me on Ream Stories!

Posted in Gates of Life | Tagged Colonies of Man, Dark Fantasy, Gates of Life, Orix, Raik, The Last Vhalgenn | 6 Replies

“What’s wrong this time?” #Excerpt from The Last Vhalgenn #DarkFantasy #MFRWhooks

Updated on 06/19/2024 by Kayelle Allen

Freshly bathed and sitting by the fire with food, Raik unwinds a bit. She'd slipped earlier and insulted his queen. Understandable, since Raik and Orix grew up together and had been lovers for many years before his marriage—and Raik's banishment.

What's wrong this time?

Orix stood and went to the fire, hands held out to the flames.

"There's enough for four people." I broke off a hunk of crusty black bread. "Come share."

He returned, nibbling while I gulped, but said little. At last, hunger satisfied and body clean, I leaned back in the chair and lifted a goblet, watching the fire through the deep red wine.

"I'm sorry, Orix. You know. About Dahr. I didn't mean to hurt. You mean more to me than anyone alive."

He folded his arms and stared into the fire. "I need her Raik. As much as I needed you."

Needed? I choked back words that anguish hurried to mind. I was as much his chattel as any of his horses. No person could own another, but I was still his, given to him at birth. Why should it hurt if he treated me as such?

"She's in danger of losing the baby."

"Again?" There had been a miscarriage four months after their marriage. "What's wrong this time?" I poured more wine.

"Some woman thing. Her doctors fuss around her bed all day. It's been weeks and she still has to stay on her back. I can't even see her. All her doctors are from Kellindahr. I don't think she trusts ours."

"This child is crucial, Orix. You need an heir to both lands. If it helps for her to have her own people around her, so much the better."

"Aye." He rambled on about a rallying point and the Kellindahrii people's love for their queen, while I mused over how much time would be lost begetting another heir. It struck me that if Dahr was abed she hadn't met Orix's needs. My throat tightened when I thought of him sleeping alone. I dared not look at the over-sized bed we'd so often shared. Nor did I look straight at him, afraid my rampant feelings would show. There was a war to finish. I'd been foolish to bring the dispatch. Being this close to him...

I flung myself out of the chair and stalked, stiff-legged and sore, over to the fireplace and leaned my head against the mantle.

Let him go! He's the king. You're a soldier. He'll never be yours. Don't lose your heart over him. Don't do it. Not again.

Characters mentioned on this page might be found in multiple books in my story universe. Download a printable book list and check them off as you read.

~ Copyright ©2024 Kayelle Allen. All rights reserved ~ Kayelle Allen participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates program, an affiliate advertising program which provides the means for sites to earn fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com. If you purchase an item listed on the site from Amazon.com, Kayelle will earn a small commission. Other sites might be affiliate links as well. These will not result in higher prices for you. Thank you for your support!

To experience art, sci-fi, romance, and space opera with unstoppable, unshakeable, unforgettable characters so real you'll swear you've met them, join me on Ream Stories!

Posted in Gates of Life | Tagged Colonies of Man, Dark Fantasy, Gates of Life, Orix, Raik, The Last Vhalgenn |

She hid the effect the touch of his fingertips had on her skin #Excerpt from The Last Vhalgenn #DarkFantasy #MFRWhooks

Updated on 06/12/2024 by Kayelle Allen

In this scene, King Orix accompanies Raik. Covered in dust and grime, she needs a bath.

Hiding the effect of his touch

In what had once been my own room, Orix stripped off my torn doublet and shirt. When he saw the multitude of bruises, he bit into his lower lip. He brushed his fingertips across blue marks on my left shoulder and arm.

I turned away to hide the effect his touch had on me. "War is hell."

I kicked off my boots and dropped my pants before stepping into the copper tub. The steaming water rose around me as I slid down and let it cover my head. I sat up and scrubbed my face, then splashed water through my short hair.

Black and tight with curls, it was nothing like my sovereign's wheat colored mane. His fell around his face and onto his shoulders in a splendor of barbaric waves. He might have been an animal, some beast half-tamed, still unruly. His shirt lay open at the throat, with unnumbered ropes of gold gleaming against the curly blond hair of his chest. It was a king's way, wearing gold and jewels in wartime. It might prove to be all a man had if... I shook my head to clear it. This was not the way to think.

He stooped beside the tub and trailed his fingers through the water. "What's wrong?"

I forced a smile. "Tired." I picked up the soap, reached for the back brush, and punished my skin with its scratchy bristles while he talked.

Characters mentioned on this page might be found in multiple books in my story universe. Download a printable book list and check them off as you read.

~ Copyright ©2024 Kayelle Allen. All rights reserved ~ Kayelle Allen participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates program, an affiliate advertising program which provides the means for sites to earn fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com. If you purchase an item listed on the site from Amazon.com, Kayelle will earn a small commission. Other sites might be affiliate links as well. These will not result in higher prices for you. Thank you for your support!

To experience art, sci-fi, romance, and space opera with unstoppable, unshakeable, unforgettable characters so real you'll swear you've met them, join me on Ream Stories!

Posted in Gates of Life | Tagged Colonies of Man, Dark Fantasy, Gates of Life, Orix, Raik, The Last Vhalgenn |

“Are you hungry?” #Excerpt from The Last Vhalgenn #DarkFantasy #MFRWhooks

Updated on 06/05/2024 by Kayelle Allen

In this scene, Raik has arrived at the palace and been ushered into the king's throne room. It's empty except for him. After she gives the brief report she's been dispatched to bring, King Orix picks up an apple from a bowl next to him and bites into it.

Are You Hungry?

"I've missed you, you rogue. The palace isn't the same without you. It feels empty, all the time." Orix took a second bite and spoke around a mouthful. "No matter how much I involve myself in my work. Or my wife."

I turned my head to hide my smile. Not proper to gloat.

"Hungry, Vhalgenn?"

My heart warmed at the childhood title: Vhalgenn—the Chosen One. It was the custom in Qarth to give a child of the opposite sex to the sovereign's firstborn to be playmate, companion, and bed warmer. To prevent the sowing of seed in the wrong field, the Vhalgenn was made incapable of bearing or fathering a babe early on. We Vhalgenns weren't meant to fall in love with the ones we served, though our history bursts with tales of...

"I said, are you hungry?"

"Starving."

"Cyrus sent for food as soon as he spotted your horse. He had bath water heated, too."

"Blessings on his house forever." I made the X sign of our god. "I swear, Orix, I've never been this dirty this long. Remind me to kiss him when I'm clean enough for fit company."

"And I suppose I'm not fit?" He stood and held down a hand. "Come on, you rogue. You can eat after you bathe."

I let him take me where he chose, too tired and too trusting to question or resist. No other man could so easily direct me. Few would try.

Characters mentioned on this page might be found in multiple books in my story universe. Download a printable book list and check them off as you read.

~ Copyright ©2024 Kayelle Allen. All rights reserved ~ Kayelle Allen participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates program, an affiliate advertising program which provides the means for sites to earn fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com. If you purchase an item listed on the site from Amazon.com, Kayelle will earn a small commission. Other sites might be affiliate links as well. These will not result in higher prices for you. Thank you for your support!

To experience art, sci-fi, romance, and space opera with unstoppable, unshakeable, unforgettable characters so real you'll swear you've met them, join me on Ream Stories!