Felix smiled, it was starting to become a common sight. After that night two months ago, he had slowly started to relax. Even his hauntings had become more and more infrequent. And, when they did happen, they were less intense and barely lasted.

  It was all thanks to Fea. Her presence alone could instantly end his suffering, and the nights he spent away from her were cold and lonely. Their bond eased that pain, but it did not erase it. Because of that, Felix had altered his daily routine…

  “What do you think, Your Highness?” he asked, turning to Fea. They were standing above the parade grounds watching as his unit of, now, three-hundred men marched in formation.

  “Impressive, you’ve done well,” she said, hiding away any emotion from her tone. The two of them were not alone and both had to keep some measure of appearance up.

  “I’m afraid I cannot take all of the credit. Sergeant Ovidius did most of the work. I merely broke the curse and gave a little guidance.”

  She gave him an approving nod. “Good Sergeants are hard to come by. The elves themselves have struggled until recently.”

  Fea was referring to the elves' attempt at rebuilding their army. While it had escaped mostly intact, many of its veterans had died to make that happen. Their army was left with a lot of untested troops and commanders who were quickly promoted.

  Felix let out a sigh. “I’m aware. I tried to offer my assistance but… Well, to put it nicely, they rejected my offer.”

  Fea stomped her foot. “How infuriating! Wouldn’t they want to learn from the man who bested them?”

  Felix had to hold back a chuckle. Whether she knew it or not, Fea had started to defend him when it came to matters like this. But for him, there was something adorable to see her mad on his behalf.

  “Your Highness, I can understand why. They still want me dead. I don’t blame them, either. If I were in their shoes, I would do the same.”

  “Men! Letting their pride get in the way of their common sense!” she hissed, and finally he did start laughing.

  “Your Highness, it was their court who rejected my offer. It’s mostly made up of women,” he whispered, giving her a wink.

  Fea paused for a moment before correcting herself. “Women! Letting their emotions get in the way of their common sense!”

  Felix broke out into laughter and he wasn’t the only one. Nevrim, who was nearby and listening also joined in.

  “Your Highness, while I understand you are merely making a joke. I implore you to not belittle our allies,” Nevrim said after the laughter died down.

  She waved his concern away. “They have told worse about me. I know because I can hear them.”

  That caused Felix to frown. “Is it because of your decision to not hand me over to them?”

  “Partially, but they are also upset I won't give them any of my people for their upcoming expedition. They want to reclaim their lands, I can understand that. But, if the reports I’ve just received are true, this war is far from over.”

  “Really?” That was news to him, and apparently Nevrim as they both shared a look.

  Fea pulled out a rolled up scroll from her sleeve and handed it to Felix. He opened it and inspected it. She continued as he did.

  “My scouts and spies have noticed a large force building near the Holy Triumphant’s Heartland for some time now. But, yesterday, I received that urgent report." She gestured to the scroll.

  “They simply vanished. There’s no trace of them to be found.”

  Felix gulped as he read it, but then the bottom of his stomach fell. Included in the report were several insignias that he recognized.

  “The Lord’s Chosen,” he muttered and suddenly all eyes were upon him.

  “The Lord’s Chosen?” Fea asked.

  He nodded and shakily handed the report back. “They are…” He took a deep breath and steadied his nerves. “They were the High Prophet’s personal guard. However, he has since expanded their role.”

  “How so?”

  “By turning them into me…”

  “How can you be so sure? Felix is one of them. This sounds like some plot to buy time for the Holy Triumphant to build a new army!” a rather shrill voice argued. It was grating on Fea’s ears.

  She was in the middle of a meeting with the elven court and things weren’t going so well…

  “Felix may be human, but he is not with them. Not anymore.” She responded, her tone stern and serious.

  Another voice spoke up, this one more calming. “Your Highness, we appreciate everything you have done for us. You’ve opened your gates for us, given our people shelter and food. You’ve given us a chance to rebuild our army.

  “However, I feel that you are too trusting of this human. I fear that he has wormed his way to your ear–”

  “Do not question my decisions,” she warned. “Felix is not a concern. That, I am completely certain of. What is a concern is your plans.”

  “Our plans? How so? Our forces are prepared for battle, we do not expect this to be easy.”

  Fea furrowed her brows as she tried to calm herself. “You wish to reclaim your lands as quickly as possible. That is my concern. And now that we know another army is on its way, it would be wise to not stretch your forces so thin.”

  “An army that might not exist,” the shrill voice countered.

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  She looked over to the annoying elven woman. “Do you not trust my reports either? I’ve lost scouts getting that information, I hope you know.”

  “And you have my condolences. But, do you not think it strange? Their Champion arrives claiming all kinds of things. Then, after he has secured your trust, suddenly another army starts forming before vanishing overnight?

  “To me, it sounds like a plot to keep us in check while he schemes to take us down from the inside. He is even building an army right here, right in the middle of the Citadel!”

  “With my permission,” she hissed. “Just as I gave you permission.”

  “And that is my point, Your Highness! He is using you!”

  At that, Fea snapped. She stood up from her chair, her mana flaring and filling the space. There were several gasps as her might bore down upon them.

  I WILL NOT TOLERATE YOU INSULTING MY MATE!

  There was silence, stunned silence.

  ***

  Gods! What have I done?! Fea slumped into her chair and buried her head into her hands.

  After the meeting, she had quickly retreated back to her private study. However, she was not alone. There was one other person there to console her…

  Shh, it’s okay– Felix tried to say but she cut him off.

  “But it's not! I just declared our love to the whole Citadel!”

  Felix winced but made his way over and threw his arms around her. “It was bound to get out eventually. Perhaps, this was for the best.”

  She heard him chuckle before continuing. “Actually, I was quite touched when I heard those words echo from the walls.”

  That only made her sink lower into her chair.

  “Fea, look at me,” he said as his mind graced hers. She took a moment before slowly looking up at him.

  “You’ve helped me so much. You’ve given me hope that I can truly redeem myself. You’ve given me a reason to smile again. For that, I owe you my life. I love you, so…” Let me help you.

  Their minds touched and she felt the true extent of his love. It gave her chills, the sensation of feeling wanted was too much for her. She tried to pull away.

  Please, I want to shoulder that weight for you.

  Fea stopped and gave in. Before she realized it, Felix brought her close and kissed her.

  Do you remember what you said to me that night? When I asked what everyone would think?

  She shook her head no.

  He smiled. You said, screw them! Well, I think you were right back then. Screw them! Screw what any of them think! Screw what they say!

  They have no right to judge our love! They have no right to insult it! They are simply jealous! Let them be jealous! Let them wallow in their own misery! And… Let us grow closer. Let us love one another.

  Let us become one.

  And two became one…

  As Felix came to, he found himself and Fea curled up on the floor. They were laying in a nest of their own clothes. He hadn’t known how long they had gone on for nor could he truly remember every single thing they did.

  However, what was apparent was how sore he felt. He had a splitting headache and the world spun. There was one other thing, though, that he did remember. It caused him to smile as he looked over to Fea.

  Love. It was pure, it was passionate, it was fiery. But, he regretted nothing. She regretted nothing. It was how it should be and it made his heart yearn for her all that much more.

  But he could not lie there, nude, and wrapped in Fea’s embrace for all eternity. He had matters to attend to, she had decisions to make. Both would end up resulting in deaths, there was no way around it. It would happen and this moment of passion was merely a brief respite before then.

  Felix gave her a gentle shake, rousing her. “Fea,” he whispered softly. “It’s time to wake up.”

  She let out a cute little moan as she came to, causing his smile to widen. “Not yet…” she muttered. “It’s too early.”

  “I know, but we both have things to do.”

  Cracking her eyes open, she glanced up to him. “Why?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Why must we do them? Can’t we just let someone else do it?” she asked tiredly. “I want to spend my time here, with you.”

  Felix pulled her tighter, grimacing at his next words. “I feel the same, but it must be us. It can’t be anyone else. You are the queen, the Dragon Queen, and I’m your Champion. Only, your Champion.”

  She began to pull away and he let her. It pained them both, but he was right. No matter what anyone said, his words were true. She was the queen and he was her Champion. His oath was only to her now.

  “I hate that you are right. But it does make the time we have together all that more important,” she said as she started collecting her clothes. He joined her and soon both were dressed.

  Holding out a hand, he gave her one more line of encouragement. “Come, let us go face the world together, hand in hand.”

  She smiled but it was clear what her thoughts were. Still, she took his hand and grasped it tightly. “Indeed, let’s go tell the whole world they can go screw themselves.”

  He let out a chuckle at that. “Well said.” With that, the two of them exited Fea’s study and made for the throne room.

  The trek there was made in silence. There was nothing more that needed to be said and, even if there was, they didn’t need to say it aloud. Their thoughts were enough, their emotions easily read by the other. And those emotions were a mixture of nervousness and defiance…

  Stepping into the throne room, neither were surprised to find a gathered crowd. It felt as if everyone knew this would happen and came to bear witness.

  None said a word as Felix and Fea approached the throne. In fact, as Fea took her seat, there was a deathly silence. It felt as if a funeral procession were taking place instead of court.

  But neither were done. As Felix let go of her hand, he lowered himself and gave her a kiss on the cheek. I’ll be here, right by your side.

  She did not respond. But she didn’t need to, her emotions calmed as he stood back up and faced the crowd.

  The silence remained and the expressions of most were stoic. Still, he noted a few who had a clear disdain for him. And, curiously, several who gave him approving nods.

  Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Fea spoke. “As I am sure you all are aware of by now, I have claimed Felix as my mate. We have bonded and there will be no discussion on it after this.”

  She paused, waiting for someone, anyone, to object. But none did, not even the ones who clearly wanted to. When the silence prevailed, she went on.

  “With that announcement out of the way, we have something much more serious to discuss.” She gestured to Felix. “If you would, dear.”

  “As you wish,” he said, leaving out the Your Highness part. Taking a breath, he scanned the crowd one last time before he started.

  “We face a grave threat. The Holy Triumphant, the High Prophet, has put together a new army. One that none have faced before. It is built up of the Holy Triumphant’s most devout followers.

  “And, worse still, they have been altered, changed, to make them deadlier than anything else alive. They are called the Lord’s Chosen and they exist only to serve the will of their Lord.

  “I know of them because I was supposed to lead them. Their alterations are based on me. Their magic is mine. And they have the same training and skills as I do. They are not to be taken lightly.

  “And, to complicate the situation, we have no idea where they are.”