I pointed at the stone wall in question. A Wall of Service. Every noble house, clan or family had one these. A free-floating stone wall. They even had replicas made and put in every official building they owned. And even though the imperial fortress was not a part Voss Clan’s property, the emperor had allowed their clan heraldry and wall to be placed in honor of their service.

  That was the official line. What wasn’t said was that the Voss clan was down to three. One was a bastard in the capital who had been granted a position in the trade ministry for his talents. The second was an old crippled war veteran, who couldn’t leave the Voss keep. And the last one was Saha. My Saha.

  And instead of rising up and helping the beliguered Voss clan, these overdressed peacocks had let the Voss clan lose its members one by one. Even when requested by the imperial government, none of them had sent soldiers or aid. They had hemmed and hawed and differed. Until the only seemingly loyal clan of the empire had retreated to the fortress under the imperial regiments protection.

  Well now. Now I was her and I was going to remake the Voss clan. One the landing, thrirty steps below the emperor’s throne was a human sized throne. It was ten feet in front of the wall of service. I looked at it dubiously. With slow delicate movements moved it out of the way. This was Saha’s throne, and it needed to be protected.

  By the time I returned, every eye was on me. And the advisor had still not climbed all the way down. So I took a moment to look at the large wall. On top was the Voss device. An ice bear and a snow leopard circling each other. Underneath that on shields were other devices. The devices of houses allied to the Vosses. There were eight. And none of them had helped. Then came the lines of service. A wall of service usually had two or three lines. As a family grew in power and stature, they added a line or two.

  It usually went like this. In service of the emperor. In service of the land. In service of the world etc etc. The Voss service wall had grown to nine lines. This was ridiculous. It signified the compromises had made. Every line of service added after the fourth was taken from a wall of service from another house.

  I looked back up. What was taking so long. Sure in my full size, I took six step for the one the advisor had to take but he should have been here already and yet he was only half way down. I looked at him with a frown. The advisor did not hurry. He smiled and looked at everyone assembled with a smug smile.

  Ah… The advisor, that cunning man, was giving all these people reevaluate my size. Thirty steps above, we Truechilds had been awe stricking. Now only five steps from them they could understand how truly large we were. The power we represented. And allowing these people who hadn’t felt the emperors touch for generations understand the difference between themselves, the Truechilds and the Emperor Larden himself.

  Now the throne behind me was not just a larger than life ornament. It was one of the emperor’s thrones. And now as one of his heirs, I would soon be obligated to sit on it, protect his empire, and rule in his name.

  And the advisor was relishing rubbing that fact that the Vosses had somehow gotten their hands on one of the emperor’s children in everyone’s face. And proving a point by making every one wait.

  The old man’s antics aside, the time also gave me a moment to look at the people who made up the upper crust of Voss. At first glance, everything seemed normal. Well normal for the nobility. The eye jarring colors made my teeth itch. There were a lot of puffy dresses and red coats. All adorned by jewellery that seemed to flash in the eyes. The message was simple. We are so above you that you shouldn’t even look at us.

  Then a chill prickled my sense. The imperial fortress was high up in the mountains so a cold breeze here and there was expected. But this cold was different. It was the breeze in a warm room that came out of nowhere and chilled the tip of your ears. It was the cold wind at the back of your neck that made your hair stand on end. It was the feeling of being watched and appraised by a predator.

  I retreated in wards and immersed myself in the dark waters. The familiar numbness of cold rushed into me. It seeped into my skin and rushed into my veins. It was tempting. I could let go here. Let all the jumbled of emotions, thoughts, and feelings fade into the dark water. And I would have. If they hadn’t appeared.

  Slimy. Sickly. Inky blotched things. There was a school of them. Looking down appraisingly at the souls gathered in the throne. They didn’t attack. They didn’t need to. They were comparing flock sizes. They didn’t see me yet. I was dark shape in dark waters. But if I moved, they would attack.

  The old advisor cleared his throat and I came back from the dark waters. I was no longer in the mood for games. I frowned at the man in displeasure and pointed at the wall.

  In a stern voice I ordered “Read.”

  The advisor bowed with an abashed look and turned to the wall. In a surprisingly clear voice began to read “I service of the emperor. In service of the king. In service of the duke. In service of the duchy. In service of the chivalry. In service of nobility. In service of the mountain ore. In service of magic. In service of the trade.”

  I nodded at the old man and motioned for him to leave. I expected a hint of annoyance but the man surprised me. He smiled in approval and bowed deeply, before moving away.

  I looked at the wall in disgust and turned to Sage “Brother.”

  Sage walked to me and made a large hammer appear out of nowhere. He handed it to me. Less than half an hour ago it had been on top of the imperial armory. Ilya had stolen it from their signage. How a fourteen foot woman could sneak in broad daylight and steal a ten foot hammer, eluded me.

  Without a moment more of thought I swung the hammer as hard as I could. Just before I made impact, two golden white streams of magic shot out of sage. One created a dome to keep the shards and the derbies in. The other protected the only thing that needed to stay.

  A thunderous crash sounded out in the throne room. Dust flew into the air covering the landing and obscuring the view. Rubble thundered down echoing ominously in the large room. Out of it an fourteen foot man, with cold blew eyes and sharp silver hair walked out. He dropped the hammer that had been bent out of shape on the floor with a clank. He stood tall and looked down on his future subjects. With one line floating in dark polished granite.

  In service of the emperor.

  The soldiers on the side of the throne room came to attention. They stomped their foot and saluted with fists on their heart.

  “For the emperor. For Prince Voss. For the Truechilds.” The soldiers shouted.

  I nodded a thanks to the imperial soldiers and announced “Imperials, I will start culling the beasts in a few days. Those who want to join me, talk to my Saha.”

  All eyes turned to Saha. Including those of the predators and I didn’t like it. I almost ran over and punched a fat old man looking at Saha with greed, and lust. That Damned soul needed to go.

  “Brother. Calm.” Sage whispered next to me, and I realized that I had started glaring.

  The crowd of nobles had started giving me weary looks and taken a few steps back from me. I didn’t care and only scowled harder.

  Sage sighed and cleared his throat “Those who don’t want to fight or can’t, we will talk later.”

  I turned to my sibling with a question in my eye and a thought came to me.

  Father’s orders to us had been simple.

  “Children go to the mountains. Save the normal people. Heal them. And push back the beast horde. And by if any chance noble properties are damaged…” Father had grinned devious “Then it couldn’t be helped. It will make the nobles grumble and scream in outrage. And that will allow my ministers to say that this all happened because the region’s nobility failed.”

  Sage had nodded “So, we are to hammer the empire’s might into noble skulls?”

  “Yes. Just don’t hammer the noble skulls in.” Father had chuckled “Go over there, enjoy yourself. Let lady Voss throw you a ball. Go party. Be with your favorites. Eat, drink, and dance. Be seen but act aloof and unapproachable, to any one but your favorites. Am I understood?”

  Sage frowned “Father. You want us to act like imperial gods of war don’t you.”

  “Yes.” Father’s look was stern “You are not to socialize with the locals Sage.”

  I don’t know what was going on in between Sage and father but I had been confused. How was one supposed to be seen and but unapproachable? If you were seen you could be approached. That is how things worked.

  But now, I had to do exactly that. There were predators in the dark water. And some of them had their eyes set on Saha.

  Father had not sent us away from trouble he had sent us into straight into danger. But we were Truechilds. We could handle a little bit of danger. But our partners? What about the other’s our partners cared for? I couldn’t let them walk into the damned’s clutches. I needed to change our plans.

  I looked at Sage and frowned.

  “Voss?”

  To be seen but act aloof we had decided to come in wreck things, trample over the noble egos, and then walk out. But with what I had seen. I couldn’t leave Saha with those vermin.

  I turned to Ilya and then to Sage “Sister. Brother. Come. Bring your favorites. Let’s eat together.” Then casually I turned to Saha “Lady Saha, we would be delighted to meet some of your friends.”

  My siblings looked at me with raised eyebrows. Saha was faster. She bowed and began to call on people she knew.

  Ilya reached me “Voss?”

  “Not here.” I looked around and added “Not today.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?” Ilya asked.

  Sage curled his lips upwards “I am okay with a little bit of socializing. I don’t like being a god of war. I am a lover not a soldier.”

  Ilya rolled her eyes “You are not going to get an elf for your harem here Sage.”

  “No, but I might get myself a pale skinned black haired beauty.” Sage smiled at a few young women. They giggled.

  Ilya looked at me.

  I exhaled slowly and whispered “Danger.”

  Sage and Ilya imperceptibly straightened. They looked around with casual smiles while continuing their earlier conversation as I wasn’t there.

  Ilya smiled at a few passing men “Father is not going to like this. We are not supposed to mingle.”

  “Yeah, father is going with that whole god of war thing again.” Sage grumbled.

  “It worked didn’t it.”

  “It almost got you killed.”

  I finally broke in “I will explain to him.”

  Stolen story; please report.

  Sage and Ilya looked at each other and smiled.

  Sage sighed dramatically “Well if you insist. We shall mingle, brother. And if father asks, I will say I had to disobey. For the love of my new brother.”

  Ilya snorted “I’ll just tell him that they had good wine.” She looked at the waiters who had started to serve out refreshments and muttered “They better have good wine.”

  “It’ settled then?”

  Ilya sighed “Fine. But let’s not reduce our sizes. Otherwise, the tongue lashing we are going to get won’t be worth it, brothers.”

  The lunch was nicer than any right to be. With all the damned circling around the room I had expected someone to attack but nothing like that happened. Although, I did here some grumblings when food was brought up from the kitchens. I saw people frown being only ten courses. The nobles called it military fare. I didn’t understand. The elk roasting on the spit next to me was great. I had eaten half of it. And the red man sized potatoes sizzling in the coal fire bellow was buttery and peppery. I didn’t touch the desert. That was where the most powerful damned were mingling. Their fat bodies were stuffing in one sweet meat after another.

  Saha came and sat down next to me with a frown. I was sitting on a thick wooden table and picked up a chair and paced it next to my legs. To my surprise she laced her hand around one of my legs and rested her head on my knee. It tickled but I didn’t pull away.

  A few minutes later the advisor came and stood next to us. After a moment of silence he began to speak to Saha.

  “Don’t listen to them, my lady. The Vosses are on the rise again and they will soon understand the way of things.”

  Saha didn’t move. She looked dejected.

  “I thought the food was good.” I said.

  Saha stiffened and looked up at me questioningly.

  “Here, try it.” I took cut some of the crisp meat and the buttery potatoes, and gently fed her on a fork. I had to the fork was smaller than my fingers and I had to be delicate.

  Saha eyes widened and she automatically opened her mouth. She chewed and reached out to wipe the sauce on her lips. My hand reached their first. I looked at fingers that had touched Saha’s lips and blinked. The sauce of it and wondered where to wipe it. I mentally shrugged and licked it.

  I looked back at Saha who had a wide grin on her face. What was she so happy about?

  Ilya loud laughter caught my ears from the other side. I looked at her. She downed her last bottle of wine and picked her men. She literally wrapped her left arm around the two smaller humans and picked them up. A moment later, she also picked up a very surprised but happy young man. Everyone watched her walk out with thudding footsteps.

  Sage chuckled and sipped the last bit of spirit he was drinking from a decanter and looked at his two favorites “Well ladies. It’s been a long day. We should retire.”

  He looked at me “Brother?”

  I looked at the advisor and in soft voice ordered “Handle this. And be careful.” And I guided Saha to our suite in the fortress.

  Saha decided to eat dinner with me that same night. Even after all the entertaining she looked perfect. Actually, she looked more than perfect. And it all thanks to that beautiful blue dress. Thin silvery thread straps held it up, leaving her long beautiful arms in view. The lower half of the dress was slightly loose and that should have helped but I had to visibly struggle to take my eyes off Saha and look back at the information that was given to me. I needed to read this and remember this if I had to take the Voss territory in hand.

  Shazed Voss was the last king of Voss. He was a mana blessed human. Some said he was imperial ranked three when he started. That meant he could use mana to fight and defend his clan. But over the years, he had cultivated his strength and risen to rank seven and established a kingdom that had stood for sixty years. Until the empire had come. The former king and the now duke had taken one look at the emperor and bent the knee. By all records the emperor had gotten well with Shazed Voss. The emperor had even sent imperial legions to help him fight against mana mutated beasts. But it was in the fight against the blighted that he had met his wife. One of the last nobles from a long defunct house and they had marries. That is where the Voss device came from. The ice bear from Shazed Voss and mountain lion from Avel Voss.

  Saha cut into the meat. She had to work the knife. I looked down curiously at her plate. It was the same elf I had been eating earlier. It wasn’t that tough. Then, why? My eyes moved past the plate. Where everything moved side to side. I stopped. I knew I was staring. I couldn’t help it. With effort I turned back to the paper in my hand and went back to reading the information in the file.

  Over his hundred and fifty years of life the Imperial Duke Shazed Voss had many children, but none were as gifted as him. Near to his death, he collected his best mages and created a zone where his spirit still lingered. The old spirit hadn’t let anyone take control of the crystal there. And without the control crystal, the Vosses couldn’t defend the land. Not that the Voss family and clan as whole hadn’t tried to fight the spirit. The old king had fought back. It had killed twenty fighters, two Voss clan heir and one very stupid clan head. That man had emerged alive for a while. Only without hands, feet, or a pecker. He had taken his life later out of embarrassment. After that, nobody ventured into the basement of the Voss Castle. Where the control crystal floated.

  In three generation the clan or even the territory hadn’t produced a mana blessed strong enough to prove themselves to the spirit king. Meanwhile, the mutated beasts had penetrated deep into the Voss lands. They had created nests. The mountain people were brave but bravery could only keep you so long in the field when beasts showed no signs of stopping. The Voss family had deployed their guards over the years and lost both soldiers and family members. And the nobility wasn’t moving. Not even now, when the emperor had sent their children to the duchy.

  Saha reached for her wine glass and one of the straps of her dress fell down her shoulders. I stopped reading. Saha took a sip and put the wine glass down. My eyes drifted to the naked line flesh exposed where cloth had been just moments before. She didn’t fix her top and only smiled as she took another bite of food.

  I closed my eyes and switched papers. Economically the Voss clan had tried everything to resurrect their fortunes. Hunting, trading, and even turned half of their clan lands into a winter paradise for tourists. But nothing had worked. The reason given was, because of the beast waves. Nobody wanted to come to vacation in an unsafe region of the empire. But I wondered what was driving the beasts?

  Clinking of a knife on a plate made me look up again. Saha was cutting another piece of meat. With every up movement things jiggled and moved side to side. My eyes were once again drawn to her. And this time I couldn’t look away. With ever little movement she made her top fell down a centimeter at a time. And then a hint of brown came into view.

  I had to take a deep breath a move my eyes upwards to Saha’s face. She was smiling at me. I just looked at her with an open mouth.

  “Enjoying your dinner my lord?” Saha asked me. “Or would you like desert?”

  My dinner had been over for a while. I was a fast eater. I had shoveled everything five minutes after it was served to me. And I had nothing but papers in front of me.

  “I love this sauce.” Saha said sultrily while dipping a piece of sausage in cheese sauce.

  She looked and the thick piece of meat and then at me. She took her tongue out and slowly licked it. A moan of pleasure seemingly escape her throat and she closed her mouth around the sausage suggestively.

  I just stared. Both in awe and arousal. I was baffled. How could someone do that with a piece of meat? And why did it look so good?

  “You want me to show you, my lord?” Saha asked.

  I blinked. Had I spoken aloud? And was Saha asking to do that to my...

  Saha stood up and picked up her glass of wine. Her top fell even further. Now I could see her exposed breast. It was stunning. Saha moved to me. Her hips swaying side to side. And so was that beautiful mound of flesh and I wanted to touch, kiss and lick.

  Saha turned and I took a breath of relief. Only to grunt in shock when she turned around and sat down on my lap. She moved her hand to my waist and the under side of the warm skin of her exposed flesh touched my hand.

  I gulped and looked down at her questioningly.

  “My lord, you did call me, your Saha in front of everyone. Don’t you think its time to make me yours?”

  Had I called her, my Saha? I recalled my words earlier today. Damn it! I had. And now I knew she had all the right to be here and like this after what I had said. Saha leaned into me and my other hand came up by itself and wrapped around her. I looked at the traitorous limb and considered its future. Saha took my hand and started moving it from her waist to her soft exposed…

  No. I couldn’t do this. Not this way. If we were going to be together. We needed to have a discussion. A frank one. I stopped my hand but held on to her.

  “My lady. Please stop and listen.”

  Saha stiffened in my arms.

  I squeezed her to me. Making sure she understood that this was not a rejection. All the while I tried to put my thoughts in words. I finally began to speak.

  “My lady, before you proceed you must know my emotions. They are conflicted. I maybe the emperor’s son and powerful but what stops me is that I was made to be with you. I cannot deny that you are the most enchanting thing in this world. And I want to be with you. No, I want to claim you. But I fear, that by doing that I will give up some part of freedom I have.”

  “Freedom?” Saha asked.

  “Yes, my lady. I am afraid of the parts of me that you have changed. Perhaps some part of my brain?” I asked.

  “You brain? Parts that I have changed? You mean…” Saha tried to move out my hands and turn to me. I didn’t let her.

  I liked her pressed against me like that. I liked the way she felt. I liked how soft she was. And I liked the way she smelled.

  Saha stopped struggling and looked at me “You are worried if I had something done to your mind, why?”

  “Because I feel an irrational rage to destroy everyone and everything when someone looks sideways at you.” I answered in a flat voice.

  Saha’s eyebrows crept up and she smiled. She leaned back into me and I tightened my hold around her.

  “So, when did you feel like this?”

  “Today, when I saw some in the court looking at you lasciviously.” My voice grew cold “I wanted to freeze their arms and beat them to death with their own limbs.”

  Saha grinned “That is called jealousy my lord. It is unfortunately, natural.”

  “Jealousy.” I tasted the word.

  “Do you wish to know what I was allowed to have an input in when you were made?” Saha asked.

  I nodded.

  Saha hesitated and explained “Your eyes. They needed to be blue. They needed to full of cold and ice magic. Like the Vosses of old. Your chin. You needed to have a strong chin. Warriors and men like leaders with a strong chin. And…” Saha looked mortified and looked down “So do I.”

  While Saha collected herself. I felt inordinately proud of my square chin.

  Saha voice dropped and she whispered in embarrassment “And that part. That I wanted for myself. I asked the emperor to endow you with a large member.”

  I took a moment to digest that last bit of information. Saha had asked father to make me large down there. Wait a minute. How large was I. I had seen myself. But I hadn’t seen other men. And compared to others how big was I. Should I ask her that? But how would she know. She hadn’t seen men like…

  My grip around Saha tightened “How large am I compared to other men?”

  “You are the third largest I could pick from the charts that the emperors flesh mages gave to me.” Saha blushed.

  My grip around her slackened and tightened once again when she muttered “Definitely far bigger than the boys in the academy.”

  The thought of Saha being with someone else popped in my head somehow and everything stuttered to a stop. I looked down at her. Saha had gone red all over. This wasn’t the time for that. This was the time to talk about…

  “Who are they? And where can I find them?” I asked casually.

  Saha looked at me. Her eyes slowly recognizing the danger in mine. She finally asked “My lord, you don’t think you are the first man I was going to be with.”

  “Names and locations, please.”

  Saha looked at me laughed. Her breast moved up and down distracting me. She moved her hips, rubbing things down there which made my grip around Saha slacken. My thoughts stopped. Saha was beautiful, and stunning. She was in my arms topless. And those that had seen her were far away right now. I could kill them later.

  Saha didn’t stop her hips and her husky voice reached my ear “It is unfair my lord. I have had the opportunity to change you to my liking. You should get to change three things to your liking too. Perhaps my breast?”

  Saha dropped the second strap and moved one of my hands to her top.

  “Perhaps my bottom? Do you wish for me to be curvier for you?” My other hand was on her hips.

  I was having a hard time concentrating on anything. I focused and saw Saha looking back at me, waiting for an answer.

  I finally spoke “You are perfect.”

  “Perfect?” Saha laughed and straightened to give me a peck on the cheek “You are sweet Voss Truechild. But, okay if not my behind, then what?”

  I wasn’t getting out of this was I? How did this even happen?

  I sighed “Your lips. They are beautiful when you drink red wine.”

  “Oh, you like to look at my lips?” Saha’s voice gained a husky edge. She touched my lips with hers and pulled back before we could kiss.

  “I do.” I whispered.

  “Then what else my lord? How about something more personal?” Saha asked.

  I hesitated and gulped.

  “Speak to me, my lord.” Saha moved her hips making everything very very tight down there.

  I grunted and looked at her “I don’t think I like hair.”

  “My hair?” Saha touched her beautiful midnight black hair and I quickly shook my head and my eyes moved below.

  “Oh.” Saha smiled and leaned closer to me “Well then, I think I will call on the groomers in the morning. My lord wants to see me naked and bare. I am not going to deny him the pleasure.”

  I gulped again.

  Saha reached down and squeezed one of her breast. My eyes travelled down Saha’s ivory white skin, to the soft mounds. One of which was held enticingly in her hands. She reached down and pinched one of her nipples. It looked as excited as I felt.

  “Or…” Saha sighed.

  “Or?” I gulped. I was doing that quite a lot.

  “Or, my lord can give me five minutes to make myself ready for you.”

  I grabbed Saha and growled “I don’t care.”

  Saha yelped and laughed as I carried her to my, no, our bed.