20 Intermission pt 2

Markus sat at his desk, steadily working his way through the tomes stacked high on the table. Not that he found administrative work or even study to be of entertainment but out of necessity.

"Can't you put that away and spend at least the evenings with me?" Adelaxia asked as she sat on the corner of the desk and shoved the books aside. She sighed and ran her fingers through Markus' hair. "You hardly even notice me anymore."

"As much as I'd love to have you on your back right now, it must wait for the time being. I'll be sure to dedicate myself to you once this whole ordeal is over," Markus said. He jotted down some notes on paper and glanced up at his wife. The urges twisted inside of him, to let go of his objective for just an hour or two but he couldn't let go of the reins at such a critical moment. "I'm going to suggest Rouya to make me the Defender of the Realm. It'll give me widespread authority to put through the necessary measures."

Adelaxia let her shoulders slump and moaned aloud at Rouya's name. "Why are you playing this game? Just kill her and be done with it. She's got two relics which would bring us up to three. That's more than enough to take on the rest of them."

Adelaxia was correct. Numerically and in terms of experience he could take the initiative and create facts.

"Rouya is Queen of Aequilla," Markus said solemnly. "As long as she rules there is a sense of legitimacy to the undertaking. If I become Defender of the Realm and she passes away, it would pass the crown on to me. Killing Rouya would just make me one of many traitors."

"What about the bastard boy?" Adelaxia asked, wedging herself onto Markus' lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and locked him in close to her. "Wouldn't that just make him king?"

Markus eyed the slender figure directly in front of him and reached for the paper knife on his desk. He set the point down on her neck and moved it down between her breasts, tearing through her blouse and exposing her breasts to him. "As far as I'm concerned, Jamie died earlier this week. The good captain and everyone else with knowledge won't be around much longer to say otherwise."

The space between them continued to shrink until Adelaxia had her chest in front of his face and he felt his member stirring beneath her.

"Let me hear it from you."

Markus caught her wrists and bound her arms behind her back. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves here."

"A pity. Empress sounds so much more fitting when it's me carrying the title."

* * *

Hours passed since Markus Relius' attack on the mansion left the entire property in ruins. For over a hundred years the ya-Vahn family ruled over the lands from the mansion and served under the former Shah. It wasn't until Justinian's campaign that Kalim's family home was set ablaze and his father taken prisoner. It took five years for him to be released and make Kalim the new head of the family and governor under the rule of the Padishah Emperor.

Kalim slowly regained his consciousness, slipping in and out of memories from all across his life and the shame he had to bear.

The rage built inside of him and he drew upon his connection to Attia through his ring to bring her to him. The rubble around him burst away in a magical explosion and Kalim was able to take a breath of fresh air and glimpsed upon the wasteland of hundreds of gold and thousands of silver coins. Nothing remained intact of the once highly regarded mansion that so marvelously combined art and function. He crumbled to his knees, releasing the anger inside of him in a thunderous roar. Scratches and bruises marked his body. His clothes lay in tatters with only threads hanging from his shoulders. Attia protected him in the critical moment but failed to bring him outside of the collapsing building on time.

"I should bring you to a physician," Attia said, drawing him out of his thoughts. "Your well-being is my top priority."

"He's going to pay for this. That double-crossing rat is going to pay thrice over for what he did here. I'm going to destroy everything he loved."

"Master, you're still in shock."

Kalim waved her concern aside and balled his hands. "I want every Realmwalker in the universe rounded up and detained. It's about time I speak with the rest of the confederation."