Chapter 335: Fate

Chapter 335: Chapter 335: Fate

By the following evening, Liam had recovered enough strength to glare properly.

Arik considered that progress.

Liam did not.

He was curled into the corner of the long sofa in their private sitting room, wrapped in a soft dark robe with one bare foot tucked beneath his opposite thigh. His hair was still slightly damp from the bath, loose around his shoulders, and the newly completed mate collar rested against his throat.

The stone at its center glowed faintly.

Gold and violet moved beneath its surface in slow currents, responding every time either of them released even a trace of ether.

Liam had spent most of the day touching it unconsciously.

He had also spent most of the day blaming Arik for everything else.

At the moment, his attention was fixed entirely on the plate in Arik’s hand.

That did not make the glare less hostile.

"If I get pregnant from that," Liam said, "I am canceling the bond."

Arik cut another piece from the dessert.

"You cannot."

Liam’s eyes narrowed.

"You keep saying that like impossibility has ever stopped me."

"This particular impossibility is built directly into your soul."

"That sounds poorly designed."

Arik lifted the fork.

The dessert was one Liam had become unfortunately attached to during his first months in Nuria: thin layers of crisp pastry filled with vanilla cream and a dark caramel glaze, served warm enough that the center softened without losing the crunch around the edges.

Liam watched the fork approach.

He tried not to.

He failed.

Arik held it in front of him.

"The bond is complete, Eshara."

"I heard you."

"There is no cancelation process."

"I could research one."

"You are forbidden from researching ways to sever your own soul."

Liam finally leaned forward and took the bite.

He chewed with visible irritation.

Arik waited.

Liam swallowed.

"That rule seems extremely targeted."

"It is."

"You cannot create laws specifically because I annoy you."

"I am the emperor."

"You became emperor two days ago, and you are already abusing the position."

Arik smiled and cut another piece.

Liam’s glare moved briefly toward the plate.

Then returned to Arik.

More reluctantly.

"Also," Arik said, "we both took contraception."

"That is the only reason you are still allowed in this room."

Arik raised an eyebrow.

Liam gestured toward the opposite end of the sofa.

"You may remain there."

"I am sitting less than a meter away."

"And you should appreciate that privilege."

Arik offered him another bite.

Liam accepted it immediately this time.

His dignity had limits.

The room around them was quiet, insulated from the impossible pace of the palace beyond their private wing. Through the tall windows, Deira stretched beneath the evening sky, its bridges traced in soft gold and distant aircraft moving between suspended districts.

Nuria had been visible to the outside world for barely two days.

Governments were demanding contact.

Trade routes needed to be negotiated.

Borders needed definitions that had not mattered while the empire existed behind the Gate.

Half the imperial administration appeared to be rediscovering its own jobs.

And Liam was sitting in a robe threatening to dissolve an indissoluble mate bond because Arik had been entirely too enthusiastic during the ceremony.

He considered his priorities excellent.

"The contraception should hold," Arik said.

"Should?"

Arik paused.

Liam immediately straightened.

"That was the wrong word."

"It was accurate."

"Arik."

"We took it correctly."

"Then why did you say should?"

"Because no contraception is absolute."

Liam stared at him.

Arik took a slow breath.

"And because fate has demonstrated a somewhat unusual interest in you."

Liam’s expression became blank.

Arik continued carefully.

"You have a complicated relationship with fate."

Liam stared at him.

"That is a very diplomatic way to describe it."

"You manipulated it."

"I did."

"And apparently you were always capable of doing that."

Liam leaned back against the sofa.

That part no longer bothered him as much as everyone seemed to expect.

Enki had not truly been someone separate.

Enki was Liam.

Or Liam was Enki.

His soul had simply existed before, under another name, with enough power to leave consequences scattered across centuries.

Liam was still Liam.

He still hated inefficient systems, decorative clutter, and being interrupted while working.

Knowing his soul was ancient had changed remarkably little.

"That does not mean fate gets to impregnate me out of spite," he said.

Arik considered that. "Probably not."

"Probably?"

Arik immediately offered him another piece of dessert.

Liam accepted it.

"If the contraception fails," Liam said after swallowing, "you are responsible."

Arik raised an eyebrow. "I thought fate was responsible."

"Fate would be an accomplice."

"And what exactly am I guilty of?"

Liam stared at him.

"The ceremony ended, the bond completed, and the stone formed."

"Yes."

"And several hours later, you were still behaving as though Nurian tradition personally required enthusiasm."

Arik went silent.

Then smiled.

"Do not."

"I said nothing."

"You are remembering."

"I was there."

"That is the problem."

Liam touched the mate stone unconsciously.

The ceremony itself was not what he blamed Arik for.

He had wanted the bond.

He loved the stone.

Once he stopped thinking about everyone outside knowing what they were doing, he had enjoyed the ceremony too.

Everything afterward, however, had been entirely Arik.

His husband apparently decided that becoming emperor, marrying Liam, and completing their bond had left him with excessive energy.

"For accuracy," Arik said, "you participated."

Liam’s eyes narrowed.

"That sounds dangerously like a defense."

"You climbed into my lap."

Liam froze.

Arik lifted another piece of pastry.

"Dessert."

Arik obediently fed him.

"You are fortunate I love you," Liam muttered.

"I was hoping for that."

Arik reached toward his collar, then stopped when Liam leaned away.

"It shifted."

Liam glanced down.

"Oh."

He reluctantly lifted his chin.

Arik straightened the dark metal carefully. Gold stirred inside the stone beneath his thumb, violet answering immediately.

The completed bond warmed beneath Liam’s ribs.

Arik moved away afterward without attempting anything else.

Liam watched him retreat to his side of the sofa.

That lasted approximately ten seconds before it became irritating.

He shifted closer.

Their shoulders touched.

Arik still waited.

Liam frowned.

"You can put your arm around me."

Arik did immediately, drawing him carefully against his side.

Liam settled against his chest.

"If I get pregnant, you are still guilty."

"Even though we both took contraception?"

"Yes. Specifically because of the hours afterward."

Arik’s chest moved with suppressed laughter.

Liam pinched him.

Arik caught his hand and kissed his fingers.

"I accept responsibility."

"Good."

"And if fate interferes?"

Liam looked up.

"Then fate can explain itself to me personally."

Considering what they now knew about Liam’s soul, that threat was considerably less metaphorical than it once would have been.