Vaid Empire: Conquest
Chapter 46
23rd of Thriduin, 12 AVE.
Domani, Capital of The Vaid Empire.
The cacophony of shouts and cheers nearly proved to be deafening, for when The God Emperor returned home, all but the smallest of infants and the most infirm old men gathered to welcome him.
Marching upon the main road towards the city gates, Dominax looked out across the ocean of citizens filling the poorer outskirts of Domani, seated atop a white lixidion. A bull of male breeding stock, the reptilian beast appeared massive and ravenous as it led the long marching train of soldiers. At his sides rode both Princess Cendra and the heavily pregnant Vixin, while his advisors rode just at his back. Tens of thousands of legionaries followed, their white cloaks bearing the bloody remnants of the war. Those left behind in Kinia continued to enforce compliance upon any city who remained defiant of their new ruler, yet much of the Kingdom had knelt upon the news of Privin’s fall.
Nestled between the riders and marching warriors, Lady Felza trudged along with them, the pivotal prize of her people’s conquest. A trophy on display, she was forced to walk entirely nude, wearing only fine chains that connected a collar locked around her neck to the fists of two white cloaks, as if led along by leashes. While her wrists were bound tightly behind her back in metal cuffs, her lithe legs were mercifully able to stride free, allowing her to easily maintain pace with her captors. Aside her walked Pelni, in nearly the same state as her niece, yet the former queen’s eyes remained lowered to the muddy road as Felza eagerly gazed at the many loud faces of the parted crowd. With little Alia placed safely in the hands of slave caretakers until Pelni’s temporary capture came to an end, the former queen stumbled along as if an empty shell.
A Lady only in name, hardly different than before her surrender, Felza hadn’t fallen from quite as lofty a height as her aunt. Yet where Pelni’s usefulness was nearing its end, Felza would rise again, looking down to see her pregnant belly.
“Your test approaches. You’ve endured the first, now survive the humiliation of the second. Do so, my necessary trophy, and you shall birth a king,” The God Emperor had instructed just before departing Privin. Though they had sailed much of the way, he had disembarked several miles downriver, ever hungry for the dramatic image of an approaching army marching home, rather than the arrival of tired warriors draining from ships. She saw now just how well the calculated manipulation had played, for the population screamed joyfully at their triumphant return.
Men and women from across The Empire had flocked to Domani, eager to once more lay their eyes upon their ruler. Yet as Felza marched, she found that herself and Pelni held a large portion of their passing attention, for many wished to shout at Olvir’s former queen. The final remains of Kinia’s royal family, nude and chained.
Felza could hardly keep a grin from her face. Bound as a conquered trophy, she had imagined such a fate throughout many long nights. Captured and bred by a barbarian, albeit a quite different and more refined savage than she had expected, she could only feel a warmth of excitement in her loins as she was led along, his baby steadily growing within her womb.
As the city gates approached, a sense of awe filled her. Not for the gates themselves, for Privin’s were taller before Dominax’s arrival, but rather for the massive pyramid that rose behind them. A mountain of white stone gleaming in the sunlight, she felt utterly dwarfed by its majesty even at a distance.
Entering the city, she felt the humid breeze against her bare skin, far warmer than her homeland. With palm trees interspersed between buildings, she felt as though she were entering the old legends themselves, tales of long dead Chiefs surrounded by concubines in their exotic lands.
The crowds, rather than thinning as they left the entrance behind, only seemed to thicken. Hundreds of city guards held them from pouring onto the main road as The God Emperor led his army, striding towards the imposing white jewel of imperial might. Construction had nearly reached the tip, due solely to Lalian‘s ingenious methods of moving the monolithic stones into place. A project thought to take a lifetime already neared its completion.
The army slowed to a stop as Dominax halted them, reaching the base of The Grand Pyramid’s colossal stairs. Cendra joined him as he assisted Vixin from her mount, his princess appearing as if she could fall into labor at any moment.
Cendra glared with annoyance as her father swooped her sister from the ground, unwilling to subject her to a climb that seemed to take the breath from many visitors seeking an audience in the throne room. Yet this day only the trio of Vaids pressed forwards, climbing the steps as the remainder of the army waited patiently behind.
Reaching the top without a hint of weariness he carefully lowered Vixin to her feet and finally let his eyes fall upon Irith as she waited for him near the grand entrance. The Concubine Empress cradled Arinax in her arms as her face lit up with joy, rushing forward to meet him. A future God Emperor, the boy nearly appeared too old to carry, yet he clung to his mother all the same. Princess Nafalya followed closely behind, leading Zela along by the hand with evident care, as if a mother herself.
Dominax closed the distance, nearly tempted to lift his mate from the ground in an embrace if his son hadn’t been pressed against her shoulder. Instead, he grabbed her head from the back, pulling her into a deep kiss.
“Our conqueror returns,” Irith greeted him with a smile as their lips parted, only for her expression to shift slyly. “You left me for FAR too long.”
“Yet you remain,” he replied with a chuckle. After two long and straining years the entirety of The Vaid Dynasty stood together once more, reunited.
Irith maneuvered Arinax within her grasp to hold him out for his father to see. “Your heir has missed you nearly as much as I, my love. I often hear him whisper your name when I lay him down to sleep.”
Though he raised a skeptical eyebrow at her claim, Dominax reached down and took the boy from her hands. Already in his third year of life, he had grown much since their last encounter. Hair as dark as the void, eyes silver as Dominax’s own, he appeared the spitting image of his sire as he peered with caution upon his face. “Father…”
A smirk of satisfaction crossed The God Emperor’s expression, and he touched his heir’s mind with his own. The power of his blood felt as strong as before, yet when he brought himself back to reality, he saw a hint of fear within the boy’s eyes.
An instant later Irith reached down and took charge of Zela from Nafalya, ensuring the curious toddler didn’t wander off before leading her eldest daughter forwards. “Go on.”
The Princess approached and bowed her head, meeting his gaze without the fear that he had seen in Arinax. She waited until he reached down with his free hand, grasping hers gently. He then pulled her closer, granting her permission to briefly hug him around his waist. Already the very definition of gorgeous after only twelve years of life, she stepped back with a calm grin and bowed her head.
As a pleased expression claimed Irith at the sight, her attention slowly shifted to her stepchildren as they stood patiently at their father’s side. She moved to embrace Cendra tightly before pulling back to assess her. “I cannot say I haven’t worried for your safety, yet I see now how foolish that may have been. You appear…older, more mature.”
“Broadened, I think,” Cendra said at a memory of Lake Ti, amongst other experiences.
Irith lovingly cupped the side of Cendra’s face, feeling her royal skin. “Exactly the word I was searching for. You’ve become a woman without my say.”
After a shared chuckle, The Concubine Empress then shifted her attention to Vixin, merely granting her a respectful nod. “When we received word that the princess was with child, I hadn’t expected you to be so…advanced. Come, I shall order my healers to see to you at once.”
“My healers, my love,” Dominax’s deep voice cut in calmly. “Though that won’t be necessary, I can sense the health of the child. It’s time we truly return home.”
“Of course, my love,” Irith replied with a hint of embarrassment as Dominax turned around and gestured down towards Clin, granting him command over the waiting legion. Cheers erupted from the lower crowds, a city screaming in triumph. Irith turned to follow her mate as he began to lead their family into The Grand Pyramid, nestling herself close as she breathed a sigh of ease. “You cannot know how relieved I am to have you here once again. Ruling…is not a joy.”
“For most,” Dominax replied with a grin.
***
Hardly had night fallen before Dominax and Irith found themselves atop Crescent’s Glory, the common name granted to the cube-like structure that arose from the front of The Grand Pyramid, a tier above the towering entrance. Decorated with the colossal crescent moon of House Vaid, etched from the stone upon its gigantic outward facing surface and coated with gold seized from across The Empire, it stared down over the city as if the judging eye of The God Emperor himself.
When the feasting had concluded, when the tours of the most recently built levels of The Grand Pyramid had finished, Dominax released a sigh as he looked down from the edge of Crescent Plaza, the private area atop Crescent’s Glory open only to the royal dynasty. He peered out across the city, over the vast surrounding rainforest and the flowing river caressing the eastern face of the city. “Few men shall ever see these sights from above. I shall say this only to you, my love, but there were times I feared I’d never again witness these heights.”
Wrapping her arms around him, Irith joined him at the edge as they viewed the darkened landscape, hearing the distant noises of celebration continuing to echo through the sky. The flickering light of the nearby large standing torches played across her smooth skin as she looked to him with concern, nearly holding her tongue before deciding to speak. “What truly occurred in Kinia, my love? We received word that you were held up in Deci, yet little else.”
A weary breath escaped his lips, and he turned to gaze into her brilliantly blue eyes. “The death of certainty, but that is nothing you must worry yourself with.”
“And Vixin?” She raised a brow.
“Another matter entirely,” he replied, unable to keep an insidious smirk from his face.
“I can only assume the fate of the man responsible for defiling your daughter wasn’t a gentle one. You certainly have your ways,” Irith stated disapprovingly, even as she ran her hand lovingly across his unarmored chest.
Without granting her a direct response, Dominax once more faced the open sky, looking down upon the open market nestled against the stairs of the massive fortress. Stalls were already in the process of being cleared away, making room for his next project. “Her pregnancy nears its end, Irith, and I plan to make the birth of my first grandchild nothing less than a spectacle.”
“Spectacle? Vixin has only just reached maturity, Dominax. Would she not prefer a quiet delivery to enjoy her firstborn child in peace?” she asked with a knowing voice that only a mother herself could give.
“Who is to say what her preference is? She holds duties, and thus, she’ll obey,” he said before reaching down to caress her midriff. “As did you. While your Week of Ardon required you to merely sit upon the steps of my throne as others come to pray for the health of the heir in your belly, Vixin shall delve a step further. When the time comes, she’ll give birth before the masses.”
Taken aback, Irith nearly pulled away in shock. “That girl has been through quite enough already, my love. I’d no sooner see her subjected to such a thing than my own daughters.”
Dominax could only grin at the firmness in her tone. Though her voice still held her familiar flare of elegance, years of living within The Capital had reduced the prominence of her exotic accent. While an untrained ear would hardly have noticed, he himself could only compare her voice to the strange, accented words of the people of Kinia, boarding her own homeland. “She’s a Princess of House Vaid, my love. She’ll offer no complaint.”
“Then you’d allow others to witness your daughter in such a state?”
“Ah, but such is the point. Let them come, to gaze upon the beauty of The God Emperor’s blood. Your former people hold a different view, I’m aware, yet a man here may only feel proud to have sired desirable daughters. It shall coax the respect of the citizens to allow them to view not only Vixin’s beauty, but the absolute proof of her fertility, stemming from my blood,” he explained, speaking as if he were stating that the sky was dark. “You’ve adjusted well to our customs, yet you must understand this mindset quickly, for both Nafalya and Zela shall share her fate one day.”
Irith’s feminine muscles tightened imperceptibly, and she looked to his eyes with a hint of defiance. “And if I can sway your mind before such a thing occurs?”
“You can’t,” he chuckled before pressing his lips to hers. Tasting her sweet scent once more, he then pulled back as his smirk lessened. “Besides, other matters occupy my mind.”
Her expression seemed to soften at the sound of his voice. Having been at his side for years, she knew the accursedly faint signs of his emotions well. “Such as, my love?”
Though concealing his hesitancy, Irith saw it plainly as Dominax caressed her cheek. “Kinia has made many realities clear to me, and I realize now, truly realize, that the day may come when I no longer walk Ayphieal. Contingencies must be made, else I risk allowing The Empire to crumble upon my death.”
“Ah, so that’s the look I see in your eyes,” Irith said with a kind smile. “I’ll admit, even as you’ve remained an enigma in many ways to me, with these…powers, I cannot say it isn’t comforting to see that even the mighty God Emperor fears death. You’re still human after all, Dominax.”
Though his expression hardened for a moment, it couldn’t help but ease at the sight of her smile, and he found himself grasping her hands in his. “Even so, many things must be ensured, beginning with the succession.”
“Arinax is your heir. You’ve said so yourself.”
“Said, yes, but I must be certain. Before my time, many Chiefs granted their thrones to their firstborn son, such is true, but just as many others were succeeded by their eldest child, regardless of sex. The Empire consists of many peoples, clinging to many traditions, and I must remove any confusion. I plan to officially proclaim Arinax as my heir, not merely with words as before, but sealed in blood.”
Irith’s smile increased. “Then we celebrate thrice this moon. Your victory, Vixin’s birth, and Arinax once more.”
“Indeed, I’ve already sent word to my vassals,” he said, running his fingers through her silky black hair.
“Then let us put aside thoughts of death this night. You’re home, my love, and I shall hear no more of it,” she said with a smirk of her own.
“Won’t you?” he said with grin, finally allowing his mind to ease somewhat. “It’s a dangerous thing to defy a God Emperor.”
“So it is,” Irith replied as she slid her hand over his chest, tracing over his muscles through his thin one-suit. “Yet I’d prefer a different subject. You’ve granted the court much of your attention today, though what of me?”
Feeling her touch, he ran his hand down her arm, gliding over her soft skin. “Do you think I’d forget my prize? A mate worthy of a deity?”
“I feared you might, surrounded by northern women,” she said, no longer bothering to hide the hunger in her gaze. “How many did you claim?”
Hands sliding down to hold her waist, he pulled her closer. “A Concubine Empress holds no need of jealousy.”
“Jealousy?” She laughed, her tone flavored by her accent. “You’ll find none in me. Distance and time can simply make a mind wonder, that’s all. Besides…” she said, pulling from his light grasp to gracefully lower herself into a squatting position. “I’d like to know who I’m about to taste…”
He felt her hands move over his thighs, seeking the groin slit of his one-suit. “Had I bothered to ask all their names, perhaps I’d tell you.”
The answer only served to heighten her interest, and she bit her lip in lust as she guided his manhood from the slit in his suit. It hung heavily in the open air, a conqueror in its own right. “How I’ve missed this…”
Dominax felt her elegant hands wrap around his girth, lightly caressing his cock as it steadily hardened.
“You’ve been gone for FAR too long…” she said before kissing his tip, then sliding her lips along the side of his shaft. “You reduce me to myself, my own fingers, as if they could possibly compare…”
His own lips parted slightly as she returned to his tip, teasingly slipping it only an inch into her mouth before pulling back. “I granted you permission to enjoy the harem.”
“The tongues and fingers of slaves? No, this is my only craving…” she said before sliding him in once again. This time she delved deeper, taking half of his length before pulling free, wetting him.
A moment later he gritted his teeth, feeling her slide down a third time to accept the entirety of his cock. It pressed against the back of her throat, nearly forcing a gag as it continued to slide inside until she reached its base.
Holding him in her mouth for a moment, her head then began to move back and forth, sucking lovingly.
Dominax held the back of her head, gently guiding her as she pleasured him. High above the city they remained alone, save for the Truthseekers that waited just inside the towering doors to the plaza, ready to burst forth at a single hint of danger towards their God Emperor.
Pulling him free, Irith slid her tongue along the underside of his shaft, before moving her hand to continue jerking his manhood. “You’re going to take me with you next time. I won’t be left alone again.”
As she took him into her mouth once more, he felt her tongue tease his length, watching her head move back and forth. “Careful, Irith, else you risk overstepping. You don’t…ahh…grant me commands, yet I’ll consider it.”
Hungrily sucking up and down his cock, she firmly gripped his base before stroking him as it slid from her mouth. “You left me to a cage far worse than you first granted me, my love. The citizens…their problems seem to multiply swifter than your bastards. Worse yet, they expected me to solve them all!”
He nearly laughed as she sunk down, his cock sliding down her throat. “Such is the duty of rulers, and you’ve seemed to withstand it well. The Empire has remained whole despite my absence.”
Taking slow, deep thrusts of her head, she felt his manhood approach the very limits of her capacity to refrain from choking. The cock that had claimed her virginity slid down her throat, nearly overwhelming her.
She reached under to take his testicles in her palm, feeling their weight and shape. They had granted her three perfect children, a fate she could only have wished for.
Gradually, as if reluctantly, she pulled him free once more, already missing his intrusion as she alternated to stroke him. A string of saliva extended from her tongue to his tip, and she made no move to remove it. “I’ve done only what you required, my love, yet I can stand it no further. I don’t want your throne, I want your sword beside my own! Please…allow me to fight beside you.”
With her deep blue eyes appearing to shimmer in the moonlight of Thriduin, he caressed her cheek before moving his hips forwards. Sinking back into her lips, he carefully pushed inside her mouth, feeling her tongue drag along the underside of his shaft. “Ahh…I’ll consider your request, yet I admit I’m reluctant to place you in danger.”
Looking up at him as she pleasured his manhood, her brows furrowed at his words, and he once again ran his fingers through her hair. “That isn’t to say I doubt you, my love.”
Her expression remained defiant even as she milked his shaft with her mouth.
He stifled a sigh and peered out to the city below. “There are alternatives…ahh…to leaving you upon the throne. I shall ponder it, though speak no more of it.”
As if knowing she couldn’t expect a better answer, she resigned herself to focus on his cock, feeling the steadily building excitement stirring in her own loins.
Sliding in and out, she massaged his testicles carefully, never wishing to damage his holy seed. How many girls of Kinia had accepted said seed, their bellies swelling with unknown siblings of Irith’s own children? The thought forced her free hand to slide down her midriff, seeking the warmth between her overly feminine thighs.
She tasted him, wondering of the lovers he had claimed. A Concubine Empress, mistress of the harem slaves, why did such a thought occur to her now? She had witnessed the very cock inside her mouth slide into many beautiful young women without a moment of concern, yet now…
He felt a tickle across his manhood as she moaned, her hand slipping beneath her revealing dress to seek her wetness. In response he began to guide her head with more control, lightly bucking his hips back and forth.
The Northern Kingdoms were her homeland, a birthplace discarded. Kinia had been both a close ally and rival of Harin, yet to imagine females of her own lands bedding her mate? A tingle of jealousy seeped into her for the first time, despite her claims.
Dominax continued on, enjoying her skillful mouth, and granting no hint that he had sensed her emotions. If such things brought doubt to her mind, he could only imagine her thoughts when she learned the truth of Vixin’s unborn child, an unpredictable storm he’d weather another day.
Irith felt him clench, the subtle quiver that whispered of an approaching orgasm. Instead of seeing it through, she slowly pulled his cock from her lips, utterly soaked in her saliva.
Before he bothered to question her, Dominax felt her guide him back until he sat down upon one of the nearby cushioned benches placed around Crescent Plaza. She crept between his parted legs, eyeing him like a huntress approaching her prey.
Slowly, she took his cock, pressing it between her round breasts and holding him there to build his anticipation. “These are yours alone, my love. Use them…”
As if obeying her own command, she began to slide his cock up and down, gliding between her mounds. The soft sensation of her flawless skin dragged an amused moan from her mate, causing him to lean back in enjoyment.
“You’ve become more eager in my absence, little Irith,” he said through a satisfied grin. “Perhaps I should leave you here once more.”
“I think you’ll want me right at your side, my love,” she said in her gorgeous accent, his cock sliding up and down. She moved to grasp her breasts in each hand, holding them firmly together to increase his bliss.
“You may be correct; I could never tire of this view.” He smirked. “It is rare to find such perfection in ordinary humans.”
“Ordinary?” she asked teasingly, her eyes gesturing to her breasts. “I’m aware of your fondness for them, a trait it seems you’ve passed to your son. Hardly can I recover from his feeding before he begs for more.”
Dominax’s lips pulled into a vicious smile. “You’ve done well, Irith, a mother worthy of…ahh…bearing my heir.”
His words stirred a flow of primal arousal through her, once more bringing her attention to the neglected ache between her thighs. “Oh Dominax…you’ve been away for FAR too long. The children need their father…”
Gliding up and down between her noticeable mounds, he felt the firmness of her flesh, the perfect amount to grant her a full round shape while allowing a slight bounce with each movement.
“Nafalya is maturing so swiftly, my love,” Irith said with motherly pride that boarded on obsession. “She’s already so beautiful…and growing more so each day. You must protect her, else we end up with a grandchild of our blood so soon.”
The thought brought the memory of Deci, of Vixin and Cendra, and he felt his sliding manhood twitch between her breasts.
“She’s no less beautiful than clever, my love. You’ll be proud, I hold no doubt,” she continued, a bright smile crossing her face. “Though perhaps too clever, for the servants and slaves can hardly keep track of her.”
Dominax moaned, his large size caressed on either side as he began to thrust his hips gently to match her movements.
“Arinax is another matter…” Irith said, her breasts subtly jiggling as she moved up and down. “Where Nafalya never seems to shy away from escaping her quarters, I can hardly seem to leave Arinax alone for more than a few hours.”
Beautifully accented and stemming from a gorgeous face, her words fanned the flame of his desire. A mate all men would risk their lives for, speaking lovingly of the children she had produced for him, every aspect of his primal paternal urges were caressed.
“Yet I’ve no doubt he’ll be a great God Emperor, even if a quiet one. Already he resembles you more than I could have hoped, to where I sometimes wonder if he’s simply a manifestation of your seed itself!”
A moan escaped him, nearly ready to paint her face with said seed.
“And Zela…” she began, choosing her words carefully. “Zela is Zela. At times I look into her silver eyes and see your own staring back at me, a mind I don’t believe I’ll ever fully understand. She’s your blood, my love, such an oddity is inevitable.”
With her saliva coating his member, he moved easily, his hips rhythmic as he used her breasts. So close was he, nearly able to reach out and touch his climax.
Seeing his evident enjoyment, her motherly smile thinned coyly, knowing him all too well. “And to think…they continue to suckle from me. These full breasts, your prizes, nursing your children. Strong…beautiful…healthy children, all of your bloodline…”
Her exotic soothing words struck directly at his instincts, and he found himself passing his limit. His hips jerked, and with a powerful groan, his seed spurted forth from his tip.
Irith moaned in satisfaction, opening her mouth, and shutting her eyes as he coated her pretty face with his sperm. From between her breasts his cock spit, sending heavy ropes of cum arcing across her features.
Her tongue caught a small portion, yet the rest drenched her face, leaking down to drip lightly over her breasts. He breathed, gazing down triumphantly as he took in the sight of his mate claimed by his potent sperm.
She tasted him on her tongue as she closed her mouth, hardly daring to move else she allow it to pour from her skin. Instead, she remained still, opening her eyes only when she felt him slip his cock from her chest.
He reached down to take her hands, guiding her to carefully join him upon the bench.
“I always forget…how much there is,” she chuckled, leaning her head back to bask in his scent.
A small breeze tugged at the small awning above their cushioned bench, a warm whisper of their tropical surroundings that had been severely lacking in Kinia.
“I possess another task for you, my love. You’ve served your duty well in managing the court, yet I ask more,” he said firmly, reaching around to lay his hand upon her waist. “Do this for me, and I shall allow you to accompany the legion when we march once more.”
A heavy breath escaped her as she reluctantly closed her eyes, only for them to open with conviction. “Name it. I shall fight at your side.”
“You had many beside you for support during your Week of Ardon. Nafalya, Cendra, even Vixin. During her own, I’d like you to be at her side in turn, in place of her mother,” Dominax commanded coldly, granting no peek into his concerns for his daughter. “You are her father’s chosen mate, my final Concubine Empress. Such a thing would demonstrate unity.”
Though surprised, Irith retained her composure as she turned her head to face him. “I doubt she’d take great comfort in my presence. Don’t forget, it was your own command that required her at my side.”
“Yet she obeyed without complaint,” he stated plainly. “She’s a woman now, and she’ll maintain a handle over her reservations. As will you.”
Irith’s slick face hardened. “The girl aided in a plot to assassinate me, my love, yet I’ve treated her only with the respect a princess requires. I’ve handled my ‘reservations’ well.”
“She was merely fourteen, Irith. Place the blame upon the true traitor, a whore’s name I shall never again utter.” His tone lowered to a deadly pitch.
“Of course, I’ve forgiven her part in such things,” she replied calmly, silently considering if her words held truth. “Though asking me to hold the role of the woman who possessed the intention of my death is another thing entirely.”
Dominax pulled her closer, peering down upon her seed painted face. “Do you recall the words I spoke to you in Nitri? Of how my girls needed a mother to truly care for them?”
She pulled his hand into her lap, cradling it in her own as if instinctually comforting him. “You feared you did not possess the capacity to love them the way they deserve.”
A joyless expression claimed his features as he nodded. “None would blame you should you despise Vixin for her actions, though she needs you.”
“I don’t despise her, my love,” she stated, perhaps far more firmly than she had intended. “I’ve kept my promise to look after both of my stepdaughters, even after all that’s occurred. It’s possible I’ve…failed Vixin, failed to be a mother to her, yet I’ve done what I could.”
Dominax squeezed her hand, feeling the soft skin of her hip under his other. “Indeed, and I’ve played my part in turn. I’ve granted you the family you so wished for, yet it remains fragmented.” A breath followed his words, before his tone hardened further. “You’ve made motherhood your life, yet herein lies a moment to mend what came before. You hold an opportunity to prove that your words aren’t merely what they are, words. Vixin lacks her true mother to assist her through this, to support her. Be there at her side.”
“I’d like to,” she replied quietly. “Yet if she resents my distance after all these years? If it cannot be mended?”
In response he eased somewhat. “I know my daughter well, Irith. Simply do your part, and whatever ill feelings she may possess for you shall slip away. The bonds of The Vaid Dynasty will strengthen, a family we both vowed to maintain in our own ways.” His grip increased upon her hand, as if it would slip away. “Do not abandon her.”
Turning to gaze at the nearby edge of the plaza, she considered his words as a hint of guilt settled into her chest. Though Vixin had plotted against her, surely it was understandable for a young girl to give into the manipulating desires of her mother. Xenia was to blame, not her daughter, yet Irith had shown her little love in the following years. Her thoughts flowed to Nafalya, knowing with certainty how she’d like her own child to be treated if she were to fall. “Dominax…I’d like to be there at her side.”
His tension softened, and he reached up to cup her lightly dripping chin to return her gaze to him. “Truly?”
“I’ve failed her, Dominax,” she said as her accented words nearly seized in her throat, unable to keep a dampness from her eyes. “I’ve promised to love your previous children as if they were my own, both Cendra and Vixin. I’ll be a mother to her once more, as I should have always been.”
Satisfied, and more relieved than he cared to admit, he leaned to grant the top of her silky hair a kiss, pulling her closer to his chest as his own seed continued to cover much of her beautiful face. “You’ve more than earned your title, a mate any would be proud to possess.”
41st of Thriduin, 12 AVE.
Domani, Capital of The Vaid Empire.
There was no end in sight to the crowds of citizens who flooded the city with wild celebration. More had flowed in from across The Empire over the two weeks from The God Emperor’s triumphant return, quickly overwhelming Domani until legionary tents had been set up to surround The Capital, temporarily tripling the size of the city and serving to shelter the joyfully frantic population.
Day and night both men and women danced nude through the streets, engaging in all manner of lustful conduct as others hurled fistfuls of vividly colored powders through the air, raining down upon the celebrating masses.
Many had initially come for The Empire’s victory yet remained far longer and were joined by many others when Dominax proclaimed his coming intentions. Festivities with no end in sight, countless flocked to enter the throne room when the second moment for celebration came.
The Week of Ardon has come once more, celebrating the coming birth of The God Emperor’s blood. Having sensed Vixin’s womb, along with assistance from his most skilled healers, he aligned the ten days of worship to end directly with the beginning of her labor.
Thousands of devoted followers came each day, one after another kneeling before the princess as she sat upon the first steps of the throne. They prayed towards her swollen belly, with dozens of only the most skilled and trusted guards waiting at either side to defend The God Emperor’s daughter.
She hadn’t requested their protection herself, of course, as she knew that any deranged attacker would swiftly find themselves a demonstration of her own powers. However, what she was less certain of was sitting before the steady stream of worshipers utterly nude, as Irith had done during her own Ardon. At first nervous when her father made his request, then excited at the thought, she had given in and allowed herself to be displayed in such a vulnerable state, a final step beyond her typical revealing outfit.
The masses were granted the honor of viewing the flawless body of their ruler’s daughter as she sat, as if a proclamation that his seed produced only perfection. As the representation of such a claim, Vixin displayed only her carefully crafted facade of confidence and sensuality, masking any reservations that remained to her. A part of her wanted them to see, delving further into debauchery.
With her pregnant belly marked with the crescent moon of House Vaid in white paint, she awaited the moment her father’s gift would finally slip from her loins.
It didn’t take long. Though coming on the twelfth day rather than the tenth, she felt her first contractions.
As The God Emperor had taken to sitting upon the throne above her throughout the long week, with the conquered nude bodies of Felza and Pelni forced to kneel at his feet, he quickly summoned his Concubine Empress the moment he sensed what approached.
He remained upon his throne despite an urge to rush to his daughter’s side and hold her as she delivered the child he himself had granted her, intending to display only an image of power and control.
Irith arrived shortly after the healers, joining Vixin as they were already in the process of moving her from the stairs and propping her back up with cushions they had laid upon the floor.
Vixin had known that she’d come, of course, but she couldn’t help but feel uneasy as her stepmother sat down beside her. Nude, utterly vulnerable before a massive crowd that filled the throne room, she turned her head to the woman she had nearly assisted in murdering.
True to her word, Irith reached down, gently grasping Vixin’s hand with a kind smile. “I’m here, my sweet.”
Focusing on The Concubine Empress, Vixin sensed her sincerity with a hint of confusion. Nothing remained inside the older woman but a motherly love, no anger, no resentment, no awkward conflictions.
Her younger siblings had been placed far to the side, Nafalya looking after both toddlers as Arinax clung to her young chest, and Zela stood calmly at her side. Cendra was nowhere to be found, a fact that was hardly surprising yet still struck Vixin with an inkling of disappointment. Her older sister, if only by mere days, had abandoned her. And yet…
“Thank you,” Vixin said to Irith as she looked up, before squeezing her hand as a particularly strong contraction claimed her loins.
“Of course, child,” she said, running her fingers through Vixin’s silky black hair, the exact color of Dominax aside from his graying strands. She was her mate’s blood, as much a part of him as her own children. “Just calm yourself. I’ll be right at your side.”
Her gentle flowing words stabbed at something deep inside the princess, and she felt tears begin to stream down her pretty face. Mistaking them for pain, Irith wiped them from her cheeks.
For less than an hour, far shorter than an ordinary human’s labor, the crowd watched as the princess’s royal body struggled, finally loosing a scream as she gave a final push. The tiny cries of her child sprang forth, echoing through the massive chamber and inciting cheers from all. Many men knelt and bowed their heads in veneration while women wept with joy.
The healers quickly delivered the child into his mother’s arms, and she peered down with utter joy upon seeing her new son.
Irith lovingly held onto Vixin’s arm, viewing the boy’s crying face. She had expected to see a stranger’s face, yet already his features appeared closer to Dominax than even Arinax.
The God Emperor rose from his throne and began to slowly descend upon the new mother. When reaching her side at the base of the throne, he caressed his daughter’s cheek with pride.
Vixin sensed a burst of fatherly love directed to her, and she returned it with a flare of satisfaction. They met each other’s eyes, silver into silver, as if a silent acknowledgment of what only they knew to be true.
Carefully he took the boy from her arms, bringing him up for inspection. The boy held no defects, no punishments for the secret of his conception, only a perfectly healthy infant. Sensing deeper Dominax clearly felt his own spiritual line connecting to the boy’s ethereal form, both through his daughter…and directly from himself. An insidious grin spread across his face.
He raised the child above his head, granting the onlookers a better view as they continued to cheer. Though the boy wouldn’t be legitimized into House Vaid, he held a different purpose. Honored as The God Emperor’s first grandchild, the next generation of his bloodline, the boy had already made his mark upon history.
When Dominax had played to the crowd to his satisfaction, he gently returned the child to its mother before once more turning to address them. “You’ve witnessed the beginning of the third generation to carry my blood! As my first child to give birth herself, Princess Vixin is no less than a goddess of fertility!”
Vixin gazed up at her father as she cradled their child, silver eyes lightly glowing as she listened to his booming words. “A Goddess of Fertility?” she thought to herself, smirking with satisfaction.
She held every intention of earning such a title.
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