I ran my fingers along her jawline gently. “I know that, my Warqueen. I’ve read the stories and spoken with my friends who have stumbled into their own miracles and bonded with their Omegas. All I want is for you to be happy and safe, and for the males you accept to be worthy of you.”
“You think you’re worthy?” she said archly and grabbed my cock, her fingers toying with the small gold bars that stretchedfrom my knot to just under the tip. “I mean, you’re well on your way, but let’s not be hasty.” Then she dropped to her knees, tasting me.
“Twenty-eight!”
Shit.I’d come again when she had, all over the wall. And not just that: I’d cried out.
“Is someone out there?” Kellin called, his voice louder as he approached the window.
“If it’s Lachlan, stab him for me?” she grumbled. “It is him; I can feel the fucker out there.”
I stepped back, turning to run away… and came face to face with Alexios, and not far behind him, Lachlan. They blocked the way to the small stand of pines, the only place I could hide. I swallowed hard, wondering what to do.
Alexios let out a tired breath and beckoned for me to follow him under the trees. Lachlan called out to his brother. “Don’t stab. It’s just me, Kellin. I’m gathering some mint for, ah, tea.” I couldn’t hear the rest of what they said, with Alexios leading me through the woods. Lachlan stayed behind, though I wasn’t sure where he went. His features had seemed as tortured as I felt, hearing her.
When we reached my tent in the camp, Alexios stopped at the torch that burned beside the flap. He gave a short bow, one fist in his palm. Then he spoke, each word calm but filled with more threat than a viper’s hiss. “Consent in all things, Warlord. You let her walk away. Your permission to hear her cries, and take your own pleasure in them, ended when you took off her beads and put on another’s.”
I nodded, but when he began to turn away, I found myself speaking before I could think better of it. “May I use your knife?”
He scowled at the dagger I wore at my waist, but handed me his smaller one. I held out one braid, feeling the crack at the side of the bone bead. I set the knife’s sharp tip beside the flaw andtwisted. The bone fell away in two pieces, and I handed them to the squinting Beta.
His dark eyes widened at what I’d uncovered. I knew without looking that it was the largest diamond she’d given me, wrapped in gold.
“You see?” I asked, when he remained silent.
“I have always seen,” he replied after a long moment. His gaze was every bit as measuring. “I saw who she was, and what she means to this world, from the moment we met.”
“You love her.”
He tilted his head. “My mistress and I can never be other than friends, Warlord. Unlike you.” He let out a short laugh. “I find it strange that you had the world’s greatest treasure in your hands and never recognized its true value.”
“I knew she was an Omega from the first—” I closed my mouth as his look changed to disgust.
“That’s the least of who she is. That’s the part that’s held her back the most.”
“Being an Omega?” I scoffed, but wondered what he meant. I’d thought I knew who she was. Loved who she was. “I know that held her back from being Vilkurn’s spy; she complained about that enough times. She left me because I was keeping her from the same thing.”
“Poor Warlord. You still don’t see her, do you? You have no idea what she’s been doing all this time.” He bowed again. “It was illuminating to meet you. May the light of the one I serve fall on you before your last breath.”
It sounded like a blessing and a curse rolled together, and his words echoed in my mind for hours after I lay in my bed, sleep wrapping itself around me instantly, holding me as tightly as she had until the day she let me go.
RADA
“What’s your favorite color?” Kellin sat across the chessboard, not paying much attention to our game. The storm outside had subsided enough for Stellina and Lorana to take a carriage to Lorana’s cousin who lived on the edge of the Mirlake Forest. It had only taken one night of Kellin’s selkie stamina to make it clear that the house wasn’t nearly as soundproof as it needed to be for us to make it all twenty-eight.
“Red, like blood,” I lied, and moved my bishop. “Check.”
His lips curled into a smile as he countered my move. “It’s not, though. No woman who says pink primroses are her favorite flower?—”
“Under duress!” I cried out loud enough for Alexios to poke his head inside the room, before he slid soundlessly away. “You were tickling me, Kellin. In many cultures, that’s a form of torture.”
“As if torture would frighten you,” he scoffed. Three moves later, he had me in checkmate.
“Cards,” I insisted when he offered a rematch. “I can beat you every time at cards.” I couldcheatwith cards.
Normally, I could beat most people in chess fairly, but not Kellin. He had a sharp mind, a keen eye for strategy, and a quick tongue… Damnit, now I was thinking about his tongue again. My parts were still recovering from last night’s twenty-eight “shores of bliss.” I needed a few more hours before it started again.
“Tell me your favorite songs,” I demanded, ignoring the scent of mint and rain that was coming from the cushion beneath me, and not the half-open window.
