They arrived in a beautifully tiled room with a servant in every two archways.The king and his mate were sitting comfortably with a square tiled table in front of them.
Riithan and Ylara were seated to their right, and her grandparents were gone.
She asked, “Where did they go?”
Riimal said, “They are heading to their quarters to give direction to the servants for your recovery needs.”
“Oh.Right.”
Riimal sat gracefully and kept her in his arms.A table was set in front of them.
The king asked, “You are an omega?”
“Oh.No.Not.”
The king sighed.“Riimal, you know the requirement.”
“Tellhimabout it.She is ours.She tastes like ours, and you do not want to try to take her from us.”His voice was calm, and he was stroking her hair.
She sighed.“That feels nice.How long is the hair now?”
He stroked her hair, and it was down to her shoulders.“So, no matter what anyone says, she will not be leaving without me, or I will be leaving with her.Take your pick.”
His brother sighed.“Fine.”
Ival said, “Is my position here going to be in conflict?If so, I can return to my place in Aksalla.”
“You are staying with me, no matter where we are.”
She smiled.“Do you like snow?We could go to Renovik.”
The king paled.“I apologize for my comment.”
“It has also only been atraditionhere for the last seventy-five years.Before that, the alphas were an aberration, and the omegas were random and coincidentally found to calm the raging idiots the fuck down.Thus, the tradition of finding omegas was born.”She grimaced.“And then every nation either hid or sold their omegas.Delightful.”
The king frowned.
“Oh.Right.Some slaughtered them to keep them away from the Sethir nobles.”
Ylara said softly, “But you are Sethir.”
“I am.Just because you are born to a thing doesn’t mean you have to agree with all they say and do.Just like my uncle, cousins, and aunt.They were all obligated to support me, and they sold me instead.I am here because my grandparents need peace, and Riimal needs to get laid by someone who isn’t cringing or looking for a payday.”
Riithan flinched and took Ylara’s hand.The princess said, “Yeah, I get that.Riithan didn’t believe it, and it nearly killed me.Literally.”
Riimal was smiling.“Ival means what she says, and the only thing that is currently stopping me is that I would tear her apart.Her skin is that of an infant’s right now, and patience is important.”He said it as if he were reminding himself.
“And yet, you are trying to figure out how to nudge the timeline.”
He leaned in and pressed his forehead to hers.“Absolutely.”
The king paused.“Do you understand his needs, Ival?”
“Uh, yeah.I am a widow.”
Riimal lifted his head.“Her husband was Zukker.She knows serpents and knows alphas.”
“But he died twenty years ago.”His eyes widened.“How old is she?”
