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Which, to be fair, Skadi had threatened to do after one of the younger warriors had spouted a couple of unfortunate lines of poetry when we first arrived, about the curve of my hip and the pink of my lip.

I’d been staying on the beach with all my mates, since none of us liked to be too far from the sea now, not just Lusca. He’d been working at Lex’s coffin with saltwater and some sea snails that apparently emitted acidic goo. Nothing was working.

I held Mirrim’s arm as she faced the Alphas, barely trembling at all. “All of the women and children from Pict want to stay together, and we voted unanimously to go to Rimholt to start our new lives.”

I would have jumped for joy, if I had any to spare. The entire Starlakian army, and all of my mates, had spent the past two days trying to break into Lex’s stone coffin with no luck, and I was losing hope. “It’s a long trip,” I warned her. “At least three weeks by wagon.”

“They’ll need an army to protect them as they cross the continent,” Goran added. “But with Edan gone, we don’t need many at this outpost.” He didn’t mention that the army was getting tired of eating only fish. But there wasn’t enough farmland or large enough herds to feed his Alpha warriors for much longer.

“Will you be accompanying us?” Mirrim asked Goran. She had gotten braver and was even meeting his eyes.

He turned to me, but at that moment, Lusca spoke into my mind. Empress, my brother calls for your assistance. His mate, your friend, Wren, has been laboring for two days. The baby is starting to decline.

I grabbed my mate’s arms. “Goran, Wren’s having her baby! We need to get to Drakonspear now.”

“We must ready the Omegas for their journey first,” Goran murmured.

“We don’t have time.” I turned to Adiah and Mirrim. “Can you get everything packed? I’ll write letters in code to my crew so they know you’re coming with my blessing, I’ll give you plenty of healing herbs just in case something happens on the way, I’ll⁠—”

“How far is it to this Drakonspear?” Skadi interrupted.

“Over three hundred miles,” Goran replied.

“So, three hours by kraken?” Skadi drawled. “Less than two by dragon?”

The rest of us exchanged equally sheepish looks. “Right. We have dragons now.”

Skadi bowed. “I will go and prepare that thieving priest Frol to shift and carry some of us to your friend.” He sniffed. “He will carry the lesser mates. I will carry my kraken brother and you, my little spy.”

Goran rolled his eyes, but once Skadi was gone, I pulled him to face me. “Goran, you can’t leave your army again, can you?”

“I can, if it’s not my army. Cover your ears.” He cupped his hands around his mouth and gave an enormous roar, one that had more than a hint of Skadi’s draconic command in it. “Warriors, report!” In less than two minutes, every Starlakian warrior was there, kneeling.

The dust hadn’t settled before Goran announced the plan to march to Rimholt and our errand at Drakonspear. “For this reason, warriors, and for an even greater one—that I have found my life’s purpose, the Warqueen I will follow until the moon falls from the sky—I must give the title of Warlord to my successor.”

Adiah mumbled a curse when Goran called Dustin to stand beside him. “Dustin, you may be young, but no younger than I was when I met my destiny in Rada and received the mantle of power from Wulfram, becoming the Warlord of All Starlak. You are not untested. You risked your life in battle, facing stormy seas and fire-breathing dragons, returning here to prepare for battle. You led during my absence, and I have heard from all the warchiefs in these past few days that you led well.

“I believe the Goddess would see what I do in you. A warrior committed to carrying on with our goal to make Starlak a haven for all Omegas. To restore honor to our people, and our Goddess-sent mates to our homes. Will you pledge your life, your heart, and your blood to this goal?”

Dustin didn’t hesitate. “I will, and I do, Warlord.”

“Warriors, by acclaim, do you accept that this warrior is worthy to lead you?”

I knew it didn’t matter what the warriors thought. Starlakian leadership was granted by fiat and held by might alone. But the roar of acclamation had the blood rising in Dustin’s cheeks… and Adiah moving away, one slow, silent step at a time.

To everyone’s shock, he shook his head and shouted, “I cannot accept this role, Warlord Goran. Not on my own.” His gaze moved to me, and beyond. “You have taught me many things, Warlord, but the most important were these two. Without the woman the Goddess intends for me, my life has no purpose. And no Alpha can ever be considered superior to any Omega.” He strode to Adiah’s side, ignoring her scowl. “Warlord, warriors, the Omega Adiah, who came from Pict, is my purpose. My destiny. She has fought to protect the children and daughters of the Goddess for her entire life, and I will go nowhere she does not.”

His voice quieted. “Be my Warqueen, Adiah. Follow me. Lead beside me. Rule in front of me. Wherever and whatever you desire.”

“Under him, on top of him, he’s not at all picky,” a young voice called out from the crowd.

“I will kill you,” Adiah called back, her teeth bared.

“Then kill me,” Dustin agreed. “I will die with a heart filled with nothing but love, I will cry with a part⁠—”

“Oh, shut up already.” She cut him off by leaning down and smacking a hard kiss on his lips. When she pulled back, his eyes were as wide as saucers. “Fine. I’ll be your Warqueen. Goddess knows you need one.”

“Goddess knows I did,” Goran whispered in my ear as we stepped away from the celebrating crowd.