by Zoey Ellis
It was as though the entire atmosphere had sucked sound from the room, or as though everyone had stopped breathing. Emperor Drocco and Thorec held the gaze between them and like time never existed, but in Drocco’s eyes, Thorec saw the ruler’s understanding.
“Pick one Alpha to assist you,” the emperor said finally.
“Drocco,” the empress gasped.
But the emperor’s eyes never left Thorec. “One Alpha to help you and who will be honest with you if you are on the wrong track with this Omega. An Alpha you will listen to.”
Thorec clenched his teeth, but he couldn’t deny that it was a reasonable request. “Roclan.”
The emperor nodded. “Good luck, General. I wish you well.”
He turned to his empress, who stared at him in disbelief, and lifted her into his arms. She immediately slipped her arms around his neck as though it was an automatic position that he held her in frequently. She pressed her forehead to his, but her expression was still one of shock.
“I trust him, Cailyn,” Drocco murmured to her as he walked to the door and left.
* * *
Chapter Six
RIA
The city of Ashens was busy, beautiful chaos.
Ria had only been there twice before—once before the Lox had taken over and the other afterward, while the city was still rebuilding from battle. It had been redesigned to look sturdier and more powerful than the previous design but was no less impressive. The people were bold and bright, just like their clothes, and the environment was positive and happier than either time she had been there before. The market hadn’t changed, though. It hummed and bustled so vibrantly that Ria felt invisible among the crowd. Exactly like she wanted.
She navigated to the stall she’d visited yesterday and waited.
“I have it,” the merchant said as soon as he saw her. He picked up a folded pile of fabrics and handed it at her.
Ria examined them. “The same uniforms they wear in the palace?”
“Identical in every way,” the merchant said proudly. “Every servant uniform in the size you asked for. We are the best at custom orders, Miss, you won’t find any fault. Recommend me to your friends.”
Ria shot him a dry smile as she tucked the fabrics into her bag and paid him.
She kept her head down as she hurried out of the market square and toward the tavern to meet her next contact. She had no reason to believe that General Thorec knew she was in Ashens, but he definitely would know by now that she had left Ariyon. The thought of his reaction twisted her nerves in an unsettling way.
She shook the feeling off as she entered the tavern. The general didn’t own her, and the short time she spent with him didn’t mean anything. Annoyingly, her body seemed to think it did. The two nights she’d spent in Ashens so far had been filled with thoughts of him—his rough chuckle, his look of pleasure, his mouth… She wasn’t sure how he’d managed to contaminate both her body and her mind, but the way he touched her and the things he said to her were burned into her memory from the moment she lay down to sleep. They revolved in her thoughts until she was slick between the legs and trembling with desire.
In the mornings, she managed to force them away by thinking of what she came to do. She was back on task now. The mountain people had been extremely useful and helpful once she understood what was important to them, especially when she explained that she had no allegiance to the Lox and did not want to upset the treaty. All she had to do was keep going, and her experience with General Thorec would eventually fade from her mind. She hoped.
She slipped into the tavern and headed to the back. A Beta woman with short black hair sat at a table in the corner, eating heartily from three large plates. She barely looked up when Ria sat down, but she said, “Payment?”
Ria looked over the tavern for anyone watching them, then set two handfuls of coins on the table.
The woman took a few moments sucking meat off a bone before she even glanced at the coins. “Backroom. Top left shelf.”
Ria frowned. “What? Why can’t you give it to me here?”
The woman went back to her plate. “It’s too risky to carry around that amount of parchment with that kind of sensitive information on it. You have to collect it from the back room.”
Ria’s mouth tightened. “This was not what we agreed.”
“If you don’t want it, take your money back.”
Ria glared at the woman, but she didn’t even pay her any attention as she delved into her stew with her bare fingers. Standing abruptly, Ria headed to the backroom, keeping her eyes open and staying alert. She tried to avoid back rooms in taverns at all costs. They usually only had one way in and out, and it was a dangerous place to end up alone, especially for females. The only reason why she didn’t protest too much was because this tavern’s backroom had a window, and at least magic was fully functional in Ashens. It wasn’t a completely disastrous idea to risk her safety for the information she was after.
She slipped into the back room quickly and quietly, then searched for the shelf. Finally finding a large packet with the sheets of parchment she needed, she tucked the parchment into her bag, when a glint by the door caught her eye. She back away in shock as strands of magic gathered, weaving and merging together until a rippling portal beamed in the tiny backroom blocking her from the door. Ria called on magic, preparing to fight if anything dangerous came through. Panic jumped into her throat realizing she was trapped and inched backward toward the window. Feeling along the windowsill, she tried to see how easy it would be to open, but as her hand reached the lock, a figure stepped through the portal.
The woman was dressed in a sophisticated silk tunic that was cut to accentuate her curves. Her curly bronze hair had been twisted up expertly, and she wore beautiful jewelry encrusted with colorful gems. As she stepped forward, another woman stepped out of the portal behind her. This one was dressed like a Lox warrior, except her entire outfit was in red.
Ria readied herself for an attack. “What do you want?”
“I am Empress Cailyn,” the small woman said, “the Omega empress. Apologies for trapping you in here, I wanted to speak to you privately.”
Ria did not change her stance. “How can I help you, Empress?”
“I came to warn you. Your Alpha came to see us at the palace. He intends to recapture you.”
Ria’s eyes widened. Relief, fear, and irritation battled for dominance within her. “General Thorec is in Ashens? Already?”
“Yes. He knows you’re here to find another Alpha, and he is not happy about it.”
“He doesn’t have any say over me or what I do.” Ria scowled.
“You are here to search for another Alpha when you already have one, my friend,” the empress said, a little amused. “That would annoy all Alphas. And probably all Beta males as well.”
“He is not my Alpha nor my mate.”
“Oh.” The empress seemed surprised. “But when I said your Alpha was here, you knew who I was talking about.”
Ria flushed. “Y-yes, but… It wasn’t—” Damn it. She closed her mouth and started again. “He kept telling me I was. So I knew who you were talking about.”
“I see.” The empress nodded thoughtfully. “You don’t want him, then?”
Ria tried to snap out a strong and resounding, “No,” but it didn’t come.
A knowing look entered the empress’ eyes. “If you don’t know yet, that is fine,” she said l
ightly. “I wanted to make sure that you were aware and prepared, but it seems I didn’t need to worry.”
“I am curious why you did worry, empress,” Ria said, inclining her head respectfully. “I am not an Omega based at the palace.”
“I’m concerned about all Omegas,” the empress said. “You were found by an Alpha in one of our territories, and now he’s claiming you are his. It is a concern for me that you are willing, obviously.”
“I wasn’t,” Ria said sharply. “He claimed I was his prisoner, and then he—” Ria struggled to find words to describe the experience. She had been bruised and marked and thoroughly claimed by him in the most complete way an Alpha could claim an Omega, and yet she had fought him to do it right. It was confusing her as to whether he could be wholly blamed for it.
The empress said nothing and simply observed Ria.
Ria eyed her, her confusion turning into annoyance. “If you were worried I might not be willing, why didn’t you arrest him instead of coming here to warn me that he is planning to recapture me.”
“It was difficult to have him arrested,” the empress said. “He claims you are his true mate.”
Ria’s mouth dropped open. The part of her she had silenced and ignored hummed with pleasure, but her mind was more cynical. “And you believed him? Just like that?”
The empress took a breath as she thought. “Sometimes we Omegas fight what is natural because we don’t recognize it. It’s different for each Omega, but we are prone to ignore an important part of who we are because we’re not used to experiencing ourselves in that state. I’ve known Omegas who will never let their true mate see them when they think they are most weak. They don’t understand that it isn’t seen as weakness by their mates—it is when they are most attractive.”
“So you think I should just give in to him?” Ria asked, incredulously. “You think that an Alpha who finds an Omega in the Lands should be able to do what he wants with her? Did he even report to you that he’d found me, Empress?”
Surprisingly, the empress smiled. “Above all, we value when an Alpha or Omega find their true mate, Ria. General Thorec is severely adamant he has found his and that she is you. He wishes to prove to you that he is your Alpha. Why shouldn’t I give him that chance? And if you are even part willing, why shouldn’t you?”
“Because!” Ria insisted. “Because… he doesn’t listen. And he is… annoying and…” Handsome and comforting and sexy. She scrambled to find more appropriate words to explain. “We… fight. It’s… chaos. We are always combative. That can’t be right.”
“The Alpha/Omega connection is slightly different for each couple, Ria,” the empress said. “The question is, do you like it when you fight? And if you do, why is it wrong?”
For the rest of the day, Ria couldn’t get the conversation with the empress out of her mind. Above all, she was astounded Thorec described her as his true mate, that he had gone to the palace and had spoken to the ruling couple. She didn’t know what to make of it. She tried to think of every scenario that would bring him here for her under different reasons, but she could think of none that would involve him lying to his Lox emperor.
Further, when she searched herself for an answer to the empress’ perfectly reasonable questions, she couldn’t find one, except that she already had a goal to complete—a mission she couldn’t abandon. She had thoroughly enjoyed moments with Thorec, even felt that she possibly belonged in his arms, but it was too fleeting to take seriously. She had promised to herself that she would find the Alpha she had been looking for, and she wouldn’t drop everything because of one overbearing Alpha. Also, she didn’t want to simply become his Omega and his property. She wanted her own life—to build something that was Ria, without the influence of others, who tried to mold and shape her into what they wanted. She shook her head, her mind firm. No, she couldn’t give Thorec a chance right now. Maybe once she found the Alpha and settled into her life, she could think about Thorec again, if he even still wanted her. But not now.
One of the things the empress’ visit did highlight was that she had somehow alerted someone of her presence. The Beta woman had sent her to the backroom for the empress, which meant she was too easy to find. Thorec was not stupid. He would be using this as a challenge to find her, and unless she was alert and observant, he would succeed.
She’d moved to a new inn for the night, one she was familiar with, and spent the evening pouring over the stack of parchment she’d collected. She knew there were a lot of Lox warriors, but the list was enormous. It included their occupations and where they were based, across the Eastern Lands. Once she found who she was looking for, she would know how easy the next step would be.
She found the name on page eight-seven. Jaythen. She frowned as she peered at the information by his name. Occupation: Lox Warrior—discharged, Location: Lox Palace, Ashens.
So he’d been discharged even though he was still at the palace? She stared again at the page. Lox Palace. She’d suspected it, but now she knew for sure she had to go there. Exhaling slowly with an odd blend of relief and frustration, Ria set the stack of parchment down. At least she knew where to find him.
She dressed simply in a plain blue outfit, something that would blend in among the Ashens crowds, and ensured she had everything she needed in her pockets, but as she moved around the room, something caught her attention. It was too quiet.
The inn she’d chosen was a noisy place; the walls were thin, and the people who stayed there were rowdy merchants, who were always jesting and shouting to each other at all hours. But at some point, while she’d been reading the parchment, everything had become silent.
She tiptoed to the door and cracked it open. The corridor was empty, and all the doors were shut. More unusual behavior. Ria’s heartbeat pounded loudly in her chest. It had to be the general; he was here.
Ria closed the door quietly and looked around the room. The window faced an alley that she could escape down, so she knew the window could be an exit. But General Thorec was not stupid. She had used a window to escape before, so he would most likely have thought of that. Still, he couldn’t be in two places at once.
She went to the window and peeked out. General Thorec stood a few feet away, hefty, hulking, and still, staring right at her window.
Ria gasped, and backed away, her heart throbbing in her throat. Shit! She spun in the room, looking around for anything she could use to fight or to help her escape, but there was nothing. He was a trained Lox general, and if he let her see him, he’d already figured out all the ways she could get out. There was only one way he couldn’t control.
Calling on magic, she began to weave a portal that would take her as close to the palace as possible. It was likely that the emperor had found some way to identify unauthorized usage of magic, so she wanted to avoid using it unless she really had to. But it was the only way she was going to get out of there. Now that she knew where Jaythen was, she just needed to get to him. She never had to come back to this room.
After quickly ensuring the room was left without any sign of where she could be going, Ria stepped through the portal.
* * *
Chapter Seven
THOREC
Thorec watched the gleam of magic fade from Ria’s window. He exited the alley and walked around to the entrance of the inn, where all the staff and guests waited outside, watching him nervously.
“Here’s the key you asked for, General,” the owner said
, shuffling forward.
Thorec took the key and made his way inside. As he climbed upstairs, his annoyance scratched at his threadbare patience. This was the worst place Ria could have chosen to stay. Although it was touted as a merchant inn, many criminal activities took place here, including whoring. That Ria was in the vicinity of something like this enraged him to the degree that he was prepared to rip out everyone’s throats for allowing it. Still, that wouldn’t help him find her any quicker.
Although he’d known where she’d been staying for the last few days, he needed her to find the Alpha she was seeking. He wanted to identify the man and find out directly from him what his hold on Ria was. Otherwise, his existence would loom over them, and Ria would never know that Thorec was willing to best any contender trying to lay to claim her.
He opened the door to her room and looked around carefully. It looked as if no one had been staying there, but he knew she had only moved there earlier that day. There was no indication that she’d eaten, and if she had any clothes, she had taken them with her. She’s even cleaned the floor to remove signs of where she may have tread; this inn was not known for its clean floors. Smart, little challenger. The one thing she left was a stack of parchment on the desk.
He sifted through it, surprised at its contents. Ria had somehow managed to obtain information about every single Alpha in the Lox. Some sheets turned over, as though she had been looking through them. The page that she had left in view listed all of the Lox generals, and when Thorec looked down the page, he let out a loud, gruff chuckle.
