Page 10 of Risen
Somewhere in the chaos, Sadavir left his seat to reprimand, then dance with, each of his sisters in turn.When he had last seen the twin girls, they were five years old.It was clear from their excited voices and their endless questions that while they barely remembered their brother, they had overcome their initial wariness and were eager to learn all about him.I could feel Sadavir’s joy when he interacted with them, and knew the feeling was mutual.It was a beautiful thing to witness a family showing such easy love and acceptance with each other, something I’d never witnessed aside from my found family at The Fox.And I could see that this was the kind of environment Sadavir was meant for.He came alive around his family, and the bond between us hummed with his joy.
Unfortunately, Dimitri used the opportunity of everyone else’s distraction to move closer to me, taking Sadavir’s seat and leaning into my personal space to whisper so only I would hear.“Do you even know what he gave up for you, some mixed-breed mongrel?”
I kept my posture straight and relaxed, my voice calm.Centered.“Yes.”
That startled him.I could feel it in the way his heartrate elevated with anger—thanks to my healing power and my ability to sense his body functions.He had expected me to be startled or confused, or react in anger, perhaps.But I simply shrugged.
“I know what he lost, though of course it wasn’t any of my doing, since I only just met him a few months ago,” I said, setting my wine glass down with a soft clink.“More importantly, I know what hefound.”
I leaned back, letting my aura stretch just a little more.A shimmer.A breeze across still water.Just a hint of how strong I really was.If the others were to be believed, I was stronger than most omegas.And my mixed heritage gave my aura an extra edge—a flavor most didn’t expect.The grounded earth magic of a witch, mixed with the ethereal shiver that whispered of premonition and death.
Dimitri flinched.I couldn’t see him, but I sensed it.His own aura seemed to shrink.
“You hurt him,” I said softly.“He was young and foolish, and you used his instinctual reaction to your omega aura to insinuate yourself into his life.Our omega nature is meant to be a gift, a way to bring people together and offer purpose and comfort.But you twisted that.You tried to use Sadavir’s reaction to you for your own gains.You tried to push him away from Josh, hoping one day you’d have the prince and heir to the naga throne all to yourself.I know that much.”I chuckled, the sound anything but amused.“But Sadavir was strong enough, even then, to eventually see through your games.And he has grown much wiser and more selective since then.”I huffed a dry laugh.“I don’t have any need for those sorts of games.One of us will forever be nothing more than a dim memory of a mistake he almost made, Dimitri.And it won’t be me.He only has one omega true mate.Whatever this current game of yours is, it’s pointless.”
Silence reigned.I don’t think he had expected the blind omega to have fangs.Honestly, I had surprised myself as well.But I wasn’t going to let this bitter little man disrespect my mate.
Then Dimitri shifted tactics, his voice casual and airy as he asked, “whereissweet little Joshie anyway?It’s not like Sadavir to be without his favorite bootlicker.”Then he sucked in a breath, as if he’d only just remembered something scandalous.“Oh, that’s right.I heard rumors that the poor human has been turned into a leech.I understand why Sadavir would be embarrassed to be seen with one of the monsters who tried to exterminate our clan.”
I gripped my wine glass so hard it was a wonder the delicate stem didn’t shatter.Sadavir was at my side in an instant, no doubt feeling my rage boiling through our connection.“What is it, Ruya?”
I sipped some more wine and set the glass aside before I could throw it.“Darling Dimitri here was just asking about Josh,” I said evenly.
Sadavir’s signing was so violent I could feel the way his motions disturbed the air beside me.I didn’t need a translator to tell me that Dimitri had been warned never to speak of Josh or his vampirism ever again—probably with a few colorful embellishments.
Then one of the elders—a woman Cicely showed in a brief flash in my mind, with silver eyes and a thousand tiny bells woven into her hair—nodded once.The bells chimed softly, carrying a message I didn’t fully understand.Apparently, Dimitri understood, though.When the elder spoke his name, he rose abruptly.His composure cracked at the edges.“This has been enlightening.Sadavir.Witch.”
Then he glided out of the room on a soft shush of scales, as if he’d been banished.I thought perhaps he had.Sadavir’s people had finally taken a side and sent the asshole away.I noticed Aarif didn’t protest.
After Dimitri left, Sadavir’s sisters stole him away again.But I didn’t feel the need to fill the space as the music started back up and Sadavir told his current dance partner “just one more, little whirlwind.”
I felt confident within myself.What I had said to Dimitri was true.He was nothing.While the bond Sadavir and I shared waseverything.The other omega had just better hope he never needed healing.Because a dark, sly voice inside my head said he’daccidentallybleed out before I bothered to lift a finger.
Eventually, another of the elders came to sit beside me again.“You understand balance, child,” she said.“When to be soft and when to be hard.I sense it in you.That is rare among surface dwellers.”
“I was raised to survive,” I answered honestly, the last of my anger fading.“But I try to choose love, whenever I can, rather than to let my hardships blacken my heart.That’s the difference.Whether by choice or by fate, not everyone is so lucky, I think.”Some people, like Dimitri, seemed to choose bitterness over everything else.
She patted the back of my hand.“That is so.Prince Sadavir was wise to choose you as his mate, and lucky to avoid other… situations in his youth.”She sighed.“If only our Arif was so smart.”
When we left the dining room, Sadavir took my hand.“That was… enlightening,” I said, echoing Dimitri’s words from earlier with just a touch of dry sarcasm.Sadavir couldn’t hear my voice.But I was sure he could feel the emotion through our bond.
His fingers twined with mine.Then he lifted my hand to his lips.He didn’t speak.But I felt the soft sense of pride and gratitude in his aura, through the bond that tied us together.
Cicely put a hand on the small of my back as he spoke in my mind.The naga are hard to read.I think I spent too much time in O’Dell’s court.It’s made it hard to accept that people might be genuine.But… I think most of the naga court are what they seem on the surface, no more and no less.They are happy to have their prince returned, and happier still, to see he has been surrounded by people he loves while he was away.He paused.Except that slimy omega asshole.What the hell was his problem?
Sadavir sighed, making it obvious that Cicely spoke to him as well.“Later,” he voiced, soul-deep weariness lacing his voice.
I nodded agreement.We could fill Cicely in on all the gossip later.All I wanted at the moment was a bit of peace and quiet with the people I loved around me, safe and sound.Sadavir’s people were kind.But I wantedmycourt.
As we turned a corner on the path back to our rooms, a prickling on the back of my neck told me we were being watched.Straightening my spine, I refused to look back, my senses telling me it was just a nosy omega spying on us.What was his problem?He had tied himself to Arif now.Why did he care about me or Sadavir?
But then, I suppose the answer was obvious.Sadavir was the prince he had originally wanted to trap.And maybe there was something more than political and social motivation behind the scheme.He had wanted Sadavir, and he was jealous that I was bonded to the one that got away.
Sadavir chose that moment to draw me to a halt and press me back against a tapestry-covered wall, capturing my lips in a tender, passionate kiss that shocked me out of my thoughts.
I tensed in surprise, then immediately melted into him, twining my arms around his neck.I might not have expected the amorous attention, but I’d certainly never complain.Cicely chuckled and came to join us, stroking my hair and pressing a kiss to the side of my neck.“Beautiful, perfect mate,” Sadavir said aloud when he came up for air, cupping my cheek with one big hand.“No one could ever compare.”
Cicely took one of my hands and pressed a kiss to the underside of my wrist.Agree,he said fervently into my mind.
