Page 89 of The King's Omega
“Yes. You’re the king. And who am I?”
“My queen,” I answered, loving the way her darling brow crinkled on hearing the words. She shook her head, taking a breath to deny me, when I finished, “or you will be, if the Goddess answers my prayers.”
“W-what?” I had seen Vali in many states, but never entirely flummoxed as she was now. But I had no more time to tease. Memories were rushing back. “Milian,” I said, the name bile on my tongue. “He was here.”
“Yes, but he’s not now. We barred the door, and he’s outside fighting with Axe and the others, I think.”
“Milian’s soldiers will overwhelm them. We need to get you all free of the castle.” If even one of my generals could break away from the battle and rescue Vali, at least she could be safe. Milian had gleefully informed me that his tens of thousands of troops were gathered around the castle, with more surrounding the city, and my soldiers were, for the most part, dispersed or captured.
Victory was impossible against those odds.
But I could save the one who meant the most to me and my brothers. The only Omega in existence. “Vali, help me stand. I can get you out. Axe, too.” If I could convince him to leave.
I had to.
“Um, about that.” Her white teeth worried at her lower lip. “They’ll probably be fine for a bit.”
Had Milian lied about his troops? “How?”
“So, the Omega’s gifts were pretty much like in the book. I gave them to the generals, and it healed them and… ugh.” She hunched over like her stomach hurt.
“Healed them? And that hurt you, somehow?” She shook her head, unable to speak. “Vali, are you unwell? Milian didn’t—Selene didn’t give you anything to eat or drink, did they?” Had she been poisoned as well?
“N-no,” she grunted. “Never trusted her.”
Of course, she hadn’t. I still couldn’t believe I had fallen prey to Selene’s tricks. Still, who would have thought the woman would have poisoned herself along with me? She had lost no time telling me all about her schemes and how she’d fooled me while torturing me.
“I deserved to die for being an idiot,” I mumbled.
“What do you mean you deserve to die?” Vali groaned, her hands wrapped around her waist. “Because you believed Selene? That doesn’t make you an idiot, just a man. Everyone liked her.”
“Not my generals.” I laughed weakly. “They all warned me. But what was worse was that I mated her.”
She nodded violently. “It made you stink. Like her.”
I stood, my legs still feeling unsteady. “I wish I’d seen her for what she was, a vicious snake. I also wish I’d seen you for what you are, Vali. I wish I had waited for you.” Her eyes closed, as if I’d hurt her.
“So, the thing is…” She sat up, her eyes shifting to the side as she spoke quickly. “If I share my gifts, we think the gifts might go to your army. Um, the golden eyes thing for example. It worked for a while with the others, and the healing and invincibility they definitely got—that’s why the guys are all probably fine.”
Golden eyes thing?I would ask later. “How did you heal me?” I wondered aloud.
She put a hand to her face and wiped away what looked like a smear of gold paint. “Oh.” Her voice was small. “Another gift.” A trembling smile flitted across her lips. “I think you drank my tears, Rigol.”
“Your tears… healed me.” More than healed me, they had brought me back to life. I licked my lips, tasting the addictive salty sweetness there. “Is that what the others did? They drank your tears?”
“Not exactly.” She blushed. “The other gifts came when we, um…”
“Ah.” It had to be sex. Of course she had given that sweet gift to my brave generals. I fought to keep my expression placid. She didn’t need to see the desire, the envy, that roiled through me.
I knew better than to think she wanted to share any of herself—her gifts or her body—with me, though. I had spurned her more than once, insulted her, and in the end, done her a great wrong. Remembering it filled me with shame. “Can you escape through the tunnels, Vali?”
“No,” a voice came from behind us, and I reached for the dagger instinctively. “Milian’s men have discovered them, and they’re teeming with the enemy. I’ve blocked the one into this room off permanently, I’m afraid.”
“Vilkurn! You’re safe.” Vali ran across the room and embraced him. I watched, jealousy scratching at my insides as she lavished him with affection.
“Not for long, I’m afraid. Milian has roused his troops, and they’re storming the castle. Each of us generals is worth ten men or more in battle… but unless there’s a miracle, all we can do is hold them off for a while.” He smiled at me. “Looks like you’ve had one miracle already.”
“Yes,” Vali said. “He died, Vil. And I cried all over him and…”
