Page 94 of The King's Omega
I sat, drank water from the pitcher in the corner of the bed chamber, and ate what the guard brought me. The guard outlined what had transpired over the past two days. While Rigol and I were in his chambers—the guard’s cheeks went pink at this point—our soldiers in the castle, the city, and supposedly all over the country, rose with golden eyes to fend off the invaders. “Even some of the women went golden-eyed,” he muttered. “Took up kitchen knives and such.” He shivered. “And none of them so much as a scratch.”
I thanked him for informing me, then waited for someone to retrieve me or at least speak to me. But no one did.
Hours passed, and I realized what had happened. I had given Rigol my gifts, given them all my gifts, and now they had what they wanted.
I thought back. None of them, save Axe, had ever implied that they wanted more from me than what lay between my legs. Sure, they had fun with me, and they were kind… but who was I, after all? A servant from a brothel with ideas above her station. Tarn had agreed to talk to me when this ended, but I had practically begged. He’d be much happier without me. They all would.
Axe would let me stay with him, of course, but could I do that to him? Make him live with a mate his friends had all shared? He deserved more than that.
More than a used-up Omega. The shredded, empty nest in Rigol’s bedroom mocked me. The scent of old sex, of musk and sweat and slick, had gone sour. I had to escape it.
I wasn’t certain if it was safe to go out at all. Who knew if we had captured all the enemy soldiers? But loud whoops, joyful shouts, and even music drifted up from the courtyard. A celebration had begun.
I had done what they needed to win—I had given my gifts—and just like any party, when it was over and the gifts exchanged, it was time to go home.
Only I had no home.
Deep down, I knew my reasoning was faulty. Hadn’t Tarn tried to admit he had feelings for me earlier? But the sense of rejection filled me, and staring at my empty nest made it worse. I had to leave. The tunnel was impassible—I seemed to remember Vilkurn saying he’d blocked it—so the only exit was the door. I knocked, but this time, no one answered. Even the guard had gone.
I lifted the bar and used some hair pins—I refused to think they might be Selene’s—to pick the lock. Knife in hand, just in case, I peeked outside to find an empty corridor. Of course, the guard had left. I was a servant, and servants didn’t merit guards.
Pain circled me like a flock of crows and settled on my broken heart, weighing it down. I walked alone, unseen, through the hallways. When I heard footsteps, I took other paths to avoid the censure I knew I would see in everyone’s eyes.
I needed to be with the only creature in the world who loved me: my kitten. And she was in the stables. I would find her and go somewhere. Maybe I could find the broken Omegas, wherever Vilkurn had sent them. They would welcome me. I could see young Roya again and tell her about Milian’s death at the hands of my men.
Though I hadn’t seen his body. I let my eyes skate over the ground, glad there were no bodies to step over on this route. Roya might want to be good at killing, but I wasn’t the murdering type.
Minutes later, I arrived at the stables. Sorcha’s lover, Richard, was absent, along with all the horses. Men’s voices rumbled outside, but I didn’t care about any of them. I just wanted my…
“Mawwrrr.”
“Mischief!” I squealed, lifting her from a pile of clean straw. She had grown since I last saw her, almost a cat now. I held her, stroking her until a voice I knew grated above me.
A voice that belonged to a man I had assumed was dead.Milian.
“You betrayed me.”
My blood froze.
I looked up, squinting against the sunlight. He wore what had to be a stolen cloak, the kind merchants wore while traveling, brown and nondescript. It covered him completely, but his cold blue eyes shone with hatred and fury from beneath the hood. In one hand, he held a sword, hanging low. His clothing was stained with blood and what appeared to be vomit. Selene had poisoned him, after all.
“Milian.” Slowly, I put Mischief down and stood to face him. “I couldn’t betray you. I was never yours.”
“I made you my queen,” he hissed, lurching forward. “You were nothing, and I made you royalty.” He looked awful; his eyes were so bloodshot no white was visible, and his mouth was foaming.
“You healed them, didn’t you?” After a long moment, I nodded. Faster than I could blink, he seized my arm, the sword aimed at my gut. The edge hadn’t pierced the fabric of my skirt, but the threat made my blood pump faster. “Heal me, too. Do it now.”
“I can’t,” I said truthfully. He must have seen it in my eyes. His grip grew tighter.
“Why not? What’s the secret?” His scent, acrid and foul, swirled around us both. If all Omegas could scent the Alphas around them as I could, it wouldn’t have mattered if he’d had ten thousand unbroken ones in his grasp.
Not one of them would have taken him into her nest, or her heart.
I knew he was probably going to kill me, but I felt compelled to answer him. “It’s love, Milian. I love Axe, and Rigol, and all my generals. An Omega’s true gift, what heals her lovers and gives them power, is the love she feels for them.”
“Love? That’s fucking ridiculous. You’re nothing to them.” His laughter was wild. “You think they love you? Men like us don’t love filth like you. You are a tool, a plaything. Nothing more.”
“I know,” I said calmly, though my throat constricted to hear the truth spoken so plainly. “I never thought I was more.” He snorted, and the tip of his sword swung back to the ground. “My name even means ‘without value,’ Milian. You gave me a crown, and a fancy title, but I always knew who I was, what I was. A servant from a brothel, worth only what lay between my legs. I’m sorry if you thought otherwise.”
