Page 11 of Impaled by His Omega Prince (Reluctant Fae Princes #2)
Askara
No sweeter sound had Askara heard since he’d bedded Lumic last as the clang of gates and shouts of soldiers over the rabble rang out.
Askara’s opponent, a drunken fae alpha bearing a broken horn, seized the moment of distraction to flee, leaving Askara bolted in place, sword gripped tight. His orders were to best his opponent and not to leave the arena until he’d done so.
The haze of smoke and body odor over the rank scent of piss turned steely as blood spilled, and sunderleaf pipes fell, crushed beneath boots.
“Drop the sword, dusk blood!” A soldier shouted out, alpha from the look of his build and armor. From Croatens, Askara recognized by his sign.
“I would if I could, sir.” Askara turned, keeping his blade down, loose hand reaching for his chest to expose his binding sigils. It was of no consequence, though. The movement attracted hostility and with no opponent or orders, Askara wouldn’t fight back. What use was it when he’d rise again come dawn?
The sting of a blade under his arm burned through him and he choked. “Listen.”
Across the room, others shouted, distracting his foe.
Askara had moments before he bled out, and he held them with immense frustration.
“Lumic upstairs. West wing,” Askara said, his lungs pooling with fluid. He didn’t think the sword penetrated that deep, but the impact was enough. “Take him home.”
The soldier, alarmed by Askara’s words, shouted to the others to guard the upstairs west wing for him. And to Askara’s disappointment, the soldier gave him only a spare glance before running off without even a thanks.
To the moon, he whispered, mouthing beneath his breath, Mother Goddess, moon above. Thank you for saving him.
***
Come morning, Askara inhaled the breath of dawn with a sharp gasp and retched when he spied the bodies around him. Patrons and prostitutes, he’d known for a long time, lay slain in a pile. Arlyth, or what was left of her, spilled out at the side.
He rose with a soft breath, eyes turned up to his other mother. “Mother matron, sun that shines. Thank you for another morning.”
Unlike the moon, she didn’t speak to him as often, but her warm rays kissed his cheeks in a sweet way that he imagined a real mother would have, featherlight and lingering.
“Who goes there?” a soldier shouted as Askara rose, lifting his hands high. His bare feet slipped over limbs as he climbed free and went to his knees. He made a note to ask for his boots back, if they didn’t mind it.
“I am Askara of Liaberos, bastard son of Lyrica, late queen, ward of King Alluin.” His raspy voice cracked over the words as swears and mutters came from nearby, breaking into his field of vision. A gaggle of Croatens soldiers eyed him suspiciously.
“We put the sword to everyone in this pile. How are you unmarked?” The beta soldier, one he’d not seen before, narrowed his gaze.
“I am a prince of Liaberos. My blood is true, and vitalis blesses me.” He coughed and rubbed at his throat, verifying they had indeed at least attempted to ensure he was dead. “I cannot die by the hands of mortals.”
“I wish to test this.” The beta stared him down and drew his sword.
“Feel free to. It is not as if King Alluin has any love lost for me, but Lumic may. Is he alright? Did he make it out safe? Please, that’s all I want to know.” Askara lifted his chin and dropped his arms, staying on his knees to be less of a threat.
The beta approached, sword out, as he pressed the blade tip against Askara’s throat. The cold steel bit, blade stinging. Askara swallowed and took a slow breath. “I will warn you that the angle you’re going for may soil your garments.”
The beta narrowed his eyes and sheathed his sword in a fluid gesture. “You weren’t lying. That was not the face of a male about to die.”
Askara nodded. “All I say is true. If you send letter to King Alluin, he will vouch for my identity. I am prisoner here.”
The beta nodded and glanced around, his eyes a pretty sort of blue shining from the recesses of his helm. He had the pallor of someone with dark hair, sun fae by skin tone, but as if blacksteel ran through his veins a generation back. “Oryn!”
A hulking alpha with a shock of white hair and eyes a striking lavender jogged up, narrowing his gaze at Askara. “What’s this?”
“Says he’s Queen Lyrica’s bastard. The queen slayer. General Oryn.” The beta snorted, and the alpha narrowed his gaze before slapping the beta’s helmet. “Ow!”
“Go light the pyres, Matri. Would like to see what you’d feel if your pater died whelping you and people referred to you as his murderer.” Oryn, the alpha interloper, spat on the ground and waved the beta away.
Oryn shook his head and offered a hand to pull Askara to his feet. “So, you’re the one who helped Prince Lumic?”
“He was perfectly capable of helping himself, but I did send the body with the message, yes.” Askara bowed his head as he stood, earning a clap to his shoulder. The voice of the alpha sounded familiar, and his scent… He was definitely the male who’d ran a sword into his chest and left him to die the night before.
“We’ll thank you for that, but there’s more at play here. We’ll need you to come to Croatens to the stronghold as bargaining material. We wish to purchase the land to seize the castle from Alluin.” Oryn grinned wickedly and Askara frowned. Something didn’t feel right about the alpha, but he was key to escaping.
“I’ll have to show you to my sigil so I might leave. I am bound to this property. There’s a gelded alpha here, a dusk fae. He holds a silver necklace.” Askara glanced over at the pile of dead.
“One moment.” Oryn turned his back and glared across the field at the milling soldiers. “Whoever nicked the necklace off the gelded dusk alpha better cough up the silver right now!”
People glanced at one another until a sheepish omega approached—a dusk fae—holding out a grubby, bloody necklace in his hand. It was, for sure, the one that Cilan carried. “You said we could take the spoils off the corpses.”
“Yeah, and that was before I knew that was a Liaberian royal’s shit. Now find whoever stole the boy’s boots. We’re taking him prisoner. The king will be sucking our cocks before it’s over with.” Oryn offered Askara a leer of a grin.
“I’m of no importance to Alluin’s whatsoever. I promise. He’d sooner see me dead. I’ve only met him once.” Askara averted his gaze.
“Things change quickly when their goddesses get pissed.” Oryn offered Askara a roguish smile and grabbed his arm. Dread flooded the pit of his belly as the sun sent a warning. “Come with me. And if you do exactly as I say, Lumic will be just fine .”