Page 21 of Sins of His Wrath (Myth of Omega: Wrath #2)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

A s Akoro headed back to his room from escorting Naya to hers, a palace guard approached, his face drawn tight with urgency.

"My king, you're needed. Immediately."

Akoro straightened, tension coiling through his muscles. "What's happened?"

"Prillu has called the council. She says it can't wait."

Nodding, Akoro speed up the steps, navigating to the strategy room.

When he arrived, the rest of the council was already there. Ranin stood by the large table, examining a map, his fingers tracing patterns with methodical precision. Nanaek and Tshel were talking near the window, their voices too low to hear, but their posture spoke volumes—shoulders tense, heads bent close together. Nrommo paced in tight circles, his face carved with tension, boots wearing a path in the stone floor.

And at the center stood Prillu.

She looked worse than when he'd seen her last—dark circles bruised beneath her eyes, her skin ashen despite its rich brown tone, her posture rigid with barely contained dread. She looked up as they entered. "Good, you're here." Her voice was taut, stretched thin like wire about to snap.

Akoro moved to the head of the table. The room stilled, turning to him. "What's happened?"

Prillu's hands trembled slightly as she gestured to the map. She paused, drawing a deep breath as if steadying herself, and in that moment, Akoro felt the first real flicker of alarm. Prillu—always composed, always steady—was afraid.

"The calculations have changed." She took another steadying breath. "The nnin-eellithi storm... it's coming sooner."

A heavy silence descended on the room, thick enough to choke on. Akoro's jaw tightened. "How much sooner?"

"A month." The words were choked out. "Not six months. One."

The implications swept through the room. Nrommo cursed violently, slamming his fist against the wall. The sound echoed, sharp and sudden.

Ranin froze over the map, his fingers stilling mid-motion. Tshel and Nanaek exchanged glances. Oppo murmured under his breath in disbelief.

"How is that possible?" Akoro demanded. "Your projections?—"

"Were based on patterns we've tracked for decades." Prillu's voice cracked slightly. She moved to the map, pointing to marks that charted the storm's expected path. "But something's changed. The magic is... different now. More volatile." Her eyes flicked to him, then away. "It's like nothing we've seen before."

Tshel stepped forward, her usual composure fractured. "The princess's escape may have destabilized things more than we realized." She hesitated, careful with her words. "When she pulled that magic into the city... it may have altered something."

“The nnin-eellthi that chased us in the desert was unusual too,” Akoro said. “I thought it was because… I was with her. But it might be a sign of a something else.”

Silence settled as they all absorbed this. Akoro felt the weight of it pressing down on his shoulders, a familiar burden growing heavier.

"And what about our plans?" Nrommo said. His voice carried the harsh edge of a man seeing years of work crumbling before him. "We were supposed to have invaded the green land by now. Secured it for our people."

"We still can," Nanaek said, but there was uncertainty in her voice. "We have troops ready?—"

"No." Oppo's voice was quiet but carried across the room with surprising weight. The simple word hung in the air.

"The city needs time to rebuild," he said. "The people need time to mourn." His eyes met Akoro's, unflinching. "And a storm this size... we can't leave our people to face it without leadership."

The truth of his words settled heavily in Akoro's chest. For generations, the plan had been clear: if and when the great storm came, they would have already secured the fertile lands across the Sands. Their people would be safe. Now that certainty was crumbling, replaced by a gnawing dread.

A long moment passed. Akoro leaned on the table, his mind grasping the implications.

The council watched him, waiting.

"We don't have enough time to evacuate everyone," Nrommo said. He moved to the map, gesturing broadly. "Not in a month. Not even half our population. And the artifacts, the temples, our history?—"

"We need to consider another option," Prillu said, cutting through the tension.

She stepped closer to Akoro, her eyes locked on to him, her voice low. "We need to give the princess all her days to find the Solution."

Akoro's nostrils flared, heat rising in his chest. “That isn’t a strategy, Prillu. We have to make concrete plans.”

"The Solution does not exist,” Nrommo said.

"You don't know that," Oppo shot back.

"Generations have tried to find it," Akoro growled. "All have failed."

"None of them were her," Tshel said quietly. “From what I heard, she has an affinity for magic that is unlike anything we’ve witnessed here.”

“She’s from a different land,” Akoro said. “Magic works differently there.”

“She managed to control a nnin-eellithi long enough to devastate this city,” Prillu said. “And with no tools, no artifacts. That is unheard of, my king, even among the people who tried and failed.”

“Is that why you offered her uninterrupted days when she asked?” Akoro asked sharply.

Prillu bowed her head. “My apologies, I know I did that without your approval, my king. But my job is to secure advantageous trades and deals for the Sy Dynasty. And since the princess might be the only one who can succeed, impeding her on this felt like working against our own interests.”

The room fell still, the weight of her words settling over them. Akoro's fists clenched at his sides, knuckles whitening.

"I only agreed to her proposal to bring her back to me and to give our city time to recover," he said, his voice rising. "I never intended for her to put herself in harm’s way."

"You never intended to give her a real chance," Prillu clarified, frowning at him.

"Because it cannot be done!" Akoro thundered, his control slipping momentarily. The force of his voice seemed to rattle the very walls. "And I will not let her kill herself attempting it."

No one spoke for several moments. The frantic, panicked air of the room thickened until it was charged with tension.

"But what if she can?" Oppo said, stepping closer. The determination in his voice was unlike him—Oppo, always the measured one, the voice of caution. "What if she succeeds where others have failed?" His voice softened. "Imagine it, brother. Our people, able to stay in their homeland. No more fear. No more evacuation plans. No more crumbling cities."

“I made a promise to them?—”

“Yes. That you would retire our culture to greatness. But we’d have to leave everything behind to do it. Imagine if you could say to them, there would be no more nnin-eellthi .”

The possibility curled through Akoro's mind, fragile and impossible. He wanted to crush it before it took root, before it could grow into something that might shatter when reality crashed against it.

Ranin cleared his throat, drawing Akoro's attention. "The princess has shown abilities unlike any Omega we've encountered," he pointed out, his tone careful, diplomatic. "What she did to escape... drawing the magic in, controlling it, creating a portal?—"

"She nearly died doing it," Akoro snapped.

"But she didn't," Nanaek countered, something like hope flickering in her usually stoic expression. "She survived. And if she could find the Solution...." She exchanged glances with Ranin. "It would go a long way toward absolving her for the damage she caused."

The room fell silent again. Each council member watched Akoro, waiting for his decision.

Akoro turned away, pacing to the window. Outside, the city glittered in the afternoon light—beautiful despite its scars, ancient and proud. His city. His people. His responsibility.

He could see workers repairing a fallen wall, their movements coordinated and efficient. A child ran past, laughing, chased by another. Life continuing despite everything, tenacious and determined. Just like his people had always been.

"If we don't try this," Prillu said softly from behind him, her voice barely above a whisper, "and the storm comes as predicted, we lose everything. Not just lives, but our heritage. Our culture." Her voice cracked slightly. "Everything the Sy Dynasty has fought to preserve."

Akoro's chest tightened, the weight of generations pressing down on him. He'd sworn to protect his people, to lead them to safety. To reclaim what was stolen from them. And now...

Oppo turned to the others. “Leave us. Wait outside.”

The council members blinked at him in shock. Oppo had never given that order before. Slowly, they bowed and filtered out of the room.

“What is it, Oppo?” Akoro growled, annoyance coursing through him.

“It was always going to happen eventually, Akoro,” Oppo said, sitting down at a chair at the table.

“What?”

“Your decision between your Omega and your people.”

“No,” Akoro said. “I refuse to believe that.”

“How was it going to work? Not only do we have laws about Omegas, but you were intending to conquer her home. You threatened to kill her people.”

“She would have come to terms with it.” Even has Akoro spoke, he knew from his time with her today that he didn’t know if he wanted her to come to terms with it. She had listened. She had understood. And while she defended her people, she didn’t outright decry what he said. Harming her this way, even if he thought she would come around eventually, was becoming more unappealing each moment.

Oppo eyed him. “You came to my room annoyed that she was fine with being your whore. You wanted that for however many years it took for her to come to terms with it.”

The words grated on Akoro. Of course he didn’t want that, especially not now.

“I told you, it’s much better when she wants you back.”

“Not if she’s dead because of some myth,” Akoro said sharply

Oppo sighed. "Even if you don't believe in the Solution, what harm is there in letting her try? She has fourteen days out of the month. Give her that chance."

The silence stretched.

Oppo went to the door to call the council back in while Akoro turned everything over in his mind, trying to find another answer, another way. But he could see none.

With a heavy chest, Akoro turned back to face his council, his expression carved from stone, betraying none of the turmoil churning within him.

"I will give the princess her fourteen days," he said, words feeling terrible on his tongue. "She is on her third and will continue on."

Relief rippled through the room, visible in slumped shoulders and released breaths. Tshel closed her eyes briefly, as if in silent prayer. Nanaek and Ranin exchanged nods of satisfaction. Even Nrommo seemed to uncoil slightly, some of the desperate tension leaving his frame.

But a hard knot of dread locked tight in Akoro’s gut.

Because if Naya succeeded, she would leave him immediately. She’d return to her empire, to her people. To the life she had before him. And if she failed...

The thought of her facing the full fury of the nnin-eellithi , of watching it tear into her as it had so many others who dared to challenge it, sent a coldness through him that he couldn’t shake.

Either way, he stood to lose something precious. Something he'd only just found.

"Prepare to brief her in the morning," he ordered, his voice betraying none of the turmoil raging inside him. "Have everything ready."

Prillu nodded, relief softening her rigid posture. "We will, my king. Thank you."

As the council dispersed, their voices a murmur of renewed purpose, Akoro remained at the window, staring out unseeingly.

He had fought for everything he had. Killed and bled for it. He’d become the king his people needed—ruthless, unyielding, determined.

And now, for the first time, he found himself wanting to fight for something he never knew he wanted.