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CHAPTER SIX

“ W hy aren’t they leaving?” Oshrun stood at the canyon entrance, her hand tight around her staff, her body stiff. “You spoke with King Sy, but his party still remains at the edge of our territory.”

Naya reached beneath the neckline of her dress, her fingers finding the cool crystal Oshrun had put on her before she left.

She drew it out, pulled the chain over her head and held it out to her.

“He refused,” she said. The confrontation with Akoro churned in her chest like bitter poison; the memory of his hands on her face, the darkness in his voice, the way he looked at her when she accused him.

“He has agreed not to progress any further, but he refuses to leave.”

Oshrun took the chain, suspicion flickered in her eyes. “Why?”

Naya hesitated, searching to explain the complicated tangle of loyalty and attraction that bound her to Akoro. Finally she said, “He has his reasons.”

Oshrun’s expression hardened. “And yet you chose not to leave with him.”

Naya could feel the weight of it, the question that hung in the air between them. The leader of the community wanted to know if she was friend or threat, refugee or spy.

“No.” The word came out stronger than she felt. “I still have questions. You told me the history, but there’s more I need to know about...” She gestured around them. “Everything.”

Oshrun studied her for a long moment, a grudging acceptance in her amber eyes reflecting the flickering lamplight. “Are you intending to seek sanctuary with us?”

Naya’s head swam with all the information and emotions coursing through her veins.

The history carved into the canyon walls, the truth about the Sy Dynasty’s crimes, the look in Akoro’s eyes when she’d compared him to his ancestors—she couldn’t make sense of anything right now.

After her conversation with him, everything felt raw and exposed, like a wound torn open.

Oshrun must have seen the turmoil written across her face because her expression softened. “Come with me,” she murmured.

She led Naya back through the canyon, past chambers she hadn’t seen before. Evening sounds had softened throughout the canyon. Children’s voices faded from the pathways. The clatter of cooking implements gave way to the gentle murmur of evening conversations drifting from carved windows.

They reached a modest dwelling carved into the rock face.

Inside, the space was simple but comfortable—a sleeping platform covered in soft furs, shelves holding clay vessels and folded textiles, a small basin for washing.

Crystals embedded in the ceiling provided gentle illumination, their soft glow casting everything in warm amber light.

“You may rest here tonight,” Oshrun said, retrieving a bundle of clothing from one of the shelves. The fabric was similar to what the other women wore—practical tunics and loose pants in earth tones, finely woven and embroidered with intricate patterns. “These should fit you.”

Naya accepted the clothes gratefully, suddenly aware of how the beautiful ceremonial gown she still wore reeked of blood and desert sand. The sapphire fabric was beyond salvaging, the gold embroidery dulled with grime. This morning when she had been delighted to put it on seemed like lifetimes ago.

“We’ll continue our discussion in the morning,” Oshrun said, moving toward the entrance. “Rest well, princess.” Then she was gone.

Naya changed into the borrowed clothes and settled onto the sleeping platform, pulling the furs around her shoulders.

Her mind whirled with the day’s revelations, with the dark history and the devastating parallels between Akoro and his family.

She couldn’t stop the fresh wave of pain that gripped her when it became clear he’d known about the Omegas all along.

Of all the things he’d done, hiding that from her hurt the most. He had dismissed the Omegas’ pain, even though he was still benefiting from them, and then used the same cruel practices on his mate.

And yet…

His expression when he’d asked if she would ever give him a real chance. The vulnerability in his expression had been so genuine, so unlike the commanding king or ruthless captor she’d come to know.

There was something in him that cared about others.

She’d seen it in how he spoke of his people’s suffering, how it spoke to them, in his concern over her nightmares, in the gentle touches when he thought she was sleeping, and in the man who sat and watched by her sleep simply because he needed to be in the room.

Even now, remembering being in his arms made her inner Omega yearn for him.

His scent enveloping her in the shifting sands, the solid warmth of his chest…

it felt like coming home. Even surrounded by the deadly Isshiran Sands and amidst their confrontation, being held by him had been the first moment of peace she’d felt since arriving here.

Which version of him was real? The contradiction tore at her.

Sleep that night was disturbed and uneasy. Her dreams were fragments of memory and fear; the dungeons beneath the palace where Omegas had suffered in darkness, Akoro’s punishing thrusts, the sound of chains echoing through stone corridors, the cruel darkness in his eyes.

The next morning Naya emerged from the bathing chamber, steam still clinging to her skin.

The warmth had done little to ease the tension coiled in her, but it was a new day, and she had to make a decision.

Either she abandon Akoro and use the gateway in the Omega community to go home or she stay and help battle the upcoming storm.

And then there were the Omegas. She needed to connect with them on behalf of the Lox Empire, share information, and offer them support.

As for her and Akoro… she didn’t know yet.

Oshrun knocked lightly on the outside of her small chamber as she finished dressing.

The leader seemed more relaxed than last night and gestured for Naya to follow her.

She led Naya up winding stone steps to a natural ledge jutting from the canyon wall.

The eastern horizon blazed with dawn, a deep purple giving way to rose-gold, reminding Naya how vividly beautiful the land was here.

They settled cross-legged on the stone, watching the sun’s ascent in silence until Oshrun spoke.

“The community is unhappy that the king remains so close,” she said, gaze fixed on the horizon.

“The Isshiran Sands have protected us for generations, keeping people from accidentally traveling too close. You cannot stay longer than today. The risk is too great.”

Irritation flared in Naya’s chest. “What did you expect? You kidnapped someone directly from his palace without knowing who she was or what the consequences might be.”

Oshrun went still, her expression softening until she sighed. “We misjudged it.”

“In what way?” Naya asked. “Why did you do it?”

“We regularly visit the districts,” she began, “and for the last month, everyone’s been talking about the Omega that King Sy protected.

Stories spread quickly after he presented you to the people, how he’d shielded an Omega from punishment despite the destruction she caused.

It reinvigorated old rumors about what the Sy Dynasty did to Omegas but with many people supporting his protection of you. ”

Naya blinked. She hadn’t considered how she might have appeared to his people considering the history.

“With such persistent Omega talk, we felt it necessary to investigate. Find out if you really were one, where you came from, how you ended up with the king. We observed you, determined you were indeed an Omega and being kept against your will, which alarmed us. We assumed that any Omega from the Known Lands would come through the gateway, so we formulated a plan to get you out of there and ask you how you avoided our community and what you were doing using our name. We suspected you’d be out of the way for the Day of Voices and didn’t think he would notice you were gone until much later. ”

“No,” Naya said, shaking her head. “I attended the Day of Voices celebration.”

Oshrun’s head snapped toward her, shock flickering across her features. “You… what?”

“I was there. In the Throne Court. King Sy included me in the observance. I participated.”

Silence followed. Oshrun stared with amazement, her controlled expression transforming.

Naya eyed her. “Is… is that unusual?”

Oshrun turned back to the sunrise. “Yes. Although maybe not surprising considering how you were dressed.”

Naya frowned. “What do you mean?”

Oshrun shot her a sidelong glance. “You were dressed like royalty. Like you were part of his family. Those are his family colors.”

“Oh.” Something light and jittery fluttered in her stomach that she ignored.

They sat watching the sun climb higher, painting canyon walls in gold and amber. Light caught crystals embedded in the stone, sending colors dancing across their faces. Morning air carried desert flower scents and cooking aromas from below.

When Oshrun spoke again it was a thoughtful murmur. “Akoro has always been seen as favored by the Voices.”

Naya glanced at her but said nothing, sensing the Khesh’s mind wandering.

“He was so young when he fought his whole family, and the odds against him were incredibly high. The Sy Dynasty had soldiers, loyal guards, an entire apparatus of power. Little Akoro cut them all down.”

For a moment, the image came alive in Naya’s mind—a boy fighting through trained warriors to reach those who had raised him. The scale of violence that would’ve been necessary sent a chill through her despite the warming air.

“The people saw him as one of their own. It’s the only way they would have accepted a Sy ruling them again.

But winning the Battle of Sy, being determined to restore their greatness as a culture made him better than they could ever be.

They treat him like a physical embodiment of the Voices.

Divinely chosen to lead them from the ashes. ”