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CHAPTER FOUR

N aya woke to the soft, rhythmic dripping of water echoing down stone.

Her head pounded with a dull ache, and her body felt weak and heavy, as though she’d been drained of all energy.

For a moment, she couldn’t remember where she was or how she’d gotten there.

The last thing she recalled was standing on the palace roof with an artifact in her hand, the sudden surge of magic, and then?—

She bolted upright, instantly regretting the sudden movement. A wave of dizziness washed over her, and she closed her eyes for a long moment. She’d been moved farther into the cave and a bed of soft furs and woven blankets cushioned her from the hard ground.

Beside her, sitting cross-legged on a cushion, was the tall Omega, her crystal staff leaning on the wall behind her.

The woman studied her with unwavering intensity, her dark eyes reflecting the flickering lamplight.

Though her posture was relaxed, there was nothing casual about her presence.

Power emanated from her—not the brute strength of an Alpha, but something more refined, more deliberate.

Her face, framed by dozens of intricate braids, remained impassive as she observed Naya’s awakening.

At the entrance to the cave, two guards stood silently, their weapons gleaming in the dim light. The rest of the Omegas who had surrounded her in the canyon were nowhere to be seen.

Naya’s fingers drifted to her face, to the wound Akoro had inflicted. The scar was still there, a ridge of raised flesh along her cheek, but the rawness had subsided. It felt tight but no longer painful.

Questions tumbled through her mind, each more urgent than the last. How had she been transported here? What did they know of King Sy? And most importantly—why had they brought her here?

But before she could decide which to ask first, the Omega leader spoke.

“I am Oshrun Vos of the ssukkǔrian ,” she said, her voice carrying the weight of authority without raising volume.

“I am the Khesh, or in your language, Chief of the Omegas of the ssukkǔrian .” She studied Naya for another long moment.

“You say you are a princess. You say you are a guardian of Omegas, a peacekeeper, but I don’t recognize your title.

I understand that you being brought here so abruptly might be.

.. hard for you. And I imagine you have many questions.

” She paused, her eyes searching Naya’s.

“And so do I. But the safety of my community is my foremost concern, so I would appreciate answers to my questions before I address yours.”

Naya glanced pointedly at the guards by the entrance, their posture stiff and watchful.

Oshrun followed her gaze. “Yes,” she acknowledged without apology. “You will not be hurt. But you’ll be held until I have the answers I need. After that you can go if you wish.” Her expression softened slightly. “Though you are welcome to stay, if that is your choice.”

Frowning, Naya carefully shifted to a sitting position, her limbs still heavy.

“Stay? Why would I...?” Her thoughts caught up and swallowed the end of question.

Of course. She was an Omega and this was an Omega space.

They were offering her refuge. She swallowed, then spoke firmly, “I’ll answer your questions as long as I get answers to my own. ”

“Agreed,” Oshrun said with a small nod. “Let us begin with what troubles me most: Why have you been imitating the Omegas of the ssukkǔrian in Onn Kkulma?”

Though they’d accused her of this when she first arrived, Naya hadn’t known what they meant.

She thought hard for a long moment before realizing what the leader was asking.

“I haven’t,” Naya said, her brow furrowing.

“It was King Sy who presented me that way to the people. I didn’t know what he’d done until afterward. ”

Oshrun watched her intently, her eyes narrowing slightly as if trying to detect a lie in Naya’s words. “And why would he do that?” she asked finally.

Naya exhaled slowly, gathering her thoughts. “I drew a nnin-eellithi to me and it caused a lot of damage,” she said. “King Sy presented me as the culprit, but also as an Omega of the ssukkǔrian .”

Confusion crossed Oshrun’s features. “That makes little sense,” she said, leaning forward slightly.

“Why would King Sy do that?” She shook her head, her braid jewelry clicking softly with the movement.

“Why would he present an Omega at all? No Omega has ever been identified among the people. Not for generations.”

Naya hesitated, unsure how much information to give.

Akoro’s concerns about the security of his reign wasn’t something she could tell anyone.

“He told me he needed to give answers to the districts about the breach,” she said.

She straightened, thinking about what Oshrun had said.

“If no Omega has ever been identified, what about the bandits that target Omegas in the Sands?” she asked, remembering Akoro’s explanation about bandits.

A soft, unexpected smile curved Oshrun’s lips. “There aren’t any—at least not any that target Omegas. That is a deception we orchestrated.”

Naya stared at her. “Why?”

“In case we were ever caught among the people.”

Naya’s frown deepened. “So you go out among the people? You just said no Omega has been identified.”

Oshrun’s expression sobered. “I still have more questions before I answer yours. When you drew the nnin-eellithi , where were you?”

Naya exhaled, struggling to keep her annoyance down. “Onn Kkulma.”

Oshrun stiffened, her manner returning to the guarded position she had when Naya first arrived. “You are the one who damaged the city and killed many people.”

Naya nodded, observing her carefully. So she knew what had happened to the city but not why Akoro had presented her to the people. It seemed the Omegas were only getting fragments of information.

Oshrun’s face deepened with distaste. “Why did you do that?”

Naya hesitated, a strange reluctance tugging at her.

Despite everything Akoro had done to her—the kidnapping, the imprisonment, the captivity—she found herself protective of him.

She didn’t want to add to what was clearly already a negative opinion of him without understanding the full story between these Omegas and the Sy Dynasty.

This unexpected loyalty confused her. When did that happen?

Why should she care what these women thought of him?

“I needed to get back to my land,” she said carefully, deciding to stick to the basics. “I was desperate, and it was the only way I could see to escape.”

Anger flashed in Oshrun’s eyes. “You caused all that death just to get back to your land?” she demanded, her voice hard and rough. “Why couldn’t you have gone home the normal way?”

Naya stared at her, the words echoing strangely in her mind. “The normal way?” she repeated slowly. “What do you mean by that?”

Oshrun’s anger was visible in her stiff shoulders, the tightness in her mouth, and the harsh edge of the words she muttered.

She leaned forward, her glare bright and penetrating.

“Listen carefully, Princess Nayara. The only way I will answer your questions is if you are forthcoming and truthful with me. Do you understand? We have a complicated history with Onn Kkulma City but it is precious to us, and if you are the one who damaged it and killed citizens, you are a criminal. I want to know what happened. No more half-truths, no more evasions.”

Something clicked in Naya’s mind. There was more here than she was aware of—a connection between these Omegas and her own land that neither Akoro nor anyone else in the Lox Empire had mentioned.

It seemed there was another way home, one that wouldn’t require finding the Solution or surrendering her empire.

The thought should have filled her with relief. Instead, a strange feeling settled in her chest.

She took a deep breath, and let her body relax completely.

She needed to behave like the leader she’d told herself she could be to represent her land.

She couldn’t protect anyone if she didn’t know everything.

“All right,” she said, moving to a comfortable cross-legged sitting position. “I’ll tell you.”

Calmly, Naya recounted everything that had happened to her, the kidnapping from her forest, Akoro’s claims about the Lox Empire’s supposed attack on his people, and her escape home.

She spoke of the negotiations, her offer to find the Solution, and her return to Akoro’s land.

She explained the coming nnin-eellithi storm and her work with the council to find answers.

However, she didn’t mention anything about Akoro being her true mate.

As she spoke, Oshrun’s expression shifted subtly—surprise, disbelief, and something like recognition passing across her features. When Naya mentioned the coming nnin-eellithi storm, the Omega leader tensed visibly.

A long moment passed in stillness and thick tension, then she rose to her feet in a single fluid motion, her height all the more impressive up close. “Come,” she said to Naya, moving to grab her crystal staff.

The guards at the entrance parted at Oshrun’s approach, and Naya followed her out of the cave into the sunlit canyon beyond. The sight took her breath away. What she had barely glimpsed before, now spread before her in its full majesty—a hidden paradise nestled within the towering red stone walls.

The canyon was wider than it first appeared, opening into a sheltered valley where clusters of structures had been built directly into the rock face.

Women moved about with purpose, some carrying baskets of food or bundles of herbs, others training with weapons in a cleared area near the stream that flowed through the center of the settlement.

Children darted between the stone dwellings, their laughter carrying on the breeze.