Page 11

Chapter

Eleven

Diamant

W ho knew that after centuries of indulgence and living mostly for pleasure I had the soul of a warrior within me after all? Or perhaps it was Leo that I now had within me, within my heart. Whatever the case, I was eager to ride into battle with him as we helped Osric with preparations to storm the work camp and free the remaining prisoners.

“We should make quick work of them,” Leo said as a group of us marched from where the bulk of Osric’s army was camped back up the hillside to take a look at our objective. “We weren’t in the work camp long, but what we saw of it was pitiful.”

“I never thought I would say that I was glad for our father’s greed and his stinginess,” Prince Rumi agreed with a wry laugh. “He’s gotten what he paid for with the men he hired to carry out his cruel plan.”

“King Freslik is blind to his own capabilities and shortcomings,” Emmerich said with a fond smile for his someday-mate. “He gives important positions to those who bow to him rather than those who might actually carry out their tasks competently.”

“It definitely works in our favor this time,” Leo said with a nod. “This battle should be over and done with before nightfall.”

I firmly believed he was right and I was ready to play my part to make it happen, even if Emmerich still insisted we couldn’t use magic.

Prince Misha had other feelings about the whole thing. He and Prince Obi walked behind us, along with Azurus, and as Leo spoke with relish about the battle proceeding quickly to its happy end, the poor young omega prince whimpered and fell back.

“What troubles you, sweet Misha?” Azurus asked, already falling head over heels for his fated mate.

We all paused our climb up the hill, but Azurus was the one who stepped back to rest a comforting hand on Prince Misha’s back.

Misha stared up at him with large, watery eyes. If the young man could feel the bond he was destined to have with Azurus it was buried under the fear that even I could see in him.

“It won’t be that easy,” he said in a small voice. “Nothing is every simple or easy where my father is concerned. He’s cruel and evil, and even if he isn’t smart, he’s crafty. Every time we try to thwart him, everything we attempt to help the people of this kingdom and to make things better, Father finds some way to turn it around on us and make us pay.”

“We have help this time,” Leo insisted, walking back down the hill to comfort his brother. “We finally have a champion with a claim to the throne who can save us all.”

I believed that to be true and was as glad as anyone from the cruel world, but I also sensed that thread of bitterness within my mate that regretted he wasn’t the chosen one.

More than that, I felt the waves of pain and urgency that continued to pulse through him as our egg begged to be birthed. It made me wonder if I’d made a mistake in not simply stealing Leo away, like I had in Berk, to finish what desperately needed to be done.

“I…I cannot do it,” Prince Misha said, lowering his head and bursting into tears. “I know I’m a prince and I’m supposed to be strong and brave, like the rest of you, but I’m just not. I cannot stay in this world. I’m not a fighter, not a hero. I’m just an omega.”

“Sometimes it is those who fancy themselves just an omega that rise to the greatest challenges and do the most good,” Azurus reassured him, rubbing his back. “I will be with you the entire time. Nothing will dare to harm you while I’m by your side.”

I’d never been so proud of my brother. We were both doing the same thing, protecting and supporting our fated mates, but in such vastly different ways.

Emmerich sent me a sideways look that hinted he felt the same way. For that quick, powerful moment, I felt a sense of belonging with not only my kinsmen, but our mates as well that made me feel as if we could accomplish anything together .

That sense of elation lasted until we all started up the hill again only to be met by one of the scouts Osric had sent to the crest of the hill earlier to keep an eye on the enemy rushing back down with wide eyes and a flushed face.

“There’s another army!” the woman called out. “There’s another army coming over the opposite hill!”

All of my good feelings switched to alarm as our group picked up our pace and charged the rest of the way up the hill.

“Good Goddess,” Emmerich huffed once we reached the top of the hill and saw what the scout had been talking about.

I rarely saw Emmerich shocked or taken by surprise, but as the new army marched over the opposite hill and down into the valley with the work camp, I felt the same sort of astonishment.

“Those are King Freslik’s banners,” I said, transforming to my dragon eyes so that I could see clearly across the distance.

“My father has sent an army to the work camp?” Leo asked, moving closer to me, almost as if he would be able to see through my eyes if he touched me.

Once he had better control of the magic he wielded through me he probably would be able to see that far if he wanted to. For the moment, however, the rest of the humans would have to rely on the word of dragons for reconnaissance.

“It’s definitely King Freslik,” Azurus confirmed what I was seeing. “If I’m not mistaken, that’s the bastard himself riding at the front of his men.”

I felt Leo’s alarm and excitement, which was a contrast to Emmerich’s almost teasing, “I’m surprised Freslik isn’t hiding at the back of his army. ”

“We need to attack now,” Osric said, striding up the hill behind us.

I glanced back and saw his entire army prepared and beginning their march up to join us.

“Are you certain you want to fight a battle like this today?” Leo asked him, still looking like he was ready to ride into the fight with him.

Osric answered with a grim nod. “If we don’t fight it now, we might not get another chance. As far as I am aware, my uncle doesn’t know I exist or that I have plans to take his throne. This might be the one chance we have to surprise him.”

Leo smiled. “Then I say we charge.”

“We’re ready to fight with you and for you,” Prince Obi added, stars in his eyes for his cousin.

“Form ranks with my elite fighters,” Osric ordered us. “With any luck, we can finish this today and win the kingdom back from despair and treachery now.”

One of Osric’s deputies whooped enthusiastically at that. The cry was taken up by others, and in short order, the entire army was shouting energetically as they picked up their pace and charged over the hill.

“Are you ready for this?” I asked Leo as we joined the charge.

“As I’ll ever be,” Leo answered.

His bloodthirsty smile faltered and he nearly missed a step a few moments later. I felt the pinch of pain in his belly from our egg. Leo might have been ready to ride to the ends of this earth for the cause he believed in, but our egg, as primitive as it still was, just wanted to make it out into the world as soon as possible.

The air in the valley with the work camp sizzled in anticipation of the coming battle as our army rushed to fill the space along our side. I had faith in Osric and his men, but the closer we drew to the work camp, the more I began to see that King Freslik’s army wasn’t as ill-prepared as the rest of the mercenary soldiers Leo and I had encountered in our last few days of fighting.

I didn’t have time to wonder whether we were walking into a battle that might be harder than we’d anticipated before that battle began.

A swelling cry that was intended to intimidate us sounded from the soldiers on the other side as we all raced toward the work camp.

“Be ready,” Emmerich warned us all, which was as close as he was going to come to admitting that we might not be as prepared as we’d thought.

“We need to find and rescue the prisoners first and foremost,” Leo called out by my side. “They’re innocent and shouldn’t be caught in the battle.”

“Let that be your mission,” Osric shouted his order from one side, where his most trusted men surrounded him, ready to fight. “We came here to free the villagers first. Defeating Freslik must be secondary.”

I felt a surge of approval from Leo right as we reached the palisades surrounding the work camp.

That was when the battle began in earnest. Though most of King Freslik’s soldiers were still on the far side of the camp, there were enough of the old guards and mercenaries manning the palisades to put up a fight.

“This way!” Leo called out, drawing the sword he’d been given to fight with and pointing it at a gap in the defenses.

I followed him, my own sword drawn. The thrill that swirled through both of us was intoxicating. I’d always thought good food, fine wine, and the best omega entertainment were the greatest joys of life, but racing with my mate through the palisade and into a skirmish as we worked for a just and noble cause topped any of that.

Emmerich had insisted we couldn’t use magic to bring a swift and miraculous end to the conflict, but no one had said anything about using it to shield myself and my omega as we smashed into our first, strong resistance. Making the space around us impervious and the guards we battled too clumsy to let their blows land anywhere near Leo’s person was easy. We did clash with a few men, but each time, they dropped their swords without explanation or stumbled as they attempted to slash at Leo.

“You’re helping me,” Leo said, smirking beautifully as we left one group of guards to round the corner of one of the longhouses where we could see prisoners were trapped.

“Of course, my love,” I replied with a wink.

Leo laughed and shook his head, but he didn’t protest the help.

It was hard to see what was happening with the battle overall as we dashed from longhouse to longhouse, smashing open doors and helping the captive villagers inside to safety. We met resistance along the way, but nothing we couldn’t overcome.

It was a little too easy.

“Don’t bother with us,” one of the prisoners we’d just freed warned us in a terrified voice. “King Freslik’s men are all over the camp. They’re lying in wait to capture you all.”

Leo and I both grew serious, glancing at each other and then back the way we’d come, to the center of the camp.

Sure enough, a sudden, swelling cry, like a hundred men or more leaping out of hiding at once echoed across the chaotic space.

“We need to go back,” Leo said .

I nodded, and the two of us ran toward the noise. My dragon kin and the other omega princes saw us running and joined us. We formed a single group as we hurried towards the center of the conflict.

We arrived just in time to see a fierce battle between two sets of trained, hardened men. Neither side appeared to have the upper hand. Osric fought in the middle of his men, but he didn’t appear to be gaining any advantage.

And then the worst possible thing happened.

No sooner had our group run out to the central yard of the camp where the fiercest fighting was taking place than we were surrounded by at least two dozen men, some of them on horseback.

“Hold!” one of the mounted soldiers who had captured us called out. “We have the princes!”

The battle wasn’t quick to end, but the fighting gradually stopped.

“I knew this would happen,” Prince Misha wept as our group was herded straight into the middle of the battleground. “I knew he would capture us. He’ll kill us now for certain. We betrayed him.”

“Nothing will happen to you,” Azurus tried to console him.

“Are you willing to let me use magic now?” I asked Emmerich, sick with bitterness that we’d let ourselves be caught so quickly.

“Not yet,” Emmerich said, as if we were on a walk through the park instead of at the endpoint of a battle, one we’d very likely just lost. “Wait and see what happens.”

I huffed impatiently and could feel Leo’s incredulity, too. Prince Rumi still gazed at Emmerich with trust, but I could see uneasiness in him .

“Father’s coming,” Prince Obi gasped as we were all pushed to a stop in the center of the battleground.

I wanted to open up a doorway and whisk my omega and his brothers off into our world so badly I had to clench my hands to stop myself from doing it. Emmerich was a fool if he thought this situation could have any sort of good outcome.

“Well, well,” King Freslik said as he reached us in the clearing, flanked by far more men than he needed to keep him safe. “If it isn’t my traitorous sons. I always knew you lot would rise up against me someday. Where you found yourself an army is beyond me, though. Did you enlist the help of that sorceress?”

I blinked, wondering if I’d heard the man correctly. He thought the princes were the leaders of Osric’s army or that Saoirse, who was long gone, had helped them?

“Your reign of tyranny is over, Father,” Leo began, stepping forward with more bravery radiating from him than all of Freslik’s army combined.

His defiant words went unheard as the commotion of Osric and his deputies riding up through the panting, sweating, bloody soldiers drew everyone’s attention. Even I had to admit that Osric looked every bit as powerful and regal as a king should.

Freslik definitely noticed. “Who are you?” he demanded, though the way his eyes widened and the color drained from his face told us all he had an idea.

“Don’t you recognize me, Uncle?” Osric called across the gap separating them. “Don’t you recognize the son of your own brother?”

“No!” Freslik gasped. His horse shied away, and for one, beautiful moment, I thought Freslik would take his entire army and run .

He recovered himself and nudged his horse forward instead, glaring at Osric.

“You are nothing!” he called out. “My brother died without giving birth. Even if he had, you are a bastard son of nobody.”

“I am Osric, the legitimate son of Lord Oberlin and his wedded omega mate, Florian, brother of Freslik,” Osric announced to one and all, including Freslik’s baffled soldiers. “I stake my claim to the throne of this land.”

“This kingdom is mine!” Freslik shouted in reply. “It is mine by right of birth and rule. But I see that you have all conspired against me, you and my wicked sons. You are the sorcerer!”

Leo swayed like he would step forward to join Osric. Prince Rumi and Prince Obi looked like they were ready to defend their cousin as well.

But Osric called out, “The princes? They are my hostages.”

A quick silence fell over the field. I understood what Osric was doing. He was trying to save the princes from whatever fate he might face as a rebel against the king.

“It’s not true!” Leo called out. “We fight with Osric. We will fight and depose you, and I, for one, will do whatever is necessary to?—”

A sudden pang stole Leo’s breath and doubled him over. More than that, I had the distinct feeling that his words had been heard by no one but our immediate circle. King Freslik didn’t tear his eyes away from Osric even for a second.

I caught a look from Emmerich that said he’d made an exception to his no magic rule for the sake of the princes’ safety.

“How dare you take my sons hostage?” King Freslik shouted, apparently changing his tune. “I take any and all such attacks against me as a direct insult.”

“Then take them back,” Osric said, nodding to the princes. “Take back your beloved sons and keep them safe and sheltered from what is to come.”

“What is he doing?” Leo growled in frustration. “We are here to fight with him. What sort of betrayal is this?”

“It isn’t a betrayal,” Prince Rumi said quietly. “He’s trying to save us.”

“I don’t want to be saved,” Leo raged on. “I want to fight.”

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than he groaned in pain again.

“We need to get back to the magical world as soon as possible,” I said as Osric and Freslik went on exchanging threats and challenges. “My omega needs to birth our egg.”

“The best way you can ensure that will happen is by letting King Freslik take the omegas back to their bedchamber in the castle,” Emmerich said.

“But what if he doesn’t take them there?” I demanded, frustrated that I was being asked to entrust the thing that was most precious to me to a vainglorious tyrant.

“Trust me,” Emmerich said, eyes trained on Freslik. “He’ll take them back to the castle, back to their bedchamber.”

He raised his hand toward Freslik, and a moment later, Freslik said, “Give my sons back to me! They belong in the castle, locked safely away in their bedchamber.”

A ripple of surprise passed through the armies witnessing the scene, as if no one had expected Freslik to make that declaration.

Osric frowned slightly, then glanced to our group. He didn’t look at the omega princes, though. He looked at Emmerich, then Azurus, then me.

The man clearly had some idea of who we were and what we were doing.

“Very well, then,” he said, straightening his back and tilting his chin up. “I will return the princes to you, and in exchange, you let me and my men leave here.”

“Very well,” Freslik answered so quickly that magic had to be involved. No smart ruler would let someone with a legitimate case to challenge him simply walk away.

“Emmerich, you devil,” I said, uncertain whether I was teasing or whether I was furious with him. “You said no magic.”

“No magic that would give any of us away,” Emmerich said as some of the guards holding us moved in to escort the princes away. “This magic is designed to protect the most vulnerable.”

“I don’t want to go back,” Prince Misha wept, clinging to Azurus even as the guards closed in to take them away. “I cannot bear it anymore.”

“It will only be for a short time,” Azurus reassured him.

“We’ll rejoin them in the magical world as soon as Father shuts the door on us,” Prince Rumi agreed. “I think we’re safe until then.”

He glanced to Emmerich in question, and Emmerich nodded to confirm it.

“I don’t want to be apart from you,” Leo said, grasping my hand and reaching out to me through our bond. “But if we must be parted for a few hours so that we can be together for the rest of our lives, then I’ll endure it.”

I grinned. “My brave omega. You’re so much stronger than I am.”

“Yes, I am,” Leo said, then winked .

I wanted to throw my arms around him and kiss him until we were both overheated and panting. I wanted to defy Emmerich and make a doorway to take us straight back to my lair.

Instead, I was forced to step back, cloaked by magic, and watch as soldiers poked and prodded my pregnant omega and marched him away from me.