Page 11 of The Ruby Dragon Prince (Omega Fairy Tales #1)

Chapter

Ten

Tovey

I ’d never felt anything as thrilling as standing up and speaking my mind to the farmers of my father’s kingdom and urging them to stand together. For those few, wonderful moments, I wasn’t a pitiful, victimized omega suffering at my father’s whim. I was a man with conviction who wanted to work with the people who deserved it to make a better world.

Better worlds didn’t come without opposition, though, and as soon as the call went out that my father’s guards were on their way to break up the farmers’ meeting, and probably arrest as many of them as possible, since making out that the farmers were criminals would help my father’s plan to crush them, everyone scattered.

“Head for the market,” the wise, older farmer who had been leading the meeting called out to everyone. “Do not try to hide. If you appear suspicious, they will seek out the reason why.”

It was good advice, but even I, with so little experience of the world, knew they would need to run first.

“We need to leave, too,” Rufus said, lifting me down from his shoulder and taking my hand.

He started for the alley we’d used to make our way back to the courtyard, but by the look of the young beta who was shooing people away and gesturing for them to get out by some other means, my father’s guards were coming from that direction.

“There are several ways out,” I said, quickly glancing around at the half dozen other alleys up and down the long courtyard, not to mention the doors into the houses that lined the area. “Come on!”

I squeezed Rufus’s hand and took the lead, pulling him across the courtyard to a narrow alley where several farmers were helping each other to flee. I was concerned for all of the farmers, though, and before dashing down that narrow passage with the rest of them, I held back and turned to make certain the courtyard was clearing.

Nearly every one had scattered, but a few men hung back like me and Rufus, helping those younger or feebler than them to make it into the houses or down the alleys. A few of them were still there when the first of my father’s guards burst into the courtyard, led by Rottum.

“Round them up!” Rottum shouted. “Arrest anyone you can lay your hands on. They’ll spend the rest of the festival in the stocks, and tonight they’ll be thrown in the dungeon and forgotten.”

Anger washed through me, some of it from Rufus that carried through our bond. My father was the worst sort of tyrant I could imagine.

I had to protect the farmers, and I only knew one way to do that.

“Do you trust me?” I asked Rufus breathlessly.

“Do you even need to ask?” he answered.

I nodded, then called out, “Hey! Over here!”

The soldiers that had started after the last of the farmers trying to escape turned to me. Rufus was still cloaked in whatever magic made him hard to notice but not invisible, which seemed to make the guards believe I was alone.

“Prince Tovey?” Rottum shouted in surprise. His expression lit with hunger and delight, and he abandoned the farmer he’d been about to chase to rush toward me. “Are you the leader of this rebellious rabble?”

“Yes!” I shouted. I checked around the courtyard, and when I was certain the farmers would all be able to rush to freedom, I said, “You’ll never catch me!”

I squeezed Rufus’s hand again, and together, the two of us dashed down the alley and out to the street on the other side.

Rottum and the guards followed us, which was exactly as I’d intended. What I hadn’t intended was for a cluster of the farmers to be waiting at the other end of the alley, either to help us flee or to see what was going on. They made themselves too easy to catch.

“Run, run!” Rufus ordered them, gesturing for them to get out of our way.

They did, and within seconds, we were all running in a group together. There was safety in numbers sometimes, but in that moment, it made the lot of us look like a gang that was up to no good.

“Stop them!” Rottum called after us as we continued to flee.

The townspeople around us did exactly the opposite. They stepped back, clearing the way and allowing us to flee.

That didn’t stop Rottum and the guards from chasing us. It didn’t matter how many market stalls we dodged, how many corners we turned, or how fast they ran, they continued to pursue us.

We got far enough ahead at one point that we could turn and glance back.

“They’re not going to stop,” one of the farmers with us lamented. “We’re doomed.”

“We’re not,” Rufus insisted. He did something to remove the cloak of magic around him. The farmers we’d been running with blinked and started, as if they hadn’t realized Rufus was there, too. “We need to split up. Tovey, go with the farmers. They will keep you safe. I’ll draw the guards in the other direction.”

I could tell Rufus hated the idea of leaving me alone, but drawing the guards away was a good idea. I grabbed his tunic, lifted to my toes to kiss him, then let go and turned to the farmers.

“Follow me,” I told them, even though they likely knew the town better than I did.

“Hey, you!” Rufus shouted to the guards, waving his arms. “Just try and catch me!”

I ran along with the farmers in the opposite direction. They were good, strong men who did their best to protect me. I felt anxious moving farther apart from Rufus, but the fact that I could still feel him through our bond was reassuring.

Less reassuring was catching sight of a few of the guards still chasing us. We had split up, and so had they. At least with fewer of us in the chase, we were more agile and could hide more easily. We couldn’t outrun the guards forever, though.

“They won’t stop until they catch me,” I gasped to the others, beginning to run out of breath. “Keep going. I’ll distract them.”

“We can’t let you sacrifice yourself for us, Prince Tovey,” one of the farmers said.

I stopped and leaned forward, resting my hands on my knees and trying to catch my breath. I shook my head, then looked up at the farmers with me. “You are more important to this kingdom than I am. Go!”

I could see that they didn’t want to obey me, but I was a prince, and they knew as well as I did that they needed to get free.

As soon as I was satisfied that they were gone, I stood straight and turned to face the guards closing in on me. I was lucky that Rottum wasn’t with them. It meant that the guards didn’t know what to do when they reached me other than grab hold of me so I wouldn’t run away again.

“What do we do with him?” the guard with his hand around my arm asked.

The other one shrugged. “Take him to the king, I suppose,” he said.

“Yes, take me to my father,” I commanded them. I never would have been so bold before, but the entire incident had given me more of a feeling of power than I’d ever had in my life.

Perhaps being mated to Rufus and fathering his eggs had given me that sense of strength as well. If I could be the papa to dragons, I could do anything.

That confidence faltered as soon as the guards marched me into the large tradesman’s house where my father and Lord Groswick, along with a few of his other councilors and noblemen, were enjoying a lavish meal with the frightened-looking owner of the house.

“Your Majesty,” the guard who still had his hand around my arm announced himself with a deferential bow.

“What is this?” Father demanded, glaring at me from the head of the table.

“Prince Tovey was captured with a group of farmers who were plotting rebellion,” the guard said.

“It was nothing of the sort,” I protested. “I was lucky enough to meet some of the farmers of our kingdom who were discussing the problems they’re currently facing.” It was true, in a manner of speaking.

Father didn’t seem impressed. “I specifically told you and your wretched brothers to go to the town square and stay there under guard,” he said, throwing his napkin down and standing. Several of the others at the table looked alarmed. “You are a disobedient little fool who cannot grasp even the smallest directions.”

Of all the things to offend me to the point of snapping, that was not the one I thought would get me.

“You cannot keep my brothers and me prisoners forever,” I shouted at him. “Just as you cannot bleed the people of our kingdom dry in order to build your own coffers. This is a kingdom, not your own personal game. My brothers and I deserve the freedom to live our lives however we please, and the farmers and tradesmen of our kingdom deserve to thrive and benefit from their own ingenuity. We all deserve freedom from the fear and uncertainty you seem determined to inflict on us so that you can steal more wealth than anyone could ever need.”

“Silence!” Father bellowed. “I have never heard such insolence in my life! I am the king! How dare you speak to me this way?”

“Someone has to speak up for those who do not have the power to speak,” I said, facing him with as much calm and righteousness as I could muster. “What you are doing with this kingdom is wrong, Father. These are people’s lives. They are not your possessions to play with as you see fit. The kingdom will crumble if you abuse them the way you are plotting to.”

Everyone at the table looked shocked. Well, almost everyone. One of the older, silver-haired councilors grinned.

“I will not hear another word from you, omega!” Father silenced me again, not noticing the reactions of the others. He stomped away from the table to stand towering over me. “If you think your freedom is curtailed now, just wait until I am through with you.”

“What do you plan to do with me that hasn’t already been done?” I demanded. “Lock me and my brothers away in our bedroom? Limit our access to anything in the castle? You have already done those things.” I peeked past him to the others at the table in case some of them weren’t aware of the cruel way Father treated us.

Instead of inspiring any of the other nobles or councilors to come to our defense, my words had Lord Groswick rising from his seat with a smile that had my blood running cold. I suddenly wished Rufus was there with me.

“I have a suggestion, Your Majesty,” Lord Groswick said with a sly look.

Father turned to him, and when he saw Lord Groswick’s smile, he grinned, too. “I welcome any suggestions,” he said.

“Give the disobedient omega to me,” Lord Groswick said. “Not in a few months’ time, as we had planned, but now. I know exactly how to bring him to heel. Once I am done with him, he will never think of disobeying again.”

“I will never go with you,” I seethed at Lord Groswick, clenching my hands into fists.

It was the wrong thing to say. Indicating to Father that I hated Lord Groswick and didn’t want anything to do with him only spurred him to action.

“Yes, I think it’s about time my willful omega sons are given to alphas who can bring them into line,” he said with a hateful smile. “Omegas are good for nothing but breeding anyhow. It’s about time you got on with that,” he told me.

I fought to maintain my hold on the bravery that had come so easily just moments ago, but it began to fail. For all the courage I’d just shown, I was smaller and weaker than almost everyone in the room. The guard who had held me earlier grabbed me again as I tried to back away from Lord Groswick’s approach. The sudden feeling that I was in over my head turned my stomach and made me cry out inside for Rufus.

“Give him to me now,” Lord Groswick said again, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he raked me with a lascivious look. “I’ll teach him his place.”

Father laughed as though he found the idea of his own flesh and blood being forced into a horrific union amusing. “Take him,” he said. “He’s yours to do with as you please. And if something should happen and he should end up dead, well, whatever the case, I will have it declared an accident.”

Lord Groswick chuckled as he moved in and grasped my arm, pushing the guard to let go of me. “I told you that you would be mine,” he said to me, gloating.

“No!” I tried to pull away, but Lord Groswick’s grip was surprisingly strong. “I will not. I want nothing to do with you.”

Lord Groswick ignored me. “Have my carriage brought around to the back of this house. I see no reason to stay for the rest of the festival. My manor house is only a few hours’ drive from here. I’ll have this one tonight, and with any luck, his heat will come on and he’ll be round with my child in a few months.”

“I will not!” I shouted, still trying to struggle.

It was no use. Father didn’t care when Lord Groswick tugged me violently out of the room and around to the back of the house. He was the one who had sealed my fate.

“I will never submit to you,” I told Lord Goswick, continuing to struggle and attempt to break free. Inwardly, I called for Rufus with everything I had. Why wasn’t he there? Where was he? Could he hear me at all? Perhaps he’d been captured as well.

That thought caused me to lose my strength for a moment, which allowed Lord Groswick to yank me through the house’s kitchen and out into the courtyard behind the house.

“Rufus!” I called up at the sky, hoping and praying that he could hear me.

“Who are you calling for?” Lord Groswick asked with a peevish look. “Do you have some secret, low-born lover who you think might rescue you?”

I gasped as an idea occurred to me. “Yes, yes, I do,” I said, hoping that Lord Groswick wouldn’t want me if he thought I was used goods.

Instead, he just sniffed. “I’ll find this Rufus and have him hung, drawn, and quartered in front of you,” he said. The idea made him smile. “Do you still want to call out for your lover now?”

I made a sound of frustration. Lord Groswick was no match at all for Rufus, but his violent promise made me think twice about calling for him out loud.

That didn’t mean I couldn’t scream for him along our bond. It worried me that I wasn’t feeling much in return, only the usual strength and confidence that thoughts of Rufus gave me, which seemed completely at odds with the moment I found myself in. Rufus must not have known my fate, because the response I felt to my cries for help was soothing and determination.

Lord Groswick’s carriage arrived, and I did everything I could to struggle against getting into it. I fought, kicked, and even tried to bite him at one point. Lord Groswick had to get his groom to come down from the seat to help manhandle me into the carriage.

Even then, I struggled and tried to get out the other side. The two stronger men were able to keep me there, holding me down as the driver turned the carriage around and started out into the town. I tried to call for help from whoever might be near enough to save me, even calling out for my brothers in case they were near, but all for naught. Lord Groswick clapped a hand over my face and held me fast until we were well beyond the boundaries of the town.

Seeing the last building marking the edge of the town fall away behind us filled me with despair. The fewer witnesses there were to my abduction the less likely I was to be saved.

“Do you see how pointless it is to resist me now?” Lord Groswick said, finally removing his hand from my mouth and loosening his hold on me.

“Help me! Save me!” I appealed to the groom in the other seat.

The man looked terrified, and he turned away as if I wasn’t even there.

“You’ll regret this,” I told Lord Groswick, trying another tack. “I do have a lover, a fated mate. He won’t rest until he’s rescued me and punished you.”

Lord Groswick tipped his head back and laughed. “Now I know you’re making things up,” he said. He snorted, then said, “Silly omegas and your ridiculous fairy tales. There are no such things as fated mates, and hapless little omega whores like you are never rescued at the last moment by?—”

Before he could finish his speech the carriage lurched to a sudden stop. The driver cried out in fear, and even the horses whinnied loudly.

“What the devil?” Lord Groswick hissed. “Get out and see what’s going on,” he ordered the groom.

The groom was only too happy to leap out of the carriage as fast as he could. As soon as he did, he looked up and let out a loud shout of fear. “Dragon!”

“Idiot,” Lord Groswick grumbled, shifting to the carriage door himself.

I scrambled out after him, my heart soaring for the same reason that the groom had shouted in fear. As soon as I was out in the open, I glanced up to see the form of a great, glittering ruby dragon in the sky, speeding toward us with vengeance in his eyes.