Page 25 of The Sapphire Dragon Prince (Omega Fairy Tales #4)
R umors began to swirl that King Freslik’s omega sons were missing.
No one had seen so much as a glimpse of any of them in months.
Where once the king had paraded his sons before his courtiers as if they would be prizes for those who supported his ambitions, now the court was surprisingly devoid of any omegas at all.
In fact, since rumors that a challenger to the throne had arisen on the western border of the kingdom, a Lord Osric, who was rumored to be the son of King Freslik’s younger, omega brother, people had begun whispering wilder and wilder theories about the missing omega princes.
Some said that King Freslik had killed them all because they’d dared to defy him at the harvest celebrations.
Some said the king had married them all off to noblemen from distant kingdoms as a way to secure their loyalty.
As it was looking more and more likely that the king would have to fight a war against his nephew if he wanted to keep the throne, that rumor was believable.
Freslik would need soldiers from neighboring armies to stand a chance of winning a war.
Still other rumors said that the omega princes had been kidnapped by dragons and whisked off to some magical kingdom, but that was a ridiculous notion. Everyone knew there were no such thing as dragons.
Yet another rumor said that the omega princes were still in the castle, locked away in their bedchamber and kept like virtual prisoners.
“Part of me wishes more people believed that rumor to be true,” the youngest prince, Obi, sighed as he played chess in said bedchamber with his oldest brother, Rumi, in the middle of the afternoon on a chilly winter’s day. “Because that’s the one that is true.”
Rumi laughed and moved one of his pawns. “It’s not the only true rumor,” he said. “Tovey, Selle, Leo, and Misha really have been whisked off to a magical kingdom by dragons.”
“Sometimes I wish I’d gone with them,” Obi said, moving his rook. “Check.”
Rumi’s eyes went wide as he stared at the chessboard. He hadn’t seen that move coming. Then again, Obi might have been the youngest of the brothers, but he was incredibly clever, if somewhat impatient.
Rumi moved a piece to block the attack on his king, then said, “You’re welcome to go anytime you feel you need to. I won’t stop you.”
Obi shook his head and frowned at the board. “I’m not leaving you alone to deal with Father, especially when there’s a war coming.”
Rumi grinned. “You just want to stay because you know your fated mate is one of Father’s advisors and you’re dying to figure out which one it is.”
Obi blushed and pretended that wasn’t the reason at all. “That’s not it at all. I want to help Cousin Osric,” he said. “I want to fight in the war that is to come and help depose Father. It has nothing to do with who my fated mate might be and where he’s hiding.”
Rumi chuckled and was about to say something more to tease his brother when the rattling of the chains on their bedchamber door warned them that their father was about to barge in.
He’d once been able to throw open their doors and invade their privacy without any warning at all, but in his haste to make his remaining sons believe he had all power over them, he’d inadvertently given them the means to know when he was coming for them.
Fortunately, they were merely playing chess and not doing anything that would cause their father to suspect they were anything but ignorant of their brothers’ whereabouts.
Once the chains and locks were removed, the doors banged open and King Freslik walked into the room with a look of pure hatred for his sons.
“Where is he?” he demanded. “Tell me where he is!”
Rumi and Obi looked up from their game and feigned surprise at the king’s interruption.
“We’ve already told you, Father,” Rumi said, blinking innocently. “We don’t know where our brothers are.”
“Not them, you fool!” the king snapped. “That traitor, Osric! You were with him when he attacked me, you are in league with the would-be usurper.”
Rumi and Obi exchanged wary looks. Their father wasn’t wrong, but it would spell disaster for them if he knew that.
“We were his prisoners,” Obi said, attempting to convince his father to believe the story that would go the farthest to protect him and Rumi. “You rescued us from him.”
“I do not believe it,” King Freslik said, narrowing his eyes. “But even if you were merely prisoners, you know where my bastard nephew is. You will tell me at once.”
“For what purpose?” Rumi asked, standing. Obi stood with him. “What use is the information of omegas. Aren’t you always saying that we are a lot of lying, deceiving whores anyhow?”
The king glared at his eldest son. “I will wring the information out of you one way or another,” he said. “Or you,” he added, narrowing his eyes at Obi. “You are by far the weaker of the two. One hour alone in a room with Councilor Dormas interrogating you and you would break like a dry twig.”
“Councilor Dormas is an old, feeble man,” Obi said with a cocky sneer. “He couldn’t break a straw.”
“Oh, no?” King Freslik asked. “We’ll just see about that. Guards!”
Obi and Rumi lost their smug smiles and snapped to readiness as the guards came forward.
“Take Prince Obi out of here and deliver him to Councilor Dormas for interrogation!” the king ordered.
“No!” Obi shouted as one of the guards clamped a hand around his arm and yanked him away from Rumi. “No, you cannot separate us! You cannot take me out of this room!”
The guard didn’t listen to him.
The king was unrelenting. “Now we’ll get to the bottom of this,” he growled with glee. “Now we’ll know the truth. I should have thought to separate you all from the start.”
“Obi!” Rumi called after his brother as the guard dragged him out of the room.
He was helpless to stop the forced separation, though.
As long as the omega princes had been able to stay together, they had kept each other strong.
But now that the last two had been torn apart, there was no telling what sort of danger Prince Obi and Prince Rumi might fall into.
I hope you’ve enjoyed Misha and Azurus’s story!
This book turned into so much more than just a fairy tale.
As I mapped it out and wrote it, it turned into a story about the journey that I have taken through a really bad bout of anxiety and depression.
I know that a lot of us might have been through this or are going through this sort of a trial right now, what with the state of the world.
I’ve learned a lot of things about mental health and how to overcome dark times throughout my life.
The quest that Misha and Azurus set out on is very much an allegory for the things we do and experience when dealing with our mental health.
We spend a lot of time dwelling in dark, unhelpful thoughts, and it feels like we can’t control them.
The negative emotions that chemical imbalance cause and the stress that surrounds us can feel so loud.
They can convince us that we’ve lost our power and that we’re not worthy of love and that we’ll never come out of the darkness.
But those thoughts and feelings are dead wrong.
There is always hope. We are surrounded by people who love us and want to help us, whether we know them intimately or not.
And each of the tasks that Queen Gaia sends Misha and Azurus on is something that I’ve found works wonders for me when my mental health goes south.
For me, there is so much value in just being outside, soaking up the sun and feeling or digging in the dirt.
Actual scientific evidence exists saying that getting in touch with nature combined with exercise or physical activity creates exactly the sort of chemicals in our brains that we need.
Interacting with animals, be they chickens or our beloved pets, is incredibly healing as well.
And, of course, laughter really is the best medicine.
Anything that makes us laugh is a balm to our souls.
But most of all, I find that interacting with other people, whether that’s in the art classes I try to take whenever I can, through hanging out with friends, or even doing video calls with one or a group of friends, changes my mood for the better like nothing else does.
Leaving the house, for a walk or a shopping trip or a class, especially with friends, changes my headspace and gets me out of a downward spiral so effectively.
And talking and sharing my struggles with people who also need someone to talk to and to listen to them is absolutely the best thing ever for mental health.
So if you’re suffering through a dark stretch right now, just know that you aren’t alone! The world can be overwhelming sometimes, but as long as we all have each other and as long as we keep reaching out and trying to connect, we’ll all be okay in the end.
What’s up next for the omega princes? Will Obi and Rumi stay separated for long?
What happens when Obi meets his fated mate…
and realizes Argus has been in the castle all along, disguised as the elderly Councilor Dormas?
Finding your fated mate isn’t an easy walk in the park for everyone.
Can Obi and Argus come to terms with what destiny has in store for them and band together with the others and Lord Osric to defeat King Freslik once and for all?
Find out next in The Silver Dragon Prince !