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“It’s what’s best for the people,” she added. “Once I am mated, I will rule just as successfully as you both.”
“Naya….” Mama’s hesitation and uncertainty knitted her brow. She extracted herself from Papa’s arms and knelt in front of Naya. Reaching up, she enveloped Naya’s hands with her own.
“Are you saying that your father and I are a lot of live up to?”
Naya blinked at her. How could she not feel that? Her parents have been hailed as the greatest ruling couple of their time—higher than the rulers of other Known Lands.
“Because we don’t believe that.” Her words were slow and deliberate. “Don’t believe every rumor and piece of gossip revering us, Nay. A lot of the way the citizens feel about us is because of what we are, not the things we’ve done. You are stronger and smarter than both of us, separate or together. We’ve taught you everything we know, but we don’t have your abilities or your potential. You know that, don’t you?”
Ma’s gaze pierced her own, and Naya found she couldn’t even blink to break it. “There’s no evidence of that, Mama,” she said. “I visited the Records Keep and studied the histories for the Known Lands. There hasn’t been a single ruler in any land that’s been more successful than a couple. And none yet more successful than you.”
“Even so,” Mama said, even more carefully, “the chance of you finding your true mate is…. It just isn’t something you can rely on, Nay.”
“Is that why you set up my last pairing?”
Mama blinked, taken aback. “You had that already?”
“I was having it at the start of the seasonal audience. It’s why I was late.”
Papa growled. Mama twisted around and shot him look that silenced him. “We arranged it, yes,” she said, turning back to Naya. “We think Lonn is a good choice for you, if you want someone within the empire, but we didn’t realize how seriously you were?—”
“What do you mean? Someone within the empire?”
Papa lurched forward, his brows pulled down in a frown. “You know you may never find him, don’t you? You could look forever and never come close. You might waste your life away searching for someone who might have died at birth or been lost at sea or is mated to another. You cannot base your entire rule on that, Naya!”
“Drocco!” Mama snapped. “I’m trying to?—”
“No, Cailyn.” Papa rose from his chair, the full enormous size of him towering over them. “If our rule is intimidating to her, that is a good thing. She should be rising to meet that challenge, like she did with her warrior and magic training. One mistake doesn’t mean she risks everything on something that may never happen.”
Naya glared up at him. “So you’re not going to give me a chance to even try? Even if it means no more deaths?”
“We have already given you plenty of time. You are twenty-five years old, Naya, the same age as your mother when I found her. Back then, fathers didn’t even wait until their daughters were of age before arranging their mates.”
Horror struck Naya like a thunderbolt. “You’re going to arrange a mate for me?”
“King Malloron’s Alpha sons. Your union with one of the twins would be celebrated by both of our Lands.”
Naya’s mouth moved, but she couldn’t speak. She’d known the princes since she was a baby, but marry one? Dread surged down her back. “But… I?—”
“If you won’t choose Lonn, you will have your union with one of them and then you will start actively working on the problem in Satherthorne.” Papa turned toward the door, scooping up Mama along with him. “You have a few days to decide who you prefer. I can invite the princes here this week, if you want to meet them again before you decide. But after that, you need to focus on what is important.”
Naya shot up from her chair, her yell tearing out of her throat. “You tore the world apart to have your true mate but I can’t want to find mine?”
Papa slowed and turned back toward her. Something flickered on his face too fast for her to catch, but then all at once the stern annoyance holding his whole body stiff gave way to a somber heaviness.
“I wasn’t looking for a true mate when I found your mama, just an Omega.” His muted tone, so deeply contrasted his previous outbursts, every word felt significant, and Naya found herself holding her breath. “But I was incredibly lucky. I wish all my children could experience what I and your mama have. It is the most incredible marvel I’ve experienced in my life, and the treasure I hold most dear, alongside you and your brothers and sisters. But chasing it when it may never happen can destroy even the most resilient of spirits and hearts, Naya. I’ve seen it. Alphas in my army who will not settle for anything less—men who fear nothing and have wills of steel. They have been searching for decades and that single-minded focus has eroded the people they are—or could have been. They’ve become wrecks—bitter and angry with the world. Being a Lox warrior is the only thing they have left, yet they are surrounded by happy couples, and Alpha/Omega families.
“I don’t want that for any of my children, but especially not for you. You are the one who will rule, and your view on this could harm the empire as you age and become lonely. You can still be happy if you choose a suitable pure Alpha who understands how special you are and makes an effort to respect and love you for the beautiful Omega you are. Lonn will do that, and he has Lox training. You’re a good pair. He is my preference but if you don’t like him, then your choice is between Prince Zannox or Prince Lok.” His jaw hardened again as he glanced at Mama and then back to Naya. “And that is final.”
Naya could barely speak. She now fully understood her father's point, and the grim truth in his words certainly softened her resistance, but she still couldn't see why she couldn't try a little while longer. Being forced into a marriage was reminiscent of the days before her father’s rule. She looked at Mama, but while they didn’t always agree on everything concerning their children, Mama’s drawn expression was resigned.
“Mama.” The word came out with surprise and hurt that her own mother could support this.
Mama looked up at Papa for a long moment and sighed. Her father put her back down and she walked up to Naya, rubbing her face like it hurt her say the words. “If you hadn’t been trying so hard to find your mate for the last few years, I would fight your father on this. But how much longer do you plan to look, Nay? Did you consider that? Did you give yourself a deadline or even a schedule?”
Naya said nothing. Of course she hadn’t.
“That’s the problem,” her mother said, exhaling softly. “You are searching for your true mate through sheer desperation and a fear of failing; that is exactly what your papa is talking about. You can see that can’t you?”
