Helping her to sit among the thick cushions, he brushed his knuckles over her cheek at her quiet sigh. Though the smile he returned was small, she seemed to glow in response. The tiniest fragment of care and his little Omega shone as the sun. Lips turning down, Er’it nudged the silvered platters toward Aida, giving a nod of silent demand.
Rising without a word, Er’it headed toward his milling men. Speaking to them in low tones, he reassured them all was well and they would be safe now. What they didn’t know was that Tor’en would try to teach her some control to keep them that way—small, basic commands of magic they hoped would prevent her from destroying them all on a whim. Er’it’s part in this was to ensure she remained just exhausted enough to keep her power in check as they continued on.
They would travel the forgotten road to its end, find the place of her birth. There, he would end this, whatever it was.
Ignoring the clenched fists wringing his heart, Er’it made his way to the tight knot of mages. Bent heads close, they murmured amongst themselves. He only caught mere snippets of the whispers before they noticed him, but they were more than enough. They feared Aida, feared his lack of control. This was not what any of them signed on for.
“What has your face so dour?” Tor’en asked as he stepped between Er’it and the other mages, a simple step forward and a brush of his hand guiding Er’it well away from his wide-eyed people.
“Much to do, not enough time to do it in.” Er’it crossed his arms over his chest, his gaze finding an unerring path to Aida and watching her try to eat with some decorum despite how much she still hungered. Her restless shifting brought his attention to the others staring at her, their distrust and fear tainting the air. Putting him on edge, the foul sensation worked through his clenched jaw to make it ache.
“You need to restore your strength as well, boy. Go, eat with her. Show them there is naught to fear.”
“There is much to fear, Tor’en. She cannot control any of it. One more emotional outburst and she could level this forest.”
“She’ll not do that,” Tor’en said in a thoughtful hum, glancing from the forgery of verdant growth to Aida. “You never miss anything, so tell me what of that concerns you so?”
“How could she do what should have taken dozens of mages to make right?” Er’it asked in a low hiss. Giving the sight of Aida looking so small and alone his back, he tried to focus on the issue at hand instead of the urge to go to her and wrap her in his arms.
“The books—”
“Have been wrong all this time!”
“Mayhap they only have it partly wrong.” Tor’en rolled bony shoulders in a shrug, one hand performing a careless circle. “They said these Omegas held unimaginable power, yes? So she does.”
“It had to be miles worth of land, Tor’en. All of it healed, not a trace of that darkness. She did the same while away from me, again in the glen.” Er’it edged closer, not daring to utter the words in anything louder than a breath of a whisper as he added, “What I felt when we bit one another…”
“Does this mean we shall speak of what occurred out there and the wounds you share?” Bushy brows creeping upwards, Tor’en presented Er’it with his blandest expression.
“I feel her. Here.” Er’it ground the heel of his palm against his chest, the space where his heart thumped its steady beat surrounded on all sides by the delicate flutter of hers.
“An awareness of such power would not be abnormal.”
“Not her power, you fool.Her.”
Er’it whirled around at the surge of murky gray light rushing through his chest, all thought falling far by the wayside as his feet carried him toward the loose ring of mages surrounding Aida. The starlit midnight of her wide eyes was shining with unshed tears as she cowered at their feet. Fear exploding inside him and crushing the breath from his lungs, he felt more than heard the roar he voiced. Grabbing Aida by the arm, Er’it pushed her behind his back as he faced off with their startled faces. Bone deep and all the more disturbing for its intensity, he felt their intent, malice and hatred roiling through the air on sparks of shimmering green.
Not all of them. One who held sway for their strength, for the many years she’d stood by Er’it’s side. Amber gaze finding the warm brown of Endi’s, Er’it lifted his lip in a snarl that sent the rest scattering.
“Er’it,” Tor’en said in a quiet voice of warning as he approached.
“What have you done?” Er’it demanded. Sending an arm back to hold Aida’s shivering body against him, he hoped he could warm the icy chill from her, the same one slithering its way through his veins.
“You refuse to give us answers,” Endi said in a trembling voice, though she dared to meet Er’it’s furious gaze. “If you will not, then she needs to.”
“She knows nothing of what she is capable of, Endi,” Tor’en said, a grating rumble working through his chest. Lips twisted as if he tasted something foul, his deep russet gaze swept over the mage.
“You dare to—”
“She destroyed more than half our remaining goods,” Endi hissed with an arm flung toward the carts and their meager loads. “Whatever was left aftershefailed to warn us of brigands is ruined. Your people are weary to the bone after you forced them to hack their way through a blighted forest after her. All for nothing, I might add, since she’s seemingly set on killing us all.”
“You will be silent, Endi.”
“I speak only the truth, and you know it. You refuse to see how she is affecting you! Perhaps if you crawled out from between her thighs for a moment, you would see what you are doing to all of us.”
“I’m sorry. I am so very sorry,” Aida whimpered against his back. Sobs racking her small frame, she collapsed to the ground. “I never meant to hurt anyone.”
Aida’s apologies shattered through his chest, breaking his heart into thousands of glittering shards. Her desolate tears felt down to the marrow of his bones, Er’it fell into motion before he could think twice. Protecting his little Omega was above all else.
