‘It’s not over,’she swore to herself.‘Not yet.’
The carriage rattled over uneven ground, heavy curtains shrouding them in darkness. Reiya pressed her back against the seat, pulse steady despite the tension coiled in her gut. Across from her, Castiel lounged with infuriating ease, the smirk playing on his lips sharp as a blade.
“You’ve grown quiet, dove,” he mused, tilting his head. “I thought you’d be throwing insults, especially now that we’re alone.”
She met his gaze. “I trusted you,” she said quietly. “You weren’t just my friend—you were my safe haven.”
For the briefest moment, his smirk faltered. His expression softened—but only slightly.
“And you were mine,” he admitted, his voice low. “But we both outgrew that, didn’t we?”
“No.” Her voice was sharper now. “We didn’t outgrow it. Youchoseto destroy it.”
He arched a brow, a slow, infuriating smile tugging at his mouth. “I did warn you I’d ruin you, didn’t I? Back at the rose pavilion?”
Her jaw tightened until she swore she heard the faint grind of her own teeth.
He leaned forward, his sharp eyes gleaming with something cold and unrelenting. “You don’t understand,” he said quietly. “You never did. There’s more at stake here than you or me.”
“So you keep saying, but failing to explain.” Her fingers curled in her lap. “If you ever cared about me, even a little, then tell me—what are you trying to achieve?”
For the first time, he hesitated, his gaze flickering toward the curtained window. When he spoke, his tone was quieter, almost resigned.
“The same thing I’ve always wanted, dove. To set you free.”
The words struck like a blow. “Freedom?” Disbelief laced her voice. “You callbetrayalfreedom? You call kidnapping me from those I love freedom?”
His smirk returned. “You don’t see it yet,” he murmured. “Whatever freedom you think you have now—it’s nothing compared to the real freedom we could give you.”
Reiya’s hands clenched in her lap, her voice shaking. “And what, precisely, is ‘real freedom?’ Who are ‘we?’ What could possibly justify this?”
His smirk widened, eyes glittering with a chilling conviction. “You’re the cornerstone, Reiya. Without Omegas, the entire structure collapses. Your instincts, your bonds, your submission, your womb—everything the world worships about you is what keeps this sick system alive. And that makes you . . . indispensable, and guilty, at the same time.”
Guilty. The word punctured her like a knife. As if she’d had anyhand in constructing the system that shackled them all. A system as ancient as the sands beneath their feet, as immutable as the stars above. She hadn’t chosen to be born an Omega, hadn’t drawn her lot in the cruel lottery of caste and power.
And yet, he looked at her as though the weight of it all rested squarely on her shoulders.
She shook her head. “You’re insane.”
“Am I?” His tone was deceptively calm, but his gaze burned with intensity. “Or are you afraid to admit I’m right?”
“Even if you are, what you’re doing is stillwrong. Is that what you’ve been doing while serving in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs? Rat out the Omegas at various courts in the nine kingdoms? Orchestrate their abductions?”
He beamed, as though she’d paid him a compliment. “Let it never be said I am careless in my service.”
Her heart twisted as her mind filled with images of frightened Omegas spirited away in the night, stripped from their homes, their courts, their lives. She thought of the silence left behind, of the families who’d never know where they’d gone, or why. The injustice of it scraped beneath her ribs.
Her voice dropped, hands curling into fists at her sides. “What are you doing with them? Where have you taken them?”
For a flicker of a moment, his eyes cooled, and she could almost see him retreating, distancing himself from the present.
“You always did ask too many questions, dove.”
“What you’re doing is monstrous. You hurt Omegas. You destroy their lives.”
“Lives are destroyed every day,” he said flatly. “The difference is, I don’t pretend sacrifice isn’t necessary. I’ll do whatever it takes for our freedom.”
She leaned forward, her words slipping between clenched teeth. “You talk about freedom, but all I see is someone just as trapped as the rest of us.”
