“What about the other families?”
Xian Jun shrugged. “We keep to ourselves, but you’re welcome to question them.” His tone was calm, almost indifferent. “If we hear anything about the Omega, we’ll inform you immediately.”
The mercenary’s smile thinned. He let the silence hang, stretching it taut, until the only sound was her own thunderous heartbeats.
“Harbouring an Omega on the run comes at a cost,” he said, the warning clear in his low voice. “Disrupts the balance. Makes people nervous. Best not to get involved—tell everyone.”
He let the advice settle, gaze sweeping over Xian Jun and their surroundings, then turned on his heel, boots thudding against the packed earth.
As the mercenaries rode off, tension unravelled slowly, like a knot loosening but never fully undone. Reiya heard the merchants let out quiet sighs, conversations resuming in hushed tones, as if testing the air for lingering danger.
She remained frozen, the scarf twisting in her grip, heart pounding in her ears. The world moved around her, but she barely registered it—until Xian Jun’s steady voice broke through the haze.
“Breakfast’s ready,” he said, his tone even. “Clean up and join us.”
Chapter Fifteen
REIYANA
Reiya stared as Xian Jun walked away, relief curling uneasily in her chest. She gripped her scarf tighter, swallowing hard. He knew—she was certain of it. She was balancing on a knife’s edge, and whether he kept her secret or not, she’d bleed either way.
Would he tell Elder Tasim? Demand she leave before she brought more trouble to his family?
Could she blame him if he did?
Her thoughts snagged on the mercenary’s warning:‘Harbouring an Omega on the run comes at a cost.’
The Xians weren’t warriors. They were Beta merchants, wanderers, a family bound by trade and tradition. Yet, she was dragging them into a danger they’d never asked for, and wouldn’t be prepared to deal with.
She scrubbed the mud off her skin, shaking loose the muck from her hair before braiding it and tucking the coil under her scarf once more. The scent of porridge greeted her as she returned to the family’s fire—grains, goat butter, herbs, and a rare trace of honey, which she knew Su Lian saved for special occasions only.
Mei Mei’s face lit up when Reiya approached. “Yara! We’ve been looking everywhere for you! Where did you go?”
Reiya’s mind scrambled for an excuse, but Ru Rong waved off the question.
“Poor girl,” the older woman said, ladling porridge into bowls. “Did the mercenaries scare you? They come stirring trouble every now and then. Come,anh. Sit. Eat.”
She passed a warm bowl. With a murmur of thanks, Reiya accepted, her hands gripping it tighter than necessary.
Across the fire, Xian Jun ate his porridge with the same steady rhythm as always, showing no hint that anything was out of the ordinary. He didn’t spare her a glance, treating the moment at the animal pens as nothing more than a minor chore.
She took a small bite, the honey failing to soften the weight pressing against her ribs. Mei Mei chattered beside her, recounting the morning’s misadventures with a mischievous sheep, but the words barely reached her.
The meal passed in a lull of quiet conversation and the soft clink of bowls. Reiya had just begun gathering the remnants of breakfast when a light touch on her arm stilled her. She turned, her eyes meeting Su Lian’s.
“Mei Mei can finish up. Come into the wagon with me,” the woman said, her voice gentle, her smile giving nothing away.
Reiya swallowed. A flutter of uncertainty stirred in her chest, but she nodded and followed.
Was this about what Xian Jun had seen?
Had she overstayed her welcome?
Inside the wagon, the familiar scent of herbs and aged leather wrapped around her—grounding and unsettling all at once. Su Lian knelt before an open trunk, jade bangles chiming softly as she sifted through its contents.
“Jun thought you might find this useful,” she murmured, pulling out a small jar.
Reiya took it, the cool ceramic smooth in her hands. “What is it?”
