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“Do you think we could have some room, please?”

His eyes bounce between the two of us before, to my surprise, he inclines his head.

Of course, Dax immediately objects.

“No, no way. She can’t be alone with her. We don’t know what’s been done to the Omega, and we can’t trust the—Idril.”

“My name is Branwen,” the Omega snaps, glaring at Dax. The challenge in her tone is unexpected. Both shocking and reassuring at once. Whatever she’s gone through, this Omega—Branwen—hasn’t lost her spirit.

Watching her stand up to Daxen without even hesitating sends a rush of jealousy through my bones. Or maybe it’s yearning. And… respect. Awe, too.

Probably all of the above.

I mean… Branwen’s in a literal cage, but when someone said something she didn’t like, she spoke up. No hesitation. No fear of punishment.

And Fates… I wish I could do the same. I wish I had the strength to say what I’m thinking, instead of shoving it down deep, too scarred by a life of punishments and pain for as little as breathing.

“We’ll give them five minutes,” Gav responds, and Daxen looks about ready to argue, but Gav gives him a look and his mouth clicks shut.

The males give us a buffer of about twenty feet, and the further away they get, the more my shoulders relax. When I turn back to Branwen, I’m suddenly struck with the realization that… I have no idea what to say. I mean… what am I supposed to do? I don’t really even understand why I’m here… so where do I start?

Maybe I should apologize…

‘Hey, sorry my dad kidnapped you. He’s a total jerk, and I promise I’m not like him. I’m also super sorry if he injected you with something. Turns out, it’s my blood—which I just learned is magic, or… something. I don’t really know, honestly. But if you start glowing or flying or turning invisible, don’t freak out. It’s normal. I think.’

Yeah. That’ll go over so well.

“Uhm… do you want to come out of there?”

She shrugs. “Not yet.”

I nod, stretching out my legs and turning to the side. “Yeah… I get it.”

And I do. Sometimes it takes a second to adjust when you’ve been somewhere for so long. The cage—the prison—can start to feel safe in its own way. Familiar. Not unknown and scary like the outside world and all its potential for pain.

Branwen studies me with pursed lips. Then she nods, like she’s come to some conclusion.

“You do understand, don’t you?”

I hum in agreement. “So, uhm… They said you were… saying my name. Asking for me? But, listen… I think you have the wrong person. I’m so, so sorry. I’ll do what I can to help you find who you’re looking for, but⁠—”

“No.” She cuts me off firmly. “You are who I’m looking for.”

“You don’t understand. I’ve never met an Omega aside from my mother,” I admit sheepishly. But instead of convincing her that I’m not who she thinks, my admission seems to have the opposite effect. She straightens—as well as one can straighten surrounded by metal bars—and her eyes brighten with resolve.

“I came here—to the States—for you, Idril”

My mouth falls open with a disbelieving laugh. “Me? Why—I’m nobody!”

She holds my stare, like I’m being purposely obtuse and she doesn't have time for games.

“We both know that isn’t true.”

I shake my head furiously, denying her words. I laugh, but it’s strangled. “Listen. Until recently, I hadn’t left my father’s estate for nearly a decade. I’m—I’m no one. I don’t know anyone.”

“Well… that might be true,” she concedes, and I exhale in relief until she keeps going. “However, there are people who know you. Women. Many women. And they sent me here to find you. To help you.”

Right. The people in the next town over don’t know I exist, but a group of women across the ocean does?