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“We will find her, sir,” the soldier says. Turning to the doorway, he issues an order that sees men scurrying beyond my view.
“This man is her mate,” Tully says, indicating me. “See that his injuries are treated, and he receives food and clean clothes when we arrive at the palace.”
“Understood, captain!” the soldier says, snapping to attention yet again and calling yet more guards to remove my chains.”
Hope surges. “Can I go to her?”
Tully, who appears to be in charge here, shakes his head. “I do not know you, save you unlawfully mated a Hydornian omega. Your fate belongs to the king. Give us no trouble, and we shall give you none in return. But as for letting you go to her, that will not be happening.”
And with those words, my hopes are dashed.
“Marshal?” I ask as guards come to release my chains from the wall. They leave the ones that bind my wrists, reminding me that I am still a prisoner of sorts.
“About to be served the king’s swift justice,” Tully says, as I’m escorted out into the courtyard where Marshal’s men are corralled together by a troop of city guards. “The omega will not be harmed. You have my word.”
“She has a fucking name, and it’s Freya,” I bite out, sharply, but temper the urge to lash out. I’m in bad shape, and there are more men here than I can handle on a good fucking day.
As soldiers stride purposefully in every direction, Tully makes his way casually to my side, waving away the two soldiers bracing me. “Lor is coming,” he says, his voice low and for my ears only. He stands, staring out across the courtyard. To an observer, it would not even look like we were conversing. “He does not come alone. Check yourself, warrior. Make no mistake, I will order you to be beaten down if you give me trouble. Do not make me upset the lass further. She is already broken by the news Marshal orchestrated her late father’s death. Her mother has been called to the king, where she will likewise learn this tragic news. Let them grieve. Let them take comfort in each other. Soon, Goddess willing, you will be united with your mate again.”
I reel from his words, wanting to believe them but also wary this is merely a tale to keep me compliant.
He strides off, calling the two soldiers to mind me again.
My instincts clamor. I want to go to Freya. I am her mate and should be with her and offer her whatever comfort I can.
Then Tully’s words play back. Lor is coming.He does not come alone.
He is coming. Soon, very soon, we will be reunited again.
* * *
Freya
I have been liberated from Marshal’s home. The captain who appears to be in charge of the operation will tell me nothing of Aston, only that both my mates are alive and well, and I cannot see them yet, pending the king’s ruling on the matter.
I take some comfort from his words in this bleak time.
Amid this backdrop of uncertainty, I’m taken to the palace. Here, I’m shown to a room where my mother awaits me.
As she rises from an ornate carver chair, I see the tears in her eyes.
“You know?” I ask.
“My sweet daughter, I do.”
We cling to one another, sobbing anew for the husband and father we have lost.
“It’s all my fault,” I say. “If I wasn’t an omega, this never would have happened.”
“Oh, love,” she says, holding me tighter. “Never speak like that. Never. If your Papa still lived, he would not stand for it. You know as much. You could no more help your nature than the sun can help but rise. Do not take the burden of responsibility for what a wicked man has done.”
I know her words are true, but the wound of loss has been opened anew. We have lost a loved one for no reason, no reason but greed, and that is the most pitiful reason of all. Papa spent years fighting the Blighten, only to be killed in betrayal by a family he dedicated his life fighting to protect.
“Your papa is with the Goddess now,” my mother says and, cupping my face with her hands, she wipes the tears from my cheeks. “She will surely show him her favor. One day, when it is our time, we will join him there. Do not be sad about this. He will be looking down upon us with great relief that the man responsible for his downfall—who sought to wed you and bring you into his family, not out of love but out of selfish greed—has been brought to justice. He will find peace that this has been done.”
She speaks true, yet it is so hard. “I miss him.”
“Me too, love. I miss him every day. But I was blessed by the many years we had together and that he gave me you.”
