Page 32 of Of Daggers and Deceit

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that. Please don’t tell him. I’ll go back upstairs, and we will never speak of this again.” I stammered the words out, getting up and walking backwards to the entrance of the alcove. Something like a guard reporting me would destroy everything.

“Wait,” he pleaded. He leaned forward to reach out a hand, as if to grab me, but pulled back abruptly, looking down at the ground, suddenly unsure of himself.

He held up the hand I’d moments ago crushed, turning it front and back for me to see.

“It’s fine. See? I was just joking around with you. I like to joke. This place is too serious. I mean, you are strong but not that strong, you know?”

I stayed still, observing his movements, assessing for the lie.

His grin faded when I didn’t respond as he exhaled a heavy breath and rubbed his forehead.

“I understand this is a trust experiment. I understand you are cautious. But let me ask you this: do you want to spend the rest of your life in the ivory tower, allowing the Haven to morph you into the icon they need? Or do you want to choose who you become, Riley?” His turquoise-blue eyes rippled with sincerity, his voice raw.

I pondered on that for a moment. I wanted to choose with everything I had. It was why I was here. It was why I was sacrificing so much. But there was a risk here, so much risk, just as we spoke of last night.

My pulse throbbed. I’d already come so far. I’d already made it out of that ivory tower tonight.

Maybe right now, there was room for both: the Rose in public and Riley in private. Maybe I didn’t need Zander to approve all my decisions if he never knew about them, especially if they weren’t harmful. Maybe the male before me could give me an opportunity to change things my way.

“I’ve always been in control of myself. You just need to look a little closer.” I steeled my gaze as I stared at the Omega before me, daring him to challenge me.

He tilted his head to the side, that same thoughtful look on his face from moments ago, as if I was a puzzle he intended to crack. “Hmm, maybe I do need to look a little closer.”

I looked at him, someone who felt so familiar to me, despite having spoken to him properly only a few days ago. Maybe our Goddess did favour me, sending this Omega to give me some semblance of peace.

I nodded once. “A trust experiment it is.”

He smiled at that and moved to a nearby hedge, showing me to the small gap in the corner, big enough for me to slip through but entirely invisible from the pathways.

“There is a reason I guard this side. It is an easier access point and therefore a risk to show you this place, but you won’t be harmed with me around. No one knows about it, not even Zander. I haven’t reported it to him. The break in the hedge has its uses, as you will soon learn.”

He was offering me a secret, and I took it gladly, moving forward to the hidden gap between the growths.

I peered through, scanning the streets with Sly’s breath on my back. “I’ve ensured no guards are marking this side. Stick to the shadows and go where you need. I’m trusting you because it is my life on the line if you don’t return.”

I nodded to confirm I understood, knowing I was only venturing far enough to hide and watch him, just to confirm he was as loyal as he insisted he was. So, I wrenched myself forward, twigs catching in my ponytail, leaves hitting my face as I passed.

I was almost out to the other side when a calloused hand gripped my bicep from behind.

Unable to turn my head to see him, his words reached my ears just as I breached the other side, shirking his grip.

“Stop allowing others to treat you as a princess, Riley. Princesses never get to make the big decisions. Maybe it’s time you started acting like a queen.”

My skin pebbled under his touch, the words echoing right down to the seat of my soul.

If a queen is what I needed to be.

Then a queen is exactly what I’d become.

RAYA

Istood on the steps of the compound, watching the quiet desert ahead of me as the last remnants of the fading sun began to dip below the horizon, the luminous glow of the shield painting a violet haze across our changing sky. Though beautiful, in mere hours, the terrain before me would be deadly.

Since our training yesterday, the time had passed quickly, and the day filled with a quiet anxiety that was palpable no matter where you looked. I couldn’t back out now, though; if anything, I was determined. I had a goal in mind tonight: save an Omega and bring protection to my family. It would see me persevere.

I checked that my two steel daggers were sheathed in their holsters behind my back, the other two locked in my front. The tactical suit they had us wear hugged my body firmly, too tight, almost uncomfortable. Still, it would offer a mediocre shield against my body, and I needed any advantage or protection I could get.

Bodhi stepped up beside me, the warmth of him a small comfort as I turned to face him. For a few moments, his eyes traced every detail of my face and mine his, burning it into my memory, just in case it was the last time I would ever see him. He smiled at me briefly, though it lacked its usual brilliance as he lifted his fingers to trace my eyebrow, down my nose, around my lips. My eyes fluttered closed beneath the softness of his touch. I resented everything about this, how cruel and unfair life could be.

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