Page 38 of Of Daggers and Deceit

“I’m sorry.” She blinked, almost disoriented at my apology, before staring up at me. She had the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen in my life, a stunning brilliant blue with streaks of white through them almost as unique as her gift. I thought I would die the happiest person in the entire universe if they were the last thing I saw.

She frowned at me, because again, I was fucking staring at her. Omni be damned, I wished I could disorient her as much as she did me.

I lifted my hand to cup her cheek and traced my thumb down her nose and across her lips, both annoyed at her for last night but also eager to see if that moment we shared before we separated for the thinning extended beyond that. Her eyelashes fluttered, and her lips parted. This was it. Raya will be mine and I hers.

But then, something in her expression changed, and she stepped away from me, taking with her the lightness I felt beside her.

My throat bobbed painfully. That hurt more than I cared to ever admit to anyone.

“You disobeyed my direct order last night, Raya.”

She didn’t look away from me but failed to hide the ripple of defiance that crossed her features.

“I saved an Omega.” She straightened up, readying herself for the fight.

My eyes narrowed. “You don’t get it at all. You could have endangered another of your teammates. There is order and leads in our team for a reason.”

She licked her lips in irritation before huffing and turning away from me towards the wardrobe.

I reached out my hand to grab her. “Don’t turn away from me, Raya. I need to know you understand what I’m saying. People die out there every single fucking year.”

She turned back towards me abruptly, forcing me to recoil my outstretched arm, unable to bear the hurt of her stepping away from me again. “I know that, Bodhi, but I saw an opportunity to save an Omega and I took it, and with it, I’ve guaranteed protection for my mum.”

My face scrunched. “What? How?”

“I made a deal with our Supreme. He thought me to be incapable, and I showed him otherwise. Save an Omega, win protections for this family.”

Before I could even respond to a comment like that, a knock sounded at the door, followed by Tia popping her head in, her eyes questioning as she took us both in.

“The Supreme’s address is about to start. I will meet you both downstairs.”

Her gaze dropped to Raya’s wrists before she shifted back up to her face. “You didn’t wear them.”

Raya shakes her head.

“Will you?” Tia asked, though I had no idea what the hell she was talking about.

“Maybe next time.”

Raya turned away from her mum to rummage in her wardrobe and change, seemingly ending that conversation.

The door creaked as Tia threw me a smile and moved to close it again.

“Do you know if they do anything?” Raya turned her head and looked over her shoulder at Tia, right before the door was about to shut.

Tia looked over at an old navy box that had seen better days beside Raya’s bed. “No, I don’t. They just look like jewellery to me.”

Raya nodded and turned back to what she was doing, and I decide at that point I didn’t care to stay in the middle of a conversation I know little about, nor did I care to pry.

“I’ll see you both downstairs.” With that, I left the room only slightly less annoyed than before.

All three of us sat uncomfortably in the living room, perched on the small, worn lounge, waiting for the Supreme’s address to commence. The tiny TV in front of us broadcasted a view of the empty podium within our city centre, the Omegas of the Inner Ring flooding the space in front of it.

Raya had irritatingly still not acknowledged me in the way I had wanted her to. She sat beside me, so close that her leg brushed against me repeatedly, but every time I tried to reach for her hand to draw her attention towards me, she moved hers away.

I scowled. The muscles in my face had even begun to ache from the displeasure I had continued to wear since I’d awoken. I’d been so fucking close to kissing her.

It was always one step forward and two steps back with her, a push and pull I didn’t want. But I was so hooked on her pull that I couldn’t seem to give up. Was that the problem maybe? I was acting too desperate? I had never had trouble with gaining a female’s attention up until her. Raya bit her lip and worried it, looking somewhat stressed. I wondered what she was thinking about. I hoped it was me. I smiled at the thought.

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