Page 49 of The Omega Thief

He grinned. “For you?”

Kamir sighed. “No, my sister seems to have changed her job description from feared assassin in all five kingdoms to feared matchmaker.”

Raz was stunned by his admission. While same-sex pairings were unremarkable in Cadmeera, in Rajpur, under his father’s rule, they’d been a sentence of death.

So Raz explained and shared his fear for his kingdom.

“If anyone is able, Attiker can,” Veda said. If anyone else had been here, she would have been reprimanded by referring to his bonded by his given name, but they had a connection few had.

“So, to repeat my question, how can we help?” Kamir said.

Raz got up and strode to the door. Benta was standing on alert. He leaned in. “Go find Attiker. He needs to be here before he leaves.”

Benta nodded and disappeared.

“He hasn’t left?” Kamir asked in surprise.

Raz shook his head. He knew he would see him one more time. “Shortly.”

It wasn’t long until Attiker let himself into his sitting room. They all stood, but seeing the Emir, he bowed deeply. Veda grinned.

“Oh, come, Seeker, we’re past all that nonsense.”

Attiker returned the grin and said he was leaving very soon. Kamir bent and pulled off a chain from around his neck. Raz saw the medallion hung on there. He offered it to Attiker. “I’m not sure it will help, but it will give you free passage unhindered through Rajpur. If we were there, it would grant you immediate access to me, but at the moment,” he added dryly, “that won’t help.”

Attiker took it. “I’m grateful, Emir.” He turned to Raz, and Raz hoped it was reluctantly. “I have to leave.”

Both Kamir and Veda turned away and strode to the window, commenting on the gardens they could see and trying to give them a little privacy.

“I know,” Raz’s voice cracked. He grasped Attiker’s arms. “Come back to me.” The smell of almonds wove around his body, and Raz nearly groaned. “I’m nothing without you,” he admitted freely. “Let me walk with you to the gates.”

Because as soon as Attiker cleared the gates by the rules of the challenge, he wasn’t allowed to be near Raz until he brought back the prism.

Attiker kissed him. Uncaring of their audience, he took his lips with his, and all Raz could hear was the drumming of his heart. All he could feel was the fire in his body.

Attiker drew back, smiled once, shook his head, and then was gone.

Kamir came back over and sent a sympathetic smile. They talked aimlessly about unimportant trade agreements that Raz couldn’t have cared less about, but he knew he was trying to take his mind off it.

“Who’s that man?”

Raz turned reluctantly to Veda, and they both stood and walked to the window. Below, Grandmother was walking arm in arm with Viscount Harcourt. Raz hated the display of familiarity, but he knew if that was who Grandmother chose as her lover, it was her business.

“Viscount Harcourt.” Raz absorbed the question. “Why?”

“Because he’s been to the Market of Lost Souls. I’ve seen him there on more than one occasion.”

“What?” Raz knew Kamir would eventually close the market, but they’d agreed to keep it open to see who frequented it. Besides, sometimes banning things simply sent them underground. But there was absolutely no reason for a Cadmeera noble to be there.

“I’ve been watching him for some time,” Veda admitted. “I can’t prove it, but I think he’s involved with the sale of slaves and uses fever white to ensure compliance.”

“Seven hells,” Raz spat. If that was true, then he knew who had betrayed him, except it wasn’t deliberately, and it would kill her to find out. Grandmother had been acting differently with Harcourt. She was smitten. Harcourt was quite a few years younger than her, and who knew what he might have overheard. Raz had been looking for a betrayer, but he would never have imagined his grandmother in all the world.

But, of course, that had been so clever. If he was right, she would be so incredibly hurt. But if he was right, then it was possible Markell knew a lot of Attiker’s abilities and plans. Raz strode to the door and yanked it open. “Benta, get me Attiker.”

“I’m sorry, sire,” Benta said regretfully. “He’s already cleared the gates.”

Chapter twenty-one

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