Page 72 of The Omega Thief

“Is she in this room?”

Merriman nodded and pointed to Veda. “It was her.”

The throne room was utterly silent. Justice Egar spoke again. “And why did you think we would be interested in such information? It was a long way for you to come.”

Raz prayed to the goddess.

“Well, I went into the alehouse for a pint, and I was telling Jeb and Indy what I saw, and there was a man who heard and offered me a whole jack to come and tell. He put me on a horse as he said it was urgent.”

“And they didn’t offer you any coin to change your story?” Justice Egar asked.

Merriman shook his head. “I swear.”

Raz caught the apologetic glance that Justice Egar sent him, but he knew.

He heard the horns sound the alarm in the courtyard below and knew the Abergenny army had been sighted outside the palace.

Not that it mattered because he’d just lost the throne, anyway.

ItseemedtoAttikerthat the world descended into bedlam. Guards shouted orders. Soldiers faced off against each other. Servants tried to leave even though the Abergenny forces barricaded the doors. He’d heard less noise at the docks when the big fleet had returned after the war.

“Silence,” Raz roared and jumped to his feet just as what seemed like every guard, both for Cadmeera and Abergenny, drew their swords. Attiker hissed in a breath and stepped up to Raz. He wasn’t sure what he could do, but no one got a sword near him without Attiker trying to stop them.

“Call off your men,” Johannas demanded, “or my troops will destroy them.”

Attiker tried to swallow. He could see the indecision on Raz’s face, and it broke his heart. He knew Raz could fight, but there would be many killed, and he doubted Johannas would just stick to the military.

Raz glanced at Attiker. “Stay here.”

Attiker gazed at him and reached out a hand. Stay? What did that mean? Raz stilled as they touched fingers, and in that one second, they were cocooned.

I love you. Attiker’s heart beat out the words.

Then Raz let go, stepped down from the dais, and calmly met Johannas’s glare. He ignored every sword tipped at him as if they didn’t exist, then reached for his belt and slowly drew his ceremonial sword from the scabbard.

“I, Raz’mar Kinsharae, ruler of Cadmeera, surrender to Johannas, Emperor of Abergenny. I command all Cadmeera forces to yield.” And he laid down the sword at Johannas’s feet.

He didn’t even get a chance to stand before the Abergenny guards were on him. Attiker took two steps, but more Abergenny soldiers rushed into the throne room. Soon, every Cadmeeran was surrounded. Attiker just stopped Benta being run through, but he wasn’t the only one disinclined to surrender.

He didn’t get a chance to so much as lock gazes with Raz as Raz was rushed from the throne room, and he was barely able to stop Grandmother from being manhandled out after him.

Then they came for him. And they weren’t gentle. Not that he cared.

“The princess,” Markell shouted, and Attiker glanced back. He noticed her brother had vanished, as well. Amongst everything that had been said, he’d never even thought to see her reaction. But he didn’t see her, and as Markell swore, he struggled to reign in his satisfaction. Veda had disappeared. In the noise, she had slipped away.

Not that Rajpur could help. They were likely frantically securing their own borders because he doubted Markell’s ambition stopped at Cadmeera.

Attiker barely noticed when he was thrown in a cell until the shouts and the clanging and the cries from outside finally died down, and he looked around at where he was, or what he could see in the dark.

Where it had all started.

The exact same cell a thief had been thrown in and demanded a royal hearing so many weeks ago. Before, his life had changed dramatically. Before he’d made new friends. Before he’d met a dragon.

Before, I fell in love.

So, enough. Enough of all this. Raz wasn’t going to lose his kingdom. Not if Attiker Lynch had anything to do with it. He wasn’t sure what to do first, and it was pitch dark. “Who’s here?” He doubted he was alone, but as his eyes adjusted, he saw more.

“Sire,” he heard Thakeray respond immediately. “Benta’s with me, but he got knocked on the head. He’s unconscious.”

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