Page 18 of The Omega Slave

Kamir watched them go. Candy and Flynn were their adopted children, but he’d only met them briefly. Mansala stationed himself at the door, checking every servant that wanted access to either prepare baths or bring food. Tam had taken Jael to his own rooms to eat.

Kamir quickly took a trip to the bathing room. He longed for a bath even though he was relatively clean, but he had no intention of being apart from Tsaria for that long.

He rushed back into the sleeping area to see two servants setting up food and waited until they left. “You should eat,” Kamir said to Mansala.

“I have my own in my room,” Mansala assured him. “I thought you might need help to settle his highness.”

For a moment Kamir had no idea what Mansala meant and then the wordsbond matehit him again, and he realized Mansala had made the same assumption, and Goddess, he hoped it was true. Kamir desperately wanted to keep the beautiful man; unfortunately, the beautiful man might simply not want to be kept.

Kamir shook his head. “Go rest and eat. If I need help, I will summon you.”

“You are sure, Highness?” Mansala looked doubtful.

“He will not injure me,” Kamir said.Hurt his heart, possibly,as Kamir undoubtedly deserved, but not injure him.

What neither his highness nor the servant knew was that Tsaria had awoken a few moments ago and was maintaining the ruse while he worked out a way to get to Jael so they could both escape. He assumed they were in Cadmeera as his highness had told him that’s where they were going, but he had no idea why he was with the emir. He was glad to warrant a bed and assumed by the faint scent of salve that a healer had tended to him, but he was at a loss to understand why he was here. Unless it was because they thought he was somehow responsible for the dragon. Was that what a bond mate was? He wasn’t completely sure what that meant.

“You are safe.”

He opened his eyes, knowing the words were spoken to him and that the emir knew he was awake. He stared into the golden amber eyes and mapped the rest of him. They were similar in height. His highness had a few more defined muscles than he had before but he still didn’t look like he was being cared for. He had the same silky, straight black hair like most of their people, but his now seemed to have purple highlights. When would he have had the time to get a servant to add those? Unless Tsaria had been unconscious longer than he thought, but with the conversation he’d heard, he didn’t think so.

“Safe because I’m your prisoner?” Tsaria challenged, and his throat tightened as he saw genuine sorrow in the emir’s eyes.

“No, of course not,” the emir said. “I told you that Cadmeera would welcome you as a citizen.”

“And you?” Tsaria whispered. How did the emir feel about him? Was he welcomed? “Has your dragon appeared since?” They had held each other in the carriage so perhaps Tsaria didn’t have any effect on the emir at all. Would he be tossed aside when the emir realized that? He nearly scoffed at that. Of course he would. He wasn’t foolish enough to assume the emir wanted him for any other reason. They were so far apart in station he might as well be a sand worm, crushed beneath a beggar’s sole.

The emir’s gaze dropped. “No,” he whispered, “but that is hardly your worry.” Tsaria wasn’t sure what the emir meant. As soon as the emir realized Tsaria had no value, he would be lucky to be tossed outside the palace gates.

“Are you hungry?”

Tsaria followed his gaze and looked at the food left out, and while he was a little, he was surprised at the simple food. Small loaves and what smelled like heavenly date jam. There were cut-up vegetables to dip in some sort of paste, and purple cabbage leaves you could use to wrap a selection in and use as bread. It looked amazing and smelled even better, but Tsaria was surprised it wasn’t, well,fancier.

His highness smiled. “Raz and Attiker have made many changes to palace life. One of them being that they don’t eat in luxury while any of their people starve.”

Tsaria’s lips parted soundlessly in astonishment.

“Look,” his highness said. “I know this is scary and I know you have no reason to believe me—”

“I want to leave,” Tsaria nearly yelled as he shot up, but he wavered was as dizziness hit him. A man he recognized—Mansala—burst from the adjoining room, but the emir put up a hand to slow him.

“This is what you want?”

Tsaria nodded, even though it hurt his head.

“But Highness,” Mansala ground out.

The emir shook his head. “He has the right to his freedom,” and the emir went to the table and rang a bell. A moment later, a guard appeared, bowing. The emir smiled. “Tsaria wishes to leave the palace and his highness, the king’s consort, has granted him safe passage. I believe—”

“Sire,” and Tsaria turned to see Tam walk into the room. Tam glanced at Tsaria. “You can stay with me tonight if you want, then make a decision tomorrow.”

Tsaria inhaled quickly. Tam had saved his life.

“Jael is with me as well. I was just coming to report he has eaten and seems well,” Tam added, and that was enough incentive. Tsaria swung his legs over the side and stood but would have fallen if the emir hadn’t reached for him to steady his arm. Tsaria felt sick, but he wanted to get out of here. He yanked his arm free, and the emir retreated to the corner of the room. Tam took his arm and solemnly, they walked out. At the last second, Tsaria glanced back at the emir. His face was stoic, but his eyes were full of sorrow.

But Tsaria wasn’t foolish enough to suppose that the look was for anything other than the possibility of losing the chance that Tsaria could help him find his dragon once more.

Chapter nine

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