Page 44 of The Omega Slave

“Name’s Pip. I have what you’ve been looking for, but it will cost—”

“I don’t fucking care,” Tam spat out and got to his feet. “The thing I’ve been looking for might be the answer to stop not only a war, but also to save a great many from poverty or slavery. Help me or not, but I don’t have time to fuck about.”

Pip also stood. “I will have to blindfold you.”

Tam shrugged. In his heart he knew time was running out for Tsaria, if it wasn’t already too late.

Chapter eighteen

Kamir watched Eldara become merely a speck in the distance as she flew away, taking his last vestige of hope with her. She had tried, but while he felt great power, she explained that only the Dragoran could change him. When Attiker had pressed her because she had managed to bring forth his white wolf last year, she just dismissed it as wolves were apparently easy. But only those gifted with dragoran blood could change another into a dragon, and then only if they were true mates.

And Eldara wasn’t Kamir’s mate.

Even Attiker and Ash were quiet. Jael seemed to have vanished into thin air. There had been no word from the troops sent after Tsaria and Alain, and when a full day passed with no messenger bird, Tam had decided to leave that night. Veda had also left, but she had been with her lover and absent from the palace when they realized what had likely happened, so Tam had a good five hour start on her.

And now it was only four days until Kamir had to present himself at the palace or many children would die, and he could never allow that to happen.

Accompanied by the guards who had remained at a distance, they rode back to the palace. What had he done wrong? Why had Tsaria fled? Cookie had been nearly inconsolable when she realized Tsaria had left with his brother, not just given him the food.

What had Kamir said wrong? He’d thought they finally had a connection.

“Highness,” Mansala said quietly, drawing his horse alongside Kamir’s. “I spoke to the servant girl who took Alain to see Tsaria at his own request.”

Kamir glanced over. “She saw him?”

“Yes, highness. She was too frightened to admit to accompanying him to either Attiker or his highness, but there’s a cook…well,Cookie, that ferreted her out.” Kamir hissed in a breath. This might be credible.

“Apparently, our girl was curious. She heard Alain say you were leaving for Rajpur at the full moon.”

Kamir turned to him in bewilderment. “But that’s way too late.” It wouldn’t be the full moon for another fourteen days.

“Yes, highness. Because apparently your plan was to let the innocents be slaughtered, then ride in like an avenging angel to take Gabar out. Your righteousness would be so intense, no one in their grief would care whether you had an animal or not.”

Hopelessness and desolation pricked at Kamir’s eyes. “It doesn’t matter, does it? No matter what lie Alain told, or what I do, they will find some excuse to murder babies and blame me.”

Mansala was quiet for a moment. “If I could help with that, I would give my life,” he vowed, which brought fresh tears because Kamir knew that. Of course he did. But he was sick of other people dying or being murdered in his stead.

“But we know that Tsaria’s brother fooled him,” Mansala added.

Did they? Or hadn’t Tsaria trusted him enough to take his word? But, of course he hadn’t. A moon of nice food would never make up for the cruelty of a lifetime.

“The guards on both sides are dead. It was clearly an ambush that Cadmeera arrived just in time to see and fail to prevent.”

“But no other bodies,” Kamir said. There had been no civilian deaths, according to reports. One Cadmeeran guard had survived and was gravely wounded but managed to ride to the nearest inn, had told them what he could. He had said all the Rajpuran troops had been slain, so where was Tsaria?

Kamir entered the palace and, as usual, servants were there immediately. He knew everyone in Rajpur needed him on the throne. He had many lives to save, but one in particular. He had no idea how to bring his dragon forth without Tsaria. But at this point, a greater part of him didn’t care. Kamir loved Tsaria. He loved that shy man with every fiber in him and was sick of being told what to do.

He was going to ride to Rajpur. He was going to find his lover, and if, at some point, he became a dragon, all well and good. He had a few people on his list to roast with a fiery breath.

Tam knew where he was. He only needed his sense of smell, unfortunately, but he could also hear his splashing steps and was glad his boots were waxed. He felt Pip’s fingers on the rag, then his eyes were uncovered. Still fucking pitch black.

“Use the rag for your mouth and nose through here,” Pip instructed and tied their own. “How far?” Tam mumbled andtried not to gag, but instead of a verbal response, Pip stopped and turned to a blank spot of stone brick.

“Coming up,” Pip said quietly.

“Just you?” came a muffled voice.

Tam would swear he could almost hear Pip roll their eyes. “As if you ain’t had eyes on us since we came down.”

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