Page 53 of The Omega Slave

Kamir opened his eyes. He hadn’t even heard the door open, yet Elainore was standing there. The same silken and golden glory. False humility he didn’t believe as she lowered her head. “What do you want?” He didn’t have time for niceties. And he really wasn’t interested in how she’d gotten into his room. Not that he was surprised, as he had seen her control his uncle.

Her eyes lifted, and she pinned him with a glare. “Justice.”

“Well, I will be dead in half a bell so you will get it.”

She laughed. Put her head back and crowed. Kamir tried to tune her out. He was thinking of Tsaria and she was interrupting. In his mind they had visited the ruins of Caheer, lying together as they watched the glorious sunset, and Tsaria was kissing him. He wanted to stay in his dream for as long as possible. Her laughter fell away, and she grew silent for a long few minutes. Kamir didn’t break it. She could stand there as long as she wanted.

“Let me guess, you are lying there feeling either betrayed or terrified. Terrified that because of your dragon you will be sacrificed.”

No, he was resigned. It didn’t make him less scared, but it didn’t make him less responsible either. Kamir swallowed down the sudden bile that rose in his throat. The blood had clung to him, was still clinging to him. A million scented baths would never get him clean.

“People were drugged, and your dragon killed all the witnesses.” She said it like it was nothing.

Kamir turned his head slowly and stared at her, then sat up. He couldn’t threaten her but he could at least be vertical. “It was supposed to be an illusion.”

“I cannot be expected to control your dragon,” she snapped out. No, he despised her, but his beast was his responsibility. The deaths were his fault.

“From what I have observed,” she continued. “Damatrious will plunge the country into chaos. He refuses to listen to his father, and he won’t honor any agreement I have made. He also refuses to see me alone.”

Kamir studied her. So, she couldn’t bend Damatrious to her will unless she got him alone. That was why she was here.

“I don’t have the time to alter the minds of the assembly, and there is nothing I can do to delay a punishment.” So she wasn’t that powerful. She’d already admitted she needed Damatrious on his own. “Iskar is dead. That is what triggered the purifying. If both had died Gabar wouldn’t have called for it.” Gabar wanted to use him. Damatrious was probably giddy with the thought of all that power, and he would have the country embroiled in a war very soon.

“Because Damatrious got called away on a ridiculous military issue, he is now acting emir.”

Yes, because the law was different for first born sons. They became the emir immediately and had six lunar months to prove it if they hadn’t already shifted on their sixteenth birthday. Dametrious could only call himself acting emir. Kamir stared at her, trying to work out if she told the truth. But it made sense because neither Elainore nor Gabar wanted him dead. They wanted Gabar to rule which he could only do with Kamir there. The illusion was because he had undisputedly produced a dragon. But then…

Of course.Both sons were supposed to die. To ensure the rule fell to him and Gabar. But Damatrious was alive.

“Damatrious is a complication I didn’t foresee,” Elainore admitted, knowing he had come to the same conclusion as she.

But none of it mattered. Being innocent of one death didn’t absolve him of the others. The thought of all those dead made him want to throw up. It didn’t appease his conscience that he hadn’t slaughtered Iskar himself, because the blood of all the others was firmly on his hands. “What do you expect me to do?” Kamir asked. Not that he had any intention of begging for his life.

“I need a delay to enable me to get to Damatrious to sort all this out. You are allowed a family member to speak for you, so I understand, and that would trigger the delay. Clearly your uncle cannot fulfil that role because it concerns the death of his son.”

Kamir scoffed. “I don’t have any brothers, or I wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place.” He wouldn’t even be alive.

She tutted. “You have a sister.”

Kamir was briefly stunned that she would even be allowed to speak, but then understanding slammed in and glared at Elainore. “I will tell you and my uncle once and once only; there isn’t any reality where I would bring Veda back here to let Gabar get his filthy hands on her.” She was too far away, thankfully, to petition the assembly in time. It would be over because he wouldn’t ask for a delay. Good. He needed her safe.

Elainore’s smile fell. “Look, all I want is land for my people. I’m sure you really don’t wish to burn to death.”

“Not especially,” Kamir said. “But I came here knowing I would either bring forth my dragon or die. There was no middle ground.” And he’d brought forth his dragon, and many people had died for it.

“But I am offering you one.” Frustration colored her tone, and Kamir could imagine her stamping her foot.

Kamir scoffed. “You don’t have that power any longer.” He had a sick sense of satisfaction that her actions were backfiring.

“Not now,” she agreed. “But a request for the princess would trigger the delay. I thought you wanted to save your people?”

Kamir didn’t laugh, even though he wanted to. “My people may be better off with Damatrious.” They couldn’t be worse off, anyway. If he lived, Gabar would be in charge, and he couldn’t allow that. He knew that was why the lad had been sent. Veda wanted a delay to give her time to get here, but Kamir couldn’t allow that. Too many had died already.

Elainore shook her head. “You’re a fool,” she spat. “I’m handing you your kingdom on a plate.”

“Except you aren’t,” Kamir said softly. “It’s Damatrious’s kingdom, not mine any longer.” He leaned his head back. He was so tired.

“Perhaps Damatrious would meet a fatal accident?”

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