Page 34 of Own to Obtain

Kardos stiffened. That meant that they had more that connected them than his alliance with King Malloron. “But you were not born and raised in the Southern Lands?”

“No,” the emperor said. “My grandfather did not endear himself to Tribe Nyek. He very much admired their warrior training and their philosophies. I have tried to uphold what I have learned.”

Kardos nodded. “And yet your accent is terrible.”

The emperor let out a low chuckle and switched back to the Common Tongue. “This is the first time I’m speaking Mayaros since my grandfather died. But his skill with the blade has been passed on.”

And suddenly it all made sense. The Lox were trained on Tribe Nyek training principles, which was likely why they were so successful as an army. But they seemed to only focus on one area; close combat weapons. Each warrior in Tribe Nyek had a specialty, and clearly the emperor’s grandfather had chosen close combat as his. If he had been trained in some of the other weapon types, the Lox may have been more successful in warding off the attacks from Kardos’ archer and rockpulter.

“Regardless,” Kardos said through gritted teeth, “just because you have found success from techniques your grandfather took from my tribe doesn’t mean you have any right to interfere with why I am here.”

“My grandfather took nothing!” The emperor’s face contorted. “That training was offered to him and he remained a Nyek warrior until he died.”

“Irrelevant!” Kardos barked back. “The only thing that matters is my Omega. Where is she?”

The emperor glanced at the door. “She is coming.”

Kardos’ eyes narrowed. That was too easy.

Just then, heavy footsteps, dull thuds and the clash of metal sounded behind him indicated both sets of warriors were entering the room. Kardos didn’t take his eyes off the emperor and the emperor was trained well enough to do the same.

“Tell them to stop fighting,” the emperor ordered.

Kardos said nothing, holding still with his sword pointing at the Alpha.

“You want your Omega to enter this room in a middle of a battle?” the emperor snapped.

“If she is hurt in any way, you are responsible and you will fucking die,” Kardos said. “If you are not my enemy, then cease your attack.”

The emperor snarled and a low growl rumbled from him, but he didn’t raise his sword. “Halt!”

Out of the corner of his eye, Kardos saw the Lox warriors pulled back sharply to the edges of the hall. He slowly inched back toward his men. He needed to speak to the Talent-crafter to find out how far they were off course from Shaya’s location, but as he turned his body to call to his men, a flutter at the corner of his eye caught his attention enough to finally drag his eyes from the emperor.

And there she was.

Shaya stood by the wall near the entrance to the room, her body stiff, her hands clasped, and her eyes wide as they darted around the room before landing on Kardos. She, of course, was frightened of the warriors in the room and the clear signs of battle but didn’t seem to be hurt or damaged.

The sight of her lifted his mood and resounding relief pounded through his every heartbeat that she was alive, but the pungent scent of Alpha in the room sent every muscle in his body on alert.

“Shaya, I’m taking you home,” he ordered.

“The empress said I have to speak to you before she will give me sanctuary,” she said, her voice trembling.

“What?” Kardos frowned, realizing she had entered with two other women, one being her sister and the other dressed just as richly as the emperor.

Shaya glanced at the other women, both nodded. “They said I have to—”

“You don’t have to do anything! I’m here to bring you home.” He snarled as an ugly darkness came over him. “And tell me now who this Alpha is you spoke of during our bond connection!”

Shaya froze. A slow look of horror seeped into her face and her mouth dropped open.

“It wasn’t a dream,” Kardos bit out. “Who the fuck is he? Is it the emperor? Is he here? Has anyone touched you? Speak!”

“No,” she said, finally finding her voice. “There is no one else, Kardos.”

The expression on her face seemed to suggest she was being truthful. Kardos but the heady scent that surrounded them didn’t allow him to find any comfort. “If I ever find that to be untrue, he will die when I find him.” He turned his head slightly toward his team. “Get ready to leave.”

But when he stepped toward Shaya, she jumped back and grabbed her sister’s arm. A coldness speared his chest.

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