Page 30 of Sins of His Wrath

Akoro’s soldiers dragged forward wide-eyed Omegas and held the tip of their weapons at their necks.

A low growl rumbled in Papa’s throat.

“Surrender your empire!” The voice soared over their heads, deep and strong. “Surrender now, or we will kill every Omega in this land.”

“Is that him?” Papa growled at Naya.

“No.” It sounded like Nrommo. Her eyes flitted across the soldiers. His men were just as big as the Lox, but their armor and weapons reflected the intricate style and detail she’d seen on both Prillu and Akoro. The main difference was they wore helmets that covered their entire head. Nrommo must be farther back, projecting his voice.

Papa signaled to Lox with another hand gesture, telling them to prepare to advance.

“Papa…,” Naya said, a warning in her voice. “We cannot let him kill the Omegas.”

“We cannot let him take the empire,” Papa shot back. “This is his move, Naya. It’s the empire or the Omegas. We have to charge now and hope they won’t have time to kill them all.”

“No,” Naya said, a realization coming to her. “He has some kind of portal open in the forest. If we charge, he’ll kill them, then retreat into the portals and reappear somewhere else with another threat. It won’t end until the empire is destroyed.”

“Fuck!” Papa’s frustration was strong, but he kept the Lox back.

Naya breathed shallowly, her thoughts swirling. She knew Papa. He’d rather attempt to fight them multiple times than concede. But Akoro had them in a choke hold. The Lox Empire had the most Omegas in the Known Lands. If they were killed, it would have repercussions for decades. There would be no Omegas to pair with Alphas, and both the Alpha and Omega dynamics would eventually die out, not to mention that the purity of the dynamics—Alphas and Omegas born of Alpha and Omega couples—would weaken considerably and put their society at risk.

Naya watched the barrier of soldiers. Some Omegas were attempting to fight, but they couldn’t twist themselves out of the soldiers’ grip, while others—the younger ones and children—were frozen still. Clearly, they hadn’t created the forcefield Mama had mentioned—it was debatable if any of them could still use magic. They’d spent so long focusing on pairing and their dynamics that they’d let learning about magic take a back seat.. Mother Freya’s words haunted her.“…the way you and your parents have left Omegas vulnerable and weak…”As she glimpsed beyond the men, she saw some Alphas being held as well, farther back. They’d definitely fought and been injured. A few had had limbs severed, but she couldn’t see any Omegas that had been severely hurt.

Naya’s heart beat wildly. She couldn’t allow this to happen. She was supposed to be the one fucking protecting them. When she had spoken to Akoro and his counsel, she hadn’t highlighted the importance of the area, and the Omega village hadn’t seemed relevant to them. Yet it looked as though most of his soldiers were in this one spot. She scanned the soldiers again. This couldn’t be his entire army. Her stomach dropped. Where were they? Why wouldn’t he bring all of his army? Akoro had figured out that the Omega village was the most important area of the empire and was using his army more carefully. She didn’t know why, but that didn’t matter right now. The Omegas were her only concern.

Papa signaled again to the Lox, telling them to fan out, moving to align with the row of soldiers on the outskirts of the village.

“Papa, wait,” she ordered through gritted teeth.

“We need to have the upper hand, Naya,” Papa said. “They cannot dictate the terms.”

“You said I was in charge?—”

“Not if your hesitation will get people killed,” Papa fury-whispered. “This is what I tried to warn you about. You have to accept that there will be a loss of life.”

“No!” she barked. “Not Omega life.”

“Then give me an order, Nayara.” Papa’s voice was deep and demanding. “Tell me what you want the Lox to do, but this enemy must pay. There are dead Alphas all over this fucking village. He needs to know he doesn’t have the right to come here and kill a single citizen.”

Naya opened her mouth, but couldn’t answer. Yes, he had killed Alphas but she just couldn’t order an attack when Omegas would be the collateral. It wasn’t an acceptable risk. “Give me a moment. I’ll think of something.”

But Papa was already moving away, spreading out with the Lox to match the width of the enemy soldiers.

Naya clenched her fists, annoyed with herself. She couldn’t argue for control of the Lox if she couldn’t make these kinds of hard decisions, but when would she ever be able to? Mother Freya had been right—Naya was ornamental to the empire, and she’d stay that way unless she changed it. Now that she had the opportunity to do something instrumental for the Omegas, she could. But how?

She watched the wall of soldiers, Mama’s words repeating in her mind. She had the power to solve this, and it couldn’t be Papa’s way. Her nails dug into the flesh of her hand and, at once, her awareness jumped outward in all directions. She could sense miles around her. Beyond the City of Ashens and out into the White Ocean, vibrations and echoing to her from across the empire. She gasped, feeling the width and breadth of her connection to the empire, and a sudden realization hit her so hard she was breathless. She hadn’t been using her awareness to sense magic. Although the portal vibrated in the forest, and magic pulsed from the soldiers’ armor, she hadn't used her awareness to sense them. She was still deeply connected to magic. Naya loosened her fists, rapid thoughts snapping into order, shaping an idea she could finally grasp.

“Decide now!” Nrommo bellowed. “Or we will start killing Omegas.”

The Lox froze in place, and there was a horrible silence, interrupted only by the shuffling steps of the Omegas struggling against the invading soldiers.

Papa gave the signal for his warriors to charge, and at the same time, Naya ran forward, drawing on magic. It funneled toward her like gushing water, fluid, easy, and smooth, more plentiful than she’d ever felt it. It was as though it had been waiting for her to call on it, and it embolden her even more for what she was about to do.

Directing the magic behind her, she spread a wall of glistening, transparent gold in front of the Lox army, preventing them from traveling forward. And at the same time, weaved magic around her body and launched herself into the air.

Papa bellowed, and the Lox roared as they found they couldn’t progress farther than a few steps, but Naya tuned them out. A powerful sensation of calm and justness entered her as she rose higher into the air, her awareness spreading farther still, her robes billowing around her. Mama was right. Naya wasn’t Papa. She had to carve her own way and claim her throne with honor. It wasn’t about proving it to Papa, it about proving it to herself. She’d withdrawn from her people and her family for six years because of fears she couldn’t rule on her own, but shewason her own. She would never have the mate she’d wanted—he didn’t exist. So if she was going to rule, she couldn’t do it Papa’s way, especially not if it involved the mass death of Omegas. She was supposed to be the Keeper of fucking Peace—she couldn’t justify a war that killed most of the Omegas in the Known Lands. And this wasn’t Papa’s fault. It was hers—she was the one who’d carelessly made it obvious to Akoro that the Omega village was special, so she had to think for herself and use the information she had, and fix it.

Akoro’s soldiers stared as she rose higher, and even though their helmets covered their faces, the way they stepped back, their heads arching back, she could sense their awe despite themselves. The higher she got, the more the rest of the village came into view. Enemy soldiers covered every inch of the village, but they stilled when they saw her in the air. Soon everyone was frozen, watching her. She couldn’t tell where Akoro or even Nrommo stood, but there were fewer dead bodies than she’d thought and none of them seemed to be female or children. Akoro was keeping them as leverage.

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