Page 4 of Sins of His Wrath

“I had to bring her,” Mama said, though she sounded unamused. “I needed someone who understands the magic of the wastelands to help Naya.”

“And yet her face is still carved up and heavily bleeding,” Papa said tightly. “How exactly did she help?”

“I helped her direct her power in ways she should have been learning since she was a child,” the woman retorted. Her scratchy voice was filled with the same amount of malice as Papa’s.

She moved closer, keeping a wide berth between herself and Mama as she moved into Naya’s view. Based on the snarl on both of their faces, Papa hated this woman, and the feeling was mutual.

“I never would have had to help her at all if you’d been more accepting of what she is and allowed her to develop her power to the full extent of her abilities,” the woman added.

“She is the most powerful Omega in the Known Lands,” Papa shot back. “She needs no direction from kidnappers and breeders, especially after everything you did?—”

“Everything Idid?” The woman’s face contorted in disgust. “I fed her magic when she needed it most! I kept her, and every other Omega in my care, strong and independent. I made them realize the true strength they had, with no need for Alphas like you. I and the other Mothers kept them alive and protected for decades.”

Suddenly, things fell into place. This woman was one of the notorious Mothers—the elderly women who were behind the disappearance of Omegas all those years ago. From what Naya remembered from history, they had hidden in the wastelands, the one place in the land that no one would go, which was obviously why this Mother knew so much about the magic there. They’d learned how to live in such a dangerous place, even if they couldn’t control the magic.

The woman pointed at Naya. “All you have done is make her weak. She could have been doing much more for your empire and the Known Lands, instead of being a token representative of Omegas like your wife. There is still so much she doesn’t know?—”

“Anything she needs to know will not be learned from you.”

“That is a mistake,” the woman spat. “Your hatred of us has left your child—the whole Eastern Lands—at a disadvantage for all these years, and now comes a new Land that embraces it, and uses it in a much more sophisticated way,” she said, gesturing to Naya’s face. “How are you going to fight that?” Her eyes were bright, glaring at Papa. “Since when was the sword ever a suitable challenge against magic?” She snorted, her face contorting, turning ugly. “When they come with their magic to take everything you have taken from others, you will learn the true?—”

“Mother Freya,” Mama snapped, “that’s enough.” She turned toward the door again and said to the guard, “Take the Mother back to her room.”

Papa glared at the Mother as she left, but as soon as the door closed, the palpable tension swept out of the room with her. When he turned back to Naya, his hard eyes roamed her blood-smeared face but softened when they reached her eyes.

“I missed you, Papa,” she said softly, relief chasing the receding tension she’d felt since she’d returned.

“I missed you, too, my fierce warrior,” he said, leaning forward to press his forehead against hers. “Now, tell me who I need to kill.”

CHAPTER TWO

It took an hour to tell her parents the most important parts of what happened.

They’d moved to another healing room in a more secure wing of the palace, then she told her parents of her capture in the forest, the fierce determination driving Akoro to take their empire for his own, the size of his army, the way he used his council, his infiltration of the Lox Empire for years, and all that he threatened to do to her and their people.

Papa wanted every single detail, down to the smells and sounds she could remember. He couldn’t help but pace as he listened, fury tense in his body, his fist gripping the handle of his sword at his belt. Mama stood still and stiff, her mouth set in a firm line and her eyes burning.

The twins were motionless, standing on either side of the chair she sat on, focused on her wound as she talked.

“What did you give them?” Papa asked when she’d finished.

Naya sucked in a breath, both relieved and ashamed. He knew she’d have to have given them something to still be alive, but it didn’t make it any easier when she recounted all the questions they’d asked and how she’d answered.

Papa nodded as she reeled off the information they had. “How long has he been studying us?”

“It’s hard to tell,” Naya admitted.

Papa growled. “Do you think they’ve been inside the palace or its grounds?”

“I doubt it,” Naya said, thinking back to all their questions. “I don’t think they managed to get near the palace.”

Papa made a low rumbling sound. “Good. What does he look like?”

He’s beautiful.

The words sprang to her lips with barely anything thought, but she bit them back, both annoyed and stunned at herself. Now wasn’t the time for her stupid Omega instincts to emerge. She opened her mouth to answer the question, but the word beautiful wouldn’t leave her mind. How else could someone like him be described?

Mama frowned, stepping forward to peer closer at Naya.

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