Page 52 of Omega Sanctuary

Valens shook his head. "No, darling. It's a part of who you are. The tests are looking for something that doesn't belong."

"Like Nova's fire magic."

Valens gave me a faint smile. "Precisely. Everyone has some spirit inside them. You must have been channeling it at a young age."

I sighed. "I used to know what my future looked like and now everything is different."

Valens brushed some hair behind my ear. "Change is complicated."

I bit my lip. "I don't like it."

He hugged me against him. "We'll just take it a step at a time. First the Sanctuary."

"Right."

Maybe it was because I had a direction, maybe it was all of the orgasms, but the tension in my chest relaxed. "You don't mind?"

"I would follow you to the ends of the earth."

My breath hitched, and I pulled him down for kiss.

Until the ends of the earth. It was further than I wanted to go, but at least he would be with me.

Dinnertime came, and still no Hashir or Nova.

Valens paced. We baked, we cooked, we had sex, until it started getting dark.

"I can go with you," I said. "It's like not like we're not going to leave tomorrow anyway."

Valens grunted, but didn't tell me no. I went for my shoes, but Nova and Hashir came through the door, both looking tired.

Valens looked at Hashir. Hashir shook his head.

"Food time," I said. I made them plates of the chicken dish I'd cooked and forced them to sit at the table.

Hashir dove into his food like he hadn't eaten all day. His black hair was shaggy and rumpled. Nova picked at her plate, looking up at me and then away.

"What's wrong?" I put a plate of croissants on the table. Nova opted for those instead of her dinner.

Hashir looked at me. "It will be safer if you stayed while Valens and I take Nova to the Sanctuary."

Nova looked up. "What?"

"No." Valens shook his head.

Hashir held up both hands. His energy spread out over the room, and I was grateful Valens's friend wasn't the same sort of alpha the soldiers had been.

I wasn't interested in bedding Hashir, but his energy still made me feel like an exposed wound.

"Listen." Hashir looked at me. "You've done well to keep Nova safe, and I’m glad you have something going on with Valens. Valens has been doing his monk impression for too long."

Valens pinched the bridge of his nose. "Hashir."

Nova went from being alarmed to amused.

I wasn't sure if I should be relieved or annoyed.

Hashir looked between Valens and me. "Major Branson and his troops are way off track. They're assigned to the northern Valence region."

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