Page 136 of Run Little Omega

"The Wild Magic recognizes itself," Lady Lysandra murmurs, looking at me with new understanding. "What was dormant awakens in proximity to its own kind."

"It's not just here," another omega adds, a slight woman with delicate features. "We have connections to the border villages through the supply chains. Reports are coming in of omegas there developing similar manifestations. Particularly in Thornwick."

Thornwick. My village. Willow. The name sends a jolt through me. "Is there news of specific omegas? A woman named Willow Ambrose?"

The omegas exchange glances, then the leader nods. "The apothecary's daughter. Yes, she features prominently in the reports. Her wasting illness has reversed completely, and she now leads a circle of awakened omegas in the village."

Relief washes through me so powerfully I have to brace myself against a nearby table. Willow lives. Not just lives but thrives, healed by the Wild Magic now flowing freely through the borderlands.

The little ones respond to my emotional surge with enthusiastic movement, one of them shifting with enough force to be visible through my dress. The gathered omegas notice, their cillae brightening in synchronized pulses.

"They recognize the little ones," the leader explains, smiling. "Wild Magic calls to its own kind."

Cadeyrn places a protective hand on the small of my back, his touch sending a rush of warmth through my body. He pulls me slightly closer than strictly necessary, and I find myself leaning into his solid presence without thinking. It's becoming a dangerous habit, this gravitating toward each other despite everything between us.

His expression turns thoughtful. "You've organized quickly," he observes, studying the omega gathering with new respect while his thumb traces small circles against my lower back that are definitely not helping my concentration. "How long has this network existed?"

"The network? Always. Centuries. Omegas have always communicated through our own channels." She straightens slightly, cillae glowing with quiet pride. "The magic is new, yes. But our connections, our whispers, our secret communications—those are ancient."

Cadeyrn nods slowly, as if pieces of a puzzle are falling into place. "And how widely has word spread of what's happening here? Of my mate and the little ones she carries?"

"Throughout all four court territories," she replies without hesitation. "From the Winter Palace to the farthest border villages. Omegas everywhere know that something unprecedented has awakened. That change comes, whether the courts welcome it or not."

His mouth quirks in recognition of his own words thrown back at him. "And what do they make of this change? These omegas in distant territories?"

"Some are frightened," she acknowledges. "Generations of court conditioning run deep. But others..." Her cillae pulse brighter. "Others have begun to remember what they never personally knew. The original purpose of the Hunt. The balanced transformation it once offered. The power that was taken from us."

The world remakes itself around us, patterns shifting, possibilities expanding.

"We need access to those birth chambers," Cadeyrn says, turning to the gathered omegas. "Properly prepared, without the modifications Lord Frostbaine has ordered."

The leader nods. "We've already begun planning for that. The servant passages can get you past most of the guards, and there are omegas within the medical staff who can ensure the chambers are properly configured." Her gaze shifts to me. "When the time comes—and it approaches quickly—we will be ready."

"Why?" I ask suddenly. "Why help us? I'm an outsider. Cadeyrn enforced the very systems that oppressed you for centuries."

She studies me for a long moment, cillae pulsing thoughtfully. "Because something in you called to something in us. Because the Wild Magic you carry demands balance rather than dominance. Because the four lives within you represent the world as it should have been—courts united rather than divided, magic flowing freely rather than constrained."

Her hand reaches out, hovering near my belly without quite touching. "May I?"

I nod, and she places her palm gently against the swell where the little ones are most active. The contact sends a shock of recognition through me—not threatening but familiar, like greeting a relative I didn't know existed. Her cillae synchronize with mine, pulsing in matching rhythm.

"Four elements united in four children," she murmurs. "The circle completes itself."

A commotion at the entrance breaks the moment. Another guard hurries in, his expression urgent. "Prince Cadeyrn, Elder Iris Bloom has called an emergency council session. Lord Frostbaine claims to have evidence of omega insurrection and demands immediate action."

Cadeyrn's expression hardens. "It seems we've been discovered sooner than expected."

"Not discovered," the omega leader corrects, withdrawing her hand from my belly. "Betrayed. There's a spy in the upper household staff—a beta who reports directly to Lord Frostbaine."

"You know this with certainty?" Cadeyrn asks.

She gestures to the shimmering map still hovering above them. "We see everything, my prince. Even what you do not."

The implications of this underground omega network with its own intelligence and now its own magic sink in fully. What we're witnessing isn't just a few servants developing unexpected abilities—it's the beginning of a fundamental power shift within court society.

"We need to move up our timeline," Cadeyrn decides, turning to Lady Lysandra. "How soon can the birthing chambers be secured?"

She considers this, calculating. "With omega assistance through the servant passages... perhaps tonight. But the preparations require at least twelve hours to complete properly."

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