Page 12 of Storms of His Wrath

“Tsashokra is a large region,” Oshrun continued. “Bigger than your Lox Empire but with a less united structure. Onn Kkulma City was the celebrated and greatly loved heart of the region—the central focus—but there were many other cities and villages and towns spread across the land that the dynasties didn’t pay enough attention to.”

Naya inclined her head. That made sense. Uniting such a big landmass was difficult, as she and Akoro had talked about when he questioned her about the empire.

Oshrun’s finger dragged along the wall to a new scene. It showed a female in chains.

“The Sy Dynasty was kidnapping Omegas from around the regions, ones they thought wouldn’t be greatly missed. They were keeping them as forced laborers.” Oshrun’s jaw went hard. “They would tell them that they could work for two years to pay off some imagined debt, but in reality they kept them for the rest of their lives.”

“They were slaves,” Naya muttered grimly.

“Yes.”

She glanced at Oshrun, her lips pressed together in annoyance. “But why would they do this? Especially to Omegas. The region was thriving with Alpha and Omega couples, why disrupt that?”

Oshrun turned to face her, her jaw tight. “The Sy Dynasty’s revered magical prowess, their artifacts, the portals, even their ability to bind wild magic—none of it was their creation.”

Naya frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Who do you think was behind the Sy Dynasty’s magical achievements? Who do you think created all their magical tools and amazing inventions?” Oshrun’s eyes darkened as she traced her finger over the etched figures on the wall. “It was us. OnlyOmegas can craft tools using magic.” Her voice rasped like gritty sand over stone and as she fixed Naya with a stare that seemed to pierce straight through to her soul. “And they harvested that ability through blood, pain, slavery, and death.”

Naya stared at her, shock arcing into her, her stomach dropping like an iron weight. She leaned back, her fingers pressed against the cold stone wall for support.

How could she have not seen it? Only Omegas had an affinity for magic that would have enabled the society to function the way Akoro had described, the sophistication and the degree to which the magic was used to enhance every part of life in this region.

The history Akoro had told her reorganized itself in her mind. He’d been so explicit about his family’s selfishness and cruelty that it was now obvious Omegas were unwillingly behind their success. And countless Omegas who were ripped from their families had no recourse, no ability to challenge such a powerful dynasty. Their unknown suffering was carved into the very history of the land.

Naya swallowed, her shock turning into bitter indignation. “They kept Omegas slaves so they could benefit from their magical abilities.”

Oshrun nodded, her face sour. “And they kept it a highly guarded secret. They are the ones who discovered that Omegas had such a connection to magic; the Sy Dynasty line was full of Alphas and Omegas, so they must have realized it among themselves at some point. But instead of working on it with the Omegas in their own family, they stole young Omegas and forced them to experiment, making sure no one else knew. If anyone started researching or questioning in that area, the Sy used bribes, blackmail, threats, and even assassination to stop them. No one had any reason to believe that missing Omegas were behind their magical achievements.”

Naya breathed deeply, shaking her head in disbelief. “But Omegas would have needed space to experiment and draw on magic... someone would have seen them surely?”

Oshrun lifted her chin, her eyes glittering slits as she looked down on Naya. “You’ve seen the palace. The Sy had the whole building to themselves. None of their servants would dare speak against them.” Oshrun’s eyes burned into her. “You’ve been in the dungeons too. That is where they kept the Omegas for most of their lives.” She paused, watching Naya. “Was there a way to get someone’s attention when you were in there?”

Naya stared at her, horror churning at the back of her throat. “The dungeons...?”

She had pushed the horrible memory of the dungeons to the back of her mind, but now she pulled it back, trying to imagine Omegas stuck in such a terrible place. There had been other cell doors that surrounded the small area where they’d dressed her. Omegas had been kept in that dark, dingy, depressing place? For their whole lives?

She battled with the horror of it, with the weight of disappointment and annoyance that Akoro hadn’t mentioned it, and then she tried to reconcile this version of events with what he’d told her. “King Sy told me that the Sy Dynasty tried to create a device that would allow them to control magic from the Nnin-kaa Sands,” she said slowly. “Is that true?”

Oshrun nodded. “Yes. They wanted to control magic directly without need for Omegas.” Her face twisted in a wry smile. “Omegas are expensive slaves and it was difficult and dangerous to keep kidnapping them.”

A thought jumped into Naya’s head and she stiffened for a long moment before asking her next question. “What did they do during the Omegas’ heats?”

“What do you think?” Oshrun turned, taking a few steps along the wall before turning back. “They sold access to them toAlphas who could afford it. Of course, the type of Alphas that needed to buy access to an Omega in heat weren’t the type that should ever go near one.”

Naya followed her, a roiling heat churning in her gut. Of course they did. It would’ve been foolish to believe that they wouldn’t exploit the Omegas in every way they could. “What happened next?”

“Families were beginning to speak openly about the disappearances and questions were being asked. Some Omegas across the region banded together and were trying to figure out what was happening, but it was a slow process. The disappearances had been happening carefully and slowly over years.” Oshrun tapped her finger on the wall. It was a picture of single woman dressed differently from the others.

“Then an Omega from your land arrived. She spoke very bad Shtonma but the Omegas understood her enough.”

“Shtonma?”

“Yes.” Oshrun shot her a strange look. “Our most common language.”

“Oh.” Embarrassment flared heat up Naya’s neck and over her cheeks. She hadn’t even asked Akoro what their language was called.

“This new Omega from your land,” Oshrun continued, “explained that bad things were always happening when Omegas disappeared. She told the Omega community about her land and the dangers Omegas faced from Alphas. It was difficult for most to believe, since we were living well with our Alphas, but her stories were harrowing and memorable. She explained that the number of disappearances over the years suggested a wealthy power was behind it. Then she helped to discover what was happening to our missing Omegas. She’d used magic in ways no one had seen before. Omegas was in awe of her.”

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