Page 51 of Storms of His Wrath

“Actually, better than I thought,” Oshrun said. “Once they realized we wouldn’t be leaving the canyon or opening it up to the general population any time soon, if ever, that changed the tone.”

“How common is it for them to debate like this?”

“Not often. But this is a huge change. Whenever big decisions are made there are always some who will argue against them, but they come around. The community doesn’t like to prolong public disagreements for the sake of the children.”

Naya spooned porridge into her mouth. “I doubt Zhera will come around for a long time. She’s very passionate about this considering her age.”

Oshrun sighed, a troubled look flickering across her features as she watched the young warrior in the distance. “Most women her age would be curious about the possibilities beyond these walls. But Zhera...” She paused, seeming to weigh her words carefully. “It would take something very significant to change her mind. Her convictions run deep.”

Naya studied Oshrun’s expression, sensing there was more the Khesh wasn’t saying. Everyone here carried their own wounds, their own reasons for the choices they’d made. Zhera’s fervent opposition reminded Naya strongly of Mother Freya—that same rigid certainty born from trauma, that unwillingness to consider that circumstances might have changed. She recalled her conversation with the old woman, how Mother Freya had insisted Naya was capable of much more magically, but that she needed proper guidance. “Do you believe we can do it?” she suddenly asked Oshrun. “Stop the storm?”

Oshrun glanced at her. “If we combine our skills and abilities, yes. Why do you ask?”

Naya shrugged. “It’s just that wild magic has always been unpredictable. Kaharine came here and underestimated it—didn’t understand it.” She shot Oshrun a sideways glance. “You said history repeats itself when I first arrived.”

Oshrun shook her head. “I did, but that’s not what I meant by that. Besides, Kaharine is the reason any Omegas still exist in the region.” She studied Naya’s profile. “Maybe you’ll be the reason we’re here for another eighty years.”

Naya smiled, hope blooming warm in her chest for these women and their hidden sanctuary. She wanted that for them—wanted to see this community thrive and grow, to watch the Omegas reclaim their place in the world.

Yet beneath the hope lurked something more troubling. If she succeeded here, if she helped broker this alliance and stopped the storm, she would return home changed. Not just through the knowledge she’d gained or the skills she’d learned, but by him. By the way Akoro looked at her, touched her, made her feel things she’d never imagined possible. The intensity of their connection the night before had shaken something loose inside her, something she wasn’t sure she could put back the way it was.

“So what has happened between you and Akoro? Something good, I’m guessing.”

Embarrassment flared across Naya’s neck. Was her satisfaction so obvious? “Things are... progressing. I’ll bespending more time at his camp as we work on combining our knowledge.”

Oshrun hid her smile behind herkkermocup, raising an eyebrow. “I see.”

Naya was glad Oshrun seemed pleased rather than concerned. She didn’t want her thinking she would prioritize Akoro over the Omegas. He might be her true mate but they weren’t going to be together. In all honesty, Akoro had offered a brilliant solution. There was no denying the attraction between them, and if they weren’t going to be together permanently, it was painful to keep fighting it. At least now, neither of them had to. When she returned home after the storm, it would end—no negotiations, no complications. Just the understanding that when her work here was finished, she would leave everything behind.

It should have felt liberating, yet something about the open-ended nature made her stomach flutter with unease. She’d told him clearly that she wouldn’t give herself to him the way he wanted, and he’d accepted that. But the intensity of their coupling had been overwhelming, far beyond what she’d anticipated when she’d agreed. It was like she could suddenly breathe—like she was free to be the Omega she should have been with him, with no guilt or compromise clouding the connection.

The voices in the dining area had lowered now, and Naya set her empty bowl and cup down. “I saw Oppo yesterday,” she said, watching Oshrun. “He’s with Akoro in the sand drift.”

Oshrun went very still, her cup halfway to her lips. “He’s here? In the Isshiran Sands?”

“Yes.”

Oshrun blinked repeatedly, her breathing changing. Hand trembling, she placed her cup down and tried to compose herself. “How is he?”

Naya smiled. “When I gave him Nnimi’s drawing... I’ve never seen an Alpha so moved. He asked about you immediately, wanted to know if you were both well.”

Tears gathered in Oshrun’s eyes, though she blinked them back quickly. “I didn’t realize he would travel with the king. I assumed...” She trailed off.

“Have you considered visiting him? Or bringing Nnimi to meet her father?”

Oshrun lifted her drink again, steady hands tightening around her cup. “I... I don’t know. It’s complicated. The community’s acceptance of this alliance is fragile enough without their Khesh abandoning them to reunite with her Alpha.”

“But you want to see him.”

“Of course,” Oshrun whispered. “Every day.”

Naya reached over and touched her arm. “Then we’ll find a way to make it happen. Part of this alliance should be reuniting families that were separated by necessity.”

Naya watched the Omegas as they left the dining area, some of them still debating, All of them were depending on her ability to find the Solution that had eluded generations of Omegas. If she failed, if the storm struck Onn Kkulma as predicted, it wouldn’t just devastate Akoro’s city. The alliance would crumble before it truly began, the Omegas would retreat deeper into hiding, and an entire region would remain trapped in the cycle of magical catastrophe that had shaped their lives for decades. The pressure of that responsibility settled over her like a mantle, but beneath it burned a fierce determination. She would find a way to stop the storm. She had to.

“Think of thennin-eellithias you would any desert creature. It’s most active at night, rests during the heat of midday, and you’ll find it moving most often at dawn and dusk.”

The soothing-voiced woman from the assembly—introduced as Yshara Qor—sat opposite Naya on the cushions arranged around a low stone table. To her right was Ttela Vos, the elder from the assembly, and on her other side was Oshrun. The training session was underway, and several crystal staffs of varying sizes lay carefully positioned on the surface.

---