Page 76 of Storms of His Wrath

She opened awareness completely, and instead of directing the wild magic, she welcomed it into herself. His Omega was becoming a living conduit for forces that could level mountains, and terror clawed through his chest as he watched her transform.

The effect was immediate and terrifying.Nnin-eellithipoured into her body in crackling streams, and her copper hair lifted from her scalp as though she’d been struck by lightning. Electricity danced across her skin in brilliant arcs, and her eyes blazed with inner fire as wild magic flowed through every fiber of her being.

“Naya!” His shout was barely audible over the roar of power, his voice breaking with desperate fear for her safety.

She was magnificent—more alive than he’d ever seen her as chaotic energy coursed through her like liquid starlight. Thennin-eellithino longer fought against containment because she wasn’t containing them. She was channeling them, giving them direction through her own will and purpose.

Akoro raised his ceremonial dagger, the blade that had bound her to him now serving to free them all. With three precise cuts across the carved stone circles—the pattern Drennek had taught him translated from flesh to stone—he completed the binding ritual. “Send them home,” he bellowed.

Naya’s staff pulsed with brilliant light, and suddenly the wild magic had direction. Instead of chaotic swirling, thennin-eellithibegan moving with purpose. At first, only a thin stream of energy flowed into the binding circles, stretching across the desert and making a path in the sand toward their original home. Then more followed, the flow gradually building as each piece of wild magic recognized the path laid out for it.

“It’s working,” she breathed, wonder and exhaustion warring in her voice as she watched the steady exodus. “They’re going back where they belong.”

The process continued for what felt like hours but was likely only minutes—nnin-eellithideparting in waves, each group following the magical trail blazed by those before them. The chaotic maelstrom above their heads slowly dissipated as wild magic streamed away in an endless river of crackling energy.

The last wisps of wild magic disappeared into the distance, leaving behind only the faint scent of ozone and the memory of power beyond mortal comprehension. Akoro staggered, his legs finally giving out as the binding released its hold on him. He hit the stone hard, his injured shoulder screaming protest.

“Akoro!” Naya was beside him instantly, the magical fire fading from her eyes as she dropped to her knees. Her hands were gentle on his face as she checked for consciousness. “Stay with me.”

“Did it work?” he asked, though speaking sent fresh fire through his chest.

“Yes,” she said, tears streaming down her face. “The storm is gone. We did it.”

Above them, the sky was returning to its normal blue, the strange colors fading as the last traces of wild magic dispersed. In the distance, thunder rumbled—not from an approaching storm, but from thennin-eellithisettling back into their ancient home in the Nnin-kka Sands.

“The magical pressure is completely gone,” Naya reported, her own awareness confirming what they could see. “We’ve done something that hasn’t been achieved since before the first wave.”

“We did it together,” Akoro said, his gaze finding Naya’s face. Even exhausted and worried, she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

CHAPTER TWENTY

The journey back to Onn Kkulma stretched across two days of desert silence, broken only by the rhythmic thud ofnniraehooves against hard-packed sand and the occasional murmur of wind through stone formations. Naya rode behind Akoro, her arms circling his waist with careful tenderness, mindful of the bandages wrapped around his shoulder where Otenyo’s crossbow bolt had found its mark. Around them, his soldiers and battle chief formed a protective barrier, and escorted the wounded king home.

His scent enveloped her—deep, familiar Alpha musk now tinged with the metallic edge of blood and the bitter herbs she’d used to treat his wound. Each breath filled her lungs with him, that intoxicating blend that made her inner Omega purr with satisfaction even as her heart clenched with unspoken dread. The storm was gone. Their agreement fulfilled. She should be making arrangements to return home.

Instead she pressed closer to his broad back, feeling the steady expansion of his ribs with each breath, the flex of muscle beneath her palms. Her thighs bracketed his hips, and even through layers of travel clothing, she could sense the coiled strength that marked him as hers. The possessive thought sentheat spiraling through her core despite the complicated tangle of emotions knotting her chest.

“How’s the pain?” she asked, her lips close to his ear.

“Manageable,” he replied, his voice rough from exhaustion and blood loss. But his free hand moved to cover hers where it rested against his chest, fingers intertwining with gentle pressure. “Better with you here.”

The simple admission made her heart flutter against her ribs. Such a small confession, yet it carried the force of everything they’d shared—nights tangled together in desperate passion, quiet conversations over evening meals, the way he’d looked at her when she’d channeled thennin-eellithithrough her body like liquid lightning.

They spoke little during the ride, both lost in private thoughts that neither seemed willing to voice. But the silence between them hummed with unresolved tension, thick with the awareness that time was running out. Every mile that brought them closer to Onn Kkulma was another step toward the moment when she would have to choose—her empire and home, or this impossible connection that had become as essential as breathing.

When Akoro swayed slightly in his saddle, exhaustion finally claiming its due, Naya’s arms tightened around him instinctively. “We should stop,” she said. “You need rest.”

“I’m fine,” he said, but his voice lacked conviction.

“You’re not.” Her tone was firm, and he responded to the authority in it—his Alpha nature recognizing her determination even in his weakened state. “There’s shelter ahead. We’re stopping.”

He didn’t protest when Nrommo called for a halt beside a cluster of ruins that offered protection from the desert wind. Naya helped him dismount, her hands gentle but firm as she guided him to sit against a sun-warmed stone wall. In the goldenafternoon light, she could see how pale he’d grown beneath his natural bronze, how carefully he moved to favor his injured shoulder.

“Let me check the bandages,” she said, kneeling beside him.

His dark eyes followed her movements as she unwrapped the makeshift dressing, cataloging every detail of her face with an intensity that made her skin flush with awareness. Even weakened, even in pain, he looked at her like she was the only thing that mattered in his world. The hunger in his gaze sent answering heat pooling low in her belly, her scent shifting to something richer despite her efforts to maintain control.

“The bleeding has stopped,” she reported, though her voice came out softer than intended. “No signs of infection.”

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