Page 43 of Storms of His Wrath

“I spent time with our family and I was more… conditioned by their ways than you. I’m not saying it’s an excuse. But it’s the reason I was so indecisive, especially about something so extreme.”

Akoro’s grooming slowed. “You thought it was extreme.”

“Yes.” Oppo frowned. “You know most people wouldn’t even think about killing their parents, don’t you? Most people would have tried to have them imprisoned or found a way to force them to pay for their crimes.”

“Those weren’t options back then,” Akoro said, almost too sharply.

“I know,” Oppo said. “But I’m just saying, killing seemed so final to me, even though I knew it was the only way. You spentso much time in the villages, Akoro… among all that death and disease and suffering. You were conditioned by what you learned out there, what you saw, how you thought about our family, the ruling power. You didn’t see your own parents or family the way others see theirs, the way I saw them sometimes. But if you hadn’t done what you did,” Oppo’s voice was barely audible above the desert wind, “Tsashokra wouldn’t exist as it does today. You’ve restored us to something approaching our former glory. You did the right thing, and everyone knows that.”

Akoro absorbed the words, letting the truth settle into his bones. Oppo was right. Without the Battle of Sy, their region would have continued bleeding under his family’s systematic cruelty. Omegas would still be chained in palace dungeons, their magic harvested like crops from unwilling soil. The outer villages would have remained impoverished while wealth flowed to a corrupt center, or even a foreign power, that produced nothing but suffering.

“Do you regret it?” Oppo’s question cut through his thoughts.

Akoro shook his head without hesitation. It had been necessary, righteous. If Naya believed her mate had died somewhere along his path, it hadn’t been that night. The boy who’d taken up arms against his own blood in honor of the people and the Omegas who died had been the only version of himself worth preserving.

But what about everything that came after?

He worked the brush in steady circles on hisnnirae,the rhythm allowed his mind to drift, sifting through years of choices. Taking the crown at the people’s insistence, disbanding the other dynasties, ending the nomadic lifestyle, creating the no-Omega law to prevent wild magic attacks, recreating Onn Kkulma, stabilizing the districts, establishing trade routes that brought prosperity….

Then came more recent decisions. The discovery about the oncomingnnin-eellithistorm, choosing to relocate, the discovery about how to get to the Lox Empire, invasion plans, years spent preparing to conquer the Known Lands with relentless anger about the part they played in his land, taking Naya… The brush stilled against his mount’s flank. Taking Naya… that had not been truly been necessary to invade. His council had advised him against it, but she was the heart of their culture. Taking her had been smart, plus he knew she was the key to figuring out what the Lox Empire cared about. And he’d been right. Naya inadvertently revealed how much they care about the Omega village and Omegas in general. But getting that information had cost him her—his own Omega.

“Akoro.”

He glanced at his brother. Oppo had risen from the boulder and was standing, staring at something. He turned to see someone standing at the edge of the sand drift looking around the camp.

Naya.

Every rational thought fled as primitive recognition blazed through his system. She’d returned. Relief so intense it bordered on pain flooded through him, followed immediately by desperate hunger to hold her, to confirm she was his.

Impossibly she looked even more beautiful than yesterday, dressed in a long rust-colored tunic that complemented her hair. The other men in the camp stilled, noticing her, and then carefully moved away as Oppo had probably advised them to do.

Akoro straightened. She caught sight of him, and headed directly toward him. She moved with purpose, her spine straight, shoulders squared—nothing like the desolate woman who’d walked away from him yesterday. This was the princess he’d first encountered in her forest, commanding and self-possessed. The sight of her composure stirred somethingdangerous in his chest, part admiration and part the predatory need to strip away that careful control until only the woman who’d shattered in his arms remained. He loved this look in her eyes.

Oppo shifted to stand beside him.

When Naya reached them, she stopped just beyond arm’s length. Close enough that he could catch hints of her natural scent, but too far for him to touch. Something about her posture made him not reach for her, though everything in him roared to cuddle her into him the way she loved.

Her brown eyes met his briefly—a flicker of something unreadable passing between them—before she turned her attention to Oppo. The dismissal stung, though he kept his expression neutral.

“I have something for you,” she said to his brother, reaching into a small pouch at her waist.

Akoro’s muscles coiled with instinctive tension. What the fuck could she possibly have for Oppo? The spike of jealousy that shot through him was immediate and irrational, a possessive snarl that he forced down before it could reach his expression. She was his mate, speaking to his brother. There was nothing threatening about the interaction. Yet every Alpha instinct he possessed rebelled against her attention being directed anywhere but toward him.

“What is she saying?” Oppo asked.

That’s right. He forgot that Oppo couldn’t even understand her. “She says she has something for you,” Akoro said, forcing his voice to remain steady despite the questions clawing at his throat.

She withdrew something that looked like parchment, though softer, more delicate, and held it out to Oppo. His brother stared at it with visible confusion, glancing between Naya and the mysterious material. His gaze flickered to Akoro, uncertain.Akoro studied his brother’s face, then gave a sharp nod. Oppo clearly had no idea what Naya was doing.

Oppo took the parchment-like material with careful fingers.

“I’ve been with these people for a few days,” Naya said, something bright flickering in her expression. “But there is one person who is my favorite. She made me this.”

Akoro translated, watching as Oppo slowly unfolded the material. The afternoon heat pressed against his shoulders, but something strange crawled up his spine as he observed his brother’s movements grow increasingly careful, almost reverent.

When Oppo opened it fully, he went completely still. Color drained from his face, his breathing turning shallow and quick. “Nnimi?” he breathed, his voice cracking on the word as he looked back up at Naya, shock blazing in his dark eyes.

“Yes,” she said, a grin spreading across her face.

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