Page 36 of The Omega's Unexpected Bounty
He nodded quickly. “Paid the dowry to the man who would have been my Soturi and to my fathers.”
My lips thinned. The lottery was supposed to match Femeni and Omegas with their perfect mate in a galaxy of choices. I opened my mouth to say something and then decided against it. Caan was outside the lottery. If he were in it, I wouldn’t have gotten him. There were too many other Soturi out there; my chances were literally astronomical. My stomach churned while I thought of him with someone else. That Volardi didn’t exist – not really – and I hated him.Or is it myself? Am I really that different from Balo? We should both be without mates, and yet we have them because we went outside the system.
“Helping them was kind,” I admitted.
“Says the brother with an Omega he manipulated with imprisonment. I helped a poor Soturi, and Taleen’s family. What did you do brother? You left vague possible threats of incarceration via simulacrum and let him decide.”
That was a gross retelling, but I didn’t argue the point since it was too close to the truth. “My compliment was sincere,” I said and then waited.
There was always some reason for Balo to do this and it went beyond the torture I remembered as a child. It was more of an annoyance than anything physical I endured while younger. Tested continuously instead of friendship.Was I better or worse for it?
It is said great Soturi can judge themselves by their enemies and I wondered how I would flow against my brother. Not all siblings are close, but when we are the same sex, it’s a strange relationship almost as volatile as a love between our Femeni or Omega.
“You look like the fish that ate all the kelp,” I said. “Out with it.”
His hands smacked together quickly, and I kept my expression neutral. “I’ve been engaging in my other favorite activity,” he said. “Besides burying my immense cock within Taleen’s ass.”
The ass’ owner smiled, and I swear I saw a red flash over his dark skin.
“Helping the poor? I asked. “Working to keep our kingdom on this planet?”
“Learning brother.” I felt my stoic expression drop. Balo isn’t an idiot, but he wasn’t somebody that would spend time at the Royal Library. His eyes closed and then opened. Within a few seconds, a purple orb floated between us. A shimmering hologram of a yellow weathered scroll appeared.
“Recognize it, brother? The Sacred Scrolls, but not the original ones. Those modified by other emperors, except for the Mad Emperor of course. All of those were burned.”
“The Emperor is wise, as were most before him. It appears, to my great shock, there is an addendum about transferring power – especially where siblings are concerned.”
“I am the oldest,” I said calmly.
“Without a child.”
“A moot point. The Sacred Scrolls say the oldest with a mate rules.”
“Not necessarily.” He paced toward one and text highlighted. “One concernsannounced plansfrom the current king: our father–”
“Yes, I know who he is.”
“Before Caan arrived, it was expected I would be king. We would ‘leave’ this planet – at least in name while we made public announcements. Thus satisfying the requirements.
“Is that all you have? A very murky interpretation?”
“Yes,” he admitted. “It’s more of a guideline, but it gives buoyancy to the next part.”
A paragraph glowed gold, and my heart sank. It was in old Volardi speech but still understandable. My chest tightened while I controlled my breathing.
“If there are disagreements aboutannounced plansbetween brothers, whoever has a child first, shall lead. The former emperors were wise,” said Balo. “They would naturally assume whoever had a mate and child was the most desirable and virile. After all, only those with children should lead. Why give the throne to someone with no heir?”
I kept my face solemn.
“Come now, Graden. Don’t you prefer it this way? A fight and a contest between us both. Doesn’t it make your heart race? We can keep our competitive nature with our mates at our side.”
He held his hand out, and Taleen ground his cheek into it again while he smiled.
My eyes narrowed. My brother wasn’t trustworthy and enjoyed the mental torment – we were family, and it didn’t matter. So was Taleen, and I hoped he would never take that look away from his mate’s eyes.
“Per the scrolls,” he said as he read the words. “Father and son. One new, one old, with over twenty rotations unfold. They shall rule if the oldest heir has no child to behold.” He looked toward Taleen’s stomach. It was flat, but no Femeni or Omega stayed that way, except mine.
“I’m not old,” he said. “But it’s enough to satisfy the requirement.”
