Chapter 10 – AZAREL #2
"This is no place for children," I growl, keeping my grip firm but careful not to hurt the boy. "Not even thieves."
The children exchange glances.
"We just sneak in sometimes when the guards fall asleep," another child admits grudgingly. "No harm in it."
I sigh, releasing the boy but snatching my coin purse back in the same motion. There are no schools out here, but these children should at least be somewhere safe, not running wild in an underground den of criminals and degenerates. But that's life outside the sheltered walls of Surhiira.
"Perhaps you can help me. I'm looking for someone," I say. "A woman with silver hair and violet eyes. An omega."
They exchange a look. "That'll cost ya," the boy who tried to steal from me says quickly, already recovering his bravado.
I pull two large coins from my purse, their value more than a month's wages in these parts. Their eyes widen at the sight.
"Information first," I say, holding the coins just out of reach.
The girl with sun-bleached hair steps forward. "There was an omega lady," she admits. "Real pretty, with hair like you said. She was with a giant knight."
"There's no such things as knights, Cynthia," the other boy corrects.
"Well, what else would you call a giant alpha wearing metal armor, Jason?" she challenges, mimicking his tone.
The thief rolls his eyes, clearly tired of them both.
My blood runs cold. "Where did they go?" I ask, fighting to keep my voice steady.
The girl shrugs. "You should ask Geo. He knows everything that happens around here."
"And who is Geo?"
"He runs the market," the thief supplies. "Big grumpy guy, only has one eye."
"But don't tell him you saw us down here," the girl adds hurriedly. "He doesn't think we can look out for ourselves. He'll be mad. Please?"
I drop the coins into her palm, then add a few more. "I won't tell him if you go home," I tell them firmly. "This is no place for children."
They scatter like startled birds, vanishing into the crowd before I can say anything more.
I stand for a moment, processing what I've learned.
Cosima is with a masked, monstrous alpha—this "knight"—and apparently under the protection of whoever runs this market.
Otherwise, its denizens wouldn't refuse to give me any information, even when I've offered to pay.
What could she have done to gain such protection? And why? The Cosima I know would never willingly associate with the types that populate this place.
Unless she isn't willing at all.
I need to find this "Geo" first.
I grab the nearest guard, a burly beta with a scraggly beard. "Where can I find Geo?" I demand.
The guard sneers, jerking his arm free. "Fuck off, outsider. Geo don't talk to just anyone."
My patience, already worn thin, snaps. In one fluid motion, I have the guard pinned against the wall, my forearm pressed against his throat. Not hard enough to cut off his air completely, but enough to make breathing difficult.
"I have been in this cesspit for hours," I growl, my voice low, dangerous. "I am tired, I am filthy, I have been robbed, and I am absolutely not in the mood for your attitude. So I will ask one more time. Where. Is. Geo?"
Fear blooms in the guard's eyes, followed by the sour smell of urine as his bladder releases. Pathetic.
"He-he's gone," the guard chokes out. "Left earlier today with the omega."
"The omega?" I echo, easing the pressure slightly to allow him to speak.
"Y-yeah. Silver hair, curves for days. Real classy-looking. The brothel don't usually get omegas like that. Figures he's been keepin' her all to himself," he mutters bitterly.
I force my alpha instincts to settle at the implication. "Describe her appearance. Exactly. Don't miss a single detail."
I already know it's her, but I need to know what state she was in when she left.
"Uh, silver hair down to her ass. Purple eyes. Vrissian. Was wearing some fancy dress when they left. Red, I think."
"Burgundy," a drunk I'd barely noticed chimes in from his position on the floor a few feet away.
The guard glares at his "helpful" clarification.
"Did she look injured?" I demand. "Or like she was in distress?"
The guard is trembling in my grasp, and he gulps hard, clearly aware his fate depends on choosing his next words carefully. "N-no, not at all. The others she was with looked kinda rough, but she was fine."
Relief floods through me, followed immediately by a fresh wave of concern. "Others?"
"Two other alphas, plus Geo and Raven," the guard says, words tumbling out now. "One alpha was huge, like scary huge, wearing a silver mask. The other had white hair and weird red glasses. They all left together."
White hair. Red glasses.
Vlakov. It has to be.
So she's with this Geo, Nikolai Vlakov, and the monster. That only leaves a thousand other questions in my mind, but there's one that takes priority at the moment.
"Who is Raven?"
The guard swallows audibly again, grimacing as if he knows his words are going to get him killed one way or another.
"Speak now," I say slowly, tightening my grip around his throat, "and you just may live to flee this hellhole before your boss finds out you betrayed him."
That erodes the last of his reservations. I see it in his eyes. "Come on, man, everyone in these parts knows who Raven is."
"I am not from these parts," I say pointedly, drawing out my words with patience I don't possess.
He tries to groan, but it comes out like a cracking sound in my grasp. "He's a merc. Fastest gun this side of Surhiira. And he owns the Alpha's Alpha up near Belvast."
"The Alpha's what?" I ask, narrowing my eyes.
The man suddenly looks sheepish. "You know. The brothel?"
Rage and a dozen other emotions run through me at that revelation. The pieces are beginning to fit themselves together, forming a picture even more detestable than I feared.
Cosima was wandering the wastes with a giant monster who, by all accounts, is following her around like a lost puppy rather than tearing her apart. Somehow, they ended up here and left with the owner of the black market and a whoremonger.
My instincts are telling me this is the monster from her nightmares. My more logical mind refuses to accept she was having literal visions of this thing. Especially if it hasn't harmed her.
I release the guard, my mind racing. "Where did they say they were going?" I demand.
The guard shakes his head. "Fuck if I know. Geo just made up some bullshit about heading to Surhiira, but he's not crazy enough for that to be true. Nobody goes to Surhiira willingly."
I stare at him, processing his words. I expected him to say they were taking her to this brothel. Anywhere other than my homeland.
"Surhiira? You're certain that's what he said?"
"Yeah, but like I said, it's gotta be bullshit. A cover for—"
I don't hear the rest of what he says. My mind is too busy trying to make sense of this new information.
Surhiira. They're going to Surhiira.
But why? What possible reason could they have for heading to my homeland? And these alphas... who are they to her?
"And you're certain she was uninjured?" I press. "That she left of her own free will?"
The guard hesitates. "I mean, it looked that way to me. Geo's an asshole, but he's old school. Traditional. He told everyone the omega was off limits or he'd be wearing our balls around his neck."
Judging from the edge in his voice, I decide he's being sincere—which raises even more questions.
I push the thought away. It doesn't matter.
Whether they're her captors or her strange new companions, I need to find her.
And if they truly are headed to Surhiira, I have an advantage they don't. I know the terrain, the customs, the secret ways in and out.
I can intercept them before they reach the border.
Before they can set foot in my country, where my royal blood will be both shield and shackle.
But one question rises to the top, burning in my mind as I stride toward the exit, plans already forming.
Cosima, my love… What the hell are you doing?