Chapter 24 Oros
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
OROS
“I assume you’re here to talk about Rio,” I say as my brother ashes into my office. I snuck down here around dawn, leaving Taliana all snuggled up in our nest. The little note I left beside a gold rose will tell her how to find me.
Of course, I suspect her nose will lead her right to me regardless of the letter.
Still, I wanted to be absolutely sure that she could find me.
And I didn’t want to wander too far, just in case she needed me.
My dragon was disappointed, his need to fly riding us both. But I placated him with the thought of taking our Omega for a flight once she wakes.
“Keegan’s a Stealth Royal,” my brother says, drawing me back to his presence in my office.
I arch a brow. “You usually save your sarcasm for after the noon hour.”
He grunts and collapses into his favorite chair, his silver eyes grabbing and holding mine. “I wish I were being sarcastic. The bastard woke me up this morning with a blade against my throat.”
My eyes widen. “He what? Is he still alive?”
“Only because he fucking vanished before I could stab him,” Onyx mutters, clearly irritated. “He was making a point.”
“That he has a death wish?” I seethe.
“That he could kill us while we slept if he wanted to,” my brother says. “He’s fucking dangerous.”
“No shit.” Flames. “I’m going to have to kill him.” And that’s going to seriously upset my intended mate.
“Or we could ally ourselves with him,” Onyx offers, surprising me.
“Did he drug you?”
Onyx huffs a laugh. “I’m not completely incapable of making diplomatic choices, brother.”
My eyebrow lifts again. “Oh?”
He gives me a look, one that says he’s not amused by my disbelief. But rather than chastise me, he just sighs. “We need to let Rio bring his sister here, Oros.”
I gape at him. Not only did he dismiss the opportunity to try to rib me back, but he also just uttered words I never thought I would hear from him.
So I do what I need to do and take his advice seriously. “Tell me why,” I say to him. Not because I’m questioning his opinion, but because I want to understand how he arrived at that decision.
Onyx drums his fingers along the leather arm of the chair, his silver gaze taking on an earnest gleam as he stares at me.
“I don’t like Rio. I never have and likely never will.
But the archaic blood vows of the past deserve to burn.
And from what Rio has said, his father disagrees.
He wants Rio to send his sister to Wes.”
My jaw ticks, my gaze narrowing slightly. Our father would have said the same—to follow through with the blood vow. If Onyx and I hadn’t rid ourselves of his influence at a young age, we might feel similarly.
But our Omega mother raised us.
And arranged matings are not our preference as a result.
“It would be the easier route,” my brother goes on. “Rio acknowledged that. However, he refuses to sacrifice his sister to a potential monster, and he has no desire to entertain an alliance with Obsidian Sector. The recent assault on Lanzarote solidified his opinion on the matter.”
“So you believe him when he says he didn’t let Basalt through Gibraltar,” I infer.
“Yes. Just as I think he might be onto something regarding Wes actually being in charge.” Onyx elaborates on why he feels this way, sharing with me all the details Keegan provided after waking him up at knifepoint.
“It’s compelling information, particularly as he proved he’s more than capable of bypassing standard security protocols to spy on others. ”
My lips twitch at the aggrieved nature of his tone. “I can’t believe you let him live.”
He grunts. “He didn’t give me much of a choice.”
“So he bested you?” I ask, surprised.
“Did you miss the part where I told you he vanished into thin air?”
“We can do that, too,” I point out.
“Yeah, except his knife didn’t disappear, and neither did his voice,” my brother replies flatly. “He was standing right fucking there, but all my blade met was air. It was like something out of a childhood nightmare.”
“Hmm.” I’m not sure I like this development. “Is he going to be a problem?”
“Only if you hurt his daughter.” Onyx’s gaze flashes with knowledge as he takes in the crescent mark on my chest. “I assume you’ve made your intentions clear, too?”
“I have.”
He nods. “Then no, he won’t be a problem. Which brings me back to my ally comment—I think we need to work with him and Riordan. But if we’re going to accept Rio’s sister, then we need to make some arrangements for her safety.”
“Sounds like you’ve already started planning,” I say slowly.
“Not planning so much as thinking.” He frowns. “She’s going to need a guardian, and I can’t figure out who to assign to her.”
“I’m sure we have a few capable Alphas who won’t mind guarding her,” I say, not understanding his concern.
Onyx palms the back of his neck, his expression uncharacteristically wary. “I don’t think this is going to be a normal guardianship.”
He goes on to share some of the details he learned from Rio, each one impressing me more than the previous admission. “It sounds like she has a penchant for trouble,” I muse.
“Yeah. Oh, and she can ash,” he mutters. “Which means she needs an Alpha who can leash her like Rio does.”
“That severely limits who can guard her.” Only my brother and I possess the ability to control another’s ability to ash.
“I know.” He gives me a look. “And you’re obviously too occupied for the task.”
“I also don’t want the task.”
“And I do?” He sounds utterly miserable.
Yet I can’t help pointing out, “You’re the one suggesting we take on this burden.”
“Because it’s the right move.” He drops his hand back to the arm of the chair and meets my gaze. “Obsidian Sector is expanding, which means alliances are more important now than ever. Riordan is our strongest option outside of the surrounding wolf clans.”
I nod, agreeing with that assessment.
“And if Obsidian Sector has truly allied with the Djinn, it’s even more imperative that we solidify our partnership with Riordan.”
“How’s he planning to handle his father?” I ask, curious as to where Silver Sector—the territory his father leads—will fall in this arrangement. “Does Rio intend to inform Bronze of where the Omega Princess is headed?”
Onyx’s pupils flare at my choice of term for the Omega, but she is indeed a princess. Her father, Bronze, and her brother, Rio, are both Alpha Princes. That marks her as royal by blood.
“When I asked about Bronze, Rio said not to worry about the nuance and that he would handle the fallout.”
“Hmm,” I hum. “So long as he doesn’t disclose her location, then fine. But I don’t want to battle Bronze for custody of his little princess.”
“I’m more worried about his little princess escaping our protection and putting herself in harm’s way,” my brother mutters. “She’s going to be a nightmare.”
I smile. “Something tells me I’m going to enjoy watching you try to tame her.”
“Maybe Rio’s overexaggerating,” my brother says, ignoring my jibe. “It seems like something he would do.”
I don’t reply, mainly because it’s clear my brother isn’t paying attention to me at all now. He’s too busy sussing out the situation with Rio and his sister.
I leave him to his thoughts as I type a message to Rio.
You somehow convinced my brother that we should help you. I’m both impressed and furious. The next time you want to know something about my sector, be Alpha enough to visit on your own to discover the truth. I look forward to punching you in the face when you arrive. We’ll talk after.
I’m about to hit Send as my brother says, “I’m going to need at least a week to prepare for her arrival. I want to… fortify a guest suite.”
My eyebrow inches upward. “Which guest suite?”
“The one attached to my room,” he replies, sounding tired already.
“You mean the second bedroom you use as an office?” I ask. He technically has a space on the opposite end of this floor, but he only uses it when hosting a meeting with one of our generals.
“Yeah.” He rubs a hand over his face. “I’ll just move everything up here and ask Savan to help me with some furniture for our new ward.”
“Oh, please call her that,” I murmur.
He rolls his eyes. “You’re enjoying this far too much. Maybe I should suggest that you babysit the brat instead?”
“Actually, on second thought, lead with that. I’m sure she’ll react beautifully to being called a brat,” I drawl.
My brother growls in response. “Just for that, I’m calling you Rumpelstiltskin the next time we address the court.”
I lift a shoulder in a partial shrug. “Do your worst, Silverstiltskin.”
With that, I add a final line to my missive—Onyx needs more time to make appropriate arrangements for your stay. Reach out to him to discuss further.
I carefully leave out the details about Rio bringing his sister, as I don’t want that in writing in case anyone intercepts the message. But Rio will understand the context of what I’m telling him.
And if for some reason he doesn’t, Onyx will fill him in.
“I’ll need to prepare myself for the headache you and Rio are going to induce with all your incessant bickering,” I mutter as I hit the Send button. “But at least you two have figured out how to converse without me being present.”
Something that’s going to be increasingly important as my Omega goes into heat.
Speaking of… I think, my nose twitching as her scent nears. “Anything else?” I ask my brother, suddenly very eager for him to leave.
His brow furrows, then he glances toward the balcony and the stairs that ascend to my room. “When would you like me to take over as temporary Prince of Gold Sector?”
I smile. “Now would be nice.” Taliana isn’t in heat yet, but I hope to change that today.
Because I have an idea.
One I intend to run by her after I take her for a flight.
“Are there any pertinent items I need to be aware of?” Onyx asks, all business as Taliana appears on the stairs.
“I think you’re aware of everything that’s coming,” I tell him, referring to Rio and his sister. “I trust you to handle the arrangements.”
He nods. “I’ll be naming Savan as temporary Second.”
“That’s fine.” He’s one of our most trustworthy generals. He also likely would have been assigned as Taliana’s guardian had I not stepped into the position.
That was why my brother told him to escort her to Doctor Taylor that first day.
And why I dismissed Savan when I saw his reactions to her fear.
She wasn’t his to soothe.
She’s mine.
A fact that resonates as she enters my office wearing nothing but a sheet.
“Consider the sector handled, brother,” Onyx says, his silver eyes flashing with a hint of emotion. Surprisingly, it looks a lot like approval. “Princess,” he murmurs to my intended mate as he stands.
Her eyes widen as he inclines his head in a show of respect.
“I’ll ensure you both have everything you need,” he adds, then straightens. “See you in a week or so.”
He vanishes before I can reply, leaving my little diamond blinking. “He didn’t have to leave,” she whispers.
“Oh, he did.” I push away from my desk and slowly prowl toward her. “You’re on the verge of your heat, and you’re mine. It’s dangerous for any Alpha to be near you right now.”
Her small nose crinkles. “Because I might induce a rut?”
“Because I might kill anyone who looks at you the wrong way,” I correct her. “I’m possessive, printesa mea. I’m the only one allowed to be near you right now.” I wrap my palm around her nape, pulling her into me for a long, sensuous kiss.
She’s practically panting by the time I release her, causing my lips to curl.
“Let’s go for a flight,” I murmur, my gaze roaming over her makeshift cloak. “And lose the sheet.”