Epilogue
Rhydek
I had faced death more times than I could count. On the battlefield, in the Veyr’vokkar, and in the dark places beneath Morrakan where only the strongest survived.
None of it had prepared me for this.
Taryn stood at the edge of the High Ledge, Vorrashan rising behind her, casting her in red light. She didn’t hide her scars, the shadows making the long, jagged line that cut across her cheek and down her shoulder appear deeper than I knew they were.
It should have diminished her beauty, but it didn’t. It marked her a survivor. A warrior in her own right.
And she was mine.
My chest tightened as I approached, my tail curling low behind me as I fought the instinct to rush to her side. To pull her against me and assure myself she wouldn’t misstep.
Zharrek lifted his massive head as I neared. The varku stood beside her, unchained, her protection. If I should fail again, he was there to be sure Taryn didn’t pay the price.
A low rumble rolled through his chest. It wasn’t the growl he gave others, simply an acknowledgment of my presence. He had accepted me, not as his master, but as part of her. Something he had to tolerate.
It was mutual.
None had dared question why he walked Korvashan, free. No one would challenge me with a complaint.
No one would challenge her. Not anymore. Not with the two of us at her side.
She didn’t turn when I reached her, the bond telling her I was near long before I could touch her soft skin.
“You’re late.”
There was more question than accusation in the words.
“I was delayed.”
Her lips curved because she knew exactly what that meant. The council had argued. Again. But she was no longer forced to attend, because I’d rather have her happy than within reach. I didn’t like it, but we were working on it.
My gaze moved over the city carved into stone and shadows beneath us. The wind through the ravine carried away scents and muffled sound, but I didn’t need those senses to know things were changing.
There was tension and unrest beneath the ledge we stood on. Fractures forming beneath the surface. If we stopped it soon enough it might heal, but if we let it fester, disaster would come for Korvashan.
The alliance had never been stable, but now it was cracking.
Two injured and one dead woman out of the five who had stepped foot on Morrakan was bad statistics.
Rowena had chosen to return to Earth, leaving three bonded omegas to hold two worlds together, and one was rarely seen.
Questions were being asked that we couldn’t answer, or we risked losing the chance at a future where Korvashan thrived instead of eroding back into sand.
My jaw tightened.
“There is much happening. All of it is serious, but none can get the attention it deserves with a vey’korr hanging over our neck. They are scared of change.”
Her gaze finally shifted to me.
“And you?”
I understood exactly what she was asking. Did I still fear this? Her, us…
The child she carried.
My arms moved around her, my hand settling over her stomach. Still too soon to see or feel, but more important than anything I’d protected before.
“I fear losing you.”
The truth came easier now. I still struggled with the weight of the past and the pressure of the future, but I could speak to Taryn about it instead of bottling it inside.
“I fear losing both of you.”
The bond pulsed, warm and steady. It tied us together, a constant I could believe in despite everything else changing.
“You won’t if we have any choice about it.”
I huffed softly.
I’d once believed in Shaevrin, the Eternal Winds that were the cause behind everything, but I’d lost that faith when I lost Shaira. I’d believed myself cursed as the Bringer of Death until Taryn showed me I was wrong. She proven we had a choice, and perhaps that was what I needed to believe in.
Taryn had rewritten everything I thought I understood about strength. About survival. About what it meant to fight for something.
I turned her, tucking her head beneath my chin as I wrapped her with my arms and tail. I would envelope her if I could, protect her from the world, but I knew that would smother her, and I didn’t want the broken version of Taryn who had lost her purpose in life.
“I can’t lose you.”
The memory clawed at me, sharp and unrelenting. The scent of her blood haunted me even long after it had been washed from my skin. The silence in the bond had nearly driven me mad, but the presence of it was all that had kept me sane.
“I won’t let you be hurt again.”
Her brow arched, a smile at the corner of her lips.
Lips I wanted to lean down a lick until we forgot the problems facing us.
“You don’t control everything, Rhydek.”
Scoffing, I slid one hand up to cup the back of her head. She’d stopped keeping her hair in what she’d called a bun, letting the pale strands hang loose around her shoulders.
“I will control what I can.”
I pressed my mouth to hers, slipping my tongue inside when she opened to me. Each time was like the first, except I knew what to do now. Knew what made her slick for me.
I should have worried about who might see. Or that someone might sneak up on us while I was distracted. But Zharrek was there to watch our backs, and I had seen what he could do.
Taryn was not something fragile to be shielded, as much as I might want to. She was someone to stand beside.
“I must speak with someone before we can go.”
Taryn lifted her head when I pulled back, giving me a curious look before nodding her acceptance. We walked along the ledge before turning and weaving deeper into the tunnels until we came to the entrance of the Bonding Hall.
With so few unbonded omegas it was rarely in use, and so deep within the tunnels it was unlikely anyone would pass by.
Zharrek noticed the approaching warrior before I did, going stiff, his deep snarl reverberating until Taryn placed a calming hand on his shoulder. His silence was immediate, but he never took his eyes off the newcomer, his distrust something I approved, even if in this case, it was misplaced.
“Torashkar.”
The warrior bowed his head but kept his eyes on Zharrek as he closed the distance between us. He moved with purpose, his presence controlled, his violet kethra barely visible on his blue skin. His eyes were a deeper blue that made it impossible to distinguish from the pupil at a distance.
All of which made him an expert at remaining unseen in the dark of the tunnels.
He stopped a few paces away and I nodded in return.
“Torvashek.”
He turned his gaze to Taryn, curiosity flicking briefly across his features when I introduced her.
“My korravai, Taryn.”
His gaze lingered on her only a moment longer before returning to me.
“What news?”
His jaw tightened before he lifted one shoulder.
“The unrest is spreading. There is talk. Those who were willing to be open are starting to drift to the other side because they believe removing the Humans removes the cause behind the problem.”
My tail stilled.
“They are growing bolder. I’ve identified several with rebel leanings, but none are leaders. There is someone driving them.”
I believed the same. There was someone behind the unrest.
“That is who we need to find. Is there anyone you’re sure of that you can bring to the Pit?”
The Pit was where those charged with the worst crimes were placed.
It was also used to torture sources of information when necessary.
Drazien’s expression didn’t change.
“The ones I’ve marked are talkers, nothing more. There’s no proof they’re tied to those involved in the attacks.”
It wasn’t what I wanted to hear. Kael had left me in command and charged me with rooting out the anti-Human rebels. We both wanted our omegas safe.
Silence stretched for a moment before Drazien spoke again.
“I have a proposal.”
My eyes narrowed.
I had met Drazien before either of us held rank.
He was a thyrran who I trusted with my life, which was why I’d assigned him the task of listening to the whispers within Korvashan, but he was reckless.
He was flawless in the execution of orders and the warrior we sent when we wanted everyone silenced, but he became blinded by his obsession with completing the mission.
“Speak.”
I felt his attention shift to Taryn before returning to me.
“Use me as bait.”
My focus sharpened and I felt Taryn shift beside me.
“Explain.”
His pose was casual, as if we were discussing the selection in the Market. Too casual. It gave him away.
“Send me to the next gala. The rebels have gone after the omegas, the Humans, and drawing them to me will be easier than tracking rumors.”
I couldn’t stop the way my kethra brightened, my tail tightening on Taryn’s leg at what I thought he was implying.
“If you go to the gala and choose a Human, she will become an omega. It’s irreversible. I cannot condone tricking someone and leaving them to suffer a heat without an alpha claiming them.”
“I will claim her.”
There was no hesitation in the answer, and it made me pause. Drazien had never mentioned wanting an omega, but it wasn’t something we would have discussed. They were rare enough that being willing to accept a Human wasn’t surprising, but his willingness to put her in danger was shocking.
Unless he didn’t believe in the bond.
“You think you can tie yourself to an omega, and then risk her safety? Why?”
He lifted a shoulder and let it drop, his tail flicking behind him the only flaw in his casual demeanor.
“Because it’s the best way to end this quickly. Having an omega afterward is the bonus.”
Taryn’s irritation bled into me as my startled laugh echoed through the tunnel. He truly didn’t know what he was suggesting.
“This is guaranteed. They will strike again. Kael’s mate is with him, Malrik’s omega is locked away in his quarters, and yours is too well guarded. This gives them an easy target, and if we know the target…”
My jaw clenched. It was a sound strategy but a dangerous one.
“They may not attack until after you’ve bonded. You’ll be putting your mate in danger.”
His gaze didn’t waver.
“I would be between her and any risk.”
His words revealed something I had once believed. Something I had failed at.
Taryn’s fingers tightened around mine, a wave of acceptance coming through the bond. I knew she didn’t like it any more than I did, but she trusted me.
“You may not be able to control that.”
“I can end this. The woman would be as safe as I can make her.”
I studied him, weighing the options.
“We would lose you as well if you fail her. Korravai do not survive the loss of the other.”
I caught his quiet huff.
“Would that really be so bad?”
A heavy silence fell. I understood what he was offering. Not just strategy, but sacrifice.
I stared at him for a long moment before nodding.
“Very well.”
Taryn shifted beside me, but she didn’t interrupt. She was smart enough to realize what it meant, even if she didn’t know Drazien’s history.
“You will report to me no less than once a talren, and you will not engage alone.”
Drazien bowed his head, his expression as unreadable as when he’d approached.
“Of course.”
“And you will protect the Human you choose.”
His kethra brightened the barest amount.
“Without hesitation.”
It was what Korvashan needed, what Taryn needed, to be safe. I could not allow another attack, not on her or any of the Humans who trusted us enough to become something new.
But I worried.
“I will prepare for the trip. We will root them out before long.”
He turned and left without another word.
But he still didn’t know what he was getting into. He didn’t know how the bond changed everything, no matter how much you resisted. That her safety would become paramount, and risking her would be harder than anything he’d ever done.
But having an omega of his own was exactly what it might take to ensure his drive to stamp out the rebels was as strong as mine. He was the kind of warrior who would prevail.
Or die trying.
Taryn exhaled beside me, leaning into my side.
“He’s intense.”
A low huff escaped as I stared at the empty tunnel before us.
“He is effective.”
She glanced up at me, something thoughtful in her expression.
“Is he going to fall in love with whoever he chooses?”
The question caught me off guard.
Once, I would have said no. I hadn’t believed the stories about the bond. I thought all it would take was discipline to ignore the effects.
I stared at the female who had shattered everything I thought I knew.
“Yes, I think he will.”
I let out a laugh because I’d learned there was no escaping it. Claiming an omega didn’t just leave a mark to show others they were yours. It tied two souls together and wrapped them so tight there was no other thought than them.
Taryn’s lips curved, satisfied with my answer.
“He seems like he needs someone to love.”
I studied her for a moment, then pulled her closer. She didn’t know how right she was. I’d been the same, before her.
Now I had something to fight for.
Something that mattered.
Someone to be sure I didn’t fail.