by Zoey Ellis
"Amara," Mother Fern greeted. "We were not expecting to hear from you again so soon. But it is good you have contacted us."
"Greetings, Mothers," Amara said. "Circumstances have changed here. I need your advice and guidance on how to complete the rest of the assignment."
"We know," Mother Orlee said. "What we don't know is where you have been. What happened to you?"
"King Malloron discovered I am an Omega," Amara said. "I don’t know how. My blocks are still firmly in place and I still cannot access magic."
The Mothers’ faces dropped and there was a silence.
"Have you mated with him?" Mother Orlee asked.
"Yes," Amara said, pushing away the uncomfortable feeling of admitting such a thing to the Mothers. "I negotiated with him in order to be able to access any part of the castle and sit in on his meetings."
The Mothers’ expressions changed, curiosity and intrigue transforming their faces.
"And what did you find out?" asked Mother Fern.
"I haven't had time to access the red dungeon," Amara admitted. "But I have learned that he is dominating the Western Lands through the use of merchants. He has significant contracts with important merchants throughout the Western lands, some of them are in direct conflict with the rulers of their own territories. King Malloron pays them significantly well so that they feel loyal to him, and more willing to provide him with more stock. The merchants he talks to deal in some of the produce that the territory is known for. He has monopolized almost all avenues for the territories to make money from their most popular produce, but he is not yet made use of those connections to limit their income."
"He will," Mother Azia said darkly. She sat in the middle, the oldest Mother and the wisest. "I'm willing to bet he has built those connections over the years in case any of the rulers turn against him."
Amara nodded. "I agree. Most of these dealings are secret."
"Why did he allow you to witness them?" Mother Orlee asked. "It doesn't seem logical that he would do that."
Amara shrugged. "It is something that I've asked myself frequently."
The Mothers glanced at each other. "What exactly was your agreement with him?"
Amara took a breath and explained the agreement she made with Malloron.
"And has he indicated that he wants you to stay with him in any way?" Mother Fern asked.
"He has suggested the idea of me being his queen," Amara said. "Only once, nothing more than that. I don't think it is something to take seriously."
The Mothers didn't say anything for a long time.
"It is not as bad as it sounds, Mothers," Amara said, nervously. "Within the next week, the agreement will be over."
Mother Azia shook her head slowly. "Is there anything about him that is unusual? Anything about your connection when you were together that strikes you as odd?"
Amara hesitated. "Yes," she said slowly. "His scent…"
Mother Azia leaned forward, suddenly alert. "You can scent him?"
"Only faintly," Amara explained. "I just checked my blocks and they are still active and in place. I don't understand why I can detect his scent."
Mother Azia's brows furrowed, as she thought. "It is something to do with him," she said slowly. "Something to do with his Talent. I don't know what, but it would have to be extremely powerful. Whatever it is could affect your connection with him in numerous ways."
"It doesn't matter," Amara said. "Now that he knows that Omegas exist, what shall I do?"
“As much as it ails me to advise this, especially with regard to any Alpha from the royal family,” Mother Azia said darkly. “It is up to you if you wish to stay with him and be his queen."
Amara’s stomach dropped. "What?" She squinted at the Mothers. "Are you being serious? You are giving me an option to leave the mission? To leave the compound?"
"Things have changed since you left for your assignment, Amara," Mother Orlee said. "We have not been able to share much information about it, but since you are in this situation with King Malloron, you should know that you have the option to stay with him if you choose to."
Amara blinked, wondering if she was in some kind of dream. "Why would I stay with him?"
“If you feel anything for him, you may wish to,” Mother Orlee said. “We will not judge you or blame you—none of your sisters will either.”
Amara firmed her stand but the projection felt like it was wobbling in front of her. Was she in some kind of alternate reality? The Mothers were saying something completely different from everything she had learned and heard from them before. Suddenly she remembered what Kyus said. She steadied herself and looked back up at the Mothers. “Are the rumors true? Have Omegas returned to the Eastern Lands?”
“We cannot confirm anything, Amara,” Mother Orlee said, softly. “What we can tell you is that Cailyn is with her Alpha. She misses you, as does Victoya and all your other sisters.” To Amara’s surprise, tears sprung to Mother Orlee’s eyes. “We know the Western Lands is not an easy place to take a mission. If King Malloron will love you and protect you and treat you properly, it is not wrong to stay with him. Our main concern is that your team is disbanded and they get to safety. Where are they?”
“They are still in place here at the castle,” Amara said, with difficulty as she realized what they were saying. “So you mean you want us to abandon the mission? Abandon the children?”
The Mothers looked at each other again. “Amara, your team are not in position in the castle. We have had reports from other team leaders that your whole team disappeared around the same time you did. No one knows what happened to them or where they are. We thought you were together, at least. Are you saying that you don’t know where they are?”
Amara’s breath became short. Her team disappeared? There is no way they could have all disappeared at the same time, unless— A flash of vibration spread along the right side of her head.
“Someone’s coming,” she said quickly. “I have to go. I will prioritize the team and the children and getting them out.”
“No,” Mother Orlee said. “Do not you put yourself in—” The image shuddered as the alarm spread across her mind. “—need to be able to access the other teams—” The image twisted and then dispersed as all the spells released.
Amara began walking along the corridor, her thoughts jumbled, her heart pounding in her chest. She pushed everything the Mothers said about choosing Malloron to the back of her mind. All this time she assumed her team was in position. If they weren’t, it could only be Malloron.
She headed to her own servant quarters and discovered from a couple of the servants in there that Zanya, Lisara, and Helenka had been relocated. But no one could tell her where. She traveled to some of the other quarters and was told the same thing about the other members of the team. What really worried her was that even Kekia hadn’t been seen. She played a big role in protecting the Omegas in Eiros Castle. Without her, Omegas would be more detectable.
Her fury built as she navigated around the castle. All this time she had been tucked away, wearing nice clothes, eating nice foods, sitting in on meetings like she was some kind of lady and her team had been imprisoned or worse. She brushed away angry tears as she left the last quarters where members of her team were said to have been relocated. Her entire team was gone. Malloron had done something to them, even though he promised to leave them alone.
Amara’s fists clenched as a savage anger consumed her. What could she possibly expect from him anyway? She knew he was a liar. She had taken too long finding the red dungeon and now her team was either in the pleasure chambers themselves, being held somewhere as some kind of failsafe that Malloron would have over her, or they were dead. The fury that bounded through her was unparalleled. The bastard felt that he could truly get away with this? She was not an empty-headed girl from one of the port territories trying to make her way in Eiros by opening her legs to everyone. She was an Omega. An accomplished one at that. There was no way that her team was g
oing to suffer because of her, going through imprisonment and whatever kind of torture or punishment he dreamed up while she indulged in the luxuries found on his cock. No fucking way.
She made her way back to the weak spot hoping the magic that remained was enough to support what she needed to do next.
Glancing down the corridor, she pulled out the gem that held the plans for the castle. She held it in the palm of her hand and, focusing her mind, pulled on the magic within the area and fed it into the gem.
A skeleton image of the castle materialized in her mind. She closed her eyes and began to navigate through it, seeing only the spaces where rooms, hallways, and corridors existed. She quickly zoomed in on where she knew the children's dungeon was. Finally, she was able to see the whole thing, a full view of everything that surrounded it.
It was large, larger than she thought it would be. It spanned two floors and structurally looked like large open spaces with a number of small rooms that could be kitchens or washrooms. Interestingly, the entrances were built hidden behind pillars—that’s why they couldn't find them. Examining the plan closer, the pillars seemed to have some kind of lever that allowed access to the doors behind it. She twisted the plan around in her mind until she located the nearest pillar to her current location, then scrutinized it closely and carefully for the lever.
After she was confident she memorized enough, she withdrew magic from the gem and the plan in her mind faded. Taking a breath, she headed to the closest pillar. She needed to use this opportunity to access the red dungeon. Once she confronted King Malloron about her team, she had no idea what would happen.
When she arrived at the pillar, it became clear as to why no one would notice it. Tucked into a corner in a darkened part of a corridor below ground, there was nothing notable about it and appeared as part of the wall. It took a few minutes of careful searching until she found it.
Checking that the corridor was clear, she pulled the lever. Nothing changed. She stood for a moment wondering if she’d done something wrong. As she placed a hand to the pillar, it penetrated the stone. She walked through the wall into the dungeon.
It was dark inside, and it took a while for her eyes to adjust to the room. A strange sound filled her ears, mellow, soft and yet consistent, like the sound of a symbol that was constantly in a state of vibration. As her eyes accustomed the room, she saw beds upon beds laid out in the rows across the entirety of the space. They were all filled with bodies, although she could not tell if they were alive or dead. She stood, taking it all in, her eyes darting over the whole area trying to figure out what was going on. The room was quite still and silent and yet that sound kept going; it was like one of the prayer temples found in Cleyanti. The arched ceiling gave the feel of a traditionally holy space. The ridged walls were decorated with horizontal rows of patterns and symbols that followed a pathway up the wall across the arched ceiling and down the other wall. Another strange thing was that most of the space seemed to be dark blue, but when she examined the archways nearest her, a golden sheen ran over it at varying intervals. The entire dungeon was surrounded by numerous spells.
After a long moment observing, Amara stepped next to the nearest bed. As much as this place filled her with both curiosity, dread, and apprehension, she had to find out what was happening to the children.
The bed she approached held a young boy who looked about eleven or twelve years old. He lay on his back, arms by his side, staring straight at the ceiling.
Amara frowned. She placed a hand on his chest, and then checked his forehead. He was extremely cool, but he was alive and breathing. And yet, when she leaned over him, he did not look at her. It was as though she wasn’t there at all. Amara looked around the room, what the hell was going on here?
She moved to the next bed and as she approached her heart constricted. A young girl of about three years old lay the same way as the boy, except she seemed disturbed. Her torso kept twitching and rising as though she was in a bad nightmare. And yet, her eyes stared straight up to the ceiling, just like the boy’s had.
Amara checked her chest and her forehead as well, and she was the same as the boy; extremely cool, yet alive and breathing, but unable to register Amara even when she whispered to her.
Amara crouched by the bed, her eyes scanning the entire place. She couldn’t guess how many beds of children filled the space, must be way over a hundred, and still another floor above her. What the fuck was King Malloron doing with them?
A movement flickered in the corner of her eye. Crouching, she made herself as small as possible.
A cloaked figure walked along the edge of the dungeon. Most cloaked people were Talent-crafters but it was too dark to tell the color of his robe to be sure. Amara held still, and then as soon as she was out of his sight line slowly made her way back to the door she came through.
She let herself out of the pillar, and closed it back using the lever, her heart pounding and confusion spreading through her. She wasn't sure if what she had just seen was worse than what she’d imagined, since it was unclear what was actually happening to the children in there. With those powerful magical spells in force, it could be anything.
She turned, and made her way back to the upper part of the castle. It was time to speak to King Malloron.
***
“Where the fuck are they?”
King Malloron entered her rooms casually, his eyes on her. "It would be nice to know what you're talking about," he said slowly, turning to close the door.
"The other Omegas," Amara spat. She stood on the opposite side of the table, arms crossed. "What have you done with them?"
Malloron stood still, taking her in. "You finally made your way back to the servants’ area. Bravo."
"I assumed you would know that. You have been monitoring me surely?"
Malloron’s smile appeared, the cruel one. "Your friends are safe."
"Safe?" Amara said in disbelief. "Why did you imprison them in the first place?"
"I wanted to make sure that they didn’t escape. They are safer in my care."
"And when you say ‘in your care,’" Amara said pointedly, "do you mean in luxury rooms like this one? Are they given the best food, the best clothes, freedom?"
Malloron remained still. "They have not been treated badly."
The casual nature in which he responded to her, the way that he was completely dismissive of what he had done, heightened Amara's anger until she struggled to even keep her voice within a normal volume. "You made an agreement with me to try to persuade them that you are trustworthy, and yet you imprisoned them the first chance you got!"
Malloron strolled toward her. "I can see you are upset about this, however, I'm not sure why. You have not once considered that maybe you are at fault for their situation."
Amara's eyebrows rose. "What did you say?"
"From the moment I met you, I have been asking you what your purpose is in this castle," Malloron said. "You have refused to tell me. Do you expect that I will allow Talent-crafter Omegas to defy every rule I put in place to keep it safe from intruders, to keep my enemies from overthrowing me and penetrating the careful defenses I have made to keep myself, my staff, and my throne safe? Surely you did not expect me to do nothing. I intercepted you entering the castle through a fucking portal that shouldn’t have even existed! Tell me exactly what you expected, considering you did not reassure me that you and the other Omegas are not working against me."
Amara glared at him, clenching her fists as she realized the true nature of her circumstances. Malloron was solely focused on protecting his throne, that was the only thing he cared about. Their agreement meant nothing; he never intended to honor it, for how could he expect the Omegas the trust him when he had imprisoned them? What he had managed to do was sway her from her mission. She hadn’t warned her sisters, nor had she gotten the information on the children to the Mothers. Yet, he’d certainly managed to enjoy her as much as he could. The man was truly a fucking manipulator, but it was her f
ault for not seeing it coming. She should have questioned his motives and sought to find out exactly why he was allowing her access to information and spaces that almost no other had access to. It could be that he was trying to misdirect her, but more than likely he had some kind of plan for her that she wasn’t aware of.
"Surely you are not so sex-starved you had to make this deal with me in order to get pussy," Amara snarled. "Because that is the only reason why I can think you would engage in this whole pretense of having an agreement with me when you knew you would not honor it."
Malloron’s expression changed. “Not honor it? Did I not allow to you sit in meeting after meeting as you requested? Did I not allow you free rein of the castle, as you requested? Did I not provide you with clean food and drink, as you requested? Tell me where I have not honored our agreement? I did not promise you I would leave your friends with their freedom. Not once.”
“Do not pretend you engaged in this agreement with me so that you could help my Omega friends,” Amara raged. “You have no intention of offering them protection. Tell me why you made the agreement in the first place.”
"I was extremely intrigued by you, I still am, but there are bigger reasons that I needed you to be here."
"Those reasons obviously have to do with your throne," Amara said, harshly. "Something I don't give a shit about. I want to see the Omegas. I want them released or I want to join them in their imprisonment, I don't care which."
“No.” Malloron glared at her, his eyes narrowing and his nostrils flaring. “I don’t know why you think you can make demands.”
“Because our arrangement is off,” Amara shouted.
“Our arrangement was never on,” Malloron bellowed, finally furious. “I deceived you, you deceived me, that is the nature of the game.”