Placing the tmae back in its stand, she moved to the center of the room to work on her sequences and tire herself out so she wouldn’t dream. She would play the game Akoro had set out for her. She’d help them. She’d act like the chastened prisoner. And then she’d use anything she could to find to destroy them. To destroy him.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The Lox Princess was a problem, and not in the way he thought she’d be.

Akoro prowled in his strategy room and scowled into his beer. He had thought bringing the Omega to his palace would solve the way he’d been feeling during the journey—on edge, aroused, compulsive—but things were worse.

Back in the sand drift, he found himself watching and analyzing everything she did. It felt criminal that she was so small and alone in that cart with no Alpha to curl into. The nnirae amazed her, particularly his nnirae, which pleased him. When they’d ridden together on the last day of travel, her back against his chest, it hadn’t been a pleasant ride, but he had wished it could have been. She would’ve enjoyed it.

It satisfied him to watch her eat and enjoy her food, and watch her walk around the camp during her escorted walks.

She liked Oppo, which fucking infuriated him. He’d tried to limit their contact but Oppo passionately argued that he needed to monitor her after everything she’d suffered, and Akoro didn’t have a single logical reason why he should stay away.

In general he didn’t sleep much when they traveled. The sand drift in particular was a dangerous place for traveling camps, and even though they had magical protection, he still liked to patrol with the guards most of the time. He expected to see her sleep well during the night, so when he realized she had nightmares, it unsettled him. Why would a pampered princess who had everything she needed in life be unable to sleep? When she screamed in her dream, thrashing and whimpering like something terrible was happening to her, all he could do was watch. It annoyed him she wouldn’t tell him what was behind it—and that small thing was a huge reason he kept coming back to her cart.

Then things escalated.

Once she’d admitted to fighting in battles, he wanted to see the skills her people had boasted about for years, but he didn’t expect that in her worn tunic, bare feet, and a sword too big for her, she would actually knock him off his feet. Anger still flared wildly at the thought of it. She’d been so quick and strong in the dome—much stronger than she looked. Back in the forest, she’d fought him, yes, but this had been a completely different side of her. It had been fascinating and alarming and arousing. Her scent developed into something he couldn’t resist. With her legs open, nails in his scalp, humping her cunt onto his face, it was the most blissfully erotic experience he’d had. And she tasted fucking delicious.

Akoro set down his beer and leaned on the edge of the table, his cock hard thinking about the sounds she made. It unnerved him how far from his control he had gotten. It was only through a sliver of his well-honed restraint that he had not fucked her that night, especially after tasting her and hearing her come.

He considered visiting the tent of a woman who was traveling with them, one who had offered him her throat in the past to relieve tensions while traveling. But if he was going to do that, why not with the princess? After having her sweet clit throbbing on his tongue, the thought of her made him harder than he’d ever been, and the idea of her mouth wrapped around his cock was too enticing to resist.

But after their fight in the dome, Tshel, the Hearer, had warned them new dangers approached, and he realized how stupid he was being. He didn’t know what risks he was taking by taking her out of her cart. He’d told the patrolling guards not to work that night so he could fight with her without an audience, but what if the camp had been attacked? He put in danger the very people he was supposed to be protecting.

Akoro rubbed his face and sat down at the table, looking at the maps of the known Lands. What was wrong with him? The fact he’d gotten to this point—about to invade the destroyers—was a feat no other dynasty, clan or line could claim. He couldn’t be distracted, but he didn’t know how to stop it.

He’d been completely unprepared for her.

Even though he’d seen her years ago when he’d first visited the Lox Empire, he hadn’t expected that she would grow to become the most beautiful woman in existence, or that she’d smell so delicious he would crave her constantly. He didn’t know that her presence in the camp—and now in his palace—would be like an awareness under his skin, something he couldn't ignore and yet couldn't do anything about—a distraction he didn't want, and yet one he craved so badly.

The compulsion didn’t make sense. No other female had drawn out these impulses, and it wasn’t like women were a problem for him. He simply didn’t have time for them. His attention was always on getting his dynasty back to where it belonged, and that’s where it should be now.

A knock startled him out of deep thought.

Akoro got up. “Enter.”

Prillu came in and bowed. “Honor to your line, my king.” She started reeling off all his titles but he stopped her with a wave of his hand. It was too late in the night for formalities.

“News?”

“The nnin-eellithi.”

Akoro tensed. “How many. Where?”

“Five. The Northeast and the Southeast. Three will arrive next week. The other two in a month. We have time to prepare but… it will take resources to repel them.”

“What about our time? Has it changed?”

To her credit, Prillu didn’t flinch when she spoke. “Yes. We have six months instead of eight to invade.”

Akoro let out a low grunt. “All right. We still have time.” He glanced up at Prillu. “Do you think it’s because of the princess?”

“It’s hard to say, but we knew this might happen.”

Akoro nodded. That they had prepared for. “What do you think of her?"

Prillu took a moment to scratch the side of her face, which she did when she was thinking how to phrase something carefully. "She is observant and opinionated, which isn’t good for us. She made the initial attempt to escape, which we expected, but hasn’t tried again. I think she will make another attempt.”

Akoro tensed. “How?”

“I don’t know. I think she’s biding her time.”

“Do you think she’s lying to us when she gives us information?”

“Not yet, but I can’t say if she will remain honest.”

Akoro grunted. He suspected as much as well.

“For an Omega, she isn’t as emotional as I expected considering the situation.”

“It’s only been one meeting.”

“Yes, but…” Prillu’s brows hitched, her eyes darting as she thought. “I thought she’d be more emotional when we were questioning her. I think there were too many of us in the room. We all have different questions on a range of topics we want answers to. It would be more productive if she only had to focus on one at a time. The initial answer she gives may not be as useful as the ones she might give if she had more time to think.”

“She cannot know what we want to discuss in advance.”

“No, but each of us might need a whole morning or afternoon with her.”

Akoro growled. “That sounds like it’ll take too fucking long.”

“With everyone’s schedule, it shouldn’t take more than two weeks, my king.”

“All right. Make a schedule,” he served her with a serious look. “We need this to go well, Prillu.”

“I understand, my king.”

“How is Oppo?”

Prillu sighed and rubbed a finger along an eyebrow while she thought for a moment. “He’s not good,” she said finally as though there was no other way to make it pretty. “Being back in the desert wasn’t good for him, and the Omega… he is very much against her being here, as you know. He said she needs to be looked after, that it feels unnatural and unsafe for her here.”