Naya glanced at him, annoyed. His eyes were locked onto hers, and he held himself tense, as if anticipating she might cause trouble.

"No," she said tightly to Prillu. "That isn't how things are done in my family."

"How are they done?" Prillu asked. "Again, at your age, a pairing or marriage or mate would have been decided by now.”

Naya glanced again at Akoro. So he hadn't told his own people that she was his true mate? Interesting.

“You are twenty-five,” Prillu continued. “Are you or your family not concerned? Or does being an Omega mean everyone is less worried about the abundance of children in your empire?”

Naya narrowed her eyes, observing Prillu for a moment. then lifted her chin in understanding. “You have your children young in your culture.”

Prillu jolted, surprise bleeding into her large eyes.

“I assume by fourteen…” she watched Prillu’s expression change, “no sixteen, your females are expected to give birth. Maybe Omegas are given some leeway to have them later?”

“Answer the question,” Akoro growled again.

Naya swallowed, trying to ignore the heat of his glare that hadn’t let up. “We don’t have children that young, at least, it isn’t expected. My parents have been preparing me to rule. If I’d happened to find my Alpha, they would’ve been delighted, but the priority was the empire. As I said to your… zmola, ruling a land this size isn’t easy. They wanted to make sure I was ready. And only after that were they going to look forward to me building a life with an Alpha and family."

Prillu nodded. "So there are no current plans for you to marry?"

"I never said that," Naya responded. "In fact, just before I was viciously taken, we were in discussion about an arranged marriage."

Akoro slowly walked around the table, his eyes locked onto her. Naya forced herself not to shrink away.

"Is that with one of the princes of the Lands of Eiros?" Prillu asked.

"No, they were never considered," Naya lied. "But my parents strongly recommended an Alpha and I met with him. He is the most likely one."

Akoro stepped closer, his face a carefully controlled mask, yet the tightness in his crossed arms gave away an annoyance. "Who is he?"

"He is someone in my kingdom," Naya said.

"Who?" Akoro asked again.

"He serves under my father, you won’t recognize his name."

"A warrior?" Prillu asked.

"Yes," Naya said.

Akoro didn't question any further but his eyes didn't soften and his body didn't relax. If he wanted to know more, he didn't say, but it didn't seem as though he was satisfied with that response.

“Is he your—" Prillu squinted at her parchment. “—true mate?”

Naya took a long drink from her goblet, thinking quickly. If Akoro hadn’t told his people she was his mate, that meant he didn’t want anyone to know, which was telling.

"Maybe," Naya said, carefully putting her goblet down. "We had a pairing meeting and⁠—"

"What is a pairing meeting?"

"It is when an Alpha and Omega meet in a small room to scent each other and see if they are compatible."

"And?"

"It went well," Naya said, a little too boldly. It didn't seem like Prillu noticed but Akoro made a dangerous, ugly sound at the back of his throat.

"What position is he in your father's army?"

"He's about to become a general."

"And he is of similar age to you?"

"He's older than me. He’s been training for a long time and is extremely talented and dedicated to the empire. We have a lot in common."

Out of the corner of her eye, Akoro had moved even closer until he was right next to her, that molten glare burning into the side of her face.

Prillu nodded, scribbling on the tablet. "Your siblings," Prillu began, "they are less documented in your records than you are. Why is that?"

"My birth coincided with the return of Omegas to the land," Naya explained. "With so much attention on me, my parents chose to only reveal what was necessary in public documents and keep the majority of my siblings’ information away from the public eye.”

"Do any of them have the skills you have?"

"All of them are warriors if that's what you mean," Naya said. "They are comfortable with a blade. My sisters, who are both Omegas, are comfortable with magic, but they aren’t skilled as I am yet."

Prillu nodded, continuing to jot down information on her tablet and then shuffled the sheets of parchment on the desk. “You said your sisters are both Omegas. I only have record of one.”

Naya cleared her throat. “Yes, sorry, that’s right. I have one sister.”

“Why did you say you had two?”

Naya tried to relax her body but couldn’t stop her shoulders from tensing. “I had another sister. She died when she was seven.”

“Why isn’t she noted in the family records?”

“She is. You must have looked at the succession records. Of course she won’t be in there, but she’s logged on the family tree.”

“What happened to her?”

Naya opened her mouth but found she couldn’t say anything.

“Princess Naya?” Prillu asked, after the silence had stretched too long.

A sound came from Naya’s mouth that she couldn’t control—a half groan, half whimper. She cleared her throat again. “I-I can’t answer that.”

“The zmola has been clear. You will answer all questions⁠—“

“No.”

Akoro growled again. “You will⁠—“

Naya stood up, pushing her chair away. “I cannot answer that!” Fury engulfed her, and she found herself shouting. “You can strangle and torture me all you want. I will not answer any more questions about my sister!”

A rough growl erupted from Akoro’s chest and he grabbed her by the throat.

He stared at her, his lips curling into a snarl, but Naya stared back at him, fury collecting tears in her eyes. She didn’t care what he did, she wasn’t going to talk about Lili with Prillu or him or anyone else.

Their glares held, and Naya held her breath as her tears spilled over her lashes. Akoro applied pressure and rubbed her neck with his thumb. She went limp, the fight swooping out of her.

Naya’s eyes widened when she realized what he’d done. “How dare you!” she hissed, clawing his hand away from her. Alphas could settle Omegas by squeezing their necks in just the right way. It made them go limp and submit to the safety of the Alpha, especially when they were distressed. But she wasn’t going to fucking submit to him.

“Prillu, ppi hhe rits,” he growled.

Prillu looked between the two of them for a moment and then hurried out of the room, closing the door behind her.

"I will not talk about Lili," Naya said, forcing the words through her trembling lips as she still tried to get his hand off her neck.

"You will," Akoro warned. "But first I want to know about this man. Have you fucked him?"

Naya frowned up at him. "What man?"

"In this pairing meeting!" Akoro barked, every ounce of his thick muscle contracting. "What happened in the fucking pairing meeting?"

Naya snarled at him. "It's none of your business. It’s between an Omega and her mate."

Akoro’s eyes looked like they could burn the flesh off her skin. "Explain to me this true mate.”

Naya blinked, her face going slack. How could he not know about true mates? Did that mean…

"Tell me!" he bellowed.

"Do you not have Omegas here?"

"We do."

"Then why don't you know about true mates?"

"You are not permitted to ask questions," Akoro snarled, his hand squeezing tighter. "You answer my questions. That is what you are here for. Explain to me about true mates."