“What is the meaning of this?” Oshali demanded when the queen finally visited her cell.
The queen’s expression was so twisted, it was as if she was a different person. “I should be asking you that.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Are you aligned with the dragorai?”
Oshali opened her mouth but then close it again, unsure what to say. She couldn’t lie, and yet she couldn’t say she was aligned with them.
The queen let out a harsh curse. “How can you be aligned with them when they took you and destroyed your parents?”
“I wasn’t aware of that until I came here.”
“You told me you were raised by the Mheyu. How in all seven hells has the dragorai gotten their claws into you?”
Oshali’s mouth tightened. “You don’t have to put me in a cell to ask me these questions, Your Majesty.”
“It is your own fault,” the queen snapped. “I would have much rather done this in a less aggressive way, but I wasn’t aware you had a tracker on you.” She stepped forward menacingly, her eyes darkening. “A very sophisticated and complex incantation that I did not detect.”
Oshali blinked. She completely forgotten that Tyomar had put a tracker on her, she’d gotten used to the hum.
“My scouts have detected dragons on the edge of this province. They’ve never come this close, apart from twenty-five years ago when you were in this province before. What do they want with you?”
“I don’t know,” Oshali said.
“Don’t fucking jest with me, Oshali,” the queen spat. “The last time one of them was here they destroyed my palace and took a child of royal blood. What the fuck do they want?”
“I don’t know,” Oshali shot back. “I haven’t spoken to them.”
“Tell me!” the queen hollered, her eyes flashing. “Why you? What do the dragorai want with you so desperately? Answer me!”
“I’ve told you all I know,” Oshali said calmly.
The queen snarled and turned away from her. She paced across the room in silence for a moment, shaking her head. “I take no pleasure in doing this, Oshali, but I gave you the chance to make it easy.”
An inkling of horror and dread stirred. “What?”
The queen stepped forward. “You must breed.”
Oshali’s mouth fell open. “What?”
“You are a traitor. You cannot be the last remaining female of our line when you’ve been so corrupted. I need more children.”
Oshali’s eyes narrowed. “Why don’t you breed, then?”
The queen scowled. “I learned long ago that an omega queen of my stature doesn’t put her life in the hands of an alpha for any reason.” She glanced around the room. “Potions to induce your heat will be misted into the room as soon I leave, so your heat should start within the next couple of hours, and since you have been particularly obstructive, sneaky, and unhelpful, I will find the ugliest, brutish, idiotic citizen in this Dominion to come and fuck you to near death.”
Oshali’s cheeks heated in both outrage and humiliation that she would not only be drugged, but would also be used in the basest of ways. “You want all those qualities for the child?” Oshali shot back, grabbing the bars of the cell.
“None of those qualities will ever be in any female of our line,” the queen said. “It doesn’t matter who we breed with, our blood is strong.” She chuckled, lowering her voice. “It came from the Goddesses, remember? Who breeds you only matters to you, and you are choosing to be difficult and uncooperative.”
A hard ball of anger swallowed Oshali’s insecurities and strengthened her determination. She dropped her arms by her side, her mouth tightening as she looked at the queen.
The queen, suddenly alert, stilled. “Do not be foolish, Oshali.” She spoke at a measured pace. “You have been with those diary keepers for the past twenty-five years. I have been queen of this Dominion for decades. I’m sure all records you have read about me mention my proficiency in magic and the ancient language of Thrakondarian. You would be foolish to try to attack me. Breeding will not harm you to any great degree, but I assure you if we battle, I will.”
Oshali breathed heavily as her heart pounded, and she pushed away the anger that threatened to overwhelm her. The queen didn’t know she could cast, and maybe it was worth keeping that a surprise so she could get out of there.
“You must know I have no intention of staying in here.”
“Your intentions are not my concern,” the queen said icily, heading for the door.
Oshali gripped the bars, panicked. “I will need to carry the child to term.”
The queen glanced at her. “Yes, but you can do that unconscious. You have decided to make yourself a threat to me. And since you have a responsibility to me and to your ancestors to carry on the line, you will fulfill it in the manner in which I choose.”
* * *
Oshali could have screamed at her own lack of foresight. From the moment she realized the queen had something against the dragorai, she should have left the palace and sought out the truth. She had completely forgotten about the tracker, but she still shouldn’t have left herself open to be captured.
Her Mheyu Gowns had been stripped from her and the room was filled with a foul-smelling mist. She stood in her cell completely naked, absorbing the potion through every pore. No doubt in preparation for whichever male the queen sought to impregnate her.
The whole idea of it was insane. Why was this the queen’s priority? If the story about poison in their family line was true, maybe she was unable to breed, but that didn’t explain her desperate plan. Oshali already had doubts about which of the queen’s narratives were true. The one thing that did seem to be true was the scroll. Oshali had examined it thoroughly using every incantation and method the Mheyu used to verify the authenticity of items, and the scroll was genuine—each portrait was painted at different times and in chronological order.
She paced in her cell, watching the door, trying to figure out if now was the best time to cast her way out. Once she did, there was no doubt the queen would find ways to restrict the use of magic, or at the least attack with magical deadly force. Oshali had to use it at the right time. She wasn’t even sure if the cell already prevented casting, or whether Tyomar could still detect her tracker while she was in here.
As she watched the door, she glimpsed the warrior with the short hair standing outside.
“Hey,” Oshali whispered. “Hey!”
The girl turned, looking at the corner of her eye at Oshali before turning back.
“I need to speak to you!” she called. “Please!”
The girl turned her head again. This time, she muttered something to one of the other guards before slipping inside the room.
“You’re going to get me into trouble,” she whispered harshly. “What do you want?” She wrinkled her nose. “What is that smell?”
“If you’re an omega, cover your nose.”
The girl pulled out a cloth from her pocket and covered her mouth and nose.
“Thank you for helping me,” Oshali said.
The girl made a face and gestured to Oshali’s cell. “It didn’t exactly help, did it? I risked warning you and you didn’t even take me seriously.”
“It was a surprise,” Oshali admitted. “And I did take you seriously, I just acted too slow.”
“What do you want?” the girl asked, glancing at the door.
“I want to get out of here! Can you help me?”
The girl looked at her like she was insane. “Do you know what would happen to me if the queen found out that I’d helped you? Having my tongue ripped out, my eyes blinded, my ears deafened, and being eaten alive by flesh worms wouldn’t even come close. I tried to help you before—that was much as I could do.”
Oshali was quiet for a moment as she observed the girl. She clearly cared, but why? She didn’t seem like the other warriors who were stoic and detached. She had petite features and striking eyes, and her short hair highlighted her features. She was very pretty.
“Why are you even one of her warriors?” Oshali asked.
“She forced me to.”
“Why?”
The girl shrugged. “I can do things that she wants her other warriors to learn.”
Oshali frowned. “Like what?
“I can feel when the king is going to attack,” the girl said, glancing at the door. “It’s like something changes in the air, and I was able to figure out his recent pattern of attack across the province.”
“How did she find out you could do that?”
“She knows everything,” the girl insisted. “And I need to go right now before she finds out about this.”
“Wait,” Oshali said. “Clearly you don’t want to stay. If you help me to get out of here, I can take you with me.”
“There is nowhere in this Dominion that’s safe from her,” the girl said.
“I’m not from this Dominion. I’m from the mountain ranges.”
The girl stared at her. “The dragorai territories?”
“Yes.”
“That’s fucking worse!” the girl exclaimed. She stilled, watching the door for a moment before continuing. “The dragorai are the targets of both the king and queen, I hear.”
“But that is their problem, right?” Oshali said, becoming desperate. “You will be safe nearer them than here working for her. You won’t have to worry about dropping bombs or ember or anything else. The dragorai don’t involve their people in their battles, only the king and queen do. There is no danger in being near them unless you are breaking one of their laws.”
The girl chewed her lip thoughtfully. “If we go, I need to get one of my friends.”
Oshali resisted from rolling her eyes. “The priority is getting out of here,” she warned. “If getting your friend is going to get us caught—”
And the girl shook her head. “Of course, of course.” She thought for a moment. “I think I can get us to the west gate this afternoon. Do you think you can get us out of the Dominion from there?”
Oshali nodded.
“All right. I’ll be back within an hour.”
“In an hour!” She might be deep into her heat by then. How was she supposed to navigate out of the dominions when she couldn’t even think straight?
“It takes time to prepare all of this,” the girl stressed. “I can’t clap my hands and suddenly get us out.”
“All right,” Oshali breathed. As the girl left, she dropped her forehead on the bars hoping this worked. They would only get one chance. She had to make sure that one chance was all they needed.