Kari prayed that he would get there in time and urged his horse faster.
They galloped at full speed, careless of the debris scattered over the track they followed. If he got there in time without laming the horse, it would be a miracle. He only hoped that his squad, well soon to be ex-squad, would reach the town of Ilwe shortly to start the evacuation. They had received the command from higher up in the army that morning that they would retreat and leave Ilwe to the enemy. That alone was shocking enough without the order to leave without evacuating or warning the people.
It wasn’t some tiny village either, there were hundreds if not thousands of people living there, but it was so far from the capital that apparently, no one from further inland cared what happened to the people there. Kari would be damned if he leaves the people there with no warning of the impending doom. The horse skidded suddenly and he gritted his teeth, holding on desperately. Aster managed to stay on her feet, not losing too much speed, and they continued on their way.
“Nearly there, Aster, please just as fast as you can,” Kari muttered to the dappled grey horse.
He felt bad for pushing Aster so hard. She had been a good horse during the time he had been on the campaign and didn’t deserve this treatment. But if they didn’t get to the battlefield soon, many people would face the violence of an invading army with no warning.
Kari had joined the army illegally, his squad hiding him from the higher-ups in exchange for his daiyan powers. Daiyans wielded an element of nature almost like magic, each with various abilities, and were only born to the Aithyean people. Even then, they were rare and there remained a lot of fear and superstitions surrounding people wielding the Daiya. They were marked at birth with colorful tattoos somewhere on their bodies that would grow and change with them. Being so rare and powerful meant that the kingdom jealously guarded their Daiyans, requiring them to be registered and their movements restricted.
It was even worse for him- being an omega and a Daiyan meant that if the kingdom got hold of him, he might as well be chained to the capital. Kari was lucky, living in such a distant village meant that the will of the kingdom held little sway and he could hide the sparkling silver tattoo on his left wrist.
Once the war broke out, he illegally joined the army to help out where he could against the invading Niamreans. He had become a great boon to the Aithyean side. But once those orders were handed down to retreat and leave the villagers to death or worse, he was done. Not being part of the army meant he wasn’t defecting. He could view orders as a suggestion instead. A suggestion that he ignored. To hell with the army. He would stand alone against the world to buy those innocent people as much time as he could.
Through the trees to his left, he saw snippets of the field he was trying to reach before the invaders passed through. This would be where he will make his stand. His squad had hopefully reached Ilwe by now and would be starting the evacuation. All that was left was for him to buy as much time as possible with his life. He had told them to return to their posts after they were done and to not come looking for him behind enemy lines.
The Aithyeans had no idea how many people were in this enemy battalion and Kari was going to commit suicide to buy the most amount of time he could. He planned to use his very life force to fuel his ice and it would unleash a power far greater than what he could normally manage.
That was his trade-off.
Throughout his mad dash to the battlefield, he had been determined to put that out of his head but now, it was time to say his goodbyes. He offered up a small apology to his parents, who had given him life and freedom and didn’t stop him from going to war even when they disapproved. Now they wouldn’t get to see their son again.
“Yhieris, please watch over them as you have watched over me.” He wasn’t sure if the goddess of Daiyans would watch over normal people but they had birthed him and he didn’t have enough faith to pray to anyone else. It felt like a shallow attempt to smooth over the pain they would feel once he never returned home- pain caused by him and his foolish actions.
His chest clenched tightly and he could see an image of his mother crying silently in the rain at the emptiness in her heart. Kari closed his eyes and tried to will away the picture before his own tears welled up. He loved his mother so dearly. She didn’t deserve that kind of pain. But then neither did the people he would hopefully protect.
Please understand, please.
Opening his eyes again, Kari discovered that he had reached the end of the forest and the start of the lush fields that would be his final resting place. He slowed Aster to a walk.
The sun shone through the overhead canopy of leaves, dappling the path in front of him with sparkling light and filling the space with a sense of sleepy peace. What he could see of the fields also gave a sense of tranquility. The long, lush grass was a deep emerald that swayed in the slight breeze, just beckoning for bare feet and speaking of lazy days.
It all seemed at odds with the impending bloodshed. But he couldn’t ask for a nicer place to die. Hopefully, the stark red of his death would quickly be soaked up by the earth to turn the field back to its beautiful emerald and leave memories of this day to be forgotten once his bones were swallowed up by nature.
Aster was heaving and out of breath and when Kari looked down, he felt a pang of guilt because she was foaming at the mouth. He had pushed her too hard for too long.
“It’s okay.” He gently patted the horse’s neck. “We’ll be resting soon.”
He reined Aster in at the tree line and surveyed the area ahead of him. He could see the Niamrean troops at the other side of the field near a large crystalline lake. There were so many. They must number in thousand, surely. It seemed as though they were getting ready to move.
He had made it in time.
Karilet out a breath he hadn’t known that he had been holding. Nerves and apprehension made themselves known, and he kicked Asterforward before they had time to paralyze him.He made his choice hours ago, and now it was time to face the music.The horse bounded forward and Karicould hear the blood pounding in his ears along with the muted drumming of Aster’s hooves on the grassy carpet underneath them. He pulled on the reins, slowing to a halt in the middle of the field and watching the flurry of activity as the enemy soldiers tried to figure out what he was doing and what was going on. It was rare for a lone person to approach such an army, especially one clearly from the Aithyeanfront lines.He waited.He had time after all. All the time in the world, really.The more confused they were, the longer they took, the more time he brought for Ilwe.
Karididn’t know how long had passed since he had started this fight, it could be minutes or hours.The chilling fog of rage still burned within him, blocking out the screams and cries and the sight of sickening crimson. He kept lashing out again and again, large geysers of ice in the distance and ice shooting from his hands at close range.He was blind and deaf to the death around him. But the soldiers kept coming and he was flagging. How long?How long had he been here?How much time had he brought?Not enough. Not yet. More.I need more. The little pool of power in his mind’s eye was nearly empty and he watched as it visibly drained. He pulled, mentally willing all the moisture, all the power from the slick rocks at the bottom. All the moisture from the blades of grass at the edge of the pond
The light was more distinct now, and he could make out colors.Whites, yellows, oranges, stark against the darkness. They flickered and danced across his vision in familiar patterns but Karicould not understand them. Noise trickled down, again familiar in its patterns but he could no more comprehend the meaning of the sound than he could the lights. He could feel his body, though. It was impossibly heavy and aching. He watched the dancing light for a while before the darkness took him in its embrace once again.He was being moved. Limbs changed position and Karitried to crack his eyes open but it felt like they were sealed shut. His mouth was forced open and something warm trickled down his throat. He coughed and choked reflexively but it kept coming. Soon enough he was used to the sensation and eagerly welcomed it. It felt warm in the empty hollow of his stomach and soothed his parched throat.
His horror must have shown on his face because the man laughed.“No need to look so terrified, little omega. We will take great care of you until you are handed over to your new master. I’m not about to damage the merchandise. It lowers prices and casts a disreputable image on my business. I warn you not to try and escape, however. Foreigners always cause the most trouble with that. There are several guards at every exit and if they catch a runaway, they get to have a little fun before they are returned.”The man strode forward and grasped Kariby the chin. His fingers dug harshly into his cheeks and the man’s lips twisted up into a cruel smirk.“Don’t think you’re safe just because you’re an omega either. They might not be able to have their fun with your little hole but I’m sure they would happily make use of this pretty little mouth.”
Karihad clearly underestimated how weak his near-death experience had left him. An escape attempt while they travelled was laughable. He could barely stay awake for more than half an hour after eating before he was sleeping again until being woken up for more food. Enidhad praised his increasingly healthy appearance and even his Master had seemed pleased although he had a greedy glint in his eye when he observed Kari.He had quickly learned that Enidwas Oran’s only personal slave.All the others he owned helped to run his slave trade business. He specializedin pleasure slaves and Kariwas exceedingly glad he had avoided having any personal lessons. But the way the man watched him with unveiled greed and lust made Kari’s blood run cold.His brief waking moments had been plagued by thoughts of what this Lezzkerperson would be like. Enidrevealing that he was the NiamreanPri
The darkness outside meant that Karicould see nothing of their surroundings as they made their way to the keep where this Lezzkerresided.All he could do was keep his head down and feel the sways and bumps of the carriage. Earlier,he had been dragged into the bath by Enidand scrubbed within an inch of his life before being doused in scented oils. He had then been dressed in nothing but a large black cloak and he felt incredibly exposed even thoughhe was fully covered.It felt like his nakedness under the heavy fabric was somehow visible and it made him uncomfortable. Enidhad reminded him gently that he was a pleasure slave now-his body no longer belonged to himself and he would be inspected before being accepted by his new master. The man had probably meant it to be a comforting thought somehow but the very idea that his body was no longer his own was disquieting.A
Karistood and stared in shock. What kind of choice was that? Death or an entire lifetime of servitude. He would take his own life before he allowed himself to be sold to a brothel but the other choice removed his freedom-the one thing he truly valued, and tied his very soul to this unknown man.Both choices were incomprehensible to Kari.“W-what? You can’t be serious!”The alpha merely raised an eyebrow and swirled the glass of liquid in his hand. “You should be more thankful, omega. It is rare for a slave to receive a choice. I could just as easily take that choice from you and claim you as mine whether you like it or not.”“Why don’t you?” Karistood with his arms still wrapped around his frame but stared up at the large man with all the defiance he could muster.Anything to focus his attention away
The sheer magnetic force of the alpha when he stood so close was insane. His heart raced in his chest and his thoughts had scattered completely. No wonder alphas were so dangerous to omegas. He flushed in shame when he noticed the man’s eyes flick down and Karirealizedthat he was still naked. He could feel the slick just starting to drip out from between his cheeks and his little cock attempted to stand straight.What kind of reaction is that? The atmosphere around the man screamed danger, yet he was getting turned on by it? He was mortified by his body’s reaction.“How cute. What is your name, little omega?”“KariGeneina.”“Kari…” The way the man spoke his name was dark and seductive, it sounded as though he was tasting it on his tongue. “You may keep Karithen.”“Keep?!