Kari let out a breath he hadn’t known that he had been holding. Nerves and apprehension made themselves known, and he kicked Aster forward 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 Kari could 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 Aithyean front 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. Eventually a large group of mounted soldiers cautiously made their way forward and Kari swung out of his saddle, gently rubbing Aster’s sweaty neck in goodbye.
“I’m sorry, Aster. You were a good horse. Thank you for carrying me so far,” he whispered before striding out in front of her.
The soldiers were rapidly getting closer and Kari took a deep breath, closing his eyes and focusing. The image of his Daiyan power appeared before his eyes, a tranquil pool of water similar to the rivers that used to flow through the forests near his home. Rocks lined the edge and bottom of the pool, along with soft earth and grassy banks. The surface of the liquid was covered in a thin layer of ice patterned with jagged factures.
Overall, it was beautiful and deceivingly idyllic.
He mentally drew from that pool of liquid and felt the ice crawl through his veins with a thrilling chill. The air around him dropped in temperature and the blades of grass around his feet frosted over. He pushed out and felt the frost racing out in front of him towards his opponents.
Kari opened his eyes while continuing to draw from his reserve of ice. He could faintly make out his tattoo glowing silver under his long sleeves at the edge of his vision. It pulsed brighter and brighter the more power he drew and held onto.
His whole body thrummed with the icy chill his element brought to him. He let the breath he was holding out and lashed his hand out in front of his body. Large spikes of ice erupted from the frost underneath the soldier’s feet and tore through the unprotected underbellies of their mounts.
Kari flinched at the horses’ screams as they writhed in agony.
I‘m sorry. I am so, so sorry but I can’t have your masters get any further.
Death always twisted his gut with unpleasant feelings and the poor horses were innocent beings. He was usually used to help patrols retreat when they came upon enemy forces or for defense from arrows by erecting ice walls.
This would be his first time killing.
He was offering himself up in sacrifice for this deed in protecting his people, so he would just have to shut the blood and pain and fear out. Hopefully he wouldn’t live long enough to question if the ends justified the means.
Several men didn’t get up after that initial burst, either trapped under their mounts, crushed by panicked hooves, or caught by the sheer force of the ice slicing through weak points in their armor. The sounds of the horses and the yelling and cursing from the men were shrill and grating in his ears. His fingers twitched with the need to cover them and block it all out.
Instead he pushed out with his ice again and like geysers, they spewed forth from the ground with devastating force. The way the shards glittered in the sunlight would be beautiful if he could ignore the implication of the red blood oozing down the ice. Morbidly beautiful perhaps.
If only he could block out the screams. There were far more human voices in the cacophony now; screaming, sobbing, begging. The sounds were like physical pressure in his ears, ripping their way into his skull.
He caused this. His ice, what felt like the very essence of his soul had caused such pain and loss of life and this was only the beginning.
Kari’s stomach heaved, threatening to spill its contents onto the ground but he couldn’t stop. Not now. It was too late to do anything but see it through to the end.
Pushing himself away from his horse, Kari staggered forward as more soldiers approached the stricken group in a rush. Blearily, he made out archers in the distance, bows drawn and getting ready to fire. He mentally spread the frost across the grass in a larger arc in front of himself in preparation in needing a fast shield. For some reason, pushing ice out from the frosted-over ground had always been easier to him than the flashier way of shooting ice directly from his hands.
Right now, he needed to conserve as much power and energy as possible for as long as possible so he could buy the most time with his life. He wasn’t going to be selling his life cheaply, that was for sure.
The arrows were finally let loose and a sweeping gesture of his arm brought forth a wall of ice to cover himself.
An ear-splitting scream sounded from behind him and Kari stumbled. Aster. He couldn’t bring himself to turn around and see the arrows that had sailed over his wall to hit his innocent steed. He couldn’t bring himself to put the creature out of its misery either and perhaps that was the cruelest thing of all.
Anger welled up- at himself for his choice and at those who were invading his country, his home, those who had forced his hand- forced this series of heartbreaking choices. Kari grabbed onto that anger. It was a cold rage, so cold it burned and he let the feeling infuse his being until he could no longer see, no longer think but the anger.
And then he unleashed it.
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?!
Pleasure slave. He knew that’s what he had been sold as, well, given away, so sharing the bed made sense except for the fact that the man had said he wasn’t going to touch him unless he chose him willingly. So until then, shouldn’t he be more wary of him? Ryedirknew he was a Daiyan, so why was he not more suspicious of him? He had no idea what he was capable of. For all he knew, Karicould shank him in his sleep. Karireached out for his power and felt a pang of disappointment when he still felt nothing. He glanced at his tattoo and observed the silvery white hexagonal prism with six thin arms that form a star-like shape. He took a deep bracing breath in and slowly let it out. It was there, he reminded himself, he still had the marking of a Daiyan. He needed time to heal, that was all. He set the towel down on the floor and padded out of the room. Ryedirsa