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I gazed into his eyes, and for the first time I saw sadness there. Maybe regret.
“Soon we will be leaving this forest. Are you ready?” he whispered.
“For what?” I whispered back. I knew what he meant but wanted to pretend I didn’t. Ready for the blasted transaction, ready to leave him.
A hint of a smile touched his lips. He stood so close. There were so many things I wanted to say. So many things I wanted him to say. Things from the heart.
“Demos,” I whispered, gathering courage. “If I weren’t promised to another, would you want me?”
He stared into my eyes, his expression more intense than I’d ever seen it, as if he were fighting a battle inside his mind. I held my breath and waited.
“Sierra. There’s a part of me that believes it will always want you. But our fates call for different things. Don’t set anchor here, my lady.” He touched my cheek with his large, warm palm. His lips raised just a little. “Melos. I will miss you.”
I ignored the words I understood, because they made me want to cry. Instead, I homed in on that foreign word, a name he had said several times in the past and seemed so familiar. “What does Melos mean?”
His lips still smiled that precious little bit, but the light in his eyes seemed to dim. He was pulling away from me. Disappearing into that place I’d never be able to follow.
“Come, you are ready. Up you go.” He patted the saddle, and I mounted.
“Demos, tell me what it means.”
He climbed up behind me, grabbed the reins, and spurred the white horse into a gallop. The scenery changed as we left the forest’s walls of trees. Argenis picked up speed on the now wide-open fields passing us by like the fast current of Merryway River in Providence. The cool air whipped at my face, and I knew that, even if he answered me, his words would be lost in the wind.
It was sometime around noon when I spotted them. Two men, both Ongahri, and two large nut-brown mounts stood under a copse of trees, their bodies facing our direction.
Demos slowed Argenis to a trot, and as we got closer, I could make out Fadon’s features, standing tall and powerful. His arms were crossed, his legs splayed, booted feet anchored to the ground under him.
“It’s the name of Ongar’s consort,” Demos whispered in my ear, taking me by surprise. “The human woman he took to Titus, his home. The first Omega.”
Melos. From the book of poems. Of course!
My stomach flipped, my arms broke out in goosebumps, my heart wanting to mend itself together. I almost turned around to look into his eyes. But we were close enough now for me to see Fadon, whose stare was unbreakable. His jaw was tense, his brow narrow, his dark gaze blistering. Whatever he saw on my face obviously didn’t please him.
A horrible thought occurred to me. Gods, did he know I gave myself to Demos? He knows I’m Omega, I thought. He knows Demos had to take me away from him and his men. Why did I not ask Auria about this when I had the chance? I had been unfaithful. To the man’s brother!
I felt sick. My head swam, my hands and feet numb. Soon, Demos would leave me. I’d be on my own with strangers, living so far apart from everything familiar, branded as a harlot. I wasn’t ready for any of that.
Demos dismounted. When Fadon stood by the saddle with his hand raised to assist me down, I frowned. Fadon was smiling, his black eyes shining with happiness at seeing me. He wasn’t mad?
“Princess Sierra. It is good to see you alive and well.” Fadon gripped my hand as I dismounted.
A swell of dizziness assaulted me, his scent redolent in the air between us. He released me and stepped back. To my utter shock, he got on one knee and knelt on the ground. Beside him, the other Ongahri did the same.
“Omega, we are honored,” they both intoned with feeling. In unison, they tilted their heads back and to the side, exposing their necks.
What were they doing?
Swirling black spots danced across my vision.
There was only one response my body thought to do. I fainted.
Chapter 27
Fadon
Fadon got to his feet in seconds. Before he could get to the omega’s side, Demos had beaten him to it.
A deep growl rumbled in Fadon’s chest as he watched the Servant lightly tap the girl’s cheeks.
