Crave To Conquer (Myth of Omega, #1)(56)
Torin strengthened the security around the Palace and increased Drocco’s guard, but Drocco didn’t care about any of that. With the mood he was in, he would gladly cut down anyone who dared to even look at him too closely.
As three weeks drew to a close, Drocco spent a lot of time at the Records Keep looking through the Omega research on the top floor. The details that the keeper had put together for him was thorough and wide-ranging, from Omega accomplishments across the Lands to typical pregnancy behaviors. It was fascinating and he found himself reading more deeply.
At the start of the fifth week, Torin arrived at the keep unannounced.
“I am sorry to disturb you, Drocco,” he said, eying the many files and parchment sheets laying around the table, chairs, and floor. “But I have some witnesses for you that cannot wait.”
Drocco rose from his chair. “Bring them in.”
Torin nodded at the door, and three men of different ages stumbled into the room, their ankles restricted by shackles and their wrists bound together. They wore simple, faded clothes and their skins looked weathered. An odd smell wafted from them and they looked absolutely terrified.
“You are sea traders?” Drocco guessed.
They nodded, their eyes wide.
“Tell him what you told me,” Torin ordered.
The youngest of the three swallowed and took a breath. “We work on the sea border, your Imperial Majesty, and there’s always… people bein’ traded on them big ships that go to the Western Lands.”
Drocco’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, and?”
“I’m sure I saw…” He glanced at the other men, who nodded at him. “We saw a woman of the description you’re looking for being carried onto one of them ships.”
A fierceness gripped Drocco. “How long ago?”
“Going on five weeks, now,” said another, older man with a chunky square beard. “She was wearing the exact dress your Lox warriors have been askin’ about—black with the red collar, and red stitching on the sleeves. Her hair was wild an’ curly too.”
“The only reason why we noticed her,” added the third and graying man, “was because she seemed unconscious. Since you came into power, your Imperial Majesty, they stopped druggin’ people. Most of the slaves are chained and led onto them ships, but she was being carried. We noticed it and commented that maybe things were goin’ back to how they used to be, and then continued on with our work.”
Drocco exhaled a breath, a raw anger clawing through his mind, through his every muscle. If she had to be drugged and carried onto the ship, she was not going willingly. “What ship was it?”
“We think it was one of the big slaver ships from Eiros,” chunky beard replied. “It was blue…” He turned to the other men who nodded in confirmation. “…and the big blue ships are usually from there.”
Torin began speaking and the shackles clanged, but Drocco couldn’t pay attention to what was going on, only one thought dominated his mind; Malloron had taken Cailyn. He had dared to use the Talent to steal Drocco’s Omega. Maybe he did know she used the Talent—maybe he didn’t. Either way, if he could organize her capture so quickly after her escape, he had planned it. It explained everything; why he had been so amenable, why he had taken the deal, why he hadn’t cared about his traders being imprisoned. He had an Omega… Drocco’s Omega. That bastard thought he could challenge Drocco in this way and nothing would come of it? Drocco had no idea the man could be so fucking stupid.
“Do you want to kill all of his people that we hold?” Torin asked, quietly.
Drocco blinked, reemerging from his dark thoughts. “No,” he said. Turning on his heels, he left the Records Keep and headed back to the Palace.
***
“Lox!” Drocco’s address boomed out across the Great Hall. His army of Alpha quietened and looked up at him expectantly. After spending so long searching for this particular female, they were clearly eager to know what was going on. “Our enemy across the White Ocean, King Malloron, has done the unthinkable,” Drocco spat, his anger bubbling in him. “He has dared to use the Talent to steal my Omega, your future Empress.”
A vicious blast of exclamations burst into the hall.
“She presented herself to me, in her Haze, in front of Lox warriors and rulers of territories in the Empire—she is obviously mine,” Drocco bellowed over the din. “She is our best method of finding the rest of the Omegas, but she is also the mother of future heirs to the Empire you secured. And Malloron had her drugged and forced onto a ship heading for Eiros.”
The warriors before him snarled and bellowed and gnashed, becoming louder as their anger built, shifting on their feet with outrage. The discord made the entire hall buzz with a harshness that matched Drocco’s mood.
“I do not know what King Malloron seeks to do with her,” he shouted, a dark tone in his voice, “but I am declaring war on Eiros.”
The hall erupted. Roars and yells came at Drocco from all angles. He held his palm up until the noise quietened somewhat.
“Obviously the Empire is still under reconstruction, and it would be unwise for it to be left unattended, so some of you will be remaining here to guard what I leave behind.” He lowered his voice. “And I expect my Empire to still stand when I return.”