Omega’s Gamble by Claire Cullen

Chapter Eleven

Another tense meeting todiscuss tactics to beat back the pirates and Darien was in dire need of a break to clear his head. The elusive pirates continued their new pattern of landing anywhere except in the vicinity of the castle, and the guards were run ragged. It was only a matter of time before some of them broke through.

And then there was the new problem of the boats. The spelled boats. Where the hell were pirates getting boats like that? Protected with runic magic, the kind that made them extremely hard to sink.

He got up to follow his brothers out, relieved to have some space to breathe, but he hadn’t even gotten as far as the door when he heard his name.

“Darien?”

He traipsed back into the room, where his father was speaking softly with Lord Alton.

“Father?”

“Lord Alton and I have some… concerns… about Raine.”

Darien had seen little enough of the omega since the cliff incident, too busy with the pirates to spend much time around the castle or in the main hall. What trouble had the omega prince gotten into now?

“What sort of concerns?”

Lord Alton spoke, tentative and all but wringing his hands.

“The servants report that he seems subdued. Perhaps homesick. He’s been leaving meals untouched. The guards say he’s barely left his rooms, let alone the castle, all week.”

“Thank you, Lord Alton,” the king said, dismissing the man.

Lord Alton bowed formally and withdrew, leaving Darien alone with his father.

“He thinks you’re neglecting your duty to your new husband.”

Darien forced himself to keep his arms by his sides and not cross them, the words cutting deep.

“I married him, Father. Just like I was told. What more do you want?”

“He’s your husband, Darien. We have to be seen to be taking care of him. It’s winter, and things are only going to get darker and gloomier as the nights grow long and the days ever shorter. If he sickens and dies pining for home, how will that look to the royal alliance?”

“He’s not going to…” Darien started, only to stop when he recalled the fate of his father’s youngest brother, married off years ago in an attempt at an alliance with another island kingdom.

“You don’t have to love him,” his father said heavily. “But you do have to take an interest in his welfare. Talk to him, see if anything can be done to brighten his spirits. It’s hard for someone so young to be away from home, from everything they’ve known. Have a little compassion, Darien, please. For my sake.”

“All of this is for your sake,” Darien pointed out grudgingly.

“No. It is your duty, for the sake of the kingdom. He’s not unpleasant, is he? Quite pleasing to the eye, lovely manners. Brave, too, to even set foot off the airship.”

Darien couldn’t deny any of that, but neither could he hide his suspicions. “Are we sure he’s actually a prince and not a spy planted by the alliance?” He wouldn’t put it past them.

“Oh, no. I’ve had the guards watching him, and he’s been vetted since the wedding. He is most definitely Prince Raine, the youngest son of the king of Ludinia. His marriage has caused quite a stir at their court or so I’m told. It seems it was completely unexpected.”

There was a glint of amusement in the king’s eye, and Darien couldn’t help but picture with some glee the dismayed reactions among Ludinia’s royalty when the news arrived.

“I’ll talk to him,” Darien offered finally, realizing he couldn’t shirk his duty now that the problem had been brought to his attention. If this was simply a bout of homesickness, then hopefully it wouldn’t take much to chase it off.

As much as he desired a break from duty, he immediately went to seek out the omega prince. Raine wasn’t in his rooms nor in the great hall for a late breakfast. Darien was trying to think of other places to look when he ran into Etta. She looked distracted, her mind elsewhere, but she stopped obligingly when she saw him.

“You look tired, Darien.”

“No sleep will do that to a person.”

“You need to take care of yourself. Or better yet, let your new husband take care of you.” There was a knowing look in her eye that suggested she, like most everyone else, hadn’t missed the lack of a relationship between him and the omega prince.

“Speaking of my husband, do you know where I might find him?”

“Have you tried the atrium?”

Darien hadn’t, so he headed that way, curious as to why the omega would be there, of all places. It tended to be cold in winter what with all the glass. But Etta’s hunch was correct, and he found Raine standing near the closed glass doors, looking longingly out at the sea. It seemed that Lord Alton wasn’t wrong about him being homesick.

“Prince Raine?”

The omega jumped, a guilty look crossing his face as he turned to stare at Darien.

“I wasn’t going outside,” Raine rushed to tell him.

“I’d hope not, in those clothes. You’d be frozen before you got two steps.” He tried to sound friendly but wasn’t sure he’d been all that successful when Raine simply returned to staring out, his hand tracing patterns across the cold window.

“Do you miss home?” Darien asked tentatively, aware he was approaching this with about as much finesse as an elephant.

“Sometimes,” Raine said distractedly.

Darien remembered their previous conversation.

“It must help to have your things with you.”

Raine’s shoulders tensed, and his hand fell to his side. Darien wasn’t sure what he’d said wrong.

“Have they not arrived yet?”

The silence was heavy between them, Raine’s head downturned, his shoulders up around his ears.

“They haven’t been sent.”

Darien stopped short at that. “Have your messages not reached home? It takes a little longer for them to reach their destination, given the distance, but they always get there eventually.”

He moved closer, trying to get a better look at Raine’s face.

Raine shook his head, his gaze still downcast. “That’s not it.”

He lifted his head then, naked longing in his eyes as he stared outside. Darien remembered his sharp words from the previous week, forbidding Raine from going outside without the proper winter clothes. Clothes that, apparently, weren’t coming. Which meant what should have been a gentle rebuke to stop his new husband from losing fingers and toes to frostbite had become imprisonment within the castle. Hell, no wonder the omega was miserable. Darien shouldn’t have been so harsh.

But surely the omega prince would have just asked for winter clothes? It wasn’t as if they couldn’t be supplied easily. Yet, they’d never discussed that, had they? Never talked about how Raine should go about getting the things he needed. When Darien had been in the omega’s rooms, they’d been sparsely furnished, just whatever had been there when he’d arrived and his own things among them. Darien was starting to see things from Lord Alton’s point of view. If this was what Raine was writing home about, Ludinia was going to take an even dimmer view of their marriage.

“You’d better come with me, then.”

He moved toward the door, and Raine turned to follow, hesitant. Darien tried to smile, knowing he probably looked tired, tense, and far from welcoming.

They trekked through the corridors, past the kitchens, and by the halls where the seamstresses and others did their work. When Darien had been younger, he’d loved watching them. There was something inspiring about seeing a pile of leather or material become a sturdy pair of boots or a cloak. He stopped in front of the storeroom, throwing open the door and switching on the light—or trying to, anyway. The lighting rune that had long illuminated the storeroom had failed a few months prior, and so he was left flailing about until his hand found the thin string for the newer light. He pulled, wincing at the overly bright glow until his eyes adjusted.

“This is where all the winter gear is stored. It’s probably not the style you’re used to, but it’ll do until you can have some made.”

He stepped inside, waiting for Raine to follow. The omega looked around wide-eyed at the rows of boots lined up, and the rails of heavy pelt coats, as well as knitted scarves and fur-lined gloves.

“They’re arranged in size from small to big,” he said, gesturing expansively. “Let’s start with boots. What size shoe?”

There was a pause before Raine spoke. “Five.”

Their shoes weren’t sized in the standard way, but Darien would make do.

“You’ll want to go a bit bigger with boots, of course. That way you can layer up on thick socks to protect your toes.”

This was probably all new to Raine. Ludinia had a far milder climate than Stormshield. They probably only got a few days of snow every year—nothing like their island’s weeks and months of persistent cold.

He checked a few boxes under the shelves of boots and pulled out some socks.

“Put those on. Two socks on each foot.”

He didn’t look to see if Raine was doing as he was told, too busy searching the boots. They weren’t exactly labeled, so he had to go by eye.

“Maybe these, or these.” He turned back with two pairs and found Raine sitting on a stool in the center of the room as he tugged on the second pair of socks over the first. Darien knelt in front of him and checked the size of the boot against the sole of his foot. The first was too big, but the second looked like they might fit. “Try these on.”

While Raine was wrestling the boots onto his feet, Darien searched out a hat, scarf, and thick, warm gloves.

He turned back to see Raine take a few tentative steps across the room before he started to move more confidently. He stumbled to a halt when he spotted Darien watching him. Darien just nodded to the omega and moved to crouch by his feet. “How do they feel? Is there enough room around the toes? They shouldn’t be cramped.”

He pressed in, satisfied by what he felt and Raine’s hesitant approval.

“They feel good. Comfortable.”

“Hmm. Try these, then, while I find you a coat or a cloak.”

If there was one thing Stormshield did well, it was winter clothes. He searched through the selection, discarding some that were too small and many that were too big. There were a few that looked like they’d fit close enough to keep Raine warm without swaddling him. Two were a drab gray color, but one was a soft white. Better for the omega to be visible if he was going to be wandering around their rocky coastline without an escort.

“This one, I think.”

He turned around, not missing the way the omega’s eyes widened as he caught sight of the cloak. He held it out so the omega could slip his hands into the sleeves.

“The inner layers fasten and then the outer,” Darien explained. “And then you have the hood.”

He helped Raine with the fastenings when he struggled, his fingers brushing against the omega’s chin. Raine startled a little at the touch. Curious, Darien eased his hand upward, cupping the omega’s cheek. Raine’s eyes widened briefly before he leaned into Darien’s palm with a soft sigh. Touch-starved. Wasn’t that the word?

Reluctantly, he pulled his hand away and gestured Raine over to the mirror. The omega took one look at himself and laughed.

“I look like I’m ready for an expedition.”

“Going outside during winter is an expedition. But at least you’ll return with all your fingers and toes intact.”

“I suppose that’s important,” Raine conceded.

Darien borrowed a coat and started kitting himself out, surprising Raine as the omega started to tug off his gloves.

“What…?”

“I thought I’d show you the gardens since you’re all dressed up. They’re a little safer to navigate, especially once the snow arrives. The gardeners keep the paths clear.”

Raine’s eyes lit up with an excitement that was almost painful to see. Was this all the omega had been lacking? Just a little bit of attention and the freedom to get out for a walk now and then? Darien hadn’t exactly vowed to be a good husband, but he could at least ensure Raine’s life here wasn’t miserable.

He offered Raine his arm and the omega took it eagerly. He led him back to the atrium, out the doors, and into the castle courtyard. Raine let go of Darien’s arm and took a few steps away from him before turning in a slow circle, his eyes taking in the sky above.

“I’m sorry, Raine,” Darien offered. “I never meant to bar you from coming outside. I should have explained where to get the winter clothing you needed if you didn’t have your own.”

Raine drew his cloak a little tighter around his body. “I’m used to being told where I can’t go, what I can’t do. It’s not your fault my family won’t…” He trailed off, avoiding Darien’s gaze.

“If there’s anything else you need, the servants will provide it. I’ll ask Lord Alton to arrange for a proper winter wardrobe for you. Anything you require that can’t be provided by the servants, talk to him and he’ll do his best to assist you.” Darien hesitated, feeling he needed to go a step further to make amends. “We do have a touchstone in the castle. It’s old and not so powerful, and its use is strictly regulated. You won’t be able to contact Ludinia—it’s too far for a direct connection, and we don’t have access to a relay—but we can contact closer kingdoms. Perhaps there’s someone, a friend or a relative, you’d like to talk to?”

He knew he’d made the right choice when Raine’s eyes lit up.

“Really?”

“Really. I’ll speak to my father. He has to give his permission. I don’t see any reason he wouldn’t, though he may want to know who you plan to talk to.”

Raine nodded eagerly. “I have a friend who’s betrothed to a Prince from the kingdom of Everstone.” A prominent kingdom but not part of the royal alliance. That made things easier from Darien’s perspective.

“Where is your friend from?”

“The kingdom of the Seven Sails.” Even better. They were an old ally of Stormshield though relations between them had been strained in recent years thanks to pressure from the alliance.

“There shouldn’t be any problem, in that case. Let me talk to my father, and I’ll have Lord Alton make the arrangements.”

“Thank you, Prince Darien. This means a lot.”

Raine looked so hopeful that Darien was determined to make it happen.

From the courtyard, they headed toward the entrance into the gardens, and Darien told Raine a little more about them.

“All the gardens are walled. There’s some set aside for the kitchens, and there are the orchards, of course, while some are purely recreational.” He suspected Raine would love to see the solstice garden. As far as Darien knew, there was nothing to rival it across the world.

“I’ve never seen an orchard,” Raine admitted. “Or a working garden.”

“Never?” Darien thought gardens were fairly standard for most castles and palaces to keep their people fed. Perhaps that wasn’t the case in Ludinia.

“There was never any reason for me to…” Raine trailed off, a small frown on his face. “I wasn’t exactly allowed to…”

Darien leaned closer to hear the soft words, only for a voice to shout his name somewhere nearby.

Cursing inwardly, he glanced over his shoulder to see Thorne gesturing urgently to him.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to leave you to it. Perhaps another time? Enjoy your walk, Raine.”

He turned and jogged toward his brother, quiet words following after him.

“Thank you, Prince Darien.”

He pushed down his guilt at abandoning the omega and the shame for having been the cause of his recent misery. The kingdom needed his attention, and one bored, homesick omega was not a priority.