Omega’s Gamble by Claire Cullen

Chapter Thirty-Six

The days drifted by uncounted,the armada forever circling. The shield had been running almost constantly, lowered only for seconds at a time to let a few stranded survivors through.

Raine finally ventured overground on the third day, assured by Thorne that he’d be called back if there was any change in the machine. He passed so many faces on his walk through the castle, all of them a blur until he found Etta.

She hugged him tightly. “There you are. I’ve been caring for Ferno. I brought him to my rooms. He’s fine, though a little put out that you’ve been gone so long.”

“I had to…”

“I know.” She smiled at him fondly, brushing a strand of hair from his forehead. “We all know. You’re all anyone can talk about. The savior of the kingdom. Celestial spirit brought to life.” She took his hands. “A blessing on this family.”

After a lifetime of rejection by his blood kin, it was almost too much. “Etta…”

“Darien’s strong, he’s a survivor. Besides, he has you to live for.”

But Etta’s sentiment wasn’t shared among everyone. Across the castle, he encountered people mourning the loss of the prince. When he couldn’t take it anymore, he fled the castle to stand on the shore, a guard trailing him at a distance. The shield cast a silvery-blue glow on the sky above. Out to sea, he could see a ship patrolling outside the barrier. The bulk of the armada had anchored further away, but they’d left a dozen ships that circled constantly, vultures waiting to pick them clean the second the shield came down. Raine would make sure it didn’t.

He stood there for a long time, staring out. Once again, he pressed a hand to his amulet. Darien was out there somewhere, and he would know that Raine was thinking of him, waiting for him to come home.

Time marched on as he stood there, watching the endless ocean.

Rex’s voice spoke from behind him sometime later. “You’ll freeze out here. Come inside.”

“I can’t. I’m waiting for him.”

The alpha moved to stand by his side. “It’s been three days, Raine. Darien was on an enemy ship when the one next to it exploded. Thorne saw it happen. Both ships went down, and he never surfaced.”

Raine refused to believe it.

His hand encircled his amulet. “I can still feel him, Rex. If he was gone, there’d be no magic in this charm. But there is because he’s alive.”

“I want him to be okay too, Raine. Believe me. I just don’t see how…”

Raine didn’t either. Even if Darien had survived the destruction of the ships, it had been three days. Three days on the open water. Maybe he’d been captured, or maybe he’d washed up on some other shore. Raine wasn’t ready to give up hope. He might never be.

“Raine?”

“Just a little longer, please.”

Rex subsided, standing silently by his side as they watched the sea.

* * *

Darien woke coughing,bringing up what felt like a lungful of water. He surged upright, the world a confusing mirage of sea and sky. His vision swam, and he slipped backward, his head banging painfully against the hard surface he was lying on. What…?

It took a moment for his memory to catch up. The battle, the boat, the shield. Raine.

He tried to sit up again, but pain laced down his body, forcing him to lie still until it settled. Carefully, he took a look around him, trying to work out just how bad a situation he was in. He lay on a piece of broken wood floating on the ocean. It was daylight, endless blue sky above him. But he was cold and shivering, a cool sweat covering his body. His clothes were damp with seawater and blood. A quick survey found a few deep cuts and something more concerning—a piece of wood had pierced his thigh, sticking out from the flesh. There was some evidence of healing, but not enough. How long had he been out here? And where, exactly, was here?

With care, he sat up and glanced around, trying to spot something familiar. There were no boats in sight and no land. How far from home had he drifted?

The amulet was still on his neck, and he felt it pulse against his chest. He pressed his hand to it, hoping to send a message in return, but it felt wrong. Damaged, maybe? He could feel a crack running through the silver inlay.

His last memories came back to him in broken pieces. He’d boarded an armada ship in his bear form, intending to sink it with brute force, tearing into its hull with teeth and claws. Thorne had launched one of Raine’s weapons at the ship next to it. It had broken right through the hull and there was a series of bangs. The last thing Darien remembered was flying through the air. His best guess was that the other ship had contained some sort of explosives, and Thorne’s weapon had triggered them. That explained how, but it didn’t do much to help his current situation.

He eyed his thigh again, wondering if he should pull out the wood or if that would make things worse. If he’d been out there as long as he suspected, he was running out of time. Lying there waiting for rescue was a bad plan. He needed a better one. Daylight was already fading, so he turned his eyes to the sky as the stars appeared. He could tell he wasn’t far from home, but he couldn’t be sure of the direction. The amulet pulsed again, and he laid his hand on it, surprised when it jumped beneath his touch. What was that?

He tugged it off his neck, held the leather string in his fist, and stared at it. The charm swung back and forth for a moment and then listed in one direction. Huh.

Experimentally he twisted his wrist, spinning the amulet in a circle. Once again, it didn’t settle like it should, pulling in that same direction. Darien put it back around his neck and still it tugged at him, pointing toward the east. Pointing toward Raine? Toward home? It was the best chance he had, so he was going to take it.

He left the wood in his leg alone, pushing himself upright. If he was right, the charm would guide him home. His injuries could be tended to then. He had a better chance of dying from blood loss than infection right at that moment. Especially in his shifter form. And that was the only way he was going to get home.

The effort it took to shift, and the pain that followed, pulled a bellow from him. But then he was in the water, big, strong, and determined. He could still feel the pull of the amulet, tugging him onward. It was time to go.

His trek through the water was long and grueling. Daylight was just sneaking up on him again when he spotted the armada ships. He took a detour around them, distracted by the shimmering blue of the sky above his kingdom. That had to be the shield. It still stood, even days later, keeping them safe. He couldn’t have been prouder of Raine.

Despite his fears of being trapped outside, he crossed the shield boundary without difficulty. The last mile to shore was the hardest, his body close to giving up. He felt sand under his paws but was unable to drag himself onto the shore as his strength gave out. He shifted back to human form, coughing and spluttering as a wave crashed over him, pushing him closer to the strand.

He heard shouts and saw movement out of the corner of his eye. And then Raine was by his side, crying and laughing, wrapping his arms around him.

“You’re alive. I knew you were alive.”

Darien was too out of breath to speak, holding onto the omega for dear life. If he hadn’t felt so wretched, he might have believed he was dreaming.

Thorne appeared beside Raine and helped carry him to shore. “It’s good to see you, Darien. We were beginning to think the worst.”

“So was I,” he admitted. “I’ve never been so happy to see this cold lump of rock. It’s all thanks to Raine. And this damned amulet.”

“I called you home,” Raine murmured as they both collapsed onto the sand. “And it brought you back to me.”

Darien’s energy faded away, his vision going dark. The last thing he saw was Raine’s tearstained, smiling face. He was safe. He was home.