Kiss the Stranger

I tensed all over at once. I swallowed, then gasped and closed my eyes. A white void filled my mind as the fear and pain crashed over me. I lay face down, panting; Asgail said nothing. Only after my breathing slowed did I regain some awareness. Tears still blurred my vision, so I remained prone.
Hah, hah…

Through my ragged breaths came a steady patter. Rain. The same cold gaze trained on me felt no different than before. Memories of the whip’s sting and the wind’s howl made me shiver. My breath quickened again, and my mind went blank—yet the rain continued, faint but persistent.
I must have been delirious from the pain. I risked a glance at Asgail and, voice shaking, forced out, “Are you… all right?”
He frowned. I bit back a scream as a tearing agony shot through me, then managed, between shallow breaths, “Don’t… be… afraid. I’ll… help.”

My voice died on the next exhale. I lifted a hand but couldn’t reach him. I let it drop, and at last Asgail spoke.
“Why would you think that? Afraid of me?”
He narrowed his eyes and glared. The pain throbbed, and more tears came. I parted my lips. His gaze pinned me as I whispered, “Your… hand is shaking.”

His cheek twitched. He was silent longer than ever. Kamar. I tasted the name on my tongue. Blurred by tears, I nearly blacked out again—then caught his low murmur.
“No one knew that. The only one who did, I killed with my own hands.”
His voice was eerily calm. My eyelids fluttered shut. As I drifted, a richer sweetness filled the air. I inhaled deeply without thinking, then exhaled slowly, feeling the pheromones seep deep into me, and heard him, as if to himself,
“What will you do….”

A soft patter broke the heavy silence. Rain still fell. I lifted my lids and saw a familiar face floating before me—and closed my eyes again. When I reopened with focus, I realized it wasn’t real: only Crown Prince Asgail’s portrait stared down. I lay still, staring. Pain and fear stiffened me when the door creaked, and a cold draft brushed my back—making me flinch. I tried to pull away but couldn’t, and a sob escaped me.
“Ah, ah… ah!”
My cry sounded animalistic. No, to Asgail, I was less than a beast. Such a wretched truth.

“Now, stop… don’t cry. You’ll only hurt yourself more.”
A gentle voice chastised me. She was right: tears made the pain worse. I stifled my sobs and gritted my teeth. She must have injected something; soon my mind blurred and the pain dulled. My sobs subsided, and she spoke again calmly.
“I’ll keep giving you medicine until your wounds heal. There’s nothing else to do; your back is too torn to stitch. You’ll have scars—everyone whipped does.”

“Lady Maysa, I’ve never seen such damage. He must be guilty of high treason.”
“Shh, quiet.”
Maysa hushed the other woman. I drifted into a light sleep while their voices receded.

“He’ll die soon anyway. Show him mercy….”
It sounded as if my fate was sealed. Even fading away, the pain clung to me.
I slipped in and out of consciousness many times. They administered unfamiliar injections, cleaned my wounds, and tended to me. For a moment, I forgot the pain.

In dreams, Kamar always held me. We picked fruit at the oasis, kissed under the sun. Sometimes he argued with Rikal; I separated them, and he told me he loved me. Each awakening left tears on my cheeks.
Days passed—or what felt like days.
I woke abruptly when someone shook my shoulder roughly. Gasping at fresh pain, I opened my eyes to a familiar face: Haham, the royal physician’s father-in-law. He frowned, let go, and ordered,

“Rise. His Highness is calling.”
A flood of memories I’d tried to forget crashed through me. I froze under his glare. He barked,
“An omega, eh? If I’d known sooner, I’d have used your flesh for remedies. Take it as a boon now. What are you waiting # Nоvеlight # for? Move!”

But I couldn’t. Haham cursed and shouted,
“You worthless omega, can’t you hear? Get up now!”
“I… won’t.”
I blurted it, and he froze, eyes wide. He hadn’t expected disobedience, but he didn’t care. I shook my head again.

“I… I won’t go. Please, I… no more.”
I refused to see Kamar embraced by anyone else.
Tears blurred my vision, and suddenly a burning slap landed on my cheek—so loud it rattled my skull. Pain stole my cry; I could only gasp. Haham roared,

“Insolent wretch! You dare defy me?”
“Stop it, Haham. His wounds haven’t healed—ah, see? He’s bleeding again.”
Maysa intervened, pushing him away. He reached to strike me again, but a nurse blocked him.

“He’s required in His Highness’s chamber. Do you plan to kill him with blood loss before he arrives?”
Haham sneered, spat curses, then backed off. Maysa and the nurse examined my back, applied salve, and disinfected. Usually they treated me just before I lost consciousness, but this time I stayed awake. The antiseptic stung, and I screamed.
“Ah, ah… ah!”

“Almost done. Yes, it hurts. There’s no avoiding it.”
Maysa worked mechanically, covering the wounds with gauze and binding them. I slumped, utterly spent.
But there was no rest. Haham ordered,

“Take that thing to His Highness’s bedchamber at once. Finish before the council ends.”
Maysa looked down at me, then back to him.
“Why summon him, Your Highness?”

Haham snapped,
“What else for but to breed? It’s the rainy season.”
Maysa muttered,

“At this rate, he’ll die within a day….”
Haham mocked,
“So? Omegas exist for that—born to sire. What use are they otherwise? He’s deceived everyone so far; he should be grateful he’s alive.”

Maysa said nothing.
I begged and pleaded, though I knew it was useless. No one replied. They dragged me into Asgail’s chamber. I remembered the time he collapsed from poison and held my breath—but the bed was empty. Maysa inspected my wounds once more and said,
“I gave you a coagulant and painkillers. Don’t worry.”

She meant to reassure me, but I couldn’t smile. Fear of him grew. I dared not look at the bed. I crouched against the wall, panting, pain burning. I thought of Rikal.
I lost all sense of time. When I recalled my motionless cat, a shiver ran down me. Between the rain’s patter, the door clicked open. I raised my head, rigid, as Asgail entered and the door closed behind him.