Chapter 4 The New Omega Slave

The light was more distinct now, and he could make out colors.

Whites, yellows, oranges, stark against the darkness. They flickered and danced across his vision in familiar patterns but Kari could not understand them. Noise trickled down, again familiar in its patterns but he could no more comprehend the meaning of the sound than he could the lights. He could feel his body, though. It was impossibly heavy and aching. He watched the dancing light for a while before the darkness took him in its embrace once again.

He was being moved. Limbs changed position and Kari tried to crack his eyes open but it felt like they were sealed shut. His mouth was forced open and something warm trickled down his throat. He coughed and choked reflexively but it kept coming. Soon enough he was used to the sensation and eagerly welcomed it. It felt warm in the empty hollow of his stomach and soothed his parched throat.

Each time he was moved, Kari was more and more aware of his surroundings. He still could not see for some reason but was soon able to eat on his own. Whoever sat him up and helped to feed him never said a word but their movements were soft, almost gentle, and Kari welcomed their presence. He had tried to speak with them before but his throat was raw and pain clawed at him. He had coughed and choked for long minutes after the pitiful attempt and he did not try again.

Finally, he could move his hands and brought them up to feel a cloth wrapped around his head covering his eyes and taking away his sight. He carefully maneuvered himself into a sitting position and leaned against the wall he knew to be behind his back. Kari’s head pounded at the action but he was moving.

It hurt. Everything hurt. His entire body stung as though a thousand needles were burying themselves in his skin.

But he was alive. That was far more than he had expected.

Panic rose in his chest as he tried to visualize his pool of power and nothing came to his vision. He struggled to fight down the feeling.

Daiyans had been recorded as having lost their power after such events in the past. He should be thankful for what he had. That he was alive and now well enough to think, even if it was still a little fuzzy.

He had clearly been pulled back from the brink of death, so who knows? Maybe his power would return to him later. If he could just look at his tattoo, he would know.

Daiyan’s tattoos altered as their powers changed. The tattoos of those who had lost the ability to use their power changed to scars instead of the vibrant colors. A painful reminder etched into their skin of what they had lost.

Kari wasn’t about to try and remove the bandage around his head, however. He could move but his fingers were clumsy and would fumble and who knew what kind of damage the cloth was protecting.

The by-now-familiar sound of a door scraping open greeted his ears and Kari blindly turned his face in the direction. The footsteps paused and suddenly they were retreating.

He frowned, this was different from normal, maybe because he had sat up?

He wasn’t left to wonder long before two sets of footfalls could be heard approaching. He waited, tense, while they entered the room where he was and jumped when fingers gently touched his cheek. They moved up to the bandage to slowly unwind it, leaving his eyes free.

Kari carefully opened them and blinked rapidly to clear his swimming vision. He looked around, finally able to see, although his vision was still a little blurry.

They were in a tiny room, more of a cell really, with the bed that Kari sat on at the far end and nothing else, aside from a bucket in the corner.

A man crouched beside the bed with short dark hair and weary eyes. He wore a strange style of robe that Kari had never seen before but he knew this was the person who had been looking after him and feeding him while he recovered.

Behind him stood another man. He had long dark hair that rippled in the light and a robe like the other man but far more ornate. It was he who broke the silence.

“Welcome back to the land of the living, little omega. We weren’t sure if you would make it for a while there.” Kari blinked at him but didn’t respond. The voice was soft and silky in a way that seemed almost deceptive. “It would have been such a shame if you had died. Not only are you a beautiful little specimen, but you also have such a marvelous gift! Omegas are incredibly valuable here and you would fetch a pretty penny for your looks and status alone but an Aithyean Daiyan on top of that? Well, now you’re a priceless treasure.”

Kari’s mind reeled. They recognized the tattoo. That must have been it. At least that meant he hadn’t lost his powers, otherwise, his tattoo would have just been scarring. He didn't dare look at his wrist yet. But where the hell was he? He didn’t have time to ponder further as the man drawled on.

“I happen to owe a very powerful man a particularly large debt. One that is so great it cannot be paid in mere coins. But you, my little slave, will erase that debt completely.” His smirk was full of exciting greed and Kari shied away from him.

Wait. No. No, he must have heard wrong. There was no way.

My little slave.

Slave.