If this had happened just a few days ago, I would have been about to faint with fear. But the epiphany I had had in the garden, that I was learning the confidence and self-assuredness that were the signature traits of the omegas, bolstered me and only made me feel more conviction for what I was about to do.

I followed Spar’s directions and found myself at the door of what I presumed to be the Council’s meeting room. While the rest of the castle was welcoming, with the plants and tapestries, this area was more like what I had initially expected. Imposing fires set into sconces were set along the hallway, and the bare stone walls made me feel like I was entering a dungeon.

A guard posted outside let me in, and Spar was waiting for me in the anteroom. I sat down on a bench next to him. An elderly clerk at a desk surrounded with piles of papers was at work, studiously ignoring us. I wondered if he had heard of our plight. Or perhaps he was simply deaf with age.

“They should be done with the first part of the meeting soon enough,” said Spar, “and then we’ll be allowed to go in to petition them.”

“And you said the councilmen are at these meetings as well?” I asked.

“That’s right,” he said. “It always struck me as odd, but now I just know that they’ve been colluding this whole time.” He rolled his eyes.

We waited in silence, as I couldn’t think of anything else to say. I yearned to hold his hand or scoot closer to him, but I figured it wouldn’t help our case if we behaved inappropriately in this stern atmosphere. I tried some of the breathing techniques I had learned in my training, while Spar stared forward stoically. He looked more like a soldier than ever.

I couldn’t hear anything from the other side of the door, until there was some shuffling and it swung open with a huge creak. Bright light washed over us from large windows on the other side of the room; as we entered, I saw that there was an incredible view of the valley and that the furnishings were substantially less austere than the hall. My feet sank into the thick pile of a rug.

“Welcome, Spar and Soren,” said Ramiz coolly. I had expected him and the other councilmen to look out of place among the Knights’ superiors, but they didn’t, at all. Every person in that room had the same air of authority, which I found intimidating.

But I had Spar by my side. Another guard guided us to some seats in front of the half circle of Council members.

“My name is Teral,” said the same senior Knight who had spoken to us on that other fateful day. His eyes blazed green, as if he were incensed that we would dare show our faces here. “We are willing to hear what you have to say, so speak.”

Spar was ready to talk first, for which I was thankful, though I had prepared some remarks of my own so I wouldn’t be caught off guard like last time. He stood up, dignified, straightened his shoulders, and began.

“I would first like to thank you, Sir Teral, Ramiz, and the other members of the Council, for seeing us today. Soren and I know that we broke the rules of the omegas and the Knights by continuing our relationship, but on the battlefield, I learned some new things which gave me the motivation to appeal to you again.”

He fished the locket out of his jacket and unlatched it, holding it up so that the Council could see the image inside. “I was given this locket by a dying enemy soldier. He requested that I make an attempt to return it to his family. I was initially under the impression that I would be trying to return it to his parents. But as you can see, there is a young family depicted in this image: him, his wife, and his children.

“Of course, I was puzzled by this, and realized that the enemy shifters have mates and families. They are the same breed as us, and they fight viciously and brutally, as we know, yet they apparently do not lack the nurturing, gentle qualities necessary to be husbands and fathers.

“My question to you, the Council, is… why are we told that we are too rough and our desires too unsavory to have mates? Why are we put down like this? When I was on the battlefield, I was motivated to fight to protect the man I loved: Soren. I couldn’t bear the thought of the enemy ravaging the town and terrorizing the people we all care for. My love for Soren is my motivation, not a distraction.

“I know I’ve been doing well in my drills and rising in the ranks. But it’s all for his love. At first, I just wanted to impress him. Now I want to protect him and the promise of the future we could have together. Soren is the reason I live, and the reason I fight.”

He stood proudly for a moment after this speech, then neatly closed the locket with an audible click and sat back down in his seat. The council members didn’t seem to know what to say. They were all alert now, even if they weren’t before, and I could tell that many of them were itching to speak.

“Spar and Soren,” said Ramiz, and I was startled to see that his voice had cracked, “please wait in the anteroom while we discuss this amongst ourselves.”

We stood up and the guard escorted us out. The council members maintained their composure while we left, though many of them were visibly jittery. They clearly all had strong opinions on the matter, but of course, we wouldn’t be able to hear them from the anteroom. The clerk continued to sort through his papers, oblivious to our presence. I figured it was probably safe at this point to take Spar’s hand, and was glad I did. He squeezed my hand reassuringly.

“That was an amazing speech,” I said. “Spar, this is why you’re going to make an incredible general. If you can talk to your men like this…”

He smiled sheepishly. “You’d be surprised what you can do when you find the passion to do it.”

“Were you really fighting… for me?” I asked. I hadn’t heard of anything so romantic in all my days of being a schoolchild. I was profoundly touched.

“Of course I was,” said Spar. “Did you think I made that up to tug at their heartstrings?” He turned to face me, looking me in the eyes with that intense gaze of his. “Soren, I am completely serious when I say that you are the reason I fight and the reason I live. All true fighters must fight for something, whether it’s love, honor, glory, or justice. I have found my cause.”

I ventured to lean over and kiss him softly on the lips, pulling away quickly. I still felt awkward in such a formal space. “I love you,” I whispered.

“I love you, too,” he replied.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” I asked.

“My guess is that they know they can’t keep all of this a secret any longer,” said Spar, and I was impressed that he was thinking strategically. “I think we have a good chance, Soren.”

“How can you be so sure?” I asked, furrowing my brow. “I mean, is it likely they’d change it all just for us?”

“But it isn’t just for us,” he countered. “It’s not as if we’re the only ones who’ve ever had this problem.”

Suddenly, I remembered the secret Lyral had revealed to me. “You’re right. Spar, I saw Lyral on my way here, and he told me—”

Spar was nodding. “I know, he told me too.”

“Do you think the Council knows about all of them?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I mean, they do keep track of who serves who, in their own way. But it’s impossible to be sure.”

We pondered the implications of all of this in silence, anxiously awaiting the results of the Council’s deliberations. I wondered how long we would have to wait. My stomach roiled and I regretted eating only some fruit for breakfast. I feared that we would be waiting here for a long time.

“I just find it hard to believe that they would change it at all,” I repeated, sighing.

“But Soren,” said Spar, “what if we’re not the only ones who have made a stand like this? What if we’re the final straw?”

I paused to consider this.

“He’s right,” said a rusty, rough voice from the corner. It was the clerk. He had previously been hunched over in his chair, but now that he had risen to regard us, I saw that he was actually an elderly Knight, wiry and lean, with those characteristic brightly colored eyes. “You are not the only couple who has appealed to the Council.”

“You’ve seen others, sir?” I asked, nonplussed.

The clerk nodded, his long white beard tickling the desk. I could see now that he was bigger than he had seemed, hiding behind the piles of papers. “Many have come before you, and they have failed. But they did not have anything like that locket.”

My heart panged with sympathy for those who had sat in these same seats, awaiting their fate just like us. It didn’t bode well if they had failed, and a new bolt of anxiety hit me. But Spar squeezed my hand again. “Did you hear him, Soren? He said they didn’t have evidence. We know for a fact that Knights can have families.”

“My great-grandfather had a family,” said the clerk. “I have portraits of his wife and children as well. It has been done before, and it was good.”

“Why ever did they stop, then?” I asked, mystified.

The clerk shrugged. “The Council has their reasons. Why don’t they tell the townsfolk about the enemy shifters? Why do they let Knights believe they are too brutal to raise children? It’s all political.”

“It’s about control,” said Spar, anger tingeing his voice.

The clerk nodded. “You’re a sharp young man, Spar,” he said. “We’d be lucky to have a general like you.”

To my surprise, Spar blushed. “Thank you, er—?”

“Koris,” said the clerk. “My name’s Koris.”

“Thank you, Koris,” said Spar.

We were interrupted by some shuffling near the door again, and I could feel my heart pounding in my head. Spar and I stood up and I held on to his arm for strength. The guard opened the door at an unbearably slow pace and let us in.

I glanced back at Koris. He was watching us, his brows knitted with concern and his mouth bent into a frown. But he nodded at me once, and I turned back, following Spar into the meeting room.

We took our seats again, facing the Council. I took solace in the fact that whatever they had decided, I could not change. Spar and I would make the best of whatever they said, whether it was good or bad. If indeed we had to flee the town, we would survive. I was prepared to do whatever was necessary at this point. Koris’s tacit approval had given me the last bit of strength I needed to ride out this fight.

“We discussed this situation for a long while,” said Ramiz, “and have come to an agreement on our decision.” I noted that he looked flustered, which was unusual for him. His normally unflappable expression was replaced by one that looked almost angry. I wondered which side he had been on.

But it was Sir Teral who spoke next. “Spar, your locket brought to mind a precedent we had in decades past. It is true that the Knights and omegas were not always held to the same rules. They were allowed to be monogamously paired and even have children. But the heartbreak and madness that followed when tragedy occurred—whether that was a Knight being killed in battle, a lover found to be disloyal, or something else—was too much. It threw our troops into pandemonium, and they could not function effectively. In addition, the jealousy over lovers caused conflicts.

“For this reason, our predecessors thought it best that we forbid Knights and omegas from forming romantic attachments. We have upheld this, thinking it best to continue. Along the way, some unsavory rumors about us Knights arose, which became cemented as reality. The people in the town thought us to be brutes, incapable of love. While this worked in our favor, earning us the place in society we needed, it also isolated us.

“We believe that it’s time for that era to come to an end. The Knights are tired of being treated like outcasts when we give our lives to protect those who scorn us. Why should we have to put up with it? Perhaps if we raised children and showed everyone the side of us that nurtures and creates life, we would be accepted by greater society. The omegas might even enjoy higher application rates. It is no guarantee, but it could be a step in the right direction.

“Spar and Soren, we have decided that you may continue to see each other. There are other couples like you who will be allowed to make their relationships public as well. We will have to spend some time revising our policies, but we will work towards allowing Knights and omegas to follow their hearts and choose their own paths. If we give our Knights something to fight for, maybe they will be even better fighters.”

This was an overload of information for me and I would have to process it later. All I could think of was that we had won our final battle. We could be together. And not only that, we could have children. I couldn’t believe it.

“Spar,” started Sir Teral, “you will also be pleased to know that we have chosen to award you with the Seal of Samiran for your bravery on the battlefield. Elquan nominated you for saving his life and we unanimously agreed with him. The awards ceremony is to be held next week.”

I looked at him with astonishment. “You didn’t tell me about this.”

He shrugged and smiled blandly. “I did my duty, nothing more, nothing less.”

“We’re proud of you Spar,” continued Sir Teral. “You have the makings of a future general for certain. And you, Soren. Your strength and comportment in the face of adversity make us hope that we see you as a future councilman. You are a pair not to be trifled with.”

My eyes widened. Sir Teral had just paid me a magnificent compliment. The other Knights looked pleased for us, even smiling warmly as if they wanted to welcome us into their ranks. It was a far cry from the way it had seemed earlier, like we were traitors. The only one who looked less than pleased was Ramiz, who regarded us with a polite smile. It was obvious that he wasn’t pleased with the outcome, but then, I didn’t care anymore. We had won.

“If there is no other business to be addressed, then you are dismissed,” he said, and the guard stepped forward to lead us out. My heart was singing and with no hesitation, I took Spar’s hand as we walked into the corridor and the rest of the castle.

I didn’t know what I wanted to do next. For all of the past week, I had been awaiting this moment, and now that victory was ours, I felt like I could do anything. It was incredible to think that Spar and I could celebrate our relationship publicly now and even have children. For such a long time, I had gotten used to the idea that I would never be able to have a family. Now that I had that option, I felt like I was standing on the edge of a precipice. There were more life decisions I could make.

We sat down on a bench situated in one of the many gardens surrounding the castle and I rested my head on Spar’s shoulder. We regarded the flittering insects lazily, bright sunlight painting everything in vivid, saturated colors.

“So, what do we do next?” I asked Spar.

“I don’t know,” he admitted.

“Good to know we’re on the same page, then,” I said, and laughed. I hadn’t laughed like that in so long, with so much reckless abandon. Passers-by probably thought I was mad, but I didn’t care.

“So you’re getting that award,” I said.

“That’s a surprise, too,” said Spar. “It’ll cement my promotion for sure. Of course, it’ll be many years before I’m qualified to be a general, but it’s entirely possible I’ll be the youngest general the Knights have ever seen.”

There was that arrogance, I thought affectionately. I sighed, not for the first time, with pure relief.

“Of course, we can’t forget those who were injured and killed. Two of our men were killed in action,” said Spar, his tone solemn.

“I did hear about that,” I said. “When is the funeral?”

“It will probably be this week, which is why the awards ceremony is next week.” He put his arm around me. “It won’t do to forget to honor the men who died to protect us.”

I nodded agreement. We sat in comfortable silence and I considered again what Sir Teral had told me. He had apparently been impressed by how I had carried myself through this ordeal. What was the word he had used—comportment? It was a sure sign that I was gaining the elegance I had craved.

A roiling in my stomach broke the silence. “I suppose it’s time for lunch,” I said, still feeling like I was floating on clouds.

“I ought to get ready for the afternoon drills,” said Spar.

“But we’ll see each other again,” I said, smiling indulgently.

“Of course. I’ll come over tonight,” he said, kissing my forehead.

We got up and made to go our separate ways, but of course we couldn’t, not yet. I walked back towards him and kissed him, allowing myself to draw it out. When we were satisfied, we finally left, secure in the knowledge that we no longer had to hide our love.

* * *

A week later, I was at the market, having just bought a new tunic for the awards ceremony. I wore my badge proudly, the golden dragons shining in the sunlight. I didn’t care what anyone thought, not like that day I came to have tea with Leddy. That was ages ago, it seemed like, even though it was merely two months.

People stared at me, but I wasn’t bothered. I chose to believe that it was because of my elegance and poise, not what I was. For all I knew, it was probably both. Even though I had already found what I was looking for, I walked into one of my favorite shops to see what they had for sale, rifling through the fabrics and savoring the feeling of the silks and velvets.

This time, I focused on the more elaborate tunics. I was a professional now, no longer a child, and the clothes I wore had to reflect that I was an adult. Not only that, I was considering becoming a parent, and that would elevate me to another level entirely.

There was so much to think about regarding parenting. I had discussed the matter with Spar, and we agreed that I should stop drinking the heramel root concoction. It would take some time for the effects to fully wear off, but within a month, it would be fully out of my system, and I would be fertile again.

Then we could really start trying. The sex I had had with Spar in recent weeks was some of the best we had ever had. Neither of us held back. He pushed me to my limits, in terms of edging and pain and endurance, always keeping my comfort and safety in mind. I reached new heights of pleasure and so did he. It was incredible what the romantic connection between two people could do for physical pleasure.

I decided to head back to the Guild. I needed to get ready before the awards ceremony, which was that evening. The Guild carriage was waiting for me outside, the imposing black horses standing coolly amidst the hustle and bustle of the market.

When I got back, I took a long bath, making my skin supple. Even if I was committed to Spar now, I was still an omega, and I intended to continue making excellent sexual experiences my job. I took time to shave perfectly and apply my creams and lotions. I knew that he’d want to celebrate after the ceremony, and I intended to give him a night he wouldn’t forget.

It was almost time to meet him at the castle, so I dabbed myself with fragrant oil and took a carriage over. I would be meeting his parents tonight, which was the only thing that intimidated me. I had no idea what they were like and I hoped they would like me. Spar assured me they would, but still. One could never be too sure when it came to parents.

He looked more handsome than I had ever seen him in his uniform. Because the Knights fought as dragons, that is, without any other kind of clothing, they had a simple dress uniform for occasions like this that was accented with red leather to evoke their dragon forms. I couldn’t help but stare at his dignified face and regal attire. He would outshine everyone there.

He pulled me in for a kiss. “You look amazing,” he whispered.

“You look handsome yourself,” I whispered back.

He took my hand and we entered the ceremony hall, which was bustling with activity. There were several tables of food and drink, musicians, and dozens of well-dressed, important people. I knew the King and his consort would be here somewhere, though I would only get a brief glimpse of them at best.

We took our seats and waited as the music died down. The actual award part of the ceremony was to begin. Sir Teral gave a perfunctory speech about bravery, but I perked up when he started talking about Spar and told the awe-inspiring story of how he had protected his teammate, Elquan. He had apparently taken a big risk to rescue him from becoming a prisoner of the enemy and succeeded single-handedly. I marveled at my luck in being the mate of this amazing man.

Spar rose and walked towards the stage to receive his award, the Seal of Samiran. It was an enormous golden medallion, like the locket, sized to fit a dragon (which was odd, as I never saw dragons wearing jewelry). Sir Teral draped it around his neck and shook his hand to much applause. I clapped as hard as I could. Sir Teral then asked Spar if he wanted to say anything.

“Thank you for this honor, Sir Teral,” started Spar, a mild smile on his face. It looked as if he were feeling shy with all the attention on him. “As they say, I was only doing my duty. I absolutely could not leave Elquan behind with the enemy. He is our own, and I had to bring him home. I know he would have done the same for me.”

With that, he retreated and another Knight led him to stand off to the side, where the other award recipients would join him. I waited patiently through their moments of honor, thrilled to hear of their acts of bravery. The memoriam for the fallen Knights brought a tear to my eye, though I saw that Spar was still impassive, and it was all over soon enough. I went to find him.

“It looks like my parents are being mobbed,” said Spar with amusement. His eyes were trained on a couple who looked pleased with the attention. “They love hearing praise about me, and there isn’t a shortage of it tonight, apparently.”

“You deserve it,” I said earnestly. “I was stunned by Sir Teral’s telling of your story.”

He shrugged. “Like I said, it was my duty. I do what I must for the people I love.”

I took his hand and squeezed it. “I suppose we can go find some bites to eat now,” I said, my eyes scanning the refreshment tables. There were some delicacies spread out there which I hadn’t seen before. It looked like the cooks had taken care to make some particularly elaborate treats for the occasion.

He took my hand and led me there, right in front of one plate of what appeared to be sweets shaped to look like flowers. “My mother used to make these when I was a child,” he said. “Try one.”

He took a pink candy from the plate and lifted it to my mouth, popping it in. I was taken aback by the unexpected, tender gesture. The sweet melted on my tongue, creamy and decadent, with a light, floral flavor.

I closed my eyes and sighed. “Wonderful,” I said.

“And for me, it tastes like home. Are you ready to meet my parents?” he asked.

“Well, I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready, exactly…” I replied playfully.

“It’s a momentous occasion in the development of any relationship,” he said sagely, as we walked over to the gruff looking man and his pert wife. It was clear that Spar had her green-gold eyes. I took a deep breath and stepped forward, standing up straight and smiling brightly. Spar returned my smile and placed a reassuring hand on the small of my back. I was officially this man’s mate, and I knew, at that second, that I had a true and loyal teammate for the rest of my life.