Two hundred years ago, Aurri’s ancestors had been revered as Gods. It had once been rumored that a single Asvortai could take down twenty men, and that a family of them was as good as an entire army.

But as nobility took over, their bloodline was watered down until it turned into little more than a well known last name. And more recently, even their name had begun to fail them, though Aurri would have argued the fall of their house was entirely his father's fault.

Too many mouths to feed and a patriarch with a penchant for gambling, he had barely reached sixteen before being sold off to the Emperor's harem. He'd hated them for it for a while, terrified and betrayed. Time and experience eventually schooled him into a version of himself he would have never recognized as a boy. The jewel of the harem, prettier and supposedly better behaved than anyone, and undoubtedly the favorite. It was a position he'd learned to cling to for five long years- until today.

Today, when someone began a brutal takeover of the palace, somehow managing to behead the Emperor before the imperial guards had time to react. Now, everything was in chaos, and anyone who could was trying to flee. That included the men and women of the harem, along with their bastard children.

Save for Aurri.

He could have run, he knew of every secret passage. Instead he was standing steadfast in front of a shut door. His body was half covered in blood and gore, trembling with exertion, and still he'd yet to stand down.

For the past thirty minutes, the omega had been protecting the entrance to the harem's wing of the palace, buying the people he'd grown up with precious time at the risk of his own life. Whatever traces of his bloodline that was left in him was the only thing keeping him alive, teeth bared in threat wherever anyone made a move to go closer.

Unfortunately, Aurri was still human. His side burned from a lucky shot that had glanced off his ribs, and his arms were shaking as he held out his stolen sword. He wouldn’t last much longer.