All Chapters of The Omega King: Chapter 1 - Chapter 4

"Your Majesty, the people are demanding an heir."The words cut through the heavy, stifling air of the council chamber like a dull blade.King Arthur did not move. His fingers merely tightened around the carved obsidian armrest of his throne, the stone biting into his palm. He kept his spine perfectly straight, the heavy, gold-embroidered velvet of his robes weighing down his shoulders and anchoring him to the seat."They are becoming restless," Lord Vance continued, leaning forward over the long mahogany table, his fingers tapping an aggravating rhythm against his parchment. "The northern borders are stable for now, but a kingdom without a secure line of succession is a kingdom inviting civil war. We need a betrothal by the winter solstice.""The King is well aware of his duties, Vance," another councilor chimed in, though his voice lacked conviction.Arthur heard them, but the words were beginning to distort, sounding as though they were being spoken underwater.He kept his eyes fix

Arthur stared at him. The word *no* swelled in his throat, hot and choked, but it died before it could pass his lips.Malakor wasn't even hiding it anymore. The polite veneer of the loyal Regent, the thin layer of courtly deference they had both performed for years, had been stripped away like rotten bark. To demand the Royal Guard was to strip Arthur of his skin. Those three thousand blades were the only wall between the King and the hungry wolves of the council chamber. Handing them over didn't just put a sword to his neck—it handed Malakor the hilt."You..." Arthur's voice cracked. He gripped the edge of the mahogany desk so tightly his fingernails dug into the polished wood, leaving faint crescent scars. "You dare.""I dare, precisely what is necessary to keep your head on your shoulders, Your Majesty," Malakor said. His tone remained perfectly level, flat as a frozen lake, which only made the threat sharper."The Guard answers only to the reigning monarch," Arthur breathed, a col