Keith // The Cold Sobereings

The barracks common room had been thick with smoke and playing cards for hours as Keith Baldwin lost game after game. Desperate, he accused Dael of cheating.

"Again?! You’re cheating, damn it. Dael. Dael, he’s cheating."

"He isn't cheating, sir."

"That’s just how my face looks, sir."

Out of money to keep playing, Keith asked:

"I’m out of coins. What do you want, vultures?"

Cael calmly replied:

"A wager."

Bresov opened the rulebook and read:

"Wager forty-seven. The loser retrieves the sovereign omega and brings him back to the table. Over his shoulder. No explanation."

Far from being annoyed, Keith smiled.

"That’s not a wager. That’s a reward."

He left the room and headed straight for Kaius’s office. He kicked the door open.

"KAIUS! Drop the boring shit. You have to see this."

Kaius let out a long sigh, set aside his work, and stood up.

"This counts as governance, by the way."

"No, it doesn't."

He followed him anyway. Keith tracked the omega’s sweet scent to the library, where the small man was reading quietly. Without warning, he lifted him up with ease and hoisted him onto his shoulder.

"Gotcha."

The omega tried to break free, but Keith just chuckled.

"Stop squirming, sweetheart, or you’ll make me drop you."

He knew he’d never let that happen. He walked through the barracks, ignoring the soldiers' curious stares, and returned to the common room. He kicked the door open and set the omega down on the table, scattering cards and a glass of whiskey.

"Ass. Wager fulfilled."

He gently held the omega's chin and, gazing at him with satisfaction, said:

"Look at that face. Worth every damn coin." After slamming his hand on the table:

"All right. Double or nothing. I’m betting on the omega."

The room fell completely silent. Kaius merely sighed as he exhaled a cloud of cigarette smoke. Bresov slowly closed the betting ledger and replied with deadly seriousness:

"You’d better win, or I’ll kick you out and feed you to the hyenas."