Chapter 40 Axel
AXEL
“We could have gone with them,” Kat grumbled from the sofa.
Axel just smiled as he followed Miara to the lift. She’d started coming here for Kat’s exams rather than having them cross half the Underground, especially after that dinner.
“Thank you, as always,” Axel said, pressing the button for the lift.
Miara nodded curtly. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a small flask. “Cienna sent this for you.”
That saint of a Witch.
That was all Axel could think as he took the flask. He’d refused to drink from Kat again after the dinner despite her protests. Not until the babe came.
“Tell her thank you,” Axel said. Then, dropping his voice so Kat couldn’t hear anything, he asked, “Have either of you seen anything else? Cienna said she can’t see anything regarding the birth or Kat or any of it?”
Miara shook her head. “You know that’s not how visions work.”
He sighed, tapping the flask against his palm. “A guy can hope though.”
The lift doors opened, and Miara stepped in, saying only, “She needs to rest as much as possible.”
As soon as she was gone, Kat said in irritation, “Don’t ignore me, Axel.”
“I’m not ignoring you, kitten,” he answered, turning back to her. “You know why we couldn’t go.”
“A few hours wouldn’t have hurt.”
“They’ve been gone for two days.”
“We wouldn’t have had to stay two days,” she huffed.
Razik and Eliza were still in the Acropolis. They were all trying to work out how to transfer power from Dagian to Theon. Axel hadn’t been thrilled with everyone leaving, but there were extensive wards around the penthouse. At least his father had done one thing right.
“Miara said this is the month the babe is coming, Kat. It isn’t logical to leave right now,” he said carefully, because by the gods was she in a mood today.
“It’s not logical to keep me locked up in a tower, but here we are,” she retorted.
He swallowed his bark of laughter, knowing she would not find this funny. It took him a few seconds to compose himself before he said, “You’re not locked in a tower. We can go for a walk if you’d like?”
“I would not like,” she fumed. “I would like to leave the Underground. I can have a baby anywhere, Axel.”
“Cienna is here, Kat.”
“And she can Travel.”
“If we can get in contact with her,” he argued.
“That same logic can be applied here,” she countered.
Axel took a deep breath, rubbing at his brow. He knew this wasn’t her. This was the pregnancy and everything else going on, but fuck, he was running out of logical arguments. Because she wasn’t being logical, and he didn’t know how to handle her when she wasn’t logical.
Finally, he said, “If we were to leave, where would you want to go? What would you want to do?”
She stared at him, and he stared back, and it was one of the most ridiculous things he’d ever encountered.
“I don’t know,” she finally admitted, and he smiled, moving closer.
He set the flask on the coffee table, leaning down and placing a hand on either side of her on the back of the sofa, caging her between his arms. “You know what you should do, right?”
She sighed heavily. “Sit on this sofa and rest,” she grumbled.
“Because…?”
“Miara said it would help, but she also said she doesn’t know when anymore.
I heard you ask without wanting me to hear,” she groused.
“She said she’s seen nothing else regarding the birth.
Neither has Cienna. Maybe things changed completely, and we’ll make it to full term.
Visions are useless. No wonder Tessa is half-mad these days. ”
He huffed a small laugh. “We’re almost there, Kat,” he said gently. “I know you’re tired. I know you’re restless and going a little stir crazy.”
Her eyes welled with tears.
Well, shit. He hadn’t meant to make her cry.
Godsdammit.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Don’t be sorry,” he said, cupping her cheek. “You’re strong, kitten, but these last months have been stressful. These coming months will be more of the same, and—”
She winced then, and his eyes went wide as she brought a hand to her stomach. She’d been doing that more and more lately, and this was exactly why they hadn’t gone with the others to the Acropolis.
“What’s wrong?” he demanded.
“It’s nothing, Axel,” she sighed. “It’s always nothing.” When he still didn’t move, she emphasized, “I’m fine.”
He straightened, still eyeing her. “Do you want some tea? Something I can get from the kitchen?”
“I can get it,” she muttered. “Just help me up.”
He didn’t like it. He’d rather just get it for her, but he’d concede on this if she’d stop pushing him to leave the Underground.
Helping her up, she made her way to the kitchen, and he listened to her rummage around. For a moment he debated going to help, but ultimately decided against it. She was already on edge today.
Sighing, he sank into an armchair and grabbed the flask, uncapping it.
Things had been fine with Miara and the Fae after that disastrous dinner last week, but the Shifters were still unreliable.
He’d sent a request for a meeting, but they hadn’t replied yet.
They wouldn’t until they were ready, and who knew when that would be.
And then there was that nagging feeling that wouldn’t go away.
It’d seemed too easy.
He took a long drink, letting the blood soothe the hunger and need that had been nipping at him all day.
Back to monitoring his rations, he felt like he’d been holding his breath ever since that dinner, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
It had been too easy. Bree wasn’t just going to roll over and move on.
She wasn’t done with him. He needed to be proactive, but that was hard to do with Kat and the babe.
Kat reappeared with a plate of food and a glass of juice. Axel immediately stood to take it from her, helping her back onto the sofa, and when she winced again, he knew it was only a matter of time.
Where was he?
That was all he could think. Or try to think.
He couldn’t seem to form any coherent thoughts as he tried to open his eyes.
Blood.
He could smell blood.
He needed blood.
But where the fuck was he?
A groan slipped from him, and he tried to sit up. Everything felt too heavy. Even his godsdamn eyelids felt weighted down as he struggled to open his eyes.
Swallowing, he nearly gagged. His throat was sandpaper, and when he finally managed to pry his eyes open, the room spun.
By Arius, he’d never felt so sick in his life, save for the times he was experiencing bloodlust, but that was different. This was…
He squeezed his eyes shut again, the room spinning too much. Start small. That was what he needed to do. Wiggle his toes. Flex his fingers. Feel the cool floor beneath him.
Wait. Why was he on the floor? Why wasn’t he in bed with—
Kat.
Fuck.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
With strength he didn’t have, he rolled to his stomach and pushed onto his hands and knees.
“Kat?” he rasped out, his voice hoarse and gravelly. “Kat?” he tried again.
Opening his eyes, he stared at a spot on the floor, willing the room to stop spinning.
It didn’t.
And he vomited. Or tried to. There was nothing in his system to vomit, so instead he gagged and dry heaved, his stomach muscles clenching and spasming.
Kat.
Get up and find Kat.
He repeated it over and over. She had to be here. There were wards. She had to be safe. She had to be—
Grabbing on to the side of the sofa, he pulled himself up, fighting another wave of nausea. Blinking several times, he tried to clear the fog from his vision, everything blurry and swimming.
There was a nearly empty plate of food. A glass tipped over with a puddle of juice. Pillows were on the floor, sofa cushions askew.
“Kat?” he called again, still not loud enough. Dread filled his stomach, making him want to vomit for an entirely different reason now. “Katya? Kitten? Answer me.”
Upstairs.
She had to be upstairs and sleeping.
He turned, readying himself to tackle the stairs, when his foot nudged against something metallic. It slid across the floor, and he looked down to see the flask of blood Cienna had sent. Mostly empty, a few drops of red still left a trail behind the open container.
But that wasn’t the blood he was smelling.
His heart rate picked up as his head cleared a little more and his Night Child instincts took over.
There was more than blood. Citrus. Jasmine. Fire.
“Kat!” he called, his voice a little stronger.
Still nothing, and he limped his way into the kitchen.
Reaching into a cupboard, the first glass slipped through his fingers, shattering on the floor.
He left it, grabbing another and stumbling to the sink.
He downed glass after glass of water, trying to wake himself and flush out whatever the fuck was in his system.
It was the only explanation, and one he couldn’t dwell on right now.
Glass crunching under his shoes, he went back to the living room.
Drops of perspiration ran down his neck and back, and he wiped at his brow with a chilled hand.
The room was still out of focus, the edges of everything hazy, but he could function.
He could smell her, and everything narrowed in on that.
He let himself descend into a place he’d been too ashamed to go. Where his hearing was impeccable and his instincts unmatched. Because when a Night Child gave over to their basest nature, they were a predator that could match any Fae or Legacy. Vicious and cunning, with speed and strength.
He climbed to the second floor, each step pulsing through him as his head pounded. Making his way to the study, he yanked open drawers and pushed aside hidden panels to pull out daggers and knives. He couldn’t pull them from shadows anymore, but he sure as fuck still knew how to use them.
“Kat!” he bellowed, slinging a bandolier of knives across his chest. “If you’re here, you need to answer me right fucking now!”