27. Chapter 27
Maddox
Aside from the fact that Arwen’s power is no longer a secret, I wake feeling the best I have in years after having her next to me all night.
She builds a damn fortress out of pillows when she sleeps—like she’s still expecting something to come at her. Doesn’t matter. Even with all that, I kept a hand on her hip. For now, that’s enough.
I pull my shirt over my head and glance toward the bed.
Arwen sits cross-legged in the middle of the sheets, thumb pressed against her lip as she stares at her new phone. I’m not in the habit of reading over people’s shoulders, but the message on her screen is impossible to miss.
Tabby: Did you fuck yet?
I choke on a laugh as Arwen furiously types back.
Arwen: If you keep asking, I will never tell you when I do.
A second later, Tabby sends back a sad face.
Another huff slips out before I can stop it…. not used to laughing, I guess.
Arwen whirls around, catches me before I can avert my eyes, and her face goes the most adorable shade of scarlet.
“You saw nothing,” she says, pulling the phone against her chest.
“I saw nothing,” I echo, already turning toward the table where my weapons rest. That it’s even being discussed as a future option tests my restraint.
I want all of her. But I’ll take whatever she’s ready for and be grateful for it.
Even if lying beside her last night nearly killed me before I finally fell asleep.
I mean… I even considered a cold shower at one point.
But I didn’t move. Didn’t want to miss a second of having her there.
The bond hums low and satisfied in my chest as I fasten my holster and turn back toward her.
“We’re going to see Duval today. He’s in the Iron Gut Quarter… if you think you’re up to it?”
She nods. “Of course. But I thought Valentine said we should focus on the other siblings first?”
“We should.” I step toward the bed. “But now that word is spreading about your power, I need to confirm Duval is still with us before anything else.”
Understanding settles over her face. “This will be much easier than Kael,” I say.
“That’s a low bar,” she responds with a brow arched.
I try to tame the smirk that her sass always brings out of me.
“Duval is tough, not cruel. He believes in work, order, and minding his own business unless given reason otherwise. He won’t pull theatrics.”
Her shoulders ease.
“It won’t be like last time,” I promise.
Then I bend to kiss her. It’s soft and brief. She kisses me back without hesitation, and the simple fact that I can do that now nearly wrecks me.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
All I want is to climb back into bed and spend the day kissing her until neither of us can think straight. It’s so unlike me, but I can’t seem to care about the sappy fool I’ve become.
Right now, though, her safety comes first. And that means making sure we still have allies.
A few hours later, the helicopter lowers over the Iron Gut Quarter.
The moment we descend beneath the clouds, the skyline changes. Gone are the glittering towers and jeweled excess of central Gluttony. Iron Gut is steel, smoke, and labor.
Massive cargo cranes loom over the harbor like metal skeletons, their arms swinging crates between freighters and loading platforms with mechanical precision.
Shipping containers stack in endless rows—rust red, navy, black—forming crooked corridors through the yard.
Smoke curls from industrial stacks farther inland, carrying the scent of oil and burning metal through the air.
Workers move everywhere below us. They’re far from the polished and well-fed citizens from the wealthy territories.
But they’re strong and move with purpose.
Men and women in stained work clothes haul cargo, bark instructions over the sound of waves slapping against the docks. Sweat glistens on their skin. The boots they wear, worn in.
No one here is lounging, and no one here is starving either. Duval runs his territory the way he runs his people—hard but fair.
The helicopter lands on a steel platform overlooking the docks. Arwen steps out beside me as her eyes scan everything.
“It smells entirely different,” she mutters.
I snort. “It smells like ass.”
She gives me a flat look.
Duval’s men meet us and escort us through the sprawling dockyard toward the administrative building near the water. My team flanks behind me. I trust Duval, but I’d take a full army anywhere Arwen goes if it were an option.
His office is large but stripped of excess. Just steel beams, concrete walls, ledgers stacked in neat piles, maps pinned across one wall, and wide windows overlooking the harbor so he can monitor his operation.
Duval sits behind a simple metal desk. He doesn’t rise or smile when we enter.
I won’t deny he’s a mean-looking motherfucker.
The guy is built broad, every inch of him earned through labor rather than vanity.
His bald head catches the gray light from the windows.
Sleeves shoved to the elbows, forearms dark with grease.
Whatever he was doing before we arrived, it wasn’t paperwork.
His expression remains unreadable as we sit, so I let the silence stretch because I’d prefer to see how much he knows. But…
“I don’t have all day,” he says gruffly.
I incline my head once. “Thanks for seeing us.”
His eyes slide to Arwen, then back to me. “I assume this is about the fact that your bonded can level a building.”
Arwen shifts beside me while I keep my expression neutral. “Yes, I figured you had heard. Who told you?”
“I hear everything worth hearing.” His voice is flat. “Would’ve preferred hearing it from you before half the family.”
Fair.
“I understand it feels like I was hiding something, but—”
“Do you?” His gaze sharpens. “Because I don’t like surprises, Maddox. Especially not from people asking for loyalty.”
I nod once. “I get it. You’re right.”
Duval won’t respond to argument, only to logic. I continue before he can.
“We kept it quiet because it was the safest play. I knew they’d see her as a threat. Arwen never wanted to use her power in public. It just paints a bigger target on her back. I was trying to de-escalate the whole situation before it turned into open conflict.”
Duval leans back in his chair. “That failed.”
I add, “Amaya forced the issue. She provoked Arwen and left her no choice.”
Duval studies Arwen for a long moment, assessing her. “You don’t strike me as someone eager for bloodshed.”
Arwen lifts her chin. “I’m not, unless I have to protect those I love.”
He nods and turns back to me. “So your problem remains the same. You’re asking whether my answer has changed.”
“Yes.”
The room goes still as he stares me down, considering.
Duval was an ally I guarantee I could count on. If he’s out, we are in a critical position.
He plants both forearms on the desk. “I’m still with you.”
Relief loosens in my chest as Arwen exhales softly beside me. “I won’t forget it,” I say.
He jerks his chin toward Arwen. “And I expect to be kept in the loop moving forward.”
I nod and hold out my hand.
Duval rises from his chair and shakes it. “My men will see you out. I have actual work to do.”
We got off easy, but Duval has always been the simplest of my siblings. He sees the logic in siding with us.
We exit the building and make it halfway across the work-yard when the world detonates.
A deafening blast tears through the air. Heat slams into my side, and then I’m airborne.
I hit the concrete hard enough to knock the breath from my lungs, my ears ringing so violently that the world goes muffled and distant.
For half a second, I can’t see through the dust. Can’t think as my hands catch on broken glass to push myself up.
Then one thought cuts through the haze.
Arwen.
I shove myself upright, coughing, vision swimming as I search through the chaos. People are screaming. Workers scatter in every direction. Cargo alarms blare overhead.
And then I see her—
Thrown several feet across the pavement, bracing herself on shaking arms.
My heart stutters as I sprint to her side.
“I’m okay,” she gasps before I can ask, already forcing herself to her feet. Relief hits me so hard my knees almost go.
A mocking laugh echoes through the smoke, making my heckles rise.
“I hate we have to meet like this. You should’ve followed Amaya’s advice and stayed in your own territory, brother.”