25. Callum #2
I shook my head, needing to get the little minx out of my mind. There was a mission at stake, and I couldn’t afford to fuck up with so much at stake—with her future at stake.
Angry pounding sounded on a door in the distance, and I watched Raelyna jump up faster than I’d thought possible.
Her dark brown hair flowed around her as she quickly hurried to her own doorway.
Loxl leapt nimbly from my lap, silver paw prints trailing behind him as he quickly caught up to his owner, standing on her heel.
My gaze narrowed in on the display screen beside the door she seemed focused on, my hand already reaching for the firearm I kept in the waistband of my pants.
What is she looking for?
“Follow me . . . now.” Her words were a demanding whisper as she quickly began moving across the living room.
Axel tensed, both of us watching her in confusion as Loxl seemed to be the only one complying with her demands, his paw prints trailing after her.
“I’m sorry,” Rae stated as she spun on her heel, seeming to realize the two males sitting in her living room had yet to comply with her demands.
“Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear. Get off your stars-damned asses and follow me .
. . now.” She scooped up Loxl from the floor as she bit out the final word, before whirling on her heel and stalking into an adjacent hallway.
I shot Axel with a confused glance before he shrugged and pushed up off the couch, following Raelyna down the corridor.
With a sigh, I stood up, my gaze narrowing in on the display by the door once more, taking in the hallway, now entirely empty save for one RSG stationed outside her neighbor’s door.
That can’t be right.
We followed Rae’s hurried footsteps through her apartment.
“Care to explain what’s happening, starlight?” The words fell from my lips as I watched her quickly move deeper into her apartment. “Or are we just rushing through your apartment for enjoyment?”
“Not yet,” she stated, her voice still far softer than it should have been. Something is definitely off. “Just, trust me on this, okay?” The last few words fell like a plea from her lips, and we both grunted our agreement as she pulled on a hidden latch behind a bookshelf.
A low whirling noise filled the apartment, and then I heard a hatch open. Spinning around, hand already on my gun, I looked for where the noise came from.
I heard an amused huff slip from Rae as she stood on her toes, tugging on a thin cord that dangled from where her ceiling fan was. With a quick jerk, the ceiling fan moved, lowering, as a ladder extended down from the ceiling.
“What in the—” Axel didn’t even finish his sentence before Rae interrupted.
“I’m assuming you both are skilled enough to climb a ladder quickly.”
My eyes narrowed on her. “Yes,” I stated tersely. “But we aren’t going up there until you explain what’s going on.”
She huffed in annoyance. “Fine. But it’s got to be quick; we don’t have much time.”
“Much time for what?” I questioned, my hand still resting atop my firearm.
“I’m getting to that,” she snapped with impatience. “I’m sure you both remember the thrilling news of the bounty that’s been set by Lucanus after two spies were spotted in Solis Quarter.”
“Yes, yes . . .” Axel retorted with a chuckle. “How could we forget? Two members of the infamous Shade—spies for the Aurelian Guild.”
Raelyna’s head bobbed in acknowledgement, her eyes narrowing as she looked at us. “So, unless the two of you want to have a visit with King Lucanus tonight, I’d suggest you hide in the attic so that the guards won’t find you while they search the complex.”
“And how do we know the guards won’t find us in your attic?”
“You don’t,” she replied as she toyed with her lip between her teeth nervously, and I nearly groaned at the action alone, regardless of our current predicament.
I studied her closely, watching as she tapped her fingers against her thigh once again. Pushing my vitas affinity out, I felt her heartbeat, rapidly pulsing.
“Well,” she bit out in an urgent demand.
“Fine.” The word was a gruff response on my lips, and that was all it took before Axel was moving up the metal rungs of the ladder, heading into the attic.
Reaching out, my hands tightened on the first rung.
“Um, Blackwood . . .” Her voice was honey-sweet, and I stopped in my tracks, one foot on the ladder rung as I turned to look at her.
“Yes?”
“You’re forgetting something,” she stated with a huff, before she passed the stars-damned fox over to me and shooed us up the ladder.
“You’ve got to be joking with me,” I retorted as Loxl dug his claws into my chest, holding on for dear life.
“He’s technically illegal. I don’t want the guards to find out about him. Luc would take him away from me the second he knew,” she stated before, once again, making a shooing motion.
I ground my teeth, hating that she was on a first-name basis with that sham of a king.
No sooner had my last boot hit the top step of the attic access than the hatch was shutting behind me, a soft whirling noise filling the air once more. The three of us stared at the ladder as it sealed us in behind it.
“So . . .” The word was a soft drawl from Axel as he stood beside me. “What now?”
“We wait,” I stated. “Not sure what other option we have.”
Turning around, I looked at the small space we found ourselves in.
And by small, I meant small.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” The words fell from Axel’s lips, along with a string of curses as he too turned, taking in the tiny enclosure we found ourselves trapped in.
Loxl let out a small huff from beside my feet before he walked over toward a small blanket on the floor in the corner, circling around a few times before nestling in the blanket.
At least one of us accepted their fate easily.
“The only thing up here is blankets,” I stated as I studied the small space.
“Who in Aurelia fills their entire attic with blankets? Fuzzy blankets of all things?”
“Did you feel some particular need to point out the fuzziness of the blankets?” I inquired, turning to look toward my second, only to find him settling himself down on the ground, a plethora of blankets surrounding him.
“What?” Axel asked as he sank further into a padded throne of fuzziness. “At least they’re soft.”
“Yes,” I drawled as I turned toward the hatch once more. “That was obviously my first concern upon finding myself hiding in the attic of a dancer’s apartment while the guards searched her unit for members of the Aurelian Guild.”
“Technically, it’s your starbound’s attic . . . not just any dancer.”
“Technically,” I mocked, “I wasn’t asking for your opinion.”
My phone vibrated, and I pulled it from my pocket as I settled against the wall.
Eleana: Any update? Elion is getting impatient.
Me: Might be a bit longer than we initially said.
Eleana: I told him the two of you couldn’t pull this off without me.
Me: We’re fine.
Eleana: My bad . . . guess the royal guards spotted two other spies in their Quarter.
Axel: We weren’t spotted . . . it’s just footage, and that’s easily erasable. Trust us . . . we’re fine.
“Must she always be so bossy?” Axel grumbled as he pocketed his phone.
“She must have been born that way.”
“Much like you were born without the ability to find humor?” he teased, and the stars-damned fox had the audacity to huff.
“Fuck you, man,” I retorted.
“My point exactly,” he replied and was thankfully cut off from continuing as we heard a loud banging noise in the distance of Raelyna’s apartment.
I ground my teeth, every muscle tightening in my body.
Why on Aurelia had I thought it was a good idea to fucking hide of all things? I was a stars-damned idiot. I was the feared leader of the Shade, Aurelia’s most sought-after spy, and what had I done? I’d left Raelyna to fend off the RSG on her own while I hid in her attic.
“I’ll be back,” I muttered, pushing off the wall as I moved toward the hatch.
“Just where the fuck do you think you’re going?” Axel moved faster than he should have, stopping directly in my path as he pushed me back from the hatch.
“I’m not leaving her down there alone with them,” I ground out. “Now get out of my way.”
“No,” he snarled. “We are here now. If you dare go down there, you will only put her at greater risk. Is that really what you want?”