Chapter Thirty-One
Milo
Paxon had apparently wanted to wait until morning to inform me of what Olympia had come to say.
That changed, however, when the woman in question ran straight through my bedroom door, waking up half the House, half-mad and raving about Viper surveillance and ordering all the windows closed and sealed.
Isla had pulled the blankets up to cover herself and sat up with wild eyes swiveling from Olympia pulling our shutters closed to Pax grabbing her by the hips and hauling her out of there.
I’d wasted no time getting dressed, giving my wife a kiss on the head while assuring her I would handle it and she should get some sleep, and leaving to find Pax and Olympia both waiting.
Pax was tapping his foot impatiently on the smooth floor, jaw clenched in the most irritated expression I’d ever seen upon him.
Olympia was so antsy she couldn’t stand still and her gaze kept darting back and forth along the hall.
“Alright,” I said, blowing out a breath and running a hand through my hair. “What is it?”
They talked over one another at first. Pax apologized profusely for being unable to stop her while Olympia accused him of putting all of Sanctuary at risk.
I calmed them both enough to hear her news as quickly as I could, knowing it wasn’t often my cousin was spooked about anything.
If she looked this nervous now, something was seriously wrong.
“First of all, it’s the oldest Bexley who fancies himself a rebel,” she began and my brow immediately furrowed.
Of both brothers, I hadn’t expected the eldest to be the one to turn toward the rebels. He was, after all, dating one of our own up here on the First. I wondered if Bria knew of his inclinations, if they’d discussed it at all.
“Harrison did as he was asked,” she continued.
That didn’t surprise me at all. Though I still didn’t know where things stood between the two of them and, with Olympia, I probably never would, it fit within the boy’s character to keep his word.
“I went to see Wolf,” she said and my gaze snapped to hers.
“Olympia–” I started, warning thick in my tone.
“I didn’t threaten him…much.”
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I let out a long-suffering sigh.
“How many times do I have to tell you,” I said. “When it comes to interacting with leaders of other factions, I need–”
“I got you a meeting with him,” she interrupted.
My jaw nearly unhinged.
“You got me a meeting with the leader of the rebellion,” I repeated, dumbstruck.
“A leader,” she clarified. “I don’t have any idea how high up he is in whatever hierarchy they’ve managed to slap together down there but he has enough clout to demand some respect from their ranks and he agreed to come talk to you. I promised I’d bring him tonight.”
“Tonight.”
I blew out a breath. It was too fast. While I truly appreciated what Olympia had done to set up this meeting, the risks she’d taken to meet with this Wolf, and the obvious restraint she’d shown in walking away without hurting him, she hadn’t given me enough time to prepare.
I didn’t know anything about this rebellion other than a few of the key players and the fact that they’d initiated a bombing on nearly every upper ring leader and a few innocent bystanders only days ago.
I’d be going into negotiations with nothing but my title and my own ignorance.
“Cosmo has ordered surveillance on our House,” she announced then.
I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. The hits just kept coming, one after another. Was this what I missed when I chose to spend one single blissful night in my wife’s arms? Was this what happened when I stepped away for only a moment?
I cursed and ran a hand through my disheveled curls.
“Who?” I asked.
“Bade,” she answered at once, meeting my gaze.
I knew that name. Luca’s lover. I suppose I knew now how she’d found out about him.
“He isn’t just watching us to keep an eye on you, Milo.
Cosmo wants something. Luca said Bade was all torn up about it but wouldn’t say what it was.
Something about the temple? Either way, he’s out there now, I know it.
We need to order the windows closed, drapes pulled, doors locked, anything we can to keep his eyes off of us until we can figure out what he wants. ”
I was nodding before she even finished and glanced at Pax when she did.
“See it done,” I ordered.
“Yes, Sir,” Pax bowed quickly before hastening off to do as he was told.
“We should put guards on grandmother’s doors,” Olympia whispered when he was gone, “and yours.”
“Pax never leaves my side,” I argued.
“I’ve gotten by Pax more times than I can count.”
I looked up to find her watching me with a set jaw and alert gaze so I gave her the nod I knew she was waiting for and sighed.
“I’d intended to visit grandmother this morning anyway,” I told her. “I’ll inform her.”
“I’ll check the perimeter,” Olympia replied with a nod and then headed off down the hall to do exactly as she’d said.
I glanced at the clothes I’d hurriedly put on and wondered if I had time to change them.
Then I remembered my wife was probably already back asleep on the other side of the door and didn’t want to risk waking her again.
Instead, I made my way to my study and sat down with a few reports and correspondences to await morning.
The sun rose over the peak of the First Ring a few hours later and I stood with it, stretching out my tired limbs and heading for the door.
I hoped I could catch my grandmother before she attempted to head outside to her greenhouses and found herself blocked by Pax and the others.
Nascha was a creature of habit. She didn’t like it very much when her routine was disturbed.
I’d need to be there when she was told or have Pax risk a stern lecture from his Matriarch.
Indeed, my cousin seemed relieved when I appeared at the end of the hall. The tension in his shoulders eased at once but his eyes flicked to the mahogany grain of the door in a way that had me slowing my stride.
“What is it?” I asked, uncertainty thick in my tone.
“She’s—well—”
Without further explanation, Pax lifted a fist and knocked once before pushing the door open. I rounded the corner and slid my gaze away from my cousin to the open threshold in time to see my grandmother laughing along with…my wife.
I stood in the doorway, blinking at the pair of them smiling together where they sat on the end of my grandmother’s bed. Nascha patted Isla’s knee and my wife said something I didn’t hear through my surprise before her warm chocolate eyes drifted to me.
“There he is now,” she announced, letting me know, without shame, that I’d been the subject of their conversation. “Maybe he’ll be kind enough now to inform us why we’ve all been locked inside our rooms like prisoners.”
I blew out a breath.
“Good luck, Sir,” Pax muttered under his breath before pulling the door shut behind me.
Nascha and Isla both waited expectantly, matching serene smiles on their lips.
I sighed and ran a hand through my unruly curls.
When my wife’s gaze tracked the movement and dipped lower to my rumpled clothes, I knew I should have taken the time to change before coming here.
I cleared my throat and stepped forward, doing my best to project confidence when facing the two most important women in my life as they narrowed their gazes at me and appeared ready to strip my skin from my bones.
“I was told—” I began but I, apparently, would not be starting this meeting.
“Did you perhaps forget I was still alive?” Nascha intoned, her voice having dropped to that dangerous timber she reserved for when she was displeased but still maintaining a calm facade.
I blinked and glanced at Isla who merely wore a frown and raised a brow.
“I—I’m sorry?” I asked, truly having no idea what else to say.
“While I still live, I rule this House, not you,” Nascha announced, rising from where she sat with Isla to face me down with her burning gaze.
“I am no invalid to be kept hidden away in my room, uninformed of family business. If there is news, you come to me with it. If the House is to be locked down, I will be the one to issue the command. Do you understand me, hafid?”
I lowered my head, properly chastened. The shame was a bit more poignant for the scolding having taken place in front of my wife.
“Yes, grandmother,” I replied.
“You used to include me, Milo,” she said, her tone changing from outrage to curiosity. Sensing it was safe to do so, I looked up again. “What changed?”
My gaze flicked once to Isla before I answered.
“Your gods,” I said. “You certainly think they’re real, whether they are or not. It’s impaired your judgment. Even if they are real, who’s to say they want what’s right for you? For us?”
Her brow furrowed.
“Where is this coming from?” she asked. “I knew you never cared for religion but—“
“I figured out what was driving Simi mad,” I told her. I was ready to draw this conclusion, for the first time, without all the evidence. “It was a god. Or, at least, someone claiming to be one.”
“How do you–”
“The necklace,” I said, glancing down at where it hung around my wife’s neck. Isla’s fingers went to it immediately, twisting the delicate chain that held the stone against her chest. “You wore it for years, yes?”
“I–well, only in the evenings or for special events for some time now.”
“Did you ever feel any different while wearing it? Did you ever…” I trailed off, gaze flicking up to meet my wife’s once more, “hear voices?”