Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance (Legacy #3)

45. Axel

45

AXEL

A xel checked his watch again before returning to cleaning the windows.

Yep. That was what his life had come to. Cleaning. Because it kept him busy and let him free-fall into avoiding…everything. Currently, it was keeping him busy while he waited for a delivery of blood and groceries. He knew Kat was getting restless, and he wouldn’t be able to keep her convinced they needed to stay indoors for much longer.

Indoors?

Was he really going to call it outside when they were still in a giant cavern?

Realizing the pointlessness of that internal debate, he turned up the music that was playing throughout the first floor of the penthouse. He moved to the next window, spraying it with some cleaner he’d found in a supply closet before wiping it down. It left smudges behind. Maybe it wasn’t supposed to be used on glass?

He was working on the third window, when the music suddenly shut off. Spinning, he found Kat holding his phone. She looked exhausted.

He frowned. “I thought you were resting?”

“It’s hard to sleep when you keep turning the music up,” she replied, stifling a yawn as she held the phone out to him.

He took it, noting the time yet again. The guy he’d hired to bring their supplies was over an hour late. He’d paid far too much for him to be this tardy with things.

“Sorry,” he murmured to Kat, setting the cleaning supplies aside. “Just trying to…kill some time.”

“By cleaning?” she asked, eyeing the bottle of cleaner.

He shrugged. “Not sure what else to do.”

“We could leave the penthouse, you know,” she said, crossing her arms.

Yeah, he’d walked right into that one.

Sighing, he ran a hand down his face. “Kitten…”

“Don’t kitten me,” she argued. “I didn’t let you bring me here just to hide me away.”

“That’s exactly why I brought you here,” he deadpanned.

“It is not,” she scoffed.

He reached out, gripping her hips and pulling her towards him. “What if it is?” He pressed a kiss to her jaw. “What if the real reason I brought you here is to hide you away from the rest of this depraved world so I could keep you all to myself?”

“Stop,” she said around a laugh as he peppered kisses down the column of her throat.

“I would do that, you know,” he murmured against her skin. “If I thought for one minute you’d let me.”

“You would not,” she said, her arms coming around his neck as he dropped his brow to hers. “But Axel, I need to get out of this space. Even if we just walk around the Charter District for fifteen minutes.”

He sighed again, brushing his lips across her brow before releasing her. “I know, kitten. I know I’m being paranoid, but?—”

A notification sounded near the door. Cell service was shit down here, but they did have a speaker system installed connecting them to the lobby downstairs.

“Hold that thought,” he said, pressing another kiss to her cheek before moving to the screen.

Pressing the button, he said, “Yes?”

“There’s a delivery here for you. Can I send them up?”

“Yes,” he answered.

It was about fucking time.

“You don’t have to look so imposing,” Kat said, coming up behind him.

“Yes, I do,” he replied. “I paid for a service, and he failed to deliver based on the terms set up. You shouldn’t even be out here for this.”

It was her turn to sigh, but as the lift doors opened with a soft ding , he was shoving her behind him. Because it wasn’t the common thief he’d hired to bring him blood and food.

It was Bree DelaCrux.

“Axel, darling,” she greeted as she stepped into the room, a bag dangling from her manicured hands. “Rumors are swirling that you’ve returned, and I thought I would come visit.”

“Bree,” he said carefully, and he felt Katya stiffen behind him. It was part of the reason he’d said her name. So Kat would realize the severity of this situation. “You could have just sent a note.”

Her red-painted lips turned down in a pout. “I could have,” she agreed. “But I was under the impression that you would be returning to me when you returned to the Underground. Instead, I learned that you have been wasting away here. Surely, you have completely turned by now?”

“I have,” he answered, because there was no point in denying it.

Just like he knew he’d eventually have to let Kat leave this space, he’d known he would eventually have to face Bree too. He’d just been trying to form a decent plan. This wasn’t his greatest strength. Theon and Luka were the planners and strategizers. He was the “people person.” The one who got along with everyone and could smooth things over. He just had no idea how he was going to smooth this over with the coven leader.

“I didn’t realize you’d taken on an extra job,” he said, nodding to the bag she still held.

She laughed, a melodic thing, as she made her way through the living area, setting the bag on a small table. One look told him it was the groceries he’d ordered. One look also told him the rations of blood he’d ordered were not included.

“I figured I was coming all this way, I may as well save someone else the trip,” Bree replied.

“How benevolent of you.”

“I thought so,” she agreed.

She turned to face him again, leaning her ass against the arm of the sofa. Somehow she looked immensely out of place here, which was ridiculous because his father had the penthouse decorated in the finest luxuries coin could buy.

“I see you’ve already found a vessel,” she said when he continued to stare at her.

“A what?”

“A vessel, darling,” she drawled. “A warm blood supply always at your disposal.”

“That is not what she is,” he balked before he could stop himself. He recognized the mistake immediately when a dark smile formed on Bree’s lips.

“Fae and powerful,” she said. “I can smell it on her. If we were at my House, I could take her from you.”

“Except you are in my house,” he snarled. “And if you lay a single finger on her, it will be the last thing you do.”

“So protective,” she crooned, clearly not phased. Then her features morphed into something dark and deadly. “No one has been able to kill me for millenniums. You will not succeed where others have failed.” She pushed off the sofa, her heels clicking on the floor as she circled them. “Vessels are the equivalent of a Source for you, I suppose. Only we do not limit them to the ruling coven leaders. Any Night Child can have one if they choose to.” She smiled then, her fangs on full display. “The hunt and claiming is half the fun.”

“What is the other half?” Axel asked dryly.

“Fighting to keep them,” she added with a shrug of her slender shoulder. “It is not uncommon for others to try to steal a more powerful vessel for themselves. Even down here, power decides fate. You know this, darling. It’s why you are in such a predicament.”

“I was unaware I was facing any such thing,” he replied, turning to keep Kat behind him as Bree continued to circle.

“With your Arius magic, you were one of the most powerful to walk the Underground. The power itself conjured respect and fear, but now?” She pouted again. “What are you now, darling?”

“He is still an Arius Heir,” Kat snapped. “He still demands the same.”

Bree’s head tilted, a pleased curl of her lips. “An Arius Legacy with no power? That’s not how things work down here, poppet.”

“Don’t speak to her,” Axel snarled.

The smile disappeared instantly, replaced by an icy glare. “ You do not speak to me in such a manner, Axel. Kindly remember whose House you agreed to pledge allegiance to.”

“I never agreed to that,” he argued. “I told you I needed time to figure things out.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I do not play games, Axel St. Orcas.”

He barked a humorless laugh. “I think you do, Bree. Is that not what you were doing when you found someone for me? Playing games? Playing me ?”

Something sparked in her honey-colored eyes, and he couldn’t decide what it was. Intrigue? Understanding? Disappointment?

“Where did you say you found her?” she asked, moving to try to get a better look at Kat.

“I didn’t,” Axel growled.

“And am I correct in understanding you are no longer honoring your agreement to pledge allegiance to my House?”

“That agreement was never made.”

Bree hissed. An honest-to-the-gods hiss of fury came from the female. “You owe me, Axel St. Orcas. I let you leave in good faith and only asked that you repay the favor.”

“I owe you?” he scoffed in outrage. “You preyed on me when I was at my most vulnerable. You saved me only to torture me yourself. Then you ‘let me go’ assuming I would kill her.”

“But you didn’t, did you?” Bree said, her eyes fixed over his shoulder. “Instead, you brought her back with you. Tell me, how did you manage such a feat? You should have been consumed with blood lust, even if she was your fated.”

“I did nearly kill her,” he sneered. “If Theon hadn’t been there, I would have.”

“Let’s meet her properly then,” Bree snarled. “Let me meet the thing you are throwing away everything for.”

Before he could stop her, Kat stepped to his side, her chin held high as she stared back at Bree. Part of him wanted to shove her back and ask her what the fuck she was thinking. The other part of him was so godsdamn proud of her for showing no fear in the face of someone they should definitely be fearing. If there was a fragile peace among the kingdoms of Devram, that fragile peace was mirrored among the Districts of the Underground. There was no doubt in his mind where this was going to lead, and he was going to need Theon’s help to deal with it. But without Tessa, without a Source to make his power supremely unmatched, would it be enough? If Bree managed to unite the Underground, he wasn’t sure Theon alone would be enough to bring them all to heel.

The look of shock on Bree’s face quickly morphed into something smug and sinister. “Perhaps not a vessel for blood, but clearly still a vessel,” she said, her hungry gaze fixed on Kat’s swollen stomach.

Kat’s hand landed on her belly protectively as she shrank into Axel’s side, his arm slipping around her waist.

“Stop referring to her as that,” Axel said darkly, baring his own fangs.

Her eyes roamed over Kat some more. “Based on how far along she appears, I assume that babe came to be before you turned?”

“Obviously,” he replied coldly. “The Night Children cannot create young.”

There was an icy lilt of laughter. “My dear little heir, why would you ever think such a thing?” Before he could question her further on that statement, she mused, “I should have known you wouldn’t kill her. I thought you were beyond the bond when you couldn’t even recall her name.”

Axel sprang forward, that speed he’d acquired propelling him in the blink of an eye. His hand wrapped around Bree’s slender throat, and the vampyre’s eyes went wide as he slammed her against the wall. In the back of his mind, he knew he shouldn’t be able to. Bree was stronger than him, but he was too furious to process that in the moment.

“Let me be very clear, Bree,” he snarled. “The only reason Katya isn’t dead is because Theon was there to stop me. If I had killed her, it would not have accomplished what you think it would have. You think I was crazed from bloodlust? I would have been feral learning I had killed her. Then to learn I had killed my son on top of that? And that you were the cause? There is nowhere you could have gone to hide from me. I would have hunted you down across the stars.”

He released her, slowly taking a few steps back.

Her glare was all predator as she smoothed down the red fabric of her dress. “You are creating an enemy, young heir.” Her head cocked, and a sadistic smile formed. “Then again, you aren’t really an heir anymore, are you?”

His returned smile was just as sadistic. “Oh, I think I am. Not the heir I thought I was, but the heir I was always meant to be.”

“Do tell,” she purred.

He stepped forward again, still towering over her, even in her heels. “The Underground is mine , Bree. All of it. This is my kingdom. Always has been. If you want it, you’ll go through me.”

“Careful, darling, you’re about to start a war.”

He bared his fangs. “You started it the moment you sent me to kill my wife.” Bree blinked at the words. “Get out of my house, Bree. I’ll summon you when you’re needed.”

He turned his back on her, making his way back to Katya, who was staring back at him. He had to give her credit. She didn’t let an ounce of confusion show at his statement. Instead, she held her head high. A solid presence at his side.

A perfect balance.

Fire and shadows. The only difference was he’d rule in the shadowed lands of the Underground rather than control the shadows themselves.

He’d leave that to his son.

“You’re creating enemies, Axel,” Bree said, cold and deadly.

“I create new enemies every day,” he sneered. “It’s just good business. Now get out .”

“I think you will find it’s not as easy as you believe to keep a kingdom that was never yours,” Bree said, sauntering to the lift. Then she added, “After all, control can be an illusion as much as it can be fleeting.”

He let her have the last word, holding her stare the entire time until the lift doors closed and he heard it descending.

Then his hands drove into his hair as he started pacing. That had not been the plan.

“Um, Axel?” Kat asked tentatively.

“Yes, kitten?” he asked distractedly.

"You called me your wife."

He stopped mid-step, turning to face her. "Yeah. I guess I did."

"But...we're not that."

"We should be," he grumbled, resuming his pacing.

A strangled laugh came from her. “What?”

Then he was standing in front of her, and she lurched back.

“Stop doing that,” she admonished, her hand at her chest.

“Sorry,” he said in a rush, taking her face in his hands. “But I said we should be. You should be my wife.”

“Axel, I… How would that even work? It wouldn’t be a Match Contract because that’s between two Legacy,” she said, her brow furrowing in thought. “And the few Fae that are granted a union have to have it anointed by a priestess.”

She had a point. Fae had to petition for unions, prove it wouldn’t interfere with their duties to their kingdom, and get approval from whichever noble they answered to. In some cases, that was the ruling Lord or Lady themselves.

His father had never granted such a petition. Pen and Caris were proof enough of that.

He pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. “Grab your shoes, kitten. We’re going out.”

“Out?” she repeated, a note of excitement in her tone. “You mean we can leave the penthouse?”

“We were hiding out, and our secrets were just revealed. Doesn’t make much sense to stay hidden anymore,” he answered. “Besides, I’ll be damned if Bree thinks I’m hiding from her now.”

There was a small smile playing on her lips when he looked over his shoulder after sliding on his own shoes. He quirked a brow. “Something to say, kitten?”

She shook her head, but that smile still tilted as she went upstairs to get her shoes. He didn’t know what it was for, but he liked seeing it on her.

And wife sounded pretty damn good.

“Are you doing all right?” Axel asked, looking down at Kat where she strolled beside him.

They’d had to go to the Apothecary District to see a Witch. He’d been recognized, and when they’d ducked into a small shop of a Witch he knew, the female had smiled. Or, as close to a smile as Witches come. It was more of this tight-lipped press of lips as she said, “Cienna sent word you might be coming.”

In the end, it hadn’t taken much to get a union anointed, mainly because of who he was. Even in the Underground unions had to be petitioned and approved, but who was going to deny his own request when he was one of those who did the approving?

Now they both sported Union Marks on their hands. It was something usually reserved for Legacy Matches, but Axel was done pandering to traditions and outdated laws. The fact he’d married a Fae was proof enough of that, but just to drive the point home, he had the Union Marks bestowed. Now he wanted to take her to the Apparel District to secure rings too. He wanted any and every possible way to stake his claim.

As if the babe growing in her belly wasn’t enough.

“I’m fine, Axel,” Kat answered. “It feels good to be out and about. Thank you.”

“Please don’t thank me for this,” he replied, guiding her around a corner.

“But I will thank you for this,” she insisted. “If we were still in the kingdoms, do you think I would be calling you husband right now?”

He tugged her into his side, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Such a logical statement,” he teased.

“Shut up,” she muttered, peering up at him.

And his heart skipped a beat.

He pulled her to a stop and took her face in his hands, searching those amber eyes.

“Axel, what in the name of Anala are you doing? We’re in the middle of the street,” she chastised.

“I know, but—” He looked back and forth between her eyes, his chest tightening at what he found. “Shadows,” he whispered.

“What?”

“There are shadows drifting in your eyes. Like mine would do,” he explained, watching the black wisps.

“What are you talking about?” Katya said, sounding alarmed.

“Just…look,” he said, pulling her into a clothing shop of the Apparel District. The bell of the door rang out, and he found the nearest mirror, positioning her in front of it.

He heard the small gasp when she saw them. “He’s been moving more lately,” she murmured, still staring at her reflection. “Getting bigger and stronger. I feel it in my own power.”

“You need to rest more,” he said immediately.

“When did you become a pregnancy expert?”

“I’m not. It just seems logical,” he countered. Then he frowned. “We should have Cienna or Gia visit at least weekly though, especially at this point. I mean, isn’t the babe coming soon?”

Kat laughed. “Yes, Axel. If by soon you mean a few months, then yes. But it is probably a good idea to have them visiting weekly at this point. Only because we’ve never done this before.”

“Deal, kitten. I’ll send word when we get back,” he replied.

He dropped a few coins for the shop owner on their way out as an apology for the disturbance before making their way to a jeweler.

“Do we really need rings?” Kat asked. “I think even the Marks were unnecessary.”

“It’s all necessary,” he replied, holding the shop door open for her. “But I also need to get rations here.”

“Rations?” she asked, taking in the shop of accessories.

Axel nodded. “It’s the Underground, kitten. I can find contraband anywhere.” He led her to a glass case. “Stick to the rings on the left side.”

“Why?” she asked, eyeing the gems and precious metals on the right.

“The ones on the right are cursed,” he said simply, pressing another chaste kiss to her cheek before wandering to an opposite counter. A Fae male appeared, his face dropping when he saw Axel.

“Heir St. Orcas,” he said, nervously wiping his hands on a towel. “What can I do for you?”

“Nolan,” Axel greeted. “I’m in the market for some rings.” The male visibly relaxed until Axel added, “And some rations.”

“I’m, uh, out,” the male said, avoiding eye contact. “But I can show you some rings.”

He made to step around Axel, but Axel moved in front of him. “In all my years, you’ve never been out, Nolan. Are you saying I should visit Turner instead?”

“Yes,” the male snapped.

“That’s an additional trip I don’t have time for today.”

“I said I’m out,” Nolan answered.

“Prove it.”

The male’s eyes went wide. “You can check my coolers, sir. I don’t have any. I was cleaned out earlier today. I’m guessing so was Turner. We all were.”

A sinking feeling filled his gut. “Explain that,” he demanded, his tone icy with threat.

Nolan swallowed again. “I have suppliers just like you, sir.”

“And?”

“And they came through and took all the stores. If you want blood, you have to go to the Dispensary District. Said they wouldn’t be supplying anywhere else anymore.”

“Who took them all?” Axel snarled.

“B-Bree DelaCrux and some of her coven,” Nolan said, visibly trembling.

That fucking bitch.