Page 72 of Storm of Secrets and Sorrow

“Istill can’t feel her,” Theon said as they burst into the penthouse suite they always stayed in when they came to the Underground.

It was more Axel’s place than anything. Theon rarely spent more than a night at a time here, and their father only came to the Underground a few times a year for appearances. Valter didn’t care about the people here. Only that everyone understood who controlled their fate.

Thankfully the Charter District had been the closest district to the attack, so they hadn’t had to maneuver through the other four districts. Although it would have been nice to go through the Apothecary District to order a Healer to follow them. Now one of them would need to go find one. Phone reception was shit down here, and the people were too paranoid to use them anyway. Signals and messages could easily be intercepted, and soon enough, the wrong person was at a pick up or they found a blade at their throat.

Axel knew he would be the one to go find the Healer. Theon wouldn’t leave Tessa’s side, and Luka hadn’t spoken a single word since shifting back from his dragon form.

Theon and Axel had pooled their power together to hold the wound in Tessa’s sternum closed, but they were both drained. The sweat on Axel’s brow wasn’t just from racing here. He was down to the last dregs of power. It was flickering, and when he was out completely…

Well, Tessa wasn’t his only worry.

“I should be able to feel her, right?” Theon said, laying the unconscious female onto the sofa. The wound at her throat was bleeding through the fabric Katya had tied around her neck.

Shit, Katya. Where was she?

Spinning to the right, he found the Fae was emerging from the hall that led to the kitchen. Axel wasn’t sure how she’d known exactly where to go, but she held a bowl and cloth.

“To clean the blood so you know how bad everything is,” Kat explained, faltering when Axel’s gaze locked on her.

He nodded, his entire body too tense to do much more. Taking the bowl, he found warm water inside. He came to Theon’s side, dropping the cloth into the bowl.

“Throat or chest first?” Axel asked.

“I’ve got it,” Theon snapped, scarcely bothering to wring the cloth out before he was lifting Tessa’s top and wiping away blood. “Her heart still beats. I can feel it,” he muttered, his other hand pressing atop her chest, just above where she’d been stabbed.

If that dagger had hit her heart, she would have been dead. There was no doubt about it. That dagger was made from material that could kill Legacy. Only the ruling families had such weapons.

Or so they’d been led to believe.

But Axel supposed what they said was true: A person could find anything in the Underground if they were willing and able to pay the right price.

“If her heart still beats, I should be able to fucking feel her,” Theon said, the words more of a growl. “How is she always so godsdamn difficult without even trying?”

Axel couldn’t focus much on his brother’s words though. No, his attention was fixed on the blood that was still seeping from her wounds. Theon had told them it had tasted more divine than Fae blood. Legacy blood didn’t do anything for other Legacy, but somehow Tessa’s had restored his reserves. And all that blood dripping to the floor, soaking into the cloth…

What a waste.

He lurched back a step, snapping himself out of the daze he’d been in. He needed to find blood now. Before things got worse. The three of them had split the flask Cienna had given him, but that hadn’t been nearly enough for any of them to fully replenish their reserves. It certainly hadn’t been enough for Axel. The entire flask wouldn’t have been enough.

“I’m, uh, going to find a Healer,” Axel said, raking a trembling hand through his hair.

“Do you want me to go with you?” Kat asked, and her voice startled him. She was so close.

“No!” he barked, taking two more steps back to put space between them.

Kat’s eyes widened, an emotion Axel couldn’t read flashing in her eyes, before it was gone and replaced with her submissive demureness.

“I just mean— Stay here. With Luka. I’ll be back soon,” he said, stumbling over his words because shit. There was a Fae. Right here in the room with them. Blood so close he could smell it. And she was powerful. He’d watched her wield her fire in the training room, and then again when they’d fought the Night Children. His shadows had fought alongside those flames, and that had been nearly as intense as the fight itself.

But the sound of the lift had him pausing, momentarily distracting him from his desperation. Luka had heard it too, moving to stand in front of Theon and Tessa, taking a protective stance. Katya hadn’t moved, and Axel found himself wanting to pull her into him and wanting to push her away at the same time. How could he keep her safe when he was the biggest threat to her in this room?

A minute later, the lift doors opened, a female with dark auburn hair striding through. Her hair reached just past her chin, framing her sharp features in loose waves. Violet-blue eyes scanned over all of them, her tight black pants and long-sleeve suit clinging to her as she moved deeper into the room, a leather bag slung over her shoulder.

Axel released a breath of relief, but Luka did not, a faint trace of smoke drifting from his nostrils.

“Relax,” Axel said. “She’s a Healer.”

“How did she get up here without an escort?” Luka demanded, his voice dark.

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