Page 25 of Storm of Secrets and Sorrow

And the thing was, he couldn’t promise her it wouldn’t happen here, in this house or in the Arius Kingdom. Axel couldn’t promise her his father wouldn’t demand she do the very thing she was asking him about, especially when he was planning to force Theon to take her as his replacement Source. He couldn’t promise her she wouldn’t be forced to suck a cock or let herself be fucked because he wasn’t in any position to challenge his father and win. He wasn’t the one who would bring some sense of twisted dignity back to their kingdom. That was Theon’s fate. Always had been. That was what they’d beenworking so tirelessly toward for years now. It was why Theon was the way he was, single-mindedly focused on their goals. So much depended on Theon, but not so much on Axel. He was just the spare. His father’s back-up plan and the one who did the behind the scenes dirty work.

So he couldn’t promise her that none of that would happen here, but he could promise her something else.

“In this space, between you and me, that will never be demanded of you. Only a few select people can demand such a thing from you right now, and I will never be one of them,” Axel said.

Katya was quiet, and he watched her throat bob once. Twice. Before she said, “Thank you, my Lord.”

“You can call me Axel, Katya. You’re smart enough to know when it would be ill-advised to do so.”

“It’s still inappropriate, my Lord.”

He arched a brow, wanting more than anything to reach over and touch her, but he didn’t think she’d appreciate being touched in this moment. “More inappropriate than eating directly from a peanut butter jar?”

Kat laughed. A genuine laugh that was better than any music he’d ever listened to.

“Fair enough…Axel.”

Finally.

Finally, she’d said his name, and it was better than he’d imagined it would be coming from her lips. But why? Why did he care so godsdamn much?

They sat there sharing idle chitchat for another hour, Kat eating and relaxing more and more with each passing minute as she found he hadn’t been lying. That he was perfectly content to sit here and visit while she ate food.

She’d shifted, now sitting cross-legged on the sofa so she was facing him. His body was angled towards hers when he asked, “What were you reading when I walked in here?”

Her eyes brightened. “A book your brother gave me.”

Axel’s jaw nearly dropped. “Theon gave you a book?”

“You didn’t know?”

Axel shook his head. “What is it about?”

“Mostly history,” she answered. “He said you told him I’d been raised in the Falein Kingdom. He knew that learning the Lost Language is required by all who live there.”

“Even the Fae?”

“It was part of our studies at the Estate.”

Now that she mentioned it, Theon was partial to the Fae from that kingdom when they were narrowing down choices. This made sense with his never-ending theories, but when had Theon spoken to Kat without him knowing?

Axel cleared his throat, rubbing his chest at the feeling settling there. “We should probably get some rest. Especially you, with all that training you’ve been doing. Leave the food,” he added when Kat reached for the various plates spread across the coffee table. “It’ll give Ford something to do tomorrow.”

He got up, pushing the table back to make more room. “I just need a pillow off the bed.”

“I thought you said you needed to sleep in here tonight,” Kat said, looking up at him from where she still sat on the sofa.

“I am. I’ll sleep here; you’ll sleep in the bed.”

Her eyes went wide for what seemed like the hundredth time tonight. “I can’t do that.”

“You can’t?”

“It’s your bed.”

Axel chuckled, sliding his hands into the pockets of his pants to keep himself from reaching out and sliding his fingers along her jaw. “Have you not been sleeping in it these past few days?”

“No,” she answered, her curls bouncing as she shook her head.

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