Page 64 of Storm of Secrets and Sorrow

That was…an interesting answer.

“But I wanted to discuss the question you did not ask,” Cienna said, turning to face him. “Or rather, one of the questions you did not ask.”

“You will need to be more specific,” Axel said with a wink, crossing his arms and leaning a hip against the table.

Cienna did not return his light-heartedness. Instead, she said, “You worry if you are close to crossing a line, and the answer is yes.”

Axel straightened, swallowing hard. “You can…tell that just by looking at me?”

“No, I can tell that because of my gifts,” she retorted.

“The healing?”

“That’s not the question you wish to ask,” Cienna said. “You wish to know if youdocross that line, if it can be undone.”

Axel’s gaze darted away from her. Because yeah, that question had been plaguing him. His weekly rations weren’t enough. He was needing more and more. A path that only led to a Legacy triggering the curse of Arius to be forever controlled by the bloodlust. To correct the balance, those who overstepped were stripped of their gifts and cursed to weaken in the sunlight, forever bound to the dark and the cravings.

It didn’t matter that his father was the one who’d forced him to this place. That was how his father controlled him. His father would find a way to force him to expel all his magic and then leave him in that state for days with chains on his wrists made of the same material as the bands on Tessa’s that wouldn’t allow his power to refill. His father would leave him in that place until he was nearly mad from the lack of power and feral with the need to fill the emptiness.

“Can it?” Axel asked around the lump in his throat. “Can the curse be undone?”

“Is it a curse?” Cienna countered.

His gaze snapped back to hers. “How can it be considered anything else?”

“For some, it is a curse. For others, it was a blessing.”

“I do not know how any Legacy could consider losing their gifts to be a blessing.”

“How incredibly conceited to assume only the Legacy were affected by such a thing,” she chided, moving to a nook that was carved into the wall. She reached inside, withdrawing a small flask. When she handed it to Axel, he was surprised to find it cool to the touch.

“It is spelled to stay cool,” she explained.

“Don’t tell Luka you can do that. He’ll be wanting you to visit his cave,” Axel joked, spinning the top off the flask.

Cienna clicked her tongue. “I do not think I would be counted among the few he would let near his treasure hoards.”

“That’s fair,” he conceded, bringing the flask to his nose and sniffing. Then his head snapped up. “This is blood.”

“It is.”

“Fae blood.”

Cienna nodded. “You will need it.”

“That’s…great,” Axel muttered, twisting the lid back on before sliding it into an inside pocket of his jacket.

“Your path is not yet decided,” Cienna said. “Fate waits to make her final choice for you. Choose wisely.”

“Helpful as always, Cienna,” Axel said with another wink. “Anything else?”

“Not now, but thank you. For not revealing you know your way here.”

“Of course.” Sliding the mirror from his pocket, he flipped it over in his hand. “I’ll see you around?”

She waved him off, as much of a goodbye as he was going to get. To be honest, the thank you itself was a shock. But he’d never risk the fragile trust he’d worked so hard to build with the Witch. He knew Theon and Luka felt immense guilt over the death order their father had issued when he found out Cienna had bestowed the Guardian bond. They’d expected retribution, sure, but not that. Cienna had been on the Arius Council long before any of them had come into this world.

So Axel had done what he did best— damage control. Theon might know how to make the hard decisions and do what needs to be done, but Axel was the one who cleaned up afterwards. He was the one who knew how to talk to people. He was the one who knew how to mitigate and talk people down. He was the one who could spin something so all appeared to benefit, but those relationships had come with keeping secrets of his own.

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