Page 133 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

He was broody and irritable like Luka too.

“Razik, Axel. Axel, Razik,” Eliza said, gesturing between the two. “Yes, we know they are likely related. No, we do not wish to discuss it right now. What we need to discuss is the fact that the female carrying your child took a Mark to find you, and if you don’t take the same, she’ll?—”

“Calm down,mai dragocen,” Razik cut in. “You’re scaring him.”

“He’s one of the people who force the Fae to serve them,” Eliza argued, gesturing angrily at Axel. “He needs to understand what she did to find him.”

“Okay, first of all, I didn’t force Kat to do anything,” Axel cut in, his own irritation and anger growing. “In fact, I tried to talk her out of…all of this multiple times. I’ll admit I shouldn’t have let it get this far, but it was like we couldn’t help it.”

“Because you’re drawn to each other,” Eliza supplied.

“Because you’re twin flames,” Razik added.

Eliza slid her gaze to him, unimpressed. “You say ‘let’s not scare him,’ then you just saythat? By the gods, Razik.”

Razik just shrugged before sitting in the chair Axel had been holding vigil in.

“Can one of you just tell me what a twin flame is?” Axel cut in. A bond had been mentioned before, but it was one of the things not yet explained to him.

Eliza held up her left hand with that Mark. “I’m assuming you saw the Mark on her hand?”

“Yes, but I haven’t had time to talk to her about it.”

But while Katya showered, Eliza and Razik told him all about twin flames. What the bond was. How it worked. How the Legacy of Devram had taken that bond and twisted it into something abhorrent. Katya emerged as they were explaining how she took the Mark in the hope it would help her find him, and all he could do was stare at her.

His mouth was dry, the words gravel as he said, “You took that Mark for me not knowing what it would do?”

She smiled weakly, but she looked better. There was more color in her cheeks. She was moving a little faster, and when she reached for a glass of water, he rushed to grab it for her.

After she took a drink, she said, “Look what you sacrificed for me. I could handle a Mark.”

“A Mark that will slowly drain you if a companion Mark isn’t taken,” Axel argued.

She shrugged. “I guess I had to believe it would work. I had to believe I would find you, and you would take the Mark. Because you’re a sliver of good in this world, Axel, and if I couldn’t believe in that, then what is the point?”

Axel blinked back the moisture threatening to pool in his eyes before his gaze dipped to her stomach. “You are sure? About…”

Her soft smile was back. “Yes. Cienna confirmed it. Eliza has been helping me hide it from everyone.”

“How?”

“There is a Mark that masks the scent of the child,” Eliza offered. “It fades every few days though, so it must be reapplied. I am trained to draw Marks.”

“Are you a priestess?” Axel asked, still staring at Kat’s stomach.

“What’s that?”

“We call them Witches in our world. Descendants of Zinta,” Razik said.

“By Anala, no,” Eliza said. “I can draw Marks because of my earth Fae lineage.” Before Axel could question that, she added, “Don’t ask. I’m not telling you my life story.”

She was kind of…rude.

“And you knew of this particular Mark because…?” Axel asked, helping Kat back into bed now.

“I’ve used it in the past,” she answered tightly. “Again, I’m not telling you my life story.”

Taking the strong hint that the discussion was over, he said, “Then you can give me this twin flame Mark, right?”

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