Page 23 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

His brows shot up at the prospect, and she let out another breath of laughter.

“Not blood, Axel darling. Although, if you accept my proposal, you can have all that you’d like.”

“Color me intrigued, Bree,” he replied, sipping on his liquor and wishing to any god or Fate or being that it was blood.

“There is division among the kingdoms of the realm, and Theon’s Source is creating cracks that will become irreparable.”

“What does that have to do with me? As you so eloquently reminded me, I am merely the spare heir.”

“Division among the kingdoms weakens them,” Bree went on. “They are so focused on maintaining their own individual power, and they are so worried about Tessalyn and what she is, that they are leaving themselves vulnerable. They forget we even exist.”

“You want to take on the realm?” Axel said in disbelief. “You are mad. You cannot win.”

“While we have been left to rot in the dark, they have forgotten what we are. Shifters and Witches. Fae who are treated as less than by those who rule. Night Children banished solely for existing unless they need our skills for their own ends,” she said, her tone growing colder and colder with each word. “And then there are the Legacy. Those who questioned. Those who didn’t agree with the way things were being run. Those who tried to stand against them. The kingdoms forget there is wrath brewing here as they worry about the fury walking among them.”

“You cannot win,” Axel repeated.

“We can. We will,” Bree countered, getting to her feet again.

“And what does this have to do with me?” Axel asked again as she came to a stop beside his chair.

A red-painted nail skated lightly through the thick stubble that had grown along his jaw. “You are right, Axel darling. You have been good to me, so I would like to return the favor.”

“How?”

“A spot at my side,” she answered.

The sound that came from him was somewhere between a choke and a laugh. “You cannot be serious.”

“Think about it,” she said, resting her ass against the table. “I have the loyalty of the Underground, and you’re right. You have been building those relations here. You have more respect here than your father or brother. More than that, you are an Arius descendant. You have connections I do not have outside the Underground. We can lead the Underground. The kingdoms are going to destroy themselves from within, and then we will be there.”

Axel shook his head, too dumbfounded to know what to say. “And if I refuse?”

A small frown formed, and she reached out to run her hand through his hair. “Axel, darling, you have no idea how…debilitating bloodlust can be.”

“I think I have a pretty good idea,” he said dryly.

“Not yet, but you will,” she replied, pushing off the table. “I’ll give you some time to think about it, but know that should you decline, these last two weeks will be a dream compared to what will come.”

6

THEON

Theon eyed the two Fae who were seated stiffly on a sofa across from him. After spending an entire day in the Underground a few days ago, everyone had come back to the Arius Estate just outside the Acropolis. He didn’t want to go back to Arius House because his mother was there, and frankly, he didn’t trust half the staff. More than that, even with all the chaos going on, the Selection Year was still proceeding as normal. The townhouse would not have been big enough because when he said everyone had come back here, he meanteveryone.

He’d been able to rescind the death order on Cienna, freeing her from the Underground, but the enchantment had taken hours to undo. It was why she’d never been able to leave, even with her magic and skills. Had she left, his father would have been immediately alerted along with several dozen of his sentries. The complicated network of tunnels and passages in the Underground, along with her own spells, were what had kept her hidden all these years. Even when she and Tristyn were sure they’d all been lifted, she still insisted on a glamour from Tristyn the first time she stepped outside, and Theon could have swornthere were tears shimmering in her eyes before Tristyn had Traveled them all here.

All of them: Lange, Corbin, Cienna, Gia, Eliza, and Razik. The only one Tristyn had refused to bring here was Katya. In fact, he’d refused to even tell Theon where Katya was, saying he’d sworn to Axel he’d keep her safe. The male had insisted on putting up his own spells and enchantments around the Arius manor and estate before bringing her here, and it wasn’t as if Theon was in any position to argue. He was finally the godsdamn Arius Lord, and he was more powerless than ever before.

With a sigh, he raked his hand through his hair. “Are you comfortable in your room?” He asked Corbin and Lange.

They both shifted under his stare, but Corbin was the one to say, “The room is more than adequate. Thank you, my Lord.”

“You don’t—” But Theon stopped himself because in what world was a Fae not supposed to be thankful and respectful to a Legacy?

“I swear to Anala, Raz, if you say one more word about that bowl, I’m going to throw it against the wall,” came a female voice.

“Eliza, if you intentionally break something that valuable, I’m going to?—”

---