Page 187 of Dawn of Chaos and Fury
Axel held her gaze as he continued in the opposite direction, guiding Kat to the chair athisright before taking the seat at the other end of the table. He leaned back, spreading his legswide beneath the table. Propping his elbow on the armrest, he steepled a finger along his temple.
Bree’s smile became forced. “This is supposed to be a cordial dinner, Axel, darling.”
“And it is more likely to remain so if I am at the opposite end of the table,” he replied, watching the vampyre carefully who placed a glass of water and a glass of wine before Kat. “She’ll have cranberry juice instead,” he said, and the vampyre glanced at Bree, who nodded once, before he took the wine and left the dining room.
Cade stalked in next, glancing once at them before he took the seat on Bree’s right. The tension was thick with no one speaking until Rayell arrived, breezing into the room as if she didn’t have a care in the world. The pink streaks in her hair were brighter, as though freshly dyed, and she dropped into the chair to Bree’s left unceremoniously. Leif and Sevrin arrived, the Fae male partners who ran the Apparel District, and Kylian and Giselle arrived last, Giselle taking the chair beside Katya.
Light chatter had started, mainly at their end of the table while drinks were distributed. At least everyone else had been given beverages. The vampyres were last to receive anything other than water. When they were served, the clear goblets shimmered with blood.
“It’s fresh,” Bree said from across the table. Then she glanced at Katya before locking eyes with Axel once more. “I figured fire was your preference.”
“It is,” Axel agreed. Pointedly picking up his glass of water, he added, “But I prefer it direct from the source.”
“That can be arranged,” Bree said tightly.
“Not here,” he said simply. “Unless everyone wants a show of where that will lead when I feed from her.”
“You feed from her while she is with child? I somehow doubt that,” Bree said mildly, picking up her own glass of blood.
“What we do and don’t do is truly none of your concern,” he said coldly, taking a drink of water and hiding his wince. Because he could smell the blood in the other glasses, and every instinct in him was on high alert the way it was. Leif and Sevrin were a chair away, not to mention Kat sitting right fucking there.
“If directly from the source is what you desire, you know I can provide that,” Bree went on. “They are here by choice and well compensated, of course,” she added for the Fae leaders’ benefits.
They shrugged, and that was really all that mattered to them. They knew their blood was valuable, and as long as the Fae weren’t being used or forced against their will, they didn’t care. It was a bargaining power only they held, and they knew it.
If only the Fae in the kingdoms could figure that out as well, the entire system in Devram would change.
“Again, that is not necessary,” Axel said curtly. “Can we get on with what this conclave is about?”
“All in good time, darling. Let’s eat before we dive into business. You are guests in my—our—house after all,” she amended when Cade shot her a look. Rayell didn’t seem to care, sipping on her glass of blood. Axel knew better. She was paying as much attention as everyone else. There was a reason she was one of the clan leaders.
It was the longest godsdamn dinner of his life, and that was saying something. He’d sat through plenty of dull and uncomfortable affairs with his father, but this was over-the-top and ridiculous. Idle chatter and ten courses. Fake pleasantries and subtle temptations. More than once Bree asked if he’d changed his mind about having blood, and it didn’t help that the vampyres at the other end of the table were drinking their own supply in no show of moderation. He’d been living on limited rations while they had this surplus.
A hand on his made him start, and he looked down to find Kat squeezing his fingers. He met her gaze, giving her a tight smile as he tried to focus on what Leif and Sevrin were saying. Something about contacts outside the Underground.
“I think we could do that, right, Axel?” Kat said, squeezing his fingers again.
“I’m sorry, what was that?” he asked, cutting a bite of the red velvet cake in front of him. All the food had tasted like ash tonight because all he wanted was blood.
“Leif is asking if we could arrange a meeting with the new Arius Lord to discuss a potential blood contract for rations,” Kat said.
He frowned, trying to figure out what he’d missed. The kingdoms got their blood from the Fae assigned to them. It was part of their duties. The Fae blood from the Underground was considered contraband because it couldn’t be regulated like the Fae blood in the kingdoms.
Taking the bite of cake to stall his response, he went utterly still. Because this wasn’t just red velvet cake.
His gaze darted from his dessert to the others around the table. Bree, Cade, and Rayell all had the red velvet cake. Everyone else had chocolate. He hadn’t noticed. Too distracted by his craving and trying to keep his shit together. He’d stopped caring about the food that had been placed in front of him after the third course when nothing tasted good.
But there was blood in this cake somehow, and holy fuck, was it divine. Powerful.Hot.
Blood from a fire Fae.
His eyes snapped to Bree, who was already watching him. Everyone else appeared to be oblivious to the silent battle of wills going on between them. She brought a forkful of red velvet cake to her mouth, taking a sensual bite. Her tongue darted outto lick a drop of frosting on the corner of her mouth, and then she smiled enough to show the tips of her fangs.
More.
He needed more.
He thought he’d learned restraint these past months. Had forced himself to practice it every fucking day, drinking only enough rations to keep himself in check. But there was blood just in reach, that goblet still sitting before him untouched. The cake. The Fae at the table. Kat.
