Page 247 of Dawn of Chaos and Fury
Caris’s head tilted, her raven locks slipping over her shoulder. “Why do you care?”
Why did she care? If she’d been gone, she wouldn’t have had to worry about anything. She’d be in the After with no cares. Priya wouldn’t exist to worry about, spared from this poisonous cycle.
“I don’t know why I cared back then,” she answered honestly. “But now, it’s because of an innocent girl he lords over me the same way he did to you with Theon.”
Caris sat up straight at the words, her eyes wide. Eviana crossed the room, placing the photo on the table.
“I didn’t get to care for her. She didn’t even know I existed until a few weeks ago, and she still doesn’t know who I am to her,” Eviana said. “I don’t know her favorite foods or what scares her at night. I didn’t get to see her first steps or watch her wonder the first time she felt a flower call to her. I know it’s not the same, but she is why I care now. Because even though I didn’t get those things, I will still sacrifice whatever I must for her, just as you did for them.”
She stepped back as Caris reached for the photo, her hand trembling. Eviana didn’t know if Valter told her anything about Theon. He wouldn’t have cared to tell her of Luka or Axel, despite her being their caretaker as well. Judging by her reaction though, she hadn’t seen them since the day Valter tortured her in front of them.
“The bargain isn’t for me,” Eviana said. “It’s for her. Even if I never see her again in the end.”
“I don’t know what you think I can do,” Caris said quietly, still fixated on the photo.
“I just need to get her out of here,” she answered. “If I can get you out, will you take her with you? Get her to Theon? There are two males who will be with him. They will take her from there.”
Her eyes filled with pity. “Even if you could do that, what about you, Eviana?”
“Does it matter?” She gestured around the room. “Did it matter to you that this became your reality as long as they were safe?”
“Come to me with a plan, and we’ll talk,” Caris said, holding the photo with two hands now.
It wasn’t a yes, but it was something.
Eviana turned to leave, but just before she stepped through the hidden panel, Caris called out, “Thank you, Eviana.”
She didn’t stop or look back. There was nothing to thank her for. It was the least she could do after being part of the reason she was there in the first place.
Now to finalize her plan and hope that Corbin and Lange would be on board.
44
AXEL
Perfect.
That was all he could think as he leaned against the doorjamb, watching Kat softly talk to Maddox while she rocked him. Her hair was down, framing her face, and her finger gently stroked his cheek. Everything about that tiny babe was perfection, and now, nearly two weeks later, they’d discovered his perfect cry when he lets them know he needs something and his perfect soft sighs as he drifts to sleep. It was unfair for something to be so godsdamn perfect in this fucked up realm, and more than once he’d tried to figure out how his father had looked at him or Theon when they were that small and new and still only saw them as a means to an end.
Kat looked up when he softly cleared his throat, and the pure joy from seconds ago faded into disapproval. Her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed as she looked him up and down once, taking in the black pants and fitted black long-sleeve shirt. The boots and weapons. Everything he wore when he was out scouting with Cade and Rayell as they made their plans for Bree. Maddox squirmed as if he could sense the sudden tension, a soft cry coming from him as Kat stood from the chair.
Crossing the room with purpose, she held him out, forcing Axel to take their son. “You may as well hold him. It might be one of the last times,” she said sharply.
He sighed as he cuddled the babe close, Maddox instantly settling down. “Kat, we’ve talked about this.”
“No,” she hissed in a low tone so as not to wake Maddox. “You’vetalked about this. Planned this entire thing without me.”
“That’s not true,” he argued, keeping his voice just as low. “You know what we know. You’ve been part of the plans, and you know this needs to happen. She won’t stop.”
“I know that,” she snapped in a whisper, angrily beginning to fold blankets. “But I deserve this vengeance too, Axel. I’m the one she kidnapped, forced into labor from the stress. I’m the one who labored for hours and hours without you because of her. It wasn’t justyourson she tried to steal.”
Hot and angry tears were filling her eyes, and Axel’s chest twisted at the sight. He reached out a hand, halting her aggressive folding and tidying. “Kitten, I’m not keeping you from the vengeance because you don’t deserve it. If something goes wrong… Maddox can’t be left alone.”
“Something is less likely to go wrong if I am with you,” she argued. “I’m the one with the magic now. Even without his shadows, my fire is still something.”
He winced at the words. Even knowing they weren’t meant to be cruel, it still hit that way.
He swallowed thickly before he said, “I know that. Which is why if something happens, and he can only have one of us, it needs to be you.”
