Page 252 of Dawn of Chaos and Fury
“Truly it’s too many people,” Kat said. “We need Cade and Rayell, and this is personal for me and Axel. Tessa’s right. She can contact you down the bond, and you can Travel, Luka.”
Luka glanced at Theon before he sighed. “Fine, but this is the last time the three of you gang up on us.”
“It’s cute you think that,” Tessa said with a smirk, snapping the book closed. “When do we leave?”
And that was how Axel found himself outside the House of Four two hours later.
All of them were dressed in black, the females with their hair pulled back. They went as soon as possible because the vampyres weren’t sure how long Bree would hang around.
Hiding in the shadows across the cavern, Rayell and Cade instructed Tessa on where to Travel them so they wouldn’t have to cross the cavern bridge. They couldn’t risk Traveling directly into the House of Four though, so they were entering through a hidden entrance at Rayell’s house and making their way over to Bree’s.
Rayell’s section of the House of Four was far different from Bree’s. He’d expected them all to be the same—extravagant and formal. But Rayell’s house was more homey. Warm colors of beige, coral, and blues. Everything airy and welcoming, somehow reminding Axel of being by the sea rather than stuck under the mountains.
“It gets tight in here,” Rayell warned as she led them towards the back of the house. “There is a passage behind the Housesthat connects them all, but it is narrow. Only wide enough for one at a time.”
Axel glanced over his shoulder at Tessa, who was trailing her fingers along the wall. Her head tilted, and he knew then Theon and Luka were talking to her.
“Tell them where we’re going, Tessa,” Axel said. “So they can talk you through it.”
His focus was entirely on Kat. While he loved Tessa like a sister, he wasn’t going to be the one to talk her through her phobias when his wife was here. Bree could be anywhere.
Rayell hadn’t been kidding about the tight passage. More than once, Axel wondered how the fuck Cade fit through here. The male was as big and broad as Luka, but even Axel had to turn and shuffle through a few areas, his shirt getting caught on the stone wall more than once.
When they finally emerged in Bree’s House, Tessa shoved past him, leaning against the wall with her eyes closed and breathing deep.
“Tessa?” Kat asked, going to her and tentatively placing her hand on her arm. “Are you all right?”
She nodded, her chest heaving. “Just give me a moment. “
“We don’t have a moment,” Cade said gruffly. “We’re in her home now. We need to keep moving to find her before she finds us.”
Kat took Tessa’s hand, tugging her forward. “We’re all leaving here together, Tessa.”
Tessa nodded, visibly trying to calm her breathing as Kat stayed close and followed Axel and Rayell. Cade took up the rear again, and while they moved, Axel tried to figure out where exactly they were.
“Isn’t it odd she came back to her house?” Axel asked Rayell in a hushed tone.
“Yes and no,” the Night Child answered. “She’s been around a long time. A lot of her secrets are here. We knew she’d come back eventually. She always does.”
“What made you turn on her?” Tessa asked from behind them.
Axel glanced back, Kat giving him a reassuring smile.
“She kept refusing to fill Henry’s position,” Rayell answered. “We were already growing suspicious of her motives. For nearly two hundred years, we have led the Dispensary District together and always been on acceptable terms with the Arius Lord. We gave respect, and in return, we were left alone. Bree was suddenly threatening our way of life and the lives of the people in our care.”
“Do you think she instigated that attack on me? The one Theon killed Henry for?”
“It wouldn’t surprise me,” she answered.
Axel looked at Rayell because he’d never thought of that, but now that Tessa had brought it up, he wouldn’t be surprised either if Bree had planted the seeds for that little rebellion. She was cunning and clever. She’d likely been sowing seeds of discontent for decades. Little things here and there, letting them fester and grow until she was ready to make her move.
They rounded a corner, and Axel slowed when he saw the large iron doors that lay ahead of them.
“The dragon dick room?” Axel questioned.
“The what now?” Tessa asked.
“There’s a ton of treasure in there,” Axel replied. “Gems. Gold. Weapons. I remember thinking Luka’s dragon dick would get hard in there.”
