My eyes close, unable to hide my relief. No matter how tough things get, I can always rely on Jaxson to come through in a pinch.
“In here!” I answer.
A second later, Jaxson appears in the kitchen, which is far too small for three people. But Pallas is almost done eating. Jaxson nods to him in greeting, unsurprised to find him here, telling me they have stayed in touch since I saw them together at Little Death. Before I can dwell too much on what that could mean, Jaxson kisses me on the head, and warmth spreads through my body, chasing away the cold that has lingered since leaving the Nest. He then inspects the leftover noodles and fixes himself a plate.
“I hear you’re helping Desiree return to the Nest,” Pallas asks. There’s a slight undertone to his words that I can’t quite place. Teasing?
Plate in hand, Jax spins to face us. “You sound surprised.”
“Only because I know there are other things you are supposed to be doing while Wilder is away. Have you even tried to find Marl?—”
“Wait,” I say to Pallas. “You never said what you did to warrant a one way ticket to Aurora.”
Jax goes quiet as Pallas’s face falls. “I wiretapped and broke into the president’s house.”
While I gasp, Jaxson mumbles, “Dumbass.”
Pallas and I glare at him. He’s never had to resort to desperate measures to get what he wants. Things come easily to Jaxson. If he’d try a little harder, he’d have the world at his fingertips.
“She found out?” I ask Pallas.
“Yes, Janus confronted Leigh about it. I guess I violated a few laws. Leigh is sending me to Aurora to keep me out of Kratos.”He takes another bite. The sound of his grinding teeth fills the room.
I may live underground, but even I know that Pallas’s family and friends are in Kratos, and his testimony helped put them there. Our country owes him a lot, yet we repay him by sending him packing. This is why I don’t miss being a human. They don’t value loyalty.
Pallas sighs and turns to Jaxson. “Did Soter catch the person who attacked Leigh?”
Wait. Leigh got attacked?
“No, but we have the city surrounded. No one is getting in or out of Borealis without Soter’s knowing,” Jax replies.
I stare between them. “Am I missing something?”
“Leigh almost got kidnapped earlier today,” Jax replies.
Well, shit. “Are there any leads?”
“A few. But none that are tangible.”
“What does Wilder think?”
“No one’s heard from him, not since . . .” Jaxson trails off, sharing another guarded look with Pallas.
I groan. They are keeping things from me, and I hate it. “Since when? Where is my brother?”
“Did you like your flower?” Pallas asks, changing the subject.
“What?”
“He means the flower I gave you on our date,” Jax supplies.
I frown at him. It wasn’t a date.
“The dahlia?” I ask. “Jax never said it was from you.”
“You’re a jerk,” Pallas says to Jax, but he’s smiling as he says it.
Jaxson smirks. “You like that about me.”
