AXEL
“No.”Dathal shot up from his seat so he could glare down at me. “Chlah ferath.Are you out of your mind?”
I half-expected Lady Sarhin to comment on his using fae this side of the gateway, but she said nothing. No one did.
“We haven’t spent months keeping you safe so that you can offer yourself up on a fucking platter.”
“Dathal—”
“Don’t youDathal, me.” He sank onto the sofa beside me again, hand unsteady when he gripped one of mine. “I know you were the one he hurt, but I was the one who found you.” His voice shook, lip trembling as he clung to my hand. “You were tied to that fucking chair, slumped forward, and there was so much blood…” He closed his eyes and dragged in a ragged breath. “I thought he’d killed you. I stood there, and for one terrifying moment, I thought I’d be carrying your lifeless body out of that room.” When he looked at me, his eyes were full of a fierce determination. “Don’t ask me to go through that again, Axel.”
I stared at him, speechless.
I knew he’d been the one to walk into that room and find me, but he’d never once talked about how it had affected him. Never said anything other than he wanted to kill Zh’alek for what he’d done.
I should’ve known. Should’ve realised he’d have scars from that day too, because underneath all his bravado and his bluntness, Dathal loved with all his heart. If you mattered to him, then anything that hurt you hurt him too.
If you’d found him like that, you’d have been the same.
I hugged him tight. “I’m so sorry.”
“So you won’t do it?” he asked softly.
I froze.
As much as I wanted to alleviate his fears, what other options did we have?
“We can’t keep up this level of protection indefinitely, Dathal. It’s not sustainable for anyone involved.”
I expected him to fight me on it, but he rested his head on my shoulder before sighing in defeat. “I know. But there has to be an alternative.”
When he moved to sit beside me again, I faced the others. “We need to draw him out. If it is him out there and I am his target, then at least we’ll know. If nothing happens, then maybe I’m not actually even on his radar and things can go back to some semblance of normal.”
Dathal crossed his arms, his disapproval obvious, but deep down he knew that we had to do something. I wasn’t expecting him to like the idea.Ididn’t like it and I’d suggested it.
“Can you keep him safe?” Lady Sarhin directed her question to Rys.
“Yes.” His answer was instant and confident in a way that settled some of my worries. “But I need to know everything about Zh’alek. His skills with weapons, fighting, what magical ability he has.”
“Vai Zh’alek has an affinity for the earth and all things that grow from it. His magic will be harder to wield this side of the gateway, but it’s possibly another reason why your pack struggled to locate him. If he can encourage the forest to bend to his magic, it may enable him to cover his tracks.”
Rys snarled, but to her credit, Lady Sarhin didn’t so much as flinch. “That would have been useful to know before now.”
She met his angry glare with one of her own. “I didn’t think it pertinent information since you assured me you could track the scent of any trespassers in your territory.”
Rys’s lip curled further. “That was before I knew he had access to scent masking magic.”
“Well, you know now.”
“What about his fighting skills,” Gabriel asked, smoothly changing the subject. “Does he have daggers like yours, Dathal?”
“He has a tattoo of aklarythdalon his hip,” I answered instead. “It’s got a longer blade than Dathal’s daggers. I never saw him use it, though.”
“If he wears the tattoo, then he knows how to use it.” Dathal rubbed at his shoulder. “And he can call for it at will.”
“If we assume Zh’alek is watching Axel from the forest,” Rys said, “then I’ll be limited as to how many pack members I can have here. We need Axel to appear an easy enough target to encourage him to approach.”
“I’ll be here.” Dathal turned to glare at me. “Don’t even think of suggesting otherwise.”
