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“Yulia’s here.” Roman’s words might as well have been grenades lobbed given her mate’s reaction.
“I banished her under penalty of death, and that was a mercy.” Alexei stood, spreading his wings. “I’ll show her what happens when someone hands my mate to the enemy.” He charged toward the door, muscles bunching and magic rippling off him.
Roman blocked his way, the man not as massive as his prince but unmovable. He looked miserable, his mouth mashed into a thin line and curved down at the edges. His scarred brow furrowed into a scary scowl. “Her boy’s been kidnapped. The Order took him.”
ChapterTwenty-Eight
Alexei’s chest squeezed painfully tight, and his magic rushed through him to shake the books in the shelves and send loose pages and pens flying to the floor in a clatter.
Noxx had stolen Tai. The boy’s messy brown hair and freckles, his shyness and insatiable curiosity, his small frame and gap-toothed grin superimposed over the memory of Kyle strapped dead and broken in a pool of his own blood. That couldn’t happen to this kid.
Joelle pushed past him in a rush, touching his shoulder as she rounded his wings. That one brush of skin on skin quieted his magic, allowing him to regain control. Her gaze went to Roman. “Where’s Yulia? I can’t imagine how devastated she must be. Is she in any condition to give us information to help find him?”
Alexei wondered the same, but he couldn’t let her meet Yulia alone. “Joelle.”
His use of her name had her snapping around as if surprised. “We can’t—”
Softening his tone, he tried to break through her distress. “What she did against you still matters.”
His mate—his tough, strong mate—stiffened her spine and straightened to her full height. “I made her trade me to Noxx.”
“You didn’t make her do anything. She did so out of her own selfishness.” He raised a hand, silently imploring her to let him finish before she launched into whatever argument brewed at the tip of her tongue. “You’re a princess, a mate. You belong to your kingdom as much as you belong to me, and your life is no longer wholly yours to decide. We will help her but we’ll do so on terms best for the kingdom.”
Joelle’s expression crumpled into one that shattered his heart. She looked so forlorn, his shirt tails riding low on her thighs to cover her leggings. “Tai’s just a little boy.”
He reached for her, pulling her close to his bare chest. “He’s a prince, the heir of a rival, so that comes first. But yes, he’s a kid, and I adore him too. We’ll rescue him as we will the others. Let me talk to Yulia first and establish boundaries before we act, all right?”
Her stare seemed to tear through him, looking for the loophole he might’ve left. When he almost pushed his point further, she said, “Okay, fair enough. You mastered these political power moves when you were Tai’s age. Say you’ll teach me how to play the game once we’ve taken down the Order and saved those little ones.”
Thank the gods she trusted him with this. “You’ll make a cunning and compassionate queen. As you said, Tai and the kids come first.”
She squeezed him in a quick hug. “Then let’s see what Yulia can tell us, and let’s hope we find them before Noxx can—”
“Don’t follow that terrible train of thought.” Tormenting themselves wouldn’t bring Tai back any faster.
“Guess you’ll need to put those away.” She stroked a shaking hand along his wings. His mate had a serious addiction to them—one he planned to satisfy as soon as everyone was safe.
“We might as well make an entrance.” He pulled her into his arms. “Hold tight.” The softness of her curves reminded him of why he fought, why they all battled to protect the ones they love. Stepping over the railing, he dropped in a freefall toward the floor, letting Joelle cling to him before catching the air in flight. His landing came softly, a hushed thud against the concrete. He set Joelle on her feet, then pushed her behind him, shielding her with his wings.
Surrounded by his guards who looked ready to put her head on a spike, Yulia stood proud and tall, her hands clasped, her shoulders stiff. It made the blood smeared across her business suit even more ghastly. “Alexei—”
“Don’t,” he said. “You lost any right to friendship when you came to my territory on my invitation and then traded my mate to the people who’ve now taken your son. She could have died.” He broke off each word, the hurt of how close he’d come to losing Joelle stealing his control over his temper. “The only reason I don’t incinerate you where you stand? Because my mate who you betrayed has a kind heart and can’t stomach the thought of a child suffering the torment she went through.”
“I didn’t know.” Yulia’s anger bubbled over, making him want to give her to someone else to handle until they knew more about Tai. “How could I have guessed how dangerous somehumanscould be?”
He didn’t buy the lie for a second. “You knew exactly how serious the threat was or you wouldn’t have made a deal with Noxx to spare you and your family.”
“A blood oath meant Tai’s safety.” Her mask cracked, the slightest waver in her voice and lines tightening around her eyes. “Noxx swore that she wouldn’t touch him. Who breaks that kind of sacred vow? Who takes achild?”
“The woman who tortured my mate for decades.”
“Enough.” Joelle tapped his back until he lowered his wings for her to stand beside him. “Set your boundaries. Banish her later. But right now, we need to find Tai.” She kept her voice low, her tone not the command of a woman challenging a ruler but the demand of a mate.
He couldn’t refuse her, and he didn’t get the chance to answer.
Alys came racing around the corner. “You lost Tai?” Her bellow echoed off every wall.
Alexei caught her around the waist, but his sister struggled, reaching for Yulia with fingers curled into claws. “If I didn’t get to blast her,” he said, “you can’t use your magic against her either—not yet anyway.”
