Page 66 of The Awakening of Essensia

Vaelira tilted her head. “Why live in this quarter if you hate them all so much?”

Axel leaned back, dragging a hand through his hair. His gaze found hers, as if deciding something. “Wasn’t my first choice,” he said. “I was dismissed from the Guard. Insubordination.” He rolled his eyes. “I was ready to move to New Town when Elijah showed up with the deed to this house. He said I’d made too many enemies to live so close to the edge of the city. Told me we wouldn’t last six months.” He paused. “He bought this place for me and Willem. Said it was an apology.”

A flicker of warmth stirred in Vaelira’s chest. “Generous of him.”

Axel’s jaw twitched. “He didn’t have to. It was my call. I only accepted this house because it spared Willem from having to move back to New Town.”

Her brow furrowed. “What call?”

“The dog fights,” he said. “The King ordered us to leave them alone. Too many nobles involved. Elijah pushed, but the decision was mine in the end.”

Vaelira stilled. “Jurah mentioned those rings. Elijah said he owed you.” She had forgotten.

Axel’s expression darkened. “Jurah’s the one who reported us.”

She blinked.

“He got my job for it,” Axel continued. “Made it sound like he helped, didn’t he?”

Vaelira’s mouth opened, but no sound came out. Her thoughts reeled. It didn’t fit. Jurah had always struck her as kind. On the road he had been patient with her, calm. Firm too, but in that principled, measured way that felt like guidance rather than malice. Like he was helping.

Now, that patience looked like distance. Like the careful restraint of a man who never let anyone get too close. A man who put his duty to the Crown over his duty to the people. It wasn’t betrayal, she didn’t know Jurah well enough for that, but it wasn’t the man she thought she knew either.

An uncomfortable heat rose in her chest. She had been so blind to what he was capable of.

She was surrounded by strangers, by people she had only known a handful of weeks. How many were still waiting to shatter the picture she’d painted of them?

She looked to where Orphi lay snoring on the rug. His tongue lolled as he rested his head on a paw. He was safe because of Axel, and that made the man in front of her seem less of a stranger, at least. “How did you keep going?” she asked quietly.

Axel looked at her for a long moment. “The fight didn’t stop when I was stripped of my title. And neither did the danger. Someone must step in where the Crown will not.”

Vaelira didn’t respond. The gravity of what she’d involved herself in descended like hammer to anvil. She admired them for the good they were trying to do in this city, but what difference could they make in a place as large as this? A place so full of political and social complexities that it made her head spin.

The door to the living room creaked open, and Willem’s head popped through the gap. “Drink?”

Vaelira was still curled in the armchair, drink in hand, when night fell and streetlamps sparked to life outside the window. Axel had lit a fire in the grate, its warmth licking at her skin and lulling her deeper into the cushions. She should have been back at the barracks hours ago, but her limbs felt heavy, and each time she thought about moving, the weight of the day dragged her back down.

Her arm ached faintly as she lifted the glass to her lips. Maybe if she returned late enough, no one would be awake to notice.

Axel sat opposite her, eyes on the small book in his hand. On one of the sofas, Willem lay sprawled with his eyes closed, humming softly to himself, the notes low and tuneless but oddly comforting. Just as she considered letting her own eyes close, footsteps sounded in the hallway.

The door opened, and Elijah stepped through, Erryn on his heels. His hair was dishevelled, as if he’d run the whole way there. His gaze landed on Vaelira, and the tension released from his shoulders. He jerked his head towards the hall. She pushed herself up and crossed the room, nodding to Erryn as she passed.

Elijah closed the door behind them. “Are you okay?” he asked softly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Vaelira nodded. She wanted to be angry, to shout at him for the way he had kept her in the dark, but the words felt small now, trivial compared to everything else.

“Erryn came to find me,” he continued. “I came as soon as I could.”

He stepped closer, his hand slipping to her waist. Fingers brushed bare skin where her shirt had ridden up, sending a sharp current through her. He squeezed gently, leaning in. His breath warmed her cheek.

All she had to do was rise on her toes and their lips would meet. She could forget the alley, forget all of it for a moment.

“We should go back in,” she said, breathless.

Elijah cleared his throat and stepped back. He dropped his hand from her waist, leaving her skin like ice where his fingers had been.

Everyone stilled when they returned, looking to Elijah as he took Vaelira’s seat by the fire. Vaelira sat next to Willem, who was upright now, a fresh drink clutched in hand.