Page 125 of Shattered Jewel
Axe, standing shirtless in the center of the altar room. His bare back is the expected canvas of scars and symbols, but with no fresh wounds. He’s not strapped down or restrained as I assumed he’d be, but lingers there with an unsettling calmness that belies the ruthless scrutiny of the three Sovereigns around him, their crimson robes glinting in the candlelight, their faces hidden behind expressionless masks.
It makes sense, at first. The Sovereigns have taught him to greet pain like a friend. Axe embraces agony like one would a long-lost sibling. It’s no wonder he’s just standing there awaiting the next blow.
Until the High Sovereign speaks. With Elara’s information, we very easily gave the buried titles to the correct man.
“Is that all you have to give us?” the High Sovereign asks as I move stealthily closer and crouch behind the nearest pillar.
“You found the other half. Isn’t that enough?” Axe forces out the sound of his voice, raw and grating .
“Yes, I expect you want us to thank you for telling us about Sarah’s vault and the location of the Heart’s other half,” the High Sovereign responds while the Scourge Sovereign circles closer. “And reward you for your stealth when you pored through Elara’s discovery of Maverick Wraithwood’s letter to her. It’s a shame, really, that the legacy of a Sovereign would expect praise for so little.”
The Silent Sovereign cocks his head, like he finds this interesting.
“No,” I hiss, the word escaping my lips in a dangerously loud whisper.
Axe, betraying us? But why would he...?
Unless...
“Indeed,” the High Sovereign continues. “It seems to me that your brothers may be of the same mind as Maverick. A shame. I had such high hopes for them.”
A cold knot forms in my stomach. Axe is their informant. He’s been feeding them information this entire time.
Rage rises within me like a sleeping dragon, fierce and roaring, threatening to consume everything in its path. But I don’t give it its freedom just yet, keeping it leashed within me under an iron will.
The High Sovereign reaches into his cloak’s pocket and pulls out a jagged, glittering jewel that looks like it was made from blood.
“We assumed we prevented any insurgency when we had Maverick killed,” the High Sovereign continues. “Little did we know, our own sons, the ones we bred to be unstoppable, wanted us dead. So disappointing. We appreciate your cooperation, Axton, in leading them here so we can cut the three-headed-serpent off at the neck, so to speak.”
“Where is she?” Axe asks in a sandpaper-rough voice, shuddering as he does. “You promised to tell me if I did everything you asked.”
“She’s safe,” the High Sovereign replies, his tone as dispassionate as ever. “For now.?
Elara? Did the Sovereigns pull at Axe’s strings the way they did ours, dangling Elara’s life in front of Axe until he did as he was bid.
A wave of shame cuts through my fury. No. He knew where Elara was. He left her in our bed when he snuck out with her amulet clenched in his hand.
Marianne.
The Sovereigns know where Axe’s sister is. Axe’s mind is so convoluted, his memories so jagged, that her being alive is the one thing that could get him to turn.
“Then give me her location!” Axe demands, his ragged voice echoing through the hollow chamber. “That was our deal, Sovereign. The Heart for my sister.”
The High Sovereign laughs, a chilling sound that reverberates.
“Marianne? I’m shocked you remember enough about her to commit the betrayals that you did.” the High Sovereign’s voice drips with amusement. “Well, your sweet Marianne isn’t here. Unless you believe she’s hiding under one of our cloaks.”
The Scourge Sovereign chuckles, a deep, echoing roll of sound that bounces off the cave walls, seeping into my veins with the potency of absolute dread. My heart thuds in my chest, resonating in my ears as adrenaline floods my system.
I roll my weakened shoulder, preparing it. Because I’m going to need as much adrenaline as I can absorb when I use all my strength to rip the High Sovereigns’ head off.
Axe’s stripped voice tries again. “Where is she?”
The High Sovereign encroaches Axe, his vile aura pushing ahead of him. He holds up the ruby—Elara’s amulet—rotating it casually between his fingers in a mockery of nonchalance. “A bit impatient tonight, aren’t we? Or perhaps you’re afraid that now the Heart is whole again, your services will no longer be required.”
A door at the back of the chamber we didn’t catch before grinds open, a groan of stone on stone that resonates like a death knell. The blood in my body foams into action as a figure is shoved into the room by two others.
Long brown curls tumble over slight shoulders, barely concealing the terror visible in her wide brown eyes. She trembles as she stumbles forward, hands bound together as a black cloak barely conceals her naked form.