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She nodded mutely, lifting a shaky hand. He glanced at the phone she held, the screen showing a call in progress. Taking thephone, he said to her, “Burn it all, kitten,” before bringing the phone to his ear. “Blackheart?”

“Axel,” Tristyn said. “What do you need?”

And it wasn’t said sarcastically, but there was sincere concern in his voice.

“I need someplace to hide her. I don’t know how long. She needs to be safe, and?—”

“Bring her to Lilura Inquest. Go to the north side of the building. I’ll meet you there.”

“Thank you,” Axel nearly choked out, ending the call and turning to find ashes flitting away in the winter wind.

“That will have to do, Kat,” he said. “Get in the car. We need to go.”

“But the evidence?—”

“There isn’t time. Get in the car,” he said again.

His father would figure out what happened soon enough anyway.

“Where are we going?” she asked as Axel raced from the parking lot and headed to the business district of the Acropolis.

“Tristyn has a place to hide you.”

“Axel, I can’t— I can’t run from my kingdom. It’s a death sentence,” she said. He could hear the frantic fear in her voice. He was hoping the male hadn’t been lying, but his power had clearly touched her, amplifying her greatest fears to some degree.

“I will make sure you’re not found,” he said, hating that they didn’t have time for him to properly comfort her.

“And what about you?”

“I’ll be fine,” he answered, speeding through a red light.

“I don’t see how that’s possible,” she argued.

“As long as you are safe, it doesn’t matter what happens to me,” he answered.

Happy, safe, and whole.

That was what he needed her to be.

She might not be happy with this arrangement, but she’d be safe and whole. He’d settle for that.

“It matters to me,” she said, her voice getting higher as she started to panic again.

“But you are more important.”

“That makes little sense,” she said as he brought the car to a screeching halt on the north side of the building, where he spotted Tristyn waiting for them. “You are an Arius Heir. I am just a Fae. You are far more important. Saying I’m more important isn’t logical.”

He turned in the driver’s seat, reaching across the center console and clasping her face in his hands. “Nothing has been logical from the moment I laid eyes on you, Katya. Claiming you wasn’t logical. Letting you have my room wasn’t logical. Arguing with you, sleeping beside you, kissing you. None of it is logical. And it sure as fuck isn’t logical that you consume me just by godsdamn existing, but you do, Katya. I cannot explain why. I’ve stopped trying. I’m a disappointment to many people on so many levels, butplease, Kat. Please let me do this. Please let me keep you safe because it is the only mercy I can offer you in this godsforsaken realm.”

There were tears tracking down her face, and he swiped at them with his thumbs, faint red streaks left in their wake from the blood on his hands.

“Promise me you’ll come back for me,” she whispered.

“I can’t, kitten,” he said. “I can only promise that you will be safe.”

A tap on the window had him turning to find Tristyn opening the car door.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but if we’re doing this, we need to go. Now,” the male said.