Page 10 of Fennick’s Fortune (Sentinels of Apollo #2)

Last night, I’d been bummed to go home and leave Akiva with Brax and Cerys.

I knew why Cerys wanted her there. They were psyched to be able to connect with the twins.

I couldn’t begrudge them the chance to communicate with them.

It had been a restless night for me, which was why I walked over to their place so early.

I knew they’d be up. Brax had to work, and Cerys would be up.

My first sight of Akiva had been like a kick to the chest. She was even lovelier than yesterday, if that was possible.

I hoped to get her to spend time with me today.

I was off. That went to hell when she tried to lie and say she’d never connected to other pregnant shifters like she did in front of us moments ago.

Watching her back away had stopped us in our tracks.

I listened to Cerys chide us, but couldn’t look away from Akiva.

I knew a moment before she turned that she was running.

I lunged toward her and caught her by the wrist. A searing sensation raced up my arm.

Akiva screamed as if she were hurt, then collapsed.

I caught her before she hit the floor. Carrying her in my arms to the couch, I cradled her close.

“Akiva, what’s wrong?” I asked urgently. Her eyelids were closed, and her face was screwed up in pain.

“Is she alright?” Cerys asked anxiously.

“Akiva, can you hear me?” I asked. Nothing.

Brax came up and took her other wrist in his hand.

He was checking her pulse. Her breathing was ragged.

Despite that and her face, no sound came out of her.

I tried to connect with her psychically, even though I knew it was useless.

Besides my six friends, I’d never been able to speak to someone telepathically.

Suddenly, my mind was filled with visions.

It was as if I were sucked into them. I found myself standing over a young girl.

She couldn’t be more than eight years old.

She was huddled in a tight ball. Her big green eyes and hair were the exact shades of Akiva’s.

I knew that it had to be her. She was in a dark place with the only light source coming through a dirty window.

There was a rough wooden floor under her and along the walls.

She was shivering with her arms wrapped around her bent legs.

I tried to touch the child Akiva, but my hands went through her.

She was watching the door and not blinking.

“Akiva, honey, can you hear me? It’s Fennick,” I said, though it was pointless.

Somehow, I was caught in a memory. You couldn’t speak to someone in a memory. Only when I had spoken to her, she jerked and glanced around as if she had heard me. I tried again.

“Akiva, it’s Fennick. What’s wrong? Tell me what to do,” I pleaded.

She shook her head, and fear grew in her expression. “You can’t be here. You’ve got to go. If they catch you here, they’ll hurt you,” she whispered.

“Who’ll hurt me?”

She came to her feet. “Leave. Don’t stay here. If they know about you, they’ll make it worse. I can’t let them hurt you. Please,” she whimpered.

The sound of footsteps came from outside. We were in what appeared to be a rundown shed. She shook harder, and terror filled her face.

“Baby, I can’t leave you. I can’t,” I admitted.

“Then be quiet. Don’t say a word, no matter what you see or hear. It’s the only way you can stay. If you don’t, they’ll make it worse. We have to protect the children,” she hissed, then shut her mouth a second or two before the door swung open.

Standing there was a huge man, probably in his late thirties. He glowered at her. “Come on, brat. I hope you learned your lesson after a night out here. We won’t have you interfering in our work again. You hear me? If you keep it up, you’ll be with the other brats,” he growled.

She took a shaky step toward the man, but it must not have been fast enough.

She cried out when he charged toward her, snagging her arm.

He dragged her out into the sunlight. She was crying and begging him not to make her do it again, but the man, whoever he was, ignored her.

As he hauled her across the yard covered in dead grass, rusted junk, and weeds, I caught what she was saying, more like sobbing.

“Please, Dad, don’t make me do it. I don’t want to. It’s not right. Please.”

The monster treating her like unwanted baggage was her father! Fury hit me. I opened my mouth to shout at him to let her go. In the dream, I was walking next to Akiva. She reached over, snagged my hand, and squeezed it. When I glanced at her, she was shaking her head, mouthing, Don’t say anything .

Her little hand was torn from mine by her brute of a father. He dragged her across the yard to another rundown building. Even before we got close, I could hear the sobs and pleas for help. They belonged to women. I wrinkled my brow in confusion.

The man she called Dad trapped Akiva between him and the door so he could use both hands to unlock the heavy-duty lock that held it shut. Once it was open, he latched onto her again and pulled her roughly inside. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

The room was as barren and uninviting as the one Akiva had been in.

There were ten single beds in the long building.

Each bed had an occupant. The women ranged in age from their late teens to their thirties, judging by their appearance.

All were dressed in rags and looked uncared for.

What stood out even more than that, and their apparent fear of Akiva’s dad, was their stomachs.

Everyone appeared to be pregnant. The size of their stomachs indicated they were at different stages of pregnancy.

Akiva was dragged to the first bed. The woman stared at her in fear.

“Touch her and find out. When is the brat coming? We have someone anxious to know. You know we can’t disappoint them. Do your thing and tell me. And encourage it to hurry up,” her dad snapped.

The woman shook her head and whispered, “No,” repeatedly.

Tears streamed down Akiva’s face as she looked at the woman and said, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Her dad shook her hard. “Fucking do it, or you’ll be more than locked up for the night.”

Reluctantly, as the woman cowered away from her, Akiva reached out and placed her hand on the woman’s belly. Akiva stood there, not moving or speaking for a few minutes before pulling her hand away.

“Well, what the fuck did it say? When?” he growled.

“He says maybe a week,” she whispered brokenly.

“A week! We don’t have a week. Did you tell it to get its ass out here? They’ll be here in four days. That’s the deadline. You stay here for a while and talk that brat into coming sooner. If not, we’ll be forced to take it.”

Her dad turned and stomped to the door. When he reached it, he swung around to glare at them all. “If you want to eat today, you’d better encourage those brats to leave your wombs as soon as possible. We have clients, and you need to be ready to be bred again.”

When he said bred, he smirked and rubbed his crotch. The women whimpered in terror. As he slammed out of the building, I looked at Akiva. She was watching me.

“I told you to leave. Now you know.” Shame was evident in her voice and on her tiny face. Her eyes gutted me.

Then, with a jolt, like I’d been ejected, I returned to myself, standing in Brax and Cerys’s kitchen.

The two of them were anxiously watching Akiva and me.

When they noted my blink and movement, they opened their mouths to question me, but I held up my hand to stop them. I had to see to Akiva first.

She was still in my arms. Her eyes were closed, and she was whimpering. I hugged her closer and gave her a gentle shake. “Akiva, come back. Don’t stay there. You’re safe here, with me. He can’t hurt you. Please, open your eyes,” I begged.

After a minute of waiting, I was frantic. I glanced up at my friends.

“I need Nico. Maybe he can help bring her out. It’s a memory, and it’s not a good one. I can’t reach her. Maybe he can,” I told them before I spoke in my mind.

“ Nico, I need you.”

He replied immediately. “Where? Your place?”

“No, I’m at Brax’s.”

“Brax and Cerys alright?” he questioned. I sensed his anxiety.

“They’re fine. It’s Akiva. She’s stuck in a memory. I need help to break her free.”

“I’m on my way. I’ll be there in two minutes.”

Considering that, as a vampire, he could fly, I knew he’d make it in the timeframe if not sooner.

With my friends, we had different pathways, I guess you’d call them, in our minds.

We could communicate one-on-one or to the group as a whole.

I’d chosen to do it just with Nico. However, Brax sent a request of his own. It went to everyone.

“If possible, you’re needed at my house. Do not alarm our guests. We need help with Akiva.”

I ignored the others’ questions. I was studying Akiva and kept whispering to her, hoping I could snap her out of it. I was about to swear when Nico came rushing into the house. He came straight to us.

“You said she’s stuck in a memory. How do you know?” he asked.

“Because she somehow took me into it with her. It’s from when she was a kid. It’s not pretty. I need to get her out.”

“How did you get out?” Brax asked.

“I don’t know. It was like I was kicked out somehow,” I said, frustrated.

“I’m going to have to touch her. She’s got a barrier or something that won’t allow me in,” Nico warned moments before he placed his hands on either side of her head and closed his eyes.

Instantly, he was frowning, then Akiva began to moan louder and wiggle.

I could only stand it for about a minute and was about to tell him to stop when the others came hurrying in.

I let Brax and Cerys explain. I fought to give Nico another minute.

When it was up, I moved my hand to grab his arm and break contact.

I never got the chance. Nico jerked his hand away and opened his eyes.

He was still frowning, and Akiva wasn’t awake.