Page 20 of Fennick’s Fortune (Sentinels of Apollo #2)

I wasn’t sure if the day had been a success.

I regretted dropping the piece about Banner being available for any legal concerns Akiva might have.

I meant it to be comforting, but afterward, it seemed to put an edge on the rest of our time.

Not knowing what or who she was hiding and running from made it difficult to know what to say or do to reassure her.

And even though we’d hopefully get those answers tonight, I wasn’t sure we would. Or maybe not entirely.

When we arrived at Brax’s house, Twyla was there, and the two women were hard at work.

While they initially denied needing help, they eventually welcomed Akiva into their efforts when she insisted.

I was assigned to do what I called more grunt work, which I was fine with.

That consisted of ensuring the fire pit outside was stocked with plenty of firewood.

While we’d eat indoors, there was the possibility we’d end up outside to enjoy the fire.

It often did with us. Usually, since it was now wintertime, we’d bundle Twyla and Cerys up, but we rarely got cold, no matter the external temperature.

As the afternoon wore on, my friends trickled in.

Sometimes we had to juggle a lot to get us all off on the same days.

Anytime we could be together, we enjoyed it.

However, there was another advantage to living out here in Needles, other than the privacy and room to allow our other halves out to run.

The cost of living wasn’t as high as in places like Los Angeles or Las Vegas, which meant we didn’t need to work forty-plus hours per week if we didn’t want to.

Considering our longevity, we have been acquiring and growing our wealth for decades or centuries.

Honestly, we didn’t have to work if we didn’t want to.

We did so, to have something to do, serve others, and to help us blend in.

If I successfully got Akiva to accept me as her mate, I’d possibly scale back a bit more.

With the increase in the Sentinels’ duties with this whole Pytho and his Knights problem, that was a possible necessity anyway.

The last thing I wanted was to be forever at work, whichever one it was, when I had a mate and Apollo willing, children.

Dinner was served after everyone arrived. As always, we had no complaints. When it was over, the ladies were told to bundle up, sit outside, and enjoy the fire while we took care of the dishes and other cleanup.

When we came out, Cerys looked disappointed. Brax went straight over to her. “What’s wrong, astéri mou ?”

“I’m sitting here missing out on wine. I miss my wine, honey. And I know it’s a minor thing, but with everything else you give up when pregnant and then have change within you, even a tiny one becomes huge.”

“I’m sorry. You know if I could carry our babies, I would,” he said as he picked her up in his arms and sat in her chair with her on his lap.

She snuggled into him. I wish I could do the same with Akiva, but it was too soon to try. I had to settle for sitting next to her. I was surprised, though pleased, when one of her hands found mine. I laced our fingers together.

“I know, and I’m not truly whining. I just smelled what Twyla and Akiva were drinking, and it made me want some.”

“If it bothers you—,” Akiva said, but was cut off before she could finish her offer.

“No, don’t you dare stop drinking on account of me. If someone stopped something whenever I wanted or hated it, they’d never get anything. Please, I’m fine,” Cerys assured her.

“She’s right. Ignore her. You don’t see me giving up my wine, do you?” Twyla asked.

“That’s because you enjoy torturing her,” Keir said. Twyla smirked, without clarifying whether that was true.

The guys had decided to enjoy a beer. With our animals and higher metabolism, it was almost impossible to get us drunk, though feeling warm and a tiny bit fuzzy was possible.

“I’d behave if I were you, Keir. Santa is coming soon. You don’t want coal in your stocking, do you?” Twyla asked.

“Twyla, if Santa were real, then I’d worry. However, since he’s not, I’ll take my chances.” He smirked.

“I wouldn’t be so sure he’s not. I didn’t know Apollo was and see what happened. You didn’t know Pytho or those damn Knights were real, and they are. Just because you’ve been too rotten ever to get gifts doesn’t mean he isn’t real,” Twyla teased.

The debate that set off had everyone laughing.

I knew precisely why Twyla said it. She wanted Akiva to feel relaxed.

The conversation to come would undoubtedly be stressful.

The more at ease she was at the start, the better.

The debate and heckling went on for fifteen minutes, leading to other talk about Christmas.

When it wound down, I knew it was time to get started.

“As much as we’re enjoying this and love the wonderful dinner you ladies made, we’ve got some less pleasant things to discuss,” I reminded everyone.

As soon as the words left my mouth, Akiva tensed. I felt it through our joined hands. I smiled over at her.

“Akiva, you have nothing to be concerned about. We’re here because we want to help you.

We can only do that if you tell us what you’re worried about.

You’re hiding and running. We need to know from what or who.

And if there are parts you want to discuss only with me, we can do that.

But give us a general idea. Will you do that? ” I asked.

She wore an agonized expression. Her eyes darted around the fire. She let out a loud, drawn-out sigh.

“I appreciate that you want to help, but I don’t know if you can.

Yes, I’m on the move due to things out of my control.

If they were easily fixed, believe me, I would’ve done it.

And with everything the Sentinels have on their plates, I don’t want you to take your focus away from your duties to our race and people.

My life in comparison to theirs isn’t a fair tradeoff.

I’d be so gutted if you lost shifters and supernaturals due to being focused on me. ”

“We can work on more than one or two things simultaneously. We often do. Or some will work on one problem while others work on something else. If we need it, we have other resources we can ask for help from,” Brax told her. The rest murmured in affirmation. I nodded my head.

“Why don’t we start with the oldest issue and work our way forward?” Royal suggested.

Her fingers squeezed around mine again. I moved my chair so that ours were smack together.

“Let us know if it gets too much and you need a break. If you want, sit on my lap and let me hold you while we talk it out. No one is here to judge. We only want to help,” I assured her.

Akiva gave me a sad smile. “You might change your mind about all that after you hear what I have to say. You want me to start at the oldest, well, that requires me to go back to my birth… even before it. But I’ll settle for starting at my earliest memory, when I was four.

I was sitting in the room I’d always been in as far as I could recall.

I was playing with a ball and trying to pretend I wasn’t counting the moments until she came back.

I wasn’t alone, but I wanted my mother.”

“Where was your mother?” Twyla asked when Akiva paused.

“She was being raped.” Her answer, said so calmly, made the other women gasp, and the men exchanged glances.

“Akiva, we don’t want to make this harder than it has to be on you, so tell us if it becomes too much or if you need a break. If we’re triggering you, we need to know,” Brax stated.

“The whole thing is a trigger, Brax. However, to appreciate its enormity, you need to know the details, not just the minute ones. As I said, Momma was being raped. You were in that dream with me, Fennick. You and Nico are right. It wasn’t a dream.

It’s a memory. The room I was in at four was the same one you saw me taken to in my memory.

That building was where they kept the women.

“It was a business for my father and two others, but mainly him. They would steal, or in some cases, bargain for a woman. They went to the effort of wooing one a few times and making her think she was getting a good man, only to find out the truth too late. Once caught, they were kept in a large room, similar to a barracks. Each had a bed but no actual personal space. They were locked in there, unless they were forced to do work, such as cook or clean, and of course, to have sex. It was never consensual, so that’s why I said my momma was being raped.

“At that age, I didn’t know what rape was, thankfully, but I knew it hurt her, and she cried.

The other women feared it when they were taken to the main house and into one of the bedrooms. Begging did them no good.

They all came back battered and sad. That would happen regularly for all of them until they conceived.

When I was older, I realized they had a weekly check to see if they were pregnant.

My father had a doctor who worked with him.

Urine tests were mandatory weekly or whenever they demanded one. ”

“Akiva, we can’t imagine how much that traumatized you. May I ask what they did with the babies?” Royal asked.

“I’m getting to that. Once a woman was confirmed as pregnant, she was no longer touched.

All efforts went into keeping her healthy and bringing the baby to full term.

It was twisted, but the women prayed to become pregnant quickly so the rapes stopped for an extended time.

Even after they learned the fate of their children, they would want to be pregnant again, or I should say most did.

Some hated it and would find a way to free themselves.

Since no one ever escaped the encampment we lived in, the only escape was to kill themselves. I saw more than one end up that way.”