"You're not telling me anything I don't know," Axel said more sharply than he intended. He was nowhere near ready to consider the possibility that he could love her. "I hate being so damn . . . useless. It doesn't help Lynx, me standing here like a tongue-tied adolescent."
"Help her?" Stefan asked with a dryness that would snap toast. "Was I the only one who saw her thrash Lukan?"
Axel grinned with pride. "She's quite something, isn't she?" His smile faded. "But even someone that ferocious is only as effective as her intelligence. Without knowing how the palace works, how is she to survive, let alone fight back?"
"Bear was supposed to tell her all that," Stefan said.
"Yes, and he was bloody useless."
"He was counting on having Lynx and Kestrel stay with him in Cian. Probably no . . . devices at his house. We messed that up for him."
"Maybe." Damn Mott and his stupid order to abduct Lynx and her sister. Axel kicked the heel of his boot against the wall. "I've got to talk to her. It's the least I can do."
"Telling her about the . . . things watching her is too risky, Axel."
But Axel wasn't listening. Lynx had stopped pacing, and he guessed any minute now, she would spot him. He wanted to be alone when that happened. Hopefully, she'd be encouraged to come to him, so he could offer her insight into his father's technology.
First, he had to distract Stefan.
A scan of the ballroom revealed Malika. She watched a pair of knife jugglers with desultory interest. He shot a look at Stefan and made a decision. Axel nudged his friend with his elbow and gestured to his sister. "Look after her for me."
Stefan beamed-if a slight upturn of his lips could be called beaming. "You're finally giving me permission to court your sister?"
Axel turned a mocking smile on his friend. "Astonishing, isn't it?" Axel asked. "Mess with her like I'm messing with Lynx, and I will kill you."
Stefan smacked him on the shoulder. "We both know that will never happen."
"What? You messing with her or me killing you?"
"Both." Stefan started toward Malika and then stopped. He turned to face Axel. "You're not going to do anything stupid, are you?"
"Do I ever?"
Stefan's eyebrows twitched, a sure sign of worry. "Please remember what's at stake here. For all of us." He didn't wait for a reply before heading off toward Malika, which was just as well, as Axel hadn't planned on giving him one.
In an effort to control his wildly beating heart, Axel folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the wall, waiting for Lynx to notice him.
Chapter 25
Lynx collapsed back against the balustrade, the fire doused from her soul. Since her earliest childhood, everything she'd ever done had been motivated by a desire to protect her family and her people, but now, when her loyalty and obedience mattered, she'd failed them.
Spectacularly.
Her pulse raced as images of imperial guardsmen swarming into the Norin camp, killing everyone, ran rampant through her mind. Could she not have controlled her temper, and her hatred, long enough to give Mott the grandson he wanted? Would it have been so difficult to pretend that she liked being manhandled like a sack of ostrich feathers?
She gagged at the thought.
Lukan was clearly as mad as his father. Nothing in her life had prepared her to be the wife of a man like that. She was a warrior, not a playmate to be abused and controlled. Sadly, despite the oaths that bound her, the idea of killing him was much more agreeable than submitting to him. Her head dropped to her chest, and tears threatened.
Crying helped no one. She jerked upright and looked around, wondering how long before guardsmen arrived to haul her before Mott. Whatever happened, she'd go down fighting. Muscles tensed, she leaned against the balustrade, took a deep breath, and waited.
It was then she noticed Axel, also alone, leaning on the wall on the far side of the crowded ballroom. His raised eyebrows told her he'd been waiting for her to notice him. He grabbed two goblets from a passing waiter and held one out to her.
She turned away and searched the crowd for Kestrel. She was with Tao and a group of his friends. Tao was kind enough to include his betrothed in his life.
Instead of introducing her to his friends, Lukan had ignored her all day and then tried to hog her company tonight. She considered taking Kestrel away so they could talk, but her sister would be no ally in a matter with Lukan. Regardless, as soon as the ball was over, she would tell Kestrel what happened.
Her eyes swept the ballroom, looking for her uncle so she could warn him of the emperor's threats-and apologize for hitting Lukan. He was missing. She guessed he was in the gambling room, petitioning the emperor.
Drawn like a magnet, her attention drifted back to Axel. He looked at her expectantly. With no one else to call on, she made her way through the dancers to join him. From the snatches of whispered conversations she heard, the entire room was discussing her fight with Lukan.
Axel handed her a goblet. "What an entertaining evening, Princess. We've had both music and drama."
She took a gulp of mead and drooped against the wall next to him. "Please don't mock me, Axel."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm not in the mood."
"Feeling vulnerable, are we?"
Lynx sighed at the notion that anyone need use the word vulnerable in reference to her.
Axel smiled, a genuine one without any of his usual derision. "Cheer up, Lynxie. You're also a fighter, so I can assure you, the vulnerability will soon pass." He took a swig of his mead. "Whether Lukan recovers as quickly remains to be seen."
"If it were only that dolt, I wouldn't be concerned. But I hardly think the emperor will be ecstatic about our little display of temper."
He turned to face her. "Don't worry about him. Not now anyway. He never attends balls. Tonight, he's busy gambling away the empire's gold reserves."
Lynx's tension eased-slightly. "So when will he learn about this evening's escapade?"
"You probably have until morning."
"Wonderful. It doesn't look like I'll be getting any sleep tonight."
What would the emperor do with her? Lock her in a dungeon? Feed her to the wolves? Anything was possible after she'd publicly announced that her first and only loyalty was to the Norin king. And she'd also punched his precious son.
Axel's cajoling voice brought her back to the present. "Lynxie, you said it yourself, he wants a grandson. He won't hurt you until you deliver. Now, Lukan, on the other hand-"
"Will probably never speak to me again. And, despite everything I feel about the idiot, that is a serious problem."
"Not as serious as you think. My cousin is like a trained circus monkey. He will do exactly what his father tells him." A wicked smile. "So, we've sorted out Lukan and the emperor. What else could worry you at such a high-spirited party?"
"High-spirited? Are you ever serious, Axel?"
"Not at balls. I make that a rule. Now what's up?"
"I'm alone in a world of strangers." She sighed, knowing how melodramatic that sounded.
"Strangers? So, what does it take to be your friend, Lynx? We shared a week on a train, a delicious palace breakfast. Admittedly, you ate almost nothing. And a brisk morning ride. Yet you find our acquaintance insufficient to elevate me from stranger to friend? This doesn't have anything to do with my hair and eye color does it?"
Lynx bit her lip to suppress a smile. Funny that Axel's dark Chenayan looks didn't worry her at all. Why didn't she feel that way about Lukan? It would have made life so simple.
But it was never to be.
Lukan wasn't Axel. No matter his rank or his handsome face and body, Lukan didn't have the power to send a squadron of tingles fluttering through her whenever he looked at her.
Not that any of it mattered, because, flirt that he was, Axel had a girlfriend.
And Lynx was on a mission of honor. She just needed some breathing space before she hefted that burden again. It was not lost on her that she had to swallow her pride. Lukan would probably never hunt her down to put things right between them.
And she had still made no headway with the gemstones.
She cleared her throat to steady her voice. "You, Axel Avanov, while more than a stranger, lack the vital ingredients needed to be my friend."
Axel ran one of his beautiful hands through his dark hair and then mocked, "Dragon's nostrils, Princess, before I allow myself to be hurt and offended, let me guess: you need a girl who will sit and dissect my cousin's extraordinary behavior with you?"