Rebel's Honor(58)

Lynx rubbed her temples. "And you're the obvious choice as the killer."

He hated the disgust in her voice. The only consolation was that it was laced with a generous dollop of confusion.

"I came to your room. Mott found out. It made me a prime target for  doing his dirty work." It burned Axel to admit it, but maybe his father  had been right, and his arrogance had finally caught up with him. Except  that Mott had made him the most tempting offer of his life. Axel  cautiously dropped the news. "Our mad emperor says I can have you if I  do it." As Axel expected, Lynx looked sick, so he shared his problem,  "As much as I want you, Lynxie, I could never harm Tao for you. Lukan?  No problem. But Tao-"

Lynx looked confused rather than repulsed, so he asked, "What are you thinking?"

She shook her head. "To be honest, I don't know. The vision seemed  enough to confuse, but not to clarify, and now you tell me all this.  What am I supposed to believe?"

That she still didn't trust him stung.

"How about trusting me?" Axel asked.

Lynx looked as if she'd sucked on a lemon. That hurt even more.

"I told you, you saw a hologram, and you can never believe them. They're  all rubbish, created in my father's lair to frighten and control people  who have no idea something as basic as electricity even exists."

"I know what I experienced, Axel, and it wasn't . . . only a hologram. I definitely saw Tao with an axe in his head."

Anger and determination hardened Axel's face. "Well, I didn't put it there."

She must have believed him, because she lay against him, resting her  head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her and brushed her forehead  with his lips. She leaned into his kiss, making him want to forget  Mott's sordid business and to kiss her like there was no tomorrow.

But that was impractical, given the constraints. It was a matter of time  before one of the many people searching the labyrinth for her would  stumble across them.

Axel straightened and eased away from her so he could look at her face.  "I have a plan that will solve all this without unnecessary bloodshed.  Unfortunately, it involves negotiating with Lukan. Never a pleasant  experience, but it can't be helped."                       
       
           



       

"‘Unnecessary bloodshed'?" Lynx's breath hitched. "What does that mean?"

"A death is unavoidable, Lynx, but I'll be damned if it's someone I care  about. Between Lukan and Mott, right now Lukan is the lesser evil. I  intend to make him a deal-his father's death in exchange for you."

Lynx jerked away as if he'd hit her. "I have no love for Emperor Mott  and see no reason to mourn at his death, but Axel, you're assuming I  want you. How can you be so presumptuous when I told you last night I'd  never be your lover?"

Axel laughed. "You're talking to Axel Avanov. ‘Presumptuous' is how I  get things done. And I've changed my mind. I no longer want you as my  lover." The tensing of her body told him he'd scored a direct hit with  that rejection. It emboldened him to say, "I'm looking for a much longer  term commitment from you."

Some prizes were worth even more than crowns. Women like Lynx of Norin  didn't blaze into his life every day. Once in a lifetime, if he was  lucky. He'd be an idiot not to offer to bind himself to her with the  strongest ties in the world. Then he'd spend the rest of time making  sure he deserved her.

A rush of emotions, none of which he understood, flashed across Lynx's  face, and her hand went for her missing feathers. At that moment, he  could have killed the she-witch for cutting off her braid.

Lynx dropped her hand into her lap. "Are you saying you want me to marry you?"

Heart pounding with a mix of hope, uncertainty, and a dollop of fear  that she would reject him, Axel took her hand and kissed her calluses.  When she didn't protest or pull away, he ventured, "Would that be so  bad?"

"You ask me that after you've admitted you intend to murder your uncle?"

"He intends to murder Tao and Lukan." Axel leaned in close for emphasis.  "He's also threatened to kill your parents. Isn't that enough reason to  preempt him?"

Lynx nodded, encouraging him to add, "And why has Lukan avoided you  since you got here, when the whole court knows how much he's been  lusting for you?"

Lynx shifted out of their pool of light. Axel responded by repositioning the flashlight.

Lynx let out a resigned sigh. "All right, Axel, I suspect it's because  he's worried about the Dmitri Curse. If I've been having weird visions  that make me disappear into thin air, then there's a good chance he has,  too."

Axel cocked his head to the side, listening. Someone was calling Lynx's name. He exhaled a frustrated breath.

"My search party?"

"Yes. Decision time."

Lynx drew in close, whispering, "First, I need straight answers. Is Mott planning to harm the two of us?"

"I don't have a straight answer about you," Axel whispered back. "But  work it out, Lynx. If Lukan is worried about the Dmitri Curse, what are  the chances of him pitching up for your wedding? Hell, the man can't  even show up for breakfast. How long do you think Mott will let you live  after that failure?"

"I thought I was your reward for killing his sons. He wouldn't break  your new toy, would he?" Lynx's voice was flippant, but he could see  fear in her eyes.

Axel chewed his lip. He had run out of options and now had to tell her  the whole story. "My name is also on Mott's kill list. If I don't murder  Tao and Lukan, I die. I guess you're as expendable as the rest of us.  Probably more so, given that you can't even claim to be family."

A flash of light told Axel the other searchers had entered their passage.

Lynx must have seen it, too, because she lunged over him and grabbed his hand axe. "Don't leave me defenseless, Axel."

He put his hand over hers, stopping her from taking it. "Agree to be  mine, and I'll give you a whole arsenal to protect yourself with."

Lynx hesitated, and her eyes flickered closed. Her face writhed with  indecision. Whatever her internal struggle, she finally looked at him  and said, "Can you promise me you'll sort out Mott?"

"I give you my word. I won't let anything happen to you or your family."

She licked her lips, her eyes tortured. He was beginning to give up hope when she said, "Give me your axe."

Axel's heart soared, and his breath came easy again. Never had he  imagined proposing to a woman-and being accepted-over the handle of an  axe. It explained why he was willing to risk everything.

A voice called. "Is someone there?"

"Oh no, the she-witch," Lynx hissed, looking around.                       
       
           



       

"What's she still doing around?" Axel asked, speaking to himself more than Lynx.

"Huh?"

"She's supposed to be deported to the prison camps." Axel sighed at yet another unexpected development.

"No doubt she plans to zap me again for daring to vanish."

"Not while I'm still breathing." Axel snatched a kiss from Lynx's open  mouth while unbuckling his axe. "Here. Hide it. Don't let the witch find  it." He stood, stepping away from Lynx. "Princess Lynx is here,  Mother."

"Dragon's curses!" Holding an oil lantern, Mother Saskia broke into an  ungainly jog. "Is she all right, my lord? What an uproar we've all been  in."

Axel didn't bother answering because, in the dancing shadows, he noticed  another figure running up the passageway toward them. He called out,  "Tao, Lynx is freezing. Chuck me your surcoat."

Ignoring the command, Tao elbowed passed Mother Saskia, stopping at Lynx's side.

Lynx stood, showing no obvious sign of the axe.

But he wasn't taking chances on the she-witch finding it, so he tugged the shoulders of Tao's surcoat. "She needs this."

Lynx played along with him by pretending to shiver, but he noticed she  rubbed herself with only one arm. The other curved behind her back,  hiding the axe.

Tao ripped off his coat. Annoyingly, he decided to be a gentleman and  wrapped it around Lynx. "I'm so sorry, Lynx. Honestly, I don't know what  happened back then."

Tao's hand brushed Lynx's back, and his eyes widened with recognition,  followed by surprise. Lynx stiffened, and Axel held his breath,  wondering if Tao would betray them.

But he needn't have worried. Not about Tao.

His cousin shot him a reassuring look, turned to Saskia, and said,  "Princess Lynx needs strong arms to get her back to her apartment.  Advise the other searchers she has been found. Warlord Avanov and I will  help her to her room."

"Tao, you can manage Lynx on your own," a quiet voice said from the shadows.