The Consort

Chapter 52: Rebellion

"There isn't enough time to loop in anybody else, so we are going to have to make do with King Richard and King Stephen's men." I whisper to Heloix, running my fingers through his knotted hair.

He blinks slowly, but otherwise doesn't respond, so I continue.

"We are going to send all of King Richard's men and most of King Stephen's to the large estates down South. They will protect the humans there. Admittedly, that won't leave a lot of protection for us here, but I'm counting on the city people being all talk and no action."

His fingers tense up against mine slightly, and I snap my attention to our connected hands. My thumb rubs his skin lightly. I wish I could understand what he was trying to convey to me.

"You didn't tell me that the real danger of our bonding was the Beasts executing the humans." I murmur, removing my hand from his and moving it to the bite mark on his neck.

Heloix mentioned before that Beasts like to symbolize their bond with a bite to the neck and that someday I would wear his, but I never expected that his body would accept the bite of a human. A smile settles over my face as I trace along the imprint of my teeth, happy that he will forever bear my mark.

His mouth falls open slightly as my actions, a quiet rumbling reverberating from his chest. It comforts me to know that his Beast still lives within him, and seems to be getting stronger with each passing hour.

A knock at the door pulls my attention away, and I turn to watch Axis walk in. He nonchantally looks around as he enters, eyes darting to me every once and a while. He shuffles slightly, looking uncomfortable as he comes to a halt in the center of the room.

I remain still, waiting for him to share with me his news.

"Adeline," He pauses for a moment, coughing into his fist. "That's a bit of an intimate action."

Confused, I glance down at Heloix. My face heats up as I yank my hand away from his neck, having forgotten that my fingers were resting on my mark.

"Sorry, I didn't realize." I explain, wishing for the world to swallow me whole.

Axis visibly relaxes the second my hand is removed, his chest deflating as he exhales. He looks over Heloix's body with a frown.

"Is there a reason you've laid him down so haphazardly?" He questions, quickly moving towards my mate's body.

"He's heavy."

I take a step back as Axis approaches, watching as he grabs onto Heloix's shoulders and flips him around, moving him onto his back. Heloix's head falls back against the cushion, and I wince as I take in the indentations from the seam of the couch on his face. He's no doubt going to give me an earful when he wakes up.

"Are there any updates?" I question, embarrassed as I watch Axis remove Heloix's shoes and lift his legs up onto the couch.

These are things I should have done myself, or at least asked Axis to help with earlier. To be honest I was a bit ashamed at not being able to, and was hoping Heloix would wake up before it was noticed.

Axis stands back up with a sigh, brushing his hands on his pants.

"King Richard's men arrived almost an hour ago. I immediately sent them off to the estates. They will demand a rollup of the humans for inspection, and will move them to a warehouse to keep them safe until Heloix wakes up." He informs me.

I'm glad to hear that he has followed through with my plan, and hope that Heloix will be proud of my ideas.

A quiet groan emerges from Heloix, and both Axis and I snap our attention down to him. His eyes blink slowly, heavy puffs falling from his lips as he struggles to breathe.