out another key, and would've been more than eager to learn where the fuck he'd gotten that, but instead, he pulled out a long sliver of metal. He fit it into the lock, jimmying it around.
"Where the hell did you get that?" Axel asked.
"I've been in Felidae all my life. You learn to keep certain things on hand," Sterling said in a gloomy tone.
In a matter of seconds, Axel heard the lock click within the door. He just would've broken it down, but that worked too. Natalia stepped back and dove into Sterling’s arms when he opened the door, clinging to him like her life depended on it.
"I'm so glad to see you," she said in a breathless whisper.
"I'm glad you're alright," Sterling said, pulling away. "But we have to find Ella."
Natalia nodded shakily. "I think I know where they might have taken her. Follow me."
Axel looked at Sterling, but the man seemed perfectly comfortable with following her lead. He followed too, since he didn't have any better ideas, but there was no way he was letting his guard down. Not even for the fucking Empress.
They followed her down another long hallway, poorly lit and lined with more dark cells. "What is this place, a prison?" Axel muttered.
"There was a time when Felidae was more than just a society," Sterling said in a whisper. "It had more control over the colony than the temple itself."
"Yeah, well, you’d think they could have redecorated.”
"This way," Natalia whispered, turning the corner.
Axel followed her down into a wide stone room, and realized they weren’t alone. He smelled the other toms before he caught sight of them, wearing dark ritual robes as they stood in the corner in front of some shrine, muttering like freaks.
His hackles immediately went up. He prepared to shift, but someone grabbed him from behind, and he felt a piercing pain in his neck. A syringe dropped to the floor as he struggled. At first, he thought Sterling was in on the ambush, but when he looked over, he found the other tom struggling against two of the robed figures in earnest. A furious roar that was more animal than human erupted from Sterling's chest, and Axel could tell he was about to shift when they jabbed him with another syringe filled with the same shit.
Sterling snarled, but he soon went limp. Axel was struggling to stay upright as his captors shackled his arms behind his back. He desperately called to his tiger, but for the first time in his life, it didn't respond.
What the fuck had they put in those syringes?
"Natalia," Sterling cried, looking toward the woman who was walking back over to them, pretty fucking calm for someone who was being held captive by a cult. Confusion filled the other tom's eyes, but Axel wasn't having nearly as much trouble putting the pieces together. To be fair, he had never really liked Natalia in the first place. He could call it an old family rivalry, but the bitch could get bent. Especially now.
"My dear Sterling," Natalia said in a sympathetic tone as she swept her fingers underneath Sterling's jaw. "You always were so faithful. I truly didn't want you to be here tonight, but you just had to come and play the knight in shining armor, didn't you?"
"What have you done?" Sterling asked, his voice hoarse with strain.
Natalia looked between them, as if she was trying to decide whether it was worth explaining. Before she had the chance, Axel remarked, "I'd say she's been playing everyone for fools. It seems pretty obvious to me."
The Empress's eyes narrowed. She brought her hand down hard across Axel's cheek, and the impact was loud enough to echo through the stone room. "You always were a mouthy brat."
Axel smirked. "Nice follow through. Wouldn’t have thought you had it in you."
"Why?" Sterling choked. Axel could tell the other male was having as much trouble staying conscious as he was. "You're already in power. What could you possibly have to gain from this?"
"A few decades isn't nearly enough to fix the decay that’s become of this colony," Natalia said bitterly. "Certainly not under the subjugation of a supposed goddess who can't even be bothered to intervene in the affairs of her subjects, except to choose someone else to do her bidding when she tires of the last. And now, a stray." She laughed. "If that wasn't enough reason to stage a coup, nothing was."
Rage burned within Axel. Only he was allowed to talk shit like