Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance (Legacy #3)

38. Tessa

38

TESSA

T hen destroy me, little storm.

She stared at him as his words echoed in her mind. Destroy him. It was what she was supposed to do. Her purpose. Her ticket out of this world for the rest of her immortal years. She wasn’t a Fae or a Legacy. She didn’t belong here. But she wasn’t a goddess or a deity. She was…alone. Even if Luka was similar to her, he had a place here. She still didn’t. She belonged nowhere.

And then Rordan had pulled that shit with Liam. Gods. She’d suspected he was going to push for this after the second time he’d arranged a luncheon for them, but to announce it tonight? In front of everyone? In front of Theon? That shouldn’t matter to her. It didn’t matter to her. What did matter to her was being used as a power display before the realms.

Everyone only wanted her for her power.

To take from her.

Use her.

Theon was silent where he stood, blocking the alcove from view. His emerald eyes searched her, waiting for her to make the next move.

“What do you want from me?” she rasped, because at this point, she honestly didn’t know. Not anymore.

“Whatever you’ll give me, Tessa.”

“Nothing,” she spat. “I only want to take. Just like this realm, the worlds, the stars, only want to take from me.”

“Perfect, little storm, because I’ll give you anything you want.”

As it always was with them, she didn’t know who moved first. She only knew she was pulling his mouth to hers while he was pushing her up against the wall. The cool stone of the Pantheon pressed into her back in perfect contrast to her heated skin and Theon’s hot mouth. Kissing Luka was willingly giving him a piece of her. Kissing Theon was willingly letting him possess her, and that was exactly what he did.

His tongue prodded at the seam of her lips, demanding access, and she let him in, needing the distraction from this night. He knew what she needed, and Luka clearly knew she needed to let someone else have control tonight. Knew that tonight she didn’t want to ask for anything. She just needed .

As though he was aware of everything happening in this alcove, Luka’s voice drifted down the bond. I’m watching the doors to the hall.

Even with that reassurance, she felt Theon’s dark magic wrap around them. The shadows she was tucked back into deepened just as Theon deepened the kiss. Tongues tangled for dominance, but she didn’t know why she was trying to fight. The bond was elated. Her magic was elated. Her entire being was elated. Because she needed them both, and gods, she wished she understood why. But like Razik had said, she wasn’t supposed to exist. Everything was altered because of her crossed bloodlines. Wouldn’t it make sense that what this was would be different from the rest of the realms too?

His tongue became rough, the kiss turning sharp and fast. It was all teeth and demand, and a small part of her screamed at giving him this. After everything he had done, she shouldn’t be letting him have any piece of her, but that was just it. He wasn’t demanding or forcing this. He’d waited for her, and she’d let herself fall into him, knowing the pleasure he would give her. Knowing that he would take care of her. Knowing she didn’t need to worry about this one simple thing. In this alcove, it was okay to simply exist.

Theon’s hand slipped to the back of her neck, the grip tight and possessive, and she nipped his bottom lip, feeling his groan all the way down to her core.

“I’ve missed you, little storm,” he gasped into her mouth, forcing her to swallow the words.

“I still have to destroy you,” she rasped, her head falling back. It hit the wall, but his hand was already sliding up from her neck, creating a buffer between her and the stone. His fingers curled into her hair, ruining the sleek updo it had painstakingly been wound into that night, but she was too lost to her emotions to notice.

With a small tug, he tilted her head back more and to the side, making room for him as he kissed down her neck, sucking and biting the tender skin. This was absolutely going to leave a mark. He knew it. She knew it. And a thrill went through her at the idea of openly defying every fucking thing Devram stood for. At saying fuck you to all their traditions. At shoving their power plays and politics up their asses. She just never thought she’d be doing all that with Theon.

His tongue swirled over the raw spot he’d left behind, a whimper coming from her mouth.

“Shh,” he soothed. “I always know what you need, tempest.”

Then his mouth was back on hers, any lingering thoughts disappearing as the hand gripping her hip slid up. He palmed her breast through her dress, and she suddenly hated that there was anything between their skin. She knew what those hands could do, which is why her breath hitched when he slid it back down. His fingers traced the delicate design of the corset top, leaving a branding trail of heat and need down her side, and when he started gathering the skirt of her dress, she couldn’t stop the pleased moan that came from her.

She felt him smile against her mouth as he broke the kiss, sliding his lips to her ear. “I know Luka is watching the doors and my magic is creating a barrier, but you still need to be quiet, Tessa.”

But when his fingers finally slipped beneath her dress and found the bare skin of her thigh, it was his breathing that stuttered. And when those fingers dragged up and were met with wet heat, he was the one groaning. “No undergarments, little storm?”

“This dress isn’t made to be worn with undergarments. Lines would show,” she panted.

“You and these fucking dresses will be my destruction,” he murmured.

Tessa held her breath, waiting to see what he was going to do next, the tension so thick between them, she could taste it. Holding her stare, his thumb slid along her entrance again, gathering her slickness before moving up to circle her clit. Her whimper was almost pained.

“You know what I want to hear, Tessa,” he said, his voice a dark rumble she felt vibrate through her.

She shook her head in refusal.

A soft, dark smile curled on his lips. “One day you will say it.”

“How can you still possibly believe that?” she gasped when he circled his thumb again.

“Because it’s more than a bond.”

Then she was crying out as he sank two fingers inside her, but it was quickly muffled by his hand sliding over her mouth. “I love hearing you, beautiful, but we have to keep it down.”

She tried to glare, but couldn’t muster it as he pumped his fingers in and out again. Her eyes rolled back, pleasure coursing through her, and she rocked into him, seeking more. Her magic thrashing to reach for him, the bond was intensifying everything.

“I will never tire of watching you take what you want from me,” he murmured, something akin to awe shining in his eyes.

“More pretty words,” she breathed.

“When will you realize I never lie to you?” The addition of a third finger kept her from answering as his hand muffled another cry. “I’ve come to collect what is mine. Give it to me, Tessa.”

She shattered around him, giving him exactly what he’d demanded from her. No thinking. No plotting. No secrets. Just pure pleasure. Just pure existing.

When she came down from her high, her brow was pressed to his chest, and he tilted her chin up to claim her mouth once more. He acted as if he thought he’d never get to do this again.

Maybe he was right.

“You’re my source,” she panted against his lips.

“Are you finally claiming me as yours, beautiful?” he asked between the small kisses he was peppering along her jaw.

She shook her head. “You’re my source of everything I hate.”

He went utterly still, pulling back to peer at her. “Tessa, I?—”

But he stopped when she pressed a finger to his lips to silence him.

“You are my source of everything I hate about this realm, but you are also my source of the things I crave. You are the source of what broke me, but you are also the source of what saved me. You are the source of my fury, but you are also the source of every dark desire. You are the source of what I have become, but you are also a source of complete acceptance of who that person is. You are the source of my own self-discovery, and how twisted is that, Theon?” she demanded, his emerald eyes staring back at her with a mixture of shock and tenderness. “How wrong is it that you are the source of everything that has happened these last weeks, months—that I loathe you so deeply in my soul—yet here I am?” Her power flared, lighting up the alcove where his darkness swirled around them. He sucked in a sharp breath at their magic mingling. “How wrong is it that I am light, and yet I crave the dark?”

“Because you are light and dark, Tessa,” he said, resolve sounding in each word. “You need both to have balance.”

“I do not understand how I can hate someone so much and still want them,” she went on. “You are the source of every confusing thought and frustrating want.”

“The bond makes things?—”

“It’s more than a bond,” she interrupted, her frustration climbing as she said those words, knowing they would damn her. Her next words were a whisper. “It’s always been more than a bond.”

She heard his sharp inhale of breath a second before he was gripping the back of her thighs and lifting her off her feet. Her legs wrapped around his waist as he rocked into the cradle of her hips. His cock strained against his pants, pressing to her center, and she moaned into his neck.

“I don’t understand it,” she said, the words raw and agonized. “I don’t understand any of it.”

“I know, Tessa,” he murmured. “I’m trying to find the answers for you.”

“You mean for you,” she panted when he rocked into her again.

“No, little storm. I mean exactly what I said. For you .”

“Why?”

“Because I know you want them. Need them. And I will always give you what you need,” he answered, easily holding her up with one hand while the other reached up to smooth a strand of hair out of her face.

It didn’t matter. She lurched forward again, her mouth taking his this time. He groaned into her while her hands slid along his arms, his chest, his torso. Anywhere she could touch. Her fingers brushed over the cool metal of his belt buckle, and she started trying to unfasten it. It was seconds before she let out a frustrated growl and tiny sparks of energy went flying.

“Easy, beautiful,” he murmured. “Let’s not have that power flaring so close to sensitive areas.”

She couldn’t help her huff of laughter, but when he lowered her to her feet, that huff turned into a discontented whine that she should have been embarrassed about.

Theon made quick work of his belt, unbuttoning his pants and lowering his zipper before bunching up the skirt of her dress again. Within seconds, he had her hoisted up once more, and she nearly sighed when he rocked against her bare center.

She wished she was touching bare flesh as her hand slid down his chest again before it slipped into his undergarments and wrapped around his length. She pulled out his cock, lightly scraping her nails along it and relishing his muttered curse. Her lineage made her one of the most powerful beings in Devram, but this? Having the source of so much… everything at her mercy? Having control over him with the mere touch of her hand? The barest brush of her lips? That made her feel more powerful than anything. Taking power back from someone who had taken so much from her. A part of her recognized that was twisted and wrong, and it made her just as terrible as him. A bigger part of her didn’t care. Because she had become his villain, and he still kept coming back for her. Again and again and again.

Just like he’d promised.

“Please, Theon,” she whispered, knowing exactly what the begging was going to get her.

He groaned again, sliding the head of his cock through her wetness before thrusting inside her with one smooth movement. Her head tipped back, and it was only then that she realized his magic was cushioning her back against the wall.

No.

Not just his magic.

His shadow wings had formed and were wrapped around them. Feathers of swirling darkness kept the stone wall from digging into her back as she clung to his shoulders. Last time she’d taken her pleasure from him; this time, she would let him give it to her.

And he did.

Each thrust had her climbing higher. The thought of him losing control with her, for her and only her, had her dropping her brow to his shoulder to muffle her cries. She let him have this, have her. She knew he wondered when she would let him have her like this again, but the truth was, she didn’t know if they’d ever have this again. Because he had Felicity, and she was supposed to have Liam.

“Stay with me, Tessa,” he rasped into her ear, each word a guttural grunt.

He sank into her again, adjusting his hold on her to hit a spot just right that had her sucking in a breath.

“That’s it,” he urged. “You know I’ll always give you what you need. At least in this one thing, you trust me.”

She knew he hadn’t meant to say those thoughts aloud, but he was right. She knew when she needed to get lost to pleasure and not think about anything, she could go to him. She’d known he would follow her out here. Known he would find her. Because he would always find her.

And when his darkness reached out and caressed her, scraping along her throat, her breasts, her thighs, she let her magic out too. Felt the light latch onto the dark. Felt all of it shudder around her. Or maybe that was his body. Her head tipped back once more, and he was there, his mouth capturing hers and swallowing her cry as she came. He followed her into pleasure. If there had been any doubt about where they’d slipped off to, there wouldn’t be now. Their scents were intertwined. Their magic.

Every part of them.

He dropped his head to the crook of her neck, still holding her up as he worked to steady his breathing. After a minute or two, he slowly lowered her to the ground, setting her onto shaky legs.

“Are you all right?” he asked, peering at her with concern.

Tessa nodded, her hands slipping from him. She pulled them behind her back, leaning against them as he tucked himself away before moving to retrieve her shoes. He dropped to a knee before her, gently taking her foot and placing it into a shoe, buckling the strap around her ankle.

You two need to finish up. Felicity keeps glancing towards the hall, and Rordan is not happy right now, came Luka’s warning.

“Still not mine,” Tessa whispered, running her fingers through Theon’s hair as he reached for her other shoe.

He stilled, looking up at her. “I am yours, Tessa. Every piece of me.”

Her smile was grim. “No, Theon. You are hers.”

“I will never be hers,” he retorted, and she watched his entire body tense while he finished buckling her other shoe before pushing back to his full height.

“Even the villains and the monsters fall to fate,” she said.

He took her face in his hands. “If there is anything I have learned about my Arius bloodline these last months, it is that we do not much care for fate, little storm.” He bent, brushing his lips across hers before he added, “And you are just as much death as you are life. Denying it is only harming you, beautiful.” One more light kiss to her temple. “I’ll go back first. Come back when you’re ready.”

She didn’t.

She made her way to the same balcony Luka had found her on the night of the Selection Ceremony, and she stayed there until someone finally came to take her back to Faven.

She ran her hands through her hair now that it was fully down. Her fingers tangled in the ends as she tugged on them, feeling the burn in her scalp. She didn’t even realize that Luka had appeared in her room until he spoke.

“Tessa?”

She whirled around, light filled with gold and silver embers swirling around her. “What?”

He looked her up and down, concern etched into his features. “You’ve been back for nearly an hour, and you haven’t changed. You still have your shoes on.”

She looked down at her dress, pulling up her skirt to peer at her feet that were indeed still in heels. Had she truly been back in Faven for an entire hour?

Luka had changed out of his tuxedo and into loose pants and a short-sleeve shirt that clung to every muscle. Just like muscles she’d traced through fabric mere hours ago.

No!

No, no, no.

She tugged on her hair again as she turned away from him, pacing across the floor.

It was another few seconds before he growled, “Tessa, stop.”

But there was no stopping. Because she hadn’t been confused before tonight. Well, not this confused. She’d had firm control over this godsdamn bond. Shoved all the unnecessary burdens of it so deep, they’d become background noise. She was an expert at repressing feelings, and that was what she’d needed to do to focus on her purpose. Do what needs to be done and show no remorse. That was what villains did. That was what?—

“Tessa, stop.”

The words were gentler this time, and they were accompanied by words just as soft down the bond.

Breathe, little storm.

She took a shuddering breath, but any tension that was ebbing from her body stopped abruptly when the door was thrown open. Oralia strode in, her features pinched with displeasure and annoyance.

“What is he doing in here, Tessa?” she asked, her hands on her hips as she glared at Luka.

“Where is Dex?” Tessa asked instead.

“The Achaz Lord wanted to discuss some things with him after your display at the gala this evening,” she answered with a pointed look. “So I was sent to stay with you tonight.”

“Get out.”

Oralia clicked her tongue in annoyance. “You did this, Tessa. Once again, Dex is trying to fix?—”

But she was cut off by Tessa’s hand wrapping around her throat and squeezing. A glow emitted from between her fingers as her power appeared, Oralia gasping under her hold. The female’s hands came up, clawing at Tessa’s wrist, but Tessa only smiled.

“Dexter does not need to fix anything, and I do not require anyone to watch me anymore. That is what you can report back to Rordan,” Tessa said, an icy calm settling over her.

She loosened her grip just enough to let Oralia splutter, “The Achaz Lord wants someone with you at all times.”

“You can tell him that after what he pulled tonight, if he wants to come to detain me, he can certainly try. But unless he comes here himself, there will be no one else watching my every move,” Tessa replied. “Get. Out.”

Energy spiked from her fingertips at the same time she let her magic sink into Oralia, taking and feeding. The female’s supposed Fae power of water never appeared, and Tessa waited, hoping whatever magic she’d stolen would show itself. After several seconds of nothing, Tessa released her with a shove.

“This is your fate,” Oralia sneered, pressing a hand to her throat.

“And you’re about to alter yours if you don’t get the fuck out of my rooms,” Tessa replied, one of the bands at her wrist winding down her fingers before unfurling into a whip.

Oralia scurried from the room, the door slamming shut behind her, and Tessa sank to the floor. She reached for the heels, unbuckling them before throwing them across the space. Then she flopped onto her back, stacking her hands on her stomach.

She started when sapphire eyes peered down at her. She’d forgotten Luka was in here.

“Are you planning on changing tonight? Or are you sleeping in that dress?”

“I need a minute,” she answered, suddenly exhausted by the events and emotions of the last few hours.

Luka nodded, disappearing from her line of sight, and she closed her eyes. It felt like mere seconds had passed when Luka spoke again.

“It’s been ten minutes, baby girl. Let’s get you changed.”

Her eyes fluttered open to find him crouched beside her, a shirt in his hand. He pulled her to her feet, handing over the clothing before he unzipped the side zipper on her dress. She made her way to the bathroom to change, wash the makeup from her face, and brush her teeth. Then she crawled into bed where he was already waiting for her.

“Do you want to talk about tonight?” he asked, his fingers combing through her hair.

“Theon and I fucked in an alcove.”

“I’m aware.”

“Am I…”

“Are you what?” Luka asked when she trailed off.

“I don’t know how to feel. About anything. None of this… I don’t…” She trailed off again.

“You have to face it some time, Tessa.”

“I don’t know how.”

“Which parts?”

“All of it,” she whispered. “What I am. My purpose. What I should do. How I should do it. Devram. My lineage. This power I never asked for. Dex. Oralia. Brecken. Tristyn. Axel and Kat. Lange and Corbin. Rordan. Valter. Eviana. Me. I don’t know how to face myself,” she finally admitted. “I am wild and untamed. I am uncontrollable. I am utter chaos.”

His hand never stopped moving through her hair while she spoke, but when she fell silent, Luka said, “It helps to talk things through with someone you trust, but you have said so yourself, you trust no one. Take things one at a time. You cannot simply ignore them and seek out distractions. Not anymore. Chaos or not, you still control your path.”

“Salvation or destruction,” she murmured, eyes growing heavy.

“And Theon and I? We’ll wait.”

“Both of you?”

“Yes.”

“And you are all right with that?”

“Yes.”

“What if it is both of you?”

She felt his smile as he pressed his lips to the top of her head. “We’ll wait for you to figure it out.”

Her hair whipped around her as she clung to the horse’s mane, her thighs squeezing tight. Nylah and Roan ran with them, somehow keeping pace with the horse. She had no idea how to ride a horse. She’d only been on one with Theon, but the horse had shown up when she’d been desperate. One of Theon’s own prized stallions. With no saddle or bridle, he’d lowered beside her so she could climb on. Then he was up and racing, her only option to cling to his mane, but the horse seemed to know she didn’t know what she was doing.

“No one is coming to save you this time, Tessalyn,” a dark voice echoed around her. “You killed them all, just as I needed you to.”

A voice she knew.

Achaz.

He was here.

“Faster, Eyal,” she urged, and as if the horse could understand her, he raced onward over the rocky terrain.

Her wolves were growling and snapping as Hunters descended, no longer answering to her. Her magic flared, lashing out, but it wasn’t nearly as strong as it should be. When had death last taken?

She screamed when Eyal skidded to an abrupt halt, his hooves kicking up rocks that skittered over the edge of the cliff they’d come to. He turned, facing the way they’d come. Nylah and Roan planted themselves in front of them as the Hunters formed a half circle, trapping them all. Then they were dropping to a knee a moment before golden light flared so brightly, Tessa had to look away. She blinked several times as the light faded, her grandfather standing before her.

His smile was too wide and cunning while he looked up at her. “You did well, granddaughter.”

“You promised to tell me who my mother is at the end of this. Where is she?” Tessa asked, lifting her chin.

“I did,” he agreed. “Akira is in my home world where she belongs.”

“You promised to take me to her.”

“No, child,” he said, slowly shaking his head. “I promised to take you from this world. I never said where or how.”

Eyal backed up at the words, his hooves causing rocks to skitter over the edge of the cliff.

“You used me,” Tessa said, her soul breaking all over again. Always something to be used, never loved.

“You have fulfilled your purpose, Tessa,” Achaz said calmly. “All that’s left is to correct the balance.”

“Correct the balance,” she repeated, her fingers tightening in Eyal’s mane.

“You cannot continue to exist.”

“I am your granddaughter!” she cried.

“You are also theirs.”

Nylah and Roan snarled, snapping their massive jaws, and Achaz glared.

“These mutts of your father’s cannot save you here.”

Her father.

Half light. Half dark.

“You cannot outrun fate,” Achaz chided with mock sympathy, power surging around him brighter than the sun.

She glanced over her shoulder, staring out over the dark cavern, before she turned back to Achaz. “Perhaps not,” she agreed. “But I can alter it.”

Eyal turned faster than a horse should be able to, leaping into the air. Nylah and Roan followed.

And they fell into the dark.