40
TESSA
“ A word, Tessalyn,” Rordan said when she pushed away from the breakfast table.
Surprise coursed through her, but she didn’t let it show. She’d been waiting for this moment for weeks now. Really since the Sirana Gala. Ever since she’d kicked Oralia out of her rooms and told her to tell Rordan and Dex that she would no longer tolerate someone monitoring her every move. Ever since Luka had started spending nearly every night in her rooms rather than his own. She simply slept better when he was near. She felt more in control of herself and her situation. Still restless. Still wild, but…
Honestly, she couldn’t really explain it, but she’d been waiting for the other shoe to drop at her defiance. It looked like today was going to be that day.
“She will meet you in the training arena,” the Achaz Lord added, effectively dismissing Luka.
Luka held her stare for a long moment until she nodded.
I don’t like this, he growled down the bond.
I can handle him.
Luka turned, leaving the room, but she knew she was going to get an earful at training. She wasn’t sure when she’d started answering to him about her decisions, but she was almost looking forward to the argument. Which was perverse, but he always lost a little of his own steadfast control when they argued. As if some part of her was able to claw its way through all that dragon broodiness.
Okay, she liked the fact that she could make him lose that control.
Just like she liked that she could bring Theon to his knees.
“Sit back down,” Rordan said when the door closed fully behind Luka.
The only other person who remained was his Source, dutifully seated next to him. If her visits with Eviana had taught her anything, it was that maybe her Source bond with Theon wasn’t as odd as it had seemed to everyone. Now she wondered if any of them truly embraced the bond or if they gave in purely for survival’s sake.
Or perhaps they simply got tired of fighting and gave up. The gods knew she’d tried that.
She thought about saying something snarky to start this conversation off, but she’d learned that letting someone else start often revealed more of their true motives. So instead, she sat back down, crossing one leg over the other, and waited.
Rordan studied her with those blue eyes ringed with gold, his features giving nothing away. A part of her expected some sort of a subtle display of power to show her he was in control, but she wasn’t surprised when he didn’t do that either. He’d moved beyond physical displays of power. He’d proven as much when he’d announced that fucking Match Contract to Liam. She’d done the same when she’d shoved Oralia and Dex from her rooms. It was his move now, and she was more than a little curious about how it would play out.
“We have several matters that need to be discussed,” Rordan finally said, sitting straighter and adjusting his shirt cuffs before he reached for a leather-bound book sitting on the table beside him.
“And this needs to be done now?” Tessa asked. “This is my usual training time.”
“I have other matters to tend to this afternoon, and my time is more valuable than yours,” he replied.
Tessa arched a brow.
“Don’t act offended,” he chided, flipping open the book. Tessa realized then it was a journal of some sort. “After training, you spend your time indulging in frivolous explorations and other nonsense. I have meetings and commitments.”
“And what should I be spending my time on?” she asked, tapping a single nail on the table.
He placed the pen he’d just used to jot something down in the crease of the open book, a square black ring on his finger gobbling up the light.
A ring she recognized.
Where had he gotten it?
“I’m glad you asked,” he said, folding his hands and placing them on the table before him. “You can start by fulfilling your purpose.”
That had her gaze snapping to his.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“I told you before that freedom wasn’t free, and it was time to start paying. What have you done since then? What have you done since you learned what Achaz requires of you?”
“I do not answer to Achaz,” she spat.
“Wrong, child,” he retorted. “We all answer to Achaz. He is the ruler of the gods. It is why I rule Devram.”
“What does Achaz care? He cannot come here,” she countered.
But Rordan tsked, his eyes doing a thing that could almost be classified as an eye roll. “We’re done with games, Tessalyn. I know you spoke to him. I know what he told you. Do you not wish to leave this realm? Have you grown complacent and comfortable with a dragon in your bed and an Arius Legacy at your beck and call?”
She couldn’t hide her shock this time, jerking back in her chair. “How do you know any of that?”
“I know all of your movements, Tessa. Every breath you take and move you make. I lost track of you once. I certainly would not allow it to happen again,” he said. Picking up his pen, he continued, “Now it is time to move forward. Things have grown quiet. The ruling Ladies have settled down. You need to make a visit to Arius Kingdom.”
“And do what?”
“What you were fucking born to do,” he answered, any trace of warmth and kindness he’d once shown her now gone. “And when you return tonight, Liam will be here to join us for dinner. I will be sure to have extra vials and quills available.”
“Absolutely not,” she balked at the implication. Match Contracts were signed in blood. “What happened to the freedom you promised me?”
Rordan stood, buttoning his suit coat. “You haven’t held up your end of our deal. Why should I hold up mine?”
Lurching to her feet, the chair skidded across the floor, a shrill screech sounding. “I will go to Arius Kingdom today, but I will not dine with Liam.”
The Lord paused the gathering of his things, his head tilting as he studied her. “I was unaware we were bargaining now.”
“It’s not a bargain,” she replied quickly. “But I will deliver today.”
“Not some trivial Arius death,” Rordan warned.
“I understand.”
Rordan continued to gather his things, everything disappearing in a burst of light.
“Do not disappoint me, Tessa. To be clear, this is a test. Failure is not an option.”
He swept from the room, his words still ringing in the air between them.
Failure is not an option .
Words that had haunted her.
Words that Mother Cordelia had said to her.
Words that Theon had said to her.
She sank back into her chair, wondering how she was going to get out of this.
She’d waited until she knew Theon was gone. He wouldn’t feel her cross the wards of the estate manor, but she didn’t want to accidentally run into him either. Technically, she was keeping her word. The various kingdom manors were just outside the Acropolis, each in their own territory. So in all actuality, she was in Arius Kingdom, just as she’d told Rordan she would do. She still wasn’t sure what she was going to do to fulfill his order of providing a suitable Arius death, and she’d skipped training because of it. Her mental shields were up, blocking Luka. He was going to be furious.
Moving quickly and quietly, she stopped outside a door, knocking softly. She knew they were here because while she’d seen Theon leave, she hadn’t seen them leave.
The door opened, sky-blue eyes staring back at her.
“Tessa?” Lange said in surprise. “I had a feeling I was going to see you today, but I didn’t quite believe it.”
“Hi, Lange,” she said, surging into him.
He huffed a laugh, catching her and pulling her into a hug. “Everything all right?”
“Yeah, I just…”
Needed to talk to someone that wasn’t involved in all this mess.
Lange stepped to the side, letting her pass. The curtains were open, letting natural light bathe the room. She hadn’t been expecting the small suite they had. There was a little sitting area with a fireplace and television and a door leading to what she assumed was a bedroom.
“Is Corbin feeling better?” she asked.
Lange gave her a warm smile. “He’ll be out in a minute, and you can see for yourself.”
“How come you aren’t at your classes?”
“The instructors are all gone today. Assessments at the Estates,” Lange answered.
“Oh,” was all she could think to say as she looked around their space. Small but homey. Little pieces of them scattered throughout. Something stirred in her soul, and she knew it for what it was: jealousy. She was jealous that they had this little haven of solitude to simply exist without expectations. Sure, they had responsibilities, but in this space, it was just them.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Lange asked.
But before she could answer, Corbin appeared, striding through the bedroom door. He seemed a little pale, his hair longer than the last time she’d seen him, and she could swear he was a little thinner.
“Corbin,” she breathed, closing the distance between them and relishing the feel of his arms coming around her.
“Hey, there,” he said around a soft chuckle. She looked up to find him exchanging a look of concern with Lange.
“Are you feeling better?” Tessa asked, extracting herself from him and swallowing the emotion clogging her throat. “You were ill the last time I was here.”
“Lange mentioned you stopped by,” he said. “I’m sorry I missed you.”
“What was wrong?”
“Just a headache and some body aches.”
She frowned. Fae rarely got sick, let alone with something as minor as a headache. “Did a Healer see to you?”
“I’m fine,” Corbin said. “How are you ?”
“Fine,” she parroted, and Lange barked a laugh.
“Well played, Tess,” he said, flopping onto the sofa. “Take a seat and tell us what you’ve been up to.”
Tessa perched on the edge of a chair while Corbin moved behind the sofa. His fingers brushed along Lange’s arm stretched across the back of the furniture. “I’m grabbing water. Need one?”
Lange shook his head before focusing on Tessa again. Once Corbin was back and settled beside Lange, they both looked at her expectantly.
“Theon is really treating you well?” she asked.
“I already told you this,” Lange said. “We have food and shelter. A little bit of freedom and the protection of the Arius Heir. Even if we weren’t bound to the kingdom, I don’t know that we’d find something better anywhere else.”
Tessa nodded, worrying her bottom lip as she looked around some more.
“Is the Achaz Lord treating you well?” Corbin asked, his tone low and soothing.
“I can take care of myself,” she answered immediately.
“We never said you couldn’t,” he replied. When she didn’t say anything else for several seconds, he added, “You know you can talk to us, right? I know we’re not Dex, but?—”
“I don’t trust Dex,” she interrupted. “And you shouldn’t either. Don’t tell him anything if you see him. Or Oralia.”
Lange’s eyes were wide in disbelief. “But you and Dex are… Well, you just are.”
“And Brecken,” she added. “I’m not sure about him yet, but don’t trust him either.”
“Tessa, what is going on?” Corbin asked, leaning forward, his arms braced on his knees.
“So much. Too much,” she murmured.
She shouldn’t have come here. They were happy and safe. She shouldn’t involve them in this. All her friends had ever wanted was to find some place to be together, and they had that here. They had that here because of Theon , of all people.
She shouldn’t have come here.
She said as much as she lurched to her feet. “I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I need to go.”
“Tessa, wait,” Lange said, somehow already standing in front of the door when she turned to it. She hadn’t even seen him move. “You can tell us, Tess.”
“I can’t involve you,” she said. “You deserve to be happy.”
“So do you,” Lange insisted, taking her shoulders in his hands. “We all do.”
“We all do,” she repeated, more to herself than to him. Her eyes snapped up then, meeting sky-blue ones. “If things… You trust me?”
“I do,” he said, and she could hear the sincerity in those two words. “If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t be together. We wouldn’t have this place, this security. We owe you, Tessa.”
“You don’t owe me anything,” she said. “But I would ask…”
“Anything,” Corbin said, coming up beside them, his hands in his pockets as he studied her.
“I think something big is coming. There is a Fae being held captive in Faven, and if the kingdoms suddenly find themselves at odds with each other, I need you to free her,” Tessa said.
“How would we possibly do that?” Lange asked.
“Just…if you find you are able, don’t leave her behind. That’s what I’ll ask of you.”
“Who is she?” Corbin asked.
“Eviana.”
He took a step back. “The Arius Lord’s Source?”
Tessa nodded. “No harm will come to you. Valter is locked up. He cannot be freed.”
“But she can?”
“Maybe? If the right things happen at the right time with people in the right places,” she said, knowing she sounded insane.
But something was coming. Soon. She could feel it in her bones, as if it was a vision trying to form, but couldn’t quite make it to the surface. Suddenly, she wished she was sleeping. Then that vision could find her. She could know what was coming. Prepare for it.
“Tessa?” Lange said gently. “You’re kind of scaring us, sweetheart.”
Her smile was weak and wobbly. “It was good to see you both. I miss you.”
“Tessa, we?—”
“I have to go,” she said, pushing past them and practically stumbling into the hall. She heard them call after her, but she was stepping through a light portal in the next breath. She didn’t even realize where she was going until she turned to find the rushing river.
The black rushing river.
The waters of Wynfell were dark and foreboding as they flowed, chunks of ice getting caught along the sides in the current. Spring was coming, but it hadn’t been enough to completely thaw the river yet. There were still clumps of frozen snow in the trees. The banks were still frozen mud. She wasn’t sure how or why she’d ended up here, but she sucked in a lungful of fresh air. The clouds were few and far between today; the sun shining down and warming her face as she tipped it up to the sky. Seeing Lange and Corbin had been good for her soul. Now she just needed to figure out how to appease Rordan. Maybe going to dinner with Liam wouldn’t be the worst thing in the end, but he’d made it clear the Match Contract was the purpose. With the power plays lately, she could only assume Rordan had a plan to coerce her into signing the damned thing too.
Stepping closer to the water, she watched the darkness churn. She knew of the Night Waters in the Arius Kingdom. Those waters were black as night too, and she’d heard the Wynfell River had fallen to the same. What no one could figure out was how or why.
“After all that time I invested in trying to teach you, you never did learn to control yourself, did you?”
Every part of her body stiffened, her blood turning to ice. As if in slow motion, Tessa turned to face Mother Cordelia.
The Estate Mother looked down at her as she’d done her entire life, blue eyes full of disdain. Her hair was back in the tight bun as always. The only difference today was that she was in the black cloak of the Augury. She hadn’t bothered with a mask.
But those gathered behind her had.
Pearlescent masks stared back at her, more and more filing in, but one in particular stepped to Mother Cordelia’s side, silent as they watched on.
“Where have you been hiding?” Tessa asked, her head tilting as she watched the Estate Mother.
“Hiding?” Cordelia scoffed. “I haven’t been hiding, child. Simply…reassessing our strategy.”
“Our? Who leads you now with Valter gone?”
Cordelia clicked her tongue. “We all know he isn’t gone , Tessalyn.”
“If you know where he is, you should let the Arius Heir know. He has been searching for him,” Tessa said with faux sweetness.
“He has been doing no such thing,” said the figure beside Cordelia, a cold sneer to her tone.
Her.
A female.
A voice Tessa should recognize.
Her power was already winding up her arms, sensing that it was going to get to feast. It was in a frenzy, her body buzzing with energy. Her veins crackled with it, the magic straining and reaching in anticipation of being set free.
But then everything in her froze with shock as the female removed her mask, and the emerald green eyes of Cressida stared back at her.
“You?” Tessa gasped.
Truly, she should have known. Valter was the leader of the Augury. His wife being part of it shouldn’t have come as the shock that it was, but she had always seemed so…distanced from everything. Too preoccupied with societal standards and trends to care about the politics of the realm. A female who had won a Match Contract to elevate her status in exchange for having children with the Arius Lord.
“My son has done everything but search for his father,” Cressida said, tossing her mask to the side. “Since you came into his life, he has forsaken all his responsibilities. He has tossed everything he was raised for and trained to be to the side.”
There was nothing here of the dramatic mother who had cried about her sons going to the Acropolis for Selection Year. Any traces of the submissive wife of the Arius Lord were gone. This female was power and grace, and Tessa realized then that she actually didn’t know what Legacy line she descended from. She didn’t know what kind of power to expect from her.
But her surprise and distraction had left her wide open for Mother Cordelia to strike.
She gasped as the air was ripped from her lungs while a gust of wind simultaneously knocked her to her knees. It brought back too many memories, too much pain, paralyzing her as the females advanced, the Augury following their lead. Once again, Tessa found herself in the center of a circle of cloaked figures.
“I am actually not overly upset about Theon not looking for his father,” Cressida confessed while Tessa continued to struggle for air. “I am more upset about his nonchalance with finding his brother, but he’s always so focused on you .”
Cressida grabbed her chin with that final word, nails digging into her jaw.
“A mother has to do what is best for her children, you know,” she went on. “Sometimes that means doing something that hurts now but will be better for them in the end. I’ll admit you have given me a challenge, forced my creativity into new territory. Every time I think it will be enough, you somehow still survive. The last time you were on the banks of this river, I thought for sure I had you, but you have new…pets.”
Her wolves.
Well, Nylah at least.
Why wasn’t she here yet?
Better yet, why the fuck wasn’t she fighting back?
She was stronger than Mother Cordelia. And even if she wasn’t more powerful, Luka had taught her more than enough to fight back against her. Maybe not all the Augury members, but she didn’t need to be on her knees in front of her .
With a dark grin, she stopped struggling, letting her power rise to the surface. The power wrapped around her throat shuddered as her light sank its claws into it, draining it of life. As it did so, she was gasping down a breath. And another. And another. She let her power feast. Let it fester. Let it pool around her, gold and silver sparks floating among the magic.
“You can’t defeat us all,” Cressida chided as Mother Cordelia struggled to yank her magic free.
“Are you sure about that?” Tessa asked, her voice icy and eerie.
“This is precisely why you were never meant to be,” she answered. “You will be the death of Devram if death does not find you first.”
“Death has found me, and I have bound him to me,” Tessa answered, lifting a hand to show her the Arius Mark that adorned the back of it.
Cressida’s lip curled. “I had never been more disappointed in him than that day.”
“That day?” Tessa asked, sending a surge of energy through her power just as Mother Cordelia thought she’d freed herself. The Estate Mother cried out in pain, and Tessa’s smile grew.
“Yes, that day,” Cressida answered.
“But no one knew…”
But some had known. Some had known all along what she was. Valter had thought she’d been lost, but Rordan had known. Dex had known. There were pieces she hadn’t been able to put together yet. Like why Dex had waited so long to show up, or why Rordan kept saying he’d lost track of her for a time. But Cordelia had said she had been sent there. That she’d been instructed to keep her hidden.
Rordan had done this. From the very beginning, it had been him, and if Cressida knew then…
“You are aiding the Achaz Lord,” Tessa said in utter shock. “But you are married to the Arius Lord.”
“Don’t act so surprised, Tessalyn,” she cooed mockingly. “Nith Legacy are known for their creativity, and yet we are still always underestimated. Theon didn’t get much of that gift from me. He is cunning and smart enough, but he likes things in their boxes. Black and white. Light and dark. But Axel? He may command shadows, but he sees the world in color. Don’t you think?”
Tessa didn’t know what to think anymore.
“But you made this so easy, my dear,” she went on.
Gods, she certainly liked to talk. She had always chattered at the dinner table too, but it had been mindless nonsense. Apparently, Tessa should have paid more attention.
“Everyone talks about how wild and reckless you are, but you’re also predictable. You always come to this same spot when you’re searching for answers,” Cressida said.
Tessa blinked, so taken aback by the truth of the statement, her control of her magic slipped, freeing Mother Cordelia.
And they didn’t let the opportunity go to waste.
The Augury converged, several powers attacking her at once. Vines snapped out, snaking around her limbs. Winds blew, and air was pulled from her lungs. Tendrils of water reached from the river, creating an icy cage and trapping her in the center of it all. There was light and shadow from the weaker Achaz and Arius Legacy. This was so much power. She couldn’t fight it on her own. Even if she let her magic have control, she didn’t know if it would be enough against all of them, but she wasn’t going down without fighting. Not again.
Never again.
Tipping her head back, she screamed to the sky in fury. The sun was gone, dark clouds having rolled in. They burst open, rain mixing with the icy waters the Anahita Legacy were controlling. She focused on one arm. She just needed one hand free to spill a drop of blood. Her Hunters would come, and everyone here would wish they were dead.
She’d grant that wish with wrath and golden blades.
With another cry of rage, light radiated out from her so forcefully, those closest to her were thrown back. It gave her just enough time to pull a dagger and slice her palm.
“No!” Cressida cried from where she was pushing up onto her knees. “Not yet!”
But she was far too late as the blade slid across Tessa’s palm, drops of red splattering at her feet.
“You’re all dead,” Tessa said darkly as the first of her Hunters appeared.
“You called, your—” the Hunter started, but then he stopped as another gust of wind swirled around them courtesy of the Sefarina Legacy.
The Hunter’s head tilted too far to the side, and he inhaled deeply before a wide and terrifying grin filled his pale face.
“We are here to serve, your grace,” he said, a feral thread of excitement ringing in his already haunting tone.
Despite them all looking the same, Tessa knew this was the same Hunter that always appeared first. This was the Hunter who had served her. He was the one who had brought her Valter and Arlo. He was the leader of the others in whatever hierarchy was granted among their kind.
“Kill them all,” Tessa said, her gaze locking with Mother Cordelia’s as she spoke the words.
The Estate Mother’s face was taut with disapproval, but for the first time in her life, Tessa saw apprehension fill her features too. Yet even with that, she didn’t seem nearly as concerned as she should be with death a breath away.
“We will eliminate the threats,” he replied, more and more Hunters appearing.
The Legacy could do nothing as golden blades were drawn, but this was nothing like the last attack. Many of the Augury members weren’t fighting. In fact, only a handful were panicking. As the Hunters made their way through the crowds. They didn’t kill them all like she’d instructed. Instead, they almost seemed to be… selective about the ones they drove those gold swords into.
Cressida and Mother Cordelia came closer, the leader of the Hunters stepping in front of Tessa, but Cressida just waved him off.
“I know the rules,” she scoffed, a vindictive smile on her full lips as she stared at Tessa. “Rordan will be thrilled she is finally fulfilling her purpose.”
“What are you—” Tessa started, but she was cut off by the howling that filled the air.
Not one wolf, but two.
Nylah and Roan.
Her heart both soared and stuttered. She still smiled when they appeared though, dark and light fur jumping into the fray. The Augury members who hadn’t appeared fearful before did now, more power appearing and flying through the air.
Tessa called her own magic back to the surface, but a piece of her also hesitated. The last time Roan had come to protect her in an attack, he had nearly been killed because of her. What if it happened again? What if she lost control and this time they were too late to save him?
She froze, her palms glowing and gold mist undulating around her. Luka hadn’t prepared her for this . In all her training, no one had told her what to do when your actions could kill someone you loved. Because that was what this was. She loved those wolves. They were hers, and she was theirs, and where the fuck was Luka? Theon? Her shields had slipped long ago. She could feel them, so surely they could feel her.
I need you both. Now! she cried down the bond, fear and dread taking over as she continued to watch her Hunters selectively take life.
We know. We’re trying, Theon said, anger and panic coloring his words.
What do you mean you’re trying?
Keep fighting, Tessa. We’ll be there, Luka replied.
But Roan is here, and I ? —
Fuck! Theon snapped.
Where are you? Tessa demanded.
But there was no response, only their own emotions of fury and wrath and…fear? She’d never felt that from them before. Where were they?
A scream from an Augury member drew her attention, faint black shadows fading as the Hunter withdrew his blade from his chest. An Arius Legacy then.
“What have you done?”
Tessa turned just in time to see three arrows fly from Auryon’s bow where she now prowled around her. The Hunter who had been guarding her snarled at Auryon’s appearance, his lip curling back.
“Huntress,” he hissed. “We’ve been waiting for you.”
Auryon’s smile was razor sharp as she nocked two arrows, letting them fly before Tessa could blink.
The Hunter had already disappeared.
Auryon let out a shrill whistle, and a moment later, Nylah and Roan leapt from the melee.
“Find the females,” was all Auryon said, all while releasing two more rounds of arrows.
The wolves were gone once more, taking down Augury members as they moved and somehow avoiding the Hunters at the same time. Then again, the Hunters truly weren’t focused on them as much as they were on certain Legacy.
Arius Legacy.
It was their purpose. It was her purpose. She wanted them all dead. If they were slaughtering all the Augury members, she wouldn’t have cared, but this was…not what she had told them to do.
The thought seemed to flip a switch in her soul, fury bubbling up at being disobeyed. “Stop!” she cried, rushing toward the nearest Hunter. Her hand went through him, so she reached for his blade instead. Her fingers wrapped around it, and she hissed as it sliced into her flesh, more blood dripping to the ground.
Summoning only more Hunters.
Stumbling back, she pulled her hand to her chest, trying to staunch the bleeding.
“What is happening?” she cried, turning to Auryon, who shoved an arrow into a Hunter’s chest before nocking it and directing the same into another.
“You assumed you had control over something you do not understand!” Auryon seethed. “I told you to stop summoning them. I told you to never summon them here. ”
“I didn’t know?—”
“You did know,” Auryon snapped, shoving a handful of arrows at her. “I told you. Repeatedly. We’ve all tried to tell you that the path you are on only leads to destruction, and now you will witness it. The least you can do is try to diminish the damage. If you won’t use your power, use those.”
Tessa stared down at the arrows in her hand. This was her fault. She understood that. Some dark, sadistic part of her didn’t care. They could all die. Devram could waste away, and she wouldn’t give two fucks.
But not with Nylah and Roan still here.
And there will still be innocents.
And she hadn’t survived so much just to die with the rest of them when she’d been promised freedom from this realm.
But that freedom would come on her terms. Not those of a lord or a god.
Auryon glanced over at her, a look of satisfaction flashing in her eyes at whatever she saw. “There she is,” the Huntress said in approval. “The fury of your mother. Use it.”
And Tessa did.
She stalked forward, moving only on instinct. It was how the wild and untamed survived; it only made sense that such instincts were innate for her too. She sank into fury as she drove those arrows into the chests of Augury members and Hunters alike. She didn’t care. One wanted her dead; the other had tricked her and used her. Both had preyed on her, and she took her vengeance in flesh.
For the next few minutes, sounds of life and death filled the air. Shouts of defiance and screams of agony. Growls of determination and pleas for mercy. A song that she knew in her soul because it was who she was. She knew all the steps to this dance.
Her magic thrashed in her veins, begging and pleading to take and take and take, but she couldn’t do it. Not with Roan so close. She knew it made her weak, but every time she came close to summoning any of her magic, fear locked it down tight. She had something to fight for now, yes, but she also had something to protect.
“Dammit,” she muttered when she was down to her last arrow.
Frowning, she wiped the bloody tip on her pants while she looked around for Auryon. She’d been so lost to the song that she hadn’t kept track of everything around her. She wasn’t a warrior like Luka or a trained Huntress like Auryon. She just… was , so she hadn’t noticed that they weren’t exactly winning this battle. It was messy and chaotic. She wasn’t sure why she thought bloodshed would be anything other than that. She’d taken enough lives these past months to know there was nothing clean or organized about it.
But this was Hunters against…select Augury. Augury against her and the wolves. Wolves against the Augury. Auryon against Augury and Hunters, and her against everyone too. It wasn’t enough. There was no way, and certainly not without her power.
Ashes and smoke swirled to her right, Auryon stepping from them. Her wicked features were sharp and hard, and she looked exhausted.
“Cordelia and Cressida have disappeared. Again,” she said, slightly breathless.
Tessa couldn’t help the lightning that sparked around her at that statement.
“We need to get you out of here. Nylah and Roan are clearing a path,” Auryon continued, sending an arrow flying. Tessa was fairly certain she hadn’t even looked when she let it go. “We can take you to?—”
Her eyes went wide, and it was the first time Tessa had ever seen them still. The ash and smoke that usually swirled in them was frozen, and Auryon’s features twisted into feral rage. Tessa didn’t understand what was happening. Not until the female spun, and instead of arrows in her hands, two daggers appeared, the blades narrowing into wicked points.
A Hunter stood behind her, and before Tessa could blink, Auryon shoved both daggers into the Hunter’s gut, somehow cutting the being completely in half. Gold blood sprayed as he dissipated.
And Auryon sank to the ground.
“Auryon!” Tessa screamed, dropping down beside her. “No! No, no, no!”
There was no way this was happening again.
Auryon looked up at her with those too still eyes. Eyes that should be swirling in an unnatural way. She still looked fierce and wicked. The same way she’d looked every time she’d appeared to protect Tessa. To stand between her and whatever this fucking realm was trying to do to her. Whether on her father’s orders or her own volition, all Auryon had ever done was protect her.
“You’re fine?” Tessa said, studying her for any grimace of pain. Nylah and Roan had appeared, circling them and keeping everyone else back, but they couldn’t hold out much longer.
Luka! Theon! Now!
It was a desperate scream down the bond, and she felt them both still and shudder at the anguish.
End this! Theon snarled.
Tessa didn’t know what they were dealing with, but gods, she’d never wanted to see his arrogant face more than she did right now.
Her eyes were frantically searching Auryon, trying to find a wound, any sign of blood, but there was nothing.
“You’re not hurt? I don’t understand,” Tessa said, her hands hovering over the female’s body trying to figure out what they should do.
“There will be no undoing this,” Auryon said, her voice somehow strong and fading at the same time. “Just as my arrows and blades are death for the Hunters, their blades bring the same to a Huntress.”
“But there’s no blood. You weren’t stabbed,” Tessa said, confusion and panic squeezing her chest so tightly she couldn’t breathe. “You’re fine. I’ll make a portal. You just need to get up and go through with me. We’ll figure the rest out. We’ll— What are you doing?”
Auryon’s hand had closed around the grip of her bow that she was now shoving towards Tessa. “You need to take this.”
Tessa shook her head, only then realizing her cheeks were wet. Everything was wet. The ground. Her clothing. Cloaks and fur. She was crying, and so was the sky.
“It is your birthright,” Auryon said, shoving the bow at her again.
“No,” Tessa said, shaking her head again so violently her hair whipped around her with the denial.
“Tessalyn!” Auryon snapped. “You are wild and fury, light and dark. Once lost, you were found. The only one who hasn’t realized that is you .”
“I don’t understand,” Tessa said, throwing out a hand and letting light flare when several Augury members broke through the fray.
She scarcely heard their screams as her power ripped away their life force.
And Auryon smiled up at her. “It is in your blood. The life you seek. What you desperately want. Many have sacrificed to give you a choice, Tessalyn. The costs have been great because of love for you . You only need to accept that you are worthy of such a thing, then take what is yours to claim.”
This time, the female’s arm trembled when she lifted the bow to Tessa.
“Slice your palm and grip the bow in blood. Speak the words of the Huntresses to bind it to you,” Auryon said before reciting words in an old language. She coughed then. Tessa wished there was blood. It would all feel more real. This was like a cruel joke with no wounds and no agony. “And when you see your father, tell him I never served out of purpose or duty, but out of honor and friendship. Tell him—” She sucked in a sharp breath. “Tell him thank you for allowing me the privilege.”
“Auryon, stop.” The words were a whispered sob, and she didn’t understand it. She wasn’t close to this female. Yes, she had guarded and protected her, but she didn’t know her. This shouldn’t shred her soul like it was doing.
A swirl of smoke and ashes had her rocking back in shock, and the sound that ripped from her throat was echoed by thunder. Because when the smoke and ashes waned, there was nothing left but two ashy footprints and a bow.
Movement caught her eye, and Tessa looked up from her knees, her gaze connecting with white eyes.
The Hunter.
Their leader.
And his smile was one of victory.
Before Tessa could move, an arm wrapped around her waist. She tensed for the briefest of moments before she recognized the touch, the chaos in her veins calming a fraction.
“I’m taking you somewhere safe, but he is there,” came Luka’s gruff voice in her ear. “Tell me you are fine with that.”
She nodded once, scrambling to grab Auryon’s bow. In the next breath, she was tugged through a rip in the air.
But not without vowing to destroy the very beings she’d summoned here.