Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance (Legacy #3)

50. Theon

50

THEON

H is entire body seized, but still he did not release her. He clutched Tessa tightly to him, fighting to keep his magic around her, protecting her. He knew without looking it was one of those fucking golden blades. It had to be. There were few things that could pierce his magic so easily. If these beings were designed to hunt down Arius blood, it only made sense their weapons were immune to Arius magic.

“Theon,” Tessa gasped. “Are you?—”

“I will be fine,” he soothed. “But we need to get out of here. Blackheart!”

Tristyn was there, fighting alongside the wolves with a skill that could only come with experience. Decades, possibly centuries, of experience. Any being that came near him met its end. Well, other than the Hunters, but they were dispersing for whatever reason.

“We can’t Travel her,” Tristyn yelled back. “I told you this.”

Luka still had the bond blocked. He couldn’t reach him, but surely he could feel their pain. Tessa’s terror. His own rage. Even without the bond, the male was still his godsdamn Guardian. Where the fuck was he?

Not knowing what else to do, he pulled his phone from his pocket. “Then you Travel somewhere safe, and call Luka. Tell him… Tell him whatever you have to.”

Because he refused to lie to her. He never had, and he refused to accept that Luka was forcing this to be his first.

And he refused to let her die. He refused to let this be her end, a prophecy playing out exactly as everyone said it would because it had been manipulated from the very beginning. Devram had tried to shield themselves from it, and instead, they had brought about the very end they feared. He finally understood why Cienna and Tristyn were so fearful to speak of the future. He finally understood why the Witches never wished to tempt Fate.

Because when you tried to learn the secrets of the Fates, everything changed.

One could go mad trying to stay ahead of the visions, constantly seeking new prophecies and omens, and still destinies would alter. In the end, nothing was inevitable. The only certainty among the stars was that fate was a culmination of choices made over days, months, and years.

“Are you sure?” Tristyn asked, while Tessa was shaking her head in refusal. The male was already tapping out something on the phone while the wolves continued to hold the line.

“We need…him to stay,” Tessa gasped, but at least she was getting words out now.

“If he does not go get help, we will not survive this, and?—”

He was cut off by the roar that ripped through the air, yet Tessa’s sob of relief was still somehow louder. Everything stilled, all eyes going to the night sky, where not one, but two, dragons soared. One let loose another roar of rage, black flames blotting out the emerging stars, and then the Augury scattered. The Hunters hissed in outrage, disappearing into the air, while the vampyres followed the Legacy.

It did not matter.

Not as two dragons dove, dragon fire calling forth screams of agony before silencing them just as quickly. They left nothing behind but ash, and within minutes, the world around them was quiet.

One of the dragons landed beside them, the ground trembling at the impact. The other soared over the trees. Theon assumed it was going to search for stragglers who were attempting to escape.

Sapphire eyes were pinned on them before his snout was sniffing first her wound, then his.

“Yeah, you dick,” Theon snarled. “We’re hurt. Took you long enough.”

Luka huffed, his shields crumbling. Guilt and regret barreled into Theon down the bond, but as quickly as Luka had lowered his shields, Tessa was putting hers back up.

In a dull flash of light, Luka shifted. He reached for them, but Tristyn spoke first.

“She can’t be Traveled right now. There are enchantments in place,” he explained.

“Then what the fuck are we supposed to do?” Luka demanded, eyeing Tessa whose face was buried in Theon’s chest.

Funny how this was something he’d craved from the moment he’d claimed her, and now he was trying to figure out how to fix…whatever the fuck they were. All of them. This whole godsdamn mess.

“Ideally, I’d take her to the Underground, but there’s no way we can make it there without magic,” Theon said, his body starting to not feel right. It felt…too heavy. Shaking his head and trying to clear his thoughts, he said, “The manor? It’s closest.”

“Except your father is free,” Luka said grimly. “He’ll be looking for Eviana, and that’s one of the first places he’ll go.”

“Why?”

“It’s a long story to tell when we’re in a secure location.”

His hold on Tessa loosened some, and not by choice. The world around him was going in and out of focus.

“Back to the…” he tried, but his arms fell to his sides. Tristyn lunged to grab Tessa while Luka reached for him.

“What the fuck? Theon? What’s happening?” the dragon demanded.

Fuck if he knew. He just knew he was exhausted. So was his magic. He felt it slowly falling into slumber. Maybe he just needed some rest to recover. Every part of him liked that idea. Blinking was becoming increasingly difficult.

“Move,” came a growled voice before another set of sapphire eyes was staring down at him. He sounded annoyed when he asked, “He was stabbed with a Hunter’s blade?”

“In the back,” Tristyn answered, sounding far away. Or maybe underwater? But that didn’t make any sense unless he’d moved to the river…

“This is going to be unpleasant,” the male said.

And then Theon was burning.

Everywhere.

His arms. His legs. His insides. All of it was on fire, and he couldn’t go anywhere. He was being pressed into the hard ground, being burned alive. Thrashing, he tried to cry out, but his throat was on fire too. There was nothing but heat and excruciating pain as his lungs, his veins, his blood were ignited and scorched. It didn’t stop as it ravaged his body from his feet to his fingers to his scalp. No part of him was granted mercy from the agony.

After what felt like hours, it all stopped. The sky was still dark. Luka still stood over him, and Tessa?—

He lurched upright.

“Tessa?”

“I’m here,” she said, and he found her still with Tristyn. Her eyes were wide, and those were tear tracks down her face. Had she been crying…for him?

“What the fuck was that?” Luka demanded.

He turned to find his friend glowering at his brother. Everything was still moving in slow motion, and he was hot . His clothes clung to him, drenched in sweat.

“He was stabbed with a Hunter’s blade,” Razik answered. “It is poison. Not to kill Arius blood but to paralyze. There is no antidote. There are only two ways to remove the poison. One way is burning it from the body with dragon fire.”

“I know that,” Luka growled. “I did the same for Kat once.”

“Then why did you ask? Better yet, why didn’t you act?”

Smoke appeared on Luka’s exhale. “What is the other?” he gritted out.

“Persuading a Hunter to suck it out from the throat. It’s not easily done,” Razik answered.

“That’s…” Luka trailed off, clearly disturbed.

But Theon was starting to think more clearly. “Tessa was stabbed. Before I was.”

Everyone turned to her, but she was sitting up on her own. Still wide-eyed, but she appeared relatively fine.

“My magic healed me,” she supplied. “Or still is. I’m not fully fine yet, but I don’t think I need…that. A Night Child stabbed me. The Hunters are forbidden to harm me.”

“Can you walk?” Luka asked, turning back to Theon.

“Maybe? Where are we going to go?” he answered.

“Back to the Pantheon,” Tristyn said.

“There is no way we simply walk back into the Pantheon,” Theon said, testing the mobility of his limbs.

“There is a hidden way. Once inside, we can go back to the center and decide our next moves. I think it’s our only option right now.”

So they went back the way they’d come, far worse for wear now. Tristyn stayed at Tessa’s side, where she remained silent and withdrawn. Roan was on her other side while Nylah prowled ahead of her. Razik and Luka flanked Theon. No one spoke while they made their way back into the Acropolis. Theon was used to making sure he was seen, his power announcing his arrival. Sneaking down dirty alleys and trying to blend in was not an easy feat.

Finally, Tristyn drew a Mark in blood on a wall, and they all ducked inside. Tessa was tense in front of them, her movements stiff, but she didn’t stop as they moved through the narrow winding passages. It was another twenty minutes before they all emptied into a large circular chamber. Theon immediately recognized the mirror on the opposite side. It was the same as the one in the Underground. What he hadn’t expected to find was Eliza and another male with a white stone collar around his throat.

A male that looked an awful lot like?—

“It’s my father,” was all Luka said. “Tell me what the fuck happened.”

“You mean what the fuck happened while you were busy brooding and ignoring all my attempts at communication?” Theon shot back.

“Gods, you’re pissy when you nearly die,” Luka muttered.

“He didn’t nearly die,” Razik said, crossing the room to Eliza. “He was slowly becoming paralyzed.”

“No one asked you,” Luka retorted.

“You did,” Razik deadpanned. “After I stopped the poison from spreading.”

“You freed him?”

Those were Tessa’s soft words as she stared at Xan, the male looking back at her almost with a fondness.

“Yes, and freed Valter in the process,” Luka replied. “We need to come up with a plan?—”

“Actually, we don’t,” Theon cut in, leaning against the wall.

“What do you mean we don’t?”

But his gaze was fixed on Tessa, who was staring back at him. “You asked me if I understand what is happening, and I didn’t until recently. Or maybe…” He sighed, swiping a hand down his face as he prepared to do this. “Maybe I just refused to accept it.” For the first time ever, he watched hope flicker in her violet eyes. “The decree was never about ruling Devram; it was about saving it.”

Immediately, that hope disappeared, everything about her hardening.

“Saving Devram,” she repeated. “You mean what the Augury believes?”

Theon nodded. “They are not wrong, Tessa.”

“They believe my very existence will be the end of Devram unless I am killed,” she deadpanned.

“And they are correct,” he said again.

“Theon, what the fuck are you talking about?” Luka cut in, watching Tessa, who was dutifully avoiding eye contact with the male.

“The balance,” Theon said. “In all things there must be balance, and when the balance is left uncorrected for too long, the Fates are forced to intervene.”

“I don’t understand,” Eliza said, stepping forward. “The Fates don’t interfere. They often refuse to, letting natural consequences follow actions.”

“Until they are forced to,” Razik interrupted. “If the imbalance becomes too great and threatens the realms, they step in. Ultimately, that is their purpose. To make sure the balance is not allowed to tip too far to one side.”

“What, exactly, are you saying?” Tessa asked, her power vibrating around her.

Theon held her stare when he said, “We’re saying the Revelation Decree was a warning for Devram. If the balance is not corrected, Chaos will reign and the realms will fall. Time has run out. There are signs everywhere. The kingdoms are about to go to war with each other. Lines are being drawn, and old allies are betraying one another. Even the Underground is seemingly in disarray. The Night Children are not supposed to be in the kingdoms. The Fates will come for you, Tessa.”

“So you are…going to hand me over to the Augury? To the Fates?” she demanded, gold and silver sparks floating around her, drifting through her hair. “After all of this, all of your promises about keeping me, you are just going to give me up?”

He smiled then, a soft thing he’d only ever give to her. “No, beautiful. I am going to give up Devram.”

“Theon,” Luka cut in. “I need you to spell this out. What exactly is the plan here?”

“The Fates will come here seeking Tessa, but when they get here, she will be gone,” Theon answered.

“Gone?” Luka repeated. “Gone where?”

He turned to Razik and Eliza. “You are going to take her to Scarlett. I understand a goddess hid in your world for over a thousand years. That should be plenty of time to figure out a way to save her.”

“She can’t go there,” Razik said. “Scarlett will not allow such a harbinger into our world so soon. Not because she does not care, but because she will not subject the people of Halaya to such danger. We are still recovering from a war we barely survived.”

“But she can take her somewhere else? World walk her to another realm to stay hidden for the time being while a solid plan is formed?” Theon pushed.

“We can make sure that is done,” Eliza agreed, stepping closer to Razik’s side.

Turning back to Luka, who was staring at him in disbelief, Theon said, “When the Fates come here and cannot find her, they will destroy Devram, assuming she is being hidden here. It will take some time for them to figure out she still lives, just as it has taken time for them to find her here. This will buy her more time.”

“Destroy Devram?” Tessa said, her tone betraying her confusion. “But…you will still be here? Luka? Axel?”

He pushed off the altar, crossing the room and taking her face in his hands. “Luka will go with you, Tessa.” She was shaking her head, but he still cupped her cheeks. Swallowing his own emotions, he said, “He was always supposed to be yours, right? When I am gone, he can become your Guardian. The way it was always meant to be. Yeah?”

“No!” she spluttered. “You are condemning an entire world to death, Theon. There are innocent Fae and mortals here. There are… No!”

He couldn’t keep himself from pressing his lips to hers, soft and tender. A way they’d never kissed. This was an entirely new battle of acceptance and denial.

Pulling back just enough to look into her violet eyes, he said, “Tessalyn Ausra, I would sacrifice all the realms and all the stars for you. You are perfectly wild. Perfectly untamed. You were not made to be caged, nor were you made to be a sacrifice for a realm that does not deserve such a gift. You were made to live in the light. Go live, little storm.”

She was crying, her tears slipping beneath his fingers, and he swiped them away with his thumbs. But that was not sorrow in her eyes.

It was fury.

“You lied to me,” she seethed. “You told me you would always find me, and now you are leaving me?”

“I will find you in the After, Tessa. I’ll be waiting for you. You will forever be mine.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head in refusal. His hands slipped from her face. “No,” she repeated. “You don’t get to just decide this, Theon.”

He turned to Razik. “You know how to call Scarlett?”

“Yes,” he answered. “We will work out where to hide them.”

Theon turned to Luka, who was still staring at him. Summoning a half tilt of his lips, he said, “It is the last order I’ll ever give you.”

“You’re really doing this? Condemning an entire realm?” Luka demanded.

“To save her from something she never asked for? Never deserved to be shoved into? Yeah, Luka, and I’m trusting you to take care of her,” he answered. “Make sure she leaves.”

The two stared at each other a moment longer before Luka was pulling him into a hug. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I do,” Theon answered. “I’ve finally accepted that I have run out of time.”

Stepping back from his chosen brother, he turned to Tessa once more. She was pacing, her hands in her hair, and he caught her wrist, tugging her into him. “Be happy, little storm.”

“No,” she said, still shaking her head.

He reached up, brushing hair back from her face and taking her all in. The violet eyes with gold and grey peeking through. The golden hair. The light winding up her arms and making her skin glow. He leaned in, pressing a kiss to her brow, before cupping her cheek.

“Be happy,” he repeated. “But more than that, be free , Tessa.”

“You lied to me!” she cried again, shoving at his chest while simultaneously clutching at his shirt. “You lied to me, and I hate you for it!”

“I know, little storm,” he said, holding her close a second longer. “But know that I am yours. Every piece of me.”

Then Luka was behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist. He easily picked her up off the ground, gently pulling her backwards and away from him. She thrashed in his arms. Tears of wrath were streaming down her face while her cries of fury echoed off the stone walls.

With one last look at the ones he loved most in this world, Theon turned and walked out of the chamber, doing the one thing he’d sworn he would never do.

He let her go.