Page 280 of Storm of Secrets and Sorrow

Roan whined beside her, lowering to his belly as Tessa stepped forward, resting a hand on the glass. The male lifted his head, bright sapphire eyes connecting with hers, and she sucked in a sharp breath.

Dragging a fingertip along the glass in a slow arc, she asked, “Who are you?”

The male didn’t answer. He just held her with his piercing gaze, unmoving.

Roan whined again, and the male’s eyes dropped to the wolf.

Tessa’s brows rose. “You know him,” she said, dropping to a crouch and scratching behind Roan’s ears. “Do you know who I am then?”

He spoke then, his voice hoarse and gruff, and Tessa wondered when the last time was that he’d uttered a single word.

“Doyouknow who you are?” he asked.

She sent him a knowing smile. “A daughter of wild and fury.” He held her gaze, and she forced herself not to shift under his scrutiny. After a long moment, she couldn’t stand the silence anymore. “You look like someone I know.”

She saw the flicker of interest that was quickly gone.

“You are not supposed to be here,” he finally said.

“I can go wherever I please.”

“I mean here. In this palace.”

“Are you supposed to be here?” she countered, lifting her chin.

To her surprise, he huffed a gruff laugh. “You are stubborn and combative like her.”

“Like who?”

He shifted again, stretching his legs out in front of him and crossing his ankles. “You said you knew who you were.”

She settled onto the floor with a scowl, Roan shifting closer and placing his head on her lap. “You are aggravating like him.”His lips twitched in a familiar way that made her want to punch something. “Why are you locked in here?”

“Why do you keep the Arius Lord in here?”

Tessa leaned back on her hands. “There are various reasons.”

“I am certain some of those reasons are the same reason I have been here for decades.”

“Are you always this evasive?”

“When I do not trust someone and suspect this is yet another attempt to gain information from me, yes.”

She smiled. “I don’t even know who you are. I don’t think I was supposed to find you.”

“Achaz does nothing without intention.”

“You mean Rordan?”

“I did not misspeak,” the male answered.

“You speak as if you know him personally,” Tessa scoffed.

The male said nothing.

Tessa sat forward. “Where are you from?”

“Where areyoufrom?”

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