Page 115 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

“You’re a Pax Legacy,” Theon sneered. “But that doesn’t explain howCiennais your sister because she is clearly a Witch.”

That was what Tristyn had begrudgingly revealed to him after Giselle’s little comment. There hadn’t been time to dive into the specifics. No, instead Theon was sporting yet another Bargain Mark. This one was on the back of his shoulder. Theon would locate this lost Shifter Prince and only then would they reveal the location of his father’s holdings within the District. At least they’d admitted that he did in fact have holdings, so Theon could try to locate them on his own.

“I am not a Pax Legacy,” Tristyn said. “Pax is my father.”

“Bullshit,” Theon huffed, but even as he said it, he knew it was true. Why wouldn’t it be?

“As for Cienna, yes. We are full-blooded siblings. Pax fell in love with one of Taika’s descendants,” he replied.

“So you are both Pax and Taika Legacy?”

“We are not Legacy at all. A direct descendant of a god makes us deities,” Tristyn answered. “And before you ask, Tessa is more than that, despite being a direct descendant of Temural.”

“Of course you know that,” Theon muttered.

“Anyway, the magic of the witchcraft sisters favors females. I can access it, but it takes more effort on my end. She favors healing and potions; I favor enchantments and spell enhancements.”

“All of Lilura Inquest’s technological advances,” Theon said in realization. “That’s how you built your company.”

“Something like that,” Tristyn said with a sly smile, still twirling the dagger.

“If Pax is your father, you’re not from this world.”

“Has anyone ever told you how smart you are?” Tristyn asked mockingly.

“Fuck off,” Theon snapped. “Everyone keeps berating me for not knowing things when I’ve been taught one thing my entire life. Even when I found books and texts that challenged the history I was taught, they were so sparse I couldn’t substantiate anything. Then I come to find out you’ve been here this entire fucking time doing fuck all to change a godsdamn thing.”

Tristyn moved fast, but Theon met his advance with a short blade pulled from a swirl of black. The male might be a deity, but Theon had been trained in the most ruthless of manners. Still, he could feel Tristyn’s power weighing on him, coaxing his magic into passivity, and he found himself wishing Tessa or Luka were here. He could draw from either one of them because he would certainly weaken faster than Tristyn.

“You think I have been doing nothing for hundreds of years while I was waiting for her to get here?” Tristyn demanded, and there was no russet color left in them now. They were pure glowing sage green.

“Waiting for her to get here?” Theon repeated in confusion.

“You all whine and complain about being forgotten by the gods, when the reality is you all like it. There’s no one here to correct you. The Lords and Ladies can keep everyone in the dark, and the gods that do manage to meddle here are never caught because everyone thinks they can’t be here. You all have been isolated for so godsdamn long you forget that anything is possible if one is willing to pay the price.”

Tristyn’s breathing was harsh after his tirade, and Theon was still trying to wrap his mind around what he’d said. He was still stuck on the same question though.

“What did you mean when you said you’ve been waiting for her to get here?” Theon repeated, slowly lowering his blade when he was sure Tristyn wasn’t going to lunge at him again. “How many years have you been here?”

“Four hundred fifty-nine years, seven months, and twelve days,” Tristyn answered, his arm falling to his side.

“You know down to the day?” Theon said in disbelief.

“You’d know too if it was the last time you’d seen the one you’d sacrifice anything for,” Tristyn replied.

Theon couldn’t argue with that. He already counted how many days it’d been since he’d seen Tessa.

Eight.

Eight days with each day feeling longer and longer as the bond made everything that much more intense.

“You’ve been separated from your…wife? For over four centuries?”

“She’s not my wife. Not yet,” he answered. “But she will be.”

“Where is she?”

Sadness filled his face, the glow in his eyes fading. “I don’t know.”

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