Page 168 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

Who tried to get information out of you, Eve?

One of Rordan’s spies,she answered, sipping from the overflowing wineglass. It was enough of a half-truth to bypass the many bargains and oaths he’d forced her to agree to over the years.

And?he pressed.

Your secrets are safe with me, my Lord. Always.

That’s my beautiful flower.

Eviana smiled, picking up the empty wine bottle and carrying it into the small bathroom. There was hardly room to move in it. Big enough for a toilet, pedestal sink, and shower so tiny she could scarcely fit in the thing. Turning the water on to mask the sound, she smashed the wine bottle against the side of the sink. She still held the neck of the bottle, jagged pieces of glass now protruding from the end of it. She set it carefully in the sink before grabbing a hand towel. Humming to herself, she started picking up the glass shards from the floor and wrapping them in the towel. Then she took it and slid it all the way under the bed.

Just to be prepared for whatever may come.

She flopped back down on the bed, lifting her wrist and studying the dark band on it. It’d been a long time since she’d been forced to wear these. Valter never let her be defenseless. His beautiful flower was far too important to him and his plans.

Too bad his flower was more poison than beauty.

31

TESSA

“By the gods, Dex. I’m going to bathe. You’re not following me into the bathroom,” Tessa snapped when he trailed her into her rooms.

After she’d lied about napping and instead gone to see Eviana a few days ago, Dex rarely let her out of his sight. She hadn’t been able to go to Luka’s room to sleep, let alone sneak off anywhere else. Rordan hadn’t been lying when he’d said Dex was to watch over her, but that was supposed to be whenever they left the palace. Not inside of it. This was no different from when Theon wouldn’t leave her be, but at least Theon came with orgasms.

Wait. No. She was not going to sit here and think about how being at Arius House with him was better thanthis.

“Then I’ll get Oralia,” Dex argued. “She can sit in there with you.”

“What do you think I’m going to do in the bath, Dexter? You won’t let me go find a mortal, so I have to take care of things myself,” she spat.

“Tessa, the last time you said you were going off to fuck someone, you killed two Legacy. Then you went back a few days later and desecrated the Villas.”

“There is no proof of any of that,” she groused.

“Proof or not, this is your own fault. You created this mess, and once again, I’m cleaning it up.”

Her power slammed into him, sending him flying across the room and into the wall. Sliding down the wall, he cursed, rubbing the back of his head. Tessa stalked forward, and he tipped his head back to look up at her.

“I didn’t ask you toclean upanything,” she said, her voice too calm. “You took that role on yourself. You always have because for some reason you took it upon yourself to make me your responsibility.” She tipped her head to the side, holding his dark stare. “But that’s not true either, is it?”

“What are you talking about, Tessa?” he sighed, his arm dropping to his side. “I know you suffered a lot in the Arius Kingdom, but did he really drive us this far apart? You think I’ve been working against you?”

She huffed a humorless laugh. A part of her had hoped his wings would appear with that small attack, or perhaps some hint of the power he’d stolen. He hadn’t even used his supposed air magic to catch himself. That was something he was supposed to be proficient at by now.

“Youdid this to us, Dexter,” she hissed, pointing a finger at him. “You did this to us every time you spoke down to me and made me feel like an uncontrollable mess. You did this to us when you held me down under the guise of ‘fixing my mess’ instead of letting me stand back up. You continue to do this to us with every lie that spills from your lips and secret you keep from me.”

His dark eyes were wide at her outburst, but now they filled with ire. “What lies have I told you, Tessa?” he demanded, getting to his feet so quickly, she stumbled back a few steps.

“What lies haven’t you told?” she countered.

“Everything I have done is to keep you safe and coddled,” he sneered. “Everything I have done is to prepare you to be what you were always meant to be.”

“By keepingeverythingfrom me!” she cried. “By letting me think I was worthless and unwanted. By letting me believe I was a mess and everything I did was wrong. Even now, you sit here and berate me, tell me how you have to fix things for me yet again.”

“Because I do!” he bellowed. “I’ve been fixing your shit long before you even knew who I was.”

And there it was.

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