Page 172 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

The Hunter forced her bloody palm to the Achaz symbol, but as he released her, she slid her hand down. Blood covered more than one symbol, and the Hunter hissed in dismay.

“You call more than the Light King,” the Hunter breathed. “He will be unhappy.”

The mirror was swirling with darkness and light, fire and shadows. It took a minute, but then Achaz was there. Golden eyes peered down at her, a chilling smile curling on his lips.

“Well done, granddaughter,” he praised, his deep voice washing over her. His eyes left her, fixing on something over her shoulder. “They are all dead?”

“Only she remains,” a Hunter answered.

Looking behind her, she found everyone in the room was on a knee. The same way the Fae had to kneel in the presence of a Legacy.

“And only she can let me in,” Achaz answered, drawing her gaze back to the mirror. “Captain, proceed.”

She didn’t see who shoved her forward. She tried. Gods, did she try to twist around and see, but one hand held her firmly by the back of neck, shoving her towards the mirror, while the other was gripping her wrist, forcing her hand to the mirror.

“No!” she screamed, her power flaring, but little happened. She tried again. Where were Roan and Nylah? Why was her power so weak if they’d just killed hundreds? It should be fully replenished. She should be at her strongest.

She kicked out when they got close enough, planting her feet on the glass and pushing back, but it was no use. With a grunt of effort, her still bloody palm landed on the glass. Directly atop the reflection of Achaz’s bleeding hand.

Sparks of gold and silver skittered across the smooth surface, and Achaz’s smile grew. “I am told you nearly failed in your purpose,” he said, pacing back and forth as the mirror continued to crack. “I am told you nearly chose a bond that would have—” His head snapped up, eyes going wide. “What are you doing here?”

Tessa didn’t know who he was speaking to, his attention diverted to someone in the room with him on the other side of the mirror.

“Who released you?” he demanded.

A melodic laughter that was tinged with madness echoed into the chamber. The Hunters all hissed in unison, and she heard Oralia’s high-pitched voice say, “She will ruin everything!”

“I was summoned,” a female said, and Tessa strained, as if she could see further into his side of the mirror if she only had the right angle.

“That shouldn’t matter,” Achaz spat.

“Ah, but it does,” she said, a shadow falling across Achaz’s features when she crept closer. “Because all magic comes with acost, including unlocking a realm. It’s all about balance, right, Father?”

Father?

Tessa scrambled forward, both her hands feeling along the glass that continued to crack beneath her fingers. She knew. She knew in her soul that was her mother. Right there. Just out of sight, out of reach.

“He does not want you to know of this yet,” a female voice hissed into her ear, and then Tessa was being yanked away from the mirror, away from the chamber, and out of the dream all together.

32

LUKA

“Why is she still sleeping?” Luka demanded.

Dex sat in an armchair across the room where he’d been sitting for the last six hours, eyes never leaving where Luka was with Tessa. She’d hardly moved. Only curled into him more whenever he shifted on the bed when his ass or legs started to go numb. Six hours without so much as a soft sigh or whimper was more than worrying considering he knew how she normally slept. Even when she’d been recovering from the Markings, she’d moved more than this. He’d watched over her and Theon enough while they’d slept to know that even in that agony she still made soft sounds every once in a while, and her brow pinched when she moved in sleep, as if the movement itself were annoying her.

More than any of that though, he couldn’tfeelher. Neither could Theon. He’d tried calling Luka multiple times before he’d finally spoken down the bond. Maybe the connection between them was useful after all so he could let Theon know he couldn’t speak with the fucker across the room watching him.

“I said the tea was more concentrated. She was the impulsive one who drank it all before I could inform her of that,” Dex said.

“And you plan to sit here all day? You have nothing else to do?” Luka asked flatly.

“Sheis my assignment,” the male replied. When Luka only held his stare, he added with a sneer, “I know what she is to you too.”

What the fuck did that mean? He couldn’t possibly know about the three-way bond. Only Axel knew about that outside of the three of them. And probably Cienna, but not because anyone told her. Hadn’t Lilura said that same thing though?

I know what she is to you, Son of Xan.

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