Page 190 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

His lips brushed her temple. “And you’re coming with me?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Do you feel up for leaving now? You are not too tired?”

“I’ll be fine.”

“We just need to take a portal. Then you can sleep on the drive. It’ll be a few days to get to the Underground,” he said.

She smiled softly. “Okay.”

“I grabbed some of your things, but if there’s anything I missed, there’s room in the bags,” he added.

“All right,” she murmured. “I just want to change.”

“Of course.”

Katya pulled some clothes from a dresser before heading for the bathroom, but she stopped just outside. “Axel?”

“Yes, kitten?”

“I do not wish for a normal love,” she said. “And I choose you too. I choose us, even if our days are spent without light.”

“Good thing you can make some for us, kitten,” he replied, his soul feeling lighter than it had in months. “You and me.”

Her hand went to her stomach. “You and us.”

35

TESSA

Propped against her headboard, Tessa turned the phone over and over in her hands. She hadn’t powered it on. In fact, ever since Theon had given it back to her, it had sat in the back of her nightstand drawer. Out of sight, out of mind type of thing. Except now it wasn’t out of mind. Ever since Axel had tracked her down at that restaurant a few days ago, she’d been thinking about it.

The help was for Kat. Not me.

She wanted to ask Luka what was going on with Kat, but she couldn’t. That would show she cared, and she couldn’t care. Caring led to feelings, and feelings were a distraction from her purpose, but this wasKat. She wasn’t a Legacy. She was as innocent as the Fae had been at the Villas, so what did Axel need her help with?

That was what had her digging the phone out and debating whether or not to turn it on. Would Axel even answer if she called now? Or would she have messages waiting for her from when he was trying to get in contact with her?

Her thumb hovered over the power button, and she glanced over to the seating area where Dex was sound asleep in anarmchair. He stayed in here every night, and it was annoying. However, he also rarely slept, and she wondered how his kind refilled their power. If they stole a Fae power, did it refill in the same manner as the Fae? Something to ponder another night, she supposed.

Her thoughts returned to the phone, and she was just about to turn it on when movement caught her eye. Luka stood in her ensuite, his stare boring into her. She’d felt him on the other side of her shields, asking her to lower them. He felt different from Theon. Theon was dark and possessive, always intense and anxious. Luka was dark and possessive too, but in a different way. A way she couldn’t explain. Where Theon was intense and anxious, Luka was a solid presence. Calm and stoic, but intense and commanding all the same.

A balance she didn’t understand, but some days she desperately wished she did.

Luka tapped the side of his head, and she rolled her eyes, lowering her shields.

About godsdamn time,Luka grumbled down the bond.

If you’re solely here to complain, you can leave, she retorted flippantly.

His eyes narrowed.Get your ass in here.

She arched a brow, but quietly slipped from the bed. Tucking the phone into the back of the nightstand again, she made her way to the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

“What?” she whispered, crossing her arms

He looked her up and down, gaze lingering on her bare legs in her short sleep shorts.

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