Page 195 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

“That you know of.”

Theon smiled, something razor sharp. “I don’t think you are always aware when you are using them either, clever tempest.”

She stayed silent, waiting for him to continue, but it was Razik who spoke.

“Arius and Serafina had two children together: Saylah and Temural. But Saylah and Temural’s gifts are simply extensions of Arius and Serafina’s,” Razik said. “Saylah is the goddess of night and shadows, which are extensions of Arius’s gifts of death, darkness, and endings and Serafina’s gifts of dreams.”

“And Temural?” Tessa asked.

“I admittedly do not know him as well.”

Her brow arched. “YouknowSaylah?”

“Better than I’d like to,” Razik muttered. “But Temural is the god of the wild and untamed. Both could conceivably come from Arius and Serafina’s gifts, which brings us toyourgifts.”

“Have you ever had visions when you aren’t sleeping?” Theon asked.

Tessa’s brow furrowed. “No. That’s why I always thought they were dreams.”

“Exactly,” Theon said, and she almost smiled at the excited note that had entered his voice. “The visions of your Zinta bloodline merged with the dreams of the Serafina bloodline.”

“And we think that because…?” Luka asked, having taken a seat between her and Theon.

“Because one of Serafina’s gifts is being able to walk among dreams,” Razik said. “But because the powers were altered in Tessa’s case, she is pulling others in to walkherdreams. Or in this case, her visions.”

The room fell silent as they let all this sink in. Tessa had to admit in some ways it made sense, but in others, it still didn’t.

“Then why is it only Luka?” she asked. “Why did I never pull Theon or Axel into a vision? Or anyone else, for that matter?”

“Because you trust Luka the most,” Theon said, his emerald eyes already on her when she met his stare. “You feel safest with him. When was the first time this happened?”

“After the Tribunal Hearing,” Luka said. “She didn’t trust me then. She wasn’t even speaking to me.”

“But you showed up,” Theon said. “And you’d been showing up before that. You’d found her by the river after everything with Felicity. You’d been training her. You found her when the Augury attacked. You bought her the fucking flip-flops.”

Tessa blinked as she stared at Theon, seeing a side of him she’d never noticed before. He was more observant than she gave him credit for, and…

There was a reason he’d sent Luka to her. Not to watch her or report her movements. But because he was right. Some part of her had trusted Luka, even if she’d still harbored suspicions. Even if she still had reservations now.

She swallowed thickly, tearing her gaze from his when Eliza said, “The only thing we haven’t been able to piece together is your Arius gifts.”

But Tessa knew exactly what gifts she’d received from her paternal grandfather. It was the way her light took life from others. It was what fed her magic, made it stronger.

Because life always fed death.

Life must give, and death must take.

“And where the weather manipulation comes from,” Razik added.

“No, but I have a theory on that,” Theon said, bringing all their attention back to him. “I think it has something to do with your mother. The only piece of all this that we don’t know.”

“Right,” Tessa murmured, lost in her own thoughts, because she knew where to find those answers.

She glanced at Luka, who was staring at his brother.

She cleared her throat, turning to Eliza. “You are a fire Fae? Like Katya?”

Startled at the change in subject, Eliza said, “Yes and no. My father was a fire Fae. My mother was earth.”

---