Page 202 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

“His father was one of Valter’s advisors for a short period of time.”

“Interesting,” Tessa mused.

“To some people, yes.”

“How old is Valter anyway? I don’t think he’s as old as I believed.”

“Why would you believe any different?” Eviana asked.

“Because I saw your file. I know how old you are, and if you were tagged to be his Source from a young age, he would still be in his first century of life,” Tessa answered.

Eviana smirked. “So clever, yet so naïve.”

“What does that mean?” Tessa asked, immediately defensive.

“Theon and Axel wouldn’t know any better, I suppose. But I was not Valter’s first Source.”

Tessa’s eyes widened. “His first Source died?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

Eviana slipped her hand beside the cushion again, feeling the slice of the glass on her palm. “I don’t know.”

Tessa went quiet, and Eviana left her with her thoughts as she got lost in her own.

The first time she’d ever seen Valter, she’d been six years. She’d lived at the Celeste Estate. Mother Cordelia had even been her Estate Mother, just like Tessa. Eviana had never been allowed to be near the other children, and she’d never understood it. Not until decades later. Instead of sharing a room with several other females, she had a room with only one other. That female was also claimed for the Arius Kingdom during their Selection Year, although Eviana never saw her again. When the others would be sent outside to play, she was given books to study and read. Her assessments were harsher right from the beginning. Even her attire had been different.

But when she was six years, seated at her own small table in the dining hall, a male had walked in. The entire hall had fallen silent. He was tall. Handsome. Hazel eyes and black hair. Power emanated from him, but he wasn’t who had snagged her attention. It was the female Fae a step behind him. Her icy blonde hair was pin straight, and her eyes were the color of a clear sky. She was beautiful, and Eviana had immediately been enamored with her. Valter’s gaze had slid over everyone, lingering on Eviana for what felt like a full minute before Mother Cordelia had led him through the hall.

She didn’t see him again for ten years. Then his visits became more frequent, but he didn’t speak to her until she was nineteen years. Her Selection Year would be when she was twenty. The female that followed him everywhere appeared more and more haunted each time Eviana saw her. Three months before the Selection Year was to begin, she disappeared all together. Two months before, she learned Valter planned to Select her as a replacement. One month before, she had a “trial run” with Valter. The night before her Emerging Ceremony was the night she was introduced to Mansel and Julius.

That was the night she gave in to the life the Fates had given her.

That was the night she died inside.

Became nothing but a vessel.

That was the night she stopped feeling anything.

That was the night it didn’t matter what sins stained her name.

And the day that child was ripped away from her was the day she’d been reborn with a singular purpose.

“The Sirana Gala is next week,” Tessa said, filling the silence.

“A frivolous night,” Eviana replied. “Surely you are expected to fetch a fair sum.”

“What?” Tessa asked with a frown.

Eviana rolled her eyes. The girl truly was naïve. “Sirana is the goddess of love and fertility, but the Legacy use it as an excuse for orgies and debauchery. The Sources are traditionally offered up for one night to the highest bidder. Then again, you are not a normal Source, so perhaps you will be spared such theatrics.”

Tessa’s wineglass slipped from her fingers, shattering on the floor as lightning flickered in her eyes. “The Lords and Ladies are all right with this?”

Eviana scoffed. “More coin for their accounts and securing coveted alliances? Yes. They are more than fine with the arrangements. Whose idea do you think it was? Offer something that is otherwise inaccessible, and the wealthy covet it as much as they covet riches. Lengthy contracts are agreed to, of course.”

“Of course,” Tessa parroted, clearly outraged by all of this.

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