Page 47 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

“This is what you’re doing now?”

She whirled, a hand on her chest. “Gods, Dex,” she gasped. “What are you doing in here? And in the dark no less?”

“I was hoping I was going to prove Oralia wrong, but here you are,” he answered from where he sat in an armchair. There weren’t any lights on, but the fireplace was still on a low setting, casting dancing shadows across his features.

“What are you talking about?” she asked.

“You’re wearing his shirt, Tessa,” he said with a pointed look.

She looked down, suddenly remembering shewasstill wearing Luka’s shirt. It stopped mid-thigh and was only half buttoned, just enough to keep her breasts covered.

Wrapping it tighter around herself, she pursed her lips, refusing to look at Dex.

“What are you doing, Tessa?” he demanded, pushing to his feet.

He rounded the sofa, stopping in front of her. His crisp, white shirt was paired with dark pants, and why was he dressed already? The sun wasn’t even up yet.

“What are you doing?” he repeated.

“If you must know, I was going to use the bathroom,” she answered, gesturing to the doorway across the room.

Dex rolled his eyes. “What are you doing withhim? This is exactly why we didn’t even want you to see him. Then you told him he could stay?”

“I didn’t tell him anything,” she snapped, jabbing her finger into his chest. “Rordan told him he could stay here. Not me.”

“If you would have let me handle it when he showed up, none of this would have happened,” he retorted. “How do you manage to mess with everything all the godsdamn time?”

A harsh laugh of disbelief came from her, and she took a step back from him. “You mean why do you always have to clean up after me, right?”

“That’s not?—”

“For your information, there’s nothing toclean uphere,” she cut in. “I didn’t fuck up anything. Unless there are things you haven’t told me? In which case, that’s onyoufor keeping those things from me.”

“You’re missing the point, Tessa,” Dex growled, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“No,you’remissing the point,” she retorted. “How do I know if I’m messing with anything if I don’t know there’s anything to mess with?”

“You just need to trust us,” he said, throwing his hands up in frustration.

“You know I don’t blindly trust anyone.”

“I’m not just anyone,” he spat. “Or I wasn’t just anyone until he came along.”

“Theon has nothing to do with this, and neither does Luka.”

A derisive scoff came from him before he said, “You’re wearing his godsdamn shirt, Tessa.”

“I needed to sleep, Dex! I haven’t been able to sleep since I came here,” she cried.

“Have you been drinking the tea that the Lord suggested?”

“I…” But she trailed off because she hadn’t drunk it for several nights. Sure, she slept when she drank it, but it wasn’t a restful sleep. In fact, she was almostmoretired when she woke. Her dreams were more vivid, more intense, and she felt even more out of sorts afterwards.

“That’s what I thought,” Dex sniped. “We try to help, but you won’t let us. Instead, you go back to them. You forget your purpose?—”

“I’ve forgotten nothing,” she spat, her palms landing on his chest and shoving hard. Her power poured from her, throwing Dex backwards. Except she wasn’t in control, just like Luka accused her of, and she was thrown back with the force of it too. The sound of bodies hitting furniture echoed around them, and she sucked in a breath as pain shot up her spine and ricocheted down her arms. It took her a few moments before she rolled to her knees.

She found Dex already on his feet, making his way to her. His shirt was ripped from the surge of unexpected power, and his dark brown hair was mussed and askew.

---