Page 59 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

“With all due respect, he is tending to his people. His people are his duty. Or are you suggesting his priorities should lie elsewhere?”

“Do not get smart with me, Mors,” Rordan said, his voice going low as light sparked at his fingertips. “How can we present a unified front if one kingdom refuses to be part of it?”

Tessa’s head canted to the side as she studied his magic. She hadn’t realized the subtle differences from her own. Her power sparked into something like lightning, chaotic andunpredictable. His light coiled and arched, the sparks like gold-flecked mist.

“Let’s speak plainly, my Lord,” Luka replied, sitting back in his chair, a hand resting on the table. “The unity you speak of is hanging on by a thread.”

“And it will not get any better if he refuses to attend meetings and events,” Rordan snapped, his light flaring. The Sources flinched back, but none of the Legacy did.

“I will be sure to pass along your concerns,” Luka said, picking up his glass of wine and draining the last of it.

Rordan appeared to have regained some of his composure as he held out his glass to be refilled, a Fae immediately appearing with the wine bottle. “All of these young heirs are so eager to uproot their parents and take their seats, yet they have no godsdamn idea what they’re doing. They think they are ready to rule. Have it all figured out and know how to do it better.”

Tessa watched as Dagian scowled down at his plate, scraping vegetables into a pile.

“Yet when it comes to making the necessary sacrifices?” Rordan went on, sitting back so his dessert could be placed in front of him. “None of them are ready forthat, are they? When sacrifice demands? Then we will see who is ready to have those thrones and make the hard decisions. Then they will understand the cost of the power they so desperately seek.”

No one else spoke for the rest of the meal.

12

LUKA

“What?” came Theon’s irritated voice when he answered the phone. Wherever he was at, it sounded loud and chaotic.

“I need your ring,” Luka answered.

There was a long pause during which the background noise seemed to die down. Then Theon said, “Repeat that.”

“The black onyx one. I need it.”

“For what?”

“To give to the Achaz Lord.”

Another bout of silence greeted him at that. “Andwhyare we giving the Achaz Lord a ring?”

“Because it was part of my bargain to let me stay here,” Luka answered.

“Why the fuck are you making bargains with the godsdamn Achaz Lord?” Theon demanded.

“Becauseyousent me to Tessa, and this was the only way he’d let me stay here. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself, but I’m going to need that ring,” Luka replied, tipping his head back against the sofa.

He was in his room, a silencing enchantment pulled in tight around him to make sure this call wasn’t overheard. It was nearly midnight, and he could feel her, restless and frustrated down the bond.

And that frustration wasn’t just with not being able to sleep.

She’d been avoiding him, refusing to meet him during the regular training times. Needless to say, he was just as frustrated as she was.

In all the same ways.

“I take it things haven’t been going well,” Theon asked.

“You could say that. What is happening there?”

Theon’s sigh was audible. “Nothing I can say over the phone.”

“You know we could meet in person. It wouldn’t be difficult for me to?—”

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