Page 128 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

“No. Only the light guardians can do such a thing, and they can only do so once. Once they make their choice, they cannot kill another for a different power.”

But…her Hunter had called Brecken a light guardian. So that meant…

Brecken had killed an Arius Legacy at some point to have the power that he did. And if Dex and Oralia were light guardians as well, then they had done the same somewhere along theline. It all fit. The feathery wings she’d thought she’d imagined surrounding Dex. Random feathers in her room.

But Brecken had displayed wind magic at the Emerging Ceremony. How could he have both?

“These light guardians are in Devram?” she asked.

“Not that I know of when I freely walked this realm,” Xan answered. “But my other son wasn’t here at that time either, so much has changed.”

“And they can only have one gift?”

“Yes. I have now answered several of your questions. It is my turn,” he said, shifting on the floor. “Has my other son met Luka?”

“They saw each other,” she answered. “If they have formally met, I am not aware of it.”

“And he is helping Theon?”

“I don’t know what he is doing here. Theon and I were in the middle of…a disagreement when they appeared.”

“They?”

“Your son and a female.”

He nodded again, going quiet.

“How long has it been since you’ve seen him?” she asked, her head tilting with the question as she watched him.

“Centuries,” he answered. “I left him in another realm with my brother centuries ago.”

“You left him in another realm? Like my parents left me?”

He met her gaze again, pain and regret shining in his eyes now. “He was to be the Guardian of Arius’s grandson. It is our duty, but also…” Xan trailed off, clearly debating if he should say more. “Our bloodline is hunted throughout the stars by Achaz, his light guardians, and more. The world we once called home is nothing but a requiem. We were forced to flee, so yes, I hid my son in a realm where I thought he would be safe. Just like your parents did with you.”

Tessa nodded, starting to stand, but he called out, “Wait. I get a final question.”

She sat back down and nodded for him to go on. “Should you see them again, will you forgive them? Your mother and Temural? Knowing they did it to protect you?”

She blinked several times, weighing her answer, before finally saying, “I would have rather been in constant danger with people who I knew cared about me than abandoned in a realm where I was alone and unwanted. I do not know if I can ever forgive them for that.”

Xan nodded, his throat bobbing with emotion. She stood, and this time she made it all of three steps before he called out once more. “She loves you, Tessalyn. They both love you so much, they made unfathomable sacrifices for you. That has to count for something, right?”

Looking over her shoulder, she said, “I don’t know, and I do not know if he will forgive you either.”

Later that night, she crawled into Luka’s bed without asking while he was in his ensuite. She felt terrible about it. After being forced to share a bed for months without a choice, she always asked Luka. Every single time. But tonight, she just…needed. It was selfish, and she shouldn’t want anything from anyone. But tonight her soul was weary in a way it hadn’t been in a while, and she was feeling all of it. If he told her to leave, she wasn’t sure what she’d do. Go to Theon? No. But maybe for one night of comfort from the bond?

Luka emerged from the bathroom and paused when he saw her. She held his stare, allowing him to see it all. This dayweighing down on her. The loneliness. The exhaustion. Gave him this rare moment of vulnerability in exchange for letting her have this one night.

He didn’t say anything. Only pulled his shirt over his head and set it aside before he slipped into the bed. Tessa rolled into him, and he immediately pulled her into his chest, a large hand sifting through her hair. For an inexplicable reason, tears pooled in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.

For several moments, that was it. The two of them in the dark. His fingers stroking her hair. Her head on his chest. Breathing in his scent and heat. The bond between them hummed in contentment, soothing her as much as his touch was.

She didn’t know how many minutes had passed before he said in a voice that was just like his father’s, “Even the monsters and the villains need others. We’re not meant to do life alone.”

She didn’t reply, but a single tear slipped free.

She stood on a cliff, and Tessa immediately realized she’d been here before. There were no winged warriors attacking this time, and she took a moment to look around. There were trees, but they were grey and barren. The sky was much of the same, and with no one around, she carefully moved to the edge and peered over. As she’d suspected the last time she was here, they were floating on an island in the sky. Off in the distance, she could just make out another.

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