Page 13 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

Regret immediately surged through her at the impulsiveness. So typical of her, and to a god of all people. But she’d already said it, and even if she’d wanted to apologize, she couldn’t force the words to pass her lips.

Achaz was staring at her, the gold flecks in his eyes luminous with pure power. His lips were pressed into a thin line, and it was only then that she noticed the golden hilt of a sword peeking over his shoulder. His entire being was elegance and grace, fromthe fine clothing to the way his power took on the faint shape of wings behind him.

When he’d appeared to finally accept she would not offer an apology or ask for forgiveness, he said, “I see.” Then he added, “Such arrogance comes from your father’s side.”

She doubted that. Tessa had a feeling all the gods were born with such arrogance.

Still she said nothing, waiting for him to speak first. She’d found if she waited long enough, others tended to reveal their secrets without her having to do much of anything.

Watch. Listen. Learn everything you can about the people in this room.

Theon had taught her that, and she’d be lying if she said it hadn’t served her well these past months.

“The tenacity, however,” Achaz said after another long minute of watching her, “you get from my line.”

“I imagine so if you have held a grudge for centuries,” she quipped.

“You know nothing of what you speak,” he replied coolly.

Tessa shrugged. “I know you need me more than I need you.”

“And what makes you believe such a thing?”

She stepped up close, rapping her knuckles against the glass. “I’m not stuck on the other side of a mirror.”

“A mirror? Is that what you think this is?” Achaz asked, a thread of amusement in his voice. “These are vessels of power. They were not always this, but it’s what they have become over time.”

“How?”

“I am not here to give you history lessons,” he snapped, growing agitated.

By the Fates, his moods were more fickle than Theon’s.

“Then why are you here?” she asked, for once not matching his tone, but sounding calm and bored as she idly began tracing the etchings around the mirror again.

“To make sure you understand your purpose.”

The words made her pause for the briefest of moments as her fingers hovered over the Arius symbol.

“My purpose is to correct the balance,” she said, her tone taking on an eerie ring.

“That it is,” Achaz agreed, and she could hear just how pleased he was with that answer. “And tell me, granddaughter, what does correcting the balance mean?”

Granddaughter.

The familial term did something to her, and she couldn’t decide if it made her want to draw closer to a blooded relative or shrink away from a god. But more than any of that, it was a confirmation she’d been seeking.

Tessa stepped back from the mirror, clearing her throat softly. “You wish for the Arius line to be eradicated for breaking laws of old.”

“Very good,” he praised.

“But did you not do the same? Should I even be standing before you?”

The approval on the god’s face quickly morphed into annoyance. “When Arius broke the laws, I had no choice but to follow.”

“And if his line is erased, what of your own? Would it not stand to reason that the balance would then be tipped in the other direction?”

“You forget who I am, child,” Achaz replied, his voice going dangerously low. “You think I have not already thought of these things? Arrangements have already been made to correct such a balance.” Before she could speak the question forming on hertongue, he added, “You are not privy to the dealings of gods and chaos.”

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