Page 142 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

“Yet you bear a new Mark,” the Anala Lady said with a pointed glance to his right hand where Tessa had drawn the Achaz symbol.

He knew he should still be outraged by it, but it was a piece of her she could never have back. It might be the only piece of her she’d ever freely give him, so he didn’t despise the marking on his hand like he should, even if it was a rival kingdom’s symbol.

Theon shrugged, flexing his right hand. “We had a disagreement. She can be…unpredictable.”

“That girl is more than unpredictable. She isuncontrollable,” the Celeste Lady said. “Despite promises being made that she would be kept under control.”

And that pointed statement was spoken directly to Rordan.

“I am handling it,” Rordan retorted.

“And how is that going?” Theon asked, steepling a finger along his temple now.

“That is no longer your concern,” the Achaz Lord sneered.

“I think it is all of our concern,” the Falein Lady interjected. “Was she responsible for the Villas, Rordan?”

“It was a misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding?” the Anala Lady asked. “Please explain that.”

Rordan took a breath, visibly collecting himself before he straightened. Light crackled at the tips of his fingers as he gripped the ends of the armrests. “I went to visit Desiray for my usual monthly meeting. Tessa asked to accompany me as she had obviously never been to the Villas before. While hesitant, I agreed. If we want her to continue to be accommodating, she needs to be given some freedoms. I arranged for Larissa to give her a tour, but she…”

He paused, clearly searching for the right words, so Theon supplied them for him.

“But she had an agenda of her own?”

The gold rings in his eyes flared, and Rordan glared at Theon. “It was a miscalculation on my part.”

“Thenyouare accepting responsibility for what happened in the Sirana Villas?” Theon asked, taking a page from Luka’s book and sounding bored as fuck.

The room fell silent again, all eyes pinned on the Achaz Lord. “That is not what I am saying,” he ground out.

“Then the girl needs to be locked up until she can be controlled,” the Serafina Lady cut in, and that had Theonarching a brow in surprise. Achaz and Serafina werealwaysa united front.

“And if she can’t be controlled, she needs to be eliminated,” the Celeste Lady added.

Theon couldn’t hide his huff of amusement.

“Nothing about this matter is funny,” the Celeste Lady snapped.

“Agreed,” Theon replied. “But both of those suggestions are pointless. She will not allow either thing to happen.”

“She cannot overpower a united front of the six kingdoms.”

“Do we know what she is truly capable of?” the Anala Lady asked, and her question wasn’t directed at Rordan but at Theon.

“If the Revelation Decree is to be taken as the omen it is, she will be the downfall of Devram,” the Celeste Lady answered instead. “We have been preparing for this for centuries, and instead of dealing with the threat, you have welcomed her into your home, Rordan.”

“Because having control over her makes him more powerful than the rest of us,” the Anala Lady said calmly.

“That is not the motivation here,” Rordan retorted. “Having her on our side is better for the realm as a whole. She cannot destroy the realm if she is working with us.”

“But she can destroy the Arius Kingdom, right?” Theon cut in. “Let’s not pretend that isn’t a motivation from the rest of you.”

“We do not wish for the Arius Kingdom to be destroyed,” the Serafina Lady scoffed. “That is absurd.”

Theon clicked his tongue. “There’s no need for pretenses here, Maya.”

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