Page 143 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

Her silver irises flared at the informal address. “Andyouare not yet a Lord, Theon. Be grateful we are even letting you sit in on this meeting.”

“Grateful? When I arrived I was admonished for not being present more. Now you are telling me I should be grateful to even be here. Which is it?”

“That does need to be addressed,” the Anala Lady interjected. “When do we declare Theon the Arius Lord?”

“When there is proof Valter is dead,” the Serafina Lady snapped.

“How long do we wait for such proof before we take matters into our own hands?”

Theon had to hide his surprise. He hadn’t expected this to be discussed at this meeting. The Sirana Villas and Tessa, yes. His Lordship status? Not at all.

“Do you have any leads as to his whereabouts?” the Falein Lady inquired, her eyes on Theon.

“I have theories, but every attempt to prove them has failed, so I cannot confirm any of them,” Theon answered carefully.

“And what are these theories?”

“He either fled, believing as I do that the rest of you wish for the downfall of our kingdom, and is in hiding. He is being held captive somewhere.” His eyes slid to Rordan for the briefest of moments at that. “Or he is truly dead.”

How he wished that were true.

“Who would be holding him captive?” the Falein Lady asked.

“Let’s not pretend my father doesn’t have enemies,” Theon said flatly.

“And let’s not pretend his own offspring wouldn’t take an opportunity to steal his seat from under him,” the Serafina Lady interjected.

“So what if I would?” Theon asked with a shrug. “You are telling me you didn’t scheme and plot against your mother for that seat, Maya? We are immortal. If only death can relinquish a seat, tell me how your mother passed?” Her stare was pure malice as she glared at him, her lips pressed into a thin line. “Butif I had killed him, I would be presenting his corpse to you to avoid this very conversation,” he added.

“I think we can all agree that as long as he remains bonded to Tessalyn in a Source capacity, he cannot be instated as the Arius Lord,” the Falein Lady said, forever the voice of logic and reason.

But didn’t that just fuck him over? Because the only way to sever a Source bond was the death of one of the parties. He certainly wasn’t going to let Tessa be killed, nor was he planning on dying anytime soon.

“So Arius Kingdom will just continue to be treated as less than?” Theon argued, sitting forward. “Thisis why I spend my time with my people instead of attending these ridiculous affairs.”

“Ridiculous affairs?” Rordan snarled. “This is why Arius Kingdom has been shunned for decades. Your entire bloodline is arrogant enough to believe you are above the laws and rules. That covenants and agreements are beneath you, even if they are for the wellbeing of the worlds as a whole. You are no better than the god you descend from.”

And at that, the entire room fell silent once more. Everyone was tense, power flickering in their eyes while it lingered at the fingertips of the Fae of the room. A part of Theon wondered if this was how these meetings always went. If it was, he could somewhat understand how his father had become such a hard and hateful male. You had to be ruthless to survive this and fight for your kingdom. The unified front presented to the realm was only a show. Behind the scenes, it was each kingdom grabbing as much power as they could. It had always been a fragile thing, and now it was cracking.

All because of Tessa.

Control the uncontrollable or to fury theyalllose.

“I think we all need you to expound on that statement,” the Anala Lady finally said, toying with a flame in her palm.

“What is there to explain?” Rordan said, shifting in his seat as he gripped the armrests tighter.

“Your words make it sound as though you have a personal vendetta against Arius himself,” she answered calmly. “If that is the case, we can only assume said vendetta gives you underlying motives.”

“Why would I have a personal vendetta against Arius? That is not even a possibility. The gods cannot interfere here.”

“The gods cannotcomehere,” the Falein Lady corrected.

“If anyone is harboring a secret vendetta, I would look at the Anala Kingdom. They are the ones who do not let others enter and keep the fire Fae from everyone else,” he countered.

The Anala Lady arched a manicured brow, her red-gold hair shimmering like the flames she wielded. “Have you ever been denied a visit, Rordan?”

“No, but the requirements for such a visit are rather absurd.”

---