Page 146 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

“And you are failing in your promises, Rordan. You said you would control the girl. Keep her grounded. That she would be an asset to Devram. Instead, she has destroyed one of our greatest resources, not to mention centuries of research and knowledge,” she retorted. “And yet you still expect us to believe you can control her? All the evidence suggests otherwise. In fact, all the evidence suggests she should be with Theon.”

“She has Achaz power,” Rordan spat, his magic appearing yet again. “She does not belong with Arius.”

“I am willing, if the others agree, to give you one final chance with the girl,” the Falein Lady interjected. “But one wrong move.One more death. One more issue, and she gets locked away until her fate can be agreed to.”

It took a full minute before there was a murmured agreement from everyone else. Even Theon agreed with them. It wasn’t as if they could turn her back over to him. She was the one to decide if and when she let him be in her presence.

Which was going to make this Sirana Gala an issue.

He’d have to speak to Luka and have him talk to her.

And he fucking hated that this was where they were at.

“Now is there anything else?” Rordan ground out.

When no one voiced any concerns, the Achaz Lord was the first to leave, his Source following him out of the room. The Ladies all lingered, and so did Theon because he needed to speak with the Anala Lady.

He hung back, waiting until she separated from the others before he approached her. “Kyra, can I have a word?”

She turned to him, her amber eyes bright as she looked him up and down. “I am running late for another engagement,” she answered. “But you can make an appointment.”

“It is about the Anala Estate,” he said, falling into step beside her as she left the Tribunal room.

Her brow arched in a silent command for him to go on.

“A Fae we claimed was originally from there. And another, the fire Fae, was not…” He trailed off when fire flickered in her gaze at the words. She was clearly still upset by that.

“And your question?” she asked coldly.

“I would like to visit. Not just the Estate. The kingdom itself,” he said, feeling awkward as fuck for some reason. She was intimidating.

“My office can make arrangements for that.”

“Yes, but that takes weeks, if not months,” he argued. “I was hoping as a soon-to-be fellow ruler in the realm, we could expedite the process and skip all the formalities.”

They were outside the Tribunal building now, her Source beside her.

“Tell you what, Theon St. Orcas. Gain the trust of one who knows the secrets of the winds, and he can tell you how to enter my kingdom without the formalities.”

“What does that mean?” Theon asked, a fire portal appearing behind Kyra.

“The Shifter Prince knows,” she answered.

Then she was gone.

27

TESSA

“Think of where you want to go,” Luka said.

Her eyes were closed, her breathing deep, but that command was ridiculous. Because where she wanted to go was anywhere but Devram, and it was not as if she could justTravelthere. Then again, it wasn’t as if she could Travel anywhere.

For the last hour, they had been doing this. Luka seemed determined to teach her to Travel, grumbling about how he shouldn’t need to wear sunglasses every time she entered his room. She’d rolled her eyes, but humored him, letting him talk her through the basics of Traveling. Now, however, they were both getting frustrated because this was going nowhere. Or, more accurately,shewas going nowhere.

“Can’t we go back to training with our magic,” she said, and yes, it was bordering on a whine.

“No,” Luka said. “Focus.”

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