Page 147 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

“I am focusing.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Yes, I am.”

“Really? Then tell me where you’re focusing on right now.”

“Right now I’m focusing on the left side of your face because that’s where I want to punch you,” she snapped, opening her eyes and glaring at him.

And catching the barest hint of a smile before he quickly wiped it from his face.

“By the gods, I need to sit down,” she gasped. “A smile from Luka Mors? I might faint.”

“Shut up,” he muttered.

“No, no,” she insisted, plopping down onto the floor of the training arena. Nylah was across the room, curled up tight, but her eyes were always watching. “I need a moment. I’m in shock, and I want to remember this. Who knows when such a phenomenon will happen again.”

“Tessa,” he growled, crossing his arms where he stood over her. “Get up. You’re wasting valuable training time.”

She clicked her tongue, flopping onto her back. “No,you’rewasting valuable training time trying to teach me to Travel. An ability we don’t even know if I possess. Teach me to control my magic. Teach me to wield a sword. Teach me to kick someone’s ass. My portals are fine.”

“Your portals are going to blind me one day,” he retorted. “More than that, how will you sneak into somewhere covertly when your portal is a beacon announcing your arrival?”

“Maybe I want them to know,” she countered, stacking her hands on her stomach and staring up at him. “I want them to know when I am coming to end them. The fear is intoxicating. Empowering. Enthralling. Freeing.”

Luka stared at her, his pupils having shifted and irises glowing a soft blue.

“What?” she asked.

“You are so vicious,” he murmured, his voice all heat that she felt in her blood. Her bare toes curled at the sound, her stomach doing flip-flops that she tried to ignore.

She cleared her throat. “Can we just go back to our usual training?”

“No,” he answered.

“Why not?”

“Because you’re tired, and your power hasn’t been refilled since your little escapade in the Sirana Villas.”

“That’s not true,” she lied.

Luka’s brows arched. “It’s not? You haven’t slept in my room since the night I found you in my bed, which you still haven’t discussed, by the way. Since that is the case, I can only assume you’re not sleeping well. Unless you’ve been going to Theon for such a thing, but I’m positive I would have felt that exchange down the bond, because you two don’t know how to sleep beside each other without fighting and fucking.”

Her mouth fell open at the insinuation. “That’s not true,” she admonished, pushing onto her elbows. “We slept beside each other plenty of times without fucking.”

“Until the first time. After that? Don’t lie to me, Tessa. I know what the two of you were doing long before you two realized I was part of the bond.”

She glared up at him. “I haven’t been going to see Theon.”

“I know.”

“Then why even suggest it?”

“Because it’s an option if you don’t want to sleep in my room. You need sleep, Tessa. I know you’re powerful and can go for days without it, but that doesn’t mean you should, especially when you’re training.”

She pursed her lips, her gaze darting to the side. Shewastired. She hadn’t let herself sleep in Luka’s room since the night he’d held her. Mostly because he was a distraction from her purpose, and letting herself find comfort in others diverted her attention. It was easier to remember what she needed to do when she was alone. When she didn’t let herself depend onothers. The problem was, he was right. She slept like shit so far from one of her bonded, and when she did sleep, it was restless. She’d even tried drinking the tea that Rordan still had delivered to her room every night, but all that did was make her visions more intense. And while she might sleep, she was still exhausted when she woke.

“As for your power,” Luka continued when she didn’t speak. “I’m training you daily, Tessa. I can tell when it’s weaker and a little off. You’re also clever, and I know that you’ve figured out how to refill your power reserves. The question is why haven’t you?”

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