Page 153 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

“Do theyneedto? Probably not. Does it keep up appearances and play nice with the other kingdoms? Yes,” Theon answered.

“Valid point.”

“Give me an update on this bargain you made with Rordan,” Theon said.

Luka shrugged, crossing his arms. “Not much to say. I gave him the ring. Never seen him wear the thing. I’ll watch for a chance to steal it back. He’s never asked me anything about my lineage, and?—”

“But if he does, you now have a potential relative to worry about,” Theon interrupted.

Well, fuck. He hadn’t thought of that.

“And if he starts getting aggressive with Tessa, you won’t be able to do anything about it,” Theon added.

That son of a bitch.

“I’ve been training Tessa,” Luka said.

“Not long enough to hold her own against a Lord,” Theon countered.

“Point taken,” Luka conceded. “Which brings me to why I’m here.”

He gave Theon a quick run down of being pulled into Tessa’s visions and what had been said in the last one about someone altering them.

Scratching his jaw, Theon said, “Cienna would be the best person to ask about that.”

“You don’t know anything? Never came across something in all that reading you do?” Luka said, a little mockery creeping into his tone.

Theon flipped him his middle finger, and gods, it feltgoodto be with his friend again.

“Cienna comes to check in on Katya every day, but she was already here today,” Theon said. He pulled Axel’s mirror from his pocket, turning it over in his hand. “I’ve never figured out how to use this thing the way Axel did. Cienna shows up when she wants to.”

“I can try to come back tomorrow,” Luka said, not loving that idea. “I don’t like to leave her alone too long now that Rordan has someone babysitting her.”

“Who’s guarding her?”

“I don’t know that guarding is the word I’d use,” Luka said flatly. “But it’s that Fae from her Estate. Dex.”

“AFae? He has a Fae guarding her. What the fuck is he going to do?”

“I said the same thing.”

Theon swiped a hand down his face. “Rordan isn’t a stupid male. He has a purpose with this.”

“Which is why I don’t like leaving her alone with him,” Luka agreed. “This afternoon, however, she was being fitted for her gala dress.”

“So she is going?” Theon asked.

Luka nodded. “But she agreed to your attendance.”

Theon huffed a laugh. “Never, in all my immortal days, did I think I’d be asking permission from my Source to attend a gala.”

“Does she draw from you?” Luka asked, because how the fuck was she filling her power wells?

She didn’t need blood. It wasn’t sleep and sustenance like the Fae. He may have told her he noticed that her power was weaker, but not enough to matter. It never seemed to deplete to a point where she would be in danger of running out. In fact, the only time that ever seemed to be something she’d need to worry about was when she wasn’t in control and her magic had consumed her.

“No,” Theon said. “If anything, she just plays with my power. Showing me she can. Or uses it against me.” He paused for a moment before he said carefully, “You know, there is someone else we could ask about her power and the visions.”

“Gia?” Luka asked.

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