Page 221 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

He didn’t need to finish that statement. He could see the back of her left hand where a black Mark no longer showed, faded into nothing.

Axel crawled across the bed, reaching for her, but she shrank back from him again.

She may as well have twisted a dagger in his chest.

“Kitten, let me help,” he whispered.

“You can’t. The bond is dead. You can’t help,” she gasped. “It hurts. It hurts so much, and I?—”

She broke off as a sob escaped her. It was enough to make him ignore her protests, and he pulled her into his chest. She may have told him he couldn’t help, but she still buried her face in his chest, clinging to him. He could hear every beat of her heart. Could hear the blood rushing through her body. More than that, he could hear the babe, his heartbeat strong andsteady. The babe was fine. Katya may not be. He may not be. But their child was fine. He just needed to fix the rest.

He leaned back enough to tilt her chin up, swiping a tear away with his thumb. “I still choose you, Katya. Bond or not, I still choose you.”

Another small sob came from her, and she reached up with shaky fingers. He felt them brush along his cheeks, gathering the dampness. Then she showed him her fingertips, faint red glimmering there.

“Your tears are red,” Kat whispered.

“And yours are heartbreaking,” he replied, pressing a kiss to her temple before he pulled her back into his chest.

“I’ll be in the other room if you need me,” Tristyn said, slipping from the room. The door clicked softly behind him.

For once, Axel wasn’t worried about hurting her. He knew in his soul that in this moment, he wouldn’t attack her or try to take from her. In this moment, it was just them and their brokenness, but they were together. That’s what they’d promised each other.

So they sat in their heartbreak and cried.

40

TESSA

“Aword, Tessalyn,” Rordan said when she pushed away from the breakfast table.

Surprise coursed through her, but she didn’t let it show. She’d been waiting for this moment for weeks now. Really since the Sirana Gala. Ever since she’d kicked Oralia out of her rooms and told her to tell Rordan and Dex that she would no longer tolerate someone monitoring her every move. Ever since Luka had started spending nearly every night in her rooms rather than his own. She simply slept better when he was near. She felt more in control of herself and her situation. Still restless. Still wild, but…

Honestly, she couldn’t really explain it, but she’d been waiting for the other shoe to drop at her defiance. It looked like today was going to be that day.

“She will meet you in the training arena,” the Achaz Lord added, effectively dismissing Luka.

Luka held her stare for a long moment until she nodded.

I don’t like this,he growled down the bond.

I can handle him.

Luka turned, leaving the room, but she knew she was going to get an earful at training. She wasn’t sure when she’d started answering to him about her decisions, but she was almost looking forward to the argument. Which was perverse, but he always lost a little of his own steadfast control when they argued. As if some part of her was able to claw its way through all that dragon broodiness.

Okay, shelikedthe fact that she could make him lose that control.

Just like she liked that she could bring Theon to his knees.

“Sit back down,” Rordan said when the door closed fully behind Luka.

The only other person who remained was his Source, dutifully seated next to him. If her visits with Eviana had taught her anything, it was that maybe her Source bond with Theon wasn’t as odd as it had seemed to everyone. Now she wondered if any of them truly embraced the bond or if they gave in purely for survival’s sake.

Or perhaps they simply got tired of fighting and gave up. The gods knew she’d tried that.

She thought about saying something snarky to start this conversation off, but she’d learned that letting someone else start often revealed more of their true motives. So instead, she sat back down, crossing one leg over the other, and waited.

Rordan studied her with those blue eyes ringed with gold, his features giving nothing away. A part of her expected some sort of a subtle display of power to show her he was in control, but she wasn’t surprised when he didn’t do that either. He’d moved beyond physical displays of power. He’d proven as much when he’d announced that fucking Match Contract to Liam. She’d done the same when she’d shoved Oralia and Dex from her rooms. It was his move now, and she was more than a little curious about how it would play out.

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