Page 226 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

“My son has done everythingbutsearch for his father,” Cressida said, tossing her mask to the side. “Since you came into his life, he has forsaken all his responsibilities. He has tossed everything he was raised for and trained to be to the side.”

There was nothing here of the dramatic mother who had cried about her sons going to the Acropolis for Selection Year. Any traces of the submissive wife of the Arius Lord were gone. This female was power and grace, and Tessa realized then thatshe actually didn’t know what Legacy line she descended from. She didn’t know what kind of power to expect from her.

But her surprise and distraction had left her wide open for Mother Cordelia to strike.

She gasped as the air was ripped from her lungs while a gust of wind simultaneously knocked her to her knees. It brought back too many memories, too much pain, paralyzing her as the females advanced, the Augury following their lead. Once again, Tessa found herself in the center of a circle of cloaked figures.

“I am actually not overly upset about Theon not looking for his father,” Cressida confessed while Tessa continued to struggle for air. “I am more upset about his nonchalance with finding his brother, but he’s always so focused onyou.”

Cressida grabbed her chin with that final word, nails digging into her jaw.

“A mother has to do what is best for her children, you know,” she went on. “Sometimes that means doing something that hurts now but will be better for them in the end. I’ll admit you have given me a challenge, forced my creativity into new territory. Every time I think it will be enough, you somehow still survive. The last time you were on the banks of this river, I thought for sure I had you, but you have new…pets.”

Her wolves.

Well, Nylah at least.

Why wasn’t she here yet?

Better yet, why the fuck wasn’t she fighting back?

She was stronger than Mother Cordelia. And even if she wasn’t more powerful, Luka had taught her more than enough to fight back against her. Maybe not all the Augury members, but she didn’t need to be on her knees in front ofher.

With a dark grin, she stopped struggling, letting her power rise to the surface. The power wrapped around her throat shuddered as her light sank its claws into it, draining it of life.As it did so, she was gasping down a breath. And another. And another. She let her power feast. Let it fester. Let it pool around her, gold and silver sparks floating among the magic.

“You can’t defeat us all,” Cressida chided as Mother Cordelia struggled to yank her magic free.

“Are you sure about that?” Tessa asked, her voice icy and eerie.

“This is precisely why you were never meant to be,” she answered. “You will be the death of Devram if death does not find you first.”

“Death has found me, and I have bound him to me,” Tessa answered, lifting a hand to show her the Arius Mark that adorned the back of it.

Cressida’s lip curled. “I had never been more disappointed in him than that day.”

“That day?” Tessa asked, sending a surge of energy through her power just as Mother Cordelia thought she’d freed herself. The Estate Mother cried out in pain, and Tessa’s smile grew.

“Yes, that day,” Cressida answered.

“But no one knew…”

But some had known. Some had known all along what she was. Valter had thought she’d been lost, but Rordan had known. Dex had known. There were pieces she hadn’t been able to put together yet. Like why Dex had waited so long to show up, or why Rordan kept saying he’d lost track of her for a time. But Cordelia had said she had been sent there. That she’d been instructed to keep her hidden.

Rordan had done this. From the very beginning, it had been him, and if Cressida knew then…

“You are aiding the Achaz Lord,” Tessa said in utter shock. “But you are married to the Arius Lord.”

“Don’t act so surprised, Tessalyn,” she cooed mockingly. “Nith Legacy are known for their creativity, and yet we are stillalways underestimated. Theon didn’t get much of that gift from me. He is cunning and smart enough, but he likes things in their boxes. Black and white. Light and dark. But Axel? He may command shadows, but he sees the world in color. Don’t you think?”

Tessa didn’t know what to think anymore.

“But you made this so easy, my dear,” she went on.

Gods, she certainly liked to talk. She had always chattered at the dinner table too, but it had been mindless nonsense. Apparently, Tessa should have paid more attention.

“Everyone talks about how wild and reckless you are, but you’re also predictable. You always come to this same spot when you’re searching for answers,” Cressida said.

Tessa blinked, so taken aback by the truth of the statement, her control of her magic slipped, freeing Mother Cordelia.

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