Page 238 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

And his friend hadn’t said a single word.

42

EVIANA

“You need to hurry it up,” sounded a whisper from beyond the door.

“You need to shut up,” came a hissed retort.

Eviana sat in her chair, head tilted as she watched the door. Her hand slid down the side of the cushion, a shard of glass there should she need it.

When she’d heard the scuffling start, she had perked up, thinking it was Tessa. She hadn’t seen her in a while. The last time she was here, she’d suddenly become too warm in the room, shedding a long coat. It had looked ridiculous on her. She was so short, the hem of it reached nearly to Tessa’s ankles. But on her? It reached mid-calf.

Eviana had slipped it on after she’d left. The inside, along with the hood and cuffs, were lined with some kind of grey fur, looking elegant against the black fabric. This was a coat Cressida would wear. Extravagant and frivolous, but itwaswarm.

She’d turned the thing inside out, planning to slice pockets into the interior, only to find them already there. Seven of them. Only one of them contained anything though: a single piece of paper with a seven-digit code on it. She had no ideawhat it meant, but she’d slipped it back into the pocket before sliding one of the hair combs into another. Two of her makeshift weapons filled two of the pockets. She stored food in another. She’d left the final two open, folding the coat up. It looked like a small blanket draped across the back of her chair.

“For the love of Sefarina, Cor, get the fucking door open,” came the first voice again.

“Lange, I love you. But if you don’t shut the fuck up, I’m causing a scene just to get us caught so I can have two godsdamn minutes of quiet,” came a snarled retort.

Then a laugh. “You’ve gotten more domineering since?—”

A click had the door opening, and two Fae rushed inside before closing the door behind them. The two seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief before spotting her near the window.

It was the one with the hair so blond it was white that stepped forward. She knew who they were—likely knew more than they did about who they were—but she didn’t speak. Always let them speak first. Let them ramble a little. See what they reveal.

“Eviana, right?” Lange said, shifting awkwardly on his feet when she continued to stare at him. “We were, uh, sent to…help you?”

She arched a brow. “Why are you asking me a question? I do not know why you are here.”

“That’s fair,” he murmured. “You’re just…a Source.”

Her smile was tight and joyless. “And you are a Fae serving the same kingdom, so what are you doing outside of it?”

Lange glanced over his shoulder at Corbin before he said simply, “Tessa sent us.”

“Tessa,” Eviana repeated.

Lange nodded. “Yeah. Theon’s Source. Kind of. Or she was, but isn’t now. I think?”

“I know who Tessa is,” she replied coolly.

“Okay…” He pulled on the back of his neck. “Because she kind of made it sound like you’dwantus to come get you.”

“Listen, we’re working on limited time the way it is,” Corbin cut in, stepping up behind Lange. “Tristyn gave us ten minutes maximum, and we used too many of them getting through the security to your room.”

“Tristyn Blackheart is here?” Eviana asked.

That was interesting.

“Yes,” Corbin said. “Cienna said this would work if everything was timed perfectly.”

“The Witch?”

That was even more surprising.

Corbin muttered a curse under his breath. “Yes. The Witch. The Witch who told us our timing had to be perfect, and we are close to testing her warning. Do you want out of here or not?”

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