Page 250 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

What is happening over there?Theon demanded down the bond, and she couldn’t blame him. Luka’s emotions were all over the place. She couldn’t separate the fury from the hurt from the wrath of the betrayal. But in all of that, she knew the adoration he’d looked at her with just moments ago was no longer there.

“You are not speaking to him right now,” Luka said, stalking towards her. “You are speaking to me.”

She moved back with each step forward he took. At one point, her feet tangled in the rug, but he never stretched out a hand to catch her or help her. When her back hit a wall, there was nowhere else for her to go.

“When?” he growled.

She exhaled through her nose, her eyes falling closed. She knew this answer was going to ruin everything, and it was entirely her own fault.

“No,” he growled. “Look me in the eye when you tell me how you’ve played me this entire fucking time.”

She took another deep breath, trying to swallow down her tears, but they spilled over, tracking down her face. “Days after I left Theon.”

He reared back as if she’d hit him with a bolt of her power. And the look on his face? Gods, it shattered her. The pieces she’d been trying to hold together slipped through her fingers. She thought Theon had broken her? This realm? No, she haddestroyed herself because there was no coming back from this. She knew it in her bones.

“I have been… This whole time?” he demanded, and she wasn’t quite sure what he was asking.

She thought he was going to start pacing. He’d taken a few steps, but then he whirled, lunging for her again. She didn’t struggle in the slightest when his large hand wrapped around her throat.

She wished he would squeeze.

She wished he would summon his flames and burn her. It would hurt less than watching him learn all of this. Than watching the consequences of her own actions.

Wild.

Reckless.

Uncontrollable.

That was what she had been.

“For weeks I have been in the same place as myfather. Who I have thought was dead for nearly twenty-five years,” he yelled, his breath hot on her face. “For twenty-five years, I have thought I was alone. The last of my kind. I have been trying to— You said nothing. Fucking nothing!”

“I’m sorry,” she rasped.

He was still holding her in place by the throat, but he suddenly yanked his hand back as thoughshehad burnedhim.

“No, you’re not,” he spat. “You have had so many opportunities to bring this up. The first day I came to you. Any of the days you’ve slept beside me. Any of the times we were training. When I found out I had a fucking brother. Any godsdamn time, Tessa!”

She didn’t move. Not because she thought he would hurt her. He wouldn’t physically harm her. Deep down she knew that, but she’d never feared physical punishment. It was being shoved into a small, dark place. Into a cupboard or a wine cellar.

Being thrown into the dark.

Sure, she could make her own light, but that didn’t eclipse the loneliness.

She didn’t dare breathe because she was terrified that the slightest movement would remind him she was still here, and that he would make her leave the only place she’d ever felt wanted.

Accepted.

Loved.

The only place that had almost felt like home.

“Instead, you used me,” he snarled, and she didn’t deny it.

She had done that. So determined to have her vengeance, she’d become everything she’d hated about Devram. It was the only way to survive in a realm full of villains. You had to become one.

“Are you going to say anything?” he bellowed.

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