Page 278 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

“I’m here, Tessa,” Theon said, his darkness covering him like armor. “I’ll help you control it. Can you trust me to do that?”

“I… I don’t know,” she answered honestly.

He nodded. “Okay. I’ll work with that.”

She didn’t know what that meant, but then he pulled his two short swords, and gods. Helookedlike the god of death. Darkness drifted across his emerald eyes. His dark hair stirred in the wind as his wings stretched wide behind him. He held the swords as if they were extensions of him, and his power swarmed around him.

And her power wanted it all. Tendrils of light reached for it, winding into his darkness.

“That’s it, Tessa,” he coaxed. “Let them play. Let them become familiar.”

She cocked her head, her breathing coming faster as he let her power explore and take.

Then his darkness bit back, and she gasped.

He smiled. Dark and wicked.

“Someone they fear as much as me,” Theon said, and her gaze snapped back to his.

Maybe…

Maybe the villain had fallen in love with the monster in the end.

With a shuddering breath, she reached into her magic, her skin glowing brighter as her light wound around her in the way Theon’s darkness clung to him.

“That’s my girl,” he praised. “Whatever you do, no matter what happens, do not stop fighting. Luka will come.”

“He won’t,” she insisted.

“Until it comes to pass, the future can always change,” he replied. “Let’s go.”

Theon led the way, Tristyn falling back and staying on her right while the river rushed along to her left. It wasn’t until they crested a small hill that they saw them. Dozens of Augury members assembled in their cloaks and masks. Hunters hovered among them, and she knew none of those Augury members were Arius Legacy. They would have already been killed.

“Your mother is likely down there,” she said to Theon as they faced them down.

“Then she will die with the rest,” he said coldly. He looked down at her. “If Cordelia is here, will you let me kill her for you?”

Tessa blinked, her chest doing something it definitely shouldn’t be doing at the idea of murder on her behalf.

“Yes,” she breathed.

He bent, his arm wrapping around her waist and hauling her into him. His mouth landed hard on hers. His tongue licked at her lips, demanding access, and she let him in, taking from this kiss as greedily as her magic took from his power.

She didn’t have time to think about what any of it meant. Not as the Augury and Hunters surged forward. They stood their ground, letting them expend their energy.

When she felt Theon tug on her magic, she looked up at him. “Trust me and trust yourself,” he said, somehow looking at her like they weren’t about to fight for their lives.

She nodded slowly, and then she closed her eyes. Drowning out the din and cries of rage. She let her own fury flood to the surface, growing and festering, and she felt his darkness there, providing a stability she’d never known.

Thunder crashed, and she opened her eyes to watch lightning strike directly into the center of the fray.

“Yes, Tessa!” Tristyn cried.

The howling of her wolves sounded seconds before Nylah and Roan prowled from the surrounding foliage. They made it to her side at the same time the Augury and Hunters met them. Then all that existed was weapons clashing and powers colliding.

She sank into her power, light arcing and striking. Her power feasted, only strengthening her.

A Hunter advanced, his white eyes peering at her. “I cannot kill you, your grace,” he said in that voice that gripped her bones. “But I have orders to detain you.”

---