Page 280 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

She felt the blood drip from the corner of her mouth as Theon held her. His magic wrapped around her, and she clung to him. Unable to get the words out. Unable to tell him she’d be fine.

Unable to scream a warning as a Hunter approached.

She scrambled, trying to draw her magic to the surface, but she was still struggling to breathe and focus and?—

And the Hunter sank a gold blade into Theon’s back.

And still Luka did not come.

50

THEON

His entire body seized, but still he did not release her. He clutched Tessa tightly to him, fighting to keep his magic around her, protecting her. He knew without looking it was one of those fucking golden blades. It had to be. There were few things that could pierce his magic so easily. If these beings were designed to hunt down Arius blood, it only made sense their weapons were immune to Arius magic.

“Theon,” Tessa gasped. “Are you?—”

“I will be fine,” he soothed. “But we need to get out of here. Blackheart!”

Tristyn was there, fighting alongside the wolves with a skill that could only come with experience. Decades, possibly centuries, of experience. Any being that came near him met its end. Well, other than the Hunters, but they were dispersing for whatever reason.

“We can’t Travel her,” Tristyn yelled back. “I told you this.”

Luka still had the bond blocked. He couldn’t reach him, but surely he could feel their pain. Tessa’s terror. His own rage. Even without the bond, the male was still his godsdamn Guardian. Where the fuck was he?

Not knowing what else to do, he pulled his phone from his pocket. “Then you Travel somewhere safe, and call Luka. Tell him… Tell him whatever you have to.”

Because he refused to lie to her. He never had, and he refused to accept that Luka was forcing this to be his first.

And he refused to let her die. He refused to let this be her end, a prophecy playing out exactly as everyone said it would because it had been manipulated from the very beginning. Devram had tried to shield themselves from it, and instead, they had brought about the very end they feared. He finally understood why Cienna and Tristyn were so fearful to speak of the future. He finally understood why the Witches never wished to tempt Fate.

Because when you tried to learn the secrets of the Fates, everything changed.

One could go mad trying to stay ahead of the visions, constantly seeking new prophecies and omens, and still destinies would alter. In the end, nothing was inevitable. The only certainty among the stars was that fate was a culmination of choices made over days, months, and years.

“Are you sure?” Tristyn asked, while Tessa was shaking her head in refusal. The male was already tapping out something on the phone while the wolves continued to hold the line.

“We need…him to stay,” Tessa gasped, but at least she was getting words out now.

“If he does not go get help, we will not survive this, and?—”

He was cut off by the roar that ripped through the air, yet Tessa’s sob of relief was still somehow louder. Everything stilled, all eyes going to the night sky, where not one, but two, dragons soared. One let loose another roar of rage, black flames blotting out the emerging stars, and then the Augury scattered. The Hunters hissed in outrage, disappearing into the air, while the vampyres followed the Legacy.

It did not matter.

Not as two dragons dove, dragon fire calling forth screams of agony before silencing them just as quickly. They left nothing behind but ash, and within minutes, the world around them was quiet.

One of the dragons landed beside them, the ground trembling at the impact. The other soared over the trees. Theon assumed it was going to search for stragglers who were attempting to escape.

Sapphire eyes were pinned on them before his snout was sniffing first her wound, then his.

“Yeah, you dick,” Theon snarled. “We’re hurt. Took you long enough.”

Luka huffed, his shields crumbling. Guilt and regret barreled into Theon down the bond, but as quickly as Luka had lowered his shields, Tessa was putting hers back up.

In a dull flash of light, Luka shifted. He reached for them, but Tristyn spoke first.

“She can’t be Traveled right now. There are enchantments in place,” he explained.

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