Page 57 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

“No one owns you?” he said, a questioning arch to his brow before he put a few steps of space between them.

“I hate you so godsdamn much,” she muttered as the three Fae came towards them, a stern scowl already on Dex’s face.

“We’ve been looking for you,” Dex said before they’d even come to a stop. Then his attention shifted to Luka. “I thought you said you didn’t know where she was?”

“I found her two minutes ago,” Luka answered in his usual bored tone. “I told you she didn’t show up for training.”

“And yet we still find her with you,” Dex sneered.

“You’re welcome,” Luka replied.

Dex’s eyes narrowed, but Tessa said, “What do you want, Dex?”

“This bratty side of you is so becoming, Tessie. I think I like it,” Brecken said, dark eyes holding mischief.

“Shut up, Brecken,” Dex chided. “We don’t need anything, Tessa. We’re just a little more cautious with another kingdom’s advisor here for the foreseeable future.”

“If Rordan was that worried about it, he wouldn’t have let him stay,” Tessa countered.

“It seems there wasn’t much of a choice because of a bargainyoumade.”

She pursed her lips, knowing she couldn’t counter that without letting it be known Luka had lied about the training. Even without this bargain she’d made with the male in the cell, she wouldn’t have done it. She should. She should have told Rordan the moment she found out about the whole damn thing, but she’d wanted to talk to Luka first for some unknown reason. That had led to sleeping beside him, which had led to the lecture from Dex, and now here she was again.

“I don’t need protection from Luka,” was all she could think to say.

“Even if she did, protection follows her everywhere,” Luka added, looking pointedly at Roan, who was still at her side. Nylah was sitting a few feet away, watching everything.

“No one knows where the wolves came from,” Dex said, eyeing the beasts.

“It doesn’t matter,” Tessa said. “The point is there’s nothing to worry about.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Tessie,” Dex said. “I made the mistake of thinking there was nothing to worry about once. I won’t be making it again.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“My gods, Tessa,” Oralia chided. “We all know how the Emerging Ceremony turned out.”

“You still blame me for that?” Tessa asked incredulously.

“Of course not,” Dex cut in before Oralia could answer. “We just don’t want any more surprises, but it seems they are unavoidable with you. Anyway, we are being sent into Faven on some errands for Lord Jove. I thought you might like to join us. Get out of here for a while.”

“Yeah, sure,” she muttered, the bond already making her anxious at being separated from Luka.

Which is exactly why she didn’t look back as she followed the Fae and left him behind.

“Is your meal to your liking, Tessa?”

“What?” she asked, startled from her thoughts at Rordan’s question.

The Achaz Lord glanced at her plate, then back to her, smiling warmly. “You’ve scarcely touched your food, my dear.”

Tessa looked down at her plate where the finest cut of meat sat, with garlic potatoes, a vegetable medley, and two buttery rolls. It was the type of meal she’d never been provided when everyone had thought she was Fae, and she found herself wondering if Theon would have let her eat it even now. As it was, she’d only managed to push her food around on her plate amid the few bites of meat she’d taken, and it had everything to do with the male seated at the table with them.

“The meal is lovely,” she answered with a half-hearted smile, picking up her knife to cut another bite.

“I can have something else prepared if you prefer?”

She felt her eyes go wide at the mere idea of forcing a Fae to make her another meal. “That is not necessary,” she said quickly, scooping up a bite of potatoes. “I am merely tired from the day.”

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