Page 60 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

“No,” Theon cut in. “I’ll find a way to get the ring to you. What do you think he wants it for?”

“He said it was to prove my commitment or some bullshit, but that’s exactly what it is. Bullshit. I stole the ring once. I can do it again once I’ve fulfilled that part of the bargain,” he answered.

“You and your penchant for rings,” Theon muttered. But then he said, “Wait,partof the bargain? What else did you agree to, Luka?”

“Answering questions about my bloodline?—”

“We don’t know much,” Theon interrupted.

“Exactly. And not to kill him.”

Theon huffed a laugh. “A little arrogant of him to assume we even want to.”

“Agreed,” Luka said, stretching out his legs and crossing his ankles.

Silence fell between them, and in that quiet, Luka realized just how much he missed his best friend. They’d been separatedbefore for longer periods of time, but this felt different. Theon was stepping into a new role. One they’d planned for and prepared for for years, and he should be there with him, godsdammit. At the very least to tell him when he was being too neurotic and making stupid decisions.

“How is she?” Theon finally asked.

“Do you really want me to tell you?”

“No. Yes.” Another sigh before, “I feel her sometimes. When her shields slip, and she’s… Are we too late?”

“I don’t know,” he answered truthfully. “I can’t get her alone, and when I do see her, she refuses to acknowledge me.”

“After all this time, everything still hinges on her,” Theon murmured, and Luka could hear the exhaustion in his voice. It was the same exhaustion they were all feeling. At least he’d gotten a decent night’s sleep when Tessa had slept in his bed five nights ago.

“Nothing on Axel?” Luka asked.

“No, and other matters are starting to become pressing. I can’t ignore the rest of the kingdom much longer,” Theon said.

“Let me leave here and go looking for him,” Luka insisted.

“You’re in the best place to find information, and she needs someone,” Theon said, those last words sounding full of an acceptance Luka rarely heard from him.

“There is no information to be found here if she will not speak to me,” he argued.

“Keep trying. I promised her I’d always fight for her. This is the only way I know how right now. Keep trying,” he repeated.

“How long?” Luka demanded.

“How long what?”

“How long are you going to make me stay here?”

“Is the Guardian bond becoming an issue?” Theon asked.

“Not like it has in the past,” Luka said.

In the past when they’d been separated for more than a few days, the Guardian bond would become somewhat unbearable. The need to make sure Theon was safe and not in danger turned to paranoia the more time passed. In fact, Valter had used it as a means to control him in the same way he would use blood to control Axel. But that hadn’t been an issue since he came here, which could only mean it was her. There was no other explanation, and gods, wasn’t that a convenience he didn’t want right now. Because every minute spent here, even with her not fucking speaking to him, was weakening a resolve he’d held firmly in place since the moment this girl had become a prospective Source. There was no way Theon understood what forcing him to stay here was doing, or he wouldn’t be making him.

“How long?” Luka asked again.

There was an annoyed huff, and Luka knew his friend was raking a hand through his hair in irritation. “Another week, all right? Give it another week and if nothing has changed, we’ll change tactics,” Theon said.

Tactics. Strategies. This is what Luka liked to hear.

“Fine,” Luka said. A muffled male voice sounded in the background, and Luka was immediately on high alert. “Who is that?”

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