Page 83 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

“Mother?” he finally said.

“Tessa was here?”

Her voice was cold and more serious than he’d ever heard it.

“With Luka. Yes.”

Whatever had come over his mother seemed to disappear, her voice back to its usual feminine lilt, but there was still an icy undercurrent to it. “Was she well?”

“What do you mean?”

“She appeared…unharmed?”

“Luka was with her. Of course she was unharmed. Why are you upset?”

“She wronged you, Theon. A mother has a right to be upset when her son is wronged,” she admonished.

“She is still my Source, Mother,” he answered, turning to the door when a knock sounded.

“Yes, but I do not believe for one second it is a coincidence that your father and brother disappeared shortly after her declaration of freedom. Do you think she did something to them?”

Theon rolled his eyes at the worry in his mother’s voice, despite it being well-founded. Tessahaddone something to his father, and he wished she’d finished the job.

“She wouldn’t hurt Axel, Mother,” he answered as the door opened, and Tristyn Blackheart walked in.

Theon held up a finger to signal he’d be a minute, and Tristyn nodded, turning to peruse the shelves of the study.

“And she can’t hurt your father,” his mother was prattling on. “He’s the Arius Lord. She’ll only be able to hurt him if the Achaz Lord helps. What are you doing about this, Theon?”

“I’m working on it,” he gritted out.

“Where are you?”

“Back at the Acropolis.”

“How did you get back there so fast?” Before he could figure out an answer to that, she said, “Oh! Have you learned to shadow walk? As wonderful as that is, Theon, you need to be careful until Tessa is dealt with.”

“No one isdealingwithTessa but me,” he retorted. “Unless you know something I don’t?”

“Of course not,” his mother tsked. “You are the Arius Heir, Theon.”

But something wasn’t sitting right with her questioning and her tone.

“Mother, if Father told you something—anything—I need to know.”

He saw Tristyn slowly turn to face him, clearly eavesdropping on the conversation.

“All I know is that my son came home and couldn’t be bothered to even look in on his mother,” Cressida said, her tone bordering on hysterics now.

For the love of Arius.

“I will try to make some time to see you in the next few days,” he replied, ignoring Tristyn’s impatient gesture telling him to wrap things up.

“I should hope so,” she replied.

“Goodbye, Mother.” He hung up before she could reply. Slipping his phone in his pocket, he said to Tristyn, “Everything go all right today?”

The male usually just dropped the Fae off and left. He only lingered if he had information to share.

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