Page 75 of Tempest Blazing
I closed my eyes, forcing my breathing to slow, trying to tie the magic back down layer by careful layer. But the fury remained, burning bright and clean and utterly justified. Because Kali was innocent. Because Tess was innocent. Because they'd done nothing to deserve being caught in the crossfire of a war they didn't even know they were fighting.
Chapter 32
Kane
I stood outside Tess's suite, fist clenched as I raised it to knock. The polished wood shimmered beneath my knuckles—either from the light or the tremor of fire magic barely held in check. Every second I stood here, my temper coiled tighter, like a spring wound to its breaking point.Just deliver the message. Then leave.
I knocked twice, already regretting this decision. Being around Tess when I was this wound up was like striking flint near gunpowder. I wished I had something to fight.
The door opened. Tess stood there—barefoot, wearing a soft shirt and those damn glasses that always made my chest clench. Her eyes widened just slightly at the sight of me, and my magicsurged, heat licking beneath my skin like a wildfire. The sight of her sent another wave of volatile energy through me, my control fraying at the edges. My breath caught.Mine.
"Is Mason okay?" The words tumbled out before she could even say hello, her brow furrowing with that familiar worry. She could feel him through the bond—probably sensed whatever chaos had rippled through him tonight.
"Mason's with Kali," I said, voice clipped. "She's fine. Silvius said something…fucked." The words came out too sharp, each syllable edged with the anger still burning in my chest, and Iwatched Tess's face shift—concern, empathy, something softer. It made it worse. That softness. Her gentleness only intensified the storm raging inside me. My father saw a weapon that needed sharpening. She looked at me and saw a wound.
Tess stepped aside, motioning me in without hesitation. "Areyouokay?" she asked, voice low, careful. Like she already knew I wasn't. I found myself stepping across the threshold before I'd made any conscious decision to do so. Every instinct screamed at me to leave—I was too on edge, too volatile to be near her—but I couldn't force myself to walk away.
Even knowing I should stay away—should turn around and walk back to my own room—I couldn't stop myself from wanting to be close to her. My mate. Even if she didn't know it.
The suite smelled like her—cinnamon and ink. I stopped near the couch, inhaled too deep, and my magic pulsed again, reacting to her proximity. Her scent wrapped around me, and the tension in my chest ratcheted higher, my temper sharpening to a razor's edge. "I'm fine," I said, lying through my teeth. My jaw flexed.Lie better.
She didn't buy it. "You're vibrating, Kane," she said, stepping closer. "And not in a good way." Her teasing was light, but there was worry behind her eyes, and it cracked something in me. The concern in her voice made my control slip another notch, every nerve ending alive with restless energy. I couldn't keep shielding all of it. Not from her.
"We've got the written exam tomorrow," I said, deflecting. "You should rest. You're not going to pass if you're worried about everyone else." But even as I said it, I knew the hypocrisy. My hands were shaking with barely leashed fury. Not hers.
"You're worried too," Tess said softly. "Don't pretend you're not." Her voice was quiet, but it landed like a challenge. I mether gaze, and something inside mesnapped a little tighter.Being this close to her, feeling her attention on me, only made the volatile energy worse—like she was a magnet drawing every chaotic feeling to the surface.
I looked away, jaw ticking. "Used to be, I'd find someone to fight when it got like this." The confession came through gritted teeth, shame and tension wrapped around it. Broken knuckles were a language I understood. This… this I had no words for. My magic sparked in my palms—tiny cracks of fire and air trying to escape. "But that's not going to cut it tonight."
She reached out. Just a touch—her fingers brushing my arm, light as breath. But it hit like lightning. My magicexplodedbeneath my skin—fire, wind, heat, a rush of pressure behind my eyes. Her touch sent a shockwave through the anger coiled inside me, transforming it into something darker, more dangerous. Control gone.Fuck.This was a mistake. A reckless, catastrophic mistake. And I was going to make it.
I moved before I thought. Two steps forward and she was backing toward the wall, lips parted in surprise. Her eyes widened as I stalked forward—slow, deliberate. "There are other ways to bleed off pressure." I took another step forward, closing the space between us.
"Kane," she breathed, a question and a warning in one. Her back hit the wall behind her, and I caged her in, one hand braced beside her head. The other hovered near her cheek but didn't touch. Not yet.
"You want to help me, Tess?" My voice was low, frayed, vibrating with barely-contained power. Every inch of me trembled with the need to act, to claim, to lose control—but only if she said yes. My breath brushed her lips, and I waited.
Her nod was barely more than a breath, but it was enough. That's all it took. My restraint shattered like glass under pressure. I surged forward and kissed her—rough, consuming, desperate.
Her lips parted in surprise, and then she kissed me back, matching my fire with her own. My hand slid to her jaw, anchoring her as my body pressed closer. The elemental tension inside me began to shift—no longer volatile, but channeled, focused.
Her fingers twisted in my shirt, grounding me even as everything else spun. She tasted like sugar and salt, defiance and trust. The kiss deepened, and my power curled around us in invisible tendrils—air lifting her hair, heat blooming between our bodies.
Finally,my mind whispered. Not just need—for power, for control—but for her. For this. The magic inside me stopped fighting and started burning in rhythm with her breath.
I broke the kiss just enough to rest my forehead against hers, breathing hard. "You steady me," I admitted, voice raw. "But I don't know how to be gentle with this." I only knew how to break things. And I couldn't break her. My hands were still trembling, but it wasn't from restraint anymore. It was from wanting more.
But she was looking at me like she could see the storm raging beneath my skin and wanted to be caught in it.
"I trust you," she said simply, and those three words shattered what was left of my control. Trust. No one had ever given it to me so freely. It was a gift I hadn't earned, and it broke me more completely than any blow my father had ever landed.
I surged forward, pressing Tess against the wall, my mouth devouring hers with an urgency I couldn't contain. My magic pulsed between us, elemental energy crackling across my skin asher golden-purple magic rose to meet it. Every touch of her lips against mine sent shockwaves through my system, my control slipping further away.
I broke from her mouth to trace a burning path down her jaw, my lips finding the sensitive spot beneath her ear. When my teeth grazed her pulse point, she moaned—a sound that vibrated through me like lightning. I dragged my mouth down the column of her throat, tasting salt and sweetness as she arched against me, her fingers digging into my shoulders.
"Bed," I growled against her mouth, the word half-command, half-desperate plea.
She nodded, breathless, her pupils blown wide with desire. I gripped her thighs and lifted her, her legs instantly wrapping around my waist. The pressure of her core against my hardness nearly broke me. Three steps to her bed felt like miles, every movement torturous as she rocked against me, her fingers tangled in my hair.
