Page 321 of Dawn of Chaos and Fury
Rordan was crying out in agony now, trying desperately to pull his hands from the glass, but Theon’s magic held them there. She watched as his limbs snapped and twisted at unnatural angles. Watched as blood dripped from his nose, his ears, his eyes. Watched as all that power he’d stolen was violently cut from his being and funneled into the mirror. Watched as the mirror gate absorbed it all, beginning to crack, small shards clinking to the marble floor.
And as the last of that power moved from Rordan to the mirror, as the Achaz Lord went silent and still, Tessa met Achaz’s furious stare in that fractured mirror one more time as she said, “Chaos has come to reign.”
She let the leash on her magic snap, and it leapt for the mirror gate, crashing into it like a wave. She could swear theworld went silent, that the realm held its breath while all that Chaos pulsed and inhaled and stilled.
Then it exploded, the force radiating out. She’d cloaked the room in her power, trying to contain it, but it broke through even that. She was thrown into the air, clutching at any thread of her chaos, trying to keep the destruction in the air. Praying to any being that might intervene that innocent lives would not pay the price yet again.
Glass fell, mixing with the pouring rain. The seraphs had taken to the skies, and she wondered if the two that had been with her had survived.
She hoped she had at least.
Hoped she’d done enough.
And Theon…
Tessa? Tessa, where are you?his voice echoed down the bond, and she smiled as she tumbled through the air. She’d done it. She’d saved him.
That was good. Arius Kingdom would still have him.
And Axel and Kat. Maddox was safe.
This was good.
Her magic stuttered, and it was the strangest feeling. She’d never actually experienced her power running out. It had been locked up and caged, forced to slumber, but she’d never truly expended it all. It left an ache in her soul.
Or maybe that was the thought of never seeing Theon again.
You’re not getting rid of him by fucking dying.
Luka’s snarled voice came down the bond a moment before a dark shadow was there, diving fast. His wings snapped out as he neared, pulling that massive body up while a clawed foot wrapped around her, hauling her back into the sky.
Tessa let her eyes fall closed, feeling the rain splash against her face. Heard Nylah and Roan howling in the distance. Felt the rumble of the thunder in her bones.
Tired.
She was so, so tired.
The next thing she knew she was being placed on the ground, and hands were on her face.
“Open your eyes, little storm,” Theon said, the words an order. “Open them, godsdammit.”
Everything hurt, and a low groan came from her as she lifted her heavy lids. Theon and Luka were both leaning over her. The rain had slowed to a gentle drizzle, and when she moved her fingers, she felt the mud beneath them.
“You didn’t die,” she rasped. “That’s good.”
Theon huffed a laugh as Luka said, “You didn’t die either. You’re lucky.”
“Yet you’re still an ass,” she muttered, and he smiled—a real one—as he reached for her and eased her into a sitting position while Theon pushed hair off her face.
She blinked as she realized where they were.
The stormy skies casting everything in grey.
Dead grass and scorched earth.
Bodies everywhere.
Blood and mud.
