Page 66 of Dawn of Chaos and Fury
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Eliza glanced at her before looking ahead again. “That is a long story.”
“Is it because you are his twin flame?”
“No. I actually hated that for quite some time and refused to accept that bond.”
Tessa tripped on air at those words. “You… What?”
“Razik figured out what we were before I did, but he never pushed for it. He’d experienced someone trying to force a bond on him, and he swore he’d never do that. He…” Eliza sighed, the next words sounding pained. “He would have let me go if I had wished for it.”
“But you chose him.”
“I did.”
“And he chose you.”
“Obviously.”
“And you don’t regret it?” Tessa pushed as they stepped into the fresh air.
Eliza was quiet for a long moment before she answered, “No, I don’t regret any of it, but that doesn’t mean it’s right for everyone. Only you can decide if it’s the right path for you.”
“Right,” Tessa murmured, tipping her face up to the sky.
Within seconds, there was a rustle before Roan and Nylah appeared, climbing over the rocky terrain. It was not that they couldn’t come inside the cave. They just…didn’t. Roan appeared in there every once in a while, but for the most part, they stayed outside. Patrolling and guarding, apparently finding her safe enough when inside. But they were always here when she ventured out with Xan.
It was cloudless tonight, revealing all the stars usually kept hidden. The moon was waning though, only a sliver of it visible, allowing the dark to obscure those wanting to stay hidden. Apart of her wanted to just sit here and soak it in. It was peaceful, as if a piece of her soul loved the dark and night.
Or maybe it just made her feel closer to him.
It didn’t matter in the end. Not as flames erupted in a large perimeter, burning nothing and lighting up the night. The heat warmed her skin, and Tessa wished she was in a tank top like Eliza rather than the fitted long-sleeve training top she wore, even if it did leave her torso exposed.
With a flick of her wrist, another pillar of fire sprang to life, twisting and writhing until it took on the shape of a large and broad male. Then Eliza turned back to her, motioning impatiently to the bow slung across Tessa’s chest.
“You can’t shoot it that way,” the female chastised.
“I know that,” Tessa grumbled, her fingers winding into Roan’s soft fur while Nylah sat near the perimeter. “I’m not going to be shooting anything without arrows. Auryon always just…had some.”
“Yeah, I know someone like that too,” Eliza said. “I found these though when I was looking for that bow.”
Another burst of flames receded, and she held a quiver.
“Where did you find it anyway?” Tessa asked, lifting the bow over her head.
Eliza pulled an arrow from the quiver before setting it aside. “He hid it in one of the narrow passages off the gallery.
“What gallery?”
“The one with all the empty frames on the walls. So maybe not a gallery? I don’t know, but it was in a narrow tunnel off that.” When Tessa only blinked back at her, Eliza said, “You didn’t know about that space?”
“No. I…” She trailed off before clearing her throat. “This is only the second time I have been here, and the first time I didn’t exactly get a tour. I try not to intrude on his space…”
She trailed off again, trying not to think about what had transpired the first time she had been here. It was why she kept herself busy, and she suspected it was also why Xan often took her outside. But now that she was thinking about it, she had to actively work against the onslaught of emotions she was trying desperately to keep locked away. Her magic thrived when she was… Well, when she was unbalanced.
“There’s no such thing as balanced,” she murmured, dragging her fingers along the smooth curve of the bow.
