Page 248 of Rain of Shadows and Endings

Impulsive as it struck out, another crack created in its wake.

Reckless as rain pelted against her skin.

Wild as air ripped through the arena like the winds of a tempest.

That would be the power that told the realm she wasn’t Fae at all.

“Tessa!”

Her name was being yelled and carried away by the chaos of the storm. She could only stand there as her magic spiraled, devouring whatever it pleased, relishing in the freedom of being set free.

“Tessa!”

She blinked, rain drops clinging to her lashes, and Axel was standing before her. His black hair was plastered to his head, his suit clinging to his frame. Shadows also clung to him, clearly guarding and protecting him, but tendrils reached for her. She lifted her hand, light coiled at her fingertips, sparking with violet streaks of energy as it tentatively reached for Axel’s magic.

But Axel was suddenly yanking his darkness back. “No, Tessa. This isn’t the time to experiment.” Her head tilted, and he swiped a hand down his face. “Fuck, Tessa. Stay with me, baby doll. I know your magic is calling. I know what it feels like to get lost to so much power, but we need to get you somewhere safe. Can you focus, Tessa? Just for a bit. Until Theon can come for you.”

Theon.

His name made her blink, the bond in her chest seeming to gasp as if it’d been choking. Tessa shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts as she studied her hands.

“That’s it, Tessa,” Axel coaxed, a shadow-coated hand reaching for her. “Take my hand. Let’s get out of here.”

“Where are we going to go?” Her voice was that same dark thing it had been in the training room a few days ago.

“I know a place. Come on, baby doll.”

“Where is Kat?” she asked suddenly.

“She’s safe. Tessa, we need to—”

But he was cut off when four sentinels approached them, only to be thrown across the arena by a gust of air from her.

“Glad it was them this time,” Axel muttered, but then his emerald gaze snapped back to hers. “Tessa, your magic trusts me. Don’t you see? It’s letting me near, but keeping others away. You can trust me, Tessa.”

“I’m mad at you.”

“I know, but we’ll figure it out. We’ll figure all this out.”

He held out his hand again, and she slowly placed her fingers in his waiting palm. He immediately gripped her, tugging her behind him as shadows surrounded them like a dark screen, allowing them to see as they moved. Violet streaks of light flashed among them like lightning in a thunderstorm.

Light and dark.

And suddenly they were in the hall outside the arena, but there was just as much mayhem out here. People were running in various states of panic that only increased when Axel’s darkness appeared. Screams echoed around her, and her magic seemed to like it.

It liked the idea of being feared.

She liked the idea of being feared.

“This way,” Axel was saying, his wet shoes squeaking on the marble floor as they made their way down the passage.

“This is why I hate shoes,” she said simply.

Axel glanced back at her. “What?”

She nodded at his soaked footwear. “Shoes are cumbersome. They interfere with escaping.”

Understanding dawned, and he tugged on her hand, bringing her to his side rather than dragging her behind him. “Shoes slowed you down when you were sneaking in and out of undesirable situations at the estate.”

---