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Zefira shook her head. “Based on what I have seen today, those are not accurate, my Lord. The two listed as her sire and dam would not have produced someone this powerful. It would simply not be possible. ”
he found grey eyes staring up at him, faint traces of violet shimmering around her pupils that he’d never really noticed before.
And he hated it. He hated that he didn’t have an answer. That he didn’t have control over this entire situation.
“If you lay a finger on her without permission, it will be the last thing you do,” Theon said darkly, and inky shadows began creeping towards the Fae.
She wasn’t fine. She was the farthest thing from fine. Then again, she couldn’t really say she’d been fine in years.
“I can sense conflicts among people,” Felicity replied. “And from there, I can fan the flame, so to speak.”
Axel shrugged, unfazed. “I am simply saying the entertainment you two have provided in the last half hour has been better than the Chaosphere game, and that was an epic game. I have missed this. Can we go back to it?”
“These last few weeks have been what I imagine the Pits of Torment to be like. Pure and utter agony, and you do not seem to care as long as I am obedient and behave properly. Have I thought death might be a kinder option a time or two? Yes. When I was experiencing the pain from the first Mark or the torture of the assessment today, did I wish for death to finally claim me and just put me out of my fucking misery? I’d be lying if I said no. But not even death wants me, even when handed to her willingly.”
“Beautiful, I’m constantly obsessing over your mouth. Over what’s going to come out of it next. What it tastes like when you let me kiss you. What it would feel like around my cock,”
“The bond builds on what is already there,” Theon said again, his power snaking along her bare thighs. “There was something instantaneous between us whether you want to admit to it or not, and the bond increases that desire. If you find you are seeking comfort from me, then the bond is building on something that is already there.”
“He keeps me from going over an edge,” she gasped, pleasure flaring out as she ground her clit against him again. “He helps glue the broken pieces back together, even when I don’t think it’s worth it anymore.”
Then again, maybe the monster he actually was wasn’t any better than his father in the end. He did know that while her wildness drove him mad, he also craved it in a way he couldn’t explain.
“When she’s feeling a lot of emotion, her eyes almost seem to glow a faint violet color.”
“Would it make you feel better to keep your eyes on me while I kneel at your feet later tonight?”
“In case the message is not clear enough,” Theon said nonchalantly over Pavil’s cry of pain, “if you, or anyone else, ever interferes with the relationship I have with my Source again, your life will instantly be forfeit. If it weren’t for my father, you would be dead. Next time, not even he will be able to save you.”
Repeatedly told that she wasn’t good enough, wasn’t compliant enough. That no one would want her unless she had something to offer them. That she was too much of a hassle for anyone to bother with otherwise. That she would forever be nothing, too much of a disappointment to be something.
“I can have them,” he countered. “I will have them. Even if it takes our entire lifetime together, you will give them to me. Each and every piece. You can hate me for it, but it won’t change it.”
“Of course I played. I’m fairly certain everyone but Theon played Chaosphere as a child,” Luka answered, and Theon flipped him off.
“Theon! You’re cheating!” she cried through a bark of laughter as he intercepted the ball and kicked it to Luka. “I am,” he agreed, spinning her around and setting her back on her feet, blocking her path to go after the ball. “I’m becoming a touch insecure with myself after being out maneuvered every round, beautiful.” “You almost scored a point that one time.” “And now you are teasing me,” he admonished.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” “Because you are smiling, and I rarely see such a thing.”
“Guardians are always of the Sargon bloodline. They were often bonded to Arius descendants, but the strongest of Sargon’s bloodline were bonded to gods or deities to protect them.”
“Deities were the result of a god having a child with a magical bloodline.”
“Who can really say at this point? With the gods agreeing to not interfere in this world, it is not as if we can know of anything going on in the other realms. It is said Legacy could once travel between places by simply willing it, as if they walked through the air. But they took that ability from us when they brought all their Legacy here.” “Travel between places? Like between kingdoms?” Theon shrugged. “Between kingdoms. Between worlds. That is something we will likely never know, I suppose. I’ve found texts that suggest more than the gods emerged from the Chaos.”
“No, Theon. Luka is trying. Axel is trying. You are just demanding. Much like your father.”
His hand came to her cheek. “Because I already have a Guardian, Tessa. A full Guardian. With a Guardian Mark and a Guardian Bond.”
how we know so much about the Guardian Bond.” “Who?” she repeated. “Luka.”
A wry smile curved up on Axel’s lips. “Luka can shift into a dragon, baby doll.”
He’d felt Tessa in a way he never had before. He’d felt her strength. He’d felt her power.
“The Arius Kingdom controls the Underground?” “I don’t know that control would be the best word choice, but we oversee it, yes,” Theon confirmed.
He slid his hands into pockets. “Pen once had a lover. Her name was Caris. She was what one would consider our nanny, I suppose. She was more of a mother to us than Cressida ever was. When Pen wasn’t in the kitchens, she was with us and Caris. We could…be a handful.”
“I always find a way to get what I want, Tessa.”
“You will learn soon enough that being the most cunning and wicked is the only way to survive in a realm of villains, little storm.”
Tessa was more cunning than anyone realized. Her type of cunning was the most dangerous.
“She had silver hair and silver eyes. More weapons than he could count. She had gifts of shadows but also fire as bright as the stars, and Theon saved her from imminent death when another in all black approached to kill her.”
“We have always been more,” he continued. “From the moment I saw you slip into that alcove with stolen chocolate, I knew you were mine. The Fates always have their way, Tessa, and this will be no different.”
“The two of you are so godsdamn exasperating,” he snarled, once again yanking her shoulders back. “He’s too controlling, and you’re not controlled enough. I told him over and over this would be a disaster. You’re two forces that should repel each other. Fire and shadows. Light and dark. Beginnings and endings. Instead, you’re drawn to each other.”
“I didn’t ask you to make it pretty for me, Axel. I asked if it was your idea.”
“No, beautiful. You’ll help me kill my father.” “So you can have Devram?” Darkness hovered around him like a faint mist, and she could swear it reached for her when he said, “No, Tessa. So I can have the Underground, and they can have Devram.”
“Oh, Max, if only you were mortal. Then maybe you’d have a chance at that,” Tessa simpered as she straightened and ran her hands down her dress, smoothing it out. “Then again, I still would never touch Serafina seconds.”
“In all things there must be balance. Beginnings and Endings. Light and Dark. Fire and Shadows. The sky, the sea, the realms. But when the scales tip, And Chaos rains, Who will fight? And who will fall? For Dark must bow, And Light must rule, But Chaos does not choose. Control the uncontrollable, Or to fury they both lose. Life must give, And Death must take, But Fate requires more. Destiny beckons, And sacrifice demands. Who will be left standing, When Chaos comes to reign?”
“You don’t have to,” Tristyn said with a slight shrug. “But that aside, I want you to know you are strong enough for this, Tessa.” She couldn’t speak around the sudden
Strength is fighting back. Strength is doing whatever it takes to claim what is yours, even if others try to convince you it is not yours to take.”
“You are, Tessa. If you are weak enough to fall, you are strong enough to rise back up. Weakness and strength come from the same place, and both are necessary. Both provide purpose, and both can lead to destruction or salvation. You just need to embrace a little chaos,”
But he’d wanted to keep that night for himself because it might be the only thing she ever let him have, and if it was, he didn’t want to share it with anyone.
But mostly he was furious with himself. For failing to keep her safe yet again. For failing to figure out who wanted her. For failing to control his Source. For failing at all.
Theon knew he was right, but all he could see was the male’s hands on what was his. All he could hear was her laughing with a male that wasn’t him. All he could feel was the failure weighing down on him.
Not when all this had done was prove her fears right. Her power was valuable to him. Not her.
But the bond stirred to life, also not liking the idea of someone else being in his bed.
“No one can steal your thunder if you are the storm,” he replied, stretching a hand toward her. “Be the fucking storm, Tessa.”
He could feel his magic. It was obsessed with her, nearly vibrating at having her interact with it. The shadows clung to her while she toyed with them, and he could feel her touch as if she were touching him herself.
