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Tessa watched in utter terror as bodies rose up out of the crevice. But they weren’t bodies of flesh and blood. They shimmered in the sunlight, their bodies nearly transparent. They floated a couple of inches off the ground, and they were all identical. Pale skin. Tall and lean, with sharp, angular features. Short hair as white as clouds.
White eyes with no pupils settled on her.
the first being lifted a hand, he drew a sword from the very air. The others did the same. Those were real. Very real blades of gleaming gold.
The figures moved as if to leap across the crevice, but they simply floated over it.
She was trembling as the wolf neared her, but when it reached her side, it turned, nudging her hand with its nose. She was trying to hold her breath, but she’d just been running for her damn life and she was panting. The wolf pushed into her hand again, then moved to nudge her behind the knees as if telling her to move. When she stumbled forward a step, the wolf leapt in front of her, pausing to look back over its shoulder at her. I am losing my godsdamn mind. None of this can be real.
Tessa gasped, cautiously approaching the door. She unlatched it, pushing, but it wouldn’t budge. “It’s stuck,” she grunted, throwing her shoulder into it again and again. The wind was whipping wildly now, her hair flying in every direction, and thunder was continuing to rumble overhead as dark clouds continued to build. The wolf growled beside her and let out a loud bark. Startled by the sound, Tessa stumbled back just in time for the wolf to come leaping at the door. The impact of its paws hitting the door echoed around her. The door flew inward at the weight from the wolf, and it barked
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A tall male with golden hair and eyes stepped from the trees. She immediately recognized him as Dagian Jove, the Achaz Heir. “What are you doing here?” Tessa gasped, dragging her hands through her hair and tugging. “I heard Theon’s Source was on the run. I thought I would see if I could track you down first,” Dagian said with a shrug as he casually strolled closer. “I’m not running from him.” “No? Then what are you doing out here in the Dreamlock Woods so far from him?
The Dreamlock Woods ran between the Achaz and Serafina Kingdoms along the Wynfell River.
Golden light crackled between Dagian’s fingers. “How did you manage to evade the rest of us when we were looking at Source prospects? How did you manage to evade me?”
“Serafina’s heir is en route, by the way. Lealla will enjoy helping me pry answers out of you. There is no way in any of the realms we will allow the Arius Kingdom to regain power in this world.”
“I need to see your power, Tessalyn,” Dagian said, returning his attention to her. “It hasn’t emerged yet. I can’t access it,” she pleaded, the world spinning around her as she fell forward onto her hands once more. “You can under the right conditions,” Dagian replied, a cruel grin filling his features. He raised his hand once more, golden light crackling at his fingertips, and Tessa braced herself for the burst of power. But it never came. Instead, another crack of thunder sounded, followed by a female voice that somehow sounded both horrific and cunning all at once. “Do not touch her again.”
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She was alone. Stuck in her own head. And that was a dangerous place to be.
Now I remember I found Tessa super annoying in book 2. But now I see that it was all a part of the plan. And after reading the first book a second time, and this time not skipping the author’s note, I love that Melissa says her characters might have magical powers, but their weaknesses and how they deal with trauma is very human. Tessa went through a lot in Rain of Shadows and Endings, so her actions in Storm of Secrets and Sorrow was a trauma response. Now I’ll read the second book again with that perspective.
But there had been flashes of violet in her eyes, much like darkness would swirl in his own. Except this was more like energy flickering. It was as if there was lightning being reflected in her stormy eyes when blasts of power had slammed into them.
The Celeste Estate was where the Fae who did not have homes went. Those without families to raise them. But Tessa had been there first. Alone for years. Dex had been the first to find her when she was scarcely eighteen years. He was older than her by nearly five years and had missed being eligible for the most recent Selection by a mere month. He’d been sent to the Celeste Estate along with a few others to wait for the next Selection Year.
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.”
“What about the Revelation Decree?” she demanded. “It clearly states that the Achaz Kingdom must rule.” “As Axel said, the Decree is open to interpretation.” “How else do you interpret ‘For Dark must bow, And Light must rule?’” “We prefer to focus on the ‘Life must give, And Death must take’ portion of the Decree.”
The Keeper of the Decree was the most revered person in Devram. Residing within the Pantheon itself, even the Kingdom Lords and Ladies were leery to cross them. No one knew if the Keeper was male or female. They were rarely seen, and they always wore robes that completely hid all features.
He’d discovered many things in those late hours— texts about the Guardian Bond, historical accounts of past Selections, a few mentions of other worlds, notes about the gods, theories of Chaos.
“Do you know where the Keeper resides?” She blinked at the sudden change in subject before she answered. “At the Pantheon. In the Inner Sanctum.” “And do you know what they guard so obsessively?” “They are the Keeper of the Decree.” “A Decree that everyone is taught and has memorized by their second decade of life,” Theon countered. “They guard more than that, Tessa.”
“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.”
He huffed a laugh. “I have enough chaos of my own, fury.”
“That’s not a song,” she interjected. “That’s the Revelation Decree.” “It is many things,” he countered.
“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?”
“I know the one who gave the Decree.” Her brow furrowed. “The Decree came from the gods.” “Did it?” “You’re confusing.” “I know. It’s incredibly frustrating.” Another bark of laughter escaped her. “How is it frustrating for you?” “Because I do not always wish to be confusing,” he replied.
“There are far more powerful beings in the realms.” “You speak as if the rest of the realms care about us.” “You speak as if they don’t.” “They can’t,” she argued. “They shouldn’t,” he countered.
I want you to know you are strong enough for this, Tessa.” She couldn’t speak around the sudden lump in her throat as she swallowed back the tears threatening to well. “You still don’t know me,” she whispered. “If you knew—” A frustrated sound rumbled from him when he cut himself off. “If I knew what?” she pressed. “If you only knew what I knew,” he said, something Tessa could only describe as a mixture of longing and pain sounding in his voice. “It’s something you can’t learn until you’re forced to walk through it, but you’d know that strength grows in the moments you think you can’t go on,
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“I have this handled.” “Do you? Because when you came here twenty years ago and told me your plans, I was wary.” “I was sent here,” the male snarled. “Are you questioning him?” “No, but any time one is sent on a mission that promises a high reward, I grow wary. People are willing to sacrifice quite a bit when much is at stake,” Rordan replied calmly.
“I know you stand to gain a seat in a world I do not care about, but you will not become a prince in that world by fucking me over.” “And I have not spent the last twenty years in this forgotten realm only to fail now. Failure is not an option.”
Dex was standing there, and she blinked a few times because there was something curving around him. Soft. Feathery. An off-white color. But that wasn’t right. His hair was dark brown and shorter, not curving around him.
“I am assuming you have already considered she may be the key to everything?” “Of course I have,” his father gritted out, and Theon didn’t understand anything that was being referenced. Rordan took another sip of his drink, seeming to savor the taste before he said, “Then you already know where she belongs.” “There is no proof,” Valter argued. “Not yet,” Rordan agreed. “But when it surfaces, you understand what this will come to?” “Do you?” Rordan held out his glass, the Fae immediately appearing and taking the still half-full tumbler from him. “I look forward to further discussions on this
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When they’d arrived here, Theon had immediately replaced the ones Rordan had put on her with his own. Who knew what kind of enchantments were on the other ones. Luka had tried to incinerate them with dragon fire, but they’d withstood it. Another thing for Theon to research. For now, the bands were being stored in a pocket realm.
“I like the dark. It makes the light shine brighter.”
“You all have a lot of Marks. Why couldn’t I see them earlier? You said they could be seen by those who have the blood of a god.” He had said that, and now that she mentioned it, she was right. She should have been able to see them all along. The only explanation he could come up with was that whoever had bound her power had somehow nullified all of her bloodline’s magic. Bits and pieces of her power had broken through when her emotions had been in a heightened state, and to be honest, Theon was a little worried the same would happen even with the bands in place.
“Lie and truth. You can’t have both. Just like you can’t have light and dark, beginnings and endings.”
Tessa’s head snapped to the side to find a tall male. He looked familiar somehow, but Tessa was sure she’d never met him. He had a sword strapped down his back, as did the female standing next to him. Her red-gold hair was braided over her shoulder, and flames flickered in her eyes.
“This is wrong,” the female with fire was saying to the other male. “This will alter everything.” “We cannot interfere,” the male replied, reaching for her. “It will upset the—” “Fuck the balance,” the female seethed, shoving his hands away.
“She can get here,” the female was saying, panic in her voice. “She can stop this.” “Not even she will be fast enough,” Theon answered.
Sighing, she finally let herself contemplate some of the things Rordan Jove had said to her. Not Fae. Not even demi-Fae. So what was she? That’s what she had asked the Lord. She clearly had Achaz gifts. She had assumed she was an Achaz Legacy, but Rordan hadn’t seemed convinced. When she asked why, he’d said because the strength of her gifts not only suggested otherwise, but her gifts were not limited to Achaz. Achaz couldn’t call forth a storm indoors.
Dex had been there, bound to Achaz Kingdom. His off-white hair curving up over his shoulders, soft and feathery. Wait, no. That hadn’t been right. That part had been wrong, but he’d been there. That was still strange. Even if he’d been claimed early, what was he doing in the private manor of the Achaz Lord? I have not spent the last twenty years in this forgotten realm only to fail now. Forgotten. The realm was forgotten. She was forgotten.
She’d been relieved when Theon had removed the bands Rordan had put on her. Then she’d panicked when he’d produced a new set of bands. But these? These were not like Rordan’s. The bands the Achaz Lord had bound her in had seemed to slowly bleed her magic from her. These… Well, these just seemed to trap her power inside her, and they seemed to think she could not remove them at will.
She’d learn all their secrets and then decide what to do with them. Then she would decide if the things the Achaz Lord said were true. That she’d been forgotten here for a purpose.
His feet were silent as he ascended a set of stairs, a black eagle perched on his shoulder. He could see the thick trees beyond in each window he passed, could feel her flitting among her ashes and smoke. Nestled in the depths of this forest, they were protected. Hidden.
He passed through a sitting room and flung open doors to a balcony, finding a female stretched out on a chaise. A black panther lifted its head at the sound of the doors, silver eyes honing in on him, tail switching back and forth. The female’s silver hair flowed down around her shoulders, silver eyes that matched the feline’s meeting his. “I need to get someone into Devram,” the male said. The female blinked once. Twice. Then she slowly closed her book. “We cannot go to Devram, Brother. No god can enter Devram,” she said slowly, watching him carefully. “More than that, that realm does not
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The goddess of night and shadows, while he was the god of the wild and untamed. The hidden children of Arius and Serafina. “You intend to send another into Devram? What business could you possibly have there?” Saylah asked. “No business that is yours.” “Then you will not have my aid.” “I am not asking, Saylah,” he snarled. “If you desire the aid of my children, Temural, you will tell me your business in Devram.” He opened his mouth to argue, but she held up her hand, silencing him. “If you do not agree to such terms, consider your request denied.” Temural glared at his sister. “I need to send
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“No,” he bit out through gritted teeth. “You know there will never be...
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“This is for my daughter.” Saylah gasped. “A daughter?” He nodded. Saylah opened and closed her mouth several times before she finally sputtered, “What in the realms is she doing in Devram? We were not even in existence when Devram was created and left to its own prosperity or destruction.” “Akira sent her there.” “Why?” Saylah said in shock. “A tale for another time, Saylah. She sent aid before her. Taika helped her. After I learned where she was, I sent more protection at a great cost, but it is proving not to be enough.” Realization flashed in his sister’s eyes. “That is where Xan is. You
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There was a flurry of ashes, a female stepping from them. She wasn’t wearing her usual leathers, but her vambraces still adorned her arms and her bow was still looped across her back. Midnight hair was braided over her shoulder, blending in with her black pants and tunic, her eyes swirling as she looked Saylah over with a hard stare. Temural gestured at the Huntress. “Auryon has seen her. It is how I know she needs help.” “How?” “With the aid of Serafina.”
“She helped me get Auryon into a dream plane. She was being attacked by an Achaz Legacy.”
“She will not care in the slightest that you are a god because she is more than one. That aside, the choice is hers, but I doubt she will decline your request.” She looked down at the panther, stroking the feline’s fur once more. “A world walker will not be enough.” Then she looked up, meeting Temural's gaze once more. “You need the High Queen of the World Walkers.”
