Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance (Legacy, #3)

by Melissa K. Roehrich

The same mirror where she’d once spoken to Achaz. When they filed into the chamber, she paused, finding Dex, Oralia, and Brecken already there. All of them with feathered wings arching over their shoulders, the colors varying.

“Only she remains,” a Hunter answered. Looking behind her, she found everyone in the room was on a knee. The same way the Fae had to kneel in the presence of a Legacy. “And only she can let me in,” Achaz answered,

Why was her power so weak if they’d just killed hundreds? It should be fully replenished. She should be at her strongest.

“I am told you nearly failed in your purpose,” he said, pacing back and forth as the mirror continued to crack. “I am told you nearly chose a bond that would have—” His head snapped up, eyes going wide. “What are you doing here?”

“I was summoned,” a female said, and Tessa strained, as if she could see further into his side of the mirror if she only had the right angle. “That shouldn’t matter,” Achaz spat. “Ah, but it does,” she said, a shadow falling across Achaz’s features when she crept closer. “Because all magic comes with a cost, including unlocking a realm. It’s all about balance, right, Father?” Father?

She knew. She knew in her soul that was her mother. Right there. Just out of sight, out of reach.

He wasn’t expecting it when her eyes snapped open, glowing violet irises streaked with gold connecting to his, and gods, the pull to her. He felt his eyes shift, knew they were glowing as brightly as hers. “Come see,” she lilted in a voice that was not her own. It was eerie and chilling. The voice she spoke in when she was lost to her magic. “Walk my dreams,” she whispered, before her eyes fluttered closed once more. And he was pulled into nothing.

“He is too angry. He will not forgive⁠—” “He will,” Theon snarled, cutting off whatever she was going to say. “He will come because we are his as much as he is ours.”

Hood still in place, Luka couldn’t see who spoke, but they laughed. “It may take seven of those blades to kill a god, but only one should be needed for her.”

Why would he not show up? Especially if both she and Theon were in danger. It went against the Guardian bond, and it went against… He didn’t know what it was with Tessa.

“That was probably Elowyn.” “She is also the one pulling me out of your visions.”

Tessa? Do you want me to stay? Go, she answered. We need the information. We. She’d said we, and that was…progress. Reach out if you need anything, he said. I know.

Because whether or not it made sense, he did feel like she was his responsibility. And whether or not she knew it—whether or not he wanted to acknowledge it—a part of him also knew he was hers. He just didn’t understand why.

“And figure out who or what the sorceress is.” “What did you just say?” Eliza asked, her head snapping up and eyes going wide.

“There is a being imprisoned in our realm,” Eliza said. “She has been imprisoned there for centuries. She is extremely dangerous and is known for making deals with others by twisting and wording the terms to her advantage. If she gets access to one’s blood, she can use it not only for blood magic but to get into their mind. She’s used it to alter memories to the point that one doesn’t know what was real and what wasn’t.”

Gehenna’s lineage?” Razik asked, still reading. “Gehenna is the Sorceress in our realm,” Eliza clarified, having sat back in her chair to let Razik do his thing. “She is one of Zinta’s daughters.”

“Sorin learned that Gehenna only calls herself the sorceress,” Eliza cut in. “But among the gods, Zinta is known as the Sorceress, and Taika is known as⁠—” “The Enchantress,” Razik cut in.

“There are soulmates,” Razik said. “A bond between kindred souls that is completely platonic. They are people who understand each other on a deeper level, but there is no romantic attraction. The intimacy is deeper than friendship. Soul deep.

“And you are okay with that?” Theon didn’t answer right away, ice clinking as he dropped it into his glass before he tipped the alcohol bottle up. “We have shared partners in the past a few times, but that was only a physical thing. This is more than that.”

Tell me how to love you, kitten, because I’ll pluck stars from the sky and walk through your flames. And when I’ve turned, and this bond we never got to have has faded, I’ll still choose you. I’ll still love you, and it will mean even more because we’re choosing it. We’re not being drawn to each other by some bond gifted by the Fates.”

“Axel?” “Yes, kitten?” “I do not wish for a normal love,” she said. “And I choose you too. I choose us, even if our days are spent without light.” “Good thing you can make some for us, kitten,” he replied, his soul feeling lighter than it had in months. “You and me.” Her hand went to her stomach. “You and us.”

If they stole a Fae power, did it refill in the same manner as the Fae? Something to ponder another night, she supposed.

Where Theon was intense and anxious, Luka was a solid presence. Calm and stoic, but intense and commanding all the same.

“A headache or something,” Lange said. “Anyway, what are you doing here?” A headache? Fae rarely got sick, let alone suffer from ailments like a headache.

“By Anala,” Eliza interrupted, clearly exasperated. “His father was one of Sargon’s sons.”

But all this meant that Xan was Sargon’s son, making Luka the grandchild of a god. Not of Firsts like she was, but the direct descendant of a god nonetheless.

“Sargon had seven children,” Razik said, sitting back in his chair and crossing his arms. “Each of those children comprises one of his seven bloodlines.” “Greybane and Mors,” Theon clarified. “Are two of those lines,” Razik confirmed. “And your mother?” Tessa asked. “A shifter,” he answered. “It is why we can isolate the shifts.”

“Sargon can isolate the shift like we can. Just wings or eyes, for example. He can do that because he is a god. Some of his children, however, cannot. Some are either in their human forms or their dragon forms.

“Arius and Serafina had two children together: Saylah and Temural. But Saylah and Temural’s gifts are simply extensions of Arius and Serafina’s,” Razik said. “Saylah is the goddess of night and shadows, which are extensions of Arius’s gifts of death, darkness, and endings and Serafina’s gifts of dreams.” “And Temural?” Tessa asked. “I admittedly do not know him as well.” Her brow arched. “You know Saylah?” “Better than I’d like to,” Razik muttered. “But Temural is the god of the wild and untamed. Both could conceivably come from Arius and Serafina’s gifts, which brings us to your gifts.”

“The visions of your Zinta bloodline merged with the dreams of the Serafina bloodline.”

“Because one of Serafina’s gifts is being able to walk among dreams,” Razik said. “But because the powers were altered in Tessa’s case, she is pulling others in to walk her dreams. Or in this case, her visions.”

“Then why is it only Luka?” she asked. “Why did I never pull Theon or Axel into a vision? Or anyone else, for that matter?” “Because you trust Luka the most,” Theon said, his emerald eyes already on her when she met his stare. “You feel safest with him.

“The only thing we haven’t been able to piece together is your Arius gifts.” But Tessa knew exactly what gifts she’d received from her paternal grandfather. It was the way her light took life from others. It was what fed her magic, made it stronger. Because life always fed death. Life must give, and death must take.

She didn’t expect the flood of relief that coursed through her. She wasn’t supposed to care, but she did. She cared that she wasn’t going to have to kill Axel. Gods, she cared.

Because for whatever reason, she wanted to be the one to make him feel better. She wanted to be the distraction. “You have to ask for it,” she said, her voice sultry. “Ask for what?” Luka replied, but she watched his pupils shift to vertical slits. Watching his eyes glowing softly only spurred her on. “I owe you,” she said. “But I’m not going to make such a hard decision for you. You need to ask for what you want.”

“And if I asked you to crawl across the floor and beg sweetly from your knees?”

And she didn’t give a fuck. If it pissed Theon off, good. He deserved every bit of it. But if Theon approved… Gods, the very idea made her entire body hot.

Theon? she asked down the bond, a disapproving rumble coming from Luka across the room. But the dragon didn’t move. Didn’t tell her to stop. Tessa? Are you all right? came Theon’s reply. I am, she replied. But Luka isn’t. What happened? he demanded. She held Luka’s stare the entire time when she answered, He wants me to crawl across the floor and beg him sweetly from my knees, but he’s afraid you’ll disapprove.

answered. But is the only reason you’re debating it to punish me? Luka’s eyes narrowed at that question, and she knew he wanted that answer as much as Theon did. No, she replied. It was one word, but the feral want that flooded down the bond made her press her thighs together beneath Luka’s sweatshirt. Then on your knees, clever tempest, Theon answered. But Tessa? Yes? And her voice was breathy even down the bond. Only him. If anyone else touches what is mine, death will be a mercy.

Then she slowly sank to her knees. I’m not there, but I feel Luka, little storm. Gods, you must look stunning, Theon said, and the praise… She knew what this was. Theon valued control. He knew she wanted this. Knew Luka wanted this. And the only way he could give it to them was to still be involved.

For understanding that sometimes she needed someone else to take control, but that she also needed to learn to take it for herself.

His hand trembled as he lifted it, fingers caressing her cheek. “Ask me.”

Luka’s chuckle was dark. “I bet he does, temptress.” His thumb brushed over her lip again. “I want that bratty mouth of yours around my cock, baby girl.”

She looked up to find his jaw slack, and she swallowed around him, his eyes rolling back. Then he thrusted forward, down her throat, and she let him. Because this wasn’t him taking what he wanted. This was her giving it freely.

The look in his eyes was nothing but awe and wonder. He wrapped her hair around his fist, hauling her mouth back to his cock. Her wet gasps mixed with his soft, grunted praises until she felt him swelling in her mouth.

Don’t swallow, little storm. Not yet, Theon commanded as Luka finished emptying himself onto her tongue. Are you touching yourself, Theon? she taunted. Beautiful, I just came all over my stomach knowing what you are doing to Luka. Luka was breathing hard when his grip loosened on her hair, his cock slipping from her lips. Show him, Tessa, Theon ordered. Her eyes widened, but the hungry look on Luka’s face told her this was something he craved. Theon clearly knew that. Sitting back on her heels once more, Tessa opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue, letting him see his release sitting there. Then, holding his stare the entire time, she closed her jaw and swallowed.

Luka hauled her up. Her feet left the ground, wrapping around his waist, and his mouth crashed into hers. Something about him licking into her mouth and tasting himself made her even hotter,

He may have locked the girl in a wine cellar, but he would never dream of handing Tessa over to Julius and Mansel. He would have never let another carve into her flesh. Would never let another impregnate her and then tie her down while that babe was taken from her the moment she took her first breath.

It was the female Fae a step behind him. Her icy blonde hair was pin straight, and her eyes were the color of a clear sky. She was beautiful, and Eviana had immediately been enamored with her.

The night before her Emerging Ceremony was the night she was introduced to Mansel and Julius. That was the night she gave in to the life the Fates had given her. That was the night she died inside. Became nothing but a vessel. That was the night she stopped feeling anything. That was the night it didn’t matter what sins stained her name.