Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance (Legacy, #3)

by Melissa K. Roehrich

“Saving Devram,” she repeated. “You mean what the Augury believes?” Theon nodded. “They are not wrong, Tessa.” “They believe my very existence will be the end of Devram unless I am killed,” she deadpanned. “And they are correct,” he said again.

“We’re saying the Revelation Decree was a warning for Devram. If the balance is not corrected, Chaos will reign and the realms will fall. Time has run out. There are signs everywhere. The kingdoms are about to go to war with each other. Lines are being drawn, and old allies are betraying one another. Even the Underground is seemingly in disarray. The Night Children are not supposed to be in the kingdoms. The Fates will come for you, Tessa.”

“After all of this, all of your promises about keeping me, you are just going to give me up?” He smiled then, a soft thing he’d only ever give to her. “No, beautiful. I am going to give up Devram.”

“The Fates will come here seeking Tessa, but when they get here, she will be gone,” Theon answered. “Gone?” Luka repeated. “Gone where?” He turned to Razik and Eliza. “You are going to take her to Scarlett. I understand a goddess hid in your world for over a thousand years. That should be plenty of time to figure out a way to save her.”

“But she can take her somewhere else? World walk her to another realm to stay hidden for the time being while a solid plan is formed?” Theon pushed. “We can make sure that is done,” Eliza agreed,

“Luka will go with you, Tessa.” She was shaking her head, but he still cupped her cheeks. Swallowing his own emotions, he said, “He was always supposed to be yours, right? When I am gone, he can become your Guardian. The way it was always meant to be. Yeah?” “No!” she spluttered. “You are condemning an entire world to death, Theon. There are innocent Fae and mortals here. There are… No!”

“Tessalyn Ausra, I would sacrifice all the realms and all the stars for you. You are perfectly wild. Perfectly untamed. You were not made to be caged, nor were you made to be a sacrifice for a realm that does not deserve such a gift. You were made to live in the light. Go live, little storm.”

Theon turned to Luka, who was still staring at him. Summoning a half tilt of his lips, he said, “It is the last order I’ll ever give you.”

“You lied to me!” she cried again, shoving at his chest while simultaneously clutching at his shirt. “You lied to me, and I hate you for it!” “I know, little storm,” he said, holding her close a second longer. “But know that I am yours. Every piece of me.”

With one last look at the ones he loved most in this world, Theon turned and walked out of the chamber, doing the one thing he’d sworn he would never do. He let her go.

Her magic snapped to attention, lightning crackling around her as gold and silver embers flared.

“You cage me up here. Wards and enchantments.” Her lip curled up at the words. “For your own safety,” Achaz gritted out.

“I am the daughter of creation and magic. You made me more. I wasn’t enough for you.” “I wanted to give you more,” he retorted. “And you did,” she purred, circling him. “You created Fury.”

“You are not the calm to my storm. You took him from me. Then you took her. You created this. Sparked every bit of it. You thought you would use this against me?” The laugh that fell from her lips was pure mania. “Did you know I could see forward in time? A gift from my mother.”

She held up her hand. A silver band encompassed her pointer finger, a large, black onyx stone in the center.

Achaz said, the words laced with power and dominance. “You are too…” “Impulsive? Reckless? Uncontrollable?” she offered.

“If you wished to help me, you wouldn’t have separated him from me. The only one who understands is wild and untamed. The only one who helps me control Chaos.”

“In all things, there must be balance. Beginnings and endings. Light and dark. Fire and shadows. The sky, the sea, the realms. The worlds are no different. Beings emerged from the Chaos to create such a thing,” she sang, holding his gaze the entire time. “Beings of Chaos. More than one, but there was one who wasn’t satisfied. Never satisfied.”

“Never satisfied and consumed by vengeance, he created out of revenge. But he upset the balance more than Arius. More than Serafina. He brought his creation to the Source of Chaos, and he took. He took what was not his to have and created something just as strong as the gods and the Fates, the dragons and the angels.”

“And so the Chaos drove her mad. Chaos is uncontrollable, and she became the same. But he tried, didn’t he? He tried to control her, not realizing he had created one just as powerful as him. She was not a god, nor was she a Fate. She was not born of the Chaos, but created from it. He realized too late that she would be the one to ruin his everything.”

He was a god, but she was a Fury. Uncontrollable wrath fueled by Chaos itself. And her daughter? She was so much more. She was wild and fury. Light and dark. Beginnings and endings.

Her daughter was created out of something pure and selfless. Out of acceptance and understanding. Out of something unconditional and unbreakable. Out of something inevitable and uncontrollable.

Give me your ring, and let me save her. For you. I will bring her to you, and⁠—”

“A Being of Chaos playing with things he shouldn’t. What will you do when Chaos comes to reign?” Because he was a god, but she was a Fury. And her daughter? She was Chaos.