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At the light he held in his palm.

At a descendant of Achaz, the god of light and beginnings.

“You’ve caused quite the stir, Tessalyn,” Rordan said, a small knowing smile curling on his lips. “Not exactly the way I envisioned this meeting, but a little improvising was needed.”

“I don’t understand,” she murmured.

“Not yet, but you will. Until then, I apologize.”

Her head snapped up. “Apologize? For what?”

But a bolt of power slammed into her, and gods, it hurt. It was far stronger than Dagian’s magic had been in her assessment vision, but it would be. Rordan could access his Source’s power to make his own stronger.

Her magic howled inside her, thrashing against the power coiling around her so tightly she couldn’t move. She was screaming, not because he was hurting her, but because she was trapped.

“Tessa,” Axel rasped, and her eyes darted to him, finding him crawling toward her. There was blood dripping from his nose, and he was using his forearms to drag himself forward. “Fight, Tessa. He’s coming for you.”

She couldn’t fight this.

He was the Achaz Lord. Stronger. More powerful.

And he seemed to know about her.

He knew the things Theon had kept from her.

That was her last thought before another burst of power hit her, and she slipped into the dark.

* * *

“You have repeatedly told me you had this under control. What part of tonight was under control?” Rordan Jove asked in a tight voice.

“We had everything planned. The priestess knew what to do. We didn’t know the Keeper would appear to conduct her ritual,” a male voice answered.

A male voice she knew.

Tessa tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt heavy, and her stomach was roiling. She couldn’t decide if she was going to be sick or not.

“And what the fuck are we going to do now?” Rordan asked.

“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. “Look at Valter and his ridiculous kingdom.”

“Never compare me to a descendant of the death god,” the male spat.

“And do not speak to me as though I am beneath you.” Rordan’s voice had gone low and deadly. “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.”

Failure is not an option, Tessa.

Theon’s voice rang in her head, pulling her closer to the surface. Again she tried to blink her eyes open, the room spinning around her. She was on a plush sofa, a pillow beneath her head.

“We have a common goal here,” Rordan said now, sounding calmer and more casual. “Several common goals, in fact. We have agreed to help each other. I simply wish to confirm that is still the case, Dexter.”