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Tenah
Tenah tucked the worn parchment into her pocket as she retraced her steps through the Abyss. The others would be on her trail in seconds. Still, it felt right to run. To snap up those barriers against everything that threatened her purpose.
What would Ames think of her descent into crime? First, a bargain with an entity of death, and now, chasing down instructions on dark magic.
Chaos had guided her to that shop with the intent to absorb the Corrupt’s power—and she’d allowed it. Justified it even. Anything to gain an edge on her father. She’d alleviate the world of one more monster while dulling the gnawing addiction in her bones.
Tenah quickened her pace. She refused to feel shame, no matter how it roiled in her stomach.
Unfortunately, Renton caught up to her first.
“Can we talk please?” His tone was sharp like his blades.
Her sights set on the tunnel that led back into the sewers, she pressed on. She couldn’t do this with him. This new life wasn’t meant to become complicated. Renton would very much complicate things. Not to mention the possibility that he could still try to arrest her or kill her for the choices she was determined to make.
She didn’t want anything he had to offer her. Not when Chaos would give her the means to topple her father’s armies on her own, consequences be damned.
“Let me be a lone wolf,” Tenah muttered, avoiding his gaze.
His arm shot out in her path, stopping her in her tracks. He backed her against the wall of a brick shop. Half-pinned by his lethal body, Tenah summoned the hottest fire in the pit of her core and used it as fuel to meet his frigid stare.
“And let you tear yourself apart?” He grimaced. “I think not.”
“Unless you have another contract on my head that I don’t know about, you can forget about me.”
He growled. “No, Tenah. I can’t. And that has nothing to do with the fact that right now our goal of stopping Kherathi aligns.”
She squirmed under his direct attention.
“Listen, I’m sorry for hurting you. Let me help. Let’s find a better method than that.” He pointed at the hidden parchment in her pocket.
“No.”
“You can’t expect to hold a grudge forever.”
“I don’t have any expectations when it comes to you.”
“No?” He pressed in closer.
Blood rushed low as his eyes dipped to her mouth. Her breath caught when his thumb softly traced the line of her jaw.
She hated the part of her that wanted to experience his arms around her, even if it was just once. Thinking about all the horrendous damage he would do to her heart made her instincts rage like a feral cat.
Renton took her chin between his fingers and tilted her head up, exposing her neck. Her heart thudded out a frantic rhythm. She closed her eyes, hating her body for wanting to melt into him. To give up all control.
A soft tug at her pocket had her jerking away. With a sly grin, Renton waved the parchment in show. Scowling, Tenah lurched for it. He raised it above his head, too high for her to jump.
“Asshole!” She latched onto his arm, prepared to climb him to retrieve what was hers when she became aware of their audience. What had been a private conversation she hoped to forget had transformed into a group discussion.
“Why don’t you two handle this like we did in camp?” Gireth asked, sipping from a wooden mug he’d purchased somewhere in the Abyss. “Fight it out of your system on the battlefield.”
Aeyis held a mug too but stared down at the foam clinging to the rim with a look of concern. Her hand twitched, wanting to reach out to keep him from drinking it. Who knew what it was laced with.
Everyone else’s gaze fell on Tenah.
Honestly, the idea of a fight—an all out release of her magic—was tempting. But could she afford the delay? Lives were at stake. Although, when it came time to fight her father, she didn’t want to be rusty. She couldn’t protect anyone if she was dead again. And if she only managed to land one solid hit on a Bogland hunter, it would be worth the effort.
When Renton didn’t immediately turn down the suggestion, her competitive nature reared its ugly head. What, did he think he was so superior in skill?
