Queen of Ruin(Book three of the Immortals Series)
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE GROUNDED

Whimpering at the hot sunlight that moved across her face, Tessa imagined herself at her home in Greece and breathed deep through her nose as she stretched her arms above her head. The warm, dry air wrapped around her like a warm blanket, bringing a smile to her face. "Oh, thank you. But I thought we were going to Moscow." The healer was right when he said she needed a few good days of sleep; she was like a new woman awash in soft cotton sheets and fluffy down pillows.

Reluctantly opening her eyes, Tessa gradually became aware that she was in unfamiliar surroundings and her smile faded as panic set in when she remembered the last face she saw. "Oh, fuck! They got me."

The bars on the small windows and door made it very clear to her that she was no guest and that, wherever she was, Rafik wasn't with her. "Where am I? Think, Tess."

"The Alamo." Closing her eyes, she thought of Norway and tried her best to concentrate but couldn't make the world around her bend to her will anymore. "Shit, they grounded my ass."

Her eyes darted around the neat, comfortable room while she tried to replace something to use as a weapon as she plotted her escape.

Hearing footsteps approaching, Tessa straightened her hair and pushed herself up from the bed. The wicked whispers in her ears were gone, and she knew she had no defense. "Those sons of bitches. They took my powers."

As weak as a human now, she remembered her father's advice and plastered on her best arrogant expression as she awaited whoever stood outside the door waiting for the guard to let them in.

When the tall, copper-skinned goddess with long, black hair walked through the doorway, Tessa gasped back a breath and blinked her tears away. "Who are you?"

"I am Queen Isoke." The woman smiled and awaited Tessa's response.

Tilting her head forward a bit, Tessa raised her brows. "Is that supposed to mean something to me?"

Isoke narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, the disappointment dripping from her voice. "Did your mother never tell you about your grandparents?"

Chuckling out through her nose, Tessa shook her head. "Only that they were a couple of oppressive bullies that she never wanted to see again."

With a nod, Isoke swallowed the past down hard and glanced to the floor as she admitted to the errors she made with her only daughter. "Fair enough. Mistakes were made, but Fate has given us another chance to make things right." "Make things right?" Tessa rolled her eyes away, then sat back on her bed and crossed her legs at the ankle as she clasped her hands on her knee like a proper lady. "Well, kidnapping me and stealing my powers sure as hell doesn't feel right to me."

Pointing to her grandmother with her skinny, crooked finger, she arched her brow. "You know, by rights, I could kill you for that. The dark magic is forbidden to use against your blood."

She peeked around the room and sighed at her dire situation. "Assuming I ever get my powers back, that is."

Isoke sat down in a chair across from her and leaned forward. "If and when you have your powers returned to you, depends on your attitude, my child. You must be cooperative."

"On my attitude?" Tessa cackled to herself and snorted back through her nose. "Well, hell, you may as well put my ass to death right now. I'm kind of what you might call a bitch, and I really don't plan on changing my ways anytime soon." The beautiful old woman who must have been at least a thousand years old didn't look a day over thirty. Her dark eyes were kind, but Tessa learned from hushed conversations not meant for her that her grandparents had driven her mother away through their lies and intimidation. They promised Isabelle the world to try to lure her away from Jasper.

Whatever words fell from their lips were of little value, and she knew that escape was her only chance of being reunited with Rafik and Teddy.

Isoke shook her head at her inability to be reasonable. "Are you so stubborn that you won't even consider the terms we're offering?"

Tessa pushed out her lips as she searched for an answer and nodded. "Yeah, pretty much. If it has anything to do with my husband, you may as well lock that door behind you when you leave and throw away the key." Shaking her head, she stared into her grandmother's eyes. "Because I don't have a damn thing to say about that."

"Will you really protect the man who killed your mother?" A look of regret and sadness fell over Isoke's face. The hustler could see it a mile away, and she wouldn't let the opportunity pass her by.

Licking her lips, Tessa tried to drudge up as many tears as she could and made her best attempt at a creaky voice. "I was there that night, so don't tell me what happened because you have no idea. We were both just little kids; neither one of us knew what was going to happen. We were just planning our wedding, and his Daddy..." She pinched her lips together and pleaded with her grandmother. "As soon as he figured out what his Daddy did, Rafik turned him in. It wasn't his fault what happened to Momma."

Isoke pushed the tears from her eyes as she gazed out the window. "Someone has to pay for what happened to my child."

Kneeling at her feet, Tessa took her hand. "That debt was paid long ago. If you want to punish them again, I don't blame you. You can pop off to the Realm and hunt them all down again. Hell, I'd even go with you, but I won't let you punish Rafik for something he had no control over. His only sin was being born into that family and loving me. He shouldn't die for that, not any more than I should die for being your grandchild. This feud has to end. Me and Rafik, we sure as hell don't want to be part of keeping it going anymore."

Squeezing Tessa's hand, Isoke shook her head. "I wish I could tell you it ended here and now, but it cannot. As long as an Idrissi lives and breathes in this world, there can be no end."

A frustrated breath huffed out through her nose, and Tessa glanced to the floor as she realized there was no use discussing it. They'd hated so long, it was all they cared about. "Talk about stubborn; you surely are the Queen." Pushing herself up again, Tessa walked to the window and leaned against it as the heat washed over her. "Well, I guess you'll have to kill me because I'm an Idrissi now. Even if you kill him, I'll still be one. There will always be an Idrissi in your bloodline, so choke on that. Now, leave me alone; I got nothing else to say."

"You know, you remind me of your mother. She was quite defiant, as well." Isoke stood from her chair and went to the door, then turned back. "I wonder what she would say now to you as you stand here pledging your loyalty to the people responsible for her demise."

Tessa chuckled to herself as she pressed her head to the bar in front of her. "Those folks are all dead and buried, and I'm not shedding any tears over that. It seems to me that there's only one person in this room responsible for my mother's death, and that's you, old woman. If it weren't for you and that asshole you're married to carrying on some grudge no one even gives a damn about anymore, she would be alive right now. So, tell me how it feels to know you damned your child to a horrible, bloody death."

She glanced back over her shoulder at her grandmother and raised her brow. "Well? How does it feel?"

As the guard unlocked the door, Isoke pushed her tears off her cheeks. "You will know soon enough, Tessa. Blood is our family's curse."

When the doors closed behind her, Tessa shut her eyes as Teddy's knocking took her over. Feeling the vacuum of space all around her crushing her insides, she opened her eyes to replace herself standing on the cliff with him. "So, do you know where you are?"

She nodded as she kicked some stones over the edge into the darkness below. "The desert, some kind of palace out in the middle of nowhere. They took my powers away and told me I could have them back when my attitude improves." They both snickered, and she shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, so it might be a while before I get out of here. Is Rafik alright?"

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and peeked down over the side. "Well, Tess, he's a fucking disaster. I don't trust him not to bolt and try to replace you as soon as I take my eyes off of him."

"No, don't you let him, Teddy." Her hand clamped on his arm, and she shook her head as he glanced at her. "These people don't want to hurt me; they just want to kill him. They're using me to lure him in. We just have to hold out until Haldir comes back. As soon as he shows up, have him take Rafik to Momma and Daddy. Don't let him out of your sight. Knock his ass out if you have to."

He threaded his fingers through hers and kissed the back of her hand. "Don't worry yourself. Just don't do anything dumb to get yourself hurt."

With a silly smile, Tessa rolled her eyes away. "Okay, I'll try. You take care of Rafik and tell him I love him, and I'm alright."

Rubbing his forehead with his fingertips, he scrunched up his face as Rafik talked to him and interrupted his connection. The Healer's cold hand sucked him back into the portal, and he said the last few words he could before it shut. "I won't let anything happen to him, Tess."