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No one else though.

Not Luka or Axel.

Or Rhett.

Rage coiled through him at the look that Fae had given her.

He felt the sundress being ripped from his hands, and Tessa glared at him as she slipped the cerulean blue garment over her head. She pushed him aside to pull out fresh undergarments and gold sandals. When she stood back up from buckling the straps on the sandals, she was breathing hard, and perspiration beaded on her brow.

“You should have let me help,” Theon said, stooping down to pick up the discarded clothing and stuff it into the bag.

“You’ve done plenty today, Theon.”

She winced as she said it. She had mentioned the bond punishing her when she actively pulled away. After everything she’d been through today, why would she choose to incur more pain?

He carved a hand through his dark hair. “I feel as though we need to have a discussion to remind you of what is expected of you.”

“What were my results?” she asked instead, moving to lean against the wall.

“Inconclusive.”

She stared back at him. He could see the emotions warring in her eyes, and for once, he could read every single one of them. Disbelief. Anger. Pain. Frustration.

“Come. We need to be somewhere,” he said, holding his hand out to her.

She took it wordlessly, and he led her back across the hall to the exam room. Luka and Axel were on their feet and ready to go. The Fae female who had escorted them in when they’d arrived was waiting near the door.

“How are you doing, baby doll?” Axel asked, stepping forward to take the duffel bag from Theon.

“I’m fine,” Tessa answered shortly, her fingers flexing in Theon’s hand.

“She is not fine,” Theon drawled. “She is, however, back to her delightful, obstinate self.”

“Is that so?” Luka asked, studying Tessa in that unnerving way of his.

Tessa huffed and tried to pull her hand from Theon’s, but he tightened his grip around her fingers. She wasn’t going anywhere.

They followed their escort back to the main lobby, and when they stepped outside, Theon had to blink against the natural light after being inside the compound all morning. The sky was cloudy, as if it might continue the trend of raining off and on all day. He helped Tessa into the vehicle, climbing in after her. She had already slid to the other side of the vehicle, her brow pressing to the cool glass of the window.

“Tessa, what do you need?” Theon asked, forcing himself not to reach for her. Axel twisted around in his seat to look at them, and Luka was glancing in the rearview mirror as he pulled into traffic. They’d all been treating her… Well, they’d been treating her differently, and after what she’d just been through, even Theon could agree that it wasn’t working. For any of them.

Tessa brought her finger to the glass, tracing a raindrop that was sliding down the window. “That’s a loaded question,” she finally answered softly.

The guidance system sounded through the vehicle with directions to the forgery expert.

“Do you need healing anywhere?” he asked.

“No.”

He spread his arm along the back of the seat, but before he could try to persuade her to come closer to him, she was already moving. She slid along the seat and nestled into his side, her head dropping to his shoulder and eyes falling closed. He glanced at Axel, whose brows were arched in surprise. The bond was buzzing, aching for more from her and wanting to soothe away everything she was feeling.

“Tessa?”

“I’m tired, Theon,” she said, snuggling in closer. “And the bond helps… It helps me remember that everything I just saw and heard and felt wasn’t real. Well, the physical pain was real, but the rest…”

She trailed off, falling silent again, and Theon shifted, wrapping his arm around her. “Rest, Tessa,” he murmured as she settled against him. Her hand came to rest gently on his chest, her fingers curling into his shirt directly over his hammering heart, and he pressed his lips to the crown of her head. Within minutes, she was sound asleep.

When he was sure she was truly in a deep sleep, he told Luka and Axel everything the Priestess had said about Tessa’s lineage.