Page 127

“Brecken?” she choked out. “Brecken, it’s me.”

Silence greeted her for a few long seconds before he said, “Say it again.”

A small laugh escaped her. “It’s me, Brecken, but I don’t have a lot of time. Is Dex—”

“Tessa?” Dex’s voice came down the line, and the tears she’d been fighting spilled over.

“I miss you so much,” she whispered.

“Tessa, where are you? Are you okay? I can’t believe he let you call us.”

He was speaking so fast, and Tessa had to cut him off.

“I’m in Rockmoor, but only for a few more hours. I persuaded a mortal to let me borrow his phone for a minute. Theon doesn’t know I’m calling.”

“Are you going to get in trouble if you get caught?”

“Definitely,” she confirmed. “But I am well on my way to being too drunk to care right now.”

There was a long pause before he said, “Tessa, are you okay?”

“I had to do an assessment today,” she informed him, her voice slurring slightly. “In a Level Five room.”

“Fuck,” Dex hissed. “Gods, Tessa. I’m so sorry that we—that I—can’t be there with you right now. What happened?”

“It was bad, Dex,” she answered, her tone softer as the memories crept up on her. “They had me believing you were all killed. They think I somehow hid my true abilities in all my previous assessments.”

“You couldn’t hide your abilities.”

“I know. I tried to tell them that, but…” She shrugged even though he couldn’t see her.

There was another beat of silence. “I’m sorry, Tessie. I’m so fucking sorry.”

“What do you have to be sorry for? It’s not you who Selected me and forced me into a life of being invisible except for when I’m needed for my power,” she replied bitterly.

“Is he… Is he at least treating you all right? Is he taking care of you?”

Tessa snorted a laugh. “He controls everything, Dex. What I eat. What I wear. Where I sleep.”

“Does he hurt you?”

“Physically? No. Mentally and emotionally?” She swallowed thickly as she fought off another bout of tears. “I’m not okay, Dex,” she finally whispered.

“A little over a week,” he said, his tone slightly desperate. “A little over a week, and we can see you. I need you to hang on just a little longer. I’ll be there. I’ll fix this for you. We can—”

“He won’t let me be with you, Dex. He has it in his head that we’re involved. He doesn’t believe that we have never been that,” she replied, trying to keep the panic from her tone. “He just…”

“He what, Tessa?”

She sighed. “He’s convinced that once I give in completely to the Source bond, everything will be better. That I will want what he wants and—”

“You’ve been fighting the Source bond?” Dex interrupted.

“I’ve tried to give into it, but I can’t, Dex. No matter how hard it tugs at me. No matter how much it strains and pulls me in that direction. I just can’t, and gods, I wish I could. It’s just one more thing that makes me too much of an inconvenience.”

Tears were coursing down her cheeks again. She wiped them hastily away, brushing her fingers on her leggings.

“We will find a way, Tessie. We will find a way to talk and see each other. I promise,” Dex said, his tone telling her just how determined he was to make that happen. She knew it was unlikely, but she didn’t want to talk about that right now.