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Tessa whimpered at the mention of after-effects. What else could they possibly put her through?

“Shh,” Theon murmured again, his hand rubbing up and down her back. “I’ve got you, Tessa.” After a beat of silence, he added, “Clean up her hand, Luka.”

Luka nodded, rising from his chair and returning with a wet cloth. Taking her hand from Theon, he gently dabbed at it. Tessa hissed, jerking it away.

“Let him clean you up, Tessa,” Theon said softly, nodding at Luka to try again.

“Everything hurts,” she rasped when Luka began dabbing and wiping at her hand again.

“I know it does.”

She saw Luka’s gaze flick to Theon, but she couldn’t read his expression. When he finished cleaning her hand, Tessa tried to look at it, but Theon stopped her again. “Not yet,” he said gently, guiding her head back to his chest.

Silence enveloped the room, and she let her eyes flutter closed, resting against Theon. Her body seemed to relax into him, but that wasn’t right. He’d done this to her. She shouldn’t be leaning into him. This was all wrong.

“We will see how bad the first wave is and then decide what to do from there,” Theon was saying quietly, interrupting the confusion she was trying to process.

“If it’s too bad to travel?” Luka asked.

“We will go to the townhouse. We are not staying here where everyone can see us and spies can learn too much.”

“Agreed.” Another beat of silence, before Luka added, “How bad do you think it will be?”

“I don’t know,” Theon answered. “She fought back. Way more than I anticipated.”

She didn’t know what to think of that because it had been impossible to fight against any of that.

She didn’t know how much time passed when something began to happen. The aches in her body became more than tingling pinpricks. It was a burning that started at the back of her right hand and began radiating up her arm.

“Her heart rate is picking up,” Luka murmured.

“I am aware,” she heard Theon answer. “Take the blanket. She is getting hot.”

She didn’t feel hot. Her body felt freezing despite the burning overtaking her. Her eyes flew open, and she lurched forward as the blanket was removed. “You're okay, Tessa," Theon said, trying to pull her back into him.

She was okay? She was definitely not okay. This was all because of him. She was not okay because of him.

Tessa pushed away from him, tumbling onto the floor. “Don’t touch me,” she gasped, and at the words, something in her chest jumped and began vibrating violently within her. The back of her hand started throbbing, drawing her attention to it.

Like black ink against her fair skin, a Mark stood out. Swirling lines that wove together, and in the center sat three inverted, interlocking triangles.

The symbol of Arius.

Branding her.

Claiming ownership of her.

Her eyes dragged up to Theon from where she sat on the floor.

“Tessa, come here,” he said, reaching for her again, but she scrambled back from him, her arms nearly giving out.

“No. Don’t come near me,” she rasped, but apparently that was the wrong thing to do. The cord that connected her to Theon jerked sharply within her, and she whimpered in pain.

Theon dropped to his knees before her. Luka was standing, watching everything warily.

“Tessa,” Theon said, trying to sound reassuring. “The Source bond demands we are close, especially right now. When you tell me to stay away, it reacts poorly. Come here.”

“No,” she gasped, crying out as another jolt of pain ricocheted through her body.