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Bands of black flames appeared around her wrists and ankles.

“I told Theon I had it covered with training,” Luka said, his pupils shifting to vertical slits when he came to a stop in front of her.

The dark grin he sent her told Tessa she was going to hate every second.

* * *

Theon reached for her hand to help her from the back seat. While they waited for Luka to round the vehicle, he buttoned his suit coat, and Tessa stood quietly beside him, going through song lyrics in her head.

Theon had hardly spoken to her the last two days. She ran with Axel, not Theon. Axel handed her over to Luka, who proceeded to make her learn “how to fall correctly” by knocking her on her ass for an hour before he would work with her on different blocking techniques. Luka enjoyed it far too much, and while her Fae body healed her eventually, she still sat with sore muscles for hours in meetings with Theon in the afternoons. He’d say the same thing to her then that he was leaning down to speak into her ear now:

“Watch. Listen. Learn everything you can about the people in this room.”

So he could use her to take over Devram. Whether his father took it over or the people of the Underground, the end result would still be the same. Theon would either be heir to the realm, or he would rule those he let take over the realm.

Either way, she could do nothing to stop any of this from happening. As soon as the Source Marks were in place, he’d take whatever he wanted from her whenever he wanted. He already had this godsdamn Tracking Mark, allowing even more people to find her whenever they wished. More than that, she was pretty sure he’d found a way to control the Source Bond. She couldn’t feel his presence like she could before. He’d come to their room at night, and suddenly she’d feel the full weight of the thing after not feeling so much as a tug from the bond all day. She’d soak it up, her soul needing to know he was still there. Like he knew she needed that daily reminder.

And she didn’t know what to make of it all.

Surely the Tracking Mark couldn’t have been her only consequence for that night by the river. But he’d said nothing. Done nothing. And her nerves were so frayed, every little thing was making her jumpy. Luka was frustrated with her during training, not only because she was a novice, but because she couldn’t stay focused. Axel disappeared after their runs, not to be seen again until dinner. Anytime she asked either of them where Theon went in the morning, neither deigned to answer. She was told what she needed to know when she needed to know it.

So she sat and watched.

She sat and listened.

She sat and learned everything she could.

Like the fact that Theon gave more attention to the Anala and Falein heirs than he did the others. That he enjoyed making the Celeste heir nervous and seemed to make a sport of snubbing the Achaz and Serafina heirs. That he never took the same route through the Pantheon, as if he were trying to memorize the various hallways and passages.

She observed the other heirs. How the Achaz and Serafina heirs seemed to always be whispering to each other. How the Anala heir seemed annoyed by everyone, especially Theon’s extra attention, and it made Tessa smile on the inside.

But more than any of that, she watched how the other heirs interacted with their Sources. Sasha was much like Eviana. Quiet and submissive, always a step behind Dagian. Even during the meetings, she sat in the chair closest to the Legacy. The male Sources seemed to dote on their heirs, and Tessa wondered if it was real. Was she truly that defective as a Source?

Her silver heels clicked on the marble steps, the skirt of her deep red gown parting at the slit up her thigh as they climbed the steps to the second floor of the lounge, where they were attending a social event. It was the first event where other Legacy would be present. She’d noticed more and more of them arriving throughout the day. Most appeared to be Legacy who served on the kingdoms’ councils, advisors to the Lords and Ladies. Thankfully, none of the actual Lords and Ladies were arriving until the day of the Emerging Ceremony, which meant Valter wouldn’t be here for another three days.

Theon walked ahead of her, side-by-side with Axel, both of them dressed in all black, and the lights glittering off their matching onyx rings. Luka walked with her. When they reached the top of the stairs, Theon didn’t even look at her as he gestured her over to his side, sliding his arm around her waist.

He bent to speak directly into her ear, “There is no room for error, Tessa.”

“I understand.”

She could feel eyes on them, and she leaned into him a little more, trying to calm her sudden nerves.

“This is a night to learn how the heirs interact outside their pampered little circle,” he went on, his tone hard as he focused on something across the room.

Not something.

Someone she realized as she followed his gaze.

Dagian Jove stood with two other Legacy she did not recognize, but Theon clearly did.

“Where is Sasha?” she asked, noting she wasn’t within reach of her Master.

“Traditionally, Sources are given a little more freedom at events like this,” Theon replied tightly. “Fae are allowed to congregate on the first level. The Legacy stay up here.” He finally met her gaze as he added, “As do the Sources.”

“Why are the Fae here?”

“It allows the Legacy to observe them if they wish, but most use this night as a last chance to let loose before the Selection events get fully underway.”