Page 34

“Yes, my Lord,” Eviana replied, bowing her head at the order.

“I need to go to Tessa,” Theon snapped. He’d already been away from her far too long. His father’s ministrations were nothing compared to the strain of the Source bond right now.

A cruel smile curled up on Valter’s lip. “Oh, I know, son. I know exactly what that bond is demanding of you right now. Consider this a reminder of what is expected of you. Maybe I will go see how your little Source is settling in myself. Take care of her until you return.”

The resounding click of the door shutting behind his father had Theon bellowing in fury, straining against the vines wrapped around him. Despite knowing Luka was with her and would protect her, he still raged at failing to protect what was his. He could feel his darkness drifting beneath his skin, just out of reach and slowly draining thanks to the dark ring on his finger. Eviana lifted a hand, tightening the hold of her magic before she drifted back over to her chair and curled up in it. Theon knew it was completely futile to beg her for help. She would never disobey her Master. She couldn’t. It was impossible for a Source to disobey their Master.

Or so he had thought.

The relationship he’d witnessed every day between his father and Eviana had Theon believing that a Source obeyed without question. That the bond required such a thing. The few times he’s seen the other Lords and Ladies with their Sources had only furthered that belief. The Fae were quick to obey, attentive, and wholly submissive. Not only that, but his father had always made it seem as if the bond made Eviana want to blindly obey him. That his desires had truly become her own. If he wanted it, so did she. One would certainly think that was the case at her quick agreement to go to him when she was done holding Theon prisoner.

But Tessa had disobeyed him at every turn. The only time she was obedient was when he forced her to be with entrancing or when she sensed a greater threat than him. It was not what he had been expecting. He had expected an immediate connection, accompanied by an intense desire to please him. Too much of his own plans hinged on having a Source. He needed her to submit, but he found himself wanting her to want him too. He wanted her to seek him out instead of having to demand she come to his side.

After several minutes, he said casually to Eviana, “How long did it take for you to completely give in to the bond?”

Eviana tilted her head to the side at the question, reddish-brown hair slipping over her shoulder. “Is your Source not pleasing you, Theon?”

“That is not what I said,” Theon answered tightly. “I am simply wanting to be prepared for what comes next.”

A small smile graced her lips that said the female knew exactly what he was asking, and wasn’t that curious? Had she fought the bond in the beginning?

She tightened the vines, thorns forming that dug into his skin, and drops of blood fell to the floor. “You know if the bond were fully in place, she would be fighting her way to your side right now. The bond would require it of her.”

Theon knew this. It was a side of the Source bond the Fae were kept in the dark about. One of the many things the Fae were kept in the dark about really. The final Mark would allow Theon to draw power from her, but it would also force her to defend him at all costs, even if that cost was her life. Because of the Kingdom Accords, there was rarely fighting amongst the kingdoms. The Sources rarely intervened, but they reacted to any and all threats. It was why Eviana had jumped up when Theon had drawn on his power at the mention of sharing Tessa.

Theon theorized it was an attempt to emulate the Guardian Bond that would sometimes be taken between the guardians of Arius and various gods and deities. He’d been enthralled by Marks, the magic behind them, and how they worked when he was younger. In the later years of his schooling, he’d spent hours researching and studying them, often to his father’s annoyance. His father felt his time would be better spent learning the ways of the kingdom. Or rather, his ways of the kingdom. Hence the incessant lectures and reminders.

The Marks and how they worked had changed over the thousands of years this world had been in existence. Those of the Zinta bloodline with the strongest gifts could enact the magic used by the gods under the right circumstances. The Source Marks had been changed and perfected to make sure the Legacy remained as powerful as possible. Most of what he’d been able to find on the Marks was theory, but the idea of somehow incorporating this Guardian Bond seemed convincing enough, considering everything. The thing was, Theon didn’t need that aspect of the Source bond, much to his father’s chagrin.

“I am well aware what the bond will require of her,” he finally bit out.

Eviana slowly made her way towards him, that small smile turning coy. “She is feeling the pull of the bond, even if she is trying to resist it. It is yanking her towards you. Calling her to you. It will not rest until she can feel your touch. When you give her the last dose of elixir tonight, the need will become stronger. Each new Mark will make the pull to you more intense. A thirst that only you can quench. The ache becomes unbearable. Worse than any pain she is currently experiencing.” Vines coiled around his throat, and she yanked his head down as she pushed up onto her toes. She was so close to him now, her breath danced across his lips as her brow pressed to his. “She will crave you. Desire you. Want you with her entire being. Even if she fights, she will eventually give in. We all do.”

“Did you resist him, Eviana?” Theon taunted. “Do you like getting on your knees and swallowing down his cock, or does the pleasure from the bond simply make you believe you love him?”

Her smile went wicked. “Careful, little heir. You are not like your father. Not yet anyway. You are so noble, so virtuous,” she crooned mockingly. She ran her finger along his jaw, and Theon tried to jerk his head to the side, but her damn vines were still around his neck. A thumb brushed along his bottom lip as she leaned in once more to whisper, “When you take her, you will want to believe that she loves you too.”

With those words, her vines snapped apart, and she stepped from his reach when his hand shot out to grab her.

Clicking her tongue, she tutted, “Now, Theon, what would your father say if you laid a hand on me?” Striding to the door, she stopped and looked back over her shoulder. “I look forward to getting to know Tessa more. Your father has big plans for us.”

She was gone before Theon could answer, but he didn’t want to waste any more time verbally sparring with her anyway. The tension of the bond was driving him mad. More than that, he couldn’t take this fucking ring off himself. Not only was the Source bond having a fit, but so was his magic at being trapped beneath his skin.

He tried not to think about what Eviana had said as he made his way down the various hallways and up staircases. When he’d come of age to acquire a Source, he’d immediately requested that his quarters be moved to the east wing where a Source suite was located. His father had made him wait until right before the Selection before he’d actually let him move to this wing. He hadn’t even had time to finish moving all his things before he’d had to go to the Acropolis. The staff had finished moving him in. The wing had been a guest wing, but there were only a handful of times another Lord or Lady had stayed here. It wasn’t wanting a suite as much as it was about wanting to be out of the same wing as his father.

The wards around his rooms recognized him as he pushed the door open. He pulled his suit coat off as he moved. “Tessa? Luka?”

Tossing the jacket over a dining chair, he made quick work of his tie. He started unbuttoning his shirt as he quickly scanned the room, finding it empty.

Moving to the bedroom, he found Luka sitting before the unlit hearth, a glass of liquor dangling from his fingers. He was staring out the balcony doors where the cloudy sky was obscuring the stars.

“Where is she?” Theon asked. He knew she was here. The cord inside him certainly knew she was nearby. It was vibrating so much it felt like his skin was buzzing. He needed to shower and put on a fresh set of clothing after the events of the last two days, but he needed to see her first.

“Sleeping,” Luka grunted, not even bothering to look at Theon.

Theon turned to the bed as he unfastened the final button, his shirt falling open. “Where?”

“In her bed.”