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“I know you do not want to, Tessa, but it would be best if you came to sleep in the other bed. Being near me will help…calm you,” he said.

She didn’t move, clutching the thin blanket tighter around herself, pointedly ignoring the joy of the bond at his touch. After a minute, he sighed, and she felt the weight of a heavier blanket settle over her. He left the room without saying anything else, and she heard hushed whispers as they moved out to the main room.

She refused to be like those flames in that fireplace. She refused to be collared and leashed and trapped. No. She was getting out whether this bond liked it or not. She’d go into hiding. Find a way to get in touch with Dex at some point. She’d figure out a way to stay hidden. She could blend in. Steal some money and buy a glamour so she could move freely among the mortals. Go somewhere in another kingdom, to the big cities where there were millions of people.

She wouldn’t survive this. It would break her.

And she didn’t burn when she broke.

She shattered, and the world shattered with her.

10

THEON

Theon was trying to stay focused on what his father was discussing with Metias and Pavil, but his mind was on Tessa. She had refused to sleep beside him last night, just like he’d known she would. He could have forced it, but after… Well, after her night, he didn’t know if she’d give in or fight back even more. She hadn’t spoken a word to him since the hallway after dinner. She hadn’t uttered a word to anyone actually.

He’d slept like shit, the bond wanting her near. And while he’d lain there, unable to sleep, he’d replayed the night over and over in his head. How she’d dropped her fork when his father began speaking of potential Matches. How he’d been forced to somehow discipline her before his father decided to do it himself. He knew she’d been humiliated and hated him for forcing her to sit on the floor at his feet, but his father’s punishments would have been far worse. He’d never been given the opportunity to explain though.

She had stiffened against him beneath the table. Then he’d felt her start to tremble, and he’d known something was wrong. When he’d stood from the table and looked down to see her pale as a spirit of the After, it took all of his self-control not to scoop her up and take her back to the sanctuary he’d created for her in their rooms, keeping her safely tucked away from his father and who he required Theon to be.

She’d learn that soon enough. Fuck, she’d already seen pieces of that façade, and if she didn’t give into this bond soon…

He’d stood in stunned silence alongside Luka and Axel as she’d hurled her shoes over the balcony railing, proceeding to scream at the stormy skies. Memories of her doing the same in the vehicle on the way here came flooding back to him in those moments. He’d been frozen, unable to move as she broke in front of him, falling to the ground. The sound of her knees cracking against that marble balcony was a sound he couldn’t turn off. It replayed on a loop in his mind. When she began yanking pins from her hair with such force and savagery, he’d finally made himself move before she hurt herself further.

Luka and Axel had little to say when he had emerged from her room after her clear refusal to come to his bed. They knew he’d had to do what he’d done at dinner. They knew what his father could and would do. Axel was visibly upset when Luka pushed a drink into his hand.

“I’ve never seen anyone lose it like that, but certainly not a Fae. Not a Source,” he said, taking a long drink of scotch. “I didn’t even know a Source could be like…that with their Master.” He glanced at Theon over his glass, waiting for an explanation.

Theon had carved a hand through his hair, knocking back his entire glass of whiskey in one go. “I don’t know what to do with her. I’m trying to give her space and time to adjust, but I don’t understand how she can resist the bond so much. If she’s feeling the pull like I do, it should be impossible to withstand it. I never thought we’d have to force this.”

Luka had remained quiet, sitting on the sofa deep in some thought or another. They’d eventually all gone to their own rooms to call it a night. When Theon had finally gotten up just as dawn was breaking the horizon, he’d gone to her room to find her still staring at the wall. Had she even slept?

“I’m going to make coffee, Tessa,” he’d said. “I’ll order up some breakfast too.”

She hadn’t bothered to acknowledge his presence.

Breakfast arrived, along with Luka and Axel. Tessa didn’t emerge. They ate without conversation. He had showered and gotten ready. Finally at half-past nine, he’d gone back to her room. She hadn’t moved. Not an inch.

“I have to go to a meeting, Tessa, but Axel is out in the main room. He’ll stay here with you until I get back.” He was met with silence, and he didn’t know what to do. Did he go to her? Force her to get up? Entrance her to at least say something so he knew…

Knew what? That she was all right? She clearly wasn’t. Forcing her to speak would only make him feel better hearing her voice.

He sighed before he added, “When I get back, we need to discuss last night.”

She didn’t stir.

He’d deal with it when he got back. She needed to eat at the very least. She hadn’t gotten to finish dinner. Maybe she’d get hungry enough to get up on her own. Gods, he hoped so. He was so fucking tired of fighting her on every godsdamn thing. He had not expected such resistance when he picked a Source, and it was becoming harder and harder to leash his temper the more she defied him and pushed him away.

“Theon,” his father growled, bringing him back to the present. “Anything to add to what was just discussed?”

Theon glanced at Luka, the male giving him a frank look that told him he knew exactly what Theon had been thinking about. He gave a subtle shake of his head.

“No, that all sounds fine,” Theon said smoothly. He honestly didn’t even know why this meeting was happening. These plans had been perfected and finalized months ago.

“We were hoping to meet your new Source,” Metias said, his voice as greasy as his slicked back hair. “We saw her at the Opening Selection Ceremony. She’s a pretty little thing.”

A possessive growl rumbled low in Theon’s chest as something primal inside him raised its head.