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“It’s off. You know how Father gets when we’re in meetings,” Theon retorted.

“I’m just seeing your messages,” Luka said gravely.

“What the fuck are you doing out here, Axel? Where is Tessa?”

“Metias and Pavil showed up at your rooms,” Axel answered, darkness swirling in his emerald eyes and wisps of the same winding through his hair. He was really worked up for his magic to be slipping. “They said Father had demanded my immediate presence, and that you had sent them to retrieve Tessa for you.”

“Why would they say that?” Panic settled into his soul as Theon made to push past Axel, but his brother grabbed his arm.

“She’s running, Theon. I told her to hide in the bedroom before I answered the door. When they were insistent, and neither of you answered my messages, I told her to climb down the balcony like she did before and run. I told her you would find her.”

Theon spun on his heel, running down halls and stairs. If those motherfuckers laid a hand on her, they were dead. He didn’t care what alliances his father had. No one touched her without his permission.

He burst through a door and out into the gardens where howling greeted him.

Kacela.

That was her tracking howl.

Theon raced towards the sound, Luka and Axel on his heels. Rounding a corner, he skidded to a halt at a large crevice that had appeared in the path. What the fuck? There was what appeared to be gold paint everywhere, and were those swords on the ground?

Kacela was on the other side of the crevice and barked excitedly when Theon came into view.

“Lightning strike?” Axel asked, coming to a stop beside him and eyeing the crevice before them. “The weather has been so odd lately.”

“I don’t care what it was,” Theon answered, moving back a few steps before taking a running start and leaping over the expanse. His feet had barely touched the ground when he was running again, chasing after Kacela. How had she gotten out of the kennels?

Kacela led him past the kennels and to the stables, taking him around the back to a side door. Whining, she pawed at it. With a grunt of effort, Theon pushed the rarely used door open and stepped inside. Three giant black heads swung in his direction as he came in, hooves stomping the ground in agitation. Something had them worked up too.

“Tessa?” Theon called out. He could hear the panic in his voice. There was no place to hide in here. Not unless she crawled into a stall, and she had been leery of the horses when they’d ridden back from the woods. “Tessa? Are you in here?”

Kacela darted past him, going straight to Eyal’s stall. He was the only horse not watching him as Theon moved down the aisle between the stalls. His horses were all impeccably trained, but Eyal was still the wildest. He could be temperamental and unpredictable. Theon slowed as he approached the pen, then came to a complete halt at what he found.

Tessa was huddled into a corner, visibly shaking. He couldn’t see much of her, but what he could see was covered in cuts and scratches along her arms. Eyal was lying on his side beside her, his massive head resting in her lap while she cried into his mane.

All Theon could see was darkness as shadows clouded his vision. Pavil and Metias would pay for this. And his father? This only made Theon’s need for her to accept the bond even stronger.

“By the gods,” Luka breathed, coming up beside Theon and stilling at the sight.

Theon moved then, unlatching the gate and entering the pen. “Tessa?”

Eyal lifted his head, and Tessa raised her own as the horse shifted. Her grey eyes were wild with panic and terror, and she scrambled back farther into the corner, as if she could hide from them. Theon was forced to take a step back as Eyal got up before moving to the back of his sizable stall. Luka had come in behind Theon and moved to keep the horse back while he approached Tessa.

She was staring up at Theon. The dread in her eyes was palpable. She was pale and her leggings were ripped in some places. Her bare stomach had scratches and cuts too, as though she’d been dragged along the ground.

“I-I wasn’t running from you, Theon,” she stammered, shaking her head in emphasis. “Axel told me to run, and those Legacy were trying to get me. I don’t know what they wanted, and I know I shouldn’t have fought with them, but I wasn’t running from you, Theon. I swear it!” She was speaking so fast, she was rambling.

He dropped to his knees before her, shrugging off his suit jacket before wrapping it around her shaking shoulders. “Shh, Tessa. I know. I know why you were running,” he said, pulling her into him.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered into his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Theon. I didn’t know what else to do. I’m sorry.”

She kept repeating the words over and over again.

I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.

He ran his hand over her hair, clutching her close. “Tessa, you have nothing to apologize for. Please stop saying that. I’m here. I’m here, little storm,” he said softly, trying to soothe her as he spoke over her repeated apologies, but her trembling wouldn’t cease.

“I’m sorry,” she cried. “Please don’t shut me in the dark. I can’t breathe there. I’m sorry.”