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She nodded. “They will take much of the morning, and she will need an hour of recovery afterwards. You are free to stay in this room during the tests. There is a television in that cabinet and refreshments will be provided.” The Priestess motioned towards a freestanding armoire across from the sofa.

“I cannot be with her?” Theon asked, his tone betraying how unhappy he was with that.

Tessa sat quietly, already knowing the answers to everything he was asking.

Zefira shook her head with a sympathetic smile. “I am afraid not, my Lord. We rarely do such assessments on Sources because the bond makes the Master particularly…protective. We made an exception because of your situation, and I did caution Lord St. Orcas about this. You may watch from an observation deck if you insist, but I would highly suggest making yourself comfortable here.”

“When can I be with her again?”

“When the tests are concluded, she will be moved to a recovery room to be monitored while her results are compiled. You can be with her there if you would like, or we can bring her back to this room when the recovery period is over,” Zefira explained.

“You will take me to her as soon as she is in the recovery room. Is that understood?” Theon snarled, darkness appearing to thicken around him. Zefira flinched back, her eyes widening.

Luka was suddenly there, placing a hand on Theon’s shoulder. “She understands, Theon. I think it is best if we stay in here during the assessment.”

“We will go to the observation deck,” Theon ground out, shaking off Luka’s hand.

“I will request your associates join you in that case,” Zefira said, her lips pressing into a thin line.

“Fine,” he snapped.

“I will have someone escort you momentarily,” she said with a nod. “Any other questions?”

Theon looked at Tessa, that muscle ticking in his jaw again, before he turned back to the Priestess. “No. No other questions.”

“Wonderful.” She moved gracefully back to the door and opened it. “We are ready, Rhett.” The same Fae from before came back into the room, handing Zefira a tablet. “I will need you to sign this, giving us permission to perform the assessment as her Master.”

Theon took the tablet stiffly, scribbling his signature with a finger, before shoving it back at her. She gave it to Rhett and pulled a syringe from the pocket of the gown she wore. Golden liquid swirled inside of it, and Tessa immediately started trembling again, her breathing turning ragged. Theon’s gaze flashed to her. She saw him start to lift a hand towards her, but the Priestess stepped in front of him. She quickly injected the golden liquid into the IV line.

“What is that?” Theon demanded. “What did you just give her?”

“Nothing to worry about, Heir of Arius,” Zefira said soothingly. “It helps prepare her body for the tests. A variation of the initial Source elixir you injected her with. It simply makes her more compliant until we are ready to begin. She knows how uncomfortable these assessments can be, and this ensures she does not fight when it is time.”

Zefira stepped aside, nodding to Rhett, who came forward and easily lifted Tessa into his arms. A snarl ripped from Theon, and Luka was holding him back.

“He’s taking her to the assessment, Theon,” Luka said.

“If you still wish to observe, I will send someone to escort you,” Zefira said with a disapproving look. “But know that the discomfort you are feeling now will only increase.”

Tessa’s arms and legs felt too heavy to move, and her head dropped forward against Rhett’s chest. The Fae squeezed her gently where he held her, offering silent camaraderie to a fellow Fae.

“I will watch,” Theon gritted out.

“Very well. I will send an escort,” Zefira conceded.

With that, she turned and walked out, Rhett following obediently behind her. She heard Theon snarl again as the door closed behind them, and Rhett carried her down a hallway. They climbed two sets of stairs before they entered a darkened room, and Tessa was placed into a chair. Rhett strapped her arms to the armrests and her legs to the bottom before the chair was reclined back.

She stared up at the ceiling, trying to regulate her breathing. No windows. Never any windows.

There were mirrors lining the upper half of one wall, and she guessed that was where Theon would be watching. Zefira’s pretty face appeared in Tessa’s line of vision, her rich brown eyes trying to appear kind, but Tessa knew better.

“Today may be a bit more uncomfortable than you have experienced in the past, Tessalyn,” she said, pulling something from her pocket. “I just need you to let your body naturally respond to everything. Do not fight it.”

The same instructions they were always given.

A mask was fitted over her mouth and nose, and soon a sweet smelling gas filled her senses. The room swam around her before burning, hot pain was searing up her spine. She screamed around the mask, thrashing against the bindings that held her in place as the burning intensified. Tears leaked out of her eyes and ran down the sides of her face, mixing with the sweat already beading there and pooling into her hair.

She couldn’t scream anymore, the burning in her lungs too much to let her elicit any noise. She couldn’t feel the straps biting into her skin as she strained against them. She couldn’t hear the noises of the machines she was hooked up to, or see the various Legacy monitoring her. As if the pain weren’t enough, the cord inside her chest was having a fit of its own at being so far from Theon. Shocks erupted from her nerve-endings. She closed her eyes against the agony, and once again, she begged for death to come for her.