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“I know,” she whispered again. “I can talk to Theon. Try to get more phone calls with you. I bargained for one before; I can do it again.”

Dex scoffed. “He doesn’t bargain, Tessa. He lies and manipulates to get what he wants.”

“You think I don’t know that?”

“Do you? Because the way this night has gone?” He gave a dejected sigh. “Maybe it’s not my place to meddle any more because I don’t know where we stand?—”

“We’re the same as we’ve always been,” Tessa cut in. The words were spoken out of desperation because so much was changing, and she might not completely trust him, but she wasn’t sure she could handle acknowledging he might be right. Not right now. Not in this place without?—

“I know you think you’ve found control there. That he’s giving you some semblance of freedom with his deals and promises, but you’re smarter than this, Tessa. The Arius Kingdom is ruthless. You truly think he’s any different? That any of them are different? You can’t tell me he hasn’t hurt you, tried to break you.”

I told you there would be harsher consequences. If only I’d known this was all I had to do from the beginning.

The words echoed in her mind as she remembered clinging to his arm, begging him not to leave her in a dark cellar.

“He’s not going to change, Tessa,” Dex said softly.

“I’m not trying to change him,” she said quickly.

A sad smile lifted on his lips.

“I’m not,” she insisted. “He’s not mine to change. I’m just trying to survive, and if that means making a bargain with a villain, then so be it.”

Dex only shook his head. “Villains don’t bargain, Tessie. They take what they want and refuse to settle for anything less.”

She looked away from him, worrying her bottom lip as she tried to collect her thoughts.

“I’m fixing this,” Dex said. “I promise. I’ll fix it like I always do.”

“Right,” she murmured.

But long after he’d left and she was nestled beneath a soft comforter, her mind was still screaming. She’d never sleep like this. Not with Lord Jove’s words and Dex’s words replaying in her mind. Not when she was still trying to process the information Scarlett and Sorin had shared. Not when she felt so alone in this giant bed. Not when the quiet was so damn loud.

25

THEON

“This is seriously what we’re doing tonight? Again?” Axel groused from the chair.

“I have weeks to figure this all out,” Theon retorted. “Instead of being closer, we just have more questions. You could help instead of just sitting there”

He reached for his phone, flipping it over to see the screen.

“Checking it every two minutes won’t make it ring,” his brother said, reaching to grab a book off the stacks on the low table.

Kat’s hand shot out, landing on top of the book he was reaching for. She didn’t even look up as she murmured, “Not that one,” before sliding another book to him.

Axel shrugged, taking the other book and settling back into his chair. He wouldn’t look at Theon as he opened the cover. He hadn’t said much to him since their father’s visit and that had been two days ago. Yesterday, he’d talked to Tessa for a few minutes in the morning. There had been no report sent as requested, and now it was well into the evening. He could feel her, but her emotions were muted by the distance. There was restlessness and agitation, but also trepidation and intrigue. Hecouldn’t figure out her emotions when she was near, let alone hundreds of miles away.

What wasn’t muted was the bond’s franticness over being so far away from her. He’d hardly slept more than an hour at a time since she’d left. Legacy didn’t need a lot of sleep, but only an hour here and there was going to wear him out sooner rather than later.

“I don’t understand why we’re looking for something about her mother,” Axel said after only a few minutes of leafing through the book. “If her father is a god born after Devram was created, couldn’t her mother be the same?”

“Of course she could,” Katya said.

“Except Cienna said her mothermay as wellbe a goddess. Not that she actually was one,” Theon said.

“But the Achaz power has to come from somewhere,” Kat replied, finally looking up from her book.