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“Do you know him?” Axel asked as she began leading them down a passageway.

“I know a number of the scholars here,” she answered in a hushed tone.

“One step in front of the other, Tessa,” Luka said, turning Theon’s attention away from his brother and back to her.

“You didn’t tell me we’d be below the ground,” she hissed at Theon in accusation.

“I didn’t know,” he answered. “I’ve never been in the catacombs, only the upper levels.” She had paled some, her eyes a little wild as they darted around the space. “It is only until sundown, Tessa,” he said, cupping her jaw and bringing her eyes back to him. “You’ve faced far bigger trials and survived.”

“Right,” she murmured. “Scarred and bruised and broken, but at least I survived.”

“Everyone has battle wounds,” Luka cut in. “They are proof you not only survived, but that you chose to get back up and fight again. Fighters have scars, Tessa.”

She swallowed thickly before nodding. Luka stepped in front of them, and Tessa moved closer to Theon as they followed him down the passage, taking the same path Axel and Kat had.

Twenty minutes later, he was seated at the table they’d taken over. He and Katya had pulled multiple texts, and the two of them now sat here, going through them as fast as they dared. Most of the texts were written in ancient languages. The others wouldn’t be much help in reading them, so they were continuing to look for books or other sources that might contain information. He and Luka had already agreed that Luka would stick with Tessa today so Theon could be focused on the information, but he still constantly found himself looking for her.

He could see her down a row of shelves now, starting to reach for a book on a top shelf, but Luka was already there, grabbing the book and handing it to her. She said something in response, and Luka gave her a flat look. But the moment she turned her back to him, Theon saw his mouth tip up in a small smile. More than that, he felt his amusement trickle down the bond. At least he was feelingsomeone’semotions.

“Look at this,” Katya said, pulling him back to where his attention should be. “It talks about how Achaz and Serafina were to be Matched for the purpose of creating biological children. The Lessers were not keen on the idea, fearing they would be favored, but the Firsts argued it was necessary to secure their victory in the First War. That must have eventually become known as the Everlasting War.”

“But then how did Serafina end up with Arius?” Theon mused, skimming the passage she was referring to.

“I don’t know, but it explains why their children were kept a secret for so long.”

“That would make sense,” he murmured. “We need to find something about the creation of the Fae. I think if we find that,we have a better chance of finding something on the Source bond.”

“Agreed,” she said, taking the book back, “but it is hard to determine when in history that happened. Was it before or after this First War?”

“I don’t know,” he sighed in frustration, sitting back in his chair and running his hands through his hair. “Have you come across anything about Chaos in general?”

Katya’s brow furrowed. “Not that I can recall, but I guess I’m not really looking for that. Should I be?”

“Scarlett spoke about Chaos. How she had acquired some. Perhaps that has something to do with Tessa.”

“You think Tessa has extra Chaos?”

“No, I— I guess I’m desperate,” he replied. “Anything will help.”

“Here,” Axel said, plopping a stack of books on the table before sinking into the seat next to Kat, his arm draping along the back of her chair.

“What are these?” she asked, eagerly sitting forward and taking the book from the top.

“I’m not entirely sure, but they have the Marks and words you told me to watch for. Not sure if they’ll amount to anything, but…” He trailed off with a shrug.

“Anything could help,” she said, beginning to page through it. “Can you go through and mark any pages with those? It might help streamline the process.”

“You got it, kitten,” he replied, grabbing the next book and opening the cover.

Two hours later, all five of them were gathered around the small table, books and papers scattered about.

And they’d found nothing.

Not a single fucking thing that would help.

“What is a Wind Walker?” Tessa asked into the quiet of the room.

“You mean a World Walker?” Theon asked.