Page 208

She quickly started gathering her things like the other Sources, and then her heart sank when she heard, “Tessalyn, a word.”

This was fine. She wouldn’t do anything to her. Theon had made it very clear what would happen if she did. Slowly zipping up her bag before turning to face the Estate Mother, she said, “Is there something you needed?”

The Legacy’s lips twisted into a sneer. “Still so disrespectful after all this time.”

Tessa said nothing, pressing her lips together and waiting.

“I was assigned to keep an eye on you, but you just couldn’t let matters be, could you?” she went on, taking a step towards Tessa.

“This was Theon’s decision, not mine,” Tessa replied. “You should speak to him if you have concerns about the arrangement.”

Mother Cordelia tsked, the door to the room snicking shut with a gust of her power. “The Arius Heir has foiled many plans, but he will not take from me what I am owed.”

“Again, I would discuss that with him. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The Estate Mother smiled, but it wasn’t pleasant. It was sinister and full of the malice Tessa had lived with nearly every day of her life. She took another step towards Tessa, but she held her ground, refusing to give in to the urge to take a step back.

“Did you know I was promised a higher station in Devram for dealing with you all these years?” Mother Cordelia demanded. “Keep you alive until they came for you. That was my entire role, and how hard could it be? I’d raised hundreds of Fae on my estate. But you were so…wild. From the time you could walk. Impulsive and reckless, no matter what I did.”

“You… You’ve known what I am? All this time?”

“I do not know the specifics, but I knew you were not Fae. Then the timeline kept getting pushed out further and further, and even now, they have not acted,” she spat, and Tessa suddenly felt the air in the room getting thinner.

Her gaze darted to the door. She should just go. There was nothing keeping her here. She had her phone. She could go call Luka like she’d planned to do to begin with, but before she could take a step, the door opened.

And she dropped her mental shields, letting all of her panic and terror and helplessness fly down the bond, praying to any of the gods that Theon would make it here in time.

Because those were masked and cloaked people filing through the door. One after the other until they formed a circle around her and Mother Cordelia.

“I lost faith in those I was serving,” Mother Cordelia was saying, slowly backing away from her.

“So you contacted the Augury?” Tessa rasped as each of the masked figures slowly withdrew black daggers from their robes.

“They came to me with a proposition,” she replied. “It would have been unwise to decline.”

Tessa was frantically shoving at the bands, grimacing as they dug into her skin, but it was no use. Luka may have been training her every day, but without her power, she could do nothing against all of them. She couldn’t even do enough to hold them off until Theon got here.

“He will come for you,” Tessa said, abandoning her attempts to get the bands off. “He will come for you if you take me from him.”

“I was sworn protection,” Mother Cordelia replied, pulling up her sleeve to reveal a Bargain Mark on her forearm. “The Arius Heir does not outrank him.”

Tessa opened her mouth to ask another question, anything to keep her talking just a little longer, but the air was sucked from her lungs. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe. She could feel her power beneath her skin desperately trying to break free.

As she sank to her knees, her vision beginning to blur, the Augury began stepping closer as one, closing in. Tessa clawed at her throat, at the bands, at the floor. Then someone yanked her back by the hair, forcing her to look up at one of the masked figures as they raised a dagger.

“We must be left standing when Chaos comes to reign,” said the gruff voice.

And then he was gurgling as an arrow went through his throat.

Whoever was holding her hair must have jerked around to find the source of the arrow because her head was yanked to the side. Not that she could cry out. She could feel the tears leakingfrom the corners of her eyes, but her body was going limp as she started to lose consciousness. She couldn’t focus on what was happening. She couldn’t comprehend the bursts of smoke the arrows were coming from or the glimpses of black hair that were there, then gone.

At one point, the one holding her hair released her, and Tessa collapsed, her head banging against the floor. A moment later she was gasping, sucking down air as Mother Cordelia’s power released its hold on her.

Tessa blinked, her vision clearing as she gulped down air. There were dead bodies all around her, ashy footprints everywhere, and that was Auryon standing beside her. Tessa had never seen her actually move through smoke and ashes, but gods. She was fast.

Auryon looped her bow over her back, dropping to a knee. “Are you hurt?”

Tessa shook her head, then winced. “I hit my head, but I’ll be fine.”