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Theon wasn’t entirely wrong. Luka did have a kind of sixth sense when it came to knowing something was valuable. The various collectibles around his room were evidence enough. They appeared to simply be old and rusted trinkets, but theyended up dating back to the founding of Devram. But that instinct had never happened with aperson. Not until they started to research potential Sources for Theon.

Luka had been the first one to pull up her information. They’d made a list of possibilities, and then they’d spent countless hours debating them. It had been well into the night when they made it to the Celeste Estate Fae. They’d saved that estate for last on purpose. That estate had an impeccable record of turning out powerful Fae, and they needed a powerful one if they planned to go up against Valter. They had just finished vetoing another female when he’d pulled up Tessa’s information. The moment her photo had filled the screen, his dragon had lifted its head. That same sense ofminehad filled his soul that he always felt when stumbling upon something valuable. He hadn’t understood it then, but he spent the next years trying to. He never felt it again with another person. Even when visiting the estates on Theon’s behalf to watch the Fae they’d narrowed it down to. Of course, he never laid eyes on Tessa during any of those visits. That made sense now that they knew Cordelia often had her shoved into a fucking cupboard.

It wasbecausehe didn’t understand the pull to her that he’d kept his distance. It was the same reason he’d pushed Theon to do the same. Because if they couldn’t understand it, there was no way to prepare for possibilities.

And Tessa had proven his point.

Theon was pacing, his hands going through his hair and the muscle ticking in his jaw. His darkness trailed him with every step.

“What are we supposed to do about this?” Theon demanded.

“Do about what?”

“About all of it. Tessa. This bond. This?—”

“You pulled me into this, Theon,” Luka growled. “I was giving the two of you space. I encouraged her to accept the bond. I toldher to go to you, turn to you, give you a chance. You’re the one who refused to buy the godsdamn flip-flops.”

“I didn’t thinkthiswould happen,” he argued.

“You didn’t think at all,” Luka spat. “At least not with your head.”

Theon’s magic flared again at that. “Did you not agree it was better I claimed her than someone else after that assessment? Do you think it would be better for her to be aligned with another kingdom? Do you think anyone would protect her, fight for her as much as we are?”

“Of course I think she is safest here with us, but she doesn’t see it that way, Theon,” Luka said. “How do we keep someone safe when she doesn’t view us as her protectors but as her oppressors?”

“She doesn’t,” Theon said. “Not anymore. It’s been different. It was so close to being different…” His hands went through his hair again.

“Tessa figured it out,” Luka said.

“Figured what out?”

“That I’m connected to the bond. She could feel my emotions earlier today and realized what was happening.”

“And what emotions were those?” Theon demanded.

“Does it matter?”

“Yes.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Luka retorted. “What matters is she knows now, and she wasn’t happy to learn about it.”

“I should have realized this was happening when you were fine sharing a bed and when she was constantly asking for you. She felt the bond too and didn’t realize it,” Theon said. “And you encouraged it every step of the way.”

“Were you not listening? I was doing everything to push her towardsyou. You are the one who pulled me into the Mark. What do you think would have happened if I’d denied her? Thebond would have become more insistent, more urgent. I’ve seen the two of you when you go too long without speaking, touching, being in the same godsdamn room. She would have figured it out a lot sooner,” Luka retorted. “And what the fuck am I supposed to do with it, Theon? Because she might not have known what was going on, but I sure as fuck did. You give in to every push from the bond and drive her to do the same. I’ve had to force myself to do the exact opposite.”

“It shouldn’t be as strong for you,” Theon said. “You don’t have the first Mark. You can’t feel her physical presence?—”

“Except I’m connected to her by a Tracking Mark,” Luka cut in. “So are you and so is Axel. I can feel her presence. The only difference here is that she doesn’t have a Sargon Mark on her hand. But her second Mark isn’t normal, and we’ve just been ignoring it.”

“I haven’t been ignoring it,” Theon shot back. “Of course I’ve tried to research it, but there’s nothing because it’s never been done before.”

“Then I guess we’re going to have to figure this out as we go.”

“No, we need a plan,” Theon snapped.

“When are you going to admit there is no plan anymore? There hasn’t been a plan since the moment you Selected her,” Luka snapped, heading for the door. “At this point, the best plan is to not have a plan at all.”

“Where are you going?”