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“How do you know all this?” Theon demanded. “You are just— You are a Fae.”

“From the Anala Kingdom,” Corbin replied. “A kingdom with secrets of its own. A kingdom that refuses to let others have fire Fae. Haven’t you ever wondered why that is?”

“It was part of the early accords,” Theon answered.

“Yes, butwhy?” Corbin said.

“To be honest, I just always assumed it was a power move,” Theon said.

“It absolutely is, but there is always motive driving those power moves. Lady Aithne keeps them close because she is waiting for the Achaz Kingdom to make their move.”

“Again, how do you know all this?” Luka cut in.

“I was close with Gatlan, the Anala Heir’s Source,” Corbin said. “More than that, the Anala Estate is not as rigid as the others, and the kingdom itself allows the Fae more freedoms. We are not treated as… We have more freedoms there.”

“Why are you telling us any of this?” Theon asked.

“Because we are friends of Tessa’s,” Lange said. “And she doesn’t deserve to be used in the way any of you want to use her.”

“No, she doesn’t,” Theon said quietly.

And Luka felt something he didn’t know what to do with down the bond. He usually felt this sense of resignation and acceptance from Tessa. Never from Theon. He’d never known the male to accept something he didn’t want. He fought back, never settling, and took what he wanted, even if it meant leaving blood and death in his wake. Always for Arius Kingdom. Always for the people he was trying to protect.

Theon’s eyes bounced between Lange and Corbin. “If I asked for your help, would you give it?”

“We are bound to the Arius Kingdom,” Lange said, a hint of sarcasm creeping into his voice. “We don’t have a choice.”

“Valid point,” Theon said. “But will you be difficult about it?”

“If it’s for Tessa, no,” Lange answered. Then he winced, glaring at Corbin. “Stop doing that.”

“Stop letting your mouth run in front of the Arius Heir,” Corbin snapped.

“You are the one telling Anala secrets,” Lange groused.

“This is what we’re going to do,” Theon said, and Luka settled back in his chair because this is where Theon excelled. He was all about the action and the next move to bring him closer to his end goals. It’s why he struggled so much with Tessa, because she hindered those moves around every corner, and his plans weren’t progressing as quickly as he wanted. Luka had tried andtried to tell him it would end that way, but he was set, and there was never changing his course once that happened.

Which is why the feelings of resignation and acceptance from earlier were so foreign coming from him.

“I need to sleep for the next day,” Theon said. “Then we’re going to figure out where Axel is.”

“How do you plan on doing that?” Luka asked, a brow arching.

“I’m going to contact Blackheart. Since I am the acting ruler of the Arius Kingdom right now, I can rescind the order of having Kat delivered to Julius and Mansel. We will get Katya back, and then we will figure out where Axel is.”

“If Tessa has your father, wouldn’t it be easier to ask him?” Luka asked.

“Yes, which is why you’re going to Tessa,” Theon answered.

Luka sat up straighter, shock rippling through him. “Say that again?”

“You’re going to Tessa, Luka,” he repeated. “She wants nothing to do with me. More than that, our Bargain states she gets to decide when she sees me now.”

“It sounds like she wants revenge,” Lange said around a bite of sandwich. Then he jumped back, avoiding another jab. “Seriously, Corbin. Knock it the fuck off.”

“You’ve always known how to speak to her, Luka, and she talks to you,” Theon said, his voice lowering again. “So you will go to her.”

“You think she’s going to trust me, Theon? You cannot be serious,” Luka argued.