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THEON

Theon sat at a table staring coolly back at the ruling Lords and Ladies who sat along the raised dais above him. The Achaz Lord sat at one end, Theon’s father at the other. The Ladies sat between them. All their Sources stood within reach behind their bonded, males with hands clasped behind their backs and females with hands folded in front of them, all their eyes downcast. Exactly the way he’d always seen a Source act amongst Legacy. The other heirs were here too, their Sources seated with them off to the side with the Matches of the Lords and Ladies and some of the more prominent Legacy.

Axel sat at Theon’s side while Tessa sat on a bench behind them with Luka. They’d planned that so he could keep her calm should things get heated during the hearing, but she’d scarcely reacted when Theon had told her what would be decided today. She’d merely shrugged as if her life wasn’t in the hands of the six Legacy looking down on them as though they were kings and queens. In a way, they were, he supposed. They were about to decide his fate, Tessa’s fate, the fate of all his carefully laid plans. Their decision this day would surely alter history in one way or another.

“Should we get started?” asked Rordan Jove, looking at the other rulers. “I have a feeling this could be quite the drawn-out affair.”

“I don’t know why it would be,” said Luna Candra, the Celeste Lady. “His Source isn’t Fae, therefore, she cannot be a Source. It’s as simple as that.”

“It’s not that simple,” Theon’s father cut in, his finger tapping on the arm of his chair. “A Source bond has been initiated. Forcing him to take another now puts him at a disadvantage with the other heirs.”

“It is no different from when we have had to take new Sources,” the Serafina Lady, Maya Isleen, cut in with a shrug of her slender shoulder.

“The difference,” Valter bit out, “is that his Source still lives.”

“That is a valid point,” interjected Raye Farhan, the Falein Lady, her hazel eyes looking past Theon and studying Tessa. It took all of him not to look over his shoulder to check on her.

“It is a point that can easily be rectified,” the Celeste Lady said with a curl of her lip.

“To make sure I am understanding your argument correctly, my Lady,” Theon said, cutting off whatever was about to be said next. “You are proposing taking the life of my Source?”

“She cannot be your Source,” Lady Candra replied.

“Because she is not Fae,” Theon clarified.

“Correct.”

“So your solution is to kill a Legacy?”

“That is not—” Lady Candra snapped her mouth shut, glaring at Theon.

“Do you have proof she is a Legacy?” asked Lady Isleen.

“No,” Theon admitted, his gaze falling to his laptop open before him with all the information he’d been able to gather this last week. But the truth was he’d found nothing concrete, only theories to explore and trails of information that led nowhere.

“You understand the predicament here, do you not?” asked Lord Jove, his elbow propped on the arm of his chair and his finger steepled along his temple as he met Theon’s gaze. “If she is a Legacy, she cannot remain your Source. It would put you at an unfair advantage. Not only that, what is to stop any of us, of our heirs, from Selecting a Legacy as a Source?”

Theon saw all the other Sources shift uncomfortably on their feet, a few of them exchanging quick glances. It was a valid argument. None of the Lords and Ladies would hesitate to end their own bonds to take a more powerful Source.

“I understand the predicament, but I think we can all agree it is not as simple as Lady Candra seems to believe it is,” Theon answered.

“That is fair,” Lord Jove conceded. “But it does not change the fact of the matter that she cannot remain your Source.”

“The only way to sever a Source bond is death of either party,” Theon argued. “Unless the plan is to kill one of us, I do not see a way around letting it remain.”

Lord Jove’s brow arched. “Are you offering yourself in her place?”

“No,” Valter interrupted with a growl. “That is not an option.”

Lord Jove’s attention shifted to the Arius Lord. “And what do you propose, Lord St. Orcas? One would think you, of all people, would detest your offspring having an advantage you yourself are not afforded. Or is it simply because it is your son that you find this acceptable?”

“Careful, Rordan,” Valter said softly, his darkness appearing and coiling around the tips of his fingers.

“We are simply gathering all the facts,” Lord Jove replied. The male still hadn’t moved from his casual position, but Theon could swear he was fighting a smirk. “Is that not what we are here to do? And one cannot deny you have a bias in this matter.”

“And you do not?” Valter retorted. “She possesses magic from your bloodline.”