“This is our territory he’s walking into, Tessa,” Theon tried. “The only person he was allowed to bring with him is his Source.”
“Sasha,” she murmured, then she shook her head as if clearing her thoughts. “I don’t trust him.”
“Neither do we,” he replied. “No one said anything about trusting him. He’ll be outnumbered. Look at everyone here. Even with his Source, he won’t accomplish anything here.”
Her eyes skimmed the room. Cienna and Gia. Tristyn and Xan. Even Brecken was here. She swallowed thickly, and heknew she was being haunted by memories of an assessment Dagian had infiltrated with the help of the Serafina Heir. No one knew what the Achaz Heir wanted, but Theon was more than intrigued.
Tessa started pacing again, light and ashes trailing in her wake. Violet eyes snapped to his, “We can’t see the sun here.”
He knew this was coming. The Underground, while open and not confining, still separated her from the outside world. Even Nylah and Roan didn’t follow her here, choosing to stay in nature and the fresh air. They needed to leave soon. If anything, just to let her wild nature lose a little control for a bit. He chalked it up to her father’s side— Temural, god of the wild and untamed.
“Go sit with Luka, Tessa,” he said, and when she waved him off, muttering to herself, he sent a look to Luka.
He sighed, but then he crossed the room from where he’d been standing near the lift doors. She hadn’t even noticed, and when she turned in her pacing, she nearly ran into his chest. He was already gripping her chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing her to meet his gaze.
“Not that you need us, but he’s not going to touch you, Tessa,” Luka said, his voice low and brokering no argument. “You are the most powerful person in this room. Areyougoing to let him harmus?”
Lightning flashed in violet depths, the light on her arms immediately flaring as golden mist and silver embers danced in the air around her.
“That’s what I thought,” Luka said, and Theon could hear the smirk in his voice. “He is beneath you, Tessa. Not the other way around. No one controls you, which means no one gets to make you feel anxious or less than. Do you understand?”
Her throat bobbed with a swallow as she nodded.
“Verbal acknowledgement, little storm,” Theon said, having drifted closer.
Her glare was cold, but not as icy as her words when she bit out, “I understand.”
Which was fine. He was following Luka’s lead and riling her up. It was a delicate balance with her—and yes, he found that ironic—but when she thought about things too much, it led to…this. When she let the fury drive her, she was a force to be reckoned with. She was a tempest capable of endings and beginnings.
“That’s our girl,” Luka said, his thumb swiping along her bottom lip.
If anyone in the room had questions about what was happening, they didn’t voice them. Until the three of them navigated this thing of theirs, they’d leave everyone to wonder.
The sound of the lift ascending had them all turning to the entrance. Axel and Luka moved to the front, standing between the doors and everyone else. When they opened, Eliza gestured for Dagian and his Source to go first.
He entered the room with his head held high, ever an heir showing no weakness. He looked somewhat like Rordan with his golden blonde hair, but his golden eyes lacked the blue that Rordan’s held, and those sharp cheekbones were all his mother. His Source was at his side, stunning with her bronze skin and brown hair. Neither spoke, but he saw the subtle tilt of her head, telling him they were speaking down their bond. That was an aspect of his own bond that hadn’t been repaired. He could feel Tessa’s emotions, but the mind-speak had never returned.
“Dagian,” Theon greeted tightly, slipping his hands into his pockets.
“You assembled quite the greeting party, Theon,” the Achaz Heir said casually, picking up a small knick knack from an endtable and examining it as if the sheer amount of power in this room was nothing to him.
“We have an heir in our presence,” Theon replied. “We wouldn’t want him to be offended by the lack of welcome.”
Dagian huffed a dark chuckle. “You always were an arrogant ass. Something my father says is an Arius trait.”
He set the item back down, finally deigning to lock eyes with him. Theon said nothing, holding his stare.
Until that golden gaze slid to Tessa.
“Back where you belong, I see,” he said, clasping his hands behind his back.
“Don’t talk to her,” Theon snapped, stepping between them. “Your business is with me, Dagian.”
He scoffed. “And yet you have a small company here with you. Do you forget that without me, you would have been stopped before you fled with her to begin with? Now Iamoffended.”
“That proves nothing,” Theon retorted.
“What is he talking about?” Tessa asked, peeking around him before stepping to his side.
