20. Tessa

Tessa follows Theon from dinner, unsettled by Luka and Axel’s coldness. In the suite, Theon orders her to change and abruptly demands she accept the Source bond, revealing possessive rage over Pavil and Metias’s attack and insisting she belongs to him. Their argument escalates as Tessa asserts her lost autonomy and clarifies she avoided attachments, admitting past mortal liaisons to prevent heartbreak.

After Theon retreats and returns, he interrogates Tessa about the gardens. She recounts tripping, being dragged by a Legacy, breaking free, then a sudden tremor and a crevice that split her from Pavil and Metias. She describes shadowy beings rising with swords before she fled. Theon checks her records, noting air/water affinities, and presses whether she hid earth abilities.

Triggered, Tessa details the Fae aptitude assessments: orchestrated torture, fabricated family, grief layering, and cycles of breaking and partial healing designed to force magic to surface. Thunder punctuates her account. Theon’s tone softens; he draws her to the sofa, offers warmth and quiet, and lets her drift toward sleep as he reviews files.

Believing Tessa asleep, Axel, Luka, and Theon debate the crevice. They conclude Tessa likely created it, though the beings don’t match standard earth magic. Luka suspects Valter seized any evidence. Discussion turns to the system: Fae built for Legacy control, gifts awakened late to advantage Legacy. Axel condemns it; Theon remains pragmatic, calling Fae designed to serve.

They assess Tessa’s resilience as the product of repeated breaking, yet more tenacious than most. Theon confides he does not want her to break—only to bend—while Luka warns that bending has limits. The chapter closes on a precarious equilibrium: Theon’s calculated comfort, Tessa’s guarded compliance, and a dawning belief that Tessa’s latent power caused the garden rupture.