44. Theon

In the aftermath of Tessa’s unleashed power, Valter slams Theon with darkness and condemns him for jeopardizing Arius’s alliances. Luka releases Eviana as Valter oscillates from fury to dread, revealing fear of the Keeper’s involvement in awakening Tessa. Political pressure escalates when the Serafina Lady Maya and the Celeste Lady Luna confront Arius over Tessa’s selection and the fire Fae controversy, exposing hidden dealings and mistrust.

Axel staggers in, wounded, reporting that mixed attackers struck but the true threat was Rordan Jove, who captured Tessa. Forced to cooperate, Theon asks Valter for help. They go to the Jove country manor, where Tessa—banded and marked with a silver awakening sigil—sits under Rordan’s watch, with Dex at her side and Achaz Sources present.

Rordan challenges Arius’s claim over Tessa, arguing that a non-Fae Source is irregular and declaring her tied to Achaz power. He proposes housing her at the Pantheon until her nature is proven, alluding to her being key to greater designs and to looming “Chaos.” Valter resists, but Rordan effectively dismisses them, leaving the dispute unresolved.

Back at the Arius country manor, Theon replaces Rordan’s bands with his own and observes Tessa’s pallor, erratic focus, and eerie cadence. He promises lessons alongside Fae training, while Axel and Luka debate her likely Achaz blood and whether she will need blood. Tessa probes the meanings of their Marks and asks about control, but Theon postpones answers.

As dawn nears, Tessa nestles against Theon, tracing Marks including their Bargain sigil and another he refuses to explain. Theon plans to research her powers and begin instruction, but withholds that he struck a private bargain with Valter to secure aid in retrieving her, binding himself to his father’s agenda.