27. Tessa

Tessa wakes hungover in Theon’s shirt, still reeling from the assessment’s visions. Seeking oblivion, she reaches for agaveheart, but Theon seizes the bottle and forces her to dress. In the lobby, he abruptly kisses her in front of the mortal Tristyn, staking a possessive claim before the team departs.

In the vehicle, Theon demands to know whom Tessa called using Tristyn’s phone. He leverages the bond and his shadows, escalating physical and magical pressure until Tessa, overwhelmed, admits she called Dex to confirm he was alive after a vision where the Achaz Heir tortured her and claimed to have killed her friends because of her tie to Theon.

After she confesses Dex’s importance as her emotional anchor, Theon abruptly stops, praises her honesty, then warns “this is going to hurt” and force-floods her with magic to burn out the alcohol. The agony drives her from the car to vomit; when Theon and Axel approach, Tessa instinctively blasts them back with power that is neither earth magic nor expected from a Source toward her Master.

Shaken, Theon acknowledges the anomaly, then cautiously heals Tessa’s injuries and headache. She rejects Axel’s apology and snaps at Luka, retreating to the backseat as they resume the drive. Wrapped in a blanket, Tessa is left without alcohol or distraction, the bond thrumming with Theon’s touch and magic, and she feels dangerously alone in her thoughts.