41. Theon

In the aftermath of Pen’s death, Theon runs through a raging storm, replaying his failures and ignoring repeated calls from Luka and his mother. Returning home after midnight, he drinks with Luka, confirms Pen’s ashes are secured, and admits he locked Tessa in the wine cellar to keep her hidden and because he cannot face her. Luka warns this will break Tessa, and Theon accepts the cost.

By morning, Theon removes the soundproofing Mark and opens the cellar. The lights are dead, and Luka’s dragon fire reveals wreckage: shattered bulbs and bottles, wine pooling across the floor, and Tessa curled and unresponsive. When Theon touches her, a jolt shocks him; only shadow-wrapped hands can reach her. Tessa’s eyes are swollen and cut, her gaze empty.

Tessa suddenly moves with new speed, cutting her palms on glass. Speaking in a flat monotone, she confirms the Emerging is that night and refuses help, yet concedes to being carried upstairs. In the kitchen, Theon and Luka extract shards from her hands, feet, and back while she remains emotionless. Theon notices a persistent violet ring at the edges of her irises and deduces her power is shifting.

Tessa recites the harm done to her—being locked in a space reminiscent of past abuse—and speaks in dark metaphors about shadows swallowing light. She tries to resume training, fixated on self-protection, but Theon insists ceremony-day rest. She bathes while he watches, realizing she had been genuinely trying to learn, trust, and fit their world, and that his punishment has extinguished that effort.

As Luka fails to reach Axel and the ceremony looms, Theon understands the consequences: Tessa is numb, volatile, and newly potent, her control slipping even as her power surges. He recognizes he has broken her trust on the eve of her Emerging, with Axel’s absence threatening further fallout.