19. Tessa

Tessa, preparing for dinner in Theon’s suite, fixates on a recent vision-like dream and notices Theon’s distant, harsher demeanor. Dressed for a formal evening, she is warned to obey in front of Luka and Axel, who also seem primed for confrontation. Theon publicly enforces boundaries, signaling stricter control of Tessa as his Source.

At dinner with Valter, Cressida, and Eviana, Theon withholds the usual courtesies, keeping Tessa uncertain. When Valter challenges Theon’s treatment and presses to know Tessa’s likely element, Theon tries to answer for her, but Valter forces Tessa to speak, probing her assessment history. Valter reveals reports that Tessa created the garden crevice, implying an earth affinity despite prior air predictions.

Confronted, Tessa insists she doesn’t know how the fissure or creatures appeared. Valter posits flawed assessments, falsified records, or deliberate concealment, escalating pressure. Theon pushes back, but Valter declares Tessa will be reevaluated by a Priestess in Rockmoor in two days to confirm both probable element and power level.

Valter then adds a political demand: Theon must meet potential Match Felicity Davers after the assessment, urging swift arrangement of a union. Tessa, shocked, witnesses Theon’s oscillation—cold commands paired with public intimacy as he seats her on his lap and feeds her dessert—signaling possessive claim even as he negotiates family power plays.

As the meal ends, Theon grudgingly agrees to review Match files but reasserts autonomy over any contract terms. At the door, he delivers a stark warning: if anyone touches Tessa without his permission again, his retribution will eclipse any alliance. Valter, instead of rebuking him, approves the ruthlessness he expects from the Arius heir.