49. Tessa

Tessa wanders the Faven palace’s underground cells despite lingering claustrophobia and the memory of former restraints. With Roan the wolf at her side, she passes containment rooms infused with magic similar to her own. She stops at Valter’s glass cell and confronts him, asserting her new power and his fall.

Valter goads Tessa, claiming her freedom under Achaz is an illusion and revealing he intended to Match her to Luka for power. He insists Rordan mirrors the same ambitions and hints at a deeper deception: the one who brought Tessa to the realm can answer her questions. He urges her to see who else Rordan imprisons.

Uneasy but compelled, Tessa follows the passage and discovers a long-imprisoned, sapphire-eyed male chained by a luminous white collar. He refuses to give his name, parrying her questions and implying personal knowledge of Achaz. He warns that she was hidden here, but “he always knows.”

When Tessa presses for clarity, the prisoner speaks in guarded truths, calling her “daughter of wild and fury” and cautioning that all sides will use her. He declares she stands at a crossroads—salvation or destruction—insisting her current path leads to ruin and that the path to salvation has always been death.