33. Tessa

Tessa studies the Lost Language with Theon, maintaining a strict routine of training with Luka and history lessons with Auryon. Theon receives an abrupt summons from Valter: a formal dinner with Valter, Cressida, and Eviana, with Felicity joining. Theon’s dread confirms the political trap.

At the elite Acropolis restaurant, the seating separates Tessa from Theon while placing Felicity at his side, signaling an impending public Match announcement. Cressida discusses Solstice publicity; Felicity admits she was invited to Arius House. Axel bluntly notes Theon’s looming deadline to sever the bond by the third Mark, provoking Valter to demand assurance. Theon promises a solution despite lacking one, intensifying Tessa’s suspicion.

When Felicity touches Theon, Tessa sends a controlled arc of light that shocks Felicity. Valter orders Theon to discipline Tessa, but Tessa asserts her non-Fae status and manifests a whip of sparking light. Valter pointedly withholds unleashing his darkness, revealing fear—or calculation—about her power. Luka urges de-escalation; the meal ends under strained silence. Tessa concludes Valter engineered the scene to test boundaries and learns he will not openly confront her magic.

Back at the townhouse, Tessa retreats to rest but experiences a vivid vision: an underwater cavern prison containing a pale, violet-eyed woman behind enchanted bars. The prisoner recognizes Tessa’s scent of “forgotten lands” and “vengeance,” warns her not to touch the bars, speaks of a deceiver who revived dead power, and prophesies that Tessa will be the beginning of endings. The encounter deepens the mythic stakes and foreshadows coming conflicts.