23. Tessa

After training, Tessa finds Rordan waiting in her room. He confronts her about the Sirana Villas slaughter, revealing the compound boosted Legacy fertility via Sirana and Dreamlock magic. Furious at the political fallout, he accuses Tessa of killing over a hundred Legacy. When Tessa defies him, Rordan restrains her with magic, hints he has deduced her Arius lineage from her ability to drain power, and warns she now owes him “debts.” Tessa privately vows to kill him.

Shaken but resolute, Tessa descends to the palace cells. She taunts Valter about Eviana’s daughter; when he insults her, she blasts his cell with searing light, leaving him writhing. She then sits with the imprisoned Arius male and forces a trade of answers. He names himself Xan Mors, confirms another son exists, and explains light guardians: seraph-made protectors who, once in life, kill a chosen being to steal a single magic.

Tessa connects this to Brecken and others, probing limits of guardian power while revealing she saw Xan’s other son with Theon. Xan admits he hid that son centuries ago for safety and duty, paralleling Tessa’s abandonment. When Xan asks if she can forgive her parents, Tessa doubts it, valuing presence over protection.

That night, drained, Tessa wordlessly seeks rest in Luka’s bed; Luka accepts, offering quiet comfort and reminding her even monsters need others. The bond soothes her grief and isolation.

In a vision, Tessa meets Lilura on a floating island, and Luka inexplicably appears too. A purple-black dragon shifts to a predatory woman who seems to know a childhood version of Luka, calling him by another name, before departing to confront an approaching silver dragon. Lilura warns that a sorceress is altering Tessa’s visions and tells Tessa to deliver her lingering message.