44. Tessa

Tessa Travels back to Faven, not to the palace but the capital itself, and walks under watch by sentinels. Nylah and Roan join her, but only Roan follows to her rooms as guards take station outside. Exhausted and emotionally gutted, Tessa reflects on the havoc she has caused and her inability to accept love.

Alone with Roan, Tessa mourns Auryon and the comfort Luka briefly provided. Seeking connection, she powers on the phone Theon gave her and is shocked as over a hundred messages download—near-daily texts since she left him. The messages range from anger and duty to updates on Roan’s recovery, kingdom pressures, and repeated vows that Theon will come for her.

Reading, Tessa laughs and weeps in turns, moved by Theon’s consistency and honesty, even as she feels crushing guilt for unleashing killers on his people. She drafts a reply but hesitates for an hour, paralyzed by shame and disbelief that he could still want her after so many deaths.

Dex enters with hard resolve. Without resistance, Tessa allows him to clasp suppressing bands on her wrists. He then forces a solid black ring onto her finger that digs into her magic, making it thrash inside her. Horrified, she realizes this device is different—predatory and inescapable.

Dex announces she is being taken to the Pantheon to be held until a decision is made. When Tessa protests, he blames her for the crisis and says they will take what they are owed, dragging her from the room as Roan keeps pace, signaling a looming extraction and judgment beyond her control.