Rain of Shadows and Endings

While Tessa bathes, Theon asks why she is terrified of him. She denies the fear, but he explains how Metias and Pavil’s powers work. He tells her that in order to protect her, he must insist that she attend meetings with him. When he asks what the bond feels like, she describes it as a painful ache that punishes resistance. She deflects his question about how his touch feels, then questions why he chose her. He replies that when they first met in the alcove during the Selection ceremony, he wanted only her.

After Tessa exits the tub, Theon wraps her in a robe. At the vanity, he corners her, touching her intimately and demanding an answer. She finally reveals that his touch feels like pleasure, safety, warmth, and light, but she resists because she believes that these feelings are manufactured by the forced bond and are not genuine.

During lunch, Tessa falls asleep on the sofa. While she sleeps, Theon, Luka, and Axel discuss their strategies. Luka reveals that he killed three Legacies Valter sent after him and failed to meet with a contact named Cienna. They plan to say nothing about the garden incident at dinner in order to keep Valter guessing. Luka expresses frustration at Theon’s choice of such an unpredictable Source. Theon argues that he needs her complete submission, without which she will not give him the loyalty he needs to include her in his plans. After the others leave, Theon researches how to bypass wards, believing that Tessa holds the key.

Tessa experiences a vivid dream that feels real. In the dream, she stands on a high balcony as a beautiful female with wavy hair matching Tessa’s emerges. A second female appears, and the two discuss Tessa. The first female, Akira, confirms sending word with someone named Altaria. The second female notes that their time is limited. Akira reveals that Tessa called the Hunters today, and they responded. The “wild” and “untamed” also answered Tessa’s call. The second female observes that Tessa will be powerful like her father. Akira predicts that Tessa will become an unyielding storm, a tempest of wrath and vengeance.

As the enchantment fades, Akira steps forward, takes Tessa’s face in her hands, and tells her that sometimes being broken is necessary to become who one is meant to be. Violet lightning flickers in Akira’s eyes as she kisses Tessa’s forehead, telling her that she will break but must rise again and claim what is hers.

Tessa wakes and prepares for another formal dinner, troubled by how real the dream felt. When Theon, Luka, and Axel come to collect her, they seem somehow darker and more threatening. At dinner, Theon treats her coldly, refusing to let her sit until the drinks are ordered and the first course is served. Valter questions this change, noting that Theon seems less affectionate.

Valter interrogates Tessa about her element assessments and the garden crevice, revealing that reports from Metias and Pavil suggest her use of earth magic. He accuses her of either hiding her abilities or falsifying the assessments of her magic, which predict an affinity for air. Valter has arranged for a reevaluation by a Priestess in Rockmoor in two days. He also informs Theon that a potential Match, Felicity Davers, will be visiting; Theon must meet her for lunch after the assessment.

Theon argues, but Valter insists. To demonstrate his claim over Tessa, Theon pulls her into his lap and feeds her dessert while staring Valter down. Before leaving, Theon warns his father that anyone who touches what is his without permission will beg for death before he is finished with them. Valter smirks, saying he expects nothing less from the heir to the Arius Kingdom.

Returning to the suite, Tessa realizes that Theon is treating her like property. Theon, Luka, and Axel question her about the garden incident, and she gives them a blow-by-blow account but cannot explain the mysterious apparitions at the crevice.

Theon reviews her assessment records, which consistently predicted air magic with a slight water affinity. He asks if she hid her abilities, but she insists that this would be impossible, given the traumatic nature of the assessments. She reveals that the assessments use physical torture and psychological manipulation, to traumatize the Fae subjects. She explains that after the assessments, she and her friends helped piece each other back together. Her revelation silences the room. Later, while she sleeps in Theon’s arms, the men discuss the mysterious beings from the crevice. They theorize that Valter likely took the swords and evidence for his own purposes.

After a day passes, Theon wakes Tessa early to drive to Rockmoor for the assessment. Once there, a Fae named Rhett prepares Tessa with an IV and quietly tells Tessa she will face a Level Five assessment room—the most severe type. Priestess Zefira arrives to perform the evaluation. She administers a golden elixir to make Tessa compliant and warns Theon he may watch from an observation deck, though it will increase his discomfort through the bond.

Rhett carries Tessa to the assessment room and straps her into a reclined chair. After a gas mask is fitted, Tessa experiences searing pain. The torture stops abruptly, and she finds herself in Dreamlock Woods. Dagian Jove, heir to the rival Achaz Kingdom, appears. He accuses her of hiding her abilities and demands answers about the garden incident, threatening that he and Lealla, heir to the Serafina Kingdom, will not allow Arius Kingdom to regain power. When Tessa insists she knows nothing, Dagian attacks her with magic. Suddenly, a female with midnight hair appears—a Huntress—and places herself between them, daring Dagian to continue. Tessa wakes to find herself back in the assessment room, where Zefira demands to know how she summoned the Huntress. The Priestess then injects her with a black elixir, causing even worse agony.

Theon watches the assessment in anguish, his shadows pooling dangerously as the bond reacts to the perceived threat against his Source. After over three hours, a Fae finally leads Theon to the recovery room, where he holds Tessa while she slowly regains consciousness.

Zefira reports that although the assessment did not reveal which element Tessa will manifest, her power level will be unmatched. Zefira also reveals that Tessa’s lineage documents are likely falsified; someone deliberately hid her in plain sight.

Theon orders Zefira not to send the report to Valter, saying he will deliver the news personally. He instructs Luka and Axel that Tessa’s safety is now a top priority and she must never be left alone. Luka will begin training her in combat. Axel arranges to meet a forger to create a false report for Valter. Luka reveals he rescheduled Theon’s meeting with Felicity Davers to a dinner date. While Tessa sleeps in his arms, Theon realizes that once he can access her power through the remaining Marks of the Source bond, he will have the control he needs to challenge his father for the Arius Kingdom.