Rain of Shadows and Endings — Chapter no 4

4 TESSA

“W hat the fuck were you thinking?” Theon demanded when the Legacy carried Tessa into the small suite. He set her gently on the sofa and stepped aside as Theon dropped to his knees before her. He gripped her face in his hands, smoothing hair back from her face. “You could have fallen, Tessa. Someone other than us could have found you. Do you have any idea what could have happened?”

Tessa couldn’t think of anything to say. She was too numb inside. All of that had been for nothing. That had been her last chance at escaping this fate. It had been her last shot at not becoming something to be used, to be drained of her strength and power whenever he wanted. It was her last opportunity to remain who she was and not be lost in who he was.

But all her chances were gone now. He would never give her this opportunity again.

Even if she managed to run, the Mark she was about to receive would connect them so he would always be able to find her. She should probably be fearful of what he was going to do to her for the attempted escape, but she simply didn’t care what happened to her. Certainly not now.

“She hasn’t stopped shaking since I found her,” the other Legacy said, slipping his black suit coat off and draping it around her shoulders.

“Has she said anything?” Theon asked, tilting her face towards his to look into her eyes.

“Not a word. She had a phone though,” he answered, leaning his shoulder against the back wall, his hands sliding into his pockets. Theon’s head whipped to him, and the Legacy gave him some kind of frank look. “What do you want me to do?”

“Tessa, are you all right?” Theon said, turning back to her and ignoring his question.

Concern filled his features, but it was concern for his source of power, not for her. She knew that.

“Godsdamnit, Tessa,” he swore, moving one hand to grip her chin and hold her in place. “Tessalyn, speak. Are you all right?”

“No,” she answered, the entrancing pulling the word from her lips.

He leaned back to look her over. “Where are you hurt?”

His hands left her face, reaching under the jacket and running down her arms, turning her hands over. He instantly healed a small cut he found on her palm before continuing to check her over. She hardly noticed his hands brushing down her ribs and along her hips, moving her gown aside to check her shins and knees.

“Anywhere else?” he demanded, lifting her leg to check the soles of her feet.

Tessa shook her head wordlessly.

“I don’t think her body is what she was referring to when she said she wasn’t all right, Theon,” the other Legacy offered from his spot against the wall.

Theon stilled, his lips forming a thin line as he lowered her foot back to the ground. He tilted his head up, looking at him. “Get things ready to go. We are leaving as soon as possible when this is done. Tell the Priestess to come here in ten minutes. Be ready.”

He nodded in confirmation, pushing off from the wall, but he hesitated when he got to the door. “You are sure, Theon? There is no going back after this.”

“The decision is already made, Luka. We cannot change the plan now. It will raise questions and draw unwanted attention,” Theon answered, his gaze drifting back to Tessa.

She hardly heard what they were saying, staring straight ahead, her fingers clenching and unclenching against the sofa cushions.

The Legacy, who was apparently the aforementioned Luka Mors, nodded once before he left the room, the door clicking shut behind him.

“Tessa, you need to change,” Theon said, standing and moving to a small travel bag that was sitting on the small table. He pulled a bundle of clothing from it, bringing them back to her. Setting them on the sofa, he crouched before her again. “Tessa, look at me.”

Not wanting to feel the pull of his entrancing again, she dragged her eyes to his. “Do you

need help getting changed?”

She shook her head.

“I will step out for two minutes, then I am coming back in,” he said, pushing back to his feet. “Acknowledge that you heard me.”

“I understand, Master,” she said softly, reaching over and running her fingers along the clothing beside her.

He stiffened imperceptibly. “We are not… This is not a formal setting, Tessa.”

She just stared at him, waiting for him to leave so she could change. After a few more seconds, he left the room.

Tessa stood on wobbly legs, the suit coat slipping from her shoulders. She pulled the sleeve of the gown down her arm, working the garment over hips before letting it slip down the rest of her body to pool around her feet. Naked save for her flimsy undergarments, she moved on to the pile of clothing. There was a fresh set of underthings nestled between black leggings and a black long-sleeve shirt made from some of the softest material she’d ever felt. She quickly dressed, just pulling the shirt over her head when Theon came back into the room.

He scooped up the dress from the floor and folded it, carefully placing it back in the bag. “You are going to want to pull your hair back, Tessa.”

“I don’t have any pins or a hair-tie,” she replied quietly.

Theon dug through a side pocket of the bag and produced an elastic band, handing it to her. She didn’t question him. Simply pulled her curled, honey-blonde hair into a high ponytail, quickly securing it.

Theon took the bag to the door, placing it on the floor, and came to stand in front of her once more. He slowly brought his hand to her cheek, pausing as though he expected her to flinch back from him. “I know you feel like you are being forced into this, but—”

“But nothing. I am being forced into this. I am not choosing this. You chose it for me,”

Tessa interrupted.

His eyes hardened. “This is what your kind were created for, Tessa. It is in your being to serve the Legacy. Any other Fae would be honored to be in your position.”

“Then choose one of them! Choose anyone else who wants this! Please!” she cried, not caring that she was begging now.

Theon studied her, a muscle ticking in his jaw. He opened his mouth to say something just as a soft knock sounded and a female entered the room. She wore a white sheer gown that flowed down to her ankles. Gold sandals adorned her feet, and a gold belt was slung low on her hips. Her brown hair was braided in a coronet atop her head with strands of gold and ivy woven among it, the tips of her arched ears peeking out. A Priestess.

“I am told you are ready to bestow the first Mark to your Source, Heir of Arius,” she said with a bow.

“Please, Th—” But the name got stuck on her tongue. Apparently the arrival of the Priestess made this a formal situation.

Theon looked at her a second longer before turning his back on her to face the Priestess. “Yes. That is correct. I am ready to proceed.”

The Priestess nodded, moving to the small table. Tessa hadn’t noticed the tray of items on it until now. They had been blocked from view by the bag earlier. She stood silently while the Priestess poured the contents of three vials into a small glass, stirring it with a glass stir rod. The liquid turned a shade of cerulean blue, fizzing with smoke wafting from it. Theon stood a few feet away from Tessa, his arms crossed and pointedly not looking at her.

A moment later, the Priestess picked up the glass along with a small black dagger and turned back to them. A serene smile spread across her lips as she approached Tessa. “You are going to want to sit.”

“I prefer to stand, thank you,” Tessa answered, clenching her hands into fists at her sides.

The Priestess glanced at Theon expectantly. Theon closed the few feet between him and Tessa, bringing a hand to her lower back. “Sit down, Tessa. This is going to be unpleasant.”

Bringing his other hand to her shoulder, he gently guided her down to the sofa, lowering with her so he sat beside her. He was rigid, and Tessa couldn’t help but wonder why. He wasn’t the one about to undergo a Marking. More than that, he knew far more about what was going to happen than she did.

“You will drink this first,” the Priestess said, holding the fizzing glass out to her. “You must drink it all. It is similar to the elixir injected earlier, but much stronger.”

“Okay,” Tessa said, tentatively taking the glass from her hand. It was warmer than

she’d been expecting. “Then what?”

Again the Priestess glanced at Theon.

“Let’s get through this part first, and then we will worry about the next step,” he said, his hand still on her lower back. When Tessa didn’t push the issue, he glanced at the Priestess and gave her a small nod.

“Theon St. Orcas, heir of the Arius Kingdom, you have come before a Priestess and requested the first Mark for your Source. Do you acknowledge your request?”

“I do,” Theon said tightly.

“Do you understand your Source becomes yours and yours alone? You assume complete dominium. Once the first Mark is given, there is no undoing the bond that will be started. Only the death of either party can end it,” the Priestess continued.

“I understand,” Theon answered.

Tessa couldn’t help but recognize the superiority playing out before her. These two Legacy spoke of her as a piece of property he was taking ownership of. The Priestess was asking him questions about her own existence as she sat silently, holding a fizzing cup of blue liquid and curling her bare toes into the rug to keep from fidgeting.

“You recognize that the Source bond connects you in all forms— physically, emotionally, and mentally, allowing you the ability to share power and life as one entity?”

the Priestess asked.

“I do,” Theon answered, flexing the fingers of his other hand.

“May Achaz bless this bonding, and may Arius offer judgment if it is ever broken,” the Priestess intoned. “Theon St. Orcas, who do you Select as your Source?”

“Tessalyn Ausra.”

Bile rose in her throat as the words left Theon’s lips.

“Let the Selected drink the elixir to open the path for your claiming Mark.”

The Priestess motioned for Tessa to drink, and she glanced once at Theon. His face was impassive as he nodded. She brought the glass to her lips, trying not to inhale the smoke drifting up from the glass. She didn’t even have a moment to process the sweet taste because the liquid was like fire in her throat, burning as it went down. Her eyes widened, and she tried to pull the glass away, but Theon had moved his hand around hers, keeping the glass at her lips. Panicking, she jerked her head back, but his other hand was along the back of her head, holding her firmly in place. He’d known this would happen.

Her wide eyes met his, and that was all he needed. “Drink, Tessalyn,” he entranced, and she swallowed more and more as he tipped the glass up. Her stomach was burning with the liquid pooling in it, tears leaking from her eyes. The room was spinning, but she could hardly move, Theon holding her in place.

He removed the glass from her lips. “Good girl, Tessa,” he murmured, wiping a drop from the corner of her mouth with his thumb and pressing it between her lips. “Lay down, beautiful.”

He slid to the floor in front of her and helped her lift her legs to the sofa, easing her down and onto her side. She managed to drag her knees up to her chest, curling in on herself. The act took every bit of energy she could muster. “It hurts,” she gasped out, more tears slipping down her face.

“I know it does, but what happens next will be worse.”

How could what was going to happen next possibly be worse than this? Tessa wanted to vomit, but knew it would burn just as much coming back up. She also knew they’d force her to drink another glass if she vomited up this one.

“You have minutes to complete the first Mark, young Lord,” the Priestess said from where she stood behind him. She was holding the dagger out to him, and Tessa’s eyes widened in terror.

“Bring Luka in,” Theon ordered, taking the dagger.

The Priestess crossed the room, and Tessa heard the door open over the roaring in her head. But her eyes were locked on Theon and the dagger. She didn’t know what was about to happen, but she knew Theon hadn’t been lying. This was going to be so much worse than the tonic she’d just choked down.

Luka came into her line of sight, and she began trembling as he moved to her side.

“Hold her down, Luka,” Theon commanded, bringing the dagger to his palm.

Luka’s large hands came to rest on her shoulder and hip, but he wouldn’t look at her.

“Please, Luka,” she begged, resorting to her last hope. She didn’t know this Legacy, but if Theon wouldn’t stop, maybe Luka would stop him for her. “Don’t let him do this.”

“I’m sorry, little one,” he said, barely audible.

Her eyes went back to Theon, who had blood running down his arm from the slice in his palm. Luka took his hand from her shoulder and gripped her right wrist, holding out her

arm to Theon. With his bloodied hand, he gripped hers, bringing the tip of the dagger to the back of it. The blade was so dark it seemed to absorb the soft light of the room.

He cut a deep gash into the back of her hand, and Tessa cried out. The Priestess was there, drawing some kind of Mark with the blood running out of the cut. In less than a minute she was done, clearly having done this before, and she nodded to Theon as she stepped back.

He locked eyes with Tessa. “Tessalyn Ausra, I have claimed you as my Source, to be bonded to me irrevocably. With this Mark, may the bond become physical, that we can always sense each other’s presence and crave each other’s closeness. My power claims you as its own.”

The last part was said in the language she didn’t know but that her soul recognized.

Theon dropped the dagger, taking her wrist from Luka and holding it firmly as he placed his bleeding palm atop the wound he’d created and the subsequent Mark.

Searing pain whipped through her veins as their blood mixed beneath her skin. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced. It was an agony that made her wish for death.

His dark and cold magic crashed into her, invading every piece of her body and soul. She was screaming and arching off the sofa, Luka pinning her beneath him. It felt as if death itself were coursing through her over and over, and gods. She wished it would just take her.

Theon only tightened his hand around her own, refusing to break the connection, and something in her was buzzing and thrashing, trying to rise up. But Theon forced more and more of his magic into her, and it was suffocating. She couldn’t breathe, and that familiar sensation only made her panic more.

Theon’s jaw was clenched, sweat beading on his brow, as he gritted out, “Just give in, Tessa.”

But she didn’t know what he meant, and another scream ripped from her throat.

Then a cord of purest gold was floating from her skin, rising up to meet one of obsidian black from Theon. The cords were twining around each other, tighter and tighter, and it felt as if they were wrapping around her chest. She thrashed beneath Luka, gasping for any amount of air. Darkness clouded the edges of her vision, and she thought for sure this was how she was going to die. His dark power was going to kill her. And she welcomed it. Welcomed any reprieve from this. She’d courted death for years. Maybe it would finally take her.

It could have been seconds, but it felt like hours later when a flash of silver erupted from the cords, and they settled back into Theon and Tessa. There was a tingling beneath her hand and a pull in the pit of her stomach, but she couldn’t pay any attention to any of it.

She was too focused on dragging air into her lungs.

Luka eased off her as Theon sat on the sofa and pulled her into his lap, cradling her against his heaving chest. Her own chest warmed at his closeness, and the pull in the pit of her stomach settled down, humming contentedly. Her entire body ached, but her head pounded as though she’d been out drinking all night.

“You’re okay, beautiful,” Theon murmured, like he thought he could soothe her. “I’m going to take care of you.”

He seemed to sigh in relief while he held her, stroking her hair. Luka approached with a damp cloth, wiping sweat from her brow. She couldn’t entirely comprehend what was

happening right now. They likely thought she was too exhausted to care. They would only be half right.

“You know what to expect over the next several hours and days to come as she

adjusts?” the Priestess asked.

“Yes,” Theon answered.

The Priestess came forward and grasped Tessa’s right hand. Tessa tried to look, but Theon held her head against his chest, not letting her see. When the Priestess dropped her hand, Theon snatched it up in his own.

“The Mark is in place. If she purges the tonic now, it will not matter. Your magic has settled into her. I have given the other necessary items to your associate and explained what must be done,” the Priestess remarked, stepping back. “Do you require anything else of me

this evening?”

“No,” Theon said. “You are dismissed.”

The Priestess bowed before exiting the room.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Theon said, “Get a blanket, Luka. She’s shivering.”

A moment later, a thick fleece blanket was draped around her. Her head was throbbing, and the room was spinning. Every inch of her body felt as if thousands of shards of glass were embedded in her skin.

“How long before you think we can move her?” Luka asked, dragging a chair over from the table and sitting in front of them. His eyes were on Tessa, watching her carefully.

“I don’t know,” Theon answered. “I would like her to vomit first and see what after- effects are going to hit her.”

Tessa whimpered at the mention of after-effects. What else could they possibly put her through?

“Shh,” Theon murmured again, his hand rubbing up and down her back. “I’ve got you, Tessa.” After a beat of silence, he added, “Clean up her hand, Luka.”

Luka nodded, rising from his chair and returning with a wet cloth. Taking her hand from Theon, he gently dabbed at it. Tessa hissed, jerking it away.

“Let him clean you up, Tessa,” Theon said softly, nodding at Luka to try again.

“Everything hurts,” she rasped when Luka began dabbing and wiping at her hand

again.

“I know it does.”

She saw Luka’s gaze flick to Theon, but she couldn’t read his expression. When he finished cleaning her hand, Tessa tried to look at it, but Theon stopped her again. “Not yet,” he said gently, guiding her head back to his chest.

Silence enveloped the room, and she let her eyes flutter closed, resting against Theon.

Her body seemed to relax into him, but that wasn’t right. He’d done this to her. She shouldn’t be leaning into him. This was all wrong.

“We will see how bad the first wave is and then decide what to do from there,” Theon was saying quietly, interrupting the confusion she was trying to process.

“If it’s too bad to travel?” Luka asked.

“We will go to the townhouse. We are not staying here where everyone can see us and spies can learn too much.”

“Agreed.” Another beat of silence, before Luka added, “How bad do you think it will be?”

“I don’t know,” Theon answered. “She fought back. Way more than I anticipated.”

She didn’t know what to think of that because it had been impossible to fight against any of that.

She didn’t know how much time passed when something began to happen. The aches in her body became more than tingling pinpricks. It was a burning that started at the back of her right hand and began radiating up her arm.

“Her heart rate is picking up,” Luka murmured.

“I am aware,” she heard Theon answer. “Take the blanket. She is getting hot.”

She didn’t feel hot. Her body felt freezing despite the burning overtaking her. Her eyes flew open, and she lurched forward as the blanket was removed. “You're okay, Tessa,"

Theon said, trying to pull her back into him.

She was okay? She was definitely not okay. This was all because of him. She was not okay because of him.

Tessa pushed away from him, tumbling onto the floor. “Don’t touch me,” she gasped, and at the words, something in her chest jumped and began vibrating violently within her.

The back of her hand started throbbing, drawing her attention to it.

Like black ink against her fair skin, a Mark stood out. Swirling lines that wove together, and in the center sat three inverted, interlocking triangles.

The symbol of Arius.

Branding her.

Claiming ownership of her.

Her eyes dragged up to Theon from where she sat on the floor.

“Tessa, come here,” he said, reaching for her again, but she scrambled back from him, her arms nearly giving out.

“No. Don’t come near me,” she rasped, but apparently that was the wrong thing to do.

The cord that connected her to Theon jerked sharply within her, and she whimpered in pain.

Theon dropped to his knees before her. Luka was standing, watching everything warily.

“Tessa,” Theon said, trying to sound reassuring. “The Source bond demands we are close, especially right now. When you tell me to stay away, it reacts poorly. Come here.”

“No,” she gasped, crying out as another jolt of pain ricocheted through her body.

“Tessa,” Theon snapped in frustration. “You are about to experience something worse than the pain you are in right now. Let me near so I can help you through it.”

“Don’t growl at her, Theon,” Luka cut in. “You know the adjustment will take time.

She will need time to navigate this, and how it works. You both will.”

“I am aware of that, but she does not need to be in pain,” Theon argued. “I do not want to see her in pain when I can do something about it.”

Luka opened his mouth to say something in response to that, but a wave of nausea washed over Tessa so strongly, she fell forward onto her hands and knees as she fought the

urge to vomit.

“Get a basin,” Theon said.

Luka was already moving and set a large bowl down beside her. “Don’t fight it, little one,” he said grimly, reaching to brush her ponytail back over her shoulder. “Let it out.”

He stepped back, leaning against the wall, and when the next wave of nausea overtook her, Tessa took his advice. She vomited into the bowl, heaving over and over. It wasn’t her

dinner that came up though. It wasn’t even the tonic. She assumed her body had burned through all of that already. It was thick, black shadows and silvery wisps of light. It poured out of her, and each time she heaved, pain racked her entire body, her stomach convulsing and her head throbbing. Tears were coursing down her cheeks, and she was gasping in between gags.

A hand rubbing up and down her spine told her Theon was back by her side. The cord in her instantly settled down at his touch. The vomiting, however, continued for the next several minutes. When it finally subsided, Tessa curled onto her side on the floor, her head coming to rest in Theon’s lap. Luka handed him a cool rag, and he began pressing it along her forehead, then her cheek and down her neck.

“What was that?” she finally whispered. Her throat was raw from all the screaming and now the vomiting.

“My magic,” Theon answered. “To give you the Mark, I had to pour some of my raw power into your veins so that your own magic would become overwhelmed by it, and, in turn, recognize it. Your body is trying to adjust to my magic in your system, along with the bond that is starting to form.”

“It will…” She stopped and swallowed. “It will happen again?”

“Yes,” he said. “The intensity will lessen over the next few hours, but it will take several days to adjust fully. All Sources go through the adjustment differently, but the general pattern stays the same.”

This was going to continue for the next few hours? Days?

Luka crouched before them both with a glass of water in his hand. “Can you sit up?”

Tessa tried, but her body wasn’t working right. It didn’t feel like her own. Nothing felt right, and she didn’t… She couldn’t… She could swear she was screaming, but it must be in her head because Theon and Luka weren’t reacting like she’d lost her mind.

Theon reached over, helping her sit up, and slid closer to her. He took the glass from Luka and brought it to her lips, tipping it up. When she drank the entire glass, her head fell against Theon’s shoulder.

“I don’t know if I can do that again,” she whispered, her eyes fluttering closed.

“You can. I will be here. Helping you through it.”

There was so much she wanted to say to him. So much she wanted to scream at him.

She wanted to shove him away for doing this to her. But even the thing inside her had gone quiet, all the fight going out of her. So instead she sat with her eyes closed until the next round of vomiting and pain consumed her.