Chapter 1 Tessa #2
“Let her be,” Luka said from across the room, where he’d commandeered an armchair. An ankle propped on his knee, he steepled a finger along his temple. “She doesn’t need to be coddled. If she wants to act like a child and give everyone the cold shoulder, let her.”
He was probably expecting her to bristle.
React in some shape or form. But she didn’t even bother glancing at him, instead setting her cup down and filling a small plate with a bit of food.
If he wanted to go back to how they were before, she could do that.
Him a broody prick, and her… Well, she wasn’t going back to how she was before, but if he wanted to pretend they’d never been anything, she could do that.
Swiping up the cup of coffee, she moved to stand near the windows, setting her dishes on a side table as she stared out, biting into a doughnut she’d picked up.
The grey sky swirled with snow, a storm of flurries and ice that drifted to the ground.
The snow should be lessening as they moved towards the spring equinox, but the weather had been cold and dreary.
She didn’t notice the weighted silence that had settled over the room until Tris lightly cleared his throat. “It’s been two weeks since we…”
“Stole her from the Pantheon cells?” Cienna supplied.
“I guess we can call it that,” Tristyn muttered.
“I don’t know what else you’d call it.”
“Freeing her?”
“Tempting fate?” Cienna countered.
“We’re tempting fate every day we stay here,” he retorted.
Cienna hummed in agreement. “And now it is time to step away and let them dictate their own steps, Tristyn. We’ve interfered enough here.”
Interfered?
It was an interesting choice of word since neither of them offered any guidance until their hands were forced, and even then their guidance was vague.
“That’s simple enough,” Luka interjected. “We need to leave. That decision has already been made.”
“And go where exactly?” Tristyn said. “Isn’t that what’s been holding us back? Well, besides…”
He trailed off, and Tessa watched in the glass reflection as he gestured in her direction.
“If she doesn’t want to speak and contribute to anything, then she can’t complain about not having a say and not having choices,” Luka said.
Still she said nothing, only taking another bite of her doughnut. As if she’d let anyone take her choices from her again.
“You are sure Scarlett won’t let us go to Halaya? Just until we figure everything out?” Luka finally said.
“We’ve discussed this several times already. My answer isn’t going to change,” Razik said, his tone sounding as irritated as his brother’s.
“And if we simply show up?” Luka asked. “An ‘ask forgiveness later’ type of thing?”
Tessa huffed a laugh to herself at his response, picking up her coffee and taking a sip. It tried to warm her bones where a permanent chill had seemed to settle. She didn’t know if it’d ever thaw again.
“That’s a terrible idea. You should always have a plan,” Razik replied.
“That is the plan,” Luka shot back.
“And if she denies forgiveness?”
“Stop it. Both of you,” Eliza cut in. “Perhaps the best course of action is to summon her in the mirror and ask her. Even if she says no, she’ll likely have an idea of where we could go.”
“Or,” Razik drawled. “The male who clearly prefers to travel the realms and doesn’t want to be tied down could give us some ideas.”
That was the comment that had Tessa peeking over her shoulder to see how Xan would react to his elder son’s clear vitriol. Luka looked like he was holding back a retort, and Razik was glaring at his father, refusing to be the first to break the stare. And Xan?
He sighed, crossing his arms. “I’ve tried multiple times to explain myself. You refuse to listen.”
“Because I don’t care. All I care about is getting back to my actual father. The one who raised me as his own. If that is the plan here, to leave, then let’s get the fuck on with it,” Razik retorted.
Tessa watched Xan debate what to say, and she found herself wondering if she’d let her own parents explain their actions.
Or would she simply not care like Razik didn’t care?
It wouldn’t change anything, and she didn’t owe them her forgiveness for choosing to abandon her in a realm where she’d been forgotten.
She didn’t think that was how love worked.
And yet that was what everyone who claimed to love her seemed to do.
Leave her.
Abandon her.
All in the name of trying to protect her and keep her safe.
If she loved someone, she’d fight for them.
Do whatever it took to stay with them, even if it meant every day was spent in danger.
If she loved someone, they’d fucking know it because she’d destroy a world for them to keep them safe.
Not fucking abandon them. Not walk away from them. Not leave them behind.
“Tessa.”
Her name was a sharp command that broke through her thoughts, her gaze sliding to Luka, who still sat in that godsdamn chair as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
His eyes dipped down her body as he said, “Control it.”
She looked down, her palms glowing with embers crackling at her fingertips.
But instead of reining it in, she let it grow.
Let it loosely wind around her legs, her waist. Let it call to the rest of the power in the room, and she watched as every single person who stood before her stiffened.
Knew they were keeping their own straining magic from reaching for her. Knew her power was calling to theirs.
Knew it was affecting Luka the most.
And even when she felt a calmness brush against her, Tristyn or Cienna trying to use their Pax gifts to pacify her, she remained impassive.
Turning back to the window, she picked up her coffee and stared at the Pantheon.
The Tribunal building. The Acropolis. The center of a poisoned realm.
Only then did she let her power wane except for the bands of light at her wrists.
“Has she expended any of that power since she was brought here?” Xan asked, everyone collectively releasing a breath of relief.
“Not that I’m aware of,” Luka answered.
“And you think that is a good idea?”
“I think she’s stubborn and is trying to prove a point, and per usual, it’s going to bite her in the ass,” Luka answered.
Tessa ignored him, setting her coffee aside and picking up an orange, starting to peel it.
“Can we get back to the topic at hand?” Razik cut it. “Because my answer remains the same. Scarlett will not allow that kind of power into Halaya, where we are still recovering from a war we nearly lost. Not when Tessa will continue to be hunted throughout the realms.”
“So then we are left with summoning Scarlett to the mirror?” Tristyn cut in. “Unless you do have other ideas, Xan?”
“I have ideas on where we could go, but we will still need the World Walker High Queen to allow passage,” he answered.
“Then it’s settled. We go to the Pantheon, summon Scarlett to the mirror, and go from there,” Tristyn said.
“When do we go?” Eliza asked.
“Honestly, we’re lucky Tessa hasn’t been tracked here yet. The enchantment that prevents her from Traveling is still active. She’s been too… We haven’t had time to work on removing it,” Tristyn finished.
“We’ve been sitting around doing nothing for days,” Razik cut in.
“We should go sooner rather than later. We’re all prepared anyway. We have been in case we needed to escape,” Tristyn said.
“Then we go tonight. Under the cover of darkness. It’s our best chance,” Luka said, and from the reflection in the window, Tessa watched him rise from the chair.
“Agreed,” Razik said.
“Cienna?” Tristyn asked, and Tessa tilted her head to the side.
She could see her in the window reflection too, her gaze catching Tessa’s and holding. Tessa popped an orange slice into her mouth, waiting for the witch’s reply.
“I think we cannot interfere here anymore,” she finally said.
And Tessa smiled.
Wise choice.
She turned on her heel, crossing the room without ever uttering a sound. She didn’t acknowledge any of them as she left and found her way back to the stairs. Taking another bite of her orange, she climbed to the room she’d been staying in.
They had made plans, but she had her own.
And now she could finalize them to fulfill her purpose.