Chapter 13 Tessa #2
“It was something we both grew to want over time. It wasn’t instantaneous like I’ve witnessed with other twin flame bonds.
It’s different, and we wouldn’t trade that because it’s ours.
We made it what it is, and your balance will look different from what everyone else thinks it should look like.
Fuck what others think. It’s still a choice.
Your choice. No matter what this realm has tried to convince you of otherwise.
You get to decide what your balance is and who you choose to bring into that balance,” Eliza said with such fierceness it had Tessa blinking in surprise as her words rolled over in her mind.
“And the rest of the realms? What does balance ever really look like?” she mused. “Or do we just leave that up to the gods?”
“I don’t know that it should be left up to any single being,” Eliza said, stepping closer and turning Tessa to face the other way.
“I think it is the responsibility of those with the most power to ensure those with the least are cared for and treated the same as those with plenty. It is no fault of a mortal that they were born with no magic in their veins in a realm with Fae or Shifters or others.”
“Or a Fae born in a realm ruled by Legacy,” Tessa murmured.
Eliza paused for a moment, her gaze flicking to Tessa once more before returning to assessing her form. “Yes,” the female agreed. “Or that.”
Tessa hummed as Eliza tapped the ground with her toe, showing her where to plant her feet. There was no more talk of balance or stars, kings or mortals. She didn’t want to think anymore, so she focused entirely on what Eliza was telling her.
“Stand straight, and don’t lean back,” she was saying as she adjusted Tessa’s fingers on the weapon.
“Square your shoulders, keep them directly over your hips, and keep your feet shoulder-width apart.” Tessa adjusted slightly before Eliza said, “Good. Now, lift the bow in front of you. Your arm holding it should be mostly straight. Only a slight bend in the elbow. No, that’s too much bend,” she said when Tessa shifted.
The female stepped forward, straightening her arm more.
“Like this,” she said. “You want the bones in your arm to hold the weight when you draw the string back, not your muscles.” She tapped her other arm.
“We call this one your draw arm. Keep it high when you draw back. A little higher,” she said when Tessa pulled back on the string.
“At least as high as your nose. When we add the arrow, you want the crease of the elbow on the same level as the arrow or above the line of the arrow at full draw.”
Tessa nodded, trying to absorb all the information as Eliza handed her the arrow, showing her how to nock it.
She got back into position, a thrill zipping through her at learning this.
She didn’t know why. She’d never had any desire to shoot a bow, but something about Auryon telling her it was her birthright…
It made her feel connected to something, even if she had no idea who or what that was.
“Pull back on the string,” Eliza instructed. “The string should touch the tip of your nose without leaning your head forward or backwards. Stay standing straight and relax.”
“I can’t relax after everything you just told me,” Tessa snapped, irritated when Eliza stepped behind her and tugged on her shoulders, proving she was leaning forward.
The female ignored the retort. “Take a breath and focus on your target. When you’re ready, release the string.”
Tessa inhaled deeply, trying to force her body to relax.
It was pointless. She hadn’t felt relaxed in weeks.
Her muscles were always tense; her body strung too tight.
But she tried anyway, inhaling once more before she released the string, mainly because it was becoming too difficult to maintain the draw.
She heard the arrow whistle through the air as it was released.
And then it hit to the far right. It didn’t even touch the flaming target.
“Good,” Eliza said, already handing her another arrow.
“Good?” Tessa repeated. “I didn’t even hit anything.”
“I would have been thoroughly impressed if you did.”
“You expected me to miss.”
Eliza gave her an incredulous look. “It was your first time shooting a bow. Of course I expected you to miss. To be honest, I’m surprised the arrow even went as far as it did.”
“You could have warned me.”
“Warned you that you were going to be terrible at this the first time you attempted it? Why did you expect otherwise?”
Tessa pursed her lips, snatching the next arrow from Eliza’s hand and nocking it to the string. “Tell me what to fix.”
The next two hours went on in the same way.
Tessa would shoot until the quiver was empty, Eliza correcting her and giving her tips after every shot, and then they’d go collect the arrows and start all over again.
At least she was hitting the target now—most of the time—but never where she was actually aiming.
Eliza held out the quiver as Tessa deposited a handful of arrows she’d gathered before they both continued to search for two that were missing. Even with the fire, there were still areas cast in shadows. And gods, Tessa was hot with all these flames. It was like when she slept next to Luka.
Glancing up at the sky as she swiped up another arrow, she turned back to Eliza, finding her with the other missing one. Tessa closed the space, dropping the arrow into the quiver before they turned to head back to the shooting line.
“You have a lot of Marks,” Tessa said, because with the female in a sleeveless shirt, she could see them all. Some on her arms, across her chest. There were even a few on her back.
“I do,” she agreed.
“What are they for?”
“Some have a purpose for strength and abilities. Some are loyalty Marks to my Court. A couple are bonds.”
Tessa nodded, trailing her eyes over them and stopping at the one atop her heart. The same place she bore a Mark.
“I thought there was only one Source Mark in your world,” Tessa said.
“There is,” Eliza answered, tapping a Mark on her forearm.
“Then what is the purpose of this one?” Tessa asked, brushing her fingers over her own heart.
Eliza stilled, one hand coming up to cover the Mark on her skin before she dropped her hand again. Her hands curled into fists, and Tessa wasn’t sure what to do or why the question had elicited such a reaction.
“Not all my Marks were given by choice, just as not all of yours were,” Eliza finally answered.
“But I thought you were free there?”
“We are free in that we are not forced to serve another, yes, but we are not free of injustice and moral failings,” she replied tightly.
“There will always be those who believe they deserve more or are superior simply because of the blood in their veins, the family they descend from, and in some cases, because they have a cock between their legs.”
Tessa took an arrow from the quiver that Eliza held out, nocking it to the string. “Then isn’t leaving here pointless? You are simply exchanging one realm’s problems for another.”
“Every realm has problems, Tessa. Just as every kingdom, every family, every relationship has problems. None of them are perfect, but there are those who try harder to thrive despite those imperfections. Widen your feet.”
Tessa adjusted her position before pulling the string back.
“Keep your spine straight, including your neck,” she added.
Tessa took a deep breath, releasing the arrow. It hit lower than where she was aiming, but at least it had gone straight.
Lowering the bow, she turned to face Eliza. “Do you like stories?”
“What?”
“Stories,” Tessa repeated. “Do you like them?”
For whatever reason, the female became very cautious when she answered, “I don’t particularly care for them, but I know of one who loves to tell stories.”
Tessa took a step forward, excitement coursing through her. “Are they good ones?”
“No. They’re dreadful, but a few find them enlightening.”
“Oh,” was all Tessa said. Then her head tilted. “You will not tell me the story of that Mark?”
“No, she will not,” came a dark, lethal voice.
But Tessa paid him no mind, reaching for another arrow as Razik came prowling closer to them.
“It’s fine, Raz,” Eliza said, although there was something new in her tone. A hint of sadness maybe? “She doesn’t know.”
“It is not something you need to share if you don’t want to,” he retorted.
So protective.
She’d had that once.
That was what Tessa thought to herself as she silently placed the arrow on the string.
“It’s a Curse Mark,” Eliza said, shoving around the dragon who’d planted himself between her and Tessa. “The male I believed to be my father for a time put it there because I was born with fire magic rather than earth magic like he had.”
Tessa slowly lowered the bow she had raised. “But you cannot control that.”
“As I’ve already said, my world is not free of injustice and moral failings. It simply looks different there,” she replied. “He had plans for me, and those plans were destroyed because of who, or rather what, I turned out to be.”
Well, if anyone could understand that, it was Tessa.
“In retaliation, he cursed me with this Mark before he abandoned me. Live or die, I was no longer his concern,” Eliza went on. “But he made sure I could not have children of my own to ‘disappoint him further,’ as he worded it.”
Tessa’s power was writhing in her soul, and she knew there were streaks of light flickering in her eyes when she asked, “Does he still breathe?”
“No,” she answered.
Tessa’s gaze flicked to Razik. “He avenged you?”
“I avenged myself,” Eliza retorted.
Razik was quiet, his arms crossed over his broad chest, but the glare he was aiming at Tessa told her he wasn’t happy this was being discussed.
Too bad for him Tessa didn’t care what he thought.
“But you still bear the Mark?” Tessa asked.
“It is forever,” Eliza answered, jerking her chin in an order to get back to practicing.
“Perhaps not forever,” Razik cut in.