Chapter 14 Theon #2
The room was utterly still, but he didn’t give a single fuck.
They wanted to pull him in here and blame him for what was happening when he’d told them from the beginning that caging her wasn’t going to work?
That it would blow up in their faces? Blame him for her bringing their most sacred spaces to ruin in a single godsdamn night?
Control the uncontrollable, or to fury they both lose.
He held Rordan’s stare a moment longer before locking eyes with each Lady in turn. Serafina. Celeste. Falein. Anala.
And he could swear the Anala Lady was fighting a small smile when she calmly said, “Heir St. Orcas makes some valid points. Of course, we would never suggest putting a fellow Lord on trial, but I do believe we have questions. We were told she was being held beneath the Pantheon until decisions could be made, and yet…”
“And yet what?” the Achaz Lord snapped. He flung a hand in Theon’s direction. “Ask the one who broke her out.”
“I did no such thing. I have not seen her since the Sirana Gala,” Theon replied, steepling a finger along his temple.
“Lies,” Rordan hissed.
“In case you’ve forgotten, the female has a vendetta against my entire kingdom. My people were slaughtered. I’ve been tending to them while my father’s fucked off to gods-know-where,” he drawled. “My attention is on our defenses.”
“Then why are you in the Acropolis today?” the Falein Lady asked.
“Supplies. As well as substantiating rumors,” he answered. “As a fellow lover of knowledge, surely you understand desiring facts, proof, and truth before believing something to be true.”
Lady Farhan nodded in agreement, just as Theon had known she would when he appealed to logic.
“And now that you have seen with your own eyes, what is your next course of action, young heir?” Lady Aithne asked, embers crackling at her fingertips as she held Theon’s gaze.
He sat up a little straighter, his hand falling to the armrest. “I plan to do what’s best for my people.”
“And what do you believe that is?”
“To protect them from the dangers of the realm.”
“Indeed,” Lady Aithne said, and he didn’t know what to make of the Lady’s response.
Her face was unreadable, and she turned away from him as she said, “His worries are valid, and he only seeks what we seek for our own kingdoms. I think his actions have proven such these last months during Valter’s…
absence. He has taken on immense responsibility far sooner than any of us did. ”
“What are you insinuating, Kyra?” Rordan gritted out.
“Valter has failed his kingdom,” the Anala Lady said. “I move we allow Theon to take the necessary steps to take his seat and formally recognize him as the Arius Lord.”
The fuck?
Theon sat up straight, shock rippling through him.
That was the very last thing he’d been expecting her to say, and judging by the shock on the other rulers’ faces, they hadn’t anticipated it either.
It clearly had not been discussed, but a motion had been made.
It would have to be voted on. Theon wouldn’t be allowed to vote, and this type of decision had to be unanimous.
There was no way it would pass, but Kyra had planted a seed that would linger.
“Absolutely not,” Rordan barked.
“That is not how this works,” Kyra replied calmly. “A motion has been brought forth. Unless you are saying you have absolute power here?”
“Of course not,” he gritted out from between clenched teeth. “But this has never once been discussed—”
“On the contrary. It has been discussed at great length since Valter went missing. Something none of us knew anything about, right?”
Oh, she was good. That was all Theon could think as he watched this play out. All the rulers were manipulators, but to watch them manipulate one another?
“We have all been paying attention to how Theon has handled matters, and while we were irked about his absence at meetings, he was tending to his people. That is the role of a Lord, is it not?” the Anala Lady went on.
“That is a valid argument,” the Falein Lady said, clearly thinking deeply. “He has also offered to help with Tessa repeatedly. Would have taken responsibility for her once more if it had been granted. Comparing his time with the female and yours, Rordan, he did appear to have more control of her.”
“That’s bullshit,” Rordan snarled, his face becoming red with rage.
“Is it?”
And Theon nearly fell out of his chair at the female that had asked that question.
The Serafina Lady’s eyes were narrowed on Rordan. “We have lost the Sirana Villas, the Pantheon, the Tribunal, and the trust of our kingdoms while she has been in your care.”
Two kingdoms that had always been steadfastly loyal to one another now on opposite sides.
All because of Tessa.
“And his people experienced a massacre of their own while under his care,” Rordan argued.
“Because of her. While she was your responsibility,” Lady Isleen snapped. She turned to the Celeste Lady. “Luna?”
The Celeste Lady appeared to hesitate, weighing her words, before she said, “We do have duties to our kingdoms to protect them. Their trust is how we maintain control, and we are losing that trust rapidly.”
“Because of her,” the Serafina Lady interjected. “Because no one can control her.”
“But there were not massacres or buildings being destroyed when she was with Theon,” the Falein Lady offered.
“Is that enough to offer him our blessing to proceed?” the Celeste Lady asked, looking among the Ladies, and Theon couldn’t help but notice they weren’t including Rordan in the discussion anymore. But they should be. Without his vote, none of this would matter.
“And what are we to do with Valter when he returns?” the Serafina Lady posed.
“He would have to answer for his absence and face such consequences,” Kyra said simply. “But if Theon is the one caring for their kingdom while Valter has seemingly disappeared, then concerns and meetings should involve him. Not Valter.”
“That is logical,” Lady Farhan agreed.
“And it is still his bloodline,” the Celeste Lady mused.
“But he doesn’t have a Source,” Rordan cut in, his knuckles white where they clenched the arms of his chair. “We are giving an heir without a Source a seat? Anyone could overthrow him.”
“Then I guess if Valter wants his seat back, that’s what he’d need to do,” Kyra said. “Besides, he does still technically have a Source.”
“So we are making him a Lord and giving him the female?” Rordan demanded.
“Tessa,” Theon interjected. “She has a fucking name.”
At that, Rordan’s golden gaze slid to him, and Theon knew that smile all too well. That was the smile of someone who was about to play a winning card or move a chess piece into checkmate.
“He has a Source, but what of a Match?” Rordan said.
“He has a Match,” the Celeste Lady said, a crease appearing in her brow.
“But it is not official,” Rordan countered. “A Match Ceremony has not occurred.”
“It is a Selection Year,” Theon retorted, struggling to keep his darkness in check.
“If we are making exceptions for you to take a kingdom seat, then surely we can make an exception here as well.”
“What does me taking a Match have to do with any of this?”
“It is a sign you take your role seriously. A wife to produce an heir to keep the bloodline going, and by extension, the protection of your kingdom,” the Achaz Lord said with a smile. “We all had Matches before we took our seats. Am I incorrect, Ladies?”
“He is not,” the Falein Lady said. “But that is easily rectified if we are all in agreement.”
“Wait,” Theon said, forcing himself to stay seated and not lurch to his feet.
But what was his argument here? How was he supposed to argue against moving forward with his Match Contract? Especially with a fucking Bargain Mark still on his skin?
And when he locked eyes with Rordan once more, the Lord knew he had him backed into a corner.
“That is my stipulation,” the Achaz Lord said. “I will agree to Theon taking over as the Arius Lord as soon as his Match Contract is fulfilled and he has a wife.”
“That is agreeable enough,” the Falein Lady said. “Anyone else?”
And one by one the Ladies agreed, with Kyra being the last as she turned to face Theon fully. “Are the terms agreeable to you? You will be recognized as the Arius Lord as soon as you take a Match?”
No.
Yes.
Fuck.
“Surely they are if this is about protecting your people and your kingdom?” Rordan said, a brow arching in question.
“And Tessa?” Theon asked, trying to keep his voice neutral.
“I think we can all agree the realm was safer when she was in your care. I propose she be returned to you until an agreement can be reached regarding her fate,” Kyra said.
Begrudgingly, everyone murmured an agreement.
“Then we have an agreement,” Theon said, rising from his seat and buttoning his suit coat. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to make a phone call.”
He didn’t wait for a dismissal. He strode from the sitting room, down the hall, and out the front door before he pulled his old phone from his pocket. Powering it on, he ignored the numerous texts and missed calls from Luka. He’d deal with that later.
Instead, he scrolled to a name and clicked it before lifting the phone to his ear. It rang only once before connecting.
“Theon? Thank Arius. I’ve been so worried,” Felicity said, sounding genuine in her concern.
He didn’t bother with pleasantries as he said, “How soon can you be in the Acropolis?”