Chapter 16 Tessa #2
Dex scoffed as he chewed his meat. “Hiding from you, of course. Everyone is so on edge with you running around, turning their precious buildings into piles of rocks. If I wasn’t so irritated by it all, I’d find it humorous.”
“Sorry to give you another mess to clean up,” she sneered, taking in the office she’d spent so much of her childhood in while avoiding the small cupboard on the wall.
He waved her off. “I’m not so much irritated with you as I am with them. They focus on such trivial things here. Even Rordan seems to have forgotten the end goal.”
“Which is what?” she asked absentmindedly, hating being in here and knowing that was exactly why Dex had chosen it.
“Getting you home where you belong, of course.”
Her head whipped back to him, only to find him not even looking at her. No, he was busy cutting another bite of meat as though she truly was the dismissive nuisance she’d always felt like.
“I’m having a plate brought for you,” he said. “Take a seat.”
“Fuck off,” she retorted.
He clicked his tongue in disapproval. “Is this not what your little letter demanded of me? No pretenses? Only truths and answers?”
“Take this off,” she countered, lifting her arm to show the cuff. “Then we can chat all you want.”
“Make a blood vow not to harm me, and we can discuss that,” he countered. She scowled at him, and he smirked, knowing he’d won for now. “Take a seat, Tessie.”
“Stop calling me that,” she snapped.
He sighed, placing his silverware on his nearly empty plate and pushing the dish aside. “You summoned me, Tessa. With your erratic behavior as of late, can you really blame me for taking precautions? Oralia said you attacked her the last time you saw her.”
“I did,” Tessa said simply, starting to wander around the room. She let her fingers drag along the wall. “She is irritating.”
Dex huffed a laugh. “I can agree with you on that.”
There was a knock before the door pushed open and a seraph entered, carrying a tray of food. She watched the male move, feathered wings of a soft light grey rustling with each step before he set the tray on the other side of the desk.
Dex nodded to the male in dismissal, and the male gathered the dirty dishes before heading back to the doorway.
“Thank you,” Tessa said tightly when he passed, and the male paused for only a second. Hazel eyes met hers, an expression she couldn’t read lingering in their depths.
“That is all,” Dex said coolly.
The seraph took the hint, continuing on his way and the door snicking shut behind him once more.
“Sit and eat, Tessa,” Dex said pointedly. “Before it gets cold.”
She glared at him, but she was hungry. It wasn’t as if she couldn’t eat while she was here and carrying out her own plans. With an irritated huff, she crossed the room and dropped into the wooden chair, immediately sitting still and proper as if Cordelia were the one sitting across from her.
Refusing to let her nerves or discomfort show, she picked up a piece of bread and took a bite. “So what’s the plan, then, Dex? I don’t trust you. You don’t trust me. Are either of us going to believe a word we say?”
He smiled that smile he used when he was reassuring her he would fix whatever she’d fucked up. “I have a proposal.”
“Which is?”
“A truth agreement. You can specify the time frame.”
Luka had told her of this. How he’d made one with Rordan when he’d come to Faven to ensure neither of them could lie to one another during negotiations.
“An hour for now,” she replied, picking up her fork and steak knife. “For the next hour, neither of us can speak a lie to one another.”
“Do we have an accord?” Dex asked, arching a brow.
Her smile was all teeth when she answered, “It’s a bargain,” before taking a bite of her own steak.
She felt the bargain Mark settle, this one along her left ankle.
It would be gone before she left this room.
“I’ll go first,” she said after she swallowed and began cutting another piece of meat. “How did you get here?”
“Through a mirror gate, the same as you,” he answered, folding his hands atop the desk while he watched her. “In the Achaz Kingdom. We bided our time and came at the same time Xan brought you so our presence wouldn’t be felt as strongly when we entered.”
“How did you know when I’d be coming?”
“It’s my turn for a question, Tessie,” he mocked. “Are you fully bonded to Theon St. Orcas as his Source?”
“No,” she answered, picking up her bread once more to hide her trembling hands at this name. “The Source bond never worked right. My power rebelled against it.”
“But some aspects did work, right?”
“My turn,” she said with faux sweetness. “What, exactly, is the power you stole?”
He blinked, seemingly surprised. “I see Xan has been running his mouth,” he muttered.
Then he sighed as he said, “While there are only elemental Fae in Devram, there are other types of Fae in other realms. They are known as cognitive Fae, and one of their gifts is being able to alter or mask reality.”
“You can…” She trailed off as piece after piece fell into place. “Like when you met me in the mountains? You made it seem like you were alone. That’s how you hid the other seraphs with you?”
He nodded. “What are the names of all the people who were with you when you destroyed the Pantheon?”
She took another bite to stall, but there was no way around that very specific question.
His dark eyes watched her, tracking every move and breath, but she held his stare as she finally said, “Luka, Xan, Tristyn, Cienna, Gia, Razik, and Eliza. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess you are far older than I am, so why did you wait so long to come around? ”
Dex shifted in his seat, one arm falling to the armrest while the other stayed on the desk.
He tapped his finger a few times, appearing to stall just as she had.
“I didn’t wait,” he gritted out. “The more I have to alter, the more draining on my power. I can only hold an illusion for so long. Small illusions are easy enough, but larger ones—appearing to be younger, for example—take more power. I simply ensured you were…not around when I came here when you were younger or when my power was low.”
Her utensils clattered to the desk, bouncing off the glassware to the floor. “You are the reason…”
Of course he was, but it still hurt to have it confirmed.
It all made perfect sense. Tristyn said he was there when they were attacked.
Dex and the others were the ones who’d taken her from them.
He’d known where she was the whole time, keeping his secrets from everyone else, including Rordan.
Not even Cordelia knew what she truly was.
Dex had kept her hidden, letting her grow up.
Breaking her. Grooming her to be what he wanted—meek and submissive.
Completely reliant on him. Looking to him for comfort and answers.
“Don’t look at me like that, Tessie,” he scoffed. “You were too young to understand the intricacies of all the moving parts. You are still too focused on this realm. It’s one of hundreds. You are meant for more.”
“You let me endure years of abuse!” she cried, lurching to her feet. “You—”
“I taught you how to survive,” he snarled, smoothly rising to his own feet.
He braced his hands on the desk, leering towards her.
“‘Be what they want you to be now, so you can be who you were meant to be later.’ That’s what I taught you.
How to blend in in a world that would seek to use and destroy you.
How to make them see what you needed them to see so you could sneak around and cross wards.
We needed them to believe you were Fae, so we needed you to believe it too. Until it was time.”
“You’re lying,” she spat.
His smile was chilling. “We are under a truth agreement, Tessa. I can’t lie to you right now. Isn’t this what you wanted? Truth and answers?”
Yes.
No.
She needed a moment. Even with the cuff on, she felt her control slipping. Her power surged, snapping and lashing out, trying to break free. Dragging her down.
“How are you any different?” she asked, her voice shaking. “You want to use us as much as they do.”
He’d rounded the desk at some point, and now he stood directly in front of her. His hand cupped her chin, forcing her to look into his dark eyes. “I’m not seeking to use you, Tessa. I’m seeking to set you free. I’m seeking to see you at your rightful place.”
“You said so yourself, I was the key to your freedom.”
“And you are,” he confirmed. “But you are also the key to yours.” When she didn’t immediately reply, he leaned closer, letting his hand slide from her chin to tuck her hair behind her ear. “Give me a week, Tessie. Give me one week to prove to you I’ve always been on your side.”
“What could you possibly show me in a week that could convince us of that?”
His lips tilted in a knowing smile. “You, of all people, should know how much one’s perspective can change in a single day, hour, let alone a week.
” Taking a step back, he pulled a phone from his pocket, glancing at the screen.
Then he added, “I think you will find even your presumed allies only have their own interests in mind.”
“What does that mean?” she demanded.
“Come. We have visitors.”
Tessa had little choice but to follow Dex from Cordelia’s office. She stayed at his side, refusing to trail him like a Fae or a fucking Source. She knew where they were going anyway. Taking a left instead of a right, they stepped into the grand foyer of the main estate building.
“Who are we waiting for?” she asked in irritation.
“The Arius Lord and his wife.”
“Valter and Cressida?”
“Valter is no longer the Arius Lord,” Dex said.
“Then who is?”
“His heir, of course.”
But if Valter wasn’t dead, the only way he could be the Lord was if all the ruling Lords and Ladies had unanimously agreed. Rordan would never, but it was another word that had her lungs constricting.
Wife.
“It’s a Selection Year,” she said a touch too weakly, betraying her own emotions.
Dex glanced at her, pity on his features. As if talking to a child who had learned a hard lesson, he said, “It is my understanding an exception was made for an extenuating circumstance.”
The door opened then, a male and female striding in. She took in the female first, wrapped in a long fur coat. Her chestnut hair was styled half-up, brown eyes immediately finding her and narrowing as she pointedly removed her gloves to showcase the Mark on the back of her hand.
“Arius Lord,” Dex said, bowing deeply, but Tessa stayed rooted to the spot.
Her gaze slid to him, staring at his hands. On the back of one was the Achaz Mark, but on the back of the other… She couldn’t tear her eyes from the Union Mark that stood out.
Dex stood straight once more. “What can we do for you and your wife this afternoon?”
Slowly, she let her eyes drag up his form. He waited until she met his emerald irises, swirling with darkness and already fixed on her, before Theon said, “I’ve come for what is mine.”