Chapter 52 Theon #2
“You’ve seen what we’ve built here,” Kyra said, and Theon could hear the slight tremble in her voice.
“I’ve been in this position for over a century, and Dagian is correct.
I’ve done much, but I could have done more.
I can do more to ensure the people in my care are safe.
That this realm is safe.” She took a deep breath, her eyes pooling with tears.
“Because change requires sacrifice. Change requires more than pretty words.” She offered Tessa a weak smile.
“So I offer my power as well. For the betterment of Devram and all those who deserve more in a world long forgotten by the gods. If I’m not willing to sacrifice to save them, I don’t deserve to call myself their Lady. ”
The room was silent at the proclamation, and Theon didn’t know what to do or say. He’d expected arguments and debates, yes, but he’d never expected things to end like this.
“I offer mine as well.”
Theon’s head whipped to the right where the Serafina Lady was meeting his gaze.
“You?” Theon asked, because it was all he could think of to say.
“You’ve held a longstanding alliance with Achaz Kingdom,” Luka said, voicing Theon’s thoughts.
“And he has betrayed that time and time again. I was too foolish to see how thoroughly,” she replied.
“And now I have lost…too much. I have seen too much, and in the end…” She cleared her throat, getting herself under control.
“Maybe a beginning isn’t what is needed, but an ending to make room for something more. ”
He heard Tessa’s slight inhale. Felt her emotions all over the place as the Falein Lady followed suit, and finally the Celeste Lady.
As one by one, the Ladies of the realm offered their power and their places alongside Dagian so that Devram might survive.
So that they had a chance. So that Rordan wouldn’t win.
So that there just might be a balance in the realm once more.
That afternoon, everyone gathered on the banks of the sea south of Idalia.
It was the place where the Shade Plains merged with the Anala Kingdom at the base of the Ozul Mountains.
They didn’t dare do this in Arius Kingdom after Rordan’s recent attack.
They were told it would need to be some place the power could manifest. The magic would fight being taken from one to go to the other, and as he took more and more, he would struggle to contain it right away.
Introductions had been made, all of them leery of Akira, and Theon couldn’t blame them. He was used to Tessa slipping into her chaotic states. Akira seemed to live in that space permanently.
“So, to be clear,” the Falein Lady said, “Theon won’t suddenly possess gifts from all the First gods?”
Tristyn shook his head. Tessa had requested he come after things had escalated during the meeting this morning.
“That’s not how this works,” Tristyn explained. “He will have the strength of that power, but it will manifest differently. It will become the darkness he now possesses. Your power will simply strengthen it.”
“And what will they become?” Tessa asked, Luka tucking her hand into his before she could start pacing.
Tristyn glanced at the rulers, and Theon could swear he winced. “They won’t be mortal, but they won’t have power. Only an extended lifespan with a Staying that will remain for some time. For how long, we never know.”
Theon looked at each of the Ladies. “This is your choice, your graces,” he said.
“We are not asking this of you, and we understand if you rescind your offer. No one will hold it against you. To be separated from a gift you have harnessed in your soul your entire life is a tragedy, even if done willingly.”
“My offer stands,” Lady Kyra said. “My only request is that Tana is still offered a seat at whatever new sense of order is established to oversee the kingdoms.”
He smiled softly. “That can be arranged.”
“We will value all your input when the time comes,” Tessa added.
“But if we do not do this, it won’t matter,” Dagian interjected tightly.
He was on an edge, and Theon would be the same if their roles were reversed.
He was moments away from losing not only a power he’d trained much of his life to harness, but also the life he thought he’d have. “Let’s get on with it.”
“What of their Sources?” Tessa asked suddenly. “If they no longer have power, what will happen to their Source?”
The three Sources that were present went rigid, and Tristyn rubbed the back of his neck. “That I don’t know, wild fury. And even if I did, because of the corruption of the Source Marks here, I don’t know that it would be the same anyway.”
“The only way to sever a Source bond is by death,” Tessa mused, pulling her hand from Luka’s to pace anyway.
“But if there’s no power, is there anything for the Mark to cling to?” Axel asked. “If I’d had a Source when I turned, what would have been the point?”
“Yes, but you lost your power. The magic itself isn’t dying. It’s just being moved to another,” Tessa argued. Then her eyes went wide. “Will those bonds transfer with the magic?”
“Again, because the Source Marks here are not a true Source Mark, we won’t know,” Tristyn said. “Because of the other Marks interwoven, we can’t know.”
“It won’t be balanced,” Akira piped in, drawing closer.
“What does that mean?” Tessa asked, turning to her mother.
“Xan told me of the Source Marks,” she answered. “One connects the soul. One intertwines the power. The life force. The heart. It is a balance. If that balance is broken, the whole thing shatters.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Nothing is certain in the stars, Tessa,” she sang, crouching down and beginning to draw a Mark in the dirt. “But the magic will be strained enough. It will not be able to sustain an unbalanced bond.”
“And the Fae tied to them?”
Akira stood, moving a few feet, and crouching to do the same thing again.
“Their lives are not tied to the Marks.” Akira frowned. “Although they will likely feel the death of it. That will be as excruciating as losing one’s gifts,” she said simply, moving another few feet to draw more.
Tessa turned to the Fae, all of them having paled. “This is no longer only the Ladies’ choices,” she said. “If any of you wish not to do this, we will decline the Lady’s offer.”
“Tessa—” Theon started, but she held up a hand.
“No. They were already forced into a bond. No one will force them to risk their lives after having so much taken from them,” Tessa said. “This is their choice because this is what we are fighting for. Everyone having a godsdamn choice.”
Silence fell, stretching on until finally the Anala Lady’s Source spoke.
“My life as a Source has been better than others,” he admitted.
“But if this means none will be forced to give themselves for this purpose again, I will take the risk. If that is what we are fighting for, Lady Ausra, then I will risk this and stand by your side if I survive.”
He placed a fist over his heart and bowed his head, and Tessa lurched back a step.
But Theon was already moving in front of her.
He’d bowed before her when she took the Arius seat and now he’d stand beside a Fae to show his solidarity in this too.
He stood next to the Anala Source, following his actions.
Axel moved next. “You already know this, but the Underground will follow you,” he said, stopping next to Theon.
“Someone who understands what it is to have their value stripped away to nothing. Someone who fights to ensure the amount of power someone carries—whether vast or nonexistent—does not define them. Someone who does not care what blood runs in their veins or what type of being they are. Someone who sees them as people. You have our loyalty, Lady Ausra.”
One by one everyone fell into a line as faint howls sounded. Nylah and Roan appeared, prowling to her side and lowering to their bellies.
The Fae.
The Underground.
The Legacy.
Those of Devram and those from across the stars.
Because destiny beckoned and sacrifice demanded.
And while she had not asked for this, Chaos had come to reign.
And Chaos did not choose.
She would fight for them all.
“A new dawn,” Akira said simply, and Theon lifted his head to find her staring at her daughter. “Because in all things there must be balance.”
“The sky, the sea, the realms,” Tessa echoed faintly. “One was never meant to rule over the other.”
Akira smiled wider, her hands clasped under her chin as she nodded several times in excitement. “So Endings discovered because Dreams dared to challenge.”
“Yes,” Tessa breathed, a laugh of disbelief coming from her lips. Her gaze slid to Theon, where Luka stood beside him. “And so we fight.”
“And we will not fall,” Theon said darkly before he turned to Dagian. “Are you ready?”
The Achaz Heir nodded once, and Akira clapped her hands twice. “We draw, Tessa,” she said, pointing to the Marks. “In a circle.”
Mother and daughter drew until the circle was complete, and then Akira was shoving Theon to the center. “Come, come,” she added, motioning to Dagian until the two males stood in the middle.
“You must not lose contact at any point,” Akira instructed.
“It will be agony, Dagian,” Tristyn added grimly. “I cannot perform this, but I have seen it done. You will feel a piece of yourself being torn away.”
“It can’t be worse than losing Sasha,” he said tightly. “Tell us what to do.”
“No one else crosses in,” Akira said, dancing back outside the circle. “Or the power may choose another.” She glanced at Luka. “Keep her contained. Her Chaos will want it.”
“And you?” Theon demanded.
“I have her,” Xan said, stepping to Akira’s side while Luka slid an arm around Tessa’s waist, pulling her back into his chest.
Dagian lifted his hands, turning his palms up when Akira instructed them.
“A blade,” she encouraged. “Across your palms to merge your blood.”