Page 125 of Storm of Secrets and Sorrow

With a huff, she climbed out of the bed, quickly shimmying on the clothing before taking her dinner into the bathroom and slamming the door behind her. At the same moment, Luka came back, looking between the door and Theon and shaking his head.

“Something you need to explain to me?” Theon demanded.

“Nope,” Luka said.

“What the fuck was all that?”

“Did you ever think that maybe that is the problem here?”

“Don’t act superior right now,” Theon retorted.

“She told you what it was. You clearly weren’t listening,” Luka said, sitting on the sofa and stretching his legs out before him. “She tells you things all the time. You just choose not to hear her.”

“I want full access to her while she is gone,” Theon said, standing in front of Tessa and facing off with Dagian Jove.

“My father agreed to one phone call a day. Considering she may be…indisposed at times, the time of those phone calls may vary,” Dagian replied, not even looking up from his phone.

Theon felt Tessa’s dread down the bond. From his periphery, he also saw Luka bend down to speak into her ear. She shook her head slightly, but the anxiety didn’t ease much.

“I also want daily reports on what is learned,” Theon said, returning his attention to Dagian.

The Achaz Heir smiled at him as if he were a child asking for a toy. Sliding his phone into his pocket, he said, “I’m sure you do, but we both know you have no negotiation power here. If you refuse to let me take her, your agreement with the Lords and Ladies is broken.”

Basically, he was fucked, and Dagian knew it.

Turning to Tessa, he took her face in his hands. “You have your phone?”

She nodded, but Dagian interrupted again.

“Her phone stays here.”

“Are you fucking mad?” Theon demanded, rounding on him.

“No. We’re just not stupid. Who knows what kind of spy programs you have on her phone. You think we’re letting her bring that into our capital city? Ourhome?” Dagian replied, his tone riddled with superiority. “All of her tech stays. In fact, all of her possessions stay. She’ll have clothing provided.”

“She can’t even bring her own clothing?” Theon objected.

“Calm down,” Tessa muttered behind him. “It’s not like I got to bring my own clothing to Arius House. It’s fine. I’m used to it.”

Turning his back on Dagian again, he met her stare. “It’s one week, and you’ll be back.”

She nodded, Luka having already taken her messenger bag and setting it aside.

Her eyes darted to Dagian before coming back to Theon. “You don’t… You’d tell me if there was something you’d learned, right? I know everything you know?”

“In regards to what?”

Her brow furrowed. “Me, Theon. My heritage. My mother. My bloodline. Anything.”

Her father is a god, and her mother may as well be one.

Cienna often spoke in riddles, not wanting to tempt fate. He rarely took what she said at face-value, but apparently with this, he should have. Scarlett certainly hadn’t been vague when it came to her father, but he hadn’t told Tessa he’d already known her father was a god, even if he didn’t know which one at the time. And he hadn’t told her what he knew of her mother either. He hadn’t told her she was essentially the daughter of two gods. He knew the power of keeping information close, and he didn’t want this one getting back to the Achaz Lord in any of these testings and assessments.

“Of course, beautiful,” he said, bending to press a kiss to her brow.

“One week,” she whispered.

“One week,” he agreed.

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