Page 183 of Storm of Secrets and Sorrow

And she glared back.

“I’d consider it if you were eating properly,” he finally said. “But you’re not.”

“I haven’t been hungry,” she grumbled.

It had only been one day since she’d been back in the Acropolis, and she’d been grateful Theon had given her a day at the townhouse to re-acclimate and figure everything out. She’d listened to his explanation. None of it surprised her. Felicity was a Gracil Legacy. While Gracil was the god of empathy, some of his descendants could use their gifts to manipulate feelings. Felicity, in particular, was gifted at conflict—either escalating or de-escalating it. Tessa even understood the set-up that Theon and Luka speculated had happened. It all fit. It was all plausible.

But none of it mattered.

Just like she’d told Theon. He would still be Matched, whether it be to Felicity Davers or another Legacy. And Tessa? Well…

She crossed her arms, jutting her hip out in annoyance as Luka continued to look at her like she was the stubborn brat he always claimed she was.

Valter wanted this Source bond broken so she could be assigned as Luka’s Match. But if she wasn’t Legacy, would that stand? Or would the other kingdoms come together once more and demand it be changed like they were doing now?

Witch blood accounted for her visions. That was what Elowyn had told her. There could be Zinta or Taika blood in her, or she could just be descended from a Witch. Some of the Witch lines were not direct descendants of the Sister Goddesses but had been gifted their magic in the way the Fae were. Descendants of the goddesses were obviously more powerful,but whether she was or wasn’t, none of that accounted for her Achaz magic.

“Let’s go, Tessa,” Luka finally said, turning back to the table and packing up a few things.

“No,” Tessa said again. “You promised to teach me how to protect myself, Luka Mors.”

“I am training you,” he answered, not bothering to look back at her.

“It’s not enough.”

“It’s not something you’ll suddenly become proficient at overnight.”

“But if we keep training now, I’ll get there faster,” she insisted.

With an exasperated huff, he turned back, slinging the small bag of items over his shoulder. He stalked back to her, shoving a water bottle into her hands. “Did I not promise you I would train you?”

Tipping her head back to see his face, she held his sapphire gaze as she said, “I know you did, but it’s not enough.”

His head canted to the side, a lock of hair falling free from the small ponytail it was tied back in and brushing his jaw. “How is it not enough?”

“It’s just not,” she retorted. “This is no different from what we were doing before. I’m not a Sargon descendant, Luka. I will not pick up on everything as quickly as you did. I need more practice.”

“Tessa, you successfully countered several moves today. Considering we haven’t trained in a few weeks, that’s saying something.”

“It’s saying nothing,” she snapped in frustration.

“What’s this really about?”

“It’s about you saying we’re done when we still have more time.”

He was quiet for a moment, studying her, and she forced herself not to fidget.

Finally, he said, “You want to be able to defend yourself, right?”

“Yes. I want to be able to protect myself.”

He nodded. “Given the past several weeks, that’s understandable, but did something happen in Faven? Did something happen there to make you push so hard for this?”

Tessa pursed her lips, shuffling her feet. The truth was she didn’t feel safe anywhere, but being in Faven, in an unfamiliar place…

She was just so tired of having to depend on others to be protected. It’s what the Legacy wanted. For the Fae to be dependent on them. Even once they Emerged and could access their gifts, the Legacy were still stronger. A Legacy could still demand anything from a Fae, and failure to comply only made things worse. And sure, she wasn’t Fae or likely even half Legacy at this point, but the fact remained she wasn’t prepared.

She’d never been taught to fight back, but she’d also never had anything to fightfor.

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