Page 185 of Storm of Secrets and Sorrow

Luka was quiet as he started the vehicle and pulled into traffic while Tessa fiddled with the music.

“Can I ask you something?”

Luka sighed. “Yes.”

“What’s your earliest memory?”

“That’s a bizarre question,” he muttered.

She twisted in the front seat to see him better. “It’s really not. You don’t trust this Auryon because she has gifts not readily found in Devram, but so do you. Don’t you think it’s possible you weren’t born here either? Don’t you think it’s possible you’re like…”

She trailed off, and he glanced over at her. “Like you? Some lost child of a god?”

“Unwantedchild of a god,” she corrected.

“You don’t know that, Tessa.”

“I’m here, aren’t I? In a realm forgotten by the gods.”

Luka was quiet for a few seconds before saying, “I do not remember my parents. I don’t really have memories of them, only what Valter has told me.”

“You were five years when they passed. You should remembersomething,” Tessa argued.

“I don’t,” he said in a tone that told Tessa to drop it.

“But there were Sargon Legacy here before?”

“Supposedly. Centuries ago, if history texts are to be believed.”

“Why were they killed off?”

“According to history, Sargon and Arius were as close as brothers. Arius ruled as a First, and Sargon commanded his armies. When the Arius Kingdom tried to overtake Devram before, they failed. They were banished to the territory they now hold, and any Sargon Legacy?—”

“Were dealt with,” Tessa finished, remembering what Dagian had told her on their return trip to the Acropolis.

“Something like that,” Luka said tightly.

They rode the rest of the way to the townhouse in silence, but as Luka turned off the vehicle, she said quietly, “It’s lonely. Being the only one of your kind.”

“Yeah, little one, it is,” he answered before climbing out and shutting the door.

“In a few weeks, you will all be receiving your third Mark,” Mother Cordelia said from the front of the room. “This Mark is often the hardest one for a new Source to adjust to. You will be able to hear your Master’s thoughts and that can take some getting used to. There will be an extended time away as you adjust. You need to use that time to do two things: make sure your own thoughts are where they need to be—focused on yourMaster’s needs and desires. The second thing, I’m sure will come easier tomostof you,” she said pointedly with a glare in Tessa’s direction where she sat away from the others as usual. “You need to be sure your reactions are under control when you hear your Master’s thoughts and wishes down the bond. They are trusting you to give nothing away. You keep their secrets, but your mannerisms will always speak louder than words.”

An alarm going off on the Estate Mother’s phone signaled the end of the lesson, and she picked it up, silencing it. “You are dismissed.”

The other Sources gathered their things, but Tessa waited. Mother Cordelia still expected her to stay for her lessons. As the others started filing out, Luka stepped around them, and then Tessa was sucking in a breath because Theon was with him. She hadn’t expected him to be here.

“My Lord,” Cordelia said with a small bow.

“Cordelia,” he answered tightly, moving to Tessa and packing her things for her.

She wasn’t sure what to do. Andwhywas he doing that in front of her? The disapproval on Mother Cordelia’s face said she was not impressed, and when Theon slung the bag over his shoulder before helping Tessa to her feet, the Estate Mother’s features went positively livid.

“My Lord, we resume her private instruction today. She has missed far too many, and I must insist?—”

Theon stiffened, his darkness appearing, and again Tessa saw the flash of a wince from Luka as he turned away from her.

“You insistnothing, Cordelia,” Theon said, his voice too calm and too low.

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