Page 276 of Storm of Secrets and Sorrow

“Apparently Temural sent her to aid Tessa.”

There was utter silence in the room. Even Corbin and Lange had set down their food.

“Well?” Luka asked.

“Well, what?” Theon returned.

“What do you have to say about it?”

“Nothing.”

Luka sank into a chair. “You? You have nothing to say about this?”

“My brother is missing. I was just tricked into becoming a Source. I am suddenly in charge of an entire kingdom, and I can’t stand for more than a few seconds without falling to my knees. She walked away from me, and now I learn she can summon an army of beings whose sole purpose is to hunt down and kill my bloodline. No, Luka, I have nothing to say,” Theon retorted, slightly out of breath after he finished his rant.

“Theon, we have to react to this threat. It’s the Arius Kingdom. There are hundreds of thousands with Arius blood.From what Blackheart said, they don’t discriminate. A drop of Arius blood will be enough to be their death,” Luka said.

“What does that mean for Tessa, then?” Lange asked, picking his sandwich back up. “Isn’t she half Arius blood?”

“I don’t know,” Theon answered. “I don’t know what to do with any of this. Once again, everything I thought we knew was just overturned.”

“It sounds like this is part of a bigger war,” Lange offered.

“What?” Theon said, turning to look at the Fae.

“If Achaz created the Hunters to hunt down Arius blood, it doesn’t sound like they were created specifically for Devram,” Lange continued.

“It’s part of the Everlasting War,” Theon said, trying to sit up again, and Luka recognized the excited undertone despite his exhaustion.

“The biggest question is why was Tessa sent to Devram in the first place?” Corbin cut in. He still hadn’t resumed eating, but Luka found he was the more cautious of the two.

“And what has Lord Jove told her?” Theon said. “She kept saying this was her destiny, that we were always meant to destroy one another. If this is all true, then she’s right. She believes only one of us will survive. The Augury has been right this entire time. It was why they’ve been trying to kill her.”

“Why didn’t you just tell her what you learned?” Luka asked.

“I was trying to protect her,” Theon said. “You know that. It’s what I’ve always done. And now I’ve lost her and Axel.”

“You were trying to protect her because you needed her power,” Luka said. Theon opened his mouth to argue, but Luka stopped him. “Don’t deny it, Theon. Your entire plan to overthrow your father hinged on your Source.”

That muscle feathered in Theon’s jaw before he said, “Initially, yes, but it became more, and then I was more terrified of losing her. I thought if she didn’t know, they wouldn’t try toget the information from her. We were all trying to understand. I was trying to get a plan in place to keep her safe from all of this…” He trailed off for a moment before he sighed. “In the end, we’ve all just been pawns.”

“The Lords and Ladies all have secrets,” Corbin said, drawing their attention back to the Fae. “They are constantly betraying one another.”

“I know that,” Theon said.

“Do you?” Corbin asked. “Because Arius Kingdom is very cut off from the rest of the realm.”

“We were forced to be,” Theon said. “It is why my father wanted to overtake the realm. I just wanted to forge new relations with the other kingdoms for the betterment of our people. He was set on vengeance. It was them against us.”

“That is not entirely true,” Corbin replied. “I think you will find allies in unexpected places if you choose to fight back.”

“Fight back,” Theon repeated.

“Against Tessa and the Achaz Kingdom.”

“The Achaz Kingdom?” Luka asked.

“You think the Lord hasn’t orchestrated all of this?” Corbin asked.

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