Page 217 of Dawn of Chaos and Fury
“By the gods, Tessa,” Theon muttered, swiping a hand down his face. “You are…”
She winced, waiting for it.
Impulsive.
Wild.
Chaotic.
“So fucking fearless,” Theon finally finished, and her head snapped up.
“But also, please stop summoning gods to the fucking mirrors,” Luka added, getting up to get more coffee.
She looked over at him in confusion. “Why?”
“Because it puts me on edge,” he muttered under his breath, and she huffed a laugh.
“I’ve sent a message to the others,” Theon said. His hand was on her thigh, fingertips absently dragging up and down her bare skin. All she’d put on when they came down here was a short robe.
“Oh?” Tessa asked, watching Luka gather some oranges and pastries before pulling a small bowl of hard-boiled eggs from the fridge and bringing them to the counter.
“We need to figure out how to transfer power,” Theon said.
She nodded, watching Luka peel an orange and hand slices to her. “From Dagian?” she asked.
“To start with, yes,” Theon answered. “Razik, Xan, and Tristyn are the most knowledgeable. I asked Kat to come, but Axel is too worried about her going into labor.”
Tessa nodded again. “That makes sense,” she said around her orange.
“But before we talk about that any more, we need to talk about yesterday.”
She frowned. “What about it?”
“You were a godsdamn vision, Tessa,” he breathed. “But there was a moment when you were— Can you…”
“I felt you yank on my power,” Luka provided, placing a plate of bacon in the microwave and starting it. “The other Ladies felt it too. So did Rordan.”
“Can you draw from them? Like you do from me? To refill your reserves?” Theon asked.
Tessa shook her head, thinking about it. “No. I’m…” She sighed. “I’m Chaos. We all know that’s what my power is. It’s drawn to power. It doesn’t choose. It calls to it, and I think—” She paused, trying to figure out how to put this into words. “While my Chaos can’t take theirs, it can make them lose control of their own hold on their magic a little bit.”
Theon stared at her, and she bit her bottom lip, waiting to see what he was going to say. But he only sat back on his stool, his hand still on her thigh.
“Gods, that makes so much sense,” he murmured. “My power was constantly drawn to you. I mean, yes, it wasyou, but also… Before your power was even allowed to emerge, there were times it felt like it was fighting me for control.”
She gave him a small smile, reaching for a muffin as Luka slid a plate of bacon, an egg, and more orange pieces to her.
Because Theon wasn’t staring at her like she was wild and untamed, too reckless or too other. He was staring at her like she was a goddess, and when she slid her gaze to Luka, he was watching her too.
“That vision isn’t going to come true, baby girl,” Luka finally said, reaching for her mug to refill her coffee.
“You can’t know that,” she argued, biting into the egg.
But Luka only shook his head. “Wewill be left standing when you come to reign.”
She was pacing back and forth before the fireplace, her hand dragging along the mantel mainly so she wouldn’t pull at her hair. It was afternoon now. Theon and Luka were in casual clothes. Or what was considered causal to them. Black pants and button-down shirts rather than suits and ties. She was in leggings and a long-sleeve shirt, her bare feet leaving prints with each pass she made.
Razik, Eliza, and Tris were here.
