Page 258 of Dawn of Chaos and Fury
“Why?”
“I… It just does.”
Theon hummed, going to answer the knock that had sounded. A moment later, he was helping the staff set a small spread of food on the table. Waffles. Fruit. Sausage.
Luka emerged then, freshly showered and shirtless, setting that godsdamn sword across the desk. “Why aren’t you eating?”
“The food just got here,” she answered.
“Tessa doesn’t want to celebrate her birthday,” Theon called out, scooping food onto a plate.
Luka’s eyes narrowed on her. “Why not?”
“Because we don’t know if it’s really my birthday,” she replied, exasperated by this entire conversation. Luka hummed in response, and she wanted to throw something. “I don’t need the two of you being so dismissive of this. We don’t know.”
Luka shrugged, grabbing a plate. “I can ask Xan. He’d know.”
“Does it really matter?”
Theon looked up from the whipped cream he was scooping onto the waffles. “Does it matter if we celebrate the day you were born to the realms so we could find you? Yes, Tessa. It fucking matters.”
Okay, well. That wasn’t the answer she’d been expecting.
“Eat,” Theon added, holding out the plate to her.
The plate of carbs and sugar and everything unhealthy.
“I suddenly want every day to be my birthday,” she said, taking the plate from him while plucking a strawberry from the whipped cream.
“Don’t push it,” he warned.
She flashed him a smile, plopping into a dining chair. “So, what’s the plan with your father now?”
“We’ll need to think on it some,” Theon answered, scooping extra fruit onto his own plate.
“You’ll meet your mother when we go there,” she added.
“Yeah,” he murmured.
“Do you want to? Meet her, I mean?”
He took a seat on her right. “It’s not the same as Akira. At least, I don’t think it is. I guess I don’t know the story, but I want to hear it.”
She nodded, cutting off a bite of waffle.
“What about you? Still undecided?” Theon ventured.
“I can’t be undecided. We need her help, so I’ll have to face her.”
“But do you want to?” he parroted.
Keeping her eyes on her plate, she answered, “It doesn’t matter what I want. It’s for the betterment of Devram.”
Because she’d meant what she’d said to Bree. The final battle for this realm was coming, and she intended to be on the winning side. She didn’t want to be a Lady, had no desire torule a kingdom or the realm, but she’d sure as fuck make sure the people she freed here could live safely. Would be able to live without fear of a god coming to collect something that wasn’t his or Fates showing up to destroy the realm. From what she’d gathered, Scarlett was a sort of guardian of her world. Nothing came in or out unless she allowed it.
“Where’d you go, baby girl?” Luka asked, drawing her from her thoughts.
She gave him a weak smile as she shoved another bite of waffle into her mouth. “Just tired.”
