Page 305 of Dawn of Chaos and Fury
He nodded, looking them each in the eye. “I came to Theon weeks ago and asked for this.”
“Weeks ago?” the Falein Lady questioned. “Why not come to us?”
“Why not come to you?” he repeated derisively. “You, who have served with my father for decades? You, who work to uphold the ludicrous traditions of this realm? You, who twistand scheme and plot with the rest of them? No, Lady Farhan, I would not bring these concerns to any of you only to have one of you whisper them to my father. Your own heirs aren’t even in this room to discuss matters that will affect them when they take their seats. I went to the kingdom who loathed him. I went to the one who has the means to end him. I went to the ones who could make a difference, not the ones content to watch the world crumble as long as their thrones remained intact.”
“You understand you will no longer be able to hold your seat?” the Serafina Lady asked. “Once your father is dealt with, you will not be the Achaz Lord?”
Dagian’s lips tilted in a sardonic smile. “I am not the most powerful Achaz blood at this table, Lady Isleen.”
All eyes slid back to Tessa.
After several seconds of tense silence, the Celeste Lady said, “Fine. We transfer power, but we should decide together who will take it.”
“No,” Dagian said firmly. “It is my power. I will only transfer it to Theon. If anyone else tries, I rescind the offer, and you can face my father as you are.”
“He cannot be stronger than all of us together. Not if Tessa is fighting on our side,” Lady Farhan argued.
“It will take all of Tessa’s power to defeat Rordan, and even then, she could be weakened to the point of being overpowered by the seraphs that serve Achaz,” Luka said. “That is not an option on the table.”
“It’s more than Rordan,” Theon added. “Tessa is…not a Legacy. She’s not a god. She’s…more. She’s something more, and while we’ve been trying to figure it out, others have been looking for her. Others who will come for her.”
“Like who?” Lady Farhan demanded.
“Achaz,” Tessa said simply.
“The gods can’t come here.”
“Not right now,” Tessa agreed. “But if they can find a way to create an entire world and then abandon it, I assure you, there is a way to break the Accords of old.”
“Achaz is one threat,” Theon agreed. “The Fates are another. There is no agreement keeping them from coming here.”
“The Fates?” Kyra asked, her brow arching. “This is new information, Theon.”
“Since we’re all here, and for the sake of transparency, we want to share everything we know. This isn’t some grand effort to overtake the kingdoms, but it is a desperate attempt to save this realm and all the people in it.”
“By puttingherin power?” the Celeste Lady sneered.
Theon’s lips curled up. “I told her to leave us all and let the Fates destroy the realm. She chose to stay and fight for us. Doesn’t get more benevolent than that, does it?”
“But she is not the one who will gain more power,” the Falein Lady argued. “Youwill.”
“To become her balance,” Theon said. “The Fates are looking for her because she is an imbalance. Beginnings and Endings. As we all know, her power is extensive. Something needs to balance it out.”
“And that something is you?”
Theon’s brow arched. “You’re welcome to try.”
Tessa’s power had already been growing, chaotic embers and sparks of light drifting around her. He could feel her working to keep it under control. There was lots of power in this room. It was the reason Xan and Akira weren’t in here with them. Because Tessa’s power was seeking; he couldn’t imagine Akira in here.
But at his words, Luka’s dragonfire wound around one of her arms while Theon’s darkness fluttered along her jaw. She visibly relaxed, but the power in her eyes didn’t bank.
“The two of us help her control it, but the Fates will require more,” Theon said. “Rordan has been stealing power for decades. Even the added expanse of Dagian’s gifts likely won’t be enough to offset it, but it will give Tessa more to draw from.”
“As her Source?” Kyra asked, her head tilting with interest.
“As her Source. As her lover. As her equal. As her balance,” he replied. “I’m whatever she needs me to be.”
“And you don’t believe it will be enough to keep Devram from ruin?”
