Page 307 of Dawn of Chaos and Fury
“Again, because the Source Marks here are not a true Source Mark, we won’t know,” Tristyn said. “Because of the other Marks interwoven, we can’t know.”
“It won’t be balanced,” Akira piped in, drawing closer.
“What does that mean?” Tessa asked, turning to her mother.
“Xan told me of the Source Marks,” she answered. “One connects the soul. One intertwines the power. The life force. The heart. It is a balance. If that balance is broken, the whole thing shatters.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Nothing is certain in the stars, Tessa,” she sang, crouching down and beginning to draw a Mark in the dirt. “But themagic will be strained enough. It will not be able to sustain an unbalanced bond.”
“And the Fae tied to them?”
Akira stood, moving a few feet, and crouching to do the same thing again.
“Their lives are not tied to the Marks.” Akira frowned. “Although they will likely feel the death of it. That will be as excruciating as losing one’s gifts,” she said simply, moving another few feet to draw more.
Tessa turned to the Fae, all of them having paled. “This is no longer only the Ladies’ choices,” she said. “If any of you wish not to do this, we will decline the Lady’s offer.”
“Tessa—” Theon started, but she held up a hand.
“No. They were already forced into a bond. No one will force them to risk their lives after having so much taken from them,” Tessa said. “This istheirchoice because this is what we are fighting for. Everyone having a godsdamn choice.”
Silence fell, stretching on until finally the Anala Lady’s Source spoke. “My life as a Source has been better than others,” he admitted. “But if this means none will be forced to give themselves for this purpose again, I will take the risk. If that is what we are fighting for, Lady Ausra, then I will risk this and stand by your side if I survive.”
He placed a fist over his heart and bowed his head, and Tessa lurched back a step. But Theon was already moving in front of her. He’d bowed before her when she took the Arius seat and now he’d stand beside a Fae to show his solidarity in this too. He stood next to the Anala Source, following his actions.
Axel moved next. “You already know this, but the Underground will follow you,” he said, stopping next to Theon. “Someone who understands what it is to have their value stripped away to nothing. Someone who fights to ensure the amount of power someone carries—whether vast or nonexistent—does not define them. Someone who does not care what blood runs in their veins or what type of being they are. Someone who sees them as people. You have our loyalty, Lady Ausra.”
One by one everyone fell into a line as faint howls sounded. Nylah and Roan appeared, prowling to her side and lowering to their bellies.
The Fae.
The Underground.
The Legacy.
Those of Devram and those from across the stars.
Because destiny beckoned and sacrifice demanded.
And while she had not asked for this, Chaos had come to reign.
And Chaos did not choose.
She would fight for them all.
“A new dawn,” Akira said simply, and Theon lifted his head to find her staring at her daughter. “Because in all things there must be balance.”
“The sky, the sea, the realms,” Tessa echoed faintly. “One was never meant to rule over the other.”
Akira smiled wider, her hands clasped under her chin as she nodded several times in excitement. “So Endings discovered because Dreams dared to challenge.”
“Yes,” Tessa breathed, a laugh of disbelief coming from her lips. Her gaze slid to Theon, where Luka stood beside him. “And so we fight.”
“And we will not fall,” Theon said darkly before he turned to Dagian. “Are you ready?”
The Achaz Heir nodded once, and Akira clapped her hands twice. “We draw, Tessa,” she said, pointing to the Marks. “In a circle.”
