Page 32 of Dawn of Chaos and Fury
“I don’t…” Theon started, trailing off. A hand came up, pushing through his hair before he dragged it down his face. He cleared his throat. “I figured out the Revelation Decree or prophecy or whatever you want to call it.” Axel only blinked, waiting for him to get the fuck on with this. “The decree was never meant to be instructions on how Devram should be ruled. It was a prophecy. About Tessa and the downfall of Devram.”
“And?” Axel asked.
“She’s an imbalance,” he went on. “Achaz and Arius. Light and dark. Beginnings and endings.”
“AchazandArius,” Axel said. “We knew all this.”
“Yes, but we didn’t realize how much. She’s the granddaughter of Achaz, Arius,andSerafina. Her mother is still a mystery, but her father is a god and she’s more but?—”
“Theon, get to the fucking point,” Axel interjected. He truly didn’t care how he had figured out whatever this was. He just wanted to know what new fuckery had just been dumped on them.
“The Fates will come here looking for her,” Theon said, straightening at Axel’s tone. “To end her and fix the balance.”
Axel shrugged. “Sounds like that would fix a lot of our problems considering she’s looking to end our bloodline.”
Darkness churned around Theon at the words, and Axel couldn’t bring himself to care. He had bigger things to worry about than the Fates coming for Tessa. She was Theon’s to worry about, not his, and she certainly didn’t care about him. She’d made that perfectly clear when she could have found him and didn’t. If she would have, maybe everything would be different.
Maybe he wouldn’t be terrified of sharing a godsdamn bed with his wife.
“You’re serious,” Theon gritted out when Axel didn’t add any sort of caveat to his statement.
Axel only shrugged again, crossing his arms. “Look what she did to you, Theon. Even if you might have deserved some of it for being an absolute dick most days. And yeah, it’d be great if she could rid us of father, but all Arius Legacy? There are innocent people in our kingdom who have nothing to do with her or any of this.”
“I know,” Theon said, and something shifted in him. Axel couldn’t quite pinpoint it, but it was almost an air of regret or resignation that filled the space.
When he didn’t continue, Axel said, “So, what? You think this quake that happened is another omen?”
“I think it was the Fates coming here,” he said.
“For Tessa,” Axel clarified.
Theon nodded slowly.
“What aren’t you saying, Theon?”
He shoved his hand through his hair again, tugging at the roots. “Tessa’s not here.”
“I’m sure she’s in Faven,” Axel deadpanned.
But Theon shook his head. “She’s not here, Axel. I figured all this out, and I sent her away with Razik and Eliza. Luka went with her. She’s not in this realm. And when the Fates cannot find her, Chaos will reign. They will destroy this realm in search of her to correct the balance.”
Axel could only stare at him because he couldn’t wrap his mind around what Theon had just said. He couldn’t possibly have heard him right.
An entire minute passed before Theon said, “Can you say something?”
“Can I…” Axel trailed off, huffing a humorless laugh. “What do you want me to say?”
“Something. Anything.”
“Let me get this straight,” Axel started, taking a step forward. “You knew the Fates would come here looking for her, so you sent her away? Condemning an entire realm to death for her? The female who had no qualms about sentencing an entire group of people to destruction simply because of the blood that ran in their veins? A kingdom of peopleyouare responsible for? Arealmof people who have nothing to do with any of this?” His voice rose with every word as he advanced on his brother. “What the fuck were you thinking, Theon?”
“I was thinking she doesn’t deserve any of this,” Theon retorted, that darkness drifting across his irises and thickening around him. “She didn’t ask for this.”
“Neither did we!” Axel yelled.
“This realm made her what she is,” Theon shot back. “Just like it made us what we are. We’re not innocent here, Axel.”
“We might not be, but thereareinnocent people here, Theon. Forget the Legacy. There are Fae here. Mortals. There isan entire Underground of people who have nothing to do with the politics of Devram. None of them deserve to pay penance for her!” Axel snarled, shoving at Theon’s chest. “I cannot believe you. You’re as reckless as she is.”
