Page 2 of Rain of Shadows and Endings

“Which is why I was hiding in an alcove,” she added, beginning to fidget when he still didn’t say anything. She hated enclosed spaces. The alcove hadn’t been her first choice, but desperate times and all that. “I will just, um… Go back to the grand hall?” she said, trying to tug her fingers from his grasp, but his grip only tightened further.

“That would be the wise thing to do,” he agreed.

“Okay, well, then I sort of need my hand back.”

Instead of releasing her though, he stepped closer, crowding her back further into the alcove. “Are you slated to be Selected?”

“What?” she asked breathlessly. This was bad. So bad. Why in the world did she think she should come out here without Dex?

“It is the first time in a millennium that all six kingdoms have heirs selecting their Sources at the same time,” the Legacy said.

“I know that.”

“It is a historic night.”

“I know that,” Tessa repeated.

“Everyone is incredibly apprehensive. The Lords and Ladies are on edge, and their heirs are full of anxious anticipation. The Fae are allowed to join in the celebrations, and you are out here.” His other hand came up and plucked the chocolate from her fingers. “Hiding and eating chocolate.”

“Hey!” she protested, reaching for the sugar, but he held it out of her reach. She was shorter than average, sure, but he was also tall. Taller than Dex and Brecken, and they were over six feet.

“And arguing with a Legacy,” he added harshly.

Tessa snapped her mouth shut. She was hungry, and he’d just taken the one bit of sustenance she was likely to get for the next four hours. He gave her a smug look as he set the chocolate on a ledge that ran above them near the sconces.

It was definitely going to melt up there.

She sighed, and he frowned at the petulance. “Are you slated to be Selected?”

“What?” Her breath hitched at the fact that he’d asked this question again. If she had been slated for such a thing, that would mean she had already been claimed, and he would not be allowed to touch her without offending one of the heirs and their parents.

But she was not slated to be Selected.

“Do not make me ask that question again,” he said in a soft warning, leaning in and twirling a loose golden curl around his finger. “I am not a fan of repeating myself.”

“No,” she whispered, her eyes falling closed as she waited for whatever he was going to do to her.

“You are upset by that?”

“No,” she said truthfully. Because she wasn’t. It might have afforded her some measure of protection at this very moment, but she’d never wanted the honor of being Selected to serve as the personal Source of one of the ruling family members in any of the six Kingdoms.

“No?”

She shook her head, opening her eyes to meet his curious stare.

“Really?”

“You told me not to lie to you,” she bit out.

“That I did,” he said, his lips almost lifting into a smile, but it didn’t fully form. “Do you always obey orders so well… What is your name?”

“Tessalyn,” she answered bitterly, knowing she couldn’t deny a Legacy.

“Do you always obey commands so well, Tessalyn?” he asked, stepping into her even more. She could feel a hard muscle brushing against her front.

“Rarely.”

“Another truth,” he said, that finger letting her curl go free and sliding along her jaw. She forced herself to remain still. “So you are either more obedient than you care to admit, or…” He trailed off, his fingers dropping to her bare shoulder and brushing down her arm.

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