Page 6 of Rain of Shadows and Endings

“Bored and hungry will do that to a person,” she muttered back. As the words left her lips, her gaze landed on the missing Legacy. They had slipped into the center of the crowd at the back of the room, almost as though they were trying to avoid being seen. The thing was, when Tessa had spotted them, she found herself looking straight into emerald green eyes. A roguish grin tilted up one side of his lips, and he nodded slightly at her.

Tessa quickly averted her eyes. She’d had a feeling he wasn’t done with her. The male would likely try to seek her out at some point in the evening. Which was fine. She’d managed to avoid the untoward demands of Legacy for a few years now. Another skill she’d acquired. She would be long gone and stuffing her face with pizza by the time he was free to look for her.

As surreptitiously as she could, she glanced back at him. He and the other Legacy were bent over another folder, flipping papers and whispering back and forth. The other Legacy shook his head a few times, and the one from the alcove was pointing at various things on whatever it was they were looking at.

A resounding thud echoed throughout the room when the heavy main doors were thrown open, and a Legacy strode up the center of the room. He was tall with light-golden skin and thick black hair. He had hazel eyes, and everyone seemed to shrink back from him. A female of exquisite beauty was on his arm, dressed in a black gown that dipped low in the front. Her dark red hair was piled in curls on her head, and ruby drops hung from her ears and around her throat. Behind the male, a Fae followed, her eyes cast down at the floor and her hands clasped in front of her.

The Lord of the Arius Kingdom— Valter St. Orcas.

Then Tessa’s legs nearly gave out and an audible gasp passed her lips when the Legacy from the alcove peeled away from the other, finishing knotting a black tie at his throat. He slid his arms into the sleeves of a suit jacket that was as immaculate as the rest of his clothing, buttoning it as he fell into step beside the Arius Lord.

But that couldn’t be. That wasn’t possible.

Because if he was walking next to the Arius Lord and Lady…

Emerald eyes cut to her, and the corner of his lips ticked up in a cunning smile.

He was the Arius Heir here to claim a Source.

2

TESSA

He was the Arius Heir.

And she’d all but yelled at him.

Over chocolate.

Dear gods. She was lucky to still be standing, to still be breathing.

They were such a private kingdom, Tessa didn’t even know the names of the Arius Heirs, only the ruling Lord and Lady. She knew the heir had a brother, but that couldn’t have been who he had been standing with earlier. If his brother was here, he’d be up on the dais with his family like the rest of the siblings, not standing among the other Legacy. She quickly scanned the room, trying to find the Legacy he’d been with, but it was impossible with everyone gathered together and focused on the dais now.

“Tessa,” Dex said slowly, his voice low. “Isn’t that the Legacy you said took—”

“Yes,” she whispered, cutting him off.

“The Arius Heir?” he hissed.

“I didn’t know that at the time. Obviously.”

“What did you say to him? Please don’t tell me you did anything reckless.”

“Not really the time for a play-by-play of my conversation with him.”

Dex went silent, his grip around her tightening.

This was fine. The Arius Heir asking if she was slated to be a Source didn’t mean anything. It couldn’t. She had done everything she could to go unnoticed by the heirs when they’d come to the Fae Estates to observe potential Sources. So had the others. Her assessments were nothing extraordinary, and more than that, she was nothing extraordinary. Just another Fae among the masses. They had found their way off the estate more times than Tessa could count, getting caught for at least some of those escapades. They caused enough trouble to be worth minor correcting, but not enough to be sent to the Underground.

All the ruling families had gathered along the front of the room on a large dais that spanned the entire length of the hall. There were tables behind them, set with finery for the feast that would take place after the Opening Selection was completed. Tessa watched the Arius Heir slide his hands into his pockets, rocking back on his heels as his eyes slowly raked over everyone standing below him. His face was cold and impassive. Darkness incarnate, just like his father. His mother leaned over, and he bent down so she could speak into his ear. He nodded once, and she smiled serenely at him.

The Achaz Lord stepped forward, and the entire hall instantly fell silent. All the Fae dropped to a knee. All the Legacy, save for the Lords and Ladies, bowed at the waist, including the Heirs, before straightening again. The Achaz Lord cleared his throat.

“Welcome,” he boomed, “to the five-thousand six-hundred twenty-second Selection. The Fae may rise.”

Tessa pushed herself back to her feet, Dex helping her up just as the Arius Heir had done in the alcove. She brushed off the knee of her gown. Dex’s arm slipped back around her waist, and she settled into his side, smoothing her hands down the sides of her dress. The Achaz Lord began droning on and on about the history of the Selection and the importance of the year-long event. The longer he spoke, the more her nerves settled and the shock of having spoken to and survived the Arius Heir wore off. Tessa was fairly certain she was about to find out if one could sleep while standing, in heels nonetheless, when the Lord finally said, “Let the Selection begin!”

“Thank the gods,” she muttered, and Dex huffed a low laugh.

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