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Without a word, she slipped from the stool and began sliding the thin straps of the dress down her arms. Theon started to object, but Luka had already stepped from the room, leaving them alone once more.
“You were going to change in front of him?” he asked tightly, holding her steady when she stepped from the dress.
“He’s seen me in every state imaginable. What difference does nudity make at this point?”
She turned, reaching for the robe where Luka had set it on the counter.
“Tessa, there’s glass in your back. We’ll need access to it.”
“So I shouldn’t put this on?”
“Yes, but—” He pushed out another harsh breath. “Maybe slip it on backwards?”
She did so without another word, pushing the sleeves up as she climbed back onto the stool. Theon called to Luka, and for the next hour, the two of them pulled shards of glass from her flesh. She didn’t utter a word. She didn’t whimper or cry out. She didn’t flinch or wince.
She did nothing.
She was nothing.
When they finished, Theon stayed a step behind as she made her way up the stairs. Luka had found slippers for her so she didn’t leave bloody footprints behind, and he stayed downstairs, attempting to get a hold of Axel. If Axel didn’t show up at the Emerging Ceremony, last night would look like a godsdamn party compared to what their father would do. His brother had to know that.
Tessa had taken a few steps into their room when she stopped so suddenly, Theon nearly ran into her.
“Tessa?”
“I have training. With Luka,” she said, turning and heading to the closet.
“Training? No, Tessa,” he replied, reaching out and gently gripping her elbow to stop her.
She snarled at him, wrenching her arm from his grip.
What the fuck?
He took a step back, blinking at her, but she was already back to staring at nothing.
“Tessa, there’s no training today,” he said carefully.
“But I need to learn to protect myself.”
“Not today. You need to rest, to heal,” he said, his mouth suddenly dry as he realized exactly what his actions had done last night.
“I can train,” she insisted, the violet flaring brighter in her eyes.
“I know you can,” he said quickly. “But Luka has to prepare for the Emerging Ceremony. We all do. There’s no training on ceremony days.”
“That’s tradition?” she asked, her head tilting eerily to the side as he felt the weight of her penetrating stare.
“Yes, that’s tradition. Everyone rests and prepares.”
“Oh.”
There was a tense silence before he said, “You need to bathe.”
“Because you made me bleed.”
“No, I…” He cleared his throat. “Yes, because I made you bleed.”
She seemed to accept this answer as she moved to the bathroom, letting the robe slip from her body. He followed, mainly because he didn’t trust her by herself. Definitely not now.
