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“Do it, Theon,” Luka demanded. “Get it over with.”
Theon tilted her chin up. Her grey eyes were bleak and desolate. “Tessalyn, be still.”
She immediately ceased her thrashing, and Luka loosened his grip but kept his hands on her shoulders. Theon pushed her hair back again. She was trembling despite his command, and he knew it was uncontrollable.
“This is it. I promise, Tessa,” he said, bringing the needle to her neck.
“Until the next Mark,” she whispered back.
Theon paused, glancing down at her. He didn’t want to think about the next time he had to do all this to her. The tonic wouldn’t be needed with her magic freed, but the bestowing of the Marks would be the same. Clenching his jaw, he inserted the needle. He tried to be gentle about it, but there was really no way to gently insert a needle into someone’s neck. As soon as he put pressure on the plunger, she screamed. Luka’s hold tightened, but Theon couldn’t simply inject it quickly. It had to be done slowly.
“It’s almost over, little one,” Luka said, trying to soothe her as he held her still, her cries of agony drowning out his words.
When the syringe was finally empty, Theon removed it, sliding a palm in place to heal the wound. It wouldn’t take the pain away, but it would heal the bruising. Tessa had been right. Arius Legacy didn’t have gifts to heal others, but a Source bond allowed them to heal each other with their connection.
Luka released her, and she collapsed to the floor. Curling into a ball on her knees, her hands dug into her hair as she cried out in pain, her face to the floor.
Theon tossed the empty syringe onto the small table and dropped down beside her, placing a hand on her back. “Tessa, breathe. Take a breath.”
“It…hurts…” she managed between gasps, fingers clawing at her scalp.
“I know,” he said, trying to pull her to him. He could at least placate the bond that was surely warring inside her now that he had given her a fresh surge of his own blood and magic. She stayed huddled in the ball against his chest, her hands clasped to her head.
“She is either going to pass out or vomit from the pain,” Luka observed from where he still stood behind the chair.
“I am going to go with the latter if last night was any indication,” Theon replied over Tessa’s cries of agony.
“Agreed,” Luka said. “Let’s get her to the bathroom. Then I’ll grab some blankets and pillows so she is not lying on the bare floor.”
He picked her up from Theon’s arms and carried her to the bathroom, murmuring low into her ear. Theon followed a step behind. He was exhausted. He hadn’t slept in over a day, and it didn’t appear he’d be getting sleep anytime soon. Legacy and Fae didn’t require a large amount of sleep if they weren’t using their gifts, but having to pour so much of his magic into Tessa last night and more now, not to mention the ring his father had shoved onto his finger, was taking its toll.
He took her back from Luka and lowered to the ground while Luka went to grab the blankets. He spread them out in the semi-private toilet area and then stepped back, leaning against the wall while they waited. Tessa’s cries had become quieter, but that was most likely because her throat was raw from the screaming. It was about to get worse when she started vomiting again.
He ran his hand up and down her back, his other arm wrapped tightly around her waist. “I’ve got you, Tessa. We will get through this, and then you can sleep as long as you need to.”
She didn’t acknowledge him, and he got the distinct feeling he was attempting to soothe himself rather than her.
Minutes later, the first wave of vomiting hit. Theon helped her up, holding her hair back, while she heaved over and over into the toilet. Just like before, his dark shadows poured from her mouth. Some of the silver wisps were there too, but not as many as before. That was part of the bond. He’d seen it when their souls’ essences had intertwined and flared silver before settling back into them when he’d given her the first Mark.
When the vomiting finally ceased, she collapsed onto him. He eased her down onto the blankets, pulling a pillow into his lap for her to rest her head on. Her eyes were closed, her breathing ragged. Luka passed him a damp cloth, and Theon wiped sweat from her brow and neck.
“Tessa?” Theon ventured softly.
She didn’t answer, and he didn’t push it.
The silence was deafening in the bathroom while they waited for the next round of nausea to consume her. Theon wasn’t sure if she had fallen asleep or not, but her eyes never reopened while she lay there, whimpering in pain every once in a while and trembling from the heaving.
He glanced at Luka, who was watching her, pity and remorse in his eyes.
“You regret our decision,” Theon said tightly, dabbing the cloth along her forehead again.
“Don’t you?” Luka challenged sharply. “We have to do this to her again three more times.”
“We knew that my Source would have to endure this,” Theon answered after a moment. “We knew what to expect.”
“But she didn’t.”
“She is a Fae. Designed for this very purpose,” Theon said, annoyance edging into his tone. “And I’d be willing to bet the other heirs are not on the floor caring for a Fae.”
