Storm of Secrets and Sorrow

Book 2: Legacy

by Melissa K. Roehrich

Genres: Dark Fantasy

Synopsis

In a realm full of secrets, she’s collecting them all.

A choice to make.

Tessalyn Ausra’s fate has always been out of her hands. Still bonded to the Heir of Endings, she now finds herself with more control than ever before. Everyone wants something from her, and she has to choose a side. But in a realm full of villains, she trusts no one, and she has secrets of her own to keep.

A plan to salvage.

Control and knowledge have always been Theon St. Orcas’s greatest weapons, but both have slipped through his fingers. Given a task by the rulers of the realm, he’s racing against the clock to get his plans back on track. But as myths become reality, he finds himself fighting more than time in an effort to keep what’s his or lose it all to fury.

A fate to alter.

Axel St. Orcas has never minded rubbing shoulders with the depraved rather than the elite. It’s easier to hide his shame among the corrupt. But with each passing day, he risks triggering a curse and endangering those he cares for most. He’ll sacrifice anything to keep them safe, even if that means giving up everything he is.

Who will be left standing when Chaos comes to reign?

Storm of Secrets and Sorrow is book two of four in The Legacy Series. This is a new adult, dark fantasy romance series with elements that may be triggering to some readers. Please be sure to check the updated content information. Seriously. We know the MMC is a morally gray, walking red flag. Read the content information, then embrace the darkness.

Release date: May 27, 2025

Publisher: Kensington Books

Print pages: 670

Sample

Welcome back to Devram! If you’re here, I’m assuming you already know this world is a dark little realm of depravity and wickedness. The tropes, tags, and trigger warnings have been updated on my website. You can click here to see those, or go to www.melissakroehrich.com and click on Book Extras. Additionally, there is content information in the back of this book that is current as of February 2025. Your mental health matters, and they are there if you need them. Don’t go in blind if that’s not for you.



I know we covered this at the beginning of Rain of Shadows and Endings, but it’s worth repeating now, especially if you haven’t read the Darkness series. The Legacy Series takes place in the same universe as the Lady of Darkness series, but this is an entirely new world with brand new characters. You do NOT need to read the Darkness series to understand The Legacy Series. This series can be read separately. Theon and Tessa’s story will have its own conclusion by the end; however, you WILL come across spoilers for the Darkness series and some dragon eggs along the way, even if you don’t recognize them as spoilers at the time.



Finally, guys, I know there were big feelings after the last book. I can promise you another book full of the same— emotional whiplash and morally gray characters that will make you question yourself and them around every corner. Remember this is a series. Some characters need room to grow, and sometimes survival in a realm full of villains requires sacrifice. Trust the process.



Now settle in, grab your wine and maybe something to throw, so it’s not this book or your e-reader, and enter the chaos.

XO- Melissa

* * *

I adore when books come with playlists that follow along with the story. You feel everything more. It immerses you more. It brings everything to life. If you find this to be true for you too, here you go! Enjoy!





If you don’t have Spotify, the full playlist can also be found on my website: https://www.melissakroehrich.com under Book Extras!

Hi, Darling! I’m Cyrus. You might not know me, which is fine… I guess. (Side-eye.) But I’m here to give a quick recap of the fuckery happening in Devram. So let’s get right to it because I have a card game to win.



Devram has this thing called a Selection every five years, and this is a Selection Year. Not only that, but for the first time in centuries, heirs from all six kingdoms Selected Fae in the realm who will serve as their Source of power. Tessalyn Ausra was unexpectedly Selected by Theon St. Orcas, Heir of Death and Endings. (Pauses and looks up from his notes.) What the fuck does that mean?



Cassius: Just keep going, Cyrus.



Right, right. So after receiving the first Source Mark, they return to the Arius Kingdom, where she gets to know Theon and his closest confidants better— his advisor-to-be, Luka Mors, and his younger brother, Axel. But she doesn’t want this bond thing, so Tessa tries to run, and, honestly, who can blame her at this point? This guy sounds like a complete ass.



Cassius: Cyrus…



(Eye roll.) Theon and Luka hunt her down in the woods. They return to Arius House where stricter expectations are put in place with harsher consequences. Despite all of this, she still feels drawn to him, even though she hates it. Tessa tries to rein her impulsive self in to meet said expectations, but only ends up getting shoved under a table, no desserts— What. The. Fuck?



Cassius, sighing: By the gods, Cyrus...



Sorry, Cass, but no desserts? Can you imagine withholding sweets from Scarlett? Or chocolate cake from Eliza? (Shudders.) We’d all be dead. Anyway, two assholes show up on behalf of the even bigger asshole Arius Lord and chase her through a garden when some creepy guys crawl up out of the ground. Everyone freaks the fuck out because no one understands her power that she shouldn’t be able to access yet. She has to undergo a traumatic assessment where it comes out she’ll be the most powerful Fae in Devram, no matter what element she ends up with. She sees some pretty strange things in her dreams, and afterwards, she has to go out with Theon and his…Match? Don’t know what that is. Moving on.



Tessa meets a random mortal named Tristyn, and they drink, smoke lull-leaf, and eat pizza. Now, I don’t know what lull-leaf or pizza are, but that sounds like a pretty good time, and we should maybe try to figure that out. Theon finds her and gets all moody and possessive. This just makes Tessa more angry, and for some unknown reason, she makes a bargain with the guy. They head back to the Acropolis for the Emerging Ceremony. Along the way, we learn that Luka is a dragon shifter and Theon’s Guardian. (Pauses.) Now that’s a fun twist, huh, Cass?



Cassius, muttering: For fuck’s sake.



They go to some social events, learn this Tristyn guy isn’t actually a mortal, and finally give in to some building tension. But good for them. They probably needed that after all this shit. I would.



After that good time, they go to dinner with the…Achaz Heir? That’s interesting. Some things are said, and the Arius Lord shows up and kills Pen. Or Axel kills her. Which…is terrible. Theon blames Tessa because, let’s face it, she is impulsive and reckless and maybe doesn’t think things all the way through. So then Theon…locks her in a wine cellar… That cannot be a good move.



At the Emerging Ceremony later the next day, Axel randomly selects a fire Fae that no one realized would have fire because the Anala Kingdom keeps them all. Obviously. Because fire is the best element. A mysterious Keeper guy shows up with some wolves to awaken Tessa’s power, but the Mark he gives her sounds awfully familiar. Everyone is shocked when she doesn’t have elemental magic. Axel tries to get her out safely, but the Achaz Lord shows up and snatches her up.



Theon makes a bargain with his dick-of-a-father to get her back. Tessa has another strange dream with— Hey, wait a minute…



Cassius: No, Cyrus.



Cyrus: But⁠—



Cassius: Keep going.



Cyrus: Why am I the one doing this again?



Scarlett: You volunteered.



Cyrus: I believe I volunteered for an adventure, Darling. Not this.



Scarlett, shrugging: Same thing.



(With a glare.) Anyway, Tessa has this dream, wakes up and decides she’s going to learn all of Devram’s secrets. We see a glimpse of Temural, god of the wild and untamed, asking… (Smirks at Scarlett.) Saylah for help getting someone named Auryon into Devram. The end. (Tosses notes aside and shuffles cards.) Whose deal?

Two and a Half Years Ago



“Who’s that?” Lange asked, jerking his chin toward the estate buildings.

“I don’t know,” Tessa said, following his gaze. Her fingers were curled around the edge of the bench they sat on. Her shoes were off to the side, her bare feet toeing at the grass. Then she sat up straighter. “Why doesn’t Dex have the food?”

The bench was in a secluded area on the estate grounds. It ran right along the estate border. Dex had moved the bench to this exact spot so she would know where the wards were since she couldn’t feel them. He’d done this in multiple areas around the estate for her. At least now when she crossed the wards, it was on purpose.

Now Dex was headed their way with another Fae male. Dex’s dark eyes found her immediately, and she glared at him. He’d promised her food. The male with him had brown hair that was kind of shaggy, curling around his ears. He was lean, yet somehow muscled, and his hazel eyes were taking in his surroundings.

He didn’t have any food either.

When the pair reached the table, Dex dropped onto the bench beside her. “What’s with the sour face, Tessie?”

“You said you were bringing food,” she grumbled, digging her toe further into the dirt.

“Oralia is bringing it,” he said with a knowing smile.

Oralia. Another Fae Dex had brought into their little circle. Or rather, he’d brought Tessa into his circle. Dex knew them from the Serafina Estate where he’d lived before moving here. He’d just missed the cutoff for the previous Selection Year and had been sent to the Celeste Estate to wait for the next Selection. Days later, Oralia and Brecken, another Fae male, had been dumped here too. Apparently everyone who was a hassle was just dumped here.

She’d been hesitant. Tessa had wanted nothing to do with any of them. She trusted no one, and she especially didn’t trust strangers who randomly showed up. Dex seemed to understand this, and he never appeared offended when she told him to fuck off. He had, however, started leaving extra food around, especially when she would disappear for a day or two. He couldn’t possibly know that Mother Cordelia, the Legacy who oversaw the Celeste Estate, would lock her in cellars or small cupboards and withhold food as punishment, could he?

She hadn’t really cared in the end. Dex would leave the food, and she would devour it the moment she knew there wouldn’t be a cost. That was what had broken her down in the end. Dex would do things for her and expect nothing in return. No affection. No sex. No favors. No cost. He just…did them. It was the first time she’d experienced such a thing. She hadn’t known people actually did things for one another without expecting something in return.

It had still taken months before she had spoken with him longer than a few minutes, and never when he was with anyone else. It was over a year later before she’d finally let him introduce her to Oralia and Brecken. Tessa certainly didn’t trust them, but Dex did and she trusted Dex.

Oralia was loud and seemed to have an opinion about anything and everything. Brecken was kind of funny, she supposed, but he was also an incessant flirt. He was also part of a select group of Fae who traveled to the other estates every once in a while. She’d always wanted to be chosen for those trips, but she was too undisciplined to be chosen to go.

In fact, Brecken was gone on one of those trips now. But last year when he’d returned, Lange had come back with him. Another Fae sent to the Celeste Estate to await the Selection Year, Lange had come from the Falein Estate. Tessa had warmed to him more than she had to Oralia and Brecken. Lange teased her constantly, and when she would snap at him, it only made him tease her more. Dex was always gentle and soft with her. Lange didn’t appear to give a shit—about anything—and Tessa admired that about him. Not caring what others thought or worrying about what was to come.

Tessa huffed loudly again, leaning back against the bench. The new male gave her a side-long look, and she quickly looked away. She hadn’t told Dex yet, but she’d spent all night in the cellar. She hadn’t eaten since lunch the day before, and the sun was currently setting.

“This is Corbin,” Dex said slowly, finally picking up on something being amiss with her. “He just arrived from the Anala Estate.”

“Anala?” Lange repeated, leaning forward to peer around them. Corbin had taken a seat down the bench on Dex’s other side. “Surely you’re not a fire Fae?”

Tessa clicked her tongue in annoyance. Of course he wasn’t a fire Fae.

“No,” Corbin answered, staring out across the grounds and kicking at a rock. “I’m predicted to emerge with water. You?”

“Air,” Lange answered, leaning over a little more and forcing Tessa to lean into Dex.

She supposed there was one thing Lange cared about, and that was pretty males, especially shiny new ones. Not that Tessa could talk. She just preferred her males mortal and not located someplace she’d constantly run into them afterwards.

“That is Lange,” Dex cut in. “And this is Tessa.”

“Nice to meet you both,” Corbin said.

Tessa didn’t answer, staring straight ahead. The sun would be down soon. They would head inside, and she wouldn’t get any food.

“You’re being rude, Tess,” Lange chided. She lifted her middle finger in his direction. “Corbin is going to think you’re mean.” He leaned around her again to speak to Corbin. “She’s really not. She just gets like this when she’s hungry.”

“Can’t blame her there,” Corbin said.

But she could feel Dex studying her. Knew he was piecing together what had likely happened last night.

“Tessa—” he started, his voice low.

“Where were you?” she hissed.

He hadn’t been there. He was always there to help her, to make sure she didn’t end up alone in the dark. But not last night. He hadn’t been there. For the first time since he’d shown up at the estate, he hadn’t been there.

“I was assigned to help with the newly arrived Fae,” Dex answered.

She said nothing, her stomach grumbling with hunger. Dex clearly heard, his eyes darting to her abdomen then back to her face.

“You couldn’t control yourself for one night?” he asked with a sigh, rubbing at his brow with his thumb and forefinger.

“I didn’t do anything,” she gritted out.

That wasn’t entirely true, but it wasn’t something that warranted being locked away without food in the dark.

“Tessa, I couldn’t simply leave an assignment. I can’t be there to fix things for you all the time,” he said, his hand falling to curl along the edge of the bench.

Fix things for her. Right.

“Understood,” she replied tightly.

“Tessie,” he sighed again, his arm coming around her shoulders and pulling her into his side. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I’m not sure you could mean it any other way.”

“I just need you to be more careful when I’m not around. Be what they want you to be now, so you can be who you were meant to be later.”

“I’m not meant to be anything,” she sighed, resting her head on his shoulder.

“You’re wrong, Tessie, and I’ll be there when it’s time, making sure nothing goes wrong.”

She understood the meaning of that statement. Making sure she didn’t cause everything to go wrong, and if she did, he’d be there to fix it all. That was what they’d become. She got herself into a mess, and Dex cleaned it up.

“That’s enough talk about the future,” Lange cut in, stretching his legs out before him and crossing them at the ankles. “What are we doing tonight? The Estate Mother left this afternoon, right?”

“She did,” Dex confirmed. “Brecken went with her.”

“How long is she gone?” Tessa asked, perking up.

Dex shrugged. “I don’t know. A few days, for sure.”

“So…what are we doing tonight?” Lange repeated.

“Going off the estate, of course,” Tessa said with a grin.

“Don’t we need a pass to go off the estate?” Corbin interrupted, his brow furrowing. “I’m pretty sure that was stated at the orientation I went through this morning.”

Tessa shot another glare at Dex. Had he really brought someone here who was going to report back that they were breaking rules?

Dex ignored her, instead saying, “We’re supposed to have passes for advanced tech too, but…”

“Point taken,” Corbin said, looking away from them.

Tessa didn’t know what that was about, but Dex apparently had a way to keep Corbin quiet.

“So again,” Lange said, clapping his hands together and rubbing them in anticipation. “Where are we going tonight?”

“Obviously somewhere with food,” Tessa huffed, getting to her feet and grabbing her sneakers.

Dex let out another long-suffering sigh. “Oralia is bringing food, Tessa.”

“Good. We’ll have a snack for the walk to Arobell,” she said, shoving her foot into a sock.

“We’re walking to Arobell?” Corbin repeated.

“Unless you have a way to travel us to Arobell in the blink of an eye, yeah, we’re walking,” Lange quipped.

“You’re an ass,” Corbin noted.

Lange shrugged. “I read that Legacy used to be able to do that. It was an ability taken away when Devram was created.”

“Why would they take it away?” Tessa asked.

Lange shrugged again. “The book didn’t say. I didn’t get to visit that set of archives very often. They are on Ekayan Island.”

“You’re from the Falein Kingdom?” Corbin asked, a brow arching.

“Until a year ago,” Lange said. “I guess that makes me a smart ass.”

“Oh my gods,” Tessa grumbled, grabbing his hand to tug him to his feet. “Let’s go.”

“Oralia’s not even here yet,” he laughed as she tugged on his hand again. She obviously wasn’t going to move him.

“Sorry, sorry! I’m here,” came Oralia’s shrill voice as she came rushing from another direction, a brown paper bag clutched in her hand.

Her white-blonde hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail, and the standard-issue clothing they were given clung to her lithe body as though they were painted onto her. How did she manage to still look like ethereal perfection?

“This is yours, Tessa,” Oralia said, holding out a doughnut with chocolate frosting.

“Aren’t they all the same?” Lange asked, snatching the bag from her hand and peering inside.

“Of course,” Oralia said with a laugh. “I just know how Tessa can get when she’s hungry. No one wants to deal with that.”

Tessa gave her a weak smile as Dex grabbed the doughnut and passed it over.

“Why are you so late?” Dex asked, taking the bag and passing it to Corbin.

“Oh, that,” Oralia said, her features going taut. “They just announced they’re moving up the next assessment. To next week.”

Tessa’s stomach dropped. It wasn’t supposed to be for another month. She’d had a whole month to prepare, to try to get in the right headspace. They hadn’t even planned what they were going to do after the assessment yet, and last time, it had been bad. So bad.

Trapped. She was trapped underground in what seemed to be a network of caves and tunnels, and she couldn’t find her way out. There were others here, leading her through the maze of narrow caverns. They were people she didn’t recognize, and they were moving too fast for her to properly see their features. That or she was too panicked to care. One almost appeared to have wings. Which was madness. They pulled her along, whispered pretty words, and coaxed her to put one foot in front of the other. And she didn’t want to be there, so far from the sky and fresh air and light, but they wouldn’t let her go.

They wouldn’t let her go.

They wouldn’t let her go.

Not as figures stepped from the shadows, fangs glinting in the low light of sconces along the cave walls. Not as fighting broke out, and for some reason, she cared if the strangers survived. Not as black flames and darker shadows swirled around them. Not as pain flared deep in her belly and fangs pierced her throat, and gods, she couldn’t scream. Couldn’t breathe. And it was dark and she was alone and⁠—

“Not yet.”

That was what the female said who appeared at her side, crouching down to peer at her. Her violet eyes were hard and narrowed. Her shiny mahogany hair was braided down her back, and she wore close-fitting black clothing.

“Lost for so long, but not much longer. Fate changes, moment-by-moment, and I can’t keep up. But it is not time for this, for chaos and death. Much can change. Much will change. That war will come.” She reached out and placed a hand over Tessa’s heart, and faint light flared as she murmured, “It slumbers still. Now is not the time for this. Not yet.”

And Tessa had gasped awake, still strapped to the chair for the assessment, blood dripping from her nose. She had tasted it on her tongue as she’d gulped down air. Another fucking vision they’d designed to drive her mad, to force her magic to surface and reveal itself.

“Next week?” Corbin was saying. “I just did an assessment two weeks ago at the Anala Estate. I won’t have to do another one so soon, right?”

It was Lange who spoke after a moment of long silence. “I had to,” he said quietly, the usual glimmer in his eyes gone. “I was moved here days after an assessment in Falein Kingdom, and a week later, I had one here.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Corbin said, his brow furrowing. “All the Estates share records. They would be able to see assessment results.”

“It always seems to happen,” Tessa said thoughtfully, taking a bite of her doughnut. “Anytime new Fae arrive, we have an assessment within a week.”

“Don’t be silly,” Oralia scoffed. “We didn’t have an assessment for almost three months when I came here.”

“I guess that’s true,” Tessa replied.

She suddenly felt restless, shifting on her feet as something felt like it was pressing against her skin, clawing at something deep in her soul trying to stir it awake.

“Finish your doughnut, Tessie,” Dex said, nudging her with his elbow, but his focus was fixed on Oralia, the two of them exchanging a dark look.

“Come on, sweetheart,” Lange said, looping his arm through Tessa’s and tugging her from Dex’s side. “Let’s get out of here and pretend like none of this matters tonight.”

“Doughnuts always matter,” Tessa said, popping the last bite into her mouth and sucking the frosting from her fingers.

“As much as good dick?” Lange challenged with a wink.

Tessa laughed, a real one she felt in the dark places of her being. “I know you’re an ass, but you’re my favorite ass.”

Lange bent down, pressing a kiss to her cheek as he whispered, “Think you can help me get Corbin to say the same thing?”

She huffed another laugh as Dex fell into step on her other side, a wary look still lingering in his eyes. She ignored it as she said to Lange, “If that’s what will make you happy.”

“As happy as we can be anyway,” Lange muttered, his smile faltering a little.

“As happy as we can be,” she agreed, making sure the five of them were all connected before she stepped across the point where Dex told her the wards were.

But she’d stopped dreaming of happiness a long time ago.

Tessalyn Ausra rolled over in bed, reaching across the mattress only to find the other side cold. She cracked her eyes open, her vision blurry for a few seconds while she adjusted to the soft morning light spilling into the room. One curtain had been pulled aside. The rest remained tightly shut, keeping the top floor of the townhouse in the dark.

The dark.

So much darkness. No room for light. No room to breathe. No room to⁠—

The rustling of pages drew her from her thoughts, and her attention fixed on the Legacy seated on the sofa across the room. Theon St. Orcas, Heir to the Arius Kingdom and her Master, had already showered and dressed for the day. Or he’d started to dress anyway. He wore his suit pants, but his black shirt wasn’t buttoned, untucked and hanging open to leave his chest on full display. A chest she’d watched heaving as he bound her with his shadows. A torso she’d watched the muscles of flex as he’d sank into her⁠—

Godsdammit.

The one and only time they’d fucked plagued her memory in both the best and worst ways possible. Because that sex had been… Well, he’d been right. It was different than sex with a mortal. Different and a thousand times better, and he swore it wouldn’t happen again until she said she was his. He didn’t even care if she lied about it, as long as she said it. She was an excellent liar, but this? She just couldn’t bring herself to say the words, and she couldn’t figure out why. One would think the bond would make it easier, but the bond only made her life more chaotic.

Tessa studied him, his ebony hair falling across his brow as he looked between two books open on the small coffee table and his laptop balanced on the arm of the sofa. Probably researching her. Again. He was obsessed with figuring out her lineage ever since the Emerging Ceremony a week ago. Ever since it had been revealed she wasn’t Fae like all the other Sources. Ever since it had been revealed the Source of the Arius Heir had magic of Achaz. No one understood how someone with magic of the god of light and beginnings had gone undetected for her nearly twenty-four years, but the fact that she was the Source of power for a descendant of the god of death and endings was irony at its finest.

She lightly cleared her throat as she pushed into a sitting position, reaching for Theon’s thermal shirt he still left out for her every night. As she finished pulling the shirt on over her sleep tank, it caught on the dark bands on her wrists that kept her magic from manifesting. She could take them off, but Theon and the others didn’t seem to know that. The bands were becoming increasingly annoying, though. Her magic buzzed beneath her skin, constantly searching for a way out and driving her a little mad. A necessary nuisance until she learned to control her magic, but who knew when that would be. The Fae were already learning to control their elements, but mastering an element differed from a Legacy power.

Or so she’d been told as she’d watched from a balcony overlooking the arenas where the power training took place. Twice this week they’d been there because Theon had wanted to observe the newly awakened Fae, and she’d wished she were down in the arenas with her friends as they learned to control water and air, earth and fire.

But she wasn’t one of them anymore.

No one seemed to know what she was, although plenty of people had ideas. Theon. Rordan. Valter. She’d heard the whispers in passing of Fae and Legacy when they entered a room.

She supposed that was why Theon was suddenly so obsessed with her lineage. But the truth of it all was she didn’t belong anywhere. She’d always felt alone in the world; now she truly was.

A swirl of dark shadows appeared, carrying a mug of coffee over to her. Theon didn’t even look up when she wrapped her fingers around the warm cup, clutching it close to her chest. She sat for a few minutes, waiting to see if he was going to say anything. The fact that he’d let her sleep in told her there was something important happening this morning. It was a break from their routine these past few days. Normally, Theon had been waking her up to go running as the sun rose before he dropped her off for training with Luka, Theon’s Guardian, advisor-to-be, and best friend. Then Axel, Theon’s younger brother, had been picking her up and bringing her back here so she could shower and dress for whatever she’d be doing the rest of the day. Next week, she’d start private lessons with Mother Cordelia. At least, she assumed that was still the plan. The other Sources already attended their own private element training while she stayed with Theon, which is where she preferred to be anyway. Sitting through endless meetings. Observing the Lords, Ladies, and Heirs.

Watching.

Listening.

Learning everything she could about the countless people who wanted something from her. Who’d lied to her. Who had secrets she coveted.

When Theon still didn’t acknowledge her, she let out a sigh before climbing out of bed and moving to the balcony, slipping through the curtains and door. It was cool outside, the autumn temperatures helped along by the constantly cloudy sky. The floor of the balcony was cold on her bare feet, but it was better than shoes or socks.

Sipping at her coffee, she watched the Acropolis come to life below. She may loathe running with Theon, but at least it got her outside. She probably wouldn’t get much time outdoors today. The one and only other time she hadn’t gone running this last week was when they’d had to attend a breakfast with all the Lords and Ladies two days after the Emerging Ceremony. She’d been present physically, but mentally she’d still been in the wine cellar, clawing at the walls, trying to find a way out.

And since that time, Theon had been…different. Still demanding. Still controlling. Still all the things she hated, but also different, especially when they were alone. He gave her space, gave her choices on things that didn’t matter, and, probably the most suspicious, he’d let her have pizza two nights ago.

Which made her trust him even less.

It was as if he was trying to lure her into a false sense of security, and if she wasn’t careful, she had no doubt she’d find herself shoved into the dark once more.

If only I’d known this is all I needed to do from the beginning.

That was what he’d said to her. Even now, standing outside where the sun was trying to find its way through the clouds, she could see his hard emerald eyes staring at her. Feel his fingers brushing the hair back from her brow. Feel his shadows peeling her off him while she begged him not to leave her in the dark.

“We can walk today if you’d like.”

Tessa jolted, spinning around to find Theon leaning in the doorway. He held his own coffee mug, his shirt still unbuttoned, all the grooves and indents of his abdomen taunting her. Because the dark still plagued her, and time spent in pleasure at his hands still managed to drive it away, and fuck him for being both her destruction and salvation.

Her fingers tightened around her mug, and her eyes dropped to the ground, finding his black shoes. He never went barefoot. Even half dressed he had shoes on his feet. How ridiculous was that?

“Tessa? Are you⁠—”

But she was crossing the small distance between them. She reached up, wrapping her hand around his neck, and pushed up onto her toes, pressing her lips to his as he bent to meet her. The bond made things too unbearable ever since that night, and she was done fighting it when giving in didn’t mean anything but a momentary reprieve from this life she’d been fated with. For weeks she’d resisted his advances after th