Dawn of Chaos and Fury by Melissa K. Roehrich - 2

Hi, Darling! It’s hard to believe this is the last rundown I get to give you. It’s even harder to believe I still haven’t gotten the chance to go to Devram⁠—

Scarlett : I swear to the gods, Cyrus. I’m going to need you to stop.

Cyrus: And I’m going to need you to stop sending our family to other realms. We haven’t heard from Eliza and Razik in months.

Sorin: We’re all worried about them, Cyrus.

Cyrus: Well, maybe if they hadn’t been sent there alone⁠—

Cassius: We have discussed this numerous times. We all miss them, and we’re all worried. You know as well as I do that Scarlett has spent countless hours holed up with books in the mirror chambers. She’s trying. We’re all trying.

Cyrus, glancing at Scarlett : Yeah, all right. I didn’t mean…

Scarlett: It’s fine, Cyrus. Let’s just do this so I can get back to the Wind Court. Ashtine found more texts that might be useful.

Cyrus: We head back to Devram to find Theon not doing well. Tessa had left him on his knees. He’d sent Luka to go after her, and he has no idea where his brother is. Tristyn Blackheart shows up and takes him to the Underground, where he meets Eliza and Razik, who we very graciously sent to help them. And if Eliza gets stuck in a realm where Fae are treated as less than, I pity anyone who crosses her path.

Meanwhile, Tessa is hanging out with the Achaz Lord, and her visions keep changing. She slips out of a Tribunal Hearing when Luka shows up, making her way to the Pantheon. On her way there, she runs into the Keeper, only to realize there is more than one. She finds her way to the mirror gate beneath the Pantheon and summons her grandfather, Achaz, himself. (Pauses.) That’s a choice, and not a great one.

Axel is locked away somewhere, falling prey to some insane bloodlust that is driving him… Well, insane. At some point, he’s taken from the locked room only to meet with Bree DelaCrux, one of the leaders of the Night Children in the Underground. She proposes they join forces to take the Underground and eventually all of Devram. She leaves him to the bloodlust to…help him decide? What a bitch.

Scarlett, snorting a laugh : That’s the understatement of the century.

Cyrus : I can see how that would be effective though. I mean, look at Gehenna.

Cassius, muttering : Can we please not bring the Sorceress into this?

Cyrus: Anyway, Luka goes on to the Achaz Kingdom because that’s what Theon wants and Guardians are notorious for bending over backwards for their Wards.

Cassius , flatly : I’ll bend you over backwards.

Cyrus, with a wink : I know.

So Luka shows up, hoping Tessa will help them find Axel. He ends up making a Bargain with the Achaz Lord, which cannot be good, and Tessa is furious when she finds out he will be staying in Achaz Kingdom for the foreseeable future. She has lots of reasons to not want him around, but one of them is a big secret being kept beneath the Faven Palace. Luka doesn’t like being there any more than Tessa likes having him there, but he suddenly has bigger things to worry about when Tessa starts pulling him into her dreams.

Theon and Tessa are finally reunited when she shows up at Arius property, and they have it out with their magic. (Snickers.) Nice. Do you think they destroyed a building like we do when we’re pissed with each other? Anyway, Luka intervenes, but he also discovers Eliza and Razik, noticing the latter is clearly related.

Tessa leaves Theon to his mess, going to the Wynfell River where she’s attacked by Night Children. Auryon and Tessa’s wolves come to her aid, and Roan is gravely injured. She begs Luka for help, and they end up at Arius House, where Theon has a Healer specifically for his hounds and horses. It comes to light that Nylah and Roan are Trackers, creatures created by her father, Temural. Huh. Those are new.

Scarlett, wistfully : I know. I wish I’d known when we were there. I have so many questions.

Sorin: They can’t speak, Love.

Cyrus: They’re probably grateful for that. I can’t imagine how quickly they’d get sick of you.

Scarlett, scowling and flipping him off.

Cyrus: Speaking of questions, Theon has a lot too, and so does Katya, who’s been hanging out with Razik and Eliza. Kat finds a book, and they all learn about the twin flame bond and how the Source Marks are a gross manipulations of them. Finally. Thank the gods they finally put that together. Kat also realizes that— Shit. (Looks up at Scarlett.) Is that true?

Scarlett, softly : Keep going, Cyrus.

Cyrus, swallowing thickly: Kat believes that Axel is her twin flame and asks Eliza to give her the twin flame Mark in the hopes it will help them find Axel.

Tessa takes a field trip to the Sirana Villas where she learns that Fae are being…bred for their power. That is fucked up.

Scarlett: And I trust Eliza and Razik to help stop it.

Cyrus, muttering to himself : Eliza is going to burn everything when she learns of this.

Brecken helps sneak Tessa way to one of the buildings, where she breaks into some files. She learns things about her friends, but she also learns that Valter’s Source has a daughter. Vowing to destroy the Villas, Brecken asks her to wait a few days to give him time to get the innocents out. She does, and a few days later, she returns and demolishes the Villas. Thank. The. Gods.

While all of that is happening, Theon, Kat, and Tristyn go to the Shifter Alpha and Beta to ask for help finding Axel. They agree, but only if Theon finds a missing Shifter Prince first. He also learns that Tristyn has history with the Shifters and that he and Cienna are siblings.

Axel suddenly finds himself freed by Bree, and he follows a voice in his head that leads him to Kat. Where he attacks her. By the gods. Thankfully, Theon and Tristyn show up to pull him off her, and he learns that Kat is pregnant with his child. Holy Anala. Can this guy not catch a break? Apparently not because a little while later, Cienna shows up and confirms that he has triggered the curse and will turn into a Night Child. The twin flame bond he shares with Kat will die once the transition is complete. Knowing he’s a threat to Kat and his child, he leaves and…returns to Bree. This is a ruse, right?

Cassius: Cyrus, seriously. We all understand it’s fucked. Just keep going.

Cyrus: Yeah, but…

I guess Theon has taken on the duties of the Arius Lord since his father is being held captive in the Achaz Kingdom cells. Trying to use that as leverage against Rordan, he attends meetings with the other rulers. They decide to move forward with a Gala, with funds going to the rebuilding of the Villas. For fuck’s sake.

Cassius: Cy⁠—

Cyrus: Yeah, yeah, I know. Keep going.

Tessa has been training with Luka as agreed, and he wants her to master Traveling. Auryon shows up, annoyed that she is having to track down the Hunters Tessa keeps summoning. Auryon warns her she needs to stop, but Tessa argues the Hunters answer to her.

Luka goes to see Theon to ask if he knows how Tessa is pulling him into her dreams. While there, he officially meets Razik, where it is confirmed they are full-blooded brothers. Razik doesn’t appear to care, and that seriously tracks for that broody bastard.

Tessa is learning more and more as Dex and Rordan continue to pressure her into acting. In an attempt to breathe and get away, she goes to visit Roan, who is still recovering from his injuries. She finds Theon being remarkably human as he plays with his hounds and tries to convince Roan to join in. Desperate to not feel anything, she drinks too much tea that has been prepared for her and is pulled into a vision. Luka is there when she wakes, panicked at how long she was unconscious.

Axel decides to return for Kat after a chat with Bree, where he realizes the Night Child had let him go to kill her. He seeks out Tessa for help, only for Tessa to reveal that she intends to end his bloodline. Not trusting anyone, he waits until dark and goes to Kat. They exchange words, and ultimately, she returns with him to the Underground.

Tessa accompanies Luka to go talk to Razik about his theories as to how Luka is entering her dreams. They believe it is a manifestation of gifts from her various bloodlines. When they return, Luka is upset about how little his brother cares. Tessa offers to take his mind off it, but he resists…until Theon agrees down the bond. Honestly, good for them. Tessa never agreed to a relationship with Theon, and Luka is noble enough to make sure his friend is fine with it before acting. That’s something you don’t see in Devram.

In a wild turn of events, Tessa has been sneaking down to the room where Eviana, Valter’s Source, is being held. Despite the female’s clear apathy, Tessa returns time after time, leaving various things for the female including boots, clothes, and weapons.

The Sirana Gala happens, and Theon is forced to go with Felicity Davers since she is his Match. During the event, Rordan surprises everyone and announces a Match for Tessa as well. Forced to keep herself under control, she dances with the male. Then she finds herself dancing with Theon. They both slip into the hall to the same alcove where this all started.

Furious with Tessa’s actions at the Sirana Gala, Rordan once again berates her for not acting. Trying to figure out a way out of her mess, she is attacked again. This time by the Augury, and we learn Theon’s mother has been working with them. Tessa summons her Hunters, but they go rogue because they were summoned within Arius Kingdom. Auryon had warned her of this, and the Huntress ends up being killed in the battle, leaving her bow to Tessa.

Luka takes Tessa back to his… Really? He has one too?

He takes her back to his cave where Theon is waiting for them. Theon immediately has to leave to go defend his Kingdom, once again leaving Luka with Tessa. The two of them finally give in to the feelings and tension they’ve been harboring for months. Things seem to be going great until Tessa lets it slip that she’s known this entire time that Luka’s father is in the Faven Palace cells. They have an argument, and Luka sends her away. Tessa finally Travels.

(Long pause.)

All of that just…sucks.

Cassius: Just wrap this up, Cyrus. Please. We have other things to do today.

Cyrus: We’re almost done. Relax or you’ll shift.

Cassius, grumbling: I swear to Sargon, some days…

Cyrus: Unbeknownst to Eviana, Tessa has entrusted two of her friends to free Eviana. Lange and Corbin show up and convince the female to go with her. She learns of a Mark to block her bond with Valter, and in the end, she blackmails Lange and Corbin into helping her. Helping her do what? No one knows, but we can assume it has to do with her daughter.

Axel and Kat have a run-in with Bree. They end up getting married, only to also discover that Bree has confiscated all the blood rations in the Underground, leaving Axel in a bind.

Tessa returns to Faven, where she hands herself over to everything going on after discovering text messages from Theon. She’s taken to the cells beneath the Pantheon until her fate can be decided. But Theon has never stopped fighting for her. He shows up with Tristyn, and they break her out. In the process, they are unexpectedly aided by the Achaz Heir.

Luka tricks his brother into helping him free their father, who Razik very clearly has no desire to ever talk to or see. They then race to help Theon. Theon explains he’s figured everything out, and the Fates will come for Tessa and destroy Devram in the process. He tells them all to leave, giving Luka a final order to protect her. Then he…walks away. Giving her the freedom she’s always wanted and sacrificing the realm for her. Well, fuck me. Talk about a shocking turn of events. Where do you think they’re going to go?

Scarlett: I don’t know. I’ve been trying to figure something out, but she’ll just continue to be hunted across the stars.

Cyrus: Here? Can’t they just come here with Eliza and Razik?

Scarlett, glancing up at Sorin : We’ve discussed it, but I cannot allow that. Not yet. Not when we are still recovering from our own battles with Achaz, but I’ll figure something out. I’ll… The Oracle says they need to fight their own battles. That we’ve interfered enough already.

Cyrus, slinging an arm around her shoulders : Let’s go to the Citadel, Darling. I’ll bring the mugweed to help.

Scarlett, scoffing : How will mugweed help?

Cyrus, drawling : I suppose we won’t know until we try it. But if anything, you’ll relax some. One would think Sorin would be helping with that…

Sorin: I heard that, you prick.