Edmund shook his head. “No. She hasn’t mentioned it at all.”
Finn finished his whiskey. “I was dying. Wait, let me correct that. I was not only dying, I was ready to let it happen. The circumstances are hazy, but that night, when I had prayed to God to take me and end it all, she came to me in some strange way, taking my hand, talking to me and telling me it wasn’t time for me to leave.” He stared at the empty glass in his hand, turning it around, wondering how to explain the inexplicable.
“Go on,” encouraged Edmund.
“To this day I do not know how or where, but her voice, her words…it was enough to draw me back down into my body. I thought it was an angel talking to me.” He looked up and smiled. “Now, I’msureit was.”
“You’ll take care of her?”
“Always.” Finn sighed. “And before you ask, I will love her until at least five minutes after I’m dead.”
“A brother could not ask for more than that from the man who will marry his sister.” Edmund stood and held out his hand. “Welcome to the family, Finn Casey.”
They shook, Finn with the sensation of a large weight lifted off his shoulders, and Edmund with a warm smile.
“One thing, Finn.” Edmund crossed the room to a small bureau and opened the drawer, returning to his seat with a small box. “This belonged to Hecate’s mother. Rosaline found it a few months ago, and we’ve kept it until she returned. I think now would be a good time to give it to her, and I think you would be the right person to do so.”
Finn took the box and opened it. Inside was a ring, but not just any ring. The stone was almost square with slightly rounded corners, a good size, and the deepest blue-green shade he’d ever seen. “How…magnificent,” he breathed, staring at it. “It’s like her eyes.”
“Hecate’s? Yes, I suppose it is,” replied Edmund.
“No, I meant Moira’s.”
Edmund frowned. “Moira? Hecate’s mother? Youknewher?”
“She came to look after us when I was a wee thing.” Finn smiled as Edmund’s jaw dropped. “I could never forget Miss Moira’s eyes.”
Edmund simply stared. “Rosaline willneverbelievethis.”
