He didn’t need any prompting as to her wishes. He closed the distance between them, knelt, and placed his hands on the destroyed skeleton.
She watched the flames flicker for an instant, and then she breathed deep. Taking the fumes into her over and over and over again.
Thirty-Eight
FINN DE MORISCO
“Finn!”
I twisted in the bed, my elbow accidentally gouging Schwint in the back. He grunted but offered no other response. It couldn’t have been more than an hour since I’d finally fallen asleep, the mers’ persistent presence making it impossible to shut off my brain.
“Finn!”
They’d never said my name before.
“Finn! Wake the fuck up!”
I sat up, suddenly fully awake, the sheets pooling at my waist. Caitlin!“I’m awake. What is it? Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. Listen. We don’t have much time. Brett is here, and he—”
“What?”Instantly my stomach plummeted and my heart rose to my throat, trying to suffocate me.
Caitlin’s voice was unusually gentle.“Yes, Brett is here with us. I don’t have time to explain. If this is going to work we have to act now.”
“Brett is here?”
Impatience brought the real Caitlin back.“Not the point, Finn. At least not the way you’re thinking. He and Sonia killed the redheaded vampire, and she’s leading us into the Cathedral as we speak. You need to meet us.”
“Sonia is with you too?”
“For fuck’s sake, Finn! Focus! Sonia said to tell you to take the tunnels like you would to go to the pool where Gwala keeps the mers. At the fork in the tunnel, go right instead of how you normally would.”
I stared around the dark room, my emotions torn in so many directions I couldn’t feel anything.
“Finn! Did you understand that?”
I nodded, then realized she couldn’t see me. “Yeah. Yeah. I know what she means.”
Sonia brushedpast, not slowing down to swerve around us, much less say anything. As it was, both Schwint and I had to flatten ourselves against the wall of the stone staircase to avoid being trampled.
We turned, watching the back of her blood-soaked dress disappear up the twisting staircase. It was real. This was actually happening.
I increased my speed, nearly taking two steps at a time, letting both arms hover out by my sides, fingertips grazing the sides, trying to keep me balanced.
“Finn. Slow down. You falling and breaking something isn’t going to help. The queen will make sure Gwala stays occupied. From the looks of her, she’ll definitely be able to keep him busy coming up with a reason for the way she got in such a condition.”
Several more steps and my right foot caught on the tip of the stair. Luckily, with my hands out, I was able to steady myself on the wall. Missing only a beat, I tore off down the steps again.
A sparkle of bluish-silver light darted past my eyes and halted in front of me. I managed to stop before I ran into it. “Damn it, Schwint, move.”
He returned to his full height before I could blink, blocking the path, two steps down from me. He held up his hands in supplication. “Hold on, babe. Just slow down for a bit.”
“Come on, Schwint. We’ve been waiting for a chance like this since we got to Costa Rica months ago. I’d say we need to hurry.”
His hands dropped to his sides, and his gaze slid away momentarily before returning to hold steady on my own. “Are you sure that’s the reason you’re rushing?”
Irritation spiked. “Seriously? Now? You’re going to do this now? Mr. Fairies-Aren’t-Monogamous chooses now to get jealous?”
