Arms crossed, Shivani glanced over at Cassian. “He’s out cold.”
“I put him under an illusion.” Cassian began rolling his sleeve up to his elbow. “May I use one of your knives?”
She reached into one of the pockets of her cargo pants and pulled out a switchblade. It danced around her fingers as she handed it to Cassian.
Cassian crouched in front of Finnian, took him in one more time, and tucked a frizzed piece of hair behind his ear.
Come back to me.
Cassian made a clean cut across his own wrist and held the scarlet, oozing incision to Finnian’s lips.
He tipped Finnian’s head back to ensure every drop made it down his throat.
The cut on Cassian’s wrist stitched up. His jaws set as he stood and retracted his divine power that was currently holding his lover under an illusion. It had to work.
Cassian’s heart sped up as he waited.
It will work. Finnian said it would.
Finnian’s eyes snapped open and the muscles in his arms tensed, jarring the chains keeping him in place.
Teeth bared and stained red, he ripped his head up, eyes burning with a wrath that should’ve dissipated by now. “Is this part of my torture? Throw me in illusions until I go mad?”
Cassian took a step back, the sting of Finnian’s glare traveling like bile over his skin. He tightly gripped the handle of the blade in his palm.
No.
With a snide twitch of Finnian’s lips, he huffed out a laugh. “Feed me whatever fucking illusion you wish, but Ash’s blood will never be yours?—”
Cassian jerked his hand up and recast the illusion.
Finnian’s body went slack again.
A sense of vertigo tilted Cassian’s world.
He blinked once, twice down at the god in front of him.
Spots invaded his vision.
His whole body went weak, a feeling of bones collapsing and skin sinking.
Cassian felt the cool grip of Shivani’s hands around his forearm. “My lord,” she said, but her voice sounded muffled, traveling through layers to get to him.
He pulled at the tie around his neck. “He—he doesn’t?—”
“My lord.” One of Shivani’s hands pressed against the middle of his back. “It will be okay. We will find a way to make him remember.”
“No.” He slit his wrist again.
“Come on.”
And again.
His teeth chattered, letting the wound drain into Finnian’s mouth.
Only to retract his illusion and for Finnian to react in the same venomous way.
“You will not break me.”
