Cassian shook his head, truly dumbfounded by his brother’s ignorance.
Acacius latched onto his arm. “Brother, she is uneasy at the moment, because she knows you wish her dead. That is all. I swear to you, I will not let her end your life. Nor will I let you end hers. There is a middle ground here.”
Cassian barked out a laugh, scrubbing a hand down his face. He was at a loss for words. The effort it required to convince Acacius was too taxing. A mental effort Cassian did not have.
He yanked his arm free from his brother and turned his back on him. “Think what you must, Acacius. Ruelle is lying, and it is not me who she is lying to.”
The villageof souls were in celebration. Dogs crowded at Cassian’s feet. The rays of sunlight soaked through his pores. The anguish deteriorating in his heart lightened.
Finnian was at his side, mocking the names of his Land, smiling.
It was not a dream.
“Can you tell me who Everett is?”
I can tell you for as long as you wish.
The night smothered the Land.
Cassian collapsed against the bench in Finnian’s Grove, heart squeezing with a pain that made it difficult to breathe through. The curse was hurting Finnian. Something Cassian had inflicted upon him. A pain brought on by his own hand.
He stared vacantly at the patch of white trumpet blossoms.
They are my favorite.
The back of his nose stung at the memory.
They flourish in the darkness and I find something poetic about that.
Cassian longed to hear him say it again, with theirone daynowhere in sight.
The bleakness of their reality bruised his chest. An agony that felt like it had sunk straight into his marrow, anchoring him further down. He was growing weary from the weight of it.
Footfalls thudded down the pathway behind him.
Before he had a chance to turn around, a gust of heat roared against his nape. The vibrant blood-orange glow of the fire caught in his periphery, and he teleported out of the way.
The grove burned. Embers dusted the air. Hints of rosemary and sage infused in the smoke. The hawthorn leaves withered, their branches crumbling. The moonflowers shriveled on their stems and fell to the charred ground.
Finnian’s silhouette shone through the inferno, his arm extended, fueling the destruction of his own precious grove.
Hysteria seized Cassian’s chest like a windstorm.
No. This is all I have left of him.
The moments they’d shared, the love, all of it seemed to be in another lifetime. Perhaps an illusion Cassian had conjured up to trick himself into a delusional state of happiness.
Nothing they had seemed destined to last.
The heat of the flames rippled across his face and stung his eyes, already filling with tears.
As he watched their love burn, he thought of Ruelle, and how this was all she desired from the start. Everything he and Finnian had was smoldering before his eyes, becoming nothing but wisps of what once was.
“You are Everett.”Finnian’s grip released from Cassian’s collar, his tan complexion paling at the realization.
That cruel spark of hope relit inside Cassian’s chest.
He caught Finnian by the forearm, clasping his fingers deeply into skin. “What is my name, Finnian? Myrealname.”
