Come back to me.
His heart split like thin paper as Finnian wrenched away and curled over, gripping at his head. A pained sound tore from his lips.
Cassian held onto him, his pulse jumping. “Finny?”
Fear, shame, guilt, they prodded him, knowing the source of Finnian’s pain came from the curse.
Come back to me.
Frenzy trembled in Cassian’s limbs.
His breath held as he studied every motion, every shift of muscle and skin on Finnian’s face.
He wanted to get down on his knees, beg, plead, tell him everything about their past. They were almost there.Almost.If he could just remember.
Come back to me.
“Cassius,” Finnian whispered. “Your real name is Cassius.”
Part Three
A Sign of Love’s Presence
28
I LONG FOR YOU
Finnian
The Present
The magicof the potion lifted, and the blood rushed into his head.
The seconds came screaming back to him before it had happened—the vial to his lips, Cassian’s form being swallowed by divine power, the devastation mangled on his face, destroying all the resolve Finnian had to go through with it.
The image had spiked through his heart.I cannot do this either,he had wanted to tell Cassian, but he knew that would only be a catalyst to convince them not to continue.
He hadn’t been able to breathe through the tears as he tipped the potion back.
The empty vial had slipped from his hand, and he fell to the floor and waited. Clutching at his chest and gasping for air, his whole body wracked with tremors.
With what breath he had left, he squeezed out the final words to seal his fate: “Glöm sanningarna. Tro lögnerna.”
Every memory of Cassian would be altered. He would not feel treacherous affection in their arguments, his eyes would not wander over Cassian’s lips. He was the High God who imprisoned his father, who tried time and time again to curse Finnian, mercilessly.
Now that it was over, it was as if he’d woken up from a slumber, dissociated, as his mind raced to process the last five years since he’d handed himself over to Cassian.
Five years.In Moros, tortured and cursed.
Something had gone wrong.
“Cassius,” Finnian said, like an answered prayer. He ripped his head up, latching onto Cassian’s gaze, bronze-gold under the pool of his tears.
Finnian’s heart fractured. Five years since they’d been reunited. Five years since their plan was supposed to have reached fruition. What torment that must’ve been for him.
Cassian lurched Finnian into a tight embrace. “I missed you.”
Finnian threw his arms around Cassian’s neck, burying his face in his shoulder. “I am so sorry.” Tears trembled in his voice, dampening his cheeks. “I don’t know why the potion’s effects didn’t break. I am so sorry it took me so long to come back to you.”
