Finnian shot Ronin a look of annoyance, and Ronin returned it with a clever smirk.
“Dad cursed,” Ash said to his mother. “Are you going to scoldhim?”
Naia reached her arm out and flicked Ronin’s chest with her full strength, knocking him back. “No, sir!”
Ash cackled at his father’s dramatic reaction of recoiling and rubbing the spot on his pec.
A small laugh rumbled from Cassian as he watched.
This was Finnian’s dream—to see his sister happy and loved, to be standing beside Cassian with nothing between them. A dream he’d held onto for years. Always at the end of the hardships.
Now that he’d arrived, he wasn’t sure how to feel, or what to do with himself. A part of him itched to get lost in a potion recipe to soothe the voice in the back of his mind that said,this will all end one day too.
The other part of him had made peace with such truth. Nothing lasted forever, and while he disagreed and loathed that fact, he was slowly starting to accept it as a greater truth than himself.
Finnian rotated and took in the bustling of his city, the steady flow of traffic, travelers passing by on the sidewalks, those sitting at the outdoor tables of nearby restaurants and cafés.
He’d built something he was proud of—a home for Isla and Eleanor, for Naia and her family.
If only Father could’ve seen it—just once.
A sense of sorrow flooded his chest, and he exhaled.
Cassian shifted at his side and faced the city, hands tucked away in his pockets, resting his arm against Finnian’s. Notes of lemon peel and the spice from his cologne drifted in the space between them.
Finnian glanced over at him. It was surreal, seeing him in broad daylight in a modern suit in the city they’d called home during the start of their relationship. A testament of how much time had passed.
“Your father knew of your city,” Cassian said, peering straight ahead.
Finnian shouldn’t have found it surprising how Cassian knew what he was thinking. “Through some divine connection of nature?”
“No, I showed him pictures. Online. We looked it up.”
Finnian nodded slowly, processing. He gradually straightened his head to stare out at the city, his lips curving. “I wasn’t aware you could get internet access in the Land of the Dead.”
Cassian snorted. “I had to keep up with you somehow.”
Warmth drenched his ribcage like syrup. “You looked me up.”
“The mortals are fond of you. It appears they find you charming, despite your insufferable indifference.”
Finnian’s smile deepened at the sound of his light-hearted sarcasm. “I can be charming when I wish to be.”
“Oh, I am aware.” Cassian flashed his gaze to him.
Heat prickled in Finnian’s cheeks.
He gave Cassian a sly smirk, knowing the effect it had.
Cassian’s pupils flared in response to the look, swallowing the fiery rings of his irises.
Finnian winked at him as Naia hooked her arm around his elbow and rested her cheek on his shoulder.
“Could you imagine Father scouring the sidewalk with city-folk?” She chuckled.
“Like you have room to talk,” Ronin piped in. “You gawked ateverythingyour first year here.”
Finnian puffed out a quiet laugh as Naia pinned Ronin with a look. “Says the man whogawksanytime I use my divine strength.”
