Malik’s eyes flitted around with fear, unable to focus on his surroundings. Without muttering another tasteless remark, he vanished in a puff.
Astrid crawled, feeling around the pavement as if she were blind, until she found the arm of the unconscious mage. They both disappeared, leaving behind a tailspin of pink flowers. Vex quickly followed behind them.
Once they left, Cassian whirled around and clenched the knife hilts embedded in Finnian, trapping him against the vault. He removed them one by one. “What were you thinking? Taking on all of them this way? You are only one god!”
Finnian rested his head back on the stone, eyes tracking Cassian’s movements. One arm had regenerated to the elbow, while the one Malik had recently severed was still a trunk. “I called on my ghouls. The situation was under control.”
Apparently his tongue had grown back just fine.
At the mention of the corpses, slumped and laying across the graveyard, Cassian paused and snapped his fingers.
From the trees, a dark mass descended, swallowing each floating orb in its path.
Finnian watched as the blackness ate away at the corpses, cradling the delicate orbs of the souls, and carrying them away.
“My, what a thorn in my side you have become,” he muttered.
Cassian ignored him and tossed the last of the knives aside. “And what would have happened had that mage successfully entrapped you?”
Finnian pushed off the wall and around Cassian. “I would have figured it out.”
Cassian followed him. “How? Unless there is a way a mage can perform magic while entrapped that I am unaware of?”
Footfalls sounded from ahead.
The woman with ginger hair threw her arms around Finnian. “I am so relieved you are okay!” She cried into his neck.
Finnian offered her an awkward pat on the back with his forearm, as his hand still hadn’t grown back. “Eleanor, please remove yourself at once.”
Isla approached, smiling, and lightly prying the woman off. “Eleanor, you know Master Finnian does not enjoy such affection.”
“That is the least of my concerns at the moment!” She wiped at her eyes, smearing dirt and blood along her freckled cheeks. “We could have died, but he saved us!” Sniveling, her face twisted as she seethed. “If I ever run into that silver-haired bitch again…”
“Eleanor, you are injured.” Finnian brushed forward to inspect the gash on her forehead. “Do you recall the spell I taught you yesterday?”
“Of course!” She beamed and raised her hand. “Corpus emundare.” She swiveled her wrist.
The spell cleansed each of their skin of muck and blood, making it much easier for Finnian to examine Eleanor’s wound.
Cassian gauged the stained material of Finnian’s shirt, observing closely as his stab wounds slowly stitched back up. Then, Cassian’s eyes roved up to Finnian’s long hair, wondering if Malik had destroyed the magical device in his ear.
Finnian rotated to Isla. His right hand had fully repaired itself. “Go inside. Give her a regenerative potion. Take one yourself.” He flicked one of her frizzy curls from her face.
“What about you?” Eleanor interjected, dramatically gesturing to his missing limb. “Your arm isgone!”
“My arm will grow back,” he drawled. “Now go. The both of you.”
Cassian studied Finnian’s body language, noting how he did not angle his head a certain way or mistake their words. Surely, without the assistance of his hearing aid, he would be showing a subtle indication.
“Who are you?” Eleanor stepped up to Cassian, her wide hazel eyes probing with curiosity.
His stomach dipped, and he quickly reminded himself of his disguise as Everett. “I?—”
Finnian shot him a glare.
Isla eyed him and grabbed Eleanor’s hand, tugging her forward. “Eleanor, let’s go. Your wound is bleeding again.”
As they passed, Isla gave Cassian a smile and dipped her head in parting.
