“Mother, can you hear me?” Vex stooped down beside Astrid. “You must get up!”
Malik glowered down at Mira, lip curled in distaste. “Get up this instant. You look pathetic.”
Marina’s deadly gaze constricted around Finnian, her brow pinched, a deep scowl carved over her features. Any display of emotion was uncharacteristic for her.
“The mortals know of Naia’s name.” Solaris’s scrutiny burned the side of his cheek. “Word of her title has spread amongst them—alongside the return of the Himura clan. It surprised her to learn the information came from the mouths ofyourformer associations.”
“Back when the Himura clan first exposed the power of their blood, humans shunned them,” Finnian said. “Is that still the case with my sister’s involvement?”
“No. For the most part, they have been accepting. Did you plan that as well?”
Finnian gave a silent reply.
“Of course you did.” Solaris huffed out a sound, indicating he was not the least bit surprised. He followed Finnian’s line of sight to Marina. “She hasn’t left Mira’s side since Naia broke her own curse.”
Finnian smirked, the gesture sharp. “She is coming undone.” He could see the fracture in her stonelike persona. An obsessive ire skulked in the black pits of her dark allure, hungry for retribution.
Marina grimaced and shadows draped across the hall, a smoky darkness smothering the midday light sneaking through the gaping hole in the ceiling.
Finnian unfolded his arms, letting them hang at his sides. “Is Naia well?”
“Yes.” Solaris turned his head, studying the side of Finnian’s profile for a beat. “May I tell her the same regarding you?”
A pinch throbbed in Finnian’s chest. He longed to feel the familiar embrace of his sister, to meet his nephew and learn all the ways he favored his mother. The dream grew farther away by the passing second.
He recalled the stories of his uncle Xerxes and how it only took a matter of months for him to go completely mad from the Kiss of Delirium. It had been less than twenty-four hours since Cassian had cursed him. Then again, he wasn’t sure, due to the unnatural way time moved in the Land.
His throat tightened.
He swallowed thickly. “I am well,” he replied, knowing it would bring Naia happiness to hear he was doing okay. He hoped she was savoring her life, not wasting it away, burdened with guilt for allowing him to swap places with her. “Now leave. I have a family reunion to begin.”
Solaris sighed. “I feel obligated to say something along the lines oflet your anger go, knowing it is what Naia would wish of me.”
The dusky shadows filtered around Finnian’s ankles, drifting up from the moonstone like black fog. “Then I suppose it is a good thing Naia isn’t here.”
“I'll leave you to it then.” Solaris vanished, throwing up a crackling gust in his wake. The night-black mist caught in its draft and swirled.
Finnian rubbed the tip of his finger and thumb together in hungry determination. His gaze flitted from Marina to Freya. His mentee gave a subtle nod.
He started across the circle between the guards. “I suggest you rise and get out of my way,” Finnian said as he passed them.
Their heads bobbed up. Several went to lecture him for disturbing the moment. At the recognition of him, their tongues caught, tripping over their words, and they quickly rose and did as he ordered.
The last time Finnian stood in this hall, anger and a broken heart had blinded him. He had been volatile and desperate to impose suffering on Malik for the act he’d committed against Arran. Finnian had obsessively thought each day about his rash actions and how they resulted in his banishment. He regretted his impulsiveness back then, for it had made him break the promise he’d made to Father.
Take care of each other.
Indifference was not the only thing Finnian had inherited from Mira. Her pride and selfishness lived roots-deep within him, and in those disgraceful moments where he rotted away while reliving his past, he longed for nothing more than to reach down into the darkest parts of himself and rip them out.
He’d failed once, but he wouldn’t a second time.
The shadows condensed and licked at his feet. They shrouded the floor like a crevasse and crawled up the walls of the hall. The room quickly emptied, vaporous puffs of fleeting gods whirling in the darkness.
Vex came at him first. Followed by Astrid. Always a duo.
With a swift and forceful rotation of his wrist, Finnian snapped their necks with a sickeningcrack, causing them to collapse.
A cleaver sailed over their bodies. The sharp metal of the blade stung Finnian’s cheek. He continued forward. Before he could acknowledge the scratch, the wound sealed itself up.
