Acacius rolled his eyes. “Your nagging knows no bounds.”
Cassius reached over and pinched his arm. “Unbelievable.”
Acacius rubbed at the throbbing place on his skin, grinning.
A quiet wave passed between them.
They both stared out at the horizon, and for the first time, the silence didn’t feel so claustrophobic. Acacius was happy to sit in this moment with his brother, enjoying their reconciliation.
The centuries and memories they shared was like the heat of his forge, tempering their bond so that it could withstand even the harshest of blows. It was one thing he was sure of.
“Naia told me about the meeting with the Council,” Cassius said.
Acacius sighed, the motion folding his shoulders as he exhaled. “Iliana will not intervene in matters involving the child. She wants to save some fucking face,preserve the peace.”
“I thought you hated the demigod and its entire family?”
Acacius turned, meeting Cassius’s inquisitive stare.
It was an awkward question, given Finnian was an inherent part of that family.
“I did. I feared death and the stillness it brought, but then I became close to Marina…” He swallowed the bile at the memory of her corpse. “As long as I have her, I do not care. She wants to protect the child and have a relationship with Naia, and I will support her, no matter what. Fates be damned, right?”
He recalled the many times Cassius said the phrase to Finnian, and took the opportunity to lighten the conversation.
Cassius grumbled and flicked his forehead. “Do you always have to listen in on private conversations?”
Acacius placed his fingers over the welt. Cassius had shown his affection like that since they were boys.
Acacius smiled wide as nostalgia bloomed in his chest. “What can I say? You inspire me.”
Some things, no matter the time between them, never changed. For this, with Cassius, he was grateful.
“Ash will not be harmed.” Cassius’s demeanor hardened with resolve as he held Acacius’s gaze. “To hell with peace.”
“Finally something that we can agree upon.” Acacius reached over and returned the playful ire, ruffling Cassius’s hair.
Cassius batted him away, smoothing his strands off to the side. “Such terrible manners,” he muttered.
Acacius laughed, the tension in his insides giving way as he held onto his brother’s solemn promise.
Another shared thread between them.
38
PROTECTOR
Marina
“I feel fine.”Marina sent her brother a stubborn stare.
“You just came back from the dead,” Finnian chided, lifting her arm and prodding his fingers into her muscle. “My ghouls had more side effects than what you are leading on.”
She detested when another invaded her space, but Finnian’s intrusive examination did not grate at her nerves. His concern filled her with a damning hope that, perhaps, in the future, they could reconcile just as she had with Naia.
Marina rolled her eyes, feigning annoyance as he grabbed her by the cheeks and forced her mouth open, hunting down her throat. “You feel no pain? No aches anywhere?”
She snapped her jaws shut, eyeing him. “No.”
