“Shut up, Torin,” Fionn snapped. “For once, stop playing the fool? We don’t have time for the theatrics.”
I couldn’t help smiling inwardly at the way Fionn responded. Torin’s remarks were always ridiculous, and even his own brother saw him as an annoyance.
Torin shot his brother a resentful stare before stepping back. My gaze slid to the Elorium curled up on the floor.
“Who is this?” I asked. “I heard Seraphina call her an Elorium. Why did you bring her here? Is she going to be a captive like me?”
Though Cillian said nothing, I noticed the pain in his eyes.
Still trembling with rage, I stepped back as he approached the latch. He paused and gazed imploringly at me.
“I don’t expect you to believe anything I tell you. You’re angry, upset, and for that I apologise. The last thing I want to see is anger and mistrust in your lovely eyes.”
“How perceptive of you, considering it's you that created all the emotions you see in my eyes.”
“Tilly, I’ve been truthful about why you’re here. The reasons may not be what you wanted to hear, but those reasons are a reality that none of us can change.”
“I don’t even know what reality is anymore,” I said. “Everything I believed, everyone I thought I could trust, has betrayed me.”
Cillian bowed his head. “I don’t want you to think that I'd betray you, but as I said, there are realities that we have to accept, and that includes you.”
I tried to determine whether his eyes confirmed what his words conveyed. When he raised his head, I saw what appeared to be sincerity in his velvety eyes, but that could also have been a ruse to lull me into believing him. I had to remember that they were all master manipulators.
At that moment, I wished I were psychic, so I could determine whether he was telling the truth or if this was yet another ploy to deceive me.
“I wish I could believe you,” I said, “but I also believed Donte, and he shattered my heart into a thousand pieces.” I noticed Cillian flinch. Perhaps I had finally touched a nerve. “I opened my soul to him, and all he did was lie to me. The truth was the furthest thing from his mind. Do you really think I'd make the same mistake again?”
Cillian’s eyes glittered with an emotion bordering on pain. His shoulders sagged from a burden I could barely imagine.
“We understand you’re trying to protect yourself,” he said, “but there’s no time to debate this. The Elorium feeds on the energy of others. You need to open the door and leave before she awakens and feeds on your energy. You are vulnerable and won't be able to withstand her.”
Fionn finally turned to me with a look capable of freezing fire. His cold eyes bore into me with such hostility that I felt weak beneath the onslaught.
“I don’t know how you tolerate this creature,” he said to Cillian. “She listens to no one despite her situation. You see before you the consequences of her thoughtless actions.”
Cillian glanced at me with a stricken expression. Confused, I didn’t know what to do, and with a weariness that engulfed my soul, I wanted nothing more than to put this nightmare behind me and be home with my family.
Fionn cocked his head as he regarded me.
“Perhaps we should ask Tilly if she knows how long she has left before she dies? Maybe that will focus her attention on what’s important.”
His words stabbed my heart. Seraphina and Torin now watched, as though finally acknowledging something important enough to divert their attention from the Elorium.
Cillian started to speak.
“Silence, brother,” Fionn said. “Your attention to Tilly is best left to singing romantic ballads beneath her window.”
He approached the door. I stepped back as he leaned casually against it.
“The time you waste will be the minutes remaining of your human life. I wonder how death will take you. Maybe it will be as simple as peacefully falling asleep. Perhaps it will be something more frightening. You see, that’s the mystery about death. We don’t know how or when it will come to claim us.”
His words slithered under my skin, cold and merciless, as if he enjoyed watching me unravel.
“Enough, Fionn!” Cillian said.
“Silence!” Fionn snapped. “If it's the truth she wants, then the truth is what she’ll hear.” He turned his attention to me, clearly enjoying the effect his harsh words had on me. “The difference for you, Tilly,” he continued, “Is that you only have months left to live. But your human nature still refuses to accept your fate, and because of that stubbornness, you will die. A shame, really, if you consider the wonders awaiting you.”
I blinked back tears and sagged against the door. I was exhausted with everything. I looked at Fionn, hoping for some understanding, but there was nothing to be found in his cold glare. He smiled without emotion.
