“Silence, Torin,” Fionn hissed.
Torin smiled and gave a mocking salute toward Fionn as he leaned back.
“We summoned you here to stand before the Elorium, not to get lost in this wretched waltz with my brother.” Cillian’s voice was filled with jealousy, and he looked ready to tear Fionn's throat out at any moment, sending a chill down my spine as I hadn’t seen Cillian act like this.
“You're overreacting. You don’t just get to pull me around like a dog on a leash. What is wrong with you, Cillian. Your eyes, are darker than usual?”
He wasn’t listening, it was as if he was possessed.
“Choose me… or fear me. The stars won’t let you do both.” He said as he began to move closer to me, he was angry
“If you are not with me…I can’t protect you.”
Seraphina looked at Fionn and Cillian with unwavering authority.
“Retrieve the Elorium now,” she said, bringing everyone back in line.
“Vareth does not pause his hunt for your petty rivalries, and neither will I. The Order demands obedience, not theatrics.”
TWENTY NINE
PAST FUTURE
Icontinued to stare at the table where the music box sat. It was there. I saw it. It had to be there. I hummed the tune. I moved back and forth, calming myself.
Where had it gone? I could feel the heat from mybreath warming mycoldbody.
Seraphina stoodwhere I had seen the music box, scrutinising me. I could feel hereyes staring, alwaysdamn well staring at me.
"The shadows are in your mind, Tilly," Seraphina murmured, her tone low and serious.
"You are not only hearing,but you also see what there isn't. That is dangerous for you, dangerous for us all. It means the prophecy is working through you faster than we thought, making your mark uncontrollable. You are too far gone now, and that makes you a threat.”
Yeah, sure, I thought.
"Who are you to speak of trust, after what you and Donte did? If the prophecy twists my mind, I'llfind a way to stop it."
Seraphina's lips curved into a cold smile.
"We have tried everything, child and still the prophecy wins. TheElorium will shed its light soon enough, and when it does, you will see your fate"
I thought of the invisible music, how it had silenced the voices before, how for one fleeting moment I had bent the madness to my will. If I could do it once, I could do it again.
Seraphina was wrong. Iwasn't too far gone. I would fight this, even if it tore me apart.
My legs bounced restlessly against the chair. The rhythm was uneven as my body rocked forward and back, as though I could shake the dread out of me.
Sweat gathered at my temples, sliding down my neck, dampening the collar of my dress. Every breath came shallow as if the air itselfwas turning against me.
The energy around me had changed. I could feel it in the way my skin prickled, in the way my pulse refused to settle in her presence.
***
It felt like hours had passed since Fionn and Cillian went to fetch the Elorium. What was taking them so long? I didn't know how much longer I could sit in the same room as Seraphina without feeling like I was being dissected.
My thoughts drifted back to the dance with Fionn. I remembered Cillian’s firm tug at my wrist as it ended, not a guiding or steadying pull, but a yank that dragged me back to reality when I nearly lost myself. I couldn’t forget the look thatcrossed his face as he pulled me back, and the way a darkness snapped behind his eyes.
This wasn't anger. At least, that’s what I kept telling myself. It was the fear of what was happening to me.
