She wasn’t down, though. Not with all the magic she’d stolen and siphoned into the orb.
Her magic reared again, this time twisting our own threads against us. The strike came fast and whipped at Eiran before any of us knew what she was doing. He turned his head just in time, but a thin line of blood cut across his cheek before vanishing a beat later.
My heart hammered against Brenton’s chest. Zaicha had found a way to turn us into her weapon. This time, it was Eiran’s eyes that flickered with caution and uncertainty.
Chapter
Thirty-One
BRENTON
Water curledat my bare feet as the tide swept in. With Finley’s hand in mine, it was a near perfect moment.
If we didn’t have the monumental failure from our training in the astral realm hanging over us. I’d been so certain I could pick apart Zaicha’s threads, but she’d almost harmed Finley in the process.
Then there was Javier’s declaration. Not only did he plan to move to Vistos but Finley now knew Elias was responsible for Javier’s father’s death. It didn’t sit well with me for her to know the act without understanding the details surrounding it.
I kicked at a broken shell, sending it tumbling across the sand.
“There’s a lot more to what Javi said earlier,” I said, voice rough. “It was Elias who ordered George to kill his father. And there’s so much more to it than that.”
Finley studied me, her eyes patient as I tried to find the right words.
“I know you all tore through the veil because Teddy was in danger,” she said, her tone low and gentle. “CommanderHudson said if King Elias hadn’t done that, Teddy would be dead.”
I dipped my head in a single nod, relieved she knew that much. Still, the movement felt heavier than it should have. “While she was at work, a large refrigerator had fallen atop her. She was pinned, bleeding internally, and when we arrived, she was screaming at a man hovering over her, Javier’s father. Telling him to stop, saying he was killing her.”
The sound of those desperate words lived in the back of my mind, and my throat tightened at the memory.
“So Elias . . . He reacted. He gave the order, and George followed through while Elias dropped to his knees to tend to Teddy.” I drew in a shaky breath that ended on a dry laugh. “Only later, we learned he wasn’t hurting her. He was trying to save her. Every time he attempted to lift the fridge, it caused her more pain. That’s what she’d been begging him to stop. We didn’t know, though. We would never have killed an innocent male.”
Finley’s brows furrowed, and I saw the understanding in her expression. “You keep sayingweandus,but you didn’t do anything.”
I shook my head, sand shifting beneath my feet as we continued walking. “The four of us—Elias, George, Everly, and me—we’re more than a group or a unit. If one of us moves, we all move. If one of us screws up, we all bleed for it. I was there. I didn’t question it, didn’t stop it. Why would I?” I huffed out another humorless laugh. “I believed he was trying to kill Elias’s mate. I would’ve killed that male just as easily.”
A muscle ticked in my jaw. Everything had changed after that. Not just the endless winter we’d brought into the human realm. Not even the spiral that had started Elias and Teddy’s relationship.
That moment dug its claws into Elias. To this day, I sometimes found George staring at his hands as if they were permanently stained.
“You can’t distort that moment into something it isn’t,” I said, my voice rougher now. “No one else was there. No one else saw the way Elias would’ve broken himself to get to her. The way Teddy screamed. The scent of her blood and fear—” I swallowed hard, but it didn’t clear the tightness. “It was overwhelming. George didn’t hesitate because none of us did.”
Finley’s other hand came up to cradle mine. We stopped walking, her steady heartbeat against my unsteady breathing.
“Javi’s not wrong to hurt,” she said quietly.
My back stiffened in reply.
“He has every right to, Brenton,” she said even softer, careful but not backing down. “But what happened, what King Elias did, what all of you did, wasn’t done in cruelty. It was borne from panic. It came from love.”
I blew out a rough breath, and when I lowered my head, Finley rested her forehead against mine. Her breath was warm against my lips, and I caught myself licking them, wanting to chase the taste of her.
We stood there for long beats. Just breathing. Letting the weight of everything settle without crushing us.
“The day I told you of the manicures I want,” she started, not inching away but holding me closer, “you said you’d choose me over your friends. Over your family.”
Her hand came up to my cheek, her thumb running slow circles against my skin. I leaned into her instinctively, because with Finley, I always did.
“I need you to know something,” she continued. “I will never put you in a position where you have to choose. You are my soul-bound mate, Brent. But they . . .” Her eyes caught mine,certainty shining behind the brilliant silver and hazel. “They’re your people. That matters.”
