A cold hollowness swept through me.
Did that mean he’d killed his own parents? I could not bring myself to ask outright. My thoughts stumbled to my own father, and I recoiled from the imagined horror of such a choice.
“Did you know them well?” I asked. “His parents.”
“I have known Elinor and Thomas since I was eleven. Elinor was like a mother to me. She scolded Reagan and me the same way whenever we snuck into the Northern Forest to hunt the creatures there. We used to compete to see who could kill more, and she would be furious for days.”
I gasped. “You hunted them for fun?”
Relief threaded through my voice. He had changed the subject deliberately.
“We were clearly idiots.”
Surprisingly, I found myself chuckling.
There was such dry fondness in his tone that he sounded almost...relatable.
I offered Finn a tight smile. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
His expression flickered, lips curving in a controlled way. “It happened long ago.”
Still, I thought I could see the sorrow and grief beneath all that charm, though I didn’t need to draw it out of him.
“Hm, I actually forgot to thank you for covering for me at the Capital,” I said. “I should have said it sooner. I still don’t know how you managed it.”
He dismissed it easily, as though helping a stranger came naturally to him. “Don’t lose sleep over it,” was all Finn said.
CHAPTER 12
The crunch of glass underfoot startled me. It broke sharply but didn’t pierce my skin.
Rain pattered, rhythmic but disjointed, as though it were pouring from nowhere and everywhere at once.
I looked around, trying to place myself, but nothing held form, shifting with each blink. I stumbled, disoriented, now in a narrow alley on damp cobblestones.
My hand brushed against rough stone, and a hard jolt sent me reeling against a wall. Someone shouted—a garbled, rough voice—and my heart hammered wildly in fear.
The smell of rain blended with something acrid, like smoke, filling my lungs. A man’s voice buzzed around me, speaking words that twisted together, breaking against the rain. I tried to listen, but his words clashed with a mounting pressure in my skull, a pulsing ache that throbbed louder and louder until I couldn’t help but scream.
I woke with a start, my skin damp with sweat, my heart still thundering in my chest. Just a dream.
The massive bed cradled me as I sat up, taking in my room in Mountheim’s castle before reaching for the glass of water beside my ring on the nightstand.
Early light crept in through the window as I prepared to meet Gwinifer in the training room.
This time, I slid into black leggings and a snug black shirt, trying to follow her instructions. My hair was pulled into a high ponytail, though loose strands insisted on framing my face.
“Look at that. She really came,” Gwinifer said. “I guess I owe you.”
“I have no idea what that means,” I replied breezily as I strode into the room, its floor almost fully covered by a thick rubber mat that swallowed the sound of my footsteps.
Bright spotlights blazed overhead, making it difficult to see the ceiling.
In the far corner, Finnegan stood with his arms crossed over his chest. “We had a little wager on whether you’d make it to the lesson.” His eyes gleamed with satisfaction. “And I won.”
“I told you I’d come. So, if you’re still up for teaching me, I’ll take you up on it.”
Gwinifer’s arms were firmly folded over her chest, one hip cocked to the side, looking every bit the unimpressed teacher sizing up a difficult student. Without a word, she motioned me over with a jerk of her chin, and I stepped closer.
