Page 73 of The Song of the Void

And his hands…They were pure black, just like the older woman’s, though the coloration extended up his forearms, inky tendrils crawling towards his elbows. The curse marks on the backs of his hands were still present, but they glowed an angry red, like trapped fire.

“Finally,” he murmured. “I’m not ruining your plans or anything, am I, Aunt Tamayo?”

The woman pressed her lips in a thin line and swirled her hands about in front of her until a glimmer of red light gathered between her palms.

“No, wait!” The girl on the throne cried, jumping to her feet. The bead of light shot straight towards Rei, and all he did was shove his hands in his pockets as it burst into a ball of flames.

I wanted to scream for him to get out of the way, but my voice caught in my throat.

Apparently, Reiven didn't need me to worry. That same orange circle of magic which appeared below us on the ship manifested before him, blocking the fireball. A scorching gust burst past us, harmlessly ruffling our hair and clothing as the flames dissipated into thin air.

“It isn't possible. The curse should have killed you the moment you set foot on the island,” Tamayo snarled. “You haven't dispelled it.”

“Do you think I'm some ignorant outsider who doesn't know our laws?” Reiven said haughtily. “I'm ‘a person come from afar to challenge the Flames Below.’ I’m under the Fire Spirit’s protection until after I return from Hell, and I always liked to think that the power of the Spirits was stronger than any of your dark magic.”

The younger girl crept down the stairs of the platform that raised the throne high. She gripped the velvet gold fabric of her dress tightly, staring at Reiven as if she blinked, he would disappear. “Aunt…don’t you see? He's come back…Rei has come back to complete the stipulations you put on him to break his curse. He brought a Siren.” She didn't even look at me as she continued down the stairs. “And when he kills her, he'll be free.”

The floor might as well have fallen out from under me, or maybe the walls crashed on top of me without warning. I could hardly breathe and barely managed to squeak, “Wh-what?”

The girl giggled and dashed across the room to throw herself at Reiven with enough force to make him stumble. She seemed far less than the distinguished royal I had thought she was, perching on that throne. Now she seemed like nothing more than a little girl. “Welcome home!”

“Glad to be back, Akina.”

Puzzle pieces fell into place in my mind. They had the same defined cheekbones, similar noses, practically identical dark hair—siblings. He had told me he had a brother, but didn't say anything about a sister. She must be a few years younger than him, maybe twenty?

Akina beamed up at him, cradling his face in her hands, lustrous scarlet eyes filling with tears. She cast a glance my way. There was no malice in her gaze, but I nearly shrank away. “It’s…a shame you have to do this. Mother and Father always hoped there would be another way.”

“Me too,” Reiven said evenly.

A shiver rippled across my skin. The longer I looked at him, the more I realized I must have fallen for his trap—a fucking Mourner trap.

To their credit, both Ashkade and Calinia stepped in front of me protectively.

Ash raised his voice. “You'd better start explainin’ yourself, Reiven.”

“I'm sorry I couldn't tell you. I didn't get a choice in the matter.”

Calinia urged an arrow to float out of her quiver, hovering in the air before us. “I knew there was something strange about that man, Zephra.”

I held back a strangled sob, but I couldn't keep my lips from trembling as I finally spoke up. “No. Reiven, you wouldn't…h-hurt me…I trusted you.”

Not again. This can’t happen to me again.

For the first time since his aunt revealed what he was, he turned to look at me. Where before I had taken comfort in his gaze, now I felt like nothing less than a fool. Pain splintered my chest until the surface dweller air evaporated from my lungs.

Was everything a lie?

His gentle touch. The way he smiled at me. How he kept himself between me and Vaetrik, endured days of torture to keep him away from me. All an elaborate trick.

A door off to the side of the room flew open with a crash, and a youthful voice rang out like a wind chime.

“Rei! You're back!” A teenage boy around Ash's age sprinted into the grand hall, wearing a huge grin. He had the same black hair as Reiven and Akina, and similar features, although he didn't have the same strong build and height as Reiven. One half of his face was covered by burn scars, reddish, shiny blisters. The whole right side of his body might have been marked by similar scars, from what peeked out of his loose-cut gray shirt.

Reiven blinked once, twice, and froze as if he had been petrified by a spell. It wasn't until the boy tackled him to the ground in a hug that he shook his head and slowly, slowly put his arms around him. “No…no way. This must be a dream. You died. I carried your body to Father and Mother.”

“Flames Below, I'm not dead, you idiot.”

That must have been his brother, Jin. Akina dropped to her knees, and the three of them held each other in their arms. A family reunited.