Page 176 of A Thief Among Fae

“Distracted?”

He sighs. “I kept reaching for you and coming up empty. I couldn’t think straight knowing I’d never see you again. The loss of our bond drove me mad.”

My heart skips a beat. “Almost done,” I whisper.

“A guard used their Gift to nullify Auri’s. Then they swarmed us. We could’ve fought our way out, but we were surrounded by civilians. I didn’t want to risk harming anyone.”

“Then the guards took you here,” I surmise. I hate that I let this happen to him. If I had forgiven him before we split up, would he have noticed the guards circling them?

His pained gasp lowers to a heady hum as I reach his lower back. His lashes flutter, his head tilting almost imperceptibly toward me.

“You should hate me,” I murmur.

“Don’t tell me who to hate. Do you hate your sister?”

My hands freeze against him. He knows. He already figured it out.

The silence is deafening as Desmond puts on his shirt.

Then Finnian’s scream echoes from the main chamber, followed by a choked sob.

Desmond straightens, his muscles tensing and hands curling into fists. A dark ruthlessness consumes his eyes as he storms out of the cell so quickly that I have to run to keep up with him. Necrotic energy crackles in his palms.

“Wait!” I shout. “Min’s just⁠—”

He freezes at the sight of Finnian and Min on the floor. Min elevates Finnian’s wrist against her shoulder as she holds a blood-soaked cloth against the wound. A tourniquet is fastened around his forearm. Grief twists inside of me as I see the bundle of cloth beside Min.

His hand.

There wasn’t a chance of saving it.

Desmond kneels beside him. “I have failed you, and for that I owe you a debt so great that there’s no request I would deny.”

Finnian, gods bless him, forces a smile. “You’ll probably regret that, but I accept.”

Desmond’s enchanted flask sits on a table with the fae’s confiscated weapons. I levitate the flask to them. Even though I don’t understand its magic, it should still hold the same healing tonic Desmond made me drink after his nightmare.

After uncapping it, Desmond holds it to Finnian’s lips, tipping the liquid inside into his mouth. Finnian shudders at the taste, but his shoulders relax as though the tonic is already numbing the pain.

Rune approaches us with Auri leaning against him. She’s groggy, squinting and wincing at the torchlight. She’s already changed clothes, but a deep cut marks her neck. One of her cheeks is swollen, and bruises color her jaw. “They drugged me so I couldn’t use my Gift,” she says, and I’ve never heard her sound so defeated.

At the sight of her, Desmond tenses with renewed rage.

Auri sees Finnian. She lets go of Rune and collapses onto her knees, tears streaking down her cheeks. “I will never forgive Avedor for what they’ve done to us,” she vows. “I will skin Prince Eldon and parade his traitorous head through the Hollowlands.”

“It wasn’t Eldon,” Desmond says.

Everyone stills. My heart lurches into my throat.

“Don’t look at me.” Rune raises his hands, palms facing out. “Why would I sacrifice my evening to rescue you lot if I had warned Mythos of your plans?” For some reason, he doesn’t direct their attention toward me.

Neither does Desmond.

“Who else is here?” Desmond demands of Rune.

“Kieran, Brandur, and Maeve.”

Auri swears. “Then you’ve brought the guild’s traitor with you.”