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“Wait—” I blurted, stopping him as my hand fell over his, pulling it into mine. “Wren, I-I’m sorry.” I swallowed back the shame.I had to do this.“There are so many things I need to apologize for, too many. ButI amsorry, for abandoning you when you needed us most, for forgetting that your pain mattered—that it is important.”

Wren squeezed my hand as a sad smile crept onto his lips. “Thank you for saying that. We all heal differently, grieve differently, and you never really know what that looks like until you are in it, and my Gods have you been in it, Ata. But you have my forgiveness and my love, you always will.”

My hands were pulling him into my chest before I realized they were moving, clutching him against me as my arms wrapped around his neck. Pain burned up my side and I flinched as Wren pulled me closer, but I didn’t care. I just needed him to know that I loved him, that he was and always would be my brother.

“I love you, Wren,” I whispered into the crook of his neck, holding on for a moment longer before pulling away.

He gestured his head to the doors, pulling one open for me and stepping to the side. “Let’s get this over with shall we?” An honest, genuine smile spread across his lips and I couldn’t help the reflection of it that seeped into my features.

The air came to life as we walked through the doors, the conversation echoing off the walls of the small space as I retreated to the furthest corner. I was only here to listen, to learn everything I had missed. My back rested against the wall as I slid down it onto a flat stone and clutched my side. The pain had dimmed, but in the moments when it flared, flashes of the memories came crashing back.

But I wouldn’t run from them, not this time.

“The prodigal daughter has returned to the flock,” Dukovich teased, as I flinched at his sudden appearance by my side.

“Please, don’t make me hit you when I am trying so hard to curb my violence.”

He chuckled at my response, pushing himself onto the stone beside me with no regard for my personal space, and casually leaned back against the wall.

“I am nothing if not your personal punching bag.” He deadpanned and I turned my face away from him to hide the smile that flickered there.

Unfortunately, he was growing on me. Which was not ideal knowing that I still had every intention of killing him. But for now, he’d helped me. I would be dead if it weren’t for him.

There was something in the way he’d held me, in the way he’d clung to me, begging for me to hold on, that made me think that maybe he actually cared for me in some way. Stealing a glance, I watched as he studied the room, his arms crossed over his chest in that same unbothered way he did everything.

My stomach lurched as the mine shook around us. My eyes shot to the ceiling as rock and chunks of earth fell to the ground and everyone grabbed onto the wall to steady themselves.

“It’s only Nithra. She’s watching the area while we meet,” Cin said quickly before anyone could panic.

But it was too late for me.

A fist beat against my chest as static swam in my ears. My lungs were closing, not sucking in the oxygen they needed quick enough.

“Breathe,” I could hear Dukovich’s voice, feel his breath on my neck but it wasn’t breaking through the panic. “Look at me, Ataliia,” he demanded, though his words were soft enough not to draw attention.

He pulled my chin toward him and cupped my face, his eyes focusing into view as I panted through my shrinking airway. “You are safe, but you have to breathe.” He took in a deep breath, letting it out between rounded lips as I tried to match his movements. “Breathe for me, love.”

I took a few more breaths alongside him as my pulse began to slow, the panic retreating as my breathing became steady.

My fingers were curled around the fabric of his tunic, and as I moved to pull away his hand fell over mine. He intertwined our fingers, pulling my arm behind his back and away from view as he slid closer to me.

I stared at him, expecting a snide remark. Something along the lines of how he expected more from me, how he thought I was stronger than this, but it didn’t come. All that came were thegentle circles his thumb was tracing over my hand as he turned back to the room like nothing had happened.

My hand stayed in his, betraying every part of me that hated him and I left it.

“Let’s begin,” Landers called out, silencing the room as Asrai and Pri walked through the doors. Pri strode to Wren, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning into his side as Cin pushed off the wall across from me, her fingers sliding over Landers’s shoulder as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“The Fallen Ones have woken. As of now, they have agreed to work with us but they will be staying in Ithia. There is too much sensitive information moving in this realm to open it up to them until they are fully trusted. When we woke them, they were not alone. My brother, Cain, was sealed into that tomb alongside them. We have not been able to find any information as to how he got there.”

My eyes darted around the room and I watched Pri’s back straighten at the sound of Cain’s name as Cin nervously pushed a clump of hair behind her ear. I had no idea Landers had any living blood relatives.

“Which leads us to why we are meeting here.” Landers paused, his jaw feathering as if he was preparing himself to speak the next words. “Cain is Hyacinth’s mate.”

You could have heard a snowflake fall from miles away with the silence that fell over the room. It was palpable, deafening.

It was not fucking good.

Landers cleared his throat. “With the connection that the mating bond creates, and the use of black magic, he is able to manipulate that bond to find and appear to her on any reflective surface even with the blood wards I have placed around Locdragoon to keep him out. Which means he can listen to anything said to Hyacinth if you are not careful.”