Across the mountains, Fin gripped the edge of the war table in his tent.
He had felt Nova's panic. Every drop of it. A spike of it, sharp and consuming, like ice shoved through his chest. He knew that feeling all too well. Something had happened and she was having a panic attack.
But then, he felt … something worse. Silence. Absence.
He couldn't feel her emotions. Her presence. The steady hum of their matebond he'd grown so accustomed to that he had forgotten what life felt like without it. It was as if the bond had regressed, pulling away from his soul.
Pain shot through him—raw, stabbing, physical—like his spirit was being torn, thread by thread.
He staggered into his chair, chest heaving. Panic surged up his throat.
Fin: Xeon… I need your guidance here.
Xeon: Now you want my guidance?
Fin: What's happening… why can't I feel her?
A minute passed. Then an uncharacteristic growl, low and violent, exploded inside his mind like a snarl loosed after too much restraint. Xeon's tone was livid.
Xeon: Why can't you feel her? You are an absolute fool!
Xeon paused, lowering his voice.
Xeon: Her soul is pulling back. Untethering. That's your doing.
Fin: What does that mean?
Xeon: Her soul would rather be alone than tied to you right now. She may not even be conscious of it. Instinct protects itself before the mind understands why.
Fin:Untethering… is that the same as severing?
Xeon: A soul can begin withdrawing from afar. If she wished, she could still finish the breaking but that would be in person.
Fin's breath hitched, dread clawing up his throat.
Fin:That would be an overreaction, don't you think? She wouldn't be that impulsive. Over what? One argument?
But even as he said it, his stomach twisted. The thought hadn't even crossed his mind until now.
Xeon: That is an overreaction?
Xeon's voice slammed into him like a roar.
Xeon: Coming from the Alpha King who yelled at his brand-new mate while she cried on top of him after she had been alone at a war summit for three days. She said she missed you—and that was your response!
The words stung. Fin swallowed hard.
Xeon: I felt her through the matebond. She was about to tell you how much she respected you after walking in your shoes. She wanted to tell you how much you meant to her. How many times she wished you were there. How important you truly were.
Xeon paused, letting the truth sear.
Fin: I messed up.
Xeon: Yes. You did. You made her cry and kept pushing. You called her reckless, stupid, and said she wasn't acting like a queen. And she kept apologizing.
Fin clenched his jaw.
Fin:I understand. But some of the things she did were reckless. You tried to surge forward multiple times too. It was stressful.
Xeon's voice returned, low and unnervingly calm.
Xeon: Has it occurred to you that she might not have been in full control of some of those moments? And that if she claimed she was in control, there might have been a reason behind it? Understanding first has always been your strength, Finric—but not this morning. I am disappointed in you.
Fin's stomach dropped. Xeon had never said those words to him. Ever.
And the worst part—Fin realized he hadn't asked Nova a single question. Not one.
Fin: Can you ask Seraphine where she is? I feel horrible. I'll apologize. I'll fix this.
Xeon: I can't feel Seraphine anymore.
Fin's jaw locked, every word a blade.
Xeon: The Ancestors forced your hand. You both obeyed to save lives. The Alphas saw only the surface and judged you for a day. That is nothing. But the wound you dealt Nova? That is something. You let the shame they cast on you curdle inside you, and you struck the one soul you should have defended.
Fin's breath shuddered.
Fin:You're right. I yelled at her. I was wrong. I was an ass to her.
Fin sat in the tent long after the voice faded. The room was cold. He was alone.