End of Chapter 40

"You want me to be this awful person that you've shaped in your head," Elysian muttered, eyes drifting to her face, narrowed tight into a glare. "You may not remember it, but your hands are stained with blood. And I treat you too well, we treat you too well." He chuckled dryly. "You are not as innocent as you think you are. And I know it," he lifted his head to gesture to the rest, she couldn't look at them, she couldn't bear it. "They know it. You are filled with just as many secrets. So many."

Panic flooded through her, her heart stumbled at the sudden clarity burned in his eyes. She stumbled back. "I don't know my past," Quinn lied. A hand was pressed to the small of her back, and she flinched, turning to see Solar—drenched in light, wings fluttering, far too close. She'd fucked it up. Fey could read emotions and taste them. But he merely smiled.

Solar spoke then, a gentle smile. "She is telling the truth." He pulled her closer, flooding her with his scent—buttery cream, the gentle saturation of bakery and home. "Come now, it is late, and you need a place to rest before your travels to the wastelands." His smile revealed nothing, pupils blown, dazed from a vision and yet lucidity burned in those orbs. "The ink in your mouth should not linger on your tongue."

"But I—"

"Enough Quinn," he murmured, pulling her away. And she was silenced by the sharpness in his tone, the tension of his body as if on the edge. "Come now."

His voice was harsh, unwavering. Despite the rush of adrenaline in her body, the pulse of her heart roaring in her ears, she was huddled away in his arms, taken far into the darkness, away from the others, away from Elysian. She spared him one last glance, a darkened silhouette, standing lonely for a mere second and then surrounded by a group of his lovers.

Of course.

She followed along, jaws clamped tight.

Of course.

Solar continued on with his hand on her wrist, dragging her further into the castle, taking her up the steps. And as they strayed further, she felt her thoughts calm, her breath escaping her in gentler whooshes. He was doing this on purpose. Her eyes darted over to his then, trying to read his expression in the dark, but there was nothing that she could see except the pleasant smile.

He was hiding all his feelings under a mask.

He'd been doing it since the day she was thrown into a cell.

"Solar," she whispered. "Can you see the future?

She was surprised that he answered, with a song in his voice. "No."

"What—"

"The future you think I see comes to me in little dreams, like light on the stone," he explained, oddly talkative. "It comes to me as instinct. It is in my bones when I face another in battle, and sometimes it is not there at all. It is not future I see, but warnings," Solar turned to her with a cruel smile. "But the choices we make will always change my prophecies. I've seen so many things that happen and don't happen. Not everything is set in stone, and what is, is as clear as the fog. I do not know the future, but you are right to believe that I can be prepared for some dangers."

"You saw something." Fear rushed up her veins. "Would Elysian have—"

"He'll never hurt you," Solar shook his head, "but he might have said too much. Elysian can be fuelled by his emotions, he's hot-headed and sad." She snorted.

"And what could he have said?"

His smirk was cruel, a raised brow lifted closer to his hairline. Her heart thundered blood rushing in her ears, drinking in the fey, tousled, glimmering and gorgeously swathed in the light of the moon. The colour of his hair danced and his eyes were like golden gemstones. "I don't know." He placed a hand on his heart. "But I felt how wrong it would have been."

"Then you must know, how wrong it is," Quinn rushed out, "to eat my heart."

"Maybe, maybe not." Solar shrugged. Fuck. Her breath hissed through her teeth. Fuck them, fuck the seven, fuck him and his riddles.

"So, your fortune-telling is shit," she spat.

"I never said it was good," Solar smiled, looking gorgeous in the candlelight. "If it were that good, I'd solve it all in a heartbeat. And I wouldn't have fallen in love with Euodia, I would not have allowed her to take me, but I did." He peered at her then, lashes fluttering, lips pursed. "Elysian has marked you, claimed you as his mate. Have you thought about that?"

Her rage bellowed. "And so, what—"

"His soul will be tied to you," he replied, silver clouding in his eyes. "He will protect you if we try to kill you. And if we try, he will struggle, and he will be in pain. I was in pain when I allowed Euodia to die, but I knew it was right to do so. Elysian will not know. He will only despair in the knowledge that he played a part in your death." His hand went to his neck, and her mind jolted. Euodia had marked Solar as hers, but Solar had never been allowed to mark her. His smile was grim. "Still, who would not dream of another method that wouldn't consist of murder?"

"Then why did he—"

"You will go out to the wastelands as you've wanted to," Solar answered her. "The truth is, Klaus doesn't want our people having to resort to hearts. And our mates do not like it either. It's too dangerous, too barbaric. Too many have failed. The odds aren't good, we need another answer, something easier. If you can find it, then you can save those girls."

"It's all up to me?"

Solar's brow raised. "You think we won't help you?"

"You will?"

"We've always been trying." He was moving then, stopping at a door. The knob turned, and he pushed it open revealing a darkened room, simple in furnishing, enough for a night. "He's so angry because you don't know how hard we try." Quinn inhaled sharply, a sigh escaping her.

"You could have warned me about today."

"How?" Solar asked. "You're always such a little spitfire," he teased, a sadness dancing over his features, disappearing so quickly it was as if it were not there. "No one dared to tell you."

"Because?"

"We're ashamed," he answered smoothly, turning to go. Solar had been strangely distant, increasingly awkward. They'd been closer before it all, and now she could see the barriers he'd put up around his heart, the walls. He wanted them there. But knowing that his visions were shit she supposed he didn't know what would happen to her. Or maybe he did and that was why he wanted nothing to do with her.

"Solar," she called. "Did you know that Elysian would mate with me?"

"No," Solar shook his head. "That was his choice. That day, you were going to die."

She couldn't help herself then. "And would my heart have truly saved you all?"

Solar's expression was grim, a smooth smile, a flicker in the distance. His voice grew sharp, infused with a bite of tension. "I told you; I don't know."

She paused then, thinking back to the events that had transpired. If Solar had not stepped in tonight, something would have happened. Perhaps, Elysian would have raised questions, questions that would lead to them learning that she was Euodia. But now Solar knew she was lying, and yet he did not question her. "Thank you," she whispered into the dark.

But Solar was long gone.

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