Page 77 of Heir of the Autumn Queen

I nod.“I didn’t know they were abilities.” For whatever reason, I try to ease the blow.“They were just starting to manifest after I came through the mist, but I thought they were just coincidental. I didn’t know I could hone them.”

Finn shrugs, but he’s still clearly hurt, his ego bruised after Rowan used his ignorance as a verbal weapon.

“You don’t really have the right to be mad at me, Finn.” I remind him, my patience waning again already.

“Why not?” Finn snaps at me.“You’re not the only one who's been hurt here, Aurelia! I kept waiting for you to tell me who you really were. I gave you countless opportunities to be honest with me, but you were content to let me believe you were someone completely different.”

“I may have lied about my name, but I never pretended to be someone I’m not,” I say, defending my actions.

“Neither did I.” Finn matches my distant tone.

We stare at each other in silence for what seems like an eternity, neither of us knowing how, or if, we move forward from this in light of our recent confessions.

Finn wasn’t wrong when he said there’s something unexplainable between us, I’ve felt that from the moment we touched the first time. But just because we have a physical connection doesn't mean we should be partners. After everything, I don't evenwantto be with him, it just feels like I'msupposedto be, which is frustrating, to say the least.

Finn nods his head solemnly, transforming before my eyes. Whatever vulnerability he showed earlier tonight is gone, replaced by a mask of indifference.“May Dafina bless you on your journey.”

I match his posture, reinforcing the armor around my heart. It’s easier this way. Less damage in the long run.“Goodbye, Finn.”

“Bye, Trouble." He refuses to look at me and shoots into the sky.

I watch him disappear into the darkness, determined to put him out of my mind, and heart, once and for all.

Chapter Thirty-four

Iignore the pack’s questioning stares and head straight to bed. Although I've dedicated so much time convincing myself to hate Finn, I still feel the finality of our parting; still grieve the loss of his friendship, the loss of what could’ve been, had we been different people in a different world.

The next morning, I’m still angry at both Rowan and Shepherd for interfering in my private business last night, and things are tense between the three of us. I can sense that Shepherd feels something for me, that he's jealous of my relationship with Finn, especially considering the history between the two of them. And while I know Rowan was just trying to help, he overstepped by using Finn’s lack of knowledge of my abilities against him in some petty ‘who knows Auri better’ competition.Ugh. Do the pissing contests ever end?

We take the same travel structure as the previous days, with Lyker and Ekko scouting ahead in wolf form as I walk along the road mounted on Shadow, the alpha and beta on either side of me. We walk in silence, but I know a confrontation is coming. I can feel their agitation radiating toward me, see the edginess in their body language.

“Auri…” Rowan looks up at me from my left.

“I don’t wanna hear it,” I tell him, not even bothering to make eye contact.

“I just wanted to say I’m sorry,” he pleads.

“Just drop it, Row.” I nudge Shadow forward into a trot, but they only jog beside her to keep pace.

“Shadow will happily take to the skies,” I tell them in warning, and they reluctantly drop back a few paces to give me some space. I’m not angry with them for wanting to protect me, but they both overstepped by assuming I'm incapable of handling my own relationships.

Plus, it became very clear last night that Shepherd's and Finn's disdain for each other is now at its peak, having me thrown into the mix. But I suppose I don't have to worry about Finn showing up unannounced anymore; we said all we needed to say.

Given the original timeline that Shepherd shared with me, we should arrive in Kelderon in the next few days, gods willing.

That same, strange sensation of feeling a knock at the door to my brain is back, but I ignore it this time, knowing it’s Shepherd. He probably wants to have a private conversation without Rowan’s prying eyes and ears, but I don’t care.

“Aurelia!” Sure enough, Shepherd calls out from behind me, and I pull Shadow to a halt, knowing he won’t relent until he says whatever’s on his mind. I throw my leg over her and dismount, landing gracefully with a satisfying thud on the ground. Shepherd jogs up and stops a few feet away from me.

“What?” I jut my hip out and cross my arms over my chest, feeling especially brazen.

“What happened with Finn?” he searches my eyes.

“Does it matter?” I ask coldly, more upset than I realized about Shepherd’s interference last night.

“You’re clearly upset for some reason, so yes, it matters.” He places his hands on his hips. Rowan had slowed his pace when Shepherd approached me, and while he’s caught up now, he hangs a few feet back, as if that gives us any real privacy.

“For some reason?” I repeat, my temper flaring.

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