Page 13 of The Throne's Undoing

None of this was right,she thought.Everything was wrong.

From the way the sun beat down upon the sand, to the picturesque clear skies, to Fynn staring at her, to the very words coming from his mouth.

It was all wrong.

Wrong.

Wrong.

Wrong.

"Terin?"

Kallie blinked as Fynn's voice cut through the air like a knife, piercing and sharp. Through tear-stained eyes, she stared at her brother. Her hands fell from her head, and she pressed her palms into the sand in a feeble attempt to ground herself.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Kallie asked, her voice trembling.

Fynn stood upon the boulder, looking up, his eyes bouncing across the sky as if searching for something. As if Terin was looking down upon them.

For a moment, Fynn's gaze remained fixed on the too-blue sky.

Then, he nodded once before returning his attention to Kallie. Sorrow filled his gaze, every curve of his features seeping with pity.

Kallie hated it, yet she could not erase the expression from Fynn's face.

"I already told you, Kallie," he murmured. "You are not listening. I thought that..." Fynn sighed and shook his head, his gaze dropping to the sand momentarily. When he looked at her once more, something flashed across his countenance, stirring an inexplicable emotion within her. "It is clear that you are not ready to see the truth."

"What truth?" Kallie asked, furrowing her brows in confusion.

"Once you are ready, you will know. But you need to gain control of yourself first."

"Iamin control," Kallie shouted.

Fynn offered her a sad smile. "Unfortunately, dear sister, you are gravely mistaken."

Kallie dug her hands into the sand, the grains filling the space beneath her nails. "What are you saying?" she demanded.

But before Fynn could respond, a sharp pain spiked at the back of her head, and Kallie squeezed her eyes shut.

This isn't real,Kallie told herself.It can't be real. Fynn isn't here. Fynn is dead.

"Kalisandre, look at me," Fynn's voice beckoned her.

Kallie ignored him, though, keeping her hands pressed into the sand as if she could will the sight away. She sat there, reeling as the confusion spun in her stomach and gave way to nausea.

Fynn was wrong.

He had to be.

Because if he was right, her entire life had been a lie.

But that could not be possible.

Even contemplating that what he spoke was the truth made her sick to her stomach. He didn't know what he was talking about. He didn't know her father. He didn't knowher.

"Kallie," he whispered, voice pained.

Then, as the seconds passed, ever so slowly, Kallie peeled her eyes open. As she looked up at the man who shared her blood, the golden hue around Fynn's head began to fade as the colors of this world melted.

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