Page 8 of Finn's Solace

I sat in my desk chair, my feet up on the desk, and stared up at the ceiling, and wondered if it was logical for Levi's existence to hit me so hard. Sure, I'd thought he was dead. And the last time we saw each other, he'd promised to take me, my siblings, and the others with him if he ever found a way to escape. But did I really wish he'd kept his promise?

I wouldn't change the life I had now for the world. Because Levi had left us behind, we'd met our dads. Without it, Dean never would've had a mostly normal childhood. Penny probably wouldn't have discovered her passion or gotten into such a great school. And I...I would still be spending all my time worrying about their safety.

So, no. I didn't really wish Levi had taken us with him when he escaped. I'd just felt...abandoned. That was why I'd taken it so hard, wasn't it?

I chewed on my lower lip as I thought back to some of my sessions with my therapist, Dr. Griffin. They didn't live in Mistvale any longer, but they still came back every once in a while when someone in the clan needed their help. And help they did. I didn't think I could've survived discovering my powers without their guidance. My basilisk side seemed to agree as it made a humming sound in my head.

Even before that, they'd helped me get past the fear that my dads would one day get tired of us the way our bio parents did, but I supposed I still held on to some of those feelings, because what Levi had done was nowhere close to the same thing—he wasn't a parental figure, for one—and yet I was treating it the same way.

A knock on my window pulled me out of my thoughts, and I glanced at the window my desk was set up against, and blinked. Then I rubbed my eyes, unsure if I was seeing right.

There was a skunk standing on two feet on the other side of the window, with its tiny hands pressed against the glass and a folded piece of paper between its mouth.

As someone who'd grown up alongside a talkative husky and a squirrel familiar, it shouldn't have taken me as long as it did to accept that there was a skunk standing at my window with a letter for me.

Taking my legs off the desk, I leaned forward and slid the window open. The skunk fell forward on all fours, then clambered over the books lined against the window before settling on my desk.

Leaving the window open, I held my hand out, and wondered if Amelia had finally found her familiar. She was the only other mage I knew, after all. Unless...

The skunk dropped the letter in my hand, and I unfolded it. That wasn't Amelia's handwriting.

My eyes slid right to the end of the letter, and the name signed there. Levi.

Of course it was him. I almost crumpled the letter and threw it into the trash, but then I reminded myself of my little breakthrough. Putting my issues on Levi wasn't fair. He'd only been sixteen back then, and he wasn't responsible for me. If he'd found an opportunity to escape, it wasn't fair of me to expect he would've let it pass in the hopes he'd find another one where we could all flee.

Shaking my head, I started reading from the beginning.

Hey, Finn,

Please don't throw this in the trash. I want to make things right with you, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to earn your forgiveness.

I've been thinking over why you reacted the way you did earlier, and I concluded it was because you believe I broke my promise.

I know how much promises mean to you, and I'm sorry. I don't know what those guys told you, if they said I died or if they told you the truth, but either way, I wish I could've told you myself.

The day I escaped, it was a split-second opportunity. All I could think was that I had an out, and I had to take it. I always planned to come back—you have to believe that.

Regaining my powers took a lot longer than I'd thought it would. Finding enough food and nourishment when you're homeless and broke isn't easy, even as a teenager. And by the time I was strong enough to get you out, you were already gone. I came back to the place we were held at, and it was uninhabited . It was like no one had ever been there.

I tried searching for you, but there was no trail and nobody who knew where I could even start looking. After a while, I gave up, if only because I needed to focus on my own survival.

I don't know if Fate played a hand in us crossing paths today, but I'd like to think she did. She gave me this opportunity to apologize, and to maybe be your friend again, if you'll have me.

You've already met Greta, my familiar. If you don't want to ever see me again, just send this letter back with her, and I'll get the message. I just moved here a couple of weeks ago, soI can leave. But if you'd like to meet up again and reconnect, let me know. I'd be delighted. I'd also love to see the others.

Take care,

Levi.

I kept staring at the letter even after I'd finished reading, my mind going a thousand miles a minute. Greta rubbed her head against the back of my hand, pulling me out of my thoughts.

Smiling, I gave her head a little scratch, then pursed my lips. Levi hadn't broken his promise after all.

Levi

What had I been thinking? This was the twenty-first century. Who sent letters anymore?

Finn had probably already trashed my letter without reading it. It would serve me right.

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