Page 46 of Finn
His jaw clenched as he waited, wondering if Marcus was about to dismiss Finn as a lost cause.
He braced himself, mentally preparing for the cold, clinical statement that would end Finn’s future with the Guild, that would toss him aside like so many others before him.
But Marcus surprised him.
“That’s why we’ve decided to send you to retrieve him.”
Shock rippled through Asher, his mask slipping for just a moment. The Guild wasn’t known for second chances.
They discarded weak hunters when they outlived their usefulness, a lesson Asher had learned young, and one he’d thought Finn was now facing firsthand.
But here Marcus was, telling him to go after his brother, to bring him back.
And the Guild rarely, if ever, gave orders they didn’t intend to see carried out. Maybe Finn had done something remarkable.
“I’ll leave right away,” he said, his voice low, too raw with anger and relief to say anything else.
He forced himself to hold back a flood of bitter words, to keep his fury at Marcus and the Guild from spilling over.
If he let his rage loose now, it could jeopardize everything.
“You know,” Marcus said, watching him with a detached, almost curious look, “I once thought Finn was the weakest of you three, but your brother has impressed us.”
Asher was already by the door, trying to keep his emotions in check.
Marcus’s words felt like barbed wire, twisting in his chest, threatening to tear through his thin façade of calm.
He knew Marcus was baiting him, but he couldn’t resist.
He turned, fixing Marcus with a cold stare. “Impressed you how?” he asked. “What exactly did you send him out to do?”
“Kill the man he loved,” Marcus answered without a hint of remorse, as if he’d just commented on the weather.
The words landed with a sickening weight, making Asher’s stomach twist.
A chill crawled down his spine, mingling with the growing fury that burned hotter with every heartbeat.
Finn had only ever loved one man his entire life. Gabriel.
Asher had assumed Gabriel was dead, like everyone else, but Marcus was implying he wasn’t.
Had Gabriel been turned into a monster, and they sent Finn to eliminate him?
Asher felt a surge of protectiveness so fierce it nearly overwhelmed him.
If he’d known what the Guild was asking, he would have fought tooth and nail to keep Finn from that fate, to shield him from the twisted games the Elders played.
He bit back any further words, knowing they’d only feed Marcus’s smug satisfaction.
Instead, he offered a curt bow of his head, excused himself, and left the room.
But the moment he was out of sight, his fists clenched, his nails digging into his palms as he forced his breathing to slow.
Finn… The Guild had sent him to kill Gabriel, and still, he’d survived.
Against the odds, his little brother had made it through, and now it was his turn to make sure Finn got home safely.
But he couldn’t allow himself to think of the pain Finn had been forced to endure or the ways it might have changed him.
