Page 61 of Dark Night Golden Dawn
Selene’s eyes snapped to Finn’s, demanding he continue.
“When Alaric and I were at uni, something happened… We received keys to an ancient store of knowledge, an invitation from the Knights of old to reinvigorate their society, which was not what we’d been told it was at all.”
“Who sent the keys?” Harlow asked.
Finn shook his head. “We never found out.”
That was saying something, given the work they did together at their securities company. What kind of organization could keep secrets from people like Alaric? Thea sat back in her chair, a hint of a smile playing at her lips.
Aurelia and Selene shared a concerned look. Selene asked, “Can you tell us more? About the Knights?”
Finn nodded. “Yes, because you’ve found this, and because of the implications… I think I can.” He took Harlow’s hand and kissed it, smiling faintly at her. She thought he looked anxious, but the impression passed quickly. He was far too good at masking his emotions. “The Knights of Serpens fought alongside the Striders in the war, not against them, and as punishment they were executed when the Illuminated won. On his execution day, their commander had a vision that one day the Knights and Striders would be reunited, and it would bring about an event he called ‘the reckoning,’ though we don’t know what he meant, as he was executed before he could elaborate.”
“How do you know all this?” Aurelia asked, deep suspicion etched into the lines around her eyes.
“All of the Knights’ last words were magically transferred to the vault of information in Nea Sterlis that we received keys to,” Finn answered.
Selene took a deep breath. “And so you are a Knight? You and Alaric both?”
Finn nodded. “Yes, and Petra. Along with a select few others, we have a network across Nytra… My friend Cian Herrington is my second and helps to run our special projects.”
It was an odd addendum, like Finn was relieved to speak about someone significant to him. Harlow hadn’t heard Cian’s name before, but the tone Finn took indicated they were someone important.
“Yoursecond?” Harlow asked. That would imply that Finn was, what exactly?
“I am the Serpens’ commander,” Finn said softly. “Though we do very little fighting these days, and Alaric, who is technically my third in command, handles most of our more nefarious activities.”
“Which are what exactly?” Aurelia asked, leaning forward.
Finn opened his mouth to give some answer, but Selene cut in. “Where is Thea?” Her voice carried a note of panic. Everyone stopped and looked around. It was true, Thea was gone.
“I’m right here,” said a soft voice in the doorway. All eyes swung to the elegant figure standing in the entry of the study. “Alaric’s here too. I went to let him in. We thought you might need us both today.”
Alaric peeked around the door. “Hello, Kranes! Finn,” he said cheerfully, with a wave so characteristically Alaric that one might have thought they were gathering for brunch, not discussing the kind of sedition that could get them all killed.
Finn nodded to Alaric, his brows furrowing in mild confusion. “What are you doing here?”
Alaric moved into the room and tapped the Merkhov text. “The same thing you are. Protecting the woman I love.”
Thea beamed at Alaric with such pride that Harlow felt the lump in her throat again.Was this what love looked like?“Thea?” she asked. “What’s going on?”
Aurelia motioned for Thea and Alaric to take the remaining seats at the worktable as she cleared the Merkhov text and began to serve tea. Thea reached across the table to take Harlow’s hand. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you everything,” she whispered. “We wanted to wait to find out if you and Finn could work things out on your own.”
Harlow’s brow furrowed. “Okay, we’ve worked things out. Could you all explain what’s happening here?”
Finn looked slightly irritated, as though Alaric had stolen his thunder, but he sat back in his chair as the two got settled. When they were comfortable, Alaric looked to Finn, a question in his eyes. Finn nodded, though Harlow noted he still looked perturbed. It occurred to her that he likely spent his life rarely being questioned or challenged. Unless it came to his parents, of course.
Alaric smiled at Thea again. “Thea and I knew each other in school, as we all did, but when we were at uni we met again.”
Thea’s cheeks pinked, as though she was remembering something especially enjoyable. “We were both researching the Knights of Serpens, and their conflict with the Striders.”
“Why?” Selene asked sharply.
Thea’s face twisted apologetically. “Because I knew it was possible that one of us could become a Strider. I knew it wouldn’t be me, because I’d shown all the early signs of manifestation—I was clearly not the Strider. I actually thought it might be Larkin for a while.”
“As did I,” Alaric murmured. “And since I’d already taken my oaths, I wanted to know more about our ancient allies, and what our shared goals may have been.”
Thea continued fluidly, as though the two of them had been paired for years, which Harlow supposed they had, if they’d reconnected six years ago. “Alaric had a book I needed and we began talking. Neither of us knew the other’s personal interest in the old stories at the time, but in researching our histories, we fell in love.”
