-Alexia-
The courtyard was quiet, the stone cold beneath my bare feet as I paced slowly, hands buried in my sleeves. Zeus lay beside the bench where I'd been sitting, his head on his paws, ears twitching at every distant sound. I couldn't sleep-again. Every time I closed my eyes, I heard him.
Gideon.
His voice was silk and smoke, curling around the edges of my mind like an invitation I didn't want to answer-but couldn't ignore.
"You're meant for more, little one. Not this cage. Not these chains."
I wrapped my arms tighter around myself and stared up at the moon, its pale light casting long shadows across the flagstones. Something inside me itched, twisted. Like the magic didn't know where to settle anymore.
The scrape of boots on stone made me freeze.
"Alexia."
I turned, already knowing who it was. Finn stood at the edge of the courtyard, his frame tense, eyes bright and searching. His fair was mussed like he'd been running his hands through it-and the flicker of fire at his fingertips told me this wasn't just a causal drop-by.
"We need to talk," he said, his voice low.
My chest tightened. "About what? The part where I'm falling apart or the part where everyone's afraid of what I'll do next?"
His expression flickered-hurt, frustration, and something else. Guilt?
"We're not afraid of you," he said carefully. "Some of us are afraid for you. That's not the same thing."
I gave a bitter laugh. "Funny, it feels the same."
Finn stepped closer. "Soren told us. About Gideon. That he recognized him. That he's a chaos warlock."
I stiffened. "Yeah. He said the name like I should've known it. Like it was obvious. But I didn't even know his name until Soren said it."
Finn exhaled, raking a hand through his hair. "He was trying to protect you."
My voice cracked. "From what? From the truth? From myself? Because all it did was make me feel like the last person to know what's happening inside my own head."
Finn's mouth opened like he wanted to argue, but then he just shook his head. "You're right. He should've told you."
I turned away, blinking hard. "It's not just Soren. Asher and Jasper-they're planning something. I don't have proof, but I can feel it. The way they look at me. The way they shut up when I walk into the room. I heard Jasper whisper something about the Council. About control."
Finn's expression darkened. "They haven't told me anything directly, but I've suspected. Jasper's been nervous, and Asher's been ready to throw punches since the courtyard incident."
"They think I'm unstable," I whispered. "That I'm dangerous."
"They're wrong." Finn stepped in front of me now, blocking the wind, the doubt. "You've been pushed, pulled, lied to, and you're still standing. That's not unstable - that's strength."
My hands shook at my sides. "What if I lose control again? What if next time, someone does get hurt?"
"Then we figure it out. Together." He reached for my hand, warm and solid. "Alexia, I need you to do something for me."
I looked up, heart thudding. "What?"
"Reach inside yourself. Feel what I feel. Through our bond."
I hesitated, then closed my eyes and let myself reach. Slowly, hesitantly, I pushed past the noise - past the fear, the anger, the shame - and found his presence like a beacon in the dark.
It wasn't afraid of me.
It was wrapped around me.
Warmth. Steadiness. Fire. Loyalty. The unshakable ache of someone terrified to lose me, but unwilling to let go.
I gasped. "You're…not afraid."
"No," Finn said, his voice thick. "I love you."
My breath caught. I opened my eyes, heart hammering, not because I was afraid-but because I felt it, too. In every tether of our bond, in the way he looked at me like I wasn't broken at all.
"I love you, too," I whispered.
Finn pulled me into his arms and held me like I was the only thing that mattered. And maybe, for a moment, I was.
"I don't want to fall," I murmured against his chest.
"Then I'll catch you," he said. "And if I can't - I'll fall with you."
The night held its breath around us, the bond between us humming soft and strong like a heartbeat in the dark.
But I knew this was just a moment of peace before everything changed.
And still, I held on.