-Asher-
The old music room smelled like dust and memory.
Sunlight streamed through cracked stained glass, casting bruised colors over the faded piano and abandoned stands. I leaned against the wall, arms crossed, trying to focus on anything except the ache in my chest. Soren sat backwards in a chair, tapping a pencil against his thigh. Jasper stood near the window, eyes distant, flicking his thumbnail against his bottom lip—a nervous tell.
None of us spoke.
We were waiting.
Waiting for Finn.
Waiting for the fallout.
I didn't regret going to the Council. Not entirely. What I did regret was how fast it all spiraled out of my control. I thought they'd help her. Monitor. Guide. Not… whatever the hell had happened in that chamber.
The silence shattered as the door slammed open so hard it cracked against the stone wall.
Finn stormed in, and the air changed.
His magic rolled off him like a wildfire, hot and violent. His face—gods, his face—was carved from fury.
"Finn—" I started.
He didn't speak. Didn't warn me.
His fist met my jaw with a sickening crack.
I staggered back, barely registering the taste of blood before he was on me again, punching, snarling. The second hit blurred my vision. The third sent me to the floor.
"What the hell?!" Jasper shouted, scrambling to pull Finn off me.
Soren was right behind him, grabbing Finn's arm and yanking him back with supernatural strength. Finn fought them both, panting, eyes blazing like molten gold.
"You bastard," he growled. "You self-righteous, short-sighted son of a—"
"Finn, STOP!" Soren snapped, his voice cutting through the chaos like a whip.
Finn finally stopped struggling—but not because he was calm. No. He was shaking with rage.
"She trusted you," he hissed. "And you let them bind her."
The words hit harder than any punch.
I froze.
"What?" Jasper said, stunned. "Bind her? What are you talking about?"
"She lost control," Finn said, voice hoarse. "She was scared and hurt, and the Council used that as an excuse to bind her magic. And Zeus—he was there. He vanished when the spell took hold. He's gone."
"No," Soren whispered. "No, no, no…"
Jasper's mouth opened and closed like he couldn't decide which curse to scream first.
I stepped forward, feeling like my soul had turned to ash. "I didn't know they'd do that," I said. "I never wanted this—"
"You told them," Finn cut in. "You told them about her magic. Her connection to Gideon. You gave them every reason to see her as a threat."
"I thought they could help her!" I shouted, finally losing my own grip. "I didn't know what to do, Finn! She's unraveling, and I—I thought they'd stabilize her, not chain her!"
"You should've trusted us," Finn snapped. "Trusted her. You handed her over to people who see her as a weapon or a bomb waiting to go off."
Jasper turned away, fists clenched.
Soren was pale. "She must feel… completely alone."
"She was," Finn said, biting out every word. "Until I got to her. And by then, it was too late."
The room felt cold. Empty. A graveyard of music and choices we couldn't take back.
I sank into the nearest chair, burying my head in my hands. "I didn't mean for this to happen…"
None of them answered.
Because meaning didn't matter now.
What mattered was that we'd broken her.