I felt the summons like a yank on my very soul. It was the sort of demanding pressure that gave me a hint to who was on the other end. I set down my paint brushes and grabbed my jacket.
On the other side of the summons, stood the Master as I’d imagined them, smug and arrogant. But behind them, Asena floated, struggling.
We were inside the In Between’s mansion, inside the ballroom to be exact. The glossy floors were taken up by a thousand spectators. All around us, were the Grims of old. All chained, gloomy, and quietly watching.
“Asena!” I cried out, my magic exploding out from me. It encircled me like black ink spilled in water. I looked at the Master, knowing my magic was useless against them, but still wanting to throw everything at them. “What are you doing?!” I seethed through my teeth.
“Introducing everyone to their new Grim,” they said innocently. “And now we can proceed since you’re here.”
My jaw muscles were clenched so tightly, I swore my teeth would break. “You never did it with any of us, so why her?”
“She’s been a long time coming,” The Master replied simply, no trade of fear in their voice. “Unlike you all which were like dominos, she’s taken her time…against her will, might I add.”
“Death!” Asena screamed, still flailing in the air. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean–”
“Hush, child,” The Master said, holding up a single finger to silence her. “Here, you address him as the king he is.”
I felt the weight of my ridiculous crown press down on my head. It was meant to be a symbol of my power over the In Between, but the beautifully worked black metal just felt like a shackle.
The Master purred at my restraint. “That’s a good little king.” They lifted their unnatural eyes to Asena. “See his obedience? See how he does not attack no matter how badly he wants to–”
“You cursed me with this obedience,” I snarled, “but she won’t have that same submission.”
“Why do you think I intend on breaking her?”
I opened my mouth to respond but closed it out of fear of provoking him.
Their eyes narrowed in amusement. “She forgot you, didn’t she? Is that why you claim she doesn’t submit? Why would you want to bring her back here when you know she’s changed? She’s not your sweet, innocent Sage anymore.”
I didn’t like that they had said it outloud. And I definitely didn’t like the way Asena was staring at me in confusion.
“Shut up.”
“Asena Black, the one who broke our dear Finn's heart.”
“Enough.”
“Finn?” Asena repeated, squinting at me. I knew what she was looking for. The scar that had once covered my face.
“You’ve been trying to gain the courage to tell her who you were for centuries and now it’s over. It’s done. But it’s not how you wanted because she’ll never be the same Asena you wanted!” They burst out into maniacal laughter that echoed in the near silent room.
I ground my teeth together knowing that the Master was right. It didn’t matter if she knew who I was now because she would never be the same Asena that I had longed for and I felt that realization deeply.
My shoulders slumped and my magic began to dissipate.
“So without further ado,” the Master said, gesturing to Asena. “Your new grim!”
The next thing I knew, Asena slammed into me full force. I stumbled back a few steps, struggling to keep us both upright. “You bastard!” I snapped.
“Kiss her.”
“What?”
“Kiss her.”
“No, it will kill her.”
The Master held up both hands, the sign a command was coming, and grinned as they commanded “Kiss her.”
My lips crashed into Asena’s before I could even comprehend what was happening. My hand was in her hair, the other on the small of her back, before I realized what was happening and jumped back.
“Fascinating,” The Master breathed when Asena did not collapse in my arms.
Asena stared up at me, frozen, her wide eyes blinking up at me. I wanted to throttle the Master into the next lifetime for forcing me to kiss her. Not only was her opinion not involved in the matter, mine wasn’t either. I felt violated and angry.
“Finn?” she cried, tears forming in her eyes. “You’re really the Finn. The one I helped…the father of my…my son?”
I groaned loudly. “Look at what you’ve done,” I snarled at the Master. “She had a peaceful existence and now you’ve gone and–”
“Awakened her? Revealed the truth? The truth she deserved, by the way. I don’t know why you’ve kept it from her when you’ve longed after her for so long.”
I felt my cheeks warm slightly. “It was my truth to tell!”
“And you weren’t going to tell it, so I told,” The Master purred, smirking. Then to Asena, “This idiot has loved you since your first lifetimes. Stop hurting him already. Your time together is short enough as it is.”
“Don’t be a romantic now!” I half laughed and half yelled. “You’re literally trying to torture her to death.”
“Yes, but forgive me if I want my best friend to be happy for a short period of time before I torture him for all eternity.”
I looked down at Asena who was crying in my arms. “I’m sorry, Asena. I’m sorry everything just became so complicated.”
“I want to go home,” she sobbed into my chest.
I snapped my fingers and instantly she was home.
All around us shuddered at the tension between the Master and I. We all knew I was bound by the curse and could not hurt them, but I could make everything else around us hurt.
The mansion began to tremble around us as my magic stirred within me. “What have you done?” I demanded.
“I–”
“Shut. Up.” I moved closer to them, each step rattling the already trembling building. “You just gave this girl hope that we could be together, but you don’t understand something that I’m only just understanding. Sage is dead. Asena now lives in her place. Asena is a selfish brat without a single backbone that wants her life handed to her. Sage was beautiful, fierce, and everything a warrior should be. You have given me Asena when I wanted Sage.”
My chest was heaving as each breath ripped from my body which strained against the curse. It wanted its pound of flesh for these transgressions, but it wouldn’t get them. I wanted to slam my magic into them, tear their soul from their pathetic form and shred it. I wanted to scatter the shreds of their soul so they could never feel whole again. I wanted everything they ever loved burned, broken, and beaten.
I looked down at the Master as I finally approached. The building stopped trembling. There was no sound except the building settling.
“For what you’ve done,” I said quietly, “I will destroy any and all chances you have at killing Asena. You will weep with regret at this very moment. You will look back and know this is the moment that caused your end, Master.”206Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn4OGi73vyC
The Master smiled up at me. “We’ll see.”
I then stormed off, deciding that anywhere was better than existing in the same breath as them.
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