Infuriating
Chapter nineteen
The woman was sure to drive him mad! Finn pushed his hands into his hair.
Given the time of night, no one but Castien and Wren would see him so disheveled.
It was not as though they hadn’t seen him much worse off before.
His mind assaulted him with images of blood and the smell of damp, dark tunnels.
He pushed the memories down and focused all his energy on his stubborn wife.
Finn burst into Castien’s study. The door banged against the wall behind it, making him wince. He hadn’t meant to open it in such a manner.
“Tides, Finn!” Castien exclaimed. He stood behind his desk—hand on the hilt of his dagger—as though he’d been waiting for him to come in. “What has gotten into you?”
“He’s furious,” Wren commented, tilting her head to the side.
Her long blonde hair was twisted haphazardly up off her neck, and the circle of hair tipped with the movement. She sat atop Castien’s desk, one leg hanging off the edge, the other tucked under her.
“What happened?” Castien questioned. “Were you discovered? Where is the alchemist? And Lucianna, for that matter.”
Finn heaved a sigh and shut the door behind him.
“I did not mean to startle you. No need to jump to interrogation, Cousin. All is well. The alchemist is merely changing her clothes.”
“What’s wrong, Finn?” Wren pressed. “I felt your anger before you walked in the room.”
“Walked?” Castien huffed. “He likely woke half the castle up with how he careened in here.”
Finn shot Castien an unamused look. He sank into the chair across from his cousin and friend. Without thinking, Finn’s hands slid into his hair once more. He cradled his head with his eyes downcast.
“You are going to be down a man before we even board the boat,” Finn mumbled morosely.
“What?” Castien sounded incredulous.
“I am liable to jump off the battlements before our journey begins.”
“You are making even less sense than you usually do,” Castien replied. “Does this have to do with your wife?”
Finn stiffened upon hearing wife.
“Yes,” he ground out, and shot up out of his seat. “She is so—so infuriating!” Finn threw his hands in the air.
Castien chuckled. “Is that right?”
Finn glared at his cousin. “Do not laugh at me. You do not get to be happily married, force me to wed a stranger, and then laugh at me.”
Castien held his hands up in mock surrender and looked to his wife for aid.
“What has she done that has angered you this severely?” Wren asked.
“She insults me at every turn. Which—I’ll admit—is enjoyable at times.
I do appreciate a round of engaging rapport.
” Wren smiled softly at his words. “However, it does get tiring to hear one’s faults so often.
Furthermore, she believes she is the authority in all situations.
I am certain if Castien was not the future emperor, she would have tried to snatch the reins from him at first chance. ”
“I take it your mission did not go as well as you communicated, then,” Castien commented.
Finn let out a bitter laugh.
“On the contrary, it went swimmingly! I distracted the lady of the house. Lucianna and Cora made it out unseen. We remained out of notice all the way to the castle gates.”
Castien and Wren both bore looks of confusion. Finn gestured to their expressions as evidence to his point.
“Lucianna does not care that it went well,” Finn continued to rant. “No, she thinks that there is still room for improvement, whatever that could mean.”
Wren hummed, her expression thoughtful.
“Given her outburst during her first day in the castle, it seems to me that she is scrambling for a foothold. I imagine she feels as I did the first day I arrived at the academy. Afraid and uncertain, but determined all the same.”
Wren’s arrival had been unorthodox. She wasn’t invited to the academy, rather she came after her brother was killed and she persuaded the headmaster to admit her in his place. All with the intention of avenging her brother.
“Am I to excuse her behavior on that basis?” Finn asked.
Exhaustion weighed heavily on him, twisting his words into something they were not. He did not think too poorly of tonight’s events, nor any others. But Tides, he wasn’t sure he could continue to balance it all. He was wobbling atop his tightrope.
“I am only suggesting to offer patience,” Wren entreated. “Let her gain her footing.”
“As opposed to what?” Finn grumbled. “You speak as though I have another option.”
“Of course you do,” Castien rejoined the conversation. “You can fight with her at every turn, cause trouble, and annoy her to no end so that you’re both miserable.”
Finn shot his cousin yet another glare.
“I rather prefer conversing with your wife than you right about now.”
Castien chuckled, then walked around his desk and placed his hands on Finn’s shoulders.
“I am sorry you’re in this situation, truly.
Do not mistake my teasing for a lack of empathy.
” He tightened his hold. “But, cousin, you are not miserable. You are simply frustrated because your wife has not taken to you as immediately as you had hoped. No doubt because of you holding back your Gift, as I suspect you are. Can you not see the benefit in that? Would you rather her be fawning over you?”
Finn considered Castien’s words. If Lucianna was immediately enamored with him, then he would think his Gift had slipped past his defenses and softened her toward him. That would be worse than her hating him.
“You might be right,” he hedged. “But what if I wasn’t holding back my Gift? Perhaps she wouldn’t feel this way otherwise.”
Castien let go of Finn’s shoulders and shrugged.
“So test it. A little at a time, or all at once. So long as you don’t do it during a key part of our job, I don’t see any harm in it.”
Finn wavered between warring thoughts. On one hand, he didn’t want to have to bottle up his Gift around her forever.
But on the other, he wouldn’t be able to stomach it if she fell for his Gift rather than him.
He looked to Wren for guidance. Her Gift of empathy along with her thoughtful, caring nature made her the wisest amongst them in these areas.
She bit her lip, twisting a purple feather quill between her fingers.
“I agree with Castien, but I would caution you to be careful. Perhaps even wait until she has settled in amongst us, as I mentioned before. It would not do if she thought you were manipulating her.”
Finn swallowed hard. That was the last thing he desired. He wasn’t sure he could even try with such a risk at stake.
“Thank you for the advice,” he murmured. “I am sorry for my . . .”
“Tantrum?” Castien supplied with a smirk.
Finn glowered. “Impassioned outburst.”
Castien chuckled. The sound was cut off when a knock came at the door.
“Enter,” Castien ordered.
In came Lucianna, with Cora by her side. The auburn-haired alchemist wore an indigo dress that hit at her calves due to the height discrepancy between her and Lucianna. She only wore stockings. Finn suspected Lucianna’s shoes did not fit the woman either.
Cora dipped into a curtsy.
“Miss Cora Thornsbarrow, at your service,” she greeted.
“Pleasure to meet you,” Wren said in return. “I am Wren, and this is my husband Castien. I presume you already met Finn.”
Cora smiled and nodded.
“I understand you’re Gifted in alchemy?” Castien inquired without preamble. “What can you make?”
Cora bobbed her head again.
“Yes. I have made mostly cosmetics in recent years, but when I can get my hands on proper materials”— she glanced at Lucianna—“I’ve made poisons, sedatives, and powders that can turn to thick smoke. I’m quite fond of explosives, though I rarely get the opportunity to dabble in those.”
Finn’s brows rose.
“What interesting company you keep, wife,” he commented, looking at Lucianna. She had not changed from their outing. Her hazel eyes were sharp as she regarded him.
“Cora is a good person and an even better alchemist,” she stated.
Cora’s expression scrunched. Likely she was trying to determine if Lucianna’s words were a compliment. Finn chuckled, as he suspected in his wife’s eyes it was.
“And you’ve used her products before?” Castien questioned Lucianna.
She dipped her chin. “Yes. The smoke pouches are helpful in confusing and distracting guards. I’ve also employed the sedatives a time or two, though I try not to make a habit of being close enough to people to use them.”
Castien’s gaze flicked back and forth. No doubt his Gift was painting the air with ideas of how to use these tools in his master plan.
“What about poisons?” Finn asked with a smirk.
Lucianna straightened her scabbard belt. His dagger was still sheathed to it. He hadn’t asked for it back yet. Cora watched Lucianna with wide-eyed uncertainty.
“Once.”
The reply was clipped, and Cora seemed all the more shocked at Lucianna speaking it. It appeared his wife was not merely a thief.
How curious.