My throat burns as I reach the fourth floor, shooting down the nearest hallway. I’m running out of house, and Fin isn’t relenting. I head for the only room I know might have a weapon: Roy’s. Fin stays in close pursuit, and I have the distinct feeling of being toyed with, like a cat chasing a mouse. Can he catch me if he wants to?

Roy’s door flies open before I reach it and slams shut behind me, locking. There’s a safe in the corner of his room. The lock spins to the correct numbers and the door pops open. Inside sits his weapons collection: throwing knives, daggers, a pair of longswords, even an ax.

They float out, filling the space between me and the door.

Something strikes the door. It groans, the hinges threatening to give. Sweat glistens on my skin, dampening my palms. I retreat toward the wall, tearing off my mask as the door crashes to the ground.

The house sends every last one of Roy’s weapons flying at Fin.

He sweeps his hand across his body, deflecting them into the walls and out the windows. They quiver where they’ve struck, the house struggling to regain control of them.

My heart races wildly. I hadn’t doubted Fin’s power, but if he’s telekinetic, then he’s truly strong. Gran is the only person I’ve ever known with that power, and when it comes to her magic, she’s as much a mystery to me as the man before me.

Fin’s lips form the slightest of smiles. He raises a hand and I flinch, but he only removes his masquerade mask. At first his face is blurred, and I can’t get a hold on any single feature. But the harder I stare, the more it clears, until I can truly see him.

His features are sharp like a hawk’s, his skin as pale as Colin’s, with eyelashes so dark they create a black rim around his emerald eyes. He has an ethereal beauty that’s sharp enough to cut, and he looks exactly as he did in my Radharc vision—as though not a single day has gone by since that ancient battle.

“Why are you doing this?” I ask.

By now it’s clear that something stopped the others from following me, but I’m sure the house will lead them to me soon. The longer I delay, the better chance I have.

Fin plays with the edge of the mask, turning it in circles with slow, deliberate movements. “My people have suffered long in the darkness and cold of the Otherworld,” he replies. “I will see them freed, and I will see revenge upon those who condemned us to that place.”

“That was hundreds of years ago! Whoever’s responsible for that is long dead.”