{"id":3385,"date":"2017-10-20T00:00:49","date_gmt":"2017-10-20T04:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3385"},"modified":"2017-10-19T18:00:07","modified_gmt":"2017-10-19T22:00:07","slug":"twenty-four-04-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3385","title":{"rendered":"Twenty-four – 04"},"content":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Thom’s point of view.]<\/em><\/p>\n

Thom\u2019s stomach dropped right through the floor to a spot about seven or eight feet below where he was sitting, staring at Kellin in stunned silence.<\/p>\n

Atlantis. Fucking Atlantis.<\/em><\/p>\n

It all comes back to that mess, doesn\u2019t it?<\/em><\/p>\n

The thought sent shivers down his spine, in part because the source was one he tried not to hint about, tried to leave in the darkened recesses and corners of his mind. The memories of Finn\u2019s life were something to be used when it suited him\u2014he didn\u2019t want to end up in a situation where they controlled him, or bled too much, leaving him in a state where he couldn\u2019t know for sure where Finn ended and Thom began. It didn\u2019t matter that it was the same soul, separated by thousands of years. He was Thom and Finn was Finn and the Fianna\u2019s chieftain had died a long time ago.<\/p>\n

Marin moved toward Kellin, the baby still cradled in one arm as she hugged her longtime friend tightly. Thom\u2019s fingers fisted in the blankets as he watched them, his jaw growing tight.<\/p>\n

He could see the explosion from the shore, could feel the shockwaves it sent through the very fabric of the world, shaking him down to his marrow. He could taste the bile rising in his throat, the feeling of his very heart being ripped from his chest\u2014he hadn\u2019t known if she was there or not, if she\u2019d escaped or not, if she was on her way home or not. He knew that the pathway could have led her there, but\u2014<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cStop,\u201d he breathed, squeezing his eyes shut.<\/p>\n

\u201cThom?\u201d<\/p>\n

He flinched. Marin had heard him. \u201cIt\u2019s okay,\u201d he rasped. \u201cJust\u2014trying to keep my head in order.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t look okay,\u201d Marin said, taking Kellin by the hand and tugging her over toward the bed, toward the chair she\u2019d left sitting next to it\u2014probably where she\u2019d been keeping vigil prior to Kellin\u2019s arrival.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour face is the color of ashes, Thom,\u201d Kellin said quietly, moving the book Marin had left on the chair and setting it on their dresser as she sat down. \u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook his head mutely. Marin sat down on the bed with him, drawing her knees up. Thom found he couldn\u2019t look at her, so he stared at their son instead, reaching a shaking hand to brush his fingers over the boy\u2019s fine dark hair.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nothing,\u201d he whispered. \u201cI promise.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo lies, Thom,\u201d Marin whispered back, leaning in to kiss him gently. \u201cOnly when they\u2019re necessary. Is this one necessary?\u201d<\/p>\n

He squeezed his eyes shut and said nothing. His throat was too tight to speak.<\/p>\n

Is it?<\/em><\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t have an answer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Thom’s point of view.] Thom\u2019s stomach dropped right through the floor to a spot about seven or eight feet below where he was sitting, staring at Kellin in stunned silence. Atlantis. Fucking Atlantis. It all comes … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[240,273,14],"tags":[150,171,170,19,152,149,148,168,147,165,158,200,146],"class_list":["post-3385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-6","category-chapter-24-book-6","category-story","tag-awakenings","tag-fantasy","tag-fiction","tag-kellin","tag-marin-astoris","tag-original-fiction","tag-post-apocalyptic","tag-serial","tag-serial-fiction","tag-story","tag-thom-ambrose","tag-thomas-merlin-ambrose","tag-web-fiction"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-SB","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3385"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3385\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3386,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3385\/revisions\/3386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}