Machiavellianism

[Aiden Finnegan]

Aiden dropped his fluted glass and his jaw.

                “Was?” Aiden asked after Jaxen snarled out a two-word reply. The champagne spilled from the glass and immediately soaked into the black carpet of the stretch limo. Aiden picked the glass up and set it on top of the minibar. Suddenly, he didn’t feel much like drowning his sorrows.

                “Jesus Christ, Shepherd of Judea,” Aiden breathed, “Who in the fuck hasn’t been a card-carrying member of the Atharim? Jaxen, buddy, were you one of them too? Got a snake you wanna show us?”

                Surely, Rowan hadn’t joined up with the Snakes. Sage said ‘was.’ Aiden very clearly heard that word. No. She couldn’t have joined them. They were sworn to eliminate all Channelers; that was why Nox ultimately left them, right? No. Not the Atharim, but maybe something worse? That older man had tried to kill the Ascendancy twice. Perhaps Rowan was sympathetic to that plight. Aiden admittedly didn’t know where his twin’s mind was at, so it was a very real possibility. Still. Rowan was no extremist.


                “I'm not trying to doubt you, babe, but you're sure, right?"