Page 95 of Bound By Darkness

Stiffening, I wiped salt from my face.

I needed to pack—both mentally and physically—if I planned to survive an extended trip alone with Naexi.

Chapter 27

White Lies

THALIA

My hands tuggedat the thin white fabric as I stretched it over the narrow cot. Fin’s chest remained bare except for the white gauze Aline had wrapped tightly around his waist, hiding the stitches below. My neck strained as I studied the wound, making sure not an ounce of red seeped through the layers.

“If you stare hard enough, you’ll eventually see red,” Fin mused, his arms resting behind his head.

A bit of tension released in the room at his playful antics—the behavior I had missed dearly. I’d never tell him out loud, though.

Poking his leg, I earned a grin from him. “I was checking to make sure everything was okay,” I lied.

“Aline does that enough. Sure, I enjoy two ladies fawning over me, but a little room to move would be nice.”

I scoffed, leaning back on the chair I’d planted beside his cot. “A few weeks ago, you were barely breathing.”

His eyes softened. “Thalia, I’m fine.”

“Yes, but it’s my fault you were injured. They were after me. I should have been?—”

“But you weren’t,” he stated. “Reliving the past leads to resentment. There’s not a thing you could have done differently.”

I stared at the dirt flooring, a few tufts of grass peeking through the ground’s layers. Relentless. Life seemed to find a way to puncture through the muck and dirt. An endless cycle I found myself being thrust into often.

“I’m serious, Thalia. There’s no use sulking in the past,” he said. “Besides, I’ve already had three medics catch my eye.” He winked, both to myself, and the male medic observing him from the back as his face flushed red. Fin’s smile widened.

The medic’s face grew brighter before he tilted his head back to observe his fingers. He tediously stitched a gray-headed woman’s arm as she yelled curses every time the needle punctured her flesh.

I grimaced as Fin leaned back further, his body on display as the medic glanced up, the needle tumbling to the floor. Fumbling over his words, the woman screeched louder as he nodded his head in apologies.

“You’re ridiculous,” I mused.

He grinned, but it was quickly replaced by the furrowing of his brows. His eyes lingered on the tent flaps for a moment before his lips parted. “How… how are things going outside?”

“Okay,” I stated, running my fingers over my shirt collar. “The citizens are slowly rebuilding under Chiron’s supervision.” My eyes flicked to his as I asked the question circling my mind. “You keep asking about Laias. Why are you so hellbent on this place? Even at your house, you freaked out at the mention of an attack here.”

Fin blew out a breath as he leaned back against the white sheets. “Laias is... was my home,” he corrected. “I used to be a solider for King Hywell, but I couldn’t do it anymore. Thekilling, the unquestionable devotion to him. I ran away as one of his guards and Laias was the only place I could seek refuge in.” His hand ran over the metal railing. “They accepted me, despite my past. I became a soldier for them, fighting to keep this place safe until I ran away from here, too.”

His head dipped as he avoided my gaze, his hand wrapping around iron. “I’m a coward, Thalia. I’ve run away from every job I’ve ever been given because I don’t want to die. I’m scared of it. It’s why Ivan and I fought that day in my house, because I’d abandoned him. I’d abandoned this city—our friends during a previous attack from the rebels. I couldn’t handle the screams, the way my comrades dropped to the ground lifeless.”

My eyes softened as I grabbed his hand, offering it a gentle squeeze. “You came back when they needed it the most. A coward wouldn’t do that.”

A small smile curled at the corners of his mouth.

“What you did before doesn’t define you. Everyone is scared of something. What matters is what you do after,” I said, the words hot as they left my lips.

“Careful, Thalia. One more word and I might fall for you,” he teased, a bit of warmth clinging to his cheeks again.

I smiled, letting go of his hand as I leaned against metal. “So that’s how you two met. Was he also a soldier for Laias?”

Fin’s gaze flicked to the ceiling. “Yes and no. It’s complicated,” he said. “Ivan should be the one to tell you. His history isn’t as simple as mine.”

“Oh come on. I’m sure whatever it is he wouldn’t mind.”

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