Page 64 of Finn's Solace

"Finn?" I jerked as someone touched my shoulder, shrinking away from the touch as I pulled Levi closer. I wasn't going to let anyone harm him. I almost used my powers on them, but I recognized the voice a moment before I did.

"Hey, kiddo. It's Dad. I'm here to help, remember? Let me see him."

Dad? Dad could help Levi. He would make him all better.

I sat up slowly, and found both Dad and Papa watching me, mirroring looks of worry on their faces.

"He hit him in the h-head. With that." I nudged my chin toward the innocuous-looking steel bat, and Dad nodded as he reached for Levi. I didn't want to let him go, but I trusted Dad. I knew he would take care of him.

"What happened?" Papa asked as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders, and I turned to him, pressing my face into his chest as a shudder wracked through me. I could smell blood,Levi's blood, and I wanted it off him. I wanted him to stop bleeding. I wanted him to beokay.

"We were walking, and he came out of the bushes. S-said something about this town being infested, then attacked. Is Levi going to be okay?"

"He'll be fine, sweetie. He's a tough one, isn't he? You know he is."

Papa was right. Levi had dealt with a lot worse than a blow to the head when we were held captive. He could recover from this.

Dad sighed and sat back on his heels, and I frowned. "Is something wrong?"

"No, kiddo. He's going to be just fine. It's just that I can't heal him."

I nodded. I knew Dad's magic was a little finicky. "But he'll be okay?"

Dad nodded quickly. "He will heal. I promise. You mentioned he has a garden, right?"

"Yeah, in his backyard."

"You should take him there. He helps those plants, so they will want to help him too. His familiar might be able to help too."

"What about..." I waved at the man I'd turned to stone, and Dad pursed his lips. His eyes flicked to the bat, and for a moment, I got the feeling he was debating what would happen if he broke the statue. Then he shook his head and gave me a smile.

"I'll call Nash. He'll know what to do with him."

"Nash?"

"He's a detective, remember? You met him last year at a clan party. He knows about supes, so he'll be able to take care of this."

I nodded, then pulled Levi against my chest before standing up. My basilisk side wanted me to shatter that statue into a million pieces, but I couldn't do it.

"Come on. I'll drive you to Levi's place," Papa said, and I nodded.

"Could you bring his car over later? The keys are in his pocket," I said, and he nodded as he pulled Levi's keys out and pocketed them.

The drive to Levi's place was silent as I shrugged my shirt off to cover his wound with it, and I refused Papa's offer to stay until Levi woke up, wanting to just be alone with him.

Papa told me to call him if I needed anything, then kissed my forehead before letting me out of the car. He waited until we were inside before driving away, and I went straight to the backyard, Greta racing after me when she noticed Levi in my arms.

In the backyard, I kneeled on the grass, setting Levi on the ground and holding him close.

"Can you help him, Greta? Can the plants?" I asked, and she gazed at me for a moment before climbing up onto Levi's chest. She rubbed her head against his cheek, and while I couldn't see anything, I could feel magic all around us, reachingout for Levi from the ground, from Greta, even from the air itself. Dad had been right. His plants wanted to help Levi.

I wasn't sure how long I sat there. My mind had gone blissfully blank as the magic worked on Levi, and I didn't want to think.

I didn't want to think about how Levi wouldn't have gotten hurt if I'd acted in time. I was a basilisk. My senses were much sharper than Levi's, much less a human's. I could've stopped him before the human had a chance to swing that bat toward Levi, but I hadn't. I'd been too afraid—afraid of a simple human, afraid of my own powers—to act, and it had cost Levi.

Levi's powers weren't even made for fighting, and he'd still stepped between us and put himself in danger to keep me safe. Would I have acted like I did if it'd been Penny or Dean in danger? I didn't even have to think to know I wouldn't have.

Why were things different with Levi? Did this mean I didn't love him? That couldn't possibly be true, could it?

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