Page 14 of Finn
I kept my face blank, but the memories were clawing their way to the surface, memories of warmth and sunlight, of a boy who had trusted me despite the darkness within me.
Memories of Finn.
“It’s fading,” I lied, hoping he’d let it drop. “That life feels… distant now.”
Beric’s gaze lingered, searching for cracks. After a moment, he leaned back, satisfied. For now.
“Good,” he said. “Sentimentality is a disease among our kind. Remember that.”
"Can I do something for you, Master?" I asked.
The way Beric’s eyes gleamed at the title said everything. He loved it when I called him that, loved the power it represented.
The old me would have cringed at the thought, might have been consumed with shame, but pride was a luxury I’d discarded long ago.
To survive in this new world, I would use any weapon, any tactic, to keep Beric’s favor. Even if it meant swallowing every last piece of myself.
For what? a dark voice within me murmured.What reason do you keep living?But I silenced it, as I always did.
“There’s trouble brewing tonight at Gage’s club. I want you and Bram to keep the peace,” Beric said, his tone dismissive, but I was aware he was watching me intently.
I met his stare, keeping my expression neutral.
“Understood. I’ll inform Bram, and we’ll head to the club immediately,” I replied.
"Don't fail me,angel," he said, lingering on the nickname with a smug satisfaction.
I hated the pet name.
He knew that. I kept my face blank, pretending the name was no more than a word, but Beric could sense even the faintest shift in me.
He always did. I forced my body to stay relaxed, but inside, tension coiled like a spring.
The last thing I needed was a reminder of just how much Beric enjoyed twisting me up inside, just how closely he watched for every little crack.
Beric would snap me in two if he ever sensed that I might break free, but he'd do it so slowly, so carefully, that it would feel like I was crumbling by my own hand.
I offered him one more nod and turned to leave, hiding the resentment and hatred boiling just beneath my skin.
As I left his quarters, I pulled my shoulders back, readying myself for the task ahead.
Gage King, the local werelion alpha, was powerful and ruthless, ruling over the city’s most dominant shifter group.
His pard was allied with the Craven Hill nest, but that alliance was often as turbulent as it was beneficial.
Tensions simmered under the surface, and Beric sent me to keep the peace with Gage almost as if he relished the idea of throwing me to the lions.
I headed down the hall to find Bram, who would be my partner tonight.
The vampiric enforcer was as cold and silent as a shadow, as deadly as he was unyielding.
In this place, he was as close to an ally as I could get, though “ally” was a stretch.
Bram had been at Beric’s side far longer than I had, had seen his fair share of ambitious fledglings come and go. He’d probably disposed of most of the failures himself.
When I entered his quarters, he glanced up, his ice-gray eyes flicking over me.
“Beric’s orders,” I said, keeping my voice even. “Potential trouble at Gage’s club tonight. He wants us there to manage it.”
