Page 21 of Finn
The silence hung between us, thick and heavy, as if we were standing on either side of a chasm.
Gabriel glanced down, his jaw tightening as he seemed to wrestle with whatever emotions were clawing at him.
“This can’t be real,” I whispered, shaking my head, anger and disbelief warring within me. “They sent me here to kill someone they called Angel. They didn’t tell me it was… you.”
Gabriel’s expression twisted with something unreadable, a flicker of bitterness maybe, or regret.
“That’s what Beric likes to call me.” Gabriel tilted his head, lips curving into a faint smile that held no warmth. “Guess I must have really pissed the Elders off if they’re sendingyouafter me.”
“Don’t joke about this.” My voice cracked, the edge of desperation bleeding through. “You don’t understand what thismeans. The Elders… they’ll kill us both if they know I’m hesitating. If they knew you were even still…”
Alive. The word felt wrong, even though he was standing there, looking every bit like the man I’d loved, the man I still?—
He took another step forward, eyes softening as he met my gaze.
“Finn… I didn’t choose this. I was as good as dead when Beric found me. I’m not a monster by choice,” Gabriel said.
I felt myself wavering, the knife trembling in my grip as I fought against the instinct to reach out to him, to take his hand, to hold onto some part of him.
But the job was screaming in the back of my mind, drowning out everything else with a single, merciless truth.
I was supposed to kill him.
“I can’t…” My voice broke, and I looked away, trying to gather myself. “I can’t do this, Gabriel. I mourned you, for crying out loud. Now they want me to finish the job?”
He closed the distance between us, close enough now that I could feel the chill of his presence, even as his gaze softened.
“Then don’t.” His voice was quiet, almost pleading. “Walk away, Finn. Pretend you didn’t see me.”
“Walk away?” I shook my head, incredulous. “If I go back empty-handed, they’ll know something went wrong. They’ll keep sending hunters until you’re dead for good.”
Gabriel’s eyes held mine, a battle of emotions raging behind that blue-green intensity.
He reached out slowly, his hand ghosting near mine as if asking for permission to bridge the gap.
I didn’t pull away when his cold fingers brushed mine.
"Then let them come," he said, his voice fierce, something feral and wild flickering in his eyes. "I'll get rid of all of them."
I closed my eyes, fighting against the flood of emotions breaking through the walls I'd tried so hard to keep up.
Reluctantly, I pulled away from his touch and ran, leaving him behind like the coward I was.
CHAPTER SEVEN
GABRIEL
The moment Finndisappeared around the corner, I stood there, frozen. I didn’t trust myself to move.
Didn’t trust myself to feel the spike of emotion that seeing him had brought to the surface. Finn, here. In this city, in my world.
I had forced myself to accept that he was just a memory, a part of my old life that I would never be able to reach again.
But there he was, flesh and blood and so painfully alive.
A low groan snapped me out of my daze, and I looked down to see Ricky slumped on the ground, leaning against the cold, damp wall.
“Who was that?” he mumbled, his eyes struggling to focus, the slight sway of his body betraying how much he’d had to drink.
