Page 25 of Finn
Before I could even process it, he leaned forward, his lips capturing mine in a tentative, trembling kiss.
The touch was light at first, like he was testing the waters, like he didn’t quite believe he was doing this.
But the spark ignited something inside me that I thought had long since died. I kissed him back, the world falling away in that moment.
His hesitation melted as our kiss deepened, no longer soft but filled with years of longing and all the words we’d left unspoken.
My hands, which had held him in place just moments before, moved gently to his face, my fingers sliding into his hair as I let myself get lost in the feel of him.
For those precious few seconds, we weren’t hunter and monster; we were just Gabriel and Finn, caught in a moment that felt achingly right.
His hands moved to my shoulders, gripping tight, grounding himself as if afraid I might vanish.
Every inch of my body seemed to come alive, every sense heightened by the proximity of him, the feel of his lips, the warmth of his skin.
He tasted like memories, like the life we could have had if the world had been different.
And I knew, in that kiss, I’d never truly let him go.
I was the one who pulled back first, breaking the kiss as a thousand instincts screamed at me to take caution.
We were in Craven Hill.
There were always eyes and ears around here, and I didn’t want this fragile, unexpected connection to be anyone’s ammunition.
“Finn,” I murmured, searching his face, still trying to catch my breath. “We can’t stay here. Let’s go somewhere?—”
The words died on my lips as a sharp, searing pain bloomed in my chest. I stumbled back, a gasp escaping me.
I looked down, disbelieving, at the dagger embedded in my chest.
Finn’s hand was still wrapped around the hilt, his face twisted in an agony that mirrored the pain surging through my body.
Time slowed. I could barely process what had just happened, my mind reeling as I struggled to stay upright.
Finn’s hand trembled as he released the dagger, taking a step back, horror flashing in his eyes.
He looked torn apart, like he’d ripped a piece of his own heart out by stabbing me.
“Gabriel,” he whispered, his voice thick with guilt and fear. “I’m so sorry.”
His eyes met mine, and I could see everything in them. The conflict, the torment, the grief.
The pain was overwhelming, but the ache in my chest went beyond the physical wound.
Finn, my Finn, had just plunged a dagger into my heart.
But it wasn’t him I blamed.
It was the world we’d been forced into, the roles that fate had cast us in, making us enemies when all we’d ever wanted was to be something else.
“Finn…” My voice cracked, barely above a whisper.
CHAPTER EIGHT
FINN
Gabriel’s bodycrumpled to the floor, and I stared, my chest heaving with every breath as the reality of what I’d done sank in.
