Page 32 of Finn
“Not the truth,” he replied, looking up at me with a faint, almost bitter smile. “What do you take me for?”
His eyes searched mine, and for a brief second, I glimpsed the inner turmoil there, the conflict warring inside him.
“Thank you… for lying to them,” I said.
A hint of darkness flickered in his gaze, his mouth twisting into a grim smile. “They make it easy.”
Our faces were so close that I could feel his breath, warm and steady.
His eyes locked onto mine, and I couldn’t resist leaning down, pressing my lips gently to his.
He returned the kiss, hesitantly at first, but then he deepened it, wrapping his arms around me like he’d never let go.
For those precious moments, the danger, the violence. All of it fell away. It was just us.
Then he pulled back, eyes glistening.
"Wait," Finn said, glancing at me with a troubled look. "The Elders will probably want proof. I need to take a picture of your chest—of where I… you know, stabbed you."
I held back a grimace, then smirked. “I’ll do you one better.”
I lay down on the floor, closing my eyes and letting my body go still, mimicking the lifelessness he needed them to see.
Finn shifted awkwardly, his gaze lingering a little too long before he raised his phone and snapped a few photos.
The flash lit up the dim room, and after a moment, I sat back up, brushing the dust from my clothes.
There was a silence between us, thick with the weight of all the things left unsaid.
I wanted to tell Finn everything. How I’d ended up in this state, the truths he didn’t know, the choices I never wanted to make.
But the words lodged in my throat.
“Go,” Finn finally said. “We’ll talk again.”
I nodded, unwilling to let him see the fear in my own eyes. The fear that this might be the last time. But there was no point dwelling on it.
I had to clean up my mess, and if I didn’t make it back to the nest soon, someone might go looking for me..
Scar’s body was still sprawled on the grimy pavement where I’d left him, his lifeless eyes staring up into nothingness.
The anger and disgust I felt flared to life as I knelt beside him, quickly assessing the scene.
Lady Luck seemed to be on my side tonight; no one had stumbled upon him yet.
I worked fast, hiding the evidence, erasing all traces of the fight.
With Scar’s body concealed in a nearby dumpster, I checked my phone, half-hoping for a message from Finn.
But there was nothing. I pocketed the phone and headed back toward Beric’s estate as the sun began to set.
When I reached the mansion, the shadows cast across the grounds were long, stretching toward the horizon like fingers of darkness.
Most of the vampires were already retreating to their rooms, preparing for the night ahead.
I slipped through the hallways, keeping my head down, hoping to reach my quarters without running into anyone.
But, as usual, luck wasn’t on my side.
