Page 54 of Finn
Here, with Gael’s taunts cutting deep, there was no reason to be careful.
I felt the urge to let the anger flow, to show him just how dangerous I could be.
Yet maybe some part of me recognized the truth in what he was saying, and that only fueled my fury.
What if Finn woke up one day, only to realize that everything he’d sacrificed, betraying the Guild, leaving behind his only family, all of it had been for nothing?
What if he saw me for what I was, a monster, and knew he’d made the biggest mistake of his life?
The thought clawed at me, every bitter word Gael spat forcing me to face my deepest fears. I gave into my rage.
I closed the gap between us, my fist flying forward with a speed I’d always held back, landing squarely on his jaw.
He stumbled back, but didn’t back down, his expression twisted with a feral fury.
“You want to do this the hard way?” he growled, his voice laced with venom.
“Fine by me.”
And we clashed again, each blow more brutal than the last.
Gael fought to cripple, to punish, to make me regret every choice I’d made to defy Beric, to defy him.
But I fought back just as fiercely, each hit a reminder of everything I was leaving behind.
Everything I was willing to give up for Finn and for the chance to live free.
He snarled, lunging at me with renewed aggression, his fists aiming to break me.
“You’re Beric’s property,” he spat, eyes blazing with a twisted loyalty. “He owns you. Always will.”
“Not anymore,” I grunted, dodging a vicious swipe and countering with a sharp kick to his ribs. “I’m done with him. With all of you.”
We grappled, our movements a deadly dance, each of us driven by fury and desperation.
Gael twisted, trying to throw me to the ground, but I held my ground, digging deep, finding a strength I didn’t know I had.
I broke free, managing to pin him against the wall.
For a tense, breathless moment, our eyes met. Beneath the fury in his gaze, I saw something else. A flicker of disbelief, of… regret.
“I thought you were smarter than this, Gabriel,” he whispered, voice tight with something almost like pity. “I hated you sure, but I admired you as well. I thought you understood what it takes to survive.”
My grip tightened, and I leaned in close, my voice barely a whisper.
“Surviving isn’t enough for me anymore,” I said.
With one last shove, I pushed him back and stepped away, chest heaving, my fists clenched and still trembling.
Gael staggered, but he didn’t retaliate. He wiped the blood from his mouth, his eyes dark with fury.
“Gabriel!” Finn’s voice snapped me out of my rage.
He burst out of the men’s room, his eyes wide and frantic, and tossed something my way. A silver knife.
I caught it by the handle, feeling its weight, its cold, sharp promise.
Gael’s gaze narrowed, his eyes darting between the blade in my hand and the second knife Finn now held, poised and ready to strike if needed.
