Page 55 of Finn
Finish it,a dark voice whispered inside me. Gael would never stop coming after us.
He’d hunt us to the ends of the earth if Beric demanded it, if only to prove himself in his twisted loyalty.
And yet…as I looked at him, part of me felt an unexpected pang of pity.
I couldn’t deny that in some ways, he and I weren’t so different.
Gael was bitter and broken, consumed by his anger and desperation to survive.
If more time had passed, if I hadn’t had Finn to pull me out of Beric’s world, would I have ended up just like Gael, who was petty, bitter and hollow?
My grip on the knife tightened, my resolve wavering. Just as I was about to make a decision, the screech of tires broke the tension.
A car skidded to a stop in front of Gael, its headlights slicing through the night, illuminating our standoff in stark, cold light.
Of course, Gael wasn’t alone, I thought in irritation.
“This isn’t over,” he said. “You may have gotten away tonight, but Beric won’t let you go. And next time… there won’t be any mercy.”
Gael slipped into the car. I gritted my teeth, steadying myself.
And that’s when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned, and Finn standing there, his face filled with fear and worry.
“You good?” he asked.
I nodded, though my body still thrummed with adrenaline.
“Let’s get out of here, before he returns with reinforcements,” I said.
Without another word, we slipped back into the car, leaving the gas station and Gael behind us.
I started the engine and we pulled back onto the empty road.
My mind replayed Gael’s words, like venom sinking deep under my skin.
Finn was the only piece of my old life, my true life, that I’d managed to hold onto.
He was the one reminder of who I used to be even after everything Beric had stripped away. But what if Gael was right?
What if Finn would one day wake up and look at me, and instead of love in his eyes, I’d find regret?
“You really okay?” Finn asked.
I managed a nod, not trusting myself to speak yet.
Finn had given me the one thing I thought I’d never feel again: the hope of a life beyond Beric, beyond blood and violence.
And I wanted that life with him so fiercely it ached.
I had dragged Finn into this mess, asking him to turn his back on everything he’d known and trust me.
It was a selfish choice, and yet I’d made it, driven by the hope that we could be each other’s salvation. But was that even fair to him?
“Gabriel?” Finn’s voice interrupted the spiral of my thoughts.
I stopped the car and turned to look at him. Finn looked concerned.
“What happened back there? What’s your relationship with Gael?” Finn asked.
