Page 78 of Finn
Gael straightened, biting back the wince that threatened to betray him.
He couldn’t hide anything from Beric. So he told him everything.
“I had them but a new player turned up. A Guild hunter named Asher intervened,” he began, his voice steady despite the humiliation clawing at him. “He shot me with silver. Twice.”
Beric raised a brow, the faintest flicker of disappointment crossing his face.
“I... I played dead,” Gael admitted, the words sour on his tongue. “It was the only way to avoid death.”
Beric’s expression didn’t change, but the weight of his scrutiny bore down on Gael like a physical force.
“They escaped,” Gael continued, forcing the words out. “Gabriel and his lover. Together.”
The silence that followed was deafening. Beric leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping once against the desk.
Gael hated that sound, hated the cold calculation in Beric’s eyes.
“You played dead,” Beric repeated, his tone devoid of emotion.
Gael’s jaw tightened. “It was the only way.”
“The only way,” Beric echoed softly, his gaze sharpening.
For a moment, Gael’s emotions threatened to betray him.
He thought of Gabriel, of the way he’d stood by that human, defiant even as the odds stacked against them.
There was a part of Gael, a small, hidden part, that couldn’t help but admire it.
But then there was Asher. The memory of the hunter’s smug face, the way he’d humiliated Gael, made his blood boil.
He hated him with every fiber of his being. That human had no right to walk away victorious.
“I failed,” Gael admitted, his voice low.
Beric’s eyes narrowed, his fingers steepling once more. “Yes. You did.”
The finality of those words hit Gael like a physical blow. His hands clenched at his sides, his mind racing.
“I can fix this,” he said quickly, desperation leaking into his tone. “Give me another chance.”
Beric said nothing, his cold gaze piercing through Gael.
“Please,” Gael added, his pride crumbling under the weight of Beric’s silence.
Finally, Beric leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk. His expression was unreadable, but his voice was sharp as a blade.
“You’ve humiliated yourself and me with this failure. Tell me, Gael, why should I give you another chance?” Beric asked.
Gael’s throat tightened, but he forced himself to meet Beric’s gaze.
“Because I won’t let them win. Not Gabriel. Not that hunter. I’ll bring both their heads to you,” Gael said.
Beric’s lips curved into a faint, cruel smile. “And how do you plan to do that, when you’ve already proven yourself incapable?”
Gael’s pride flared, his desperation giving way to anger.
“Because I’ll learn from this. I won’t underestimate them again. Gabriel and that hunter humiliated me, but I’ll turn that humiliation into strength. I swear it,” Gael promised.
