Page 83 of Finn
But I couldn’t stop myself from asking, “Do you think we’ll ever really be free? From the Guild? From Beric’s nest?”
Gabriel’s eyes darkened, the shadows of his past flickering across his face.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But I do know that we’re stronger together than apart. And as long as we’re together, we’ll figure it out,” he said.
The certainty in his voice made me believe him, even if just for a moment.
I stepped closer, my free hand resting on his chest.
“Thank you,” he said, his voice barely audible over the sound of the waves.
“For what?” I asked.
“For not giving up on me. On us,” he told me.
I softened, and cupped his face in my hands, my thumbs brushing against his cheeks.
“Gabriel, there’s nothing in this world that could make me give up on you,” I told him.
Before Gabriel could respond, I leaned in for a kiss which soon tuned rough with want.
I melted into him, my hands sliding up to his shoulders as the world around us seemed to fade away.
The ocean, the stars, the past. It all disappeared, leaving just the two of us.
SOME TIME LATER
The cobblestone streets of the small European town felt like a different world.
It was quiet here, a kind of quiet that settled into your bones and made you feel like maybe, just maybe, everything would be okay.
I watched Gabriel ahead of me, carrying a bag of groceries from the supermarket, the moon light catching in his hair.
For a moment, I allowed myself to just take it in: the simplicity, the normalcy. It was everything I didn’t know I needed.
We’d been in this town for a few months now, far enough from the chaos of our old lives to breathe without looking over our shoulders every second.
We’d found a small, nondescript flat above a bakery that always smelled like fresh bread.
Gabriel had taken a job as a night guard, and I’d found work helping out at a local coffee shop. It was simple, and it was good.
Gabriel slowed as we reached the steps to our flat, turning to me with a faint smile. “You’re quiet today.”
“Just thinking,” I said, taking the bag from him so he could unlock the door.
“Dangerous habit,” he teased, but there was warmth in his voice.
Once inside, we set the groceries on the small kitchen counter.
The flat wasn’t much, just a few rooms and a view of the church steeple in the town square, but it felt like home in a way no place ever had.
“Want some tea?” Gabriel asked, already filling the kettle.
“Sure.” I leaned against the counter, watching him move around the kitchen.
There was a calmness to him here that I’d never seen before, a kind of ease that made me ache for the struggles he’d endured to get to this point.
As the tea steeped, Gabriel turned to me, his expression thoughtful.
