Page 35 of Asher
“It’s not that bad,” I muttered, though the sharp stab of pain that followed betrayed me.
Gael raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment, his focus entirely on my leg as he rolled up the torn fabric of my pants.
The makeshift bandage he’d slapped on earlier was soaked through, the edges crusted with dried blood. His jaw tightened.
“This isn’t ‘not that bad,’ Asher,” he said, his voice low, clipped.
I shrugged, trying to brush it off. “Been through worse.”
“That’s not the point,” he shot back, his dark eyes snapping up to meet mine.
For a moment, the air between us felt charged, heavier than it had any right to be.
Then, just as quickly, he looked away, his hands moving to carefully peel back the bandage.
I sucked in a sharp breath as the fabric tugged at the wound, and his gaze darted back to me, a flicker of concern crossing his face.
“Sorry,” he said quietly.
The apology caught me off guard. “Didn’t think vampires did sorry,” I quipped, trying to lighten the mood.
Gael’s lips twitched, almost like he wanted to smile but didn’t quite know how. “We don’t. Consider yourself special.”
For a second, the tension eased, replaced by something... different. Not quite comfortable, but not entirely unpleasant either.
Gael worked in silence after that, his hands steady as he cleaned and inspected the wound.
“You should’ve left me back there,” I said, the bitterness in my voice surprising even me. “I was dead weight.”
Gael’s laugh was short and humorless.
“You think I’d let you get caught just because you’re slower than usual?” Gael asked.
I opened my eyes and found him staring at me, his expression unreadable. For once, there wasn’t a trace of sarcasm in his voice.
No mockery. Just a flat honesty that made my chest feel tight.
“Why?” I asked, my voice barely more than a whisper.
His gaze flicked away, his jaw clenching. He busied himself with retying the bandage, his fingers deft, movements controlled.
“Because… maybe I didn’t want to see you die at all,” Gael admitted.
My throat tightened, and I swallowed hard.
“I don’t even know why I’m still here,” I whispered.
I continued, “Finn made it clear he wants nothing to do with me or with our family. I keep holding on, clinging to something that’s already shattered. Maybe it’s always been broken. And every time I try to fix it, I just end up making a bigger mess.”
The words left a bitter taste in my mouth, a confession I hadn’t even been willing to admit to myself.
Gael’s eyes flickered, his expression carefully guarded.
“The things we do for family, huh?” he said softly.
There was something hollow in his tone, a bitterness that went beyond the surface.
When he said family, I wondered if he was talking about his nest. Silence settled between us, thick and unrelenting.
