The cold finality in his voice made my stomach twist. I knew what “handled” meant. They were dead. My former allies. My friends.
No, Not my friends any longer, I reminded myself. I looked away, guilt and anger churning inside me.
Gael’s ruthlessness clashed with everything I believed in, everything I thought I stood for.
His willingness to do whatever it took, to cross lines I never would have dared, made me question where I truly stood.
But how could I argue with him?
Those same hunters hadn’t hesitated to shoot me down, to treat me as nothing more than a target.
They didn’t didn’t give me another chance to explain myself or my intentions. They saw a threat, and they acted.
And honestly, after everything the Guild put Finn through, why was I even surprised?
They’d always operated this way. Absolute, unyielding, and merciless.
Maybe I’d just been naive, clinging to a sense of justice that didn’t exist.
I forced down another bite of the sandwich, the food tasting like ash in my mouth.
Silence stretched between us, heavy with unspoken words and unresolved tension.
I didn’t know how to feel about Gael anymore, didn’t know how to feel aboutanything.
Eventually, the weight of it all became too much. I let out a shaky breath and leaned my head back against the cold metal wall.
“I don’t know how to do this,” I admitted, the words slipping out before I could stop them.
Gael’s gaze softened, a flicker of something almost human passing through his eyes. “Do what?”
“Any of it. Trusting you. Not trusting you. Being hunted by my own people.” My voice cracked, and I swallowed hard. “It’s all… fucked.”
He was quiet for a long moment. Then, to my surprise, he shifted closer, his shoulder brushing against mine.
The contact was fleeting, just a brush of skin against skin, but it sent an unexpected warmth spreading through my chest.
It was startling, disarming even. Weren’t vampires supposed to burn cold? That’s what I’d always believed.
“You think I know how to do this?” Gael murmured. “I don’t. I’ve spent decades knowing exactly who I was, what my purpose was. And now…” He trailed off, his jaw tightening. “Now everything feels like it’s slipping away.”
I turned my head to look at him.
His profile was sharp, his expression guarded, but there was a vulnerability there that I’d never seen before.
It made my chest ache for some unexplainable reason.
“Before Gabriel,” Gael continued, his voice low, “I was Beric’s favorite. I had a place. A purpose. And now…” He let out a bitter laugh. “Now I’m chasing ghosts. Failing. And for what?”
The pain in his voice surprised me. I’d never thought of Gael as someone who could feel lost.
He always seemed so sure, so confident. But maybe that was just another lie.
I didn’t know what possessed me to do it, but I reached out and covered his hand with mine.
The contact sent a jolt through me, hot and electric, even though his skin was cool.
His fingers twitched under my touch, but he didn’t pull away.
