The walls felt like they were closing in, trapping us in this moment, in the wreckage of our choices.
I glanced at Gael, studying the hard lines of his face, the shadows that clung to the edges of his eyes.
What had changed for him? What had blurred the lines in his world, made everything feel uncertain and distorted?
“What happened to you?” I found myself asking, the words escaping before I could stop them. “I mean… with Beric.”
Gael’s jaw tightened, the muscles twitching as if he was fighting to keep the words locked inside.
For a moment, I thought he’d ignore the question, brush it off with one of his usual snide remarks.
But then his shoulders slumped, just a fraction, and the fight seemed to drain out of him.
“There was a time I thought Beric saved me,” Gael said quietly. “Gave me purpose, a reason to exist. I was his favorite, his right hand. Everything he wanted, I delivered. But loyalty to someone like Beric doesn’t go both ways.”
His jaw tightened, and a flash of something painful crossed his face. “When Gabriel showed up, everything changed. I went from trusted to expendable in the blink of an eye.”
I didn’t know what to say. The bitterness in his voice mirrored something deep inside me, a hollow ache I knew too well.
Betrayal. Disillusionment. The realization that everything you believed in was a lie.
“And now?” I asked gently. “What do you believe in now?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I’ve been trying to figure that out. But every time I think I’m close, everything shifts again. It’s like standing on quicksand.”
I nodded, a bitter smile tugging at my lips. “Yeah. I know that feeling.”
Our eyes met, and something unspoken passed between us. A thread of understanding, fragile but real.
We were both lost in our own ways, both trying to hold onto something solid while the ground kept crumbling beneath our feet.
Without thinking, I reached out, my fingers brushing against his hand.
His skin was cool, a stark contrast to the warmth seeping from my own. He didn’t pull away.
Instead, his fingers curled around mine, hesitant at first, then stronger.
The contact sent a jolt through me, a spark of connection that felt dangerously real.
“The things we do for family,” I echoed, my voice barely a whisper. “Maybe we’re not really doing it for them. Maybe we’re just trying to prove to ourselves that we’re not as broken as we feel.”
Gael’s lips curled into a ghost of a smile. “Maybe.”
Gael let go of my hand. He reached out, his fingers brushing a lock of hair from my forehead.
The touch was fleeting, hesitant, but it left a trail of fire in its wake.
I swallowed hard, my pulse thudding in my ears. For the first time, I didn’t see Gael as an enemy, a monster, or an obstacle.
I saw him for what he was, broken and lost, just like me.
His fingers lingered near my temple, and I leaned into the touch before I could stop myself.
His eyes darkened, and something shifted in the air between us. The tension coiled tighter, electric and undeniable.
“Gael…” I whispered, but I didn’t know what I was asking for.
His gaze dropped to my lips. My breath hitched. Then, slowly, achingly slowly, he leaned in.
