Like I’d pushed him away and wasn’t sure if I could pull him back.
“It’s not that simple,” I said, running a hand through my hair in frustration. “You... you make everything so damn complicated.”
His smirk returned, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “You’re not exactly a walk in the park either.”
Despite myself, a small laugh escaped, shaky and unsteady but real. “Fair enough.”
For a moment, we just looked at each other.
I wanted to tell him everything. How much he infuriated me, confused me, made me question everything I thought I knew about myself.
But I also wanted to tell him that he’d become the one constant in a world that felt like it was falling apart.
That somehow, against all odds, he was the only thing that made any of this bearable.
Instead, I just said, “I don’t hate you, you know. Even when I want to.”
Gael’s gaze softened, and he took a step closer, not closing the distance entirely but enough that I could feel the pull between us again, magnetic and undeniable.
“That’s a start,” he said quietly.
His voice was so steady, so calm, it made my chest ache.
I didn’t know how he managed it. How he could look at me like I wasn’t a complete disaster.
Like I hadn’t spent the past few months hating him for something I was beginning to realize I might never fully understand.
I wanted to say more, to explain myself, but the words caught in my throat and refused to come out.
“We should get some rest,” Gael said.
“Someone has to keep watch,” I replied. “I’ll catch sleep in small bursts.”
Gael settled near the door, his posture relaxed but alert. I couldn’t help but frown. It was a risky spot to rest.
What if someone opened the door and sunlight streamed in?
The thought of him being caught off guard sent a pang of unease through me.
As if he’d read my mind, he murmured, “Don’t worry, hunter. I’ll wake if something happens. If someone bursts through the door.”
His confidence was maddening, but I didn’t argue. Instead, I leaned back and let the weight of the day drag me under.
Somehow, against all odds, sleep claimed us both.
By some miracle, the fragile peace held, and we were left untouched when the sun dipped below the horizon once more.
But the reprieve was short-lived. A distant shout cut through the stillness, sharp and unmistakable.
Hunters. The threat was still out there, relentless and closing in.
Gael jerked awake, his eyes snapping open like a predator sensing danger.
I followed suit, the haze of sleep dissolving as adrenaline flooded my veins. Reality crashed back in, cold and unrelenting.
“Let’s go,” he said.
I nodded, pushing myself to my feet with a grunt of pain.
