Aria's POVThe water skin slipped from my fingers and struck the stone floor with a soft thump, my attention fixed entirely on the face in front of me: dirt-streaked, gaunt, shadowed by exhaustion, yet instantly recognizable.Finn.He stared back with equal disbelief. His cracked lips parted, and my name formed silently on his tongue."Finn," I whispered, the word catching in my throat. "You're alive.""Barely," he rasped, attempting a smile that twisted into a grimace. "You look different, Aria.""a year will do that to a person." I dropped to my knees beside the cot before I finished speaking, checking his pulse, examining his pupils, assessing the visible wounds through his torn shirt. "How bad is it? What did they do to you?""Nothing permanent." He caught my wrist with surprising gentleness.”"I need to examine you properly," I said, steadying my voice. "You're dehydrated and malnourished and those cuts require cleaning, we can talk afterward."He nodded and released my wrist, al
Last Updated : 2026-02-18 Read more