The hold looked like something that had survived a war rather than a single night.
Crates had been split open and kicked across the floor, their contents scattered beneath boots and broken boards. Straw lay churned into the gaps between the planks, darkened in places by blood. The lanterns had burned low, their flames guttering amber now instead of the harsh gold they'd thrown across the room an hour ago.
Marrow's body lay motionless near the far wall.
Nobody had looked at it twice since the flame went out.
It simply wasn't important anymore.
Ray caught Zelene before she hit the floor.
Her whole weight went slack against him at once, and for one horrible, suspended second, his mind emptied completely.
Not this.
Not after everything.
Not now.
"Milady… Lynn…."
Her name came out rough, cracked down the middle.
He lowered her carefully onto the boards, one hand sliding beneath her head.
Finn was beside him almost immediately.
"Move."
"Finn—"
"Ray, move."
There was something in Finn's voice that made Ray obey.
Finn dropped to his knees and pressed two fingers to Zelene's throat. His other hand hovered near her face, watching for the smallest movement. His brow furrowed so deeply it looked painful.
One second.
Two.
Three.
Then his shoulders sagged.
"She's breathing."
Ray stared at him.
Finn looked up.
"She's breathing," he repeated, louder this time. "She's asleep."
Ray's lips parted, but nothing came out.
Finn checked her pulse again, because apparently once wasn't enough.
"Pulse is steady. Strong, too." His face twisted as he let out a breath. "She's not dying, Ray. She's just completely spent."
The relief that crashed through Ray nearly took his legs out from under him.
He didn't trust himself to speak.
He just knelt there, Zelene's head cradled against his palm, his thumb resting carefully against her temple.
She's alive.
She's actually alive.
His eyes closed.
He thought of the forest, months ago now—a bleeding stranger too proud to ask for help, and a girl who had knelt in the mud anyway and told him his past didn't matter.
He'd spent every day since quietly terrified of the moment he'd fail to return that kindness in time.
Tonight had come closer to that moment than any night before it.
Not yet.
His forehead lowered briefly against her hair.
Not ever, if I have anything to say about it.
Across from him, Corvin sagged against the wall.
The gold light that had surrounded him was gone now, leaving him looking impossibly young for a moment. His breathing was uneven, his hands trembling faintly as the adrenaline finally began to drain from his body.
"All those years," he whispered.
Ray glanced toward him.
Corvin stared at Zelene.
"All those years my family spent waiting for the Crimson to return." He gave a breathless, disbelieving laugh. "And the first time I actually get to protect her, she nearly dies on me."
He rubbed both hands over his face. "That's just… that's cruel."
Finn glanced at him. "She's not dead."
"I know that."
"You sounded pretty convinced she was."
"I was having a moment, Finn."
"Yeah, well, have a quieter one. You're making me nervous."
Corvin stared at him. Then, somehow, he laughed. It was small and shaky and exhausted, but it was a laugh.
He looked back down at Zelene.
"She really is just sleeping."
Finn's expression softened.
"Yeah."
Corvin swallowed. "She'll wake up, right?"
Finn hesitated only long enough to be honest.
"She should."
Corvin's eyes immediately narrowed.
"'Should'?"
"Oh, for God's sake." Finn rubbed at his face. "She's exhausted, Corvin. That's what I'm saying. Her body's had enough for one night. Let her sleep."
Corvin looked down at Zelene again.
"She is going to be furious when she wakes up."
Finn snorted. "Furious?"
"She'll complain that we made too much fuss."
"She nearly scared ten years off my life."
"Exactly."
Finn stared at him.
Corvin's mouth twitched.
"She's going to complain."
"Yeah," Finn muttered. "That sounds like her."
A few feet away, Silas hadn't moved from where he'd slid down against the wall.
One arm remained curled carefully around his bruised ribs. He looked exhausted, bruised, and far quieter than usual.
His eyes hadn't left Lynn… Or Zelene as they call her.
She's breathing.
She's really breathing.
That's… a relief.
He thought of the market, days ago—a girl in a hood he'd flirted with because it was easy. Because flirting was armor he'd worn for so long he barely noticed its weight anymore.
He hadn't known what he was looking at then.
He hadn't known what he was, either.
Three weeks.
Three weeks of pretending none of this mattered to him.
One night of watching her nearly die in front of him, and suddenly pretending felt impossible.
"You're staring."
Finn's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
Silas blinked. "Am I?"
"Yes."
Silas looked down at Zelene, then back at Finn.
"Could be admiring the scenery."
Finn gave him a flat look.
Silas smiled faintly.
"There. That face. That's better."
"What face?"
"The one that says you're about to say something stupid."
"I always look like this."
"Exactly."
Silas huffed a quiet laugh, then winced when his ribs protested.
Finn's teasing expression softened.
"Careful."
"I'm fine."
"You've said that six times tonight."
"And I meant it every time."
"You're terrible at lying."
"I'm actually very good at lying."
Finn raised an eyebrow.
Silas paused.
"…Usually."
That earned the smallest smile from Finn.
It disappeared a moment later.
"You know you still owe us an explanation."
Silas's gaze drifted toward him.
Finn nodded toward the ruined hold.
"The ropes. The locks. The guards suddenly deciding they couldn't see us. You somehow getting us out of that cell when there wasn't exactly a convenient door lying around."
Silas sighed.
"Finn—"
"You promised."
"I know."
"Back in the cell. You said, 'Ask me later.'"
Silas rubbed a hand down his face.
Finn leaned back against the wall.
"Well?"
Silas stared at him.
"It's later."
"Unfortunately."
Silas let out a tired breath.
"I don't fully understand it myself."
Finn's eyebrows lifted.
"That's reassuring."
"I'm serious."
"I know."
Silas went quiet.
For once, there was no clever answer waiting behind his teeth.
"I'll tell you what I can," he said eventually.
"Everything I know. Everything I remember. But there are things…" He glanced down at his hands. "Things I can't explain yet."
Finn studied him.
"Okay."
Silas looked surprised.
"Okay?"
"Yeah."
"You're not going to interrogate me?"
"Oh, I absolutely am." Finn shifted carefully, trying not to aggravate his injuries. "Just not while we're all bleeding on the floor."
Silas actually laughed.
"Fair."
Finn's eyes went to Zelene.
"And you owe her the biggest explanation of all."
Silas's smile faded.
"I know."
His gaze lingered on her.
"I owe her more than an explanation."
Finn waited.
Silas swallowed.
"I just don't know what that looks like yet."
For once, Finn didn't make a joke.
"You'll figure it out."
Silas looked at him.
Finn shrugged.
"Eventually."
"That's your wisdom?"
"I'm injured. Lower your expectations."
Silas smiled despite himself.
Then Finn added, "Besides, apparently we've got time now."
Silas glanced at Zelene.
"Apparently."
Ray finally moved.
He slipped one arm beneath Zelene's knees and the other carefully around her back, lifting her against his chest. He adjusted his hold immediately, mindful of the splint and every bruise darkening her jaw.
Something in him eased for the first time since the tannery door had swallowed her hours ago.
"We need to get her somewhere warm," Ray said. "Somewhere quiet."
Finn nodded.
"Agreed."
"And then we let her sleep."
"Definitely."
Ray looked down at Zelene.
"She'll wake up when she's ready."
Silas gave a tired smile. "And then she'll kill us for carrying her around like she's made of glass."
Ray's mouth twitched. "She'll complain first."
Finn pointed at him. "See? That's exactly what I said."
"You said she'd be furious."
"She will be."
"She'll be embarrassed."
"She can be both."
Corvin slowly pushed himself upright. "She'll probably demand to know who carried her."
Everyone looked at him.
Corvin shrugged. "What?"
Finn's eyes narrowed. "Why do you sound worried?"
"I'm not worried."
"You absolutely sound worried."
"I have a reputation to maintain."
Silas snorted. "You have a reputation?"
Corvin looked offended. "I'm going to leave you here."
"You can't," Finn said. "You're injured."
"I can crawl."
"That's somehow worse."
Ray shook his head. For the first time that night, the sound that left him was almost a laugh. It felt strange. Almost foreign. But good.
He looked down at Zelene again. "Let's go."
Finn started to rise.
He got halfway up before his leg nearly buckled.
Ray caught him by the shoulder.
Finn froze.
Ray stared at him.
Finn stared back.
"I had that."
"You nearly fell."
"I was testing it."
"Of course."
Finn straightened himself with what little dignity he had left.
"I've been fighting all night. My legs are allowed to have opinions."
Ray's gaze traveled over him.
Now that the immediate danger had passed, he could actually see the state Finn was in.
His hair was an absolute disaster, damp and sticking to his forehead in several places. His clothes were wrinkled and torn from the fighting, dirt ground into the fabric, with dark stains scattered across his sleeves and collar. There were bruises beginning to bloom along his jaw and cheekbone, and his hands looked like they'd been through a dozen fights by themselves.
He looked exhausted.
He looked miserable.
He looked like he'd been willing to crawl through hell if it meant getting Zelene back.
Ray stared at him for another moment.
Finn noticed.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"That's never a good 'nothing.'"
Ray adjusted Zelene more securely against his chest. "By the way, Finn."
Finn frowned.
"What?"
Ray started walking.
Finn followed after him, still limping slightly.
"You did a good job."
Finn stopped.
Ray didn't.
Finn blinked.
He looked over his shoulder at Ray.
"…What?"
Ray continued walking.
Finn's jaw dropped.
"Wait."
Nothing.
"Ray."
Ray kept walking.
"Did you just—"
"Keep up."
Finn stared after him.
Then he looked around the wrecked hold as if someone else might have heard what had just happened. "You heard that, right?"
Silas, still sitting against the wall, looked up.
"Heard what?"
"Ray complimented me."
Silas stared at him.
"No, he didn't."
"He did."
"Did he?"
"Yes!"
Corvin gave Finn a tired once-over. "Maybe you hallucinated it."
"I did not hallucinate it!"
Ray's voice came from several steps ahead.
"Finn."
"What?"
"Are you coming?"
Finn looked at him.
Then at Silas.
Then at Corvin.
His mouth opened.
Closed.
Opened again.
"I—"
Silas grinned. "Oh, this is incredible."
"Shut up."
"You're going to remember this forever."
"Shut. Up."
Corvin leaned against the wall, looking far too amused for someone who had nearly collapsed moments ago. "I've never seen anyone this affected by a compliment."
"Because you don't understand," Finn hissed. "Ray doesn't compliment people."
Ray stopped walking.
Finn immediately shut up.
Ray glanced back at him.
Finn straightened.
Ray stared for a long moment. Then, very quietly, he said, "I meant it." And he turned away again.
Finn's entire expression changed. The teasing vanished. For just a second, he looked genuinely caught off guard. His gaze dropped to his battered hands. Then he looked after Ray.
"…Oh."
Silas's smile softened.
Finn cleared his throat and hurried after them.
"Yeah, well."
He shoved his hands into his pockets, suddenly very interested in the floor.
"Obviously."
Silas raised an eyebrow.
"Obviously?"
"Obviously."
"You're blushing."
"I am covered in blood."
"Your ears are red."
"I'm going to hit you."
"Your ribs are injured."
"I'll hit you slowly."
Corvin laughed under his breath.
And somehow, amid the broken crates, bloodied straw, battered bodies, and the lingering smell of smoke, the hold didn't feel quite so much like a battlefield anymore.
Zelene was alive.
They were alive.
And for tonight, that was enough.