Soulbound: Embers of Defiance

Chapter 27: Secrets Unveiled

We all whipped our heads around, startled by the abrupt intrusion. Standing in the doorway, framed by the dying light of the setting sun, was a cloaked figure shrouded in black leather. My breath hitched in my throat. The figure was tall and lean, a silhouette that vaguely resembled Caleb. But reason scoffed at the notion. Caleb was still weak, confined to his bed.

Just as quickly, the figure lifted its hood, revealing a head of onyx black hair and a face etched with weariness – Erin. The rogue who had stormed out of the quarters over a week ago after a heated argument with Caleb.

A wave of surprise washed over me, tinged with a touch of annoyance. "Erin?" I blurted, my voice barely above a whisper. "What are you doing here?"

The corners of her lips twitched upwards in a sardonic smile. "Saving your asses, apparently," she replied, her voice rough and edged with exhaustion. Her gaze swept over the room, taking in the tense postures and wary expressions around the table. "Looks like I missed quite the party."

Marcus, however, wasn't so easily swayed. His gaze remained wary. "We thought you were gone for good, Erin."

Erin's smile faltered for a brief moment, a flicker of something akin to regret crossing her features. "Plans changed," she muttered, her gaze darting towards Marcus for a fleeting moment.

Marcus, his brow furrowed in concern, spoke before anything else could happen. "There's a lot to unpack, Erin. Caleb was attacked. On a mission." He shot a pointed look at her, his voice laced with a hint of accusation. "We almost lost him."

Erin's stoic expression remained unchanged. A flicker of something – defiance, perhaps, or maybe a well-guarded vulnerability – danced in her eyes. She met Marcus' gaze head-on, the accusation hanging heavy between them.

"I know," she finally replied, her voice a low rumble. "That's why I'm here."

The simple statement hung in the air, heavy with unspoken implications. Finn, forever oblivious to tension, tilted his head in confusion.

"Who do you think dragged him all the way back to Isaac?" Erin added. The question hung in the air, a rhetorical barb dipped in despair.

A flicker of something akin to fear crossed Erin's features, a stark contrast to her usual stoicism. "He was barely clinging to life when I found him," she rasped, her voice tight with emotion. "There's no way he could have made it back here on his own."

Marcus' face fell. "You knew?!" he roared, his voice a guttural growl that echoed in the confined space. "You knew Caleb was hurt, maybe even dying, and you waltzed back out of here like nothing happened?"

His face contorted in fury, veins pulsing in his temples. "Days you were gone, Erin! Days we were here, worried sick, wondering if he'd even pull through, and you..." His voice trailed off, choked with a mixture of anger and disbelief.

Erin flinched at his outburst, but her gaze held firm. "It wasn't that simple, Marcus," she retorted, her voice laced with a quiet defiance that only fueled his anger further. "There were things I had to do, things I couldn't explain then."

"Explain now, then!" Marcus bellowed, taking a menacing step forward. "Explain how you could just abandon us, abandon him, knowing he was barely clinging to life!"

Erin, however, remained silent. Her stormy eyes met his with a steely resolve. The silence stretched, thick with tension that crackled in the air.

Suddenly, Marcus, fueled by a cocktail of worry and betrayal, lunged towards her, fists clenched.

But Erin was faster. With a practiced twist of her body, she slipped past his clumsy lunge, her own hand darting out to grab his wrist with a lightning-fast motion. A gasp escaped Marcus' lips as Erin applied a pressure point with practiced ease, momentarily disarming him.