Fallen Angel [Bellamy Blake]

Chapter 37

WE WALKED AS A TRIO THROUGH the dark, dense woods.

The night was quiet—almost unnaturally so—but the cool air felt like a small mercy against my battered body. Each step still sent a dull, throbbing ache through me, my movements stiff, careful, measured. I kept my eyes locked on the terrain ahead, scanning every inch of ground to avoid roots, loose stones, or anything that might send me crashing down.

Falling wasn't an option.

Not when I was barely being held together as it was.

The silence of the night was both a blessing and a curse. It gave my body a moment to exist without chaos—but it also left me alone with my thoughts.

And that was dangerous.

I hadn't allowed myself to think about the past few days. Not really. Every time the memories tried to surface, I shoved them back down—hard. Aggressively. Like if I ignored it long enough, it would lose its power over me.

It didn't.

My chest tightened suddenly, my breath catching halfway in as the edges of panic began to creep in. I swallowed hard, forcing air into my lungs slowly, deliberately, grounding myself before I could spiral.

It was still hard to close my eyes without seeing his bloody smile.

"I'd love it if you guys were right about this," Clarke said, her voice cutting cleanly through the silence. "But did you ever consider it might be a trap?"

Relief flickered through me at the sound of her voice. A distraction. Something external to latch onto.

Something safer than my own mind.

I had considered it being a trap. I just hadn't let myself linger on that thought long enough to figure out what we'd do if it was.

Because the truth was—I didn't have a plan.

As Finn had requested, I hadn't brought any weapons. Not even my throwing knives. The absence of their familiar weight felt wrong, like I'd left a part of myself behind. It made my skin feel exposed, vulnerable in a way I couldn't quite shake.

But I wasn't going to be the reason this went south.

If I was going to do this, I was going to do it right.

"Yep," Finn said, his tone light but just a little too deliberate. "But since it's Unity Day, I decided to have hope instead."

He exaggerated the optimism, and it almost made me smile. Almost.

I smirked faintly, glancing at him before raising an eyebrow at Clarke. "Uh, excuse me—weren't you defending Unity Day earlier?"

Finn let out a quiet chuckle, but it cut off abruptly as he grimaced, his hand instinctively clutching his side.