"Absolutely Not."

Chapter 26: Faith

(SIMON'S POV)

Trust is expensive.

It can cost an arm or a leg or even one's life. It just depends on how much one is willing to give to someone else.

That life is given, too, with the ultimate trust that the other can avenge them or live a life they now couldn't.

And there were only a select few that I'd not think twice about sacrificing myself for. One of them somehow found her way back into my life after I thought I'd never see her again. A damn year it took, but it was well worth the wait.

She would always be worth the wait.

She would always be worth me sacrificing myself to keep her safe.

Shepherd's bullet had been meant for the mole – her. The one who gave up their position, letting 141 infiltrate what had been stolen to help steal it back.

The flame should have licked her skin instead, but I now had the scars to prove that I'd fucking do anything for her, but could I ever worsen her guilt by exposing the truth?

Absolutely not.

She'd already been through enough mentally.

It was best to keep her in the dark, and I'd live with the guilt eating me just like the flames had with the first layer of my skin. Yet another sacrifice.

Absentmindedly, I rubbed along my collarbone where the nerves had been worse off. Where the flames had been so passionate to kiss first, biting through fabric and flesh to get as close to me as possible. Craving bone to char, it never got that satisfaction with the fire being extinguished before it got to reach much past my chin.

A loud crunch of bones cracking followed by an even louder, "fuck!" brought me out of my reverie, and I was grateful for a distraction. An entertaining distraction it was, indeed, the sight before me in the gym.

There was no quitting while pursuing the art of sparring, even when blood had been drawn. It could only fuel one's muscles to continue the fight, using the pain as leverage to kick the other person's ass.

And that was exactly how Gaz reacted when Kelsey elbowed him right in the nose, scarlet immediately pouring down his lips and chin, splattering onto the both of them as they blocked one another's quick hits. Neither of them flinched from the droplets or made any other physical reaction to his injury other than when he expectorated some of the blood that had made its way into his mouth, onto the floor.

"Gotta be quicker than that, Gaz," she teased with a wide grin before blocking a punch with her forearm.

They became a flurry of quick tries to get a hit in and grunts of disappointment when they didn't land, blocked by equal rivalry. While the two were the closest in height and personal skill, their separate expertise shined in different areas.

Both agile and quick, Garrick had the upper hand in experience and swiftness.

Both level-headed in a fight, Kelsey baited with her momentum. She commanded shadows as if she became them herself, and even without her entrapment using darkness, the ex-mercenary was still quite deadly. That was once her job, after all.

Her tool in ambushing her opponent only changed in wearing them out, waiting it out until their defenses dropped enough to strike. Like a damn cheetah that engages in high-speed chases just to wear out their prey, letting the other person give their everything until they had nothing left.

In the end, speed didn't win fights, it was the resilience of the fighter and their technique that got them to the top. And it would be interesting to see who would win between Garrick and Kelsey.