Page 95 of Shades of Silver City

I stare at the spot in the kitchen where Godric was lying. The off-white tile is stained bright red. The pool of blood is so large that I don’t know how Godric could possibly be okay.

“Someone’s coming to clean it,” Archer murmurs in my ear. “He’ll be okay.”

I vaguely register myself nodding. He takes my hand, even though his friend’s blood stains my hands, and he leads me to the bathroom.

“I dropped the journal,” I mumble. When Archer doesn’t reply, I repeat myself, staring at the toilet. “I dropped the journal.”

“It’s okay.” He squeezes my hand.

Letting go, he reaches over to turn on the water. He checks it every few seconds, and when it’s a temperature he approves of, he turns to me and askes, “Clothes on or off?”

“What?” I frown.

“You’re in shock, Tasia. I’m not letting you leave like this.” He glances at my hands. “Let me get you cleaned up. Clothes on or off?”

“Off,” I murmur.

He nods, working efficiently to pull my shirt over my head. He fiddles with my bra, struggling to unclasp it, but I don’t help him. I don’t want to touch it and stain it. It’s stupid, but it’s all I can think about.

After he successfully removes my bra, he works the button of my jeans. But there’s nothing sexy about it. Nothing in Archer’s expression tells me he’s enjoying this. He’s careful not to touch my exposed skin, and he keeps his head down, staring intently at the floor.

“I need you to lift,” he says.

“What?”

He gives my pants a tug, and I realize he means I need to lift my foot. I oblige, one foot at a time. I repeat the movement as he slides off my panties.

When I’m fully naked, I step into the shower. Archer sheds his leather jacket, shirt, and pants, joining me a moment later wearing only his boxers.

Once I’m standing beneath the spray of water, staring at the spiral of red twisting down the drain, the tears fall.

I stand there and cry as Archer washes me. Once he’s done, he slides down into the tub and pulls me into his lap. The water sprays over us as he hugs my naked body tight to him. The skin-on-skin contact is amazing, comforting. It’s an intimacy I’ve never experienced before, and it makes me sob harder.

I cry because I’m fucking exhausted and overwhelmed.

Because I thought my dad was the good guy, but I didn’t know him at all.

Because I wanted there to be meaning to the magic he injected me with…but I’m nothing more than a subject for his studies.

Most of all, I cry for Archer and all he’s lost—and for Godric and what he almost lost.

Power Distribution: High Chancellor and Ministries

Silver Edict #9

“To ensure effective governance, with the people’s interests at the forefront, this edict establishes a harmonious power distribution, with the High Chancellor overseeing overarching policies and ministries, which exercise authority in their specific domains…”

CHAPTER 22

ARCHER

“I’m fine, brother,” Godric says for the tenth time. “Your girlfriend is fine, too.”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” I mutter.

“You sure about that?” Godric side-eyes me, and I face forward, continuing to walk through the tunnel. The packed dirt muffles our footsteps, but our voices echo and carry through the tunnel.

“What are we, twelve?” I ask.

---