Page 110 of The Sins of Silas

“It was. It was entirely perfect.”

We were then in her room. My breathing quickened being in here.

She held my hands. She was in a sweater now, in comfortable leggings. “Sleep beside me, Quill. We never could rest with one another.”

She crawled into the bed, lifting the blanket for me to join her. I obeyed, feeling the heat of her body already warming mine. We lay facing one another, staring at each other.

“Do you love me?” she asked quietly, her voice a near whisper.

My brows drew together, my eyes bouncing between hers as I lifted my hand, brushing my thumb along the freckles on her cheek. “I will always love you.”

Her voice was faint…but I heard her response. Her real response.

"I will always love you, Silas."

Lena smiled, then held me against her chest. It felt so good, so real, that I accepted it. I pretended I wasn't aware of my lucid state, and slowly, I drifted to sleep in her embrace.

ChapterThirty-One

MERRICK

My sister's emotions were bleeding into mine, even without utilizing my gift, as Edmund and I sprinted into one of the weathered tents in this place. I braced myself when she screamed, tears streaming down her face.

“Father!” Elowen whimpered, flailing violently as Edmund and I placed her on the ground. Dani began spreading salt, chanting that spell to keep the sound inside. “STOP!”

“El,” Edmund said softly, grasping her hand in an attempt to calm her. “Elowen, baby, I’m right here.” When she gradually stopped panicking, when her breathing slowed, he took one hand and held her face. Black irises stared back at him as her eyes shot open.

“Edmund,” she whispered, and her face crumpled. “My parents are dead,” she cried.

His own face fell, his eyes filling with tears. “I know…I know…”

Viola’s palms glowed gold over El’s temples, her jaw clenching as she concentrated. “This isn’t doing anything,” she gritted out.

“It might help speed up the process,” Dani said, attempting to be positive as he flipped through his spell book, looking for anything that might help.

“Why are her eyes black?” I shook my head, constructing a mental partition. Her pain…it was too much.

I could now understand why people became unsettled sometimes when my eyes turned dark. It certainly didn't give me fuzzy feelings seeing my sister's.

Elowen sniffled as she struggled to catch her breath. “Why did they have to die?” she wept. “Why did he take them?”

“I’m so sorry, baby,” Edmund whispered. “I wish I could’ve stopped it.”

Blood still stained beneath her nose, but blessedly, no more crimson flowed.

Her lip wobbled, her limbs shaking as she turned her attention to me. “M-Merrick…”

I leaned in close, grasping her hands. “Yes? What is it?”

She choked on a sob. “I'm sorry for your mother. I know it's my fault.”

My eyes flared, and I dropped her hands, stumbling back.

“I see her, and she blames me,” she sobbed. “I know she's right.”

“Elowen,” Viola shook her head. “Ayana is not here. Your mind is plagued.”

“I killed her!” Elowen wailed. “I killed her!”

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