Page 162 of The Sins of Silas

The women all still wore their cuffs.

Deana cried as she beheld me, surprised that I was still alive despite it all.

“The fire will overcome you like nothing you've ever felt before,” Lena said calmly, addressing the women. “It can consume you just as easily as your surroundings. Focus it. Hone it. And when you feel it becoming too much, tell yourself tocalm the flames. Picture your newfound freedom. Picture all the good that is to come for you.”

One by one, each woman stepped forward, holding their wrists up to his remaining thumb.

Deana was the first woman to be released from the device. She began shaking as the metal clattered against the ground, her skin turning red.

“You got this, Deana. Calm the flames.”

She inhaled and exhaled, squeezing her eyelids tight. She pursed her lips, her breathing wobbly, her skin reddening. When her eyes finally opened, staring at the face of her abuser, she ignited.

The flame crept around her, a beautiful, devastating flame.

Dimitri shuddered, and Deana lifted her chin, tilting her fingers and sending a ring of fire around his throat. He cried out as his skin began to sizzle.

“If there weren't others who also deserved to tear you apart, I would squeeze this ring so tightly your throat would split open.” She constricted her fingers, and the King shrieked as it melted his skin.

As I watched in awe, I realized I no longer feared fire. I respected it.

Deana flung her fingers out, and the ring around him vanished, the skin raw and bloody. She stepped aside, allowing the next woman her turn.

Deana's dark gaze found mine, and she walked up to me.

“I owe you, Silas La'Rune,” she praised, kneeling before me.

I paused, then gently touched her shoulder. Her brown eyes flicked upward

“Do not kneel before me,” I insisted, grasping her hands and helping her to her feet. “Kneel before nobody ever again.”

Deana's lips wobbled, and she smiled at me, standing upright.

“I have heard many awful things about you, Prince of Otacia,” she whispered. “But it would be an honor to serve you one day.” She smiled. “Perhaps someday, your kingdom may be my home.”

Her comment warmed me. “If that is your wish, then it shall be granted.”

Her cheeks flushed, her smile growing before she turned, watching the next woman come into her power.

I marveled at it—envied their ability to release their rage in such a way. I watched the firelight dance in each of the women's eyes before Torrin's mother gave the final kill shot, Dimitri's head finally slumping down.

Now, it was time to learn what the council knew.

After disposing of another set of gloves a few hours later, I made my way out of the dungeon, ready to take the hottest, longest shower of my life. Roland and Hendry had already left to do so, and the women, along with the rest of the Mages, were choosing their rooms within this castle.

After torturing whatever information the members had, which unfortunately wasn't much, I knew I needed to stop at Saoirse's gravesite before I turned in.

The graveyard was quiet as I stood before the pile of dirt, tears streaming down my face as I pictured her six feet under. A fresh bouquet of roses was placed below a wooden sign that readSAOIRSE.

We didn't even know her last name.

I never thought I would let myself cry after what happened to me all those years ago, but nothing was more tragic than this.

My life was filled with so much death and so much loss. Everything I touched found ruin as ifI was cursed.

I detected a figure walking up, stopping to stand beside me, copper waves blowing with the evening wind. The sun was just beginning to lower in the sky.

Lena held out her hand to me, and when I turned my head to her, I saw that she was holding Boots.

---