Page 186 of The Sins of Silas

He raised his joint at me in silent offering. I declined but continued studying his face, noting his hand nervously drumming along the rooftop.

I blinked. “You know something.” I sat up. “Tell me.”

His icy blue eyes shot to mine as he stubbed the herb out on the roof. “It’s not my place to tell you things from her past. That’s for her to do.”

My brows drew together. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Merrick went to dismiss me again, and I roughly gripped the front of his shirt, pressing him into the roof.

“Let me the fuck go!” he seethed.

My eyes burned into his. “If Lena is hurt, I need to know.”

The Empath’s eyes swirled dark as he studied me.

“You feel what I feel?” I hissed. “Then you should know how desperately I need to know that she’s okay. She completely shut me out, and I need to know why.”

Merrick’s jaw ticked, and he sighed in defeat. I released his shirt and waited patiently as he found the words.

He sat up, running a hand through his long, silver hair before resting his elbows on his knees. “I…I don’t know anything about what happened. Lena just said she didn’t want to talk about it. But I imagine it has something to do with Torrin.”

“You think Torrin hurt her?”

Merrick shook his head. “Hurt her when he left? Yeah, for sure. But the two of them…they…”

My shoulders slumped, and I felt my blood boiling beneath my skin. “They’ve slept together?”

Merrick loosened another sigh. “Lena never told me if anything ever happened between them, but I could always feel how much my cousin loved her. And the day we found out he’d left, Lena was devastated, even if she masked it to everyone else.”

I was going to kill him. I was going to stab that bastard for taking her away, for touching her.

Sensing my homicidal feelings, Merrick sternly said, “Torrin would never intentionally hurt Lena, Silas.”

“He took her from me!” I yelled, then frantically looked around to see if anyone had heard me. Citizens walking down below scowled at me, and I winced.

Calming myself down, I repeated quietly, “He took her from me, and now you’re saying he brought her to his bed, too?”

“I don’t know if it ever got to that point. But he has always been there for her. He taught her to control her magic. He held her, burning himself as he calmed her fire the night she got it.”

I was seeing red. I had noticed the burns on his hand. “He was there comforting her, helping her, as she was losingourchild…” I curled my lip. “What a great man he is.”

“Your father is the one who caused Lena to flee Otacia, not Torrin.”

I had heard all I needed to.

“Make me some new steps, please. I need…I need to go think.”

Merrick studied me, then raised his hand again, allowing me to leave.

When Lena, Dani, and Torrin returned two evenings later, I did my best to stay composed until I could speak to Torrin in private. Lena had that sparkle back in her eyes, seemingly doing better, as she handed Merrick a crossbow. Apparently, Immeron was working on a new design and decided to gift it to the Empath.

Torrin seemed winded, and it became obvious that he was the one who performed the spell to bring them all back.

I kept a tasteful distance as I followed him to his room that evening. When he entered, I shoved open his door before he had the chance to close it. Torrin backed away, brows lowering as I slammed it shut behind me, the room rattling from the force.

I raised my sword, pointing it at him, his eyes broadening. “So, it wasn’t enough to steal the love of my life away from me, but you brought her into your bed as well?”

At the sight of his throat bobbing, I lunged for him. Torrin lifted his palms, holding them out, and the forcefield he projected slammed me back into a dresser.

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