Page 19 of The Sins of Silas

Silas, Hendry, and Edmund were already up, loading the horses again, and I glanced over to see Roland open-mouth snoozing.

“He’s a heavy sleeper,” Edmund commented with a half-smile, his emerald-green eyes glinting with entertainment.

“And that’s saying a lot, coming from Edmund,” Hendry added, which earned him a playful nudge from the blond soldier.

I couldn’t help the smile curving on my lips.

I think I’m growing to like those two.

Silas refused to look in my direction, and what I now called his signature scowl was plastered on his face.

Did my death really take away that sweet, playful man? Was he always this somber?

I sighed, feeling pain in my chest at the thought. I strode over to Roland, peering down at the slumbering man. His brown hair was tousled, and his face was relaxed. Despite his jaw hanging open, he looked…stupidly cute.

I nudged him with my foot. “Wake up, sleepy head,” I crooned.

He winced, swatting me away. “Just…a few minutes,” he grumbled.

“I don’t think so.” I nudged him harder. “Up.”

He cracked an eye open, then gave me a devious smirk. “You look especially sexy from this angle, Ginger Snap.”

My eyes constricted, and I placed my boot on his chest, causing him to let out an ‘oof.’

“You look especiallyunsexywith drool on your face.”

He narrowed his eyes, his smile growing, and replied, “How can I not have drool on my face when I’m picturing you sitting on it?”

My eyes flared, and I withdrew my foot before swiftly kicking him in his side. He let out a grunt, then busted out laughing.

I groaned and turned away, pulling my lips to the side to try and conceal my grin.

What a character.

As I was striding away, Silas hollered to Roland, “Get off your ass and quit behaving like a child!”

Roland rolled his eyes and stood, gathering up his bedroll. “You’re no fun, Silas,” he muttered.

Once we were all packed, with stacks of fresh-cut wood secured to our horses, we mounted our rides and started the trek through Half-Life Pass. Merrick demanded that Viola ride on Hendry’s horse with him and promised he’d be fine walking. They compromised by Viola insisting she’d shift during the latter half of the day so Merrick could rest. The Pass was too bumpy and uneven to ride quickly, so it wasn’t like Merrick walking would slow our pace.

The opening between the two large mountains was thin, and I could tell by Elowen’s shaking that the healer was nervous. Edmund’s vine-like thumb stroked her leg, and she leaned into him.

I found myself marveling at the narrow passageway. The sedimentary was a medley of colors: rust, browns, violets, and silvers, the ripples having their own distinctive hues. It amazed me that the Gods and Goddesses had such an eye for beauty and were so imaginative with their creations.

My thoughts flicked to the Half-Lives, the creatures that supposedly resided here. They were one of the many beings that hadgone extinct, spiritual beings that could travel between our world and that of the Gods. Some said they were messengers of Ravaiana, while others believed they were Valor’s subjects, slaves of the Underworld.

Who really knew? So much of our history had been wiped out when Solen La’Rune, Silas’s great-great-grandfather, had our mystic temples raided and shut down. When the banishments and prejudices really began. Even the books Igon had were but a fraction of our legacy.

I sighed at the state of our world. If Oquerene really was real, I wondered if any Half-Lives happened to survive and resided there.

Four hours later…

“Do we have enough gold for me to get my own horse, Your Highness?” I pinched Roland’s thigh, and he hissed.

“C’mon, riding with me isn’t so bad,” he purred into my ear. He rolled his hips into my backside, subtly enough no one would notice but not so subtly that it had my toes curling.

He had been doing this for nearly the entirety of our trek. It was driving me wild…and not particularly in a bad way. Roland had this way of bringing light to dark situations.

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