Page 213 of The Sins of Silas

Dani swallowed, pupilless eyes wide with dread. “The Undead have overtaken Wrendier.”

Chapter Fifty-Nine

SILAS

“Fucking hell,” Merrick muttered, pulling at his hair, releasing a dry laugh. “We really just can’t catch a break.”

“The good thing is we don’t have to travel through their kingdom to reach the shore. We'll avoid them and head to Lena's destination,” Hendry responded, squinting at the map he withdrew from his bag. “Though we’ll be close to the outer edges. We could be spotted.”

“How are we to get over that large ass body of water?” Roland asked, crossing his arms.

“Me,” Dani stated, flipping her blue hair over her shoulder as she sat in our circle. “I can shift into a sea dragon—one big enough for you all to join the ride.”

“A sea dragon?!” Edmund’s green eyes bulged. “Does such a thing exist?”

Dani grinned at him. “In ancient Warlock lore, there are illustrations of sea dragons—history of them existing at one point or another. They may be extinct now, but that passage is enough for me to be able to shift into one.”

“Won’t that be a lot on you?” Viola asked tenderly, sitting beside her on the ground.

The Warlock’s cobalt eyes shifted to hers, and she gave her a small smile. “It will be. I’ll need a lot of rest afterward.” Her smile turned lazy. “You may need to carry me after we arrive.”

Viola laughed through her nose, bashfully glancing away.

“If you all could use your forcefields on Dani’s back, so long as we swim away fast enough, we should be able to get away without a scratch,” I said, taking the map from Hendry’s grasp. “Immeron said he wasn’t sure we humans would be accepted.” I tilted my head up, an eyebrow raised as I studied Lena through my lashes. “What’s our plan if that occurs?”

She held my gaze, looking at me as if I were an outsider or something.

Something was different. Off.

“Two of us can stay behind if you’re not allowed in,” she proposed. “Viola, you should probably be one of them in case they need to make an escape.”

“I can stay back, too,” Merrick offered.

“You don't wish to see your people?” Era asked him, tucking her blond hair back. “You don’t want to go?”

The corner of his lip turned up. “I do,” he said softly. “But you guys will need any protection you can get.”

“See, I knew Merrick cared,” Edmund crooned, wrapping his arm around the Empath and squeezing tight.

A slight flush crept up his cheeks at my friend's nearness. Merrick shot him a nasty scowl, shrugging him off.

Elowen giggled. “I love seeing you guys get along.”

"That's getting along to you?" Merrick mumbled.

Elowen stuck out her tongue at him just as I said, "Merrick, can I talk to you? Privately?"

The Empath frowned but offered me a quick, “Sure."

He stood, and the two of us went to speak in private. Merrick asked no questions, so I could only assume he was aware of what was wrong.

Finding a room on one of the lower levels—a storage room holding various religious artifacts—I attempted to shut the door behind us when a foot prevented me from doing so.

My eyes flitted up to meet Torrin's. “I think you'll want me here,” Torrin said, and Merrick sighed.

What does that mean?

I glared at him, allowing him entry, and upon shutting the door, I began to speak. “What is going on with Lena?”

---