Page 24 of The Sins of Silas

My brows drew together.

She continued, “That is where we are heading. It is past the southern coast. Immeron believes more of my kind live there.Apparently, a ward has been placed on the island so humans cannot see it.”

As she began walking away from the fire and our sleeping friends, I stood, striding to her and gripping her elbow.

“Why tell me now?” I asked breathlessly.

She turned, and I held my breath at the sight of her doll-like eyes looking up at me. “Because I trust you.” She shrugged. “And you deserve to know.”

My eyes bounced between hers. “Thank you,” I murmured.

She gave me a small smile, and I gripped her arm tighter as she went to roam away again.

“Where are you going?” I demanded.

She heaved a sigh, then chewed on her lip. “I was just going to pace around,” she finally answered. “I…I’m struggling to calm my mind.”

I knew that feeling very well. Still, I asked. “Why?”

She blinked over and over, and the shine that began in her eyes let me know she was holding back tears.

“I had never killed anyone before,” she whispered. “Today was my first. Well, besides the Undead…” Her shoulders slumped, her eyes falling to the ground before finding mine again. “Was it hard for you? The first time?”

I swallowed, the sound of her sweet voice doing things to me that I’d rather ignore. I thought back to my first kills—the men at Amethyst Pond.

I felt shame…but it mainly stemmed from my fear of what Lena would think about me. I didn’t care about their lives, not after they threatened to rape her, a teenage girl at the time, right in front of me.

“Think of those you love, those you wish to protect…and feel no remorse when you kill those who threaten them,” I answered. “I never felt bad when that was my reasoning for ending a life.”

The way she was looking at me…it was like she could see through all the bullshit. “I know that’s not true,” she said quietly. “I can see it in your eyes.”

I clenched my jaw, and instead of entertaining this conversation, I said, “The Weapon is said to be that of a magic no one has ever seen. Magic to stop all magic…or stop all of humanity. Whoever finds it—hones it—will dictate the fate of the entire world. Ulric wishes to keep it out of the necromancer's hands.”

She let out a small gasp and stepped closer to me. My lips parted slightly, my grip on her arm loosening at her proximity.

“Who told you of such a thing?” she asked mutedly.

I did my best to keep my expression neutral, but the quickening of my breathing probably gave away that I didn’t want to say it. “We captured a seer years ago. Tortured the information out of him.”

Her frown deepened, and I made sure to keep my face void of emotion. “How do you know it wasn’t a lie?” she asked.

I licked my lips, then sighed. “We had also captured the seer's daughter. Only upon watching us torture her, us only agreeing to stop once we had answers, did he finally give up everything. He told us the Weapon was in Ames, but if your seer had seen it coming, perhaps he moved it.”

There was a moment of silence. “What were their names?”

I gave her a pained expression, slightly ashamed as I admitted, “I don’t remember.”

She sucked in her lips, shaking her head. “Did you set his daughter free afterward?” she asked, but I could tell she already knew the answer.

I released her arm. “My father had the man’s daughter killed in front of him,” I responded grimly, then turned to walk away from her. I didn’t wish to see the disgust on her face.

But it was she who gripped my arm now, walking around to face me again.

“You are not your father, Silas,” she hissed, her voice soft enough that no one could hear if they happened to be awake.

I studied her, my face falling. Only for a minute would I let her see through. “I am hardly better,” I replied quietly.

I wanted to hold her…not that I deserved it. I wanted to loosen the tie securing her braid and run my fingers through her hair. I wanted to feel hers running through mine.

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