Page 272 of The Sins of Silas

I wasn’t sure we’d ever escape. And as the days passed—as we grew closer, I couldn’t deny my feelings for her any longer. Nor could she.

But when we finally were released, after so much time with one another, she grew cold, distant. I knew she felt guilt for it, not knowing the Prince had already betrayed their marriage first.

She crossed her arms and turned to face the sea once more. “You are all the same,” she muttered.

I paused, then placed my hand on the small of her back. “You were unfaithful just as I was,” I said quietly. “You can’t help who you fall in love with, even if it’s wrong. Even if you can’t have them.”

“I amnotin love with you,” she seethed.

In moments like these, I was grateful for my gift.

“I know when you are lying, Erabella,” I uttered softly into her ear from behind.

She slowly turned around and hesitated before pushing me hard. I stumbled back, and she cried as she pushed me again. I didn’t stop her as she started punching my chest over and over, sobbing as she did so.

After repeatedly hitting me, eventually, she broke down in tears, and I pulled her close. She wept in my arms, and I ran my hand along her back in a soothing motion.

“You aren’t in love withme,” she cried into my chest.

“Yes, yes, I am,” I assured her, and I kissed the top of her head. “I ended things with Viola just before the ball.”

She sniffed, her head shooting up to me. “You did?”

I nodded. She leaned her head back further, her ochre eyes bouncing between my darkened ones. Her lip trembled. “Why?”

My brows furrowed. “What do you mean, why? It’s you I love.” I slid my hand into her hair, and her face crumpled. “It’s you I want,” I whispered. “You must know that.”

“If you loved me,” her voice broke, “you would have told me. Do you know how humiliating that was for me? Do you have any idea?”

I knew my eyes were still darkened. “I knowexactlyhow you feel, Era. That’s why it fucking kills me. It kills me that I made this mistake.” I kissed the top of her head again, holding my lips there for a moment. “I was worried I’d hurt you more than help. But it’s no excuse. I should have told you.”

“When you found me when I left the ball, when I had finally noticed something going on between Silas and Lena, you still didn’t tell me.”

I stroked her back. “I thought that maybe you’d be happy he was fancying her…because it meant you could be with me.”

She shook in my grasp. “You lied to me for Lena.”

I frowned, pulling away to read Era better. Her tearful brown eyes seared into mine.

Jealousy.

“I love Lena, Era. I do.”

A sneer overcame her, and she went to turn away when I grasped her arms fully.

“But my feelings for her, platonic as they are, do not evencompareto what I feel for you. Not even close.”

“You chose her, just as Silas did. You can say the sweetest things, but at the end of the day, your actions showed me exactly how you feel about me.” She tugged her arms away, but still, I held her tight. “Now let me go,” she snarled.

“Name what I can do to regain your trust, and I will do it. Yell at me, hit me, do what you wish with me. But donotshut me out.” My hands slid down to hers, gripping her wrists tightly. “Ask me anything, and you will know if it’s the truth. I showed you that power in the Valley. I've never shownanyoneI can do that.”

“Let me go!” she cried.

“No! Don’t shut me out again!” My voice broke. “Please, Era. We don’t have to hide what we have anymore if we don’t wish to. Don’t go.”

I hated the emotion I felt from her. Though I knew she loved me, one other feeling was undeniable…so strong that it overpowered them all.

Resentment.

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