Page 28 of The Sins of Silas

“So, you two are together?”

“What’s it to you?”

She narrowed her eyes. “You make it so hard to be nice to you.” She turned her attention back to her target and groaned when her arrow missed again. And again. “I don’t see why Silas can’t show me how to fight,” she muttered to herself.

“Why hasn’t he before?” I asked. It did seem odd…but at the same time, princesses usually weren’t the ones fighting.

“I tried to get him to. He took no interest in it. I don’t get it…”

I felt her hurt and shook it away.

“Yeah, I don’t either, but we’re both stuck, so quit whining like a baby.”

She glared at me. “You’re so kind, Merrick.”

My lip crept upward. “Again,” I ordered, nodding toward the target.

She sighed, shot another, and missed—though this one was closer than the last.

“How does your magic work, anyway?” she inquired, still not too annoyed with me to stop our conversation.

“Pretty sure you asked me that a couple of nights ago, Princess.”

She rolled her eyes as she bent over, grasping the arrows. My eyes trailed over her ass like a total creep, and I quickly looked away. “I asked about your gift. Not magic itself,” she continued once back at my side.

“We’re born with it, yes, but it doesn’t surface until we are old enough to manage it, usually.” I tilted my head downwards at her and frowned. “Shoot the target.”

Era sighed in defeat, shakily aiming the bow at the target. She pulled back the string and, upon release, groaned as her arrow completely missed yet again.

“How old were you when you got it?”

“I was eight.”

Why was she asking so many questions? Does she even care about improving her skills?

She released another arrow. Miss.

“That’s old enough to handle magic?” she asked in surprise.

I shrugged. “It seems so.”

“So, you could just wield ice and fire and all of those things suddenly?”

I shook my head. “No…elemental magic—ice, fire, electricity—those come later in life, if at all.” I adjusted her grip on the bow, then continued after she missed another shot. “That type of magic is tied to our emotions. Typically, intense emotions like those aren’t experienced until one is older. I can’t wield fire or electricity. Just the ice.”

She let out a gentle hum as she retrieved the arrows.

“So, what kind of magic did you have then? The non-elemental,” she asked once beside me again, drawing the weapon.

“Healing. Forcefields. Enchantment.” I bent down beside her, holding her waist with one hand and moving her foot with the other. “You’re standing wrong,” I murmured. “Your feet should be parallel to your shooting direction.”

She sucked in a breath, and her eyes darted down to me, following me as I stood. The corner of my lip raised.

“What?” she asked.

“So many questions.”

She lifted her brows. “Is that a bad thing?”

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