His brows raised and a smug grin crossed his lips. Obviously excited to prove me wrong, he said, “But she does. And so do you.”
Yeah, that’s right, go ahead and smirk,I thought.I’m getting all the information I need out of you.
“No, we don’t,” I argued back. “I’m just a stupid omega, like you enjoy pointing out so much.”
“You are,” Silas said bluntly. “Nobody’s arguing that part.”
Asshole.
“But as much as I’d love to gut you where you stand, I cannot,” he muttered. “You’re much too valuable for that.”
My eyes widened. “Valuable? You and the Knights wanted me dead!”
Silas winced, realizing he’d probably said too much but it was too late to take it back. He crossed his arms. “WhileImight want you dead, others… others don’t have quite the same perspective.”
“And Angel?” I asked, anxious now. “Is shevaluable, too? Is that why we’re both still alive?”
He stood to leave. “If you must know, yes. And now that you’re aware, maybe you’ll keep your mouth shut, omega.”
“Wait!” I cried. My chains rattled as I reached for Silas’s sleeve, desperate for him to explain. “What does that mean?”
Silas grunted in disgust when I touched him, snatching his arm away. “Begone!”
“Please, Silas,” I begged, throwing away my pride.
He threw me backwards. The chains rattled as I fell against the wall, then he gave the lead a hard jerk to make me sit upright.
“Stop acting like that,” Silas demanded. “Show some respect, omega.”
I couldn’t speak. All the pain in my face flooded back after the impact with the wall, and it hurt more now than it did at first.
He’s not going to tell me,I realized with despair.He knows I’m trying to get the truth out of him now, and he’s withholding it from me on purpose.
My mind raced with dark thoughts. I didn’t even want to imagine what Silas wasn’t telling me.
My veins burned with mystic energy. My heart fluttered in excitement - my magic was slowly returning. I could attack Silas right now - hurt him, maybe kill him. Anything to escape.
But then what? Silas was just a lackey working for somebody else, and I had no information on that person. It was hopeless. I had the feeling they wouldn’t stop until they had me in their clutches. And by the sound of it, it wasn’tjustme - but Angel as well.
Anger flared in my chest. I wouldn’t let anyone get their hands on Angel just to use her as a tool for gods’ know what. I would protect her. I had to. Nobody else would.
But…
An idea made me pause. What if someone elsecouldprotect Angel? Not me, and definitely not Kass, but…
Cinderhollow had definitely changed in the past four hundred years, but I knew there must still be good people out there. Maybe people who wanted to raise a child. The idea was crazy, I knew that, but it could be the only chance I had.
I glanced at Angel, who had worn herself out by crying and was now sitting there red-eyed and tired. My heart clenched in sympathy.
She can’t stay here,I thought with an ache in my chest.I won’t let her fall into the hands of someone evil because I was too selfish to let her go.
The idea crystallized into a solid thought. My mind was quickly made up. I had to get Angel away from Silas, even if it meant leaving her inside Cinderhollow.
Without me.
The selfish, idealistic part of me wanted to stay by her. Protect her. But I knew realistically that wouldn’t work for very long. Silas would know I escaped, and I was the one they truly wanted - Angel was just a by-product of my kidnapping. If she disappeared, I doubt they’d spend the time and energy to look.
The thought of abandoning my child was agonizingly painful, but it was what I needed to do for her own protection.
