“He’s dead, that’s what I did to him. I made him regret stepping in front of us,” he stalks past me, petting Xena gently.
He lowers his head for a moment, regret flashing behind his eyes, but quickly disappears. Leading Myah closer, I stand before Silas, planting my feet. “I never asked you to do that. By acting out like that, you are no better than my father or yours. We need to stay focused, Silas,” I snap, my chest heaving with anger.
He cups my face, raising my chin toward his. Even with blood splattered on his face, he’s the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen. “Briar, I want to murder any man who even looks in your direction. If a man puts you in harm’s way, I will make no promises of my actions.”
My face moves toward his, our lips inches away from touching. “If you ever do that again without my say, without true need, we won’t be having this civil conversation. Understand? If you care for me, then you will respect my wishes. Enough people have died—we shouldn’t be the reason more deaths are happening.”
He nods, but no regret shows behind his eyes, “What scared you while I was gone?”
I glance back toward the black alley, where fog remains where the creature disappeared. I’m still unsure how to explain this thing, so keeping it a secret is best for now.
“You shifting away with that man so quickly is what startled me, Silas,” I lie, the deceit tasting bad on my lips.
He gives me a cautious look as if he doesn’t exactly believe my words, “We should get going. I don’t want another crazy person to come out of the alleys after us.”
We mount our horses and move on again once they have calmed down from the events. We ride in silence together, but one thought weighs heavily on my chest, and I need answers. “During the third trial, one of the twins told me that my father promised you things as an incentive to bring you all here. Daramveer has a terrible reputation, so I can’t imagine everyone would be eager to risk their lives competing for me.”
He remains quiet, pondering his following words, “Yes. That is correct. Your father asked us all what we wanted to sway our decisions to come to Daramveer. I, however, do not know what the others were promised. I only know what I asked for and was promised.”
The horses continue to move forward down the stone streets in perfect unison. “Well, what did you ask for?” I pry.
He grins softly, glancing around the town and doing a quick survey of our surroundings. “I asked your father to keep you safe, to promise me that nothing bad would happen to you. When he allowed you to enter this competition and fight alongside us, our promise was broken, and that’s when my allegiance to him died.”
My lips slightly part, my mind racing, “Out of everything you could have asked for, you asked for that? My safety?”
He nods, “Briar, I don’t need much in my life, but I need you to be safe, so I asked for the one thing I want more than anything.” He turns his head, searching all around us.
I’m in disbelief at this man, who is so utterly dedicated to me and willing to do whatever it takes to keep me safe. The houses around us are dim as many of the residents are settling down for the night. We continue through the town together in silence, and with Silas around, I know I’ll never be alone again.
The gates before us send a shiver down my spine. The black vines resemble hands reaching out to grab us, desperate to trap us inside once more. The guards hear us approaching and rushto open the gates with a loud creak. The hinges hardly budge, allowing us to enter through a narrow crack in the gate. They bow in our direction as we both nod in thanks. I tilt my head toward the old stables, signaling for Silas to follow. A stableman ties up Myah and Xena and greets us, assuring that they will be well cared for. Silas presses his face against the beast, sharing an unspoken bond between them.
“Don’t let a soul touch them, you understand. Exactly what I told you before still stands. I’ll be back when I can to see them.”
The young stableman quickly nods his head.
Maines meets us outside my bedroom, Oak nearby, eager to hear what happened. My room feels cold, but for once, I’m glad to enter my room without a roaring fire. After what I experienced in my father’s study, I could use a break from the flames. We gather around the sitting area, with Maines sticking close to Oak and Silas settling in behind me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. “When you’re ready, Briar.” They all angle their heads, waiting for me to begin.
“I’m a vessel for Kalix,” I start strong.
Maines jerks her hand back, and Oak’s jaw drops. “What the fuck!” Maines gasps.
Without seeing Silas’s face, I know he kept a calm composure.
“My father held these trials as a distraction—he’s completing the rituals to resurrect Kalix in hopes of bringing back a strong, uncontrollable dark magic.” I breathe, readying to continue, “He’s seeing who is the strongest, to see if they are a worthymatch—a vessel. These markings on my hands prove that I can handle that magic. I already have.” They all stare at me with wide eyes.
“The third trial awakened something in you, didn’t it?” Oak asks.
“I’ve known something was deep within me for a while now.”
They all remain quiet about my confession, but I have more. “My father killed my mother thinking she was the vessel for the Great Wiitch. She wasn’t strong enough, but he was willing to risk that.” Tears fall down my cheeks as the vision floods my memory.
Maines chimes in, “I found something more about the rituals. The fourth ritual must be completed on war grounds, something to mimic the Great Battle. Once the final ritual is complete, the stone is charged enough to raise someone of that caliber. All your father needs are a duel and a fire element.”
“Three against one, those are great odds,” Silas finally chimes in, his voice husky.
“You clearly don’t know my brother very well. He has tricks; he always has. I can only imagine what your father has given him to ensure that nothing goes wrong," defeat laces Maines’s words.
“Well, then we will do what we can to stop Thatcher from completing the last ritual before the finale,” Oak responds.
