I open my mouth to speak, but a voice from down the table echoes instead.
“How dare you?” Maines snaps from her seat. “She is the queen—an equal to you, in case you forgot—so, I would show her some respect.”
Malachi laughs. “You are all such fools. I suggest you not get comfortable in Andorwood.”
“Why is that?” Maines barks back.
“I’ll have the ship ready for your departure in two days.”
“You won’t even give us a chance?” I interject, coolly. “Meet with me privately. Let’s discuss this like leaders. Your actions are making you seem like a child."
Anxiety twists in my guts, and I fear my luck is running out.
“A child? I’m protecting my people from you. Look at you.” His gaze burns through me. “The dress you wear is as crimson as the blood on your filthy, stained hands,” Malachi claps back.
Silas slams his fists onto the table and stands with force.
“Enough!”
The table shakes with force, and shadows gather on his back like a towering tidal wave. A breeze flows through the room, casting a chill over all of us, and I swear for a moment his eyes glow green.
“I refuse to sit here and listen to you speak to her that way,” he steethes. “You are the only fool here, Malachi, and if you won’t join us, then we’ll watch Andorwood burn to the ground along with the rest of this world.” Silas’s eyes darken, and the room pulses with his anger. “Have the fucking ship prepared. We will leave.”
He cuts his furious eyes to mine and grabs my hand, pulling me to stand with him.
Oak and Maines stand with us, leaving Warrick, Fen, and Larkin seated at the table, unmoving. Silas turns his back, and we move across the hard, smooth stone. With each step toward the door, I feel our chance slipping away.
I feel our future is turning to ruin, just like the nightmares that have haunted me.
“She will destroy you, son.” Malachi stands at our departure. “You are bound to her, and she will be your downfall. Briar will drag you to the darkest realm,” he yells.
Silas throws an uncaring look over his shoulder, and rips open the wide doors.
“Then let her destroy me. Let her fucking ruin me. I’d happily allow Briar to be the reason I crumble," Silas fumes. “Because life without her, I fear, would be darker than any fate I can imagine.”
My eyes stay locked on his, and I watch jade flames blaze in his irises, an unimaginable anger directed toward his father.
The four of us exit the Great Hall, and Malachi’s words hang heavy on my shoulders.
“Fucking idiot,” Silas mumbles under his breath as he charges toward our rooms, up the massive staircase.
“Are we really leaving?” Maines calls from behind us. “Without even trying?”
“After that, I’d be surprised if he spoke to us again at all,” Oak replies.
Silas’s grip remains tight on my hand, like he can’t bear to be distanced from me, or he’s fearful I’ll somehow slip away. Neither of us replies to Maines and Oak’s questions as we round the final corner before our rooms. I can feel the fury leaking off Silas’s body, and between steps, I trace my thumb against his hand in a desperate attempt to calm him. I’m not sure how, but his thoughts and emotions swirl inside my own mind like an irate sea.
Hate.
That’s all I can feel.
Silas strides to his door, waving his hand before the golden snake’s. The black jeweled eyes turn in his presence, and the door unlocks with a loud click.
“Get inside,” he demands.
Oak pushes past Silas, eagerness propelling him forward, and enters the onyx-filled room. “Don’t have to tell me twice.”
The large bedroom before us exudes dark elegance, evoking both ominous and regal vibes—a space perfectly curated for the Prince of Darkness.
