Silas grabs me, wrapping both arms tightly around my body. “Please, just take a breath. Let me help.”
His words swirl in my mind, but they don’t calm the panic. Instead, another emotion begins to bubble up in my chest, and I cut my gaze to his. Silas’s face is warped with concern, and I realize what else is driving me right now.
Anger.
The dam within me breaks, sending my emotions crashing out like charging horses on a battlefield.
“You,” I snap, pushing him away.
Silas stumbles backward from my unexpected force.
“You haven’t explained anything. You have been distant and scared.” I point my finger in his face. “How do you expect we win this war if you can’t let me in or stand up to your fucking father?”
“Briar, stop.” Silas steps closer, trying to reach for my hand. “You’re upset.”
“No.” I jerk my hand back. “I have every right to ask questions and to be upset. You don’t get to tell me when to stop.” Tears fall from my eyes as I look at him, my gaze hardening. “You don’t get to tell me how to feel.”
Silas tries to pull me into an embrace once more, but I recoil—desperate for space and distance. For the first time in so long, I need him away from me. It’s as if I can smell the deceit radiating off him.
I narrow my eyes. “Get out.”
Silas freezes and grows pale.
“Go,” my voice rumbles.
"Do not push me away right now. Please.”
I point toward the door. "Since we arrived, all you’ve done is push me away.”
“That isn’t true.”
I narrow my gaze, letting the anger out into the room around us, my shadows pulsing in the flickering candlelight.
“Briar,” Silas repeats. “That isn’t true.”
“You didn’t warn me about your father.”
“I thought I was protecting you.”
He tries to take a step forward, and I push against his chest, shoving him backward.
“Get the fuck away from me.”
His shoulders fall, and for a moment, I swear I hear his chest crack.
“My love.”
“Get. The. Fuck. Out. Silas.”
He lowers his eyes, as if he can’t bring himself to look at me.
“I’ll have Maines bring you some new clothes.” He steps away, reaching for the door, and glances over his shoulder.“Briar, I’ll explain everything. I know I owe you that. Just…let me know when you’re ready.Please.”
I glare at him.
“I’m so fucking sorry,” he whispers, then shifts, shadows swirling around him as he melts into the mist.
The silent room feels deafening. I avoid the crimson dress pooled on the floor next to me and gaze into the mirror.
