I nod. “We need to leave.”
“I should change. As delicious as your blood smells, I don’t think the castle staff would appreciate me tracking it in.” He smiles.
I head for the door as he slips his clothes off, and I hear them slap to the floor with a wet thud. Before I cross the threshold, I turn back to his shirtless body.
“Silas,” I call out.
“Yeah?”
“Did you hear everything Kalix said to me?”
“No.” He gives me a puzzled look. “I could only feel and see you.”
I offer a gentle smile and open the door to leave.
“Why? What did she say?” he asks, concerned.
I open my mouth to speak, but Maines calls from down the hallway, “We need to leave, now.”
“Go ahead. I’m right behind you.” Silas slips into a fresh black shirt, fastening a dagger across his broad chest. “You can tell me later. Malachi won’t wait.”
Every step down the hallway echoes in my chest, but I don’t have time to panic right now. I need to concentrate on my meeting with Malachi, but I can’t.
Silas doesn’t know what he is.
My tether.
Chapter 17
We all shift into Silas's bedroom in the castle. Once everyone arrives, we stand together in silence for a moment. Fenmore still hasn’t returned, so I can only hope she has been with Hux, preparing Malachi for my arrival. My shoulder continues to throb, which Larkin assured me is normal and will persist for a few days until it truly heals. The looming dark walls of Silas’s room feel suffocating.
“You will meet him in his study. It’s near the Great Hall, down a small, hidden hallway.” Silas goes over our plans. “I will enter the room with you, but take my leave shortly after. Larkin and I will be outside the doors. Warrick, I would like you to stay back with Oak and Maines.”
Warrick nods, accepting his orders. “Say the word, and I’m here to help.”
“What?” Oak chimes in.
“I thought you might be upset,” Silas says, treading lightly. “Neither of you has the Rigil's protection, so it’s not safe. With what’s coming in a few days, I believe we should get Rose off theship and settled at my house. She can stay there. It’s the safest option for what’s ahead, since it’s warded.”
Oak steps forward to protest, but Maines grabs his arm. “He’s right. We need to help where we can, Oak. Briar can do this, and we aren’t protected. As a healer, I know messing with this sort of stuff is serious. This isn’t something I’ll argue with.”
“Take care of Rose,” I say, as I quickly hug Maines. “We will be back at the house as soon as we can.”
Oak huffs as we exit the room, but we push forward on a strict schedule as we enter the spacious hallway. The flickering candlelight illuminates our presence, causing shadows to dance all around us.
I lead the way.
My black dress flows behind me, like a dark river of madness. The snakes coil around my neck, and my steps echo against the smooth floor. Silas and Larkin walk closely behind me, their large bodies towering over mine.
Silas’s shadows compete with those in the hallway, growing larger as he focuses and channels all the magic he can. Larkin falls silent, and a steady stream of bright energy radiates from his body.
Together, we are a storm—a surge of darkness and light—working in perfect harmony.
Nearing the Great Hall, Silas points to a barely noticeable entrance leading to a dark hallway. Old paintings of past rulers of Andorwood line the hallways. The men are all graced with black hair and the same piercing green eyes that Silas harbors, clearly from his mother’s side. A dense fog rolls over the floors, sending a chill up my spine. I look at Silas, his face hard as stone, but he gives me a reassuring nod.
The hallway ends with a single door on the back wall. A tall glass window extends high up to the ceiling, and intricate metalis implanted in the glass, twisting chaotically, causing the bright moonlight to shine like madness on the floor.
My senses perk up even more, expecting to see a serpent embedded in the door. Instead, before us is a door with detailed wood carvings and a single painted crow with eyes as soulless as the man behind the door. Silas leans over me to bring his fist down against it, but just before he can, we hear, “Come in.”
