“I do.” I pause, letting my words sink in.
Silas nods, absorbing the information.
“Do you trust Hux?”
My question surprises him, and he sits up straighter, “I do.”
“Even though he’s close with Malachi?”
“Yes,” he says, and tilts his head, aware that I’m going somewhere.
“I don’t think we should trust him, Silas,” I blurt out, and crinkle my nose. “Yara saw him speaking with Malachi in private about all of this.”
“He’s been with me for many years, Briar, even though he tends to keep to himself. Hux typically knows everything, which is why I keep him close,” Silas explains. “But, if you think something is wrong, I will talk to Warrick and Larkin to get their thoughts.”
I nod, but keep a stern look toward him. His face remains firm. He doesn’t like this one bit, and I know it. His eyes hold patience, but I know his mind is racing.
“Go ahead and tell me the other piece,” he insists. “I know there is more that you are withholding. There is something that you aren’t telling me regarding us, isn’t there?”
I fidget for a moment and can’t help but touch my shoulder. The throbbing tattoo responds to the graze, causing me to flinch. “I should have mentioned this to you earlier, but everything unfolded so quickly, and you were upset with me.”
He leans in closer and ponders for a second. "This happened when you saw Kalix. During the tattoo?”
I nod, momentarily speechless. I open my mouth, but the words come from Silas’s lips, not mine.
“She taunts you, doesn’t she?” Silas doesn’t break his stare. “Even when I can’t feel it.”
I nod, and my stomach churns.
“Always.”
I glance at my hands, and the dark veins appear even darker against the night.
“Let me help you carry this burden,” he whispers. “Let me help you.”
I gaze into his eyes, letting the green of his irises feel like they are bleeding into mine. Silas can help me, and it’s time I let him.
“She told me something.”
“About?”
“Us,” I mutter.
“She told you what connects us.” His brows tighten. “Didn’t she?”
Tears well in my eyes and sit heavy on my lower eyelids.
I nod again.
Silas exhales and glances back at the night sky for a moment. He traces his fingers through mine as he holds onto me and this silent moment. As badly as he wants to know this information, I can sense the hesitation as clear as the cool breeze around us.
“I knew it. You were different after that, and I feared it had something to do with me. With us.”
“Everything has been so fucked up,” I say.
“Then, let’s change that.”
“I’m scared that this knowledge is the reason everything could change,” I mutter.
