“There’s a lot of lore to this place.” My fingers played on the dusty ground next to me. Almost ashy, it looked like.
Silas reached out, extended a hand toward me. I studied him for a moment, then understood what he was suggesting. I took his hand, placed it over my chest so he could feel the pounding of my heart underneath.
“Afraid of heights?” Silas left his hand to linger a beat longer than needed before withdrawing it.
“I’m not sure that’s it.” I swallowed hard.
Silas glanced over at me, not moving his leg away from mine—either on purpose or on accident. “I’m not usingyou as a pawn. I need you to know that. Yes, you’re here for a reason, but that’s not all you are to me.”
“It’s fine if you are,” I said. “Just so long as we’re honest about it.”
“I’m telling you: I’mnot.”
“Okay.” Then, because I didn’t feel comfortable with this topic, I switched it. “Why are we keeping this business about you being a Hunter a secret?”
Silas licked his lips, looked down. “There are some old laws that remain in existence, either for a good reason or because they’ve been long forgotten about, on our island. One such law originates from the years after the courts fell, and it’s that Hunters can be killed on sight.”
“Well, that’s a pretty good reason to keep your genetic makeup a secret,” I said, thinking I was playing this life-or-death declaration very cool indeed. “That seems harsh.”
“It’s not harsh enough.” Silas gave a single, swift shake of his head. “Not harsh enough for what we did.”
“It was millennia ago.” I rested a hand on his wrist. “Surely, you don’t blame yourself for the slaughter of the Fae Queens?”
“It runs in my blood,” he said. “The blood my ancestors spilled.”
“I don’t believe all Hunters are bad,” I said. “I can’t believe it. That’s like saying all humans are bad because a small percentage of them are terrorists.”
“Aren’t all humans bad, at least in some small way?”
I considered this, then answered honestly, “I don’t know.”
“It’s like that, but stronger for paranormals,” Silas said. “There are certain traits and characteristics that run from species to species. Vampires struggle with bloodlust. Elves are generally fair and honest, yet they’re easily tempted by pretty things. Hunters are killers by nature.”
“Apparently some vampires can control the bloodlust,” I told Silas. At his curious look, I said, “I met Poppy today. She asked if I could help with her heartburn.”
“Ah, Poppy. She’s a unicorn among vampires. But even those vampires who control their bloodlust successfully, at one point, it was a battle. I don’t know a single vampire who would deny that.”
My hand was still on Silas’s wrist. I barely remembered putting it there.
“For what it’s worth,” I said, “I trust you. I’m not afraid of you.”
“You should be,” Silas muttered. “More than you even know.”
“I’m not. I believe in good. I believe in second chances. I believe in you.”
Silas opened his mouth as if to reply, then he snapped it shut. He merely looked out as the sun tiptoed down to the water’s edge, playing peekaboo with its sparkling surface.
“I hope you know how incredible you are,” Silas said gruffly. “Simon didn’t deserve you. He didn’t see your goodness.”
“Don’t say things like that.” I withdrew my hand from his. “It’s not part of our arrangement, and it makes me think you care.”
“I do care.”
“You shouldn’t,” I told him. “What if I don’t stay here?”
“Where else would you go?” Silas looked like he really had no clue.
“Home. Where I’ve beenall my life.”
