“Confirms what?” I asked, shaken.
“You’re linked to this curse, one way or another,” Lily said. “Someone thinks so besides Silas. I think they’ve made it clear that they won’t stop until you’re dead. Or we all are.”
I couldn’t think of what to say to that. It didn’t seem like I could argue with her theory even if Iwanted to. The message in the sky, the dive-bombing magic, the threat of death…
“Stay here tonight,” Lily said. “It’s not safe for you out there, even with my potion.”
“I’ll take her home.” A voice sounded in the darkness, that low rumble of thunder that signaled the storm I’d come to know was looming.
Silas stepped out of the shadows, his arms crossed, his face rocky and unreadable.
“Silas, I—” I started.
“Alessia.” He said my name like a full sentence. “Come with me.”
I glanced toward Lily, but she looked away. I knew Silas was right. Lily was right, too. Whatever was happening had reached a new level of deadly—for me specifically.
Without another word, I set off behind Silas, trailing behind his storm.
Chapter 9
I could tell byhis pace, by the set of his broad shoulders, by the tension evident in his form—Silas was angry.
To his credit, he didn’t utter a word. He didn’t need to. I could feel his frustration trailing behind him like a deadly perfume.
“Silas—” I finally said.
“What were youthinking?” His voice, though quiet, contained a hidden roar. “Wandering about at night. You came to the wards with me. You saw what the curse did to Irina, to the siren. You should know better.”
“I couldn’t sleep,” I said. “I wanted to go for a walk. It’s not illegal.”
Silas shoved his hands into his pockets. We crossed over the bridge, and I glanced at the koi fish flitting by below. I’d bring up my concerns about my possibly-infected finned-friends later. I was on thin ice with Silas as it was, and I didn’t feel like adding fuel to the flames licking between us.
We didn’t speak again until we got home.
“You could have been kidnapped.” Silas paused once we were outside of Wisteria Cottage. He leaned his large figure against the massive stone wall that surrounded the exterior border of the property. “You could have been killed. Tortured. Touched by the curse.”
“I wasn’t,” I said.
“By the skin of your teeth,” he said. “And Lily’s quick thinking.”
I thought it better not to mention the bit about Hettie and The Twist.
“You don’t understand, do you?” Silas rose from the wall and turned so I was between him and the stones. One of his arms came out over my shoulder so that his massive figure caged me in. “You are our only hope. Why are you making it so difficult to protect you?”
“Silas,” I said gently, evenly, firmly. More serious than I had ever been in my entire life. “I’m not here to make things easy for you. I am not here to be your plaything or your game piece. I am here to make a difference.”
“Let me help you. I want to be there for you.”
“You can help me,” I said. “On my terms.”
Silas’s breath was minty, sharp. His scent was moonlight and pine. Dark and bright, all at once, tinged with nature. His eyes were deep pools staring into mine.
“I have been kept in a cage my entire life.” My jaw trembled as I whispered the truth I’d kept locked awayfor too long. “I will not be put back into one, no matter what.”
“Alessia,” he said, his voice clear water in a lulling stream—cool and shocking and sharp. “I am not locking you in a cage.”
“But—”
