Page 48 of Her Ivory Flame

“Yeah, and what about you?” she mumbled. “I don’t know anything about you so maybe I should keep you at arm’s length as well.”

“That would probably be the smartest thing you’ve said all day,” he growled and pushed himself off the table and headed towards the bathroom.

She groaned in frustration and walked back into her bedchamber to grab a book from its shelf. Silas would be back shortly and she wanted to make sure she had an excuse to avoid him.

Once they had gotten to training, it was like Kaden’s personality did a complete flip and was aggressive the rest of the day. Shehad thought the quiet moment this morning might have been a turning point for them, but that got proven wrong as soon as training started.

The bathroom door opened at the same moment she rounded the corner, their eyes meeting and something vibrated through the room. Neither of them made an effort to keep moving, both planted where they stood and they just stared at each other.

His face was dirty with mud from training, his hair had strands pulled out of the ponytail and his eyes were lighter than normal.

She realized she had never really studied him other than the first time then had met over a month ago and to her surprise, she liked what she saw even more. She felt a faint stir in her stomach, that random pull she would feel sometimes but she just focused on his eyes.

The entrance door opened and they both snapped their eyes to Silas walking in through the door, paper in hand. His eyes glance between her and Kaden, his brow raising at the tension between them.

“This is for you.” He gestured the paper towards Kaden.

She watched him leave the doorway of the bathroom and yank the paper from Silas’s grip, his hand frantically unfolding the document. She watched his eyes furrow and then glanced up at Silas with frustration.

“You did this?” He snarled.

“No. It was given to me at the end of my shift.” Silas shrugged and then looked back at her.

She glared at him while crossing her arms, her eyes darting from his and found Kaden staring at her with an odd expression. Curiosity got the best of her, his face forming into a slight smirk before disappearing.

“What is it?” She asked hesitantly.

“Emris is sending Silas to the border for assistance.” Kaden said bluntly.

She let out a long breath of relief and saw Silas’s shoulder drop in disappointment at her reaction. She would rather him gone than Kaden at this point, but she realized that meant she would get someone new to stay with her in the evenings.

“Who is taking your shift?” she hissed.

“That’s the first thing you have to ask?” Silas scoffed.

“What would you prefer me to ask?”

“How about asking me to stay.” Silas’s tone was angry, his eyes staring at her with intensity that made her uncomfortable.

“Emris ordered it,” she started. “Plus, I think it's best if you and I have some time apart.”

Silas looked to Kaden who was still glancing between them, no doubt accessing the situation for any warning signs.

“Apart?” Silas asked. “We have spent almost an entire century apart and after only a month together you are tired of me?”

“I think you made it very clear you were tired of me when you fucked other girls,” she snapped.

She could tell the physical blow her words landed on him, his body slightly twitching and she could see his muscle start to tense around his shoulders.

Before she could react, Silas was moving towards her and she was suddenly pinned against the wall. One of his hands was cupping the back of her neck and the other holding her waist painfully tight.

“Don’t you think for a second I ever got tired of your body,” he whispered with anger.

She kept her face calm but she could feel panic start to rise in her, the touch of his hands making her nauseous. Her eyes narrowed on him and watched a knife appear at the base of his throat from behind.

“Get you fucking hands off her.” Kaden’s feral voice drifted from behind and she saw Silas’s eyes darken.

“You think I would hurt her?” Silas growled.