Page 177 of Bitten & Burned

After a moment, he said, “Then I’m going with you.”

I shook my head. “You can’t,” I said gently. “Not once the sun rises.”

“Meet him at night.”

I tilted my head knowingly. “Do you really think he’ll let me waltz in with a vampire? If I ask for a night meeting, he’ll know.”

Vael leaned forward, his tone low and deliberate. “Rowena, listen to me. Every word in those letters was written to draw you nearer. That’s all a meeting would be—a continuation of his control. You won’t find closure in his presence. You’ll only give him the satisfaction of seeing you come when he calls.”

“So what do I do, then?” I asked. “What do I do? How do I—gods! How do I move past this if I don’t talk to him? I want to hear him say it,” I gritted out, my teeth clenched in anger.

Quil cursed under his breath. Stood. Pushed a hand through his hair.

“Rowena, Vael’s right. This is—” He cut himself off. Swallowed hard. “This is Silas. You know that, right? His whole plan. He wants you to come. You walking through his door would be exactly what he planned for.”

“I’m not going because he wants me to,” I said. “I’m going because I want him to see that it didn’t work.”

Quil turned away for a moment, staring out at the lights of the city. When he spoke again, his voice was low, resigned.

“Then promise me something.”

I waited.

“Don’t go in the morning,” he said quietly. “Wait for me. Just one more night. Let me go with you when the sun sets. Not night, but not day either.”

“Quil—”

“Please.”

That stopped me cold.

Vael’s head snapped toward Quil, eyes narrowing. “There it is again. You’ll give her anything she asks for, even if it burns her. You think it’s devotion, but it’s weakness—and it plays right into Silas’s hands.”

Quil’s shoulders stiffened, jaw clenching. “Better weakness than standing aside while she suffers.”

Vael leaned forward, his tone cutting. “Better wisdom than marching her into the fire because you can’t bear to tell her no.”

I ignored Vael. I had to. Because if I was getting through this, I had to see Silas. I had to have closure. Or it would always eat at me.

I met Quil’s eyes. Held them.

And nodded.

“Okay,” I said. “We’ll go tomorrow evening.”

Vael jolted upright, eyes flashing. “Tomorrow—? Gods, Rowena, have you heard a single word I’ve said? You’d walk straight into his trap because you want closure? Closure isn’t worth your life!”

“He won’t do anything to me at the Arcanum,” I insisted. “I won’t leave with him. I won’t go to his home. Hells, I won’t even go to his office. I’ll wait for him in the courtyard.”

“At night? With us at your side?” Vael’s laugh was sharp, incredulous. “Rowena, that’s not protection—that’s provocation. He’ll see two vampires flanking you and know exactly what game you’re playing. You won’t cow him, you’ll corner him. And cornered men are dangerous.”

“Good,” Quil shot back, eyes hard. “Let him feel cornered.”

Vael leaned forward, bristling. “You think bravado makes this less suicidal? He’ll?—”

“Drop it.” My voice cracked sharply, cutting through them both. They fell silent, Quil’s jaw working, Vael’s eyes narrowing. I pressed a hand to my temple, suddenly too tired to keep arguing. “I need to sleep. We’ll revisit this tomorrow evening.”

Neither of them looked pleased, but neither argued. Quil turned back to the window, jaw still tight. Vael muttered something under his breath, a low growl of frustration as he rose from the chair.