Page 6

Silas

I t had taken several hours of coaxing, but finally my little rebel was asleep. The pain of another loss faded from her face as she slipped deeper into a much-deserved slumber. Her gorgeous purple hair glided through my fingers as her soft breaths hit my naked chest.

Given a choice, I’d keep her here forever.

Again, she was forced to face my brother alone.

Again, I’d been nothing more than a frozen dolt in need of protection.

It was bloody maddening. Rilas had exploited our efforts to find him, and I should’ve known he would.

He was cleverer than I often gave him credit for, even before he was a demon summoned from the After.

My darling was exhausted from the fight where she lost more people she cared about.

I’d planned to celebrate the day those three head-squatting wankers moved along and left my bird alone, but not like this. Not when it made tears wash down her face in worry, destroyed by the mere thought of what Rilas might do to them.

I might think Bear Claw was an irredeemable fuckwit, but she didn’t. And whatever my sweet Nika wanted, I’d give her. If she wanted to rescue that undeserving bastard, his weird animal tagalongs, and her saucy grandmother, I’d be right there to help her do it.

It wasn’t all bad news. After detailing the clash between them, it appeared the swanky old Soul Collector did something to bind Rilas’s power.

What Nika described was clearly some kind of seal on his abilities, though I couldn’t be sure how much or what she’d targeted.

But I’d seen it done a few times. It wasn’t easy.

It required a level of skill most Fae didn’t have.

If my suspicions were correct, it might mean recovering her grandmother wasn’t as straightforward as it seemed.

Bind or no, we’d need to find Rilas first or lay down a trap when he came to find us.

Lev had left to do a little digging into the symbols Nika said appeared on Rilas’s forehead.

He’d drawn them, his forest-green eyes gleaming with purpose as she helped him get the lines right.

Like me, he wanted to do whatever he could for her.

He was convinced we could find what they meant, so I called in a few favors to make sure we had the best in the business assisting us.

I stared at the number a contact passed along after I followed the bread crumbs Bane left behind. Nika mentioned a man the powerful Fae was involved with before his death, and until a few hours ago, I’d been convinced the bloke had either been involved or dead.

She’d want to talk to him first. She’d want to know where her father’s lover had been since his death, but I needed to be sure the bloke wasn’t a threat.

My bird wanted to believe the best in everyone.

It was what I loved about her. I didn’t mind being the sorry sod who saw the worst in everyone who came near her.

I’d be a feckless villain if it kept her safe.

I cast my eyes down on the sleeping woman.

After tracing her cheek with my knuckles for the millionth time, I carefully disentangled myself from her sweet embrace.

I gingerly moved her soft body until she was settled on the bed and wrapped in comfort.

Then I left the room. My magic swept out.

It’d alert me should she wake or move at all.

Leaving the safe house I kept in yet another undisclosed location, I walked the perimeter and checked the security magic I had in place.

Rilas had gotten through earlier when he shouldn’t have.

The barrier magic was said to be the strongest in existence outside of blood magic.

It’d never failed me before. Even the Brotherhood couldn’t find my safe houses.

This time I couldn’t take any chances. I used one of the rarest items I’d ever purchased from a now-dead Enchanter.

I hoped never to use it. It was a last resort because Nika wouldn’t approve of how it was created.

Not that I agreed with how it was made, either.

Blood magic rarely did anything good. But my soul was already black, and sometimes the only way to fight the Dark was with darkness.

Unfortunately, even that might not be enough.

Dialing, I put the burner mobile to my ear. It only rang once before a voice came through the receiver. It was a voice I knew well. A voice that went by another name, in fact. My guard was instantly up.

“Silas,” the man greeted.

“Dugan.” I paused, growling the next sentence.

“Or should I call you Trevion? How curious you’re the one answering this line.

Who would’ve thought the man I’ve known for nearly a decade would be living this sort of double life even I hadn’t caught onto.

One might think it were a set-up from the start. ”

There was an audible sigh before Trevion spoke, “I know you have questions, and you’re owed them, Silas. You and Nika both. But just tell me one thing first, is she okay? Is she safe?”

I detected the concern in his tone, but I’d have to be daft to believe it.

“You’ve become ghosts the last half year. You were always impossible to track when you didn’t want anyone to find you. No one has even mentioned the name Silver until you showed up to give Black hell in No Man’s Land.”

My other identity, the one tied with this face.

Silver. I’d built a name for myself with it.

As far as the contract killer world was concerned, the Shimmering Assassin and Silver were two different blokes cut from the same cloth.

And until this moment, Trevion only knew the one.

But if this was Bane’s elusive lover, I suspected he’d always known I was both.

“Not too smart, that,” he chastised. “You know what an insufferable ass Black is when you publicly humiliate him.”

Smarmy bastard. As if he’s in any position to scold me.

I scoffed, not worried. Black would run his mouth, but unless revenge paid for his next drink, that was all he’d do.

I brushed a hand through my messy locks and lifted my face to the moon’s light.

“I think you’re bloody dreaming if you think it’ll be business as usual between us, mate.

Or that I’d tell you anything related to her now. ”

Another sigh. “That’s fair. I’d rather not do it over the phone, anyway, and I’d like to see her before…well, it’d just be nice to see her. I’ve missed that girl terribly.”

“The fuck you will.”

“It’s important, Silas. I have something her father gave me, something she needs, and I don’t expect to have long left to give it to her.

You have every right to be cautious, but her father made me promise that once she recovered her Soul Collector powers and gained her grandmother’s help, I’d give it to her. ”

I paused, staggered by the perfect accounting of what occurred. “When did Bane tell you this?”

“Before he attacked the Council.”

“Before? Not after?”

“I never saw him after,” Trevion admitted. “It was important that no one come looking for me. He said timing was everything, and you’d call. You’d find me as Dugan.”

Fucking hell.

“He did, did he? And this thing you need to give Nika, what is it?”

There was a long pause before Trevion spoke again.

“It’s not safe to speak about it over the phone.

You better than anyone know this.” The bugger was unfortunately right about that.

“I’ll send you the coordinates of a meeting place and time in the usual manner.

Be there. Take precautions, if you must. I don’t expect you to trust me, but you know I’m no match for you.

And certainly not with her by your side.

We’ll talk then,” he said before the line went dead.

It might go against my instincts, but I couldn’t risk Nika not getting something her father left for her. At the very least, I’d give her the option. But first, I’d let her sleep. Trevion—or was it Dugan?—could wait.

The lad hadn’t returned by the time I retrieved the coordinates for the meeting, so we made sure he knew we wouldn’t be at the usual spot should he come back before we did. Nika, no surprise, believed her father’s lover despite learning that he was connected with the contract killer world.

“There has to be a reason,” she argued before spiriting away to grab the usual arsenal of weaponry.

At least she wasn’t treating it like a happy little family reunion.

“My father didn’t trust easily, Silas. That means something.

And it’s not a coincidence that you two met after you and him crossed paths. ”

“Oh, aye. But even powerful Fae like your father, and say a certain handsome rogue you know, can be a little shortsighted when it comes to the people they worship.”

She shot me a proper glare. Too bad I found it impossibly adorable on her. “Are you suggesting that you’ve become shortsighted with me?”

“Nonsense, love. I’m as clear-headed as they come with you,” I rebuked with a smirk.

Her eyes went into a full cyclone roll. “You’re an idiot.”

She sheathed a couple daggers on her belt and put on the usual leather jacket she wore.

It had nifty little pockets where she kept an assortment of throwing blades dipped in poison.

Lethal little thing had built an immunity to them all.

Bane was a ruthless teacher, I was quickly learning.

He’d vigorously trained her from a young age, anticipating a future where she’d be forced to fight without him.

Nika collected her vibrant locks into a ponytail, and I, the lovesick troll, watched her do it with hearts in my eyes.

Didn’t matter how often I saw her, my little rebel was a snack waiting to be eaten.

And had I not already been punished earlier for attempting a side quest in the hallway, I’d be all over this sweet little treat.

Her dazzling blue eyes dashed up to mine, reading my mind, no doubt, because her eyebrows pinched together in another scowl.

I smirked, but she only sighed and ignored me.

“I believe him. I refuse to believe Dugan is out to hurt me. There are very few people in this world I trust, Silas, and he’s one of them.

Come or don’t, but I’m going to see him, and that’s that. ”

I crowded her against the bed post, locking her to it with an arm wrapped around the engraved wood. “That soft heart of yours is what I love most about you, princess, but you could benefit from a little caution.”

Her eyes seared mine, strong and unbending. “And you could do with a little less, so I guess we balance each other out.”

I dipped my head and claimed her mouth in a fierce kiss. “Finally something we agree on, aye, little rebel?”

She smiled against my lips before her little hand grabbed a handful of my shirt and dragged my mouth harder into hers. The little minx sucked my tongue and nibbled my bottom lip like a goddamn seductress of the night before fleeing my arms and leaving me to trail after her shadow.

I’m a bloke on a leash, and bloody chuffed about it.

We’d be traveling for several hours by motorbike to get to the meeting spot. He’d sent an enchanted stone, but I wouldn’t trust it. Nika was safer on the back of my Harley, and it gave me an excuse to have my lethal princess pressed up against my back.

Win-win.

The two of us started the several-mile hike to where I’d put my Harley, then it would be open road from there. She pretended to be all bothered and tired when my hand reached for hers, but our fingers twined and a ghost of a smile reached her pretty mouth.

After everything, it was these little moments between us I cherished. I’d nearly lost her again. If not for her nan and my darling’s resilience, she’d be in the clutches of a demon wearing my brother’s face.

I watched the sunlight rain down on her in sporadic bursts. Her hand squeezed mine, and when I grinned at her, she returned it. The woman had been through hell, but you’d never know it. As we climbed, I vowed to protect that smile.