Page 46 of Little Wing (Shades of Fairhaven #1)

Y ou never seem to realize the weight that stress and fear have on you until you finally feel safe enough and sleep.

After the heavy events of the previous evening, I fell into such a deep slumber that I did not wake once.

When I finally opened my eyes, the sun was already beginning to set and I felt incredibly rested.

I didn’t know if I could recall the last time I felt that way.

Turning my head, I smiled at the sight of Silas turned to me with his arm draped over my waist. With gentle strokes, I brushed his messy chocolate curls away from his forehead and rubbed his temple with my thumb.

I loved this beautiful man, and what a gift it was to be loved by him in return.

When Silas did not wake, I reached across the nightstand beside me to drag my cell phone closer. Before I even looked at the screen, I saw that my inbox was flooded with messages from Kait and Reina.

Just checking if I need to bring Kait's bat to Silas's house?

Reina, I swear… stop taking Betsy out of the bar! But seriously, Lo, checking in to see how it went! I can still come pick you up if you want.

Hiii! I'm here with Kait and Betsy. We're drinking cocktails and manifesting only good stuff for you! Silas texted us that you're safe. We like him!!!

I touched the screen as if I could feel the warmth of their care through the digital image.

My responses were sent, yet I couldn’t stop grinning at the fact that at some point between me arriving to Silas’s home and us spending hours worshipping each other’s bodies, he took a moment to text my friends who he knew were worried about me.

I looked at him again and set my phone down to enjoy the moment of Silas at peace.

This exact moment had me wishing I could send my brother a message to leave me alone.

If I could feel his connection in the tether that tied me to him, I had every right to make him feel the anguish he was putting me through.

Three hundred years of being stuck to him—wasn’t that enough?

“I can hear you thinking,” Silas mumbled, not giving me a chance to respond before he pulled me on top of him.

“No,” I giggled, pressing my lips to his neck. “You cannot.”

“No? Maybe it was the snoring I heard.”

“What?! I don’t snore!”

“Whatever you say, Everett,” he said sleepily.

I hushed my laughter at the sound of my name, my true name, not realizing how it would make me feel. He said it so casually. It had been such a long time since I heard it spoken outside of true crime documentaries and out of the mouths of angry vampires. It was—beautiful.

I enjoyed the feel of Silas’s hands running up and down my back that I almost drifted off again, but our day had to carry on. As much as I wanted to spend eternity in bed with him, my arrival was not to put life on pause.

“Are we going to Little Wing today?”

Silas stirred and angled his head to look me in the eyes. “Are you sure?”

I gave him a short nod, with my chin against his chest. “Yes.”

He carefully helped me off him so that we could both sit up. I immediately felt the change in his mood complete with the visible tightness in his jaw.

“Lotus,” he started, taking my hand in his. “I love how passionate you are about helping, but the last time you were there you…” He looked at me before lowering his gaze to the bed. “You got hurt.”

“I know.”

He quickly looked back up at me and cocked his head to the side. “And you think I’m willing to let that happen again?”

“No,” I shook my head. “But I’m tired of hiding. Listen, there will be people who will believe the lies, but I realize I’ve existed too long to let them scare me like this. The people who matter the most to me know my truth. That’s what is most important.”

His eyes begged me to reconsider, but that was just it… Silas respected my decisions. He trusted me, even if his matured age still left him deeply rooted in the need to defend.

“And what about Luca?” he asked.

I could hear Silas gritting his teeth at the mere mention of my brother, even as I got up from the bed to pick up his shirt off the ground to wear. “I will not hide. "

“I’d never expect you to, but I hope you understand that this shit is driving me crazy and I just can’t make it go away. I feel like I’m not doing something right. How am I supposed to keep you safe?”

When our eyes met, we could feel the acknowledgment. After all these years—how was it that after only a few short months, our paths had become so tangled in each other? That he would be risking his own safety to protect mine.

“Believe me, I can understand.” I reached to run my hand across his jaw, smiling when he pressed his lips against my fingertips.

“But I cannot stay hidden. Luca will find me either way; our blood is tied. I am his kin and it’s not a matter of if he finds me, but when.

I’m just so tired of him dragging my name through the dirt. ”

Silas nodded before yanking me by the arm, pulling me into his chest back on the bed. He ran his hands lazily up my exposed legs and sighed wearily against my neck. “I know, Lo, but it doesn’t mean that I won’t be ready to kick anyone’s ass for even looking at you the wrong way.”

What time we had left before needing to leave was spent with our limbs weaved together. Wordless agreement lingered between us. What would await us beyond the peace of our embrace would come either way. It was only a matter of time, and I was tired of waiting for the storm to arrive.

Luca, my brother, my creator, and my tormentor—I am ready. I am unafraid.