Page 24 of The Sins of Silas (The Otacian Chronicles #2)

Chapter Twenty-Four

SILAS

O ne by one, I struck my men. Men I had trained alongside, men I had trained myself. The looks of respect and admiration were no longer present on any of their faces as they aimed to strike me down.

It would appear the King did not wish to take me prisoner.

I killed, just like I always had. It was the one thing at which I excelled. However, this slaughter didn’t bring me joy. It didn’t give me release. No…it just made me realize how my father’s beliefs had affected our people. How deeply rooted their fear was.

Warlocks all around me fought against my kingdom alongside the Forsmontian soldiers, who at first were in shock that they had been living amongst them but then quickly focused on the battle at hand.

It was especially endearing seeing Leroy and Emma fight alongside one another. Leroy, a golden mountain lion, and Emma, a brown one. A King and Queen fighting to protect their home, protect their kind, and their human soldiers fighting along with them.

I was grateful my father's ideologies had not affected the people of Forsmont as they had our own.

I was faintly aware of Merrick and Taira to my right, along with Roland and Edmund. While there had already been casualties, Otacian and Forsmontian alike, I was grateful my friends were still alive.

I was fighting with proficiency, just as I always had, until I smelled it.

Burning flesh.

Bright light caught my attention, and when I shifted, I witnessed Lena, once again encased in that glowing flame of hers.

I knew, at least at this point, she was okay. She hadn't overused her magic just yet.

But the sound of the screams and howls of those burning, the scent of scorching skin, and seeing her like this…it was too much.

It was too much.

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. Not when it was bringing me back to the worst moment of my life.

It was like I was back in her cottage, back in her room. It was like I was witnessing her wrapped in flame—dying, just as I thought she had five years ago.

I was going to be sick. I was going to faint.

As if sensing my panic, Lena turned, worried green eyes settling on me.

She rushed toward me, grunting as she shot her hand forward, electrocuting the men who separated us—the men who were attempting to harm me .

I couldn't move. Why couldn't I move?

When Lena reached me, she let her flames dissipate before raising her arms, creating an ice wall around the two of us, trapping us inside.

“What's wrong?!” she panicked, eyes darting around my body. “Are you hurt?!”

“I-I just need a minute,” I gasped.

“We don't have a minute.” Her hand caressed my cheek, her palm hot but not unpleasant. "Silas, we can do this," she insisted, even as her voice shook. “You are the best fighter I've ever seen. I know killing your own must be hard, but—”

“It isn't about the men!” I growled, and Lena flinched. I swallowed, my face falling. “I struggle being around fire…around burned bodies. I struggle with the smell…”

Gods, I am fucking pathetic.

Lena's face instantly changed, understanding etched in her features. “Okay,” she said softly. “I won't use the fire then. I promise.”

I shook my head. “It's our best shot at winning—”

“I don't care. I have other magic. I'll use it.”

Without giving me time to respond, she melted our barrier, firing electricity at the Otacians who had surrounded us with just the slightest movement of her hand.

Blue sparks shot around us in a ring, the soldiers surrounding us dropping to the ground and convulsing as her magic touched them.

Lena smiled at me, and it was the most beautiful sight I'd ever seen.

“We're alive, Silas,” she breathed.

And then she ran, gracefully protecting those who fought on our side.

I hated to admit it, but once there was no flame and smoke, I fought better. I was focused.

Lena had encapsulated the three catapults my kingdom had brought in ice, successfully disabling them. Taira and Merrick had frozen the forced entryway, allowing the Forsmontians stationed on the walls to focus their attention on those on the outside while we focused on those on the inside. I wasn't sure of the duration of the battle so far—you tend to lose track of time when you're fighting for your life.

There still had to be a couple hundred Otacians inside Forsmont. While we humans had killed plenty, the few Mages and the hundreds of Warlocks were who made the biggest difference in this battle.

We were winning.

Were.

It happened so quickly. One moment, Emma was a lion, ripping the heads off of the men threatening her home and her family. The next, a soldier withdrew a vial, dotting a substance on his palm before blowing the purple dust at Emma. Whatever it was, it instantly shrank her body back into its normal form.

Leroy roared, but there was nothing he could do—nothing anyone could do, as the Otacian soldier lifted his sword and swung, cutting Emma’s head clean off of her body.

No .

Leroy released a gut-wrenching bellow just as Emma's head tumbled to the ground, charging for the man who killed his wife. But the soldiers around him were prepared—I could see the handful of them had those vials waiting, secured at their sides.

What the fuck do they have?

Rage overcame me, and I rushed forward, fending off the various Otacians that swung their weapons at me.

This man had five children and was now without his partner. I could not let his kids lose their father, too.

“LEROY!” I shouted. His lion head snapped to me, his turmoil-ridden, pupilless eyes burning into mine. I impaled a man before me. “STOP! THEY CAN TAKE YOUR MAGIC!”

His eyes darted to the soldiers surrounding him, now noticing what was in all of their grasps.

A sword slashed my arm, and I gasped as I fell back.

When I locked eyes with the person who injured me, I recognized him.

Emerson. Finnan's father.

“You are a disgrace to your kingdom!” he spat. “Betraying your own kind to side with the witches!”

I held my gushing wound for a moment before wincing and readying my sword. “I am doing what is right,” I growled. “For once in my miserable life.”

His eyes welled with tears. “Was it right killing Finnan?!”

My lip trembled, only for a second. We raised our weapons but were both rendered frozen when Lena’s wail filled the air. We whirled toward the sound, and I loosened a breath at the sight of her .

Electricity crept up both of her arms and legs, surrounding her hair—it was everywhere. The lighting was an array of blues as it sparked around her.

She looked otherworldly, more powerful than anything I'd ever seen, as she glared at our enemies.

She stared at the men surrounding Leroy, but only for a moment before she unleashed her lightning upon every one of them.

She flung her hands out, and rings of electricity went around each of their throats.

They screamed. They cried. They went to tug at their collars made of lightning, but it was no use. They would be shocked to death if they touched it. They weren't going anywhere.

Lena stared at the men with a curled lip before her eyes darted to Leroy. I then understood what she was doing.

These were his kills.

One by one, Leroy tore their heads off, Lena releasing their electric collars only seconds before Leroy’s jaw was around their skulls.

Emerson trembled before me. “This is what you support?!”

“You beheaded his wife!” I hissed. “You came here and attacked!”

Emerson's panicked look went back to the Warlock, who was on the last head. “Retreat,” I snarled. “Take what is left of your men and go.”

He hesitated, breathing heavily before he gave me a hateful glare. Ultimately, he conceded, yelling, “FALL BACK!”

I glared at Emerson in contempt as he rushed away. I hated that I had killed his son, but he and my father were the ones who allowed his child into battle and who put him up against me. What did they expect to happen ?

The remaining soldiers from the outside had managed to break the ice block enough for soldiers to escape. Leroy was still blood-hungry, still full of rage, running after and killing any Otacians he could before they had all fled the kingdom.