Page 8 of The Sins of Silas (The Otacian Chronicles #2)

Chapter Eight

MERRICK

I struggled to rest that night; visions of the many men being slaughtered eliminated any attempt at peaceful thoughts.

My first kills were in Ames the day our village was attacked. As I overheard Lena and Silas’s conversation, I realized in some small way that I related to the Prince.

“Think of those you love, those you wish to protect…and feel no remorse when you kill those who threaten them. I never felt bad when that was my reasoning for ending a life.”

They weren’t aware I was lying awake as I kept my eyes shut. That was exactly how I felt, taking the lives of the soldiers in Ames. I thought of Elowen, of Viola, of Lena. I thought of the many villagers who I’d grown up with, of Igon who had been so kind to all of us.

I felt no remorse…at least not in the moment. Those humans came to kill us, either right then in our village or later in Otacia. I ended them without a second thought.

Still, I found Lena’s response…intimate.

“I know that’s not true. I can see it in your eyes.”

Why were they so gentle with one another? Why did Lena jump in front of one of our kind’s biggest enemies to save him? How is it that the Slayer of Witches flipped like a switch, so eager to help?

I could see that perhaps he witnessed our power and realized utilizing it could help him overthrow King Ulric. I could.

But why, when Silas was staring at Lena’s injured body back in Fort Laith…why, when I read him, did I feel love?

Soul-Ties. It was the only damn explanation.

Still…feeling a love of that magnitude so quickly, regardless of the bond gifted by Celluna, seemed ridiculous. Even the feelings I felt between Edmund and my sister were not nearly as overpowering as what I felt from Silas as he gazed at Lena.

It was now the following morning, and I ran my hands through my hair in frustration as I mulled over everything.

Lena gave up the information on Nereida. My eyes almost fell out of my head when she started telling him everything. And then a gasp threatened to escape from me when he told her what he knew of the Weapon.

I still didn’t trust any of these humans…none of this made any sense.

Elowen sauntered over to me, breaking me away from my thoughts and handing me a piece of bread.

“Here you go!” she chirped.

“Thanks,” I mumbled, tearing off a piece with my teeth and chewing. I couldn’t wait to get some real food again .

I swallowed as she started walking off, but I reached forward and gripped her shoulder to stop her. “Wait.”

She turned to me, light pink brow raising.

“How are you holding up?” I asked my sister, tuning into her emotions.

She smiled softly. “I’m alright, Mare.” Her eyes flicked to the ground, her smile faltering. “I just can’t wait to be out of here…can’t wait for the killing to stop.”

Elowen hadn’t killed anyone yet, but I knew witnessing it affected her.

“I think we have a while before the killing ceases…” Despite myself, I pulled her into a hug. She easily hugged me back, and I felt her delight.

I wasn’t the best at showing affection, and once upon a time, I despised my sister. Not because of who she was, but because of what her existence had taken from me. But Elowen had always been loving and sweet. She had always been a good person.

When she pulled away, smiling up at me, my eyes caught Edmund’s, who was wearing a nasty glare on his face. I returned the sneer, and his face shifted to adoration as El turned to walk to him.

Jealousy.

I was going to beat the shit out of him if he was the type of boyfriend who was jealous even of family members. Just as I went to confront him, I was stopped by Viola, who was getting ready to shift before we began our second day’s trek.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

Her violet eyes slid to mine as she stretched her arms. “Getting ready to turn into the hottest horse you’ve ever seen.” She snorted, and I shook my head .

“You need to rest.”

She rolled her eyes. “Merrick, I’ll be—”

“You need to rest,” I demanded. “If we need you to shift overnight, if we’re ambushed again—”

“Fine.” She sighed, her hands going up in surrender. “You win. I’ll climb atop Hendry’s horse again, and you can continue walking.”

I smiled, inclining my head ever so slightly. “Thank you. That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

My cheeks heated as her violet eyes burned into mine. When she saw my darkened eyes, her full, plump lips curved into a knowing smile.

Desire. Desire for me .

My lips parted, a short exhale escaping from me. “Yeah?” I asked breathlessly, blood rushing to my groin.

“Yes,” she answered, her voice downy and sensual. “When we get to Forsmont.”

I sucked in my lips to hide my smile. I’d always thought Viola was beautiful; anyone with eyes did. But we’d never crossed a line in our friendship…nor had I ever felt such strong desire from her before, certainly not toward me.

I wonder what changed.

“Okay,” I agreed softly.

She bit back her own grin before leaning forward and pressing her soft lips against mine for a fleeting moment. She smiled before walking away.

My whole face had to be red—my pale skin doing no favors to hide my nerves.

Holy shit…Viola just kissed me!

I glanced around to see if anyone had noticed. No one had .

Except for Erabella.

Her brows were raised, and when we met eyes, she quickly glanced away, lips puckered as she studied the rock formations, her hands tucked behind her back.

I didn’t need to read her to feel her awkwardness. I chuckled to myself before finishing the rest of my bread.

Then, I tied my hair back into a low pony, pieces falling out in the front, framing my face, and readied myself for another long day of walking.

We were halfway through the second day when we finally took a longer break. My legs were aching from all the steps I completed, and Viola gave me a raised brow as she dismounted Hendry’s horse.

“I’m fine,” I laughed. “Just building more muscle in my legs is all.” My eyes flickered to Lena, who was passed out, resting back on Roland’s chest. We determined it would be best for her to be awake at night from here on out—just in case Vampires happened to confront us.

He lightly brushed her arm, and she jolted awake. He murmured something in her ear, and she gave him a hesitant, sleepy smile as he hopped down, giving her a hand off their ride.

Who would’ve guessed that asshole would’ve grown so fond of her?

“I’m shifting once we resume,” Viola stated.

“I can always walk,” Hendry offered, and my surprised eyes met his as he stretched. He shrugged. “I don’t mind. ”

I studied him with my brows drawn tight. “Alright…thanks,” I replied skeptically.

“Thank you,” Viola added.

He gave a slight smile, then sauntered off toward Silas.

I was frowning as I watched him, sensing no ill feelings.

Vi gave me a soft nudge. “People can just be kind, Merrick.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not used to it. Certainly not from humans,” I mumbled.

After everyone saw to their needs, I found myself perched against a stone, stuffing my face with more bread, enjoying my mini solitude. I found myself alone in Ames most days, not that I’d complain. Being subjected to everyone else’s emotions left me drained more often than not.

I was taking another bite just as Silas ambled up to me. “Would you mind showing Era more with the bow before we continue onward?”

My eyes widened before my surprise turned into a glower.

Really? I’m the only one who walked this whole time, and he wants me to do some more standing?

“Why me and not Hendry?” I muttered with my mouth full.

“You’ve trained her thus far.” He shrugged. “Plus, I asked who she’d prefer, and she said you.”

I blinked, then snorted. “Yeah, right.”

He crossed his arms, and my smile fell.

“You’re being serious?”

Silas’s deepening frown sent chills across my body. “Just do it…” He made a pained expression. “…please.”

I studied him for a moment longer before sighing. “Fine. Give me a sec.”

Era and I walked off for some privacy while I gave her more tips with the bow. No one else planned to train right now, so to avoid embarrassing her, considering her skills were subpar, I suggested I train her further down the pass.

“Here,” I adjusted her grip on her bow. “Try like this. Don’t keep your arm locked.”

“I want to rest,” she whined, following my directions and loosening the tightness of the arm holding the weapon.

“You are so damn infuriating,” I muttered. I placed my hand on the small of her back, and I felt her stiffen further. “You need to relax your back when you pull the string.”

“Right back at you,” she mumbled. “And I’m trying. It’s hard, and I don’t want to be doing this.”

“You think I want to be wasting my time this way?” I sneered. I honestly didn’t mind teaching her…but her poor attitude was getting on my nerves. “I’m the one who has been walking this whole time, not you, Princess. Shoot the arrow.”

She did, missing the target, a bullseye I made on a boulder with my blood. Morbid, I know. But I healed the gash quickly. Erabella had been mortified when she watched me make the cut.

“Yeah, well, that’s your choice,” she retorted, her chocolate eyes glancing back at me as she retrieved the arrows she fired. “Viola said she was more than happy to let you ride her…or whatever.” She cringed.

I snorted, and she turned her head to me as she readied the weapon again .

“So, you two are together?”

“What’s it to you?”

She narrowed her eyes. “You make it so hard to be nice to you.” She turned her attention back to her target and groaned when her arrow missed again. And again. “I don’t see why Silas can’t show me how to fight,” she muttered to herself.

“Why hasn’t he before?” I asked. It did seem odd…but at the same time, princesses usually weren’t the ones fighting.

“I tried to get him to. He took no interest in it. I don’t get it…”

I felt her hurt and shook it away.

“Yeah, I don’t either, but we’re both stuck, so quit whining like a baby.”

She glared at me. “You’re so kind, Merrick.”

My lip crept upward. “Again,” I ordered, nodding toward the target.

She sighed, shot another, and missed—though this one was closer than the last.

“How does your magic work, anyway?” she inquired, still not too annoyed with me to stop our conversation.

“Pretty sure you asked me that a couple of nights ago, Princess.”

She rolled her eyes as she bent over, grasping the arrows. My eyes trailed over her ass like a total creep, and I quickly looked away. “I asked about your gift. Not magic itself,” she continued once back at my side.

“We’re born with it, yes, but it doesn’t surface until we are old enough to manage it, usually.” I tilted my head downwards at her and frowned. “Shoot the target. ”

Era sighed in defeat, shakily aiming the bow at the target. She pulled back the string and, upon release, groaned as her arrow completely missed yet again.

“How old were you when you got it?”

“I was eight.”

Why was she asking so many questions? Does she even care about improving her skills?

She released another arrow. Miss.

“That’s old enough to handle magic?” she asked in surprise.

I shrugged. “It seems so.”

“So, you could just wield ice and fire and all of those things suddenly?”

I shook my head. “No…elemental magic—ice, fire, electricity—those come later in life, if at all.” I adjusted her grip on the bow, then continued after she missed another shot. “That type of magic is tied to our emotions. Typically, intense emotions like those aren’t experienced until one is older. I can’t wield fire or electricity. Just the ice.”

She let out a gentle hum as she retrieved the arrows.

“So, what kind of magic did you have then? The non-elemental,” she asked once beside me again, drawing the weapon.

“Healing. Forcefields. Enchantment.” I bent down beside her, holding her waist with one hand and moving her foot with the other. “You’re standing wrong,” I murmured. “Your feet should be parallel to your shooting direction.”

She sucked in a breath, and her eyes darted down to me, following me as I stood. The corner of my lip raised.

“What?” she asked.

“So many questions.”

She lifted her brows. “Is that a bad thing? ”

I knew my eyes went dark as I began to read her. Her cheeks flushed, her eyes quickly flickering away.

My smile grew cocky. “You’re fascinated by my eyes,” I noted.

She scoffed, shooting me a mortified glance. “I am not!”

Lie.

She turned back, shooting another arrow, this one way off the mark.

“I think you should focus on improving your skills…or lack thereof,” I teased.

She turned to glower at me, and as I continued to absorb her emotions, she diverted, trudging away to reclaim her arrows after missing a few more shots.

“I killed that one man, didn’t I?” she shouted over her shoulder.

Those words set my feet in motion, and I seized her arm. She whirled to face me with lowered brows.

“You did,” I said gently. “And I was proud. But if the situation would’ve been less in our favor, you wouldn’t have had the time to use those men as living targets. You would’ve needed to hit true the first time.”

Her eyes softened as she gazed up at me, my words causing warm feelings to spread through her body.

She frowned, her little nose crinkling, before resuming her arrow retrieval. “I don’t give you permission to read me,” she said plainly. “It’s an invasion of privacy.”

“Be glad I’m not my cousin,” I called out.

She shot me a cocked brow over her shoulder.

I shrugged. “He could read thoughts.”

Her eyes widened. I was surprised by her expression, by what I felt .

Dread.

“Could?” she asked quietly once she was back by my side, worried my past tense wording was because he was dead.

I hoped and prayed he was not.

“I’m not sure where he is,” I admitted solemnly. “He left our village last year without a word.”

I felt mild relief from her, and then I ordered her to shoot the bow, this time her arrow at least grazing the bloody bullseye.

“Much better,” I praised.

She gave me a satisfied smile, and I found my own lips tilting upward at the sight.

“How are you doing?” I asked a few moments later.

She was squinting through the weapon's sight. “What do you mean?”

I pulled my lips to the side for a moment, feeling awkward even asking about her feelings. I wasn’t sure why I even cared. But I remembered the sheer panic on her face when I threw her my bow…the tears that pooled in her eyes once she completed her kill.

I had felt the guilt that overcame her.

“Are you alright? After yesterday.”

I could feel that she was not expecting my question. She blinked, lowering the bow to her side. “I…” She shrugged. “I have no choice but to be fine.”

I shook my head, my hands going into the pockets of my robe. “It’s okay to not be okay, so long as you don’t let the negative thoughts rule you.” I flicked my now blue eyes to the target. “One more time. You can do it.”

Her ochre eyes studied me for a moment longer before she took a deep breath, aimed her bow, and released the string. Just like I knew she could, the arrow struck true, right at the center of the target.

I grinned. “Told you.”

She beamed up at me, and the sight…it did something to me.

What the hell?

I blinked, my smile faltering, and cleared my throat. “Let’s head back,” I murmured. “We can train more tomorrow…if you’d like.”

Her eyes dropped, but her smile remained. “I would like that.” She looked up at me again. “Thanks, Merrick.”

And then she walked away, heading back to our group to finish the second half of the day.

I loosened a breath as her distance from me increased, and I found that my heart was racing.

How odd.

I shook my head, following after her.

I was finally able to sit down, grateful for Hendry allowing me on his horse. The soldier’s brown and blue eyes showed no distaste, and perhaps his long legs desired the movement.

After what felt like forever, the group began moving again, and as I tightened my arms around Viola’s waist, feeling her desire as she leaned into my hold, I found myself extra excited to get the hell out of this pass.