The Silvia Saga: Boxset

Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Declan

The dead grass crunches beneath my feet as I run through the forest. Silvia’s land is getting worse as the days go on. Everything is dying; the trees aren’t vibrant with life, the forests are dry and broken, and brown grass stretches as far as the eye can see. This death is all James’s doing. He brings evil wherever he goes. I just hope we find the two remaining stones and defeat James before it’s too late. I can’t let Silvia get taken by the darkness.

Turning around, I run towards the sound of the roaring water up ahead. I don’t stop until I hit the edge of the waterfall. Looking around the surrounds of the pool of water, I see it’s changed. A dull brown replaces the once vibrant lush, green grass.

After taking off my clothes, I jump in, enjoying the cold water against my skin. Lying on my back, I think back to what happened yesterday with Dara. The way her lips felt against mine … it felt right. I’d denied my feelings for her when she first came back to us. I feel like it’s wrong for all of us to have her—especially me.

We weren’t sure how this would work—if we should push the way we felt about her. But as time has gone on, we’ve realised we can’t hide the way she makes each of us feel. After all, she has been destined to be with us from the beginning. We are her protectors, her warriors—the deep feelings are just a bonus that we can’t deny.

My brothers and I have an understanding that we can all have her if that’s what she wants. We’ve decided to just go with the flow and see what happens. Dara makes us all feel complete.

The years without her hurt like nothing else. A part of us was missing, and once we got her back, we weren’t ever letting her go. Since she has returned, our time with her has been all business as we’ve tried to retrieve the stones. I can’t wait until we can relax and enjoy our time with Dara and show her Silvia the way it should be.

I swim from one side of the pool to the other then I do it again, fifty times over, before I haul myself out of the water. I need to check in with Elijah to see what’s happening with Alaric and James in the kingdom. Having Alaric working undercover as a slayer is a godsend, but it’s very risky. Despite Alaric proving his allegiance to James, if the King discovers the deception, he won’t hesitate to bring Alaric down.

Alaric has been undercover since Dara got sent to Earth. Sam sent him there knowing it would come in handy someday.

I focus within and get in contact with Elijah, hoping he will be able to give me some information.

Hey, brother. Are you around?

I wait several minutes for a response.

Yep. What’s up?

I sigh in relief. Perfect. I want an update. Anything going on in the kingdom? Have you heard from Alaric? How did James take Blair escaping? Will there be any retaliation?

Not good at all; Alaric said he was furious. He’s planning something, Declan—something to hurt Dara and make her give up the stone. I will try and keep you updated as soon as I hear from Alaric, but he said to make sure you push Dara to retrieve the remaining stones. Everything depends on it, and we’re losing time.

I quickly close off the connection and scream out in frustration. Why can’t anything be simple in life? After the victory of finding the stone, I’d thought our luck had turned, but nope. Blair had been captured, and everything had gone to shit. Now he’s back, but he still hasn’t woken up.

After picking up my clothes, I put them back on then make my way to the house. I need to relay this information to my brothers, but I’ll leave Dara out this time. She doesn’t need the extra stress of worrying about what James will do next. She hasn’t left Blair’s side much since we got him back, and I don’t blame her at all. I just hope that he wakes up soon so Dara can focus her mind fully on her training. Time’s ticking, and she needs to retrieve those stones and be ready for James’s next move.

As I walk into the kitchen, I mentally tell Harlan and Oliver to meet me down in the training room.

“What’s up, man?” Harlan asks, walking down the stairs with the others right behind him.

I start pacing back and forth. “I just got an update from Elijah from the kingdom. He said that James is planning something big to hurt Dara and make her bring the stones to him.” I stop, looking towards the guys. “We need to find these stones.”

Oliver runs a hand through his hair. “Fuck.”

I feel his frustration, but we need to put it to use. Harlan only stares at me, his eyes telling me to take charge—to step up.

“Dara needs to train more. She needs to focus on finding the next stone. I know she’s preoccupied with Blair, but we need to remind her what’s at stake. Tell her it’s what Blair would want. Let’s just keep her focused on her task. Deal?”

Everyone nods.

I leave in search of Dara, knowing exactly where I’ll find her. She’s curled up next to Blair running her finger down his chest. I lean back against the door watching her in awe. The way she looks at him with tears in her eyes willing him to wake up, it breaks my heart. I’m so glad my brother is back with us, but until he wakes up it doesn’t seem real. I walk further into the room and her baby-blue eyes find mine. She smiles sitting up, stretches her arms over her head, and yawns.

“I hate to take you away from him, but did you want to come do some training with me?”

She screws up her nose. “I really don’t want to leave him …” She looks back at him pressing her lips together. “But I think he’d want me to get back into training to find topaz.”

She leans down, presses a gentle kiss on his cheek, and whispers something into his ear. She takes my hand and I pull her into a hug. Her body melts into mine and it just feels right. Her tears soak into my top but I don’t care. I don’t say a word, I just let her break down while holding her against me. She pulls back and I wipe a lone tear from her cheek.

“I’m just going to shower but I’ll meet you in the training room,” she says, taking a step back. I smile and watch as she disappears into the bathroom.

I look back to Blair and I just hope for all our sakes that Blair wakes up soon so we can move our focus to finding topaz.

Come on, brother. Please wake up. We need you.