CHAPTER 13 #3
My mind races at how easy this all seems. I hear a voice inside my head, nagging at me, telling me it is too easy and to stay alert.
The sky is growing darker, and I gaze up, noticing a snowstorm rolling in.
Picking up my pace, I jog for around ten minutes.
I finally find my old street and then my house.
The door is kicked in still, and I have a profound sense of déjà vu wash over me.
Going in, I hold my breath as I look in what used to be the lounge room.
I gasp, realizing my grandmother’s body is gone.
I don’t know whether I should feel relieved or worried.
Carefully peering around, I find the place the same.
Someone has looted the cupboards and ransacked the place, leaving only the furniture.
Going into my room, I look under the bed and see the floorboards still intact showing no one bothered to move the bed or they would have noticed the drag marks from it.
I pull the bed from the wall and drag it to the other side and counting the floorboards, when I hit number nine.
I push on it, but it doesn’t budge. I use my nails, trying to get my fingers under the edge of it so I can pull it out.
After about twenty minutes of fiddling with it and trying to get a knife down the side of it and becoming annoyed, I hit the floor with my fist. The entire floor lifts in a wave and the floorboards pop out, making me gasp.
I look at my hands, shocked at what I just did. I’m not even sure how I did it.
But one thing I do know, is that I just used magic or an element of some sort.
Lifting the board out, I reach in for the box that’s hidden underneath, only I feel nothing as I grip the floorboard next to it.
I hear a floorboard creak behind me as soon as I grasp it.
I freeze, and my breathing becomes harsher as I hear them approach behind me.
A moment later, a set of hands go underneath my arms making me jump in fright.
Hearing my grabber chuckle, my heart skips a beat as I am lifted off the ground like I weighed nothing and placed on the bed.
An icy shiver runs up my spine when I see Silas is the one who picked me up.
He raises a dark eyebrow at me like he is daring me to make up some excuse.
My hands tremble and I wait for his wrath, only it doesn’t come.
Instead, he bends down, grips the floorboard I’ve been trying to remove, and yanks on it, ripping it off.
He reaches in, grabs the box, sitting next to me with it in his hands.
I cringe away from him when his hand falls on my knee.
I await for pain, but he squeezes my knee gently.
“You know you could have just told me; I would have brought you here myself instead of you sneaking off. Now, I have to punish you,” he says calmly while my heart races at his words.
Tears brim in my eyes at his words and my mind instantly drifts to Abigail and her family. Will he hurt them? I can handle him hurting me, but them? That would kill me. Silas grips my chin, forcing me to look up at him, my tears escaping down my face.
“Why didn’t you just tell me?” he asks.
“Because I don’t want to break the curse on you.”
Silas growls at my words. “But you want to break the curse on the Fae?” I nod, not saying anything and Silas chuckles.
“What?” I ask, wondering what he has found amusing.
“Nothing, I just think it’s funny you want to save the Fae but not help your own mates.”
“I never asked for this Silas, I don’t want to be your mate,” I tell him, waiting for his anger, knowing it is just below the surface of his calm facade.
“Fates decide that, not you. And you were made for us. Maybe when you realize that you can bind what’s left of the Fae back to their magic.”
“What do you mean?”
“To break the curse on the Fae, you first have to break the one on the Dragons,” he says, letting my face go. Silas stands, putting the box in his jacket pocket. He stares down at me.
“Are you going to come willingly, or am I going to have to use force?” he says, sending a shiver down my spine.
He extends his hand to me, and I look at it before placing my hand in his.
His hand is huge and warm, swallowing mine.
I let him pull me to my feet, and we exit the place.
I find Dragus and Matitus standing out in front of the house.
“Are you going to hurt Abigail?” I ask. Silas glances down at me, pulling me against his side and draping his arm over my shoulder.
He doesn’t answer, instead just pulls me along following Dragus and Matitus.
When the gates come into view, I stop, and so does Silas, before peering down at me.
“Keep going, Elora, don’t make me hurt you. I don’t want to hurt you,” he says, the calmness leaving his voice and his normal angry demeanor slips back into place.
“Not until you promise not to hurt Abigail and her family,” I tell him. He growls and I see Dragus and Matitus stop, glancing back at us nervously.
“They knew the consequences of helping you, Elora,” Silas says, letting go of my hand and gripping my arm just above my elbow.
“You heard me this morning, didn’t you?” I ask, looking at Matitus. “You told him and that’s why you let me out, isn’t it?”
Matitus’s silence confirms my assumption.
I gaze up to see the sky is completely gray with clouds and the snow forming on the ground is becoming thicker.
I can see my breath making clouds in the air as the temperature drops.
Tears brim, knowing the sacrifice I am about to make in order to fix my mistake of letting Abigail help me.
Silas tugs on my arm harshly, his nails digging into my arm through the layers of clothes.
I swallow the lump in my throat, restricting my airways.
Looking at Matitus, I glare at him; he looks like he regrets his actions.
“Lora... I” Matitus says, making Silas glare at him.
“I know, Matitus, they’re your mate’s and I am just a tool to be used for your benefit,” I tell him.
“That’s not it, please just listen.”
I put my hand up, and he goes quiet. I look at Silas. His eyes scrutinize my face and for a second, I actually think he cares, that he is capable of feeling something for me.
“Leave Abigail and her family alone and I will let you mark me.” My voice sounds emotionless and dead as the words leave my mouth. It is inevitable they will do it with or without my permission. Anyway, I might as well try to help Abigail.
Silas tugs on my arm, making me look at him. “No!”
“No?” I ask confused. This is what he wants so why has he said no?
“You want Abigail and her family to live; I want something else for sparing their lives.”
I shake my head. I have nothing else to offer. What else can he possibly want?
“I will let them live, if you let Dragus and I mark you and you stop fighting the mate bond.”
“What?” I ask, dumbfounded.
“You heard me, Elora. Now choose or I will make you watch as I kill them.”
I look to Matitus and Dragus, but they look away. They know I don’t want any of this, anything to do with them. Who in their right mind would after the horrible things they have all done?
“Fine, but on one condition.”
“You don’t get to make conditions, Elora.”
“Then you’ll never have me,” I tell him, refusing to drop my gaze from his. “One condition, no, make it two, or I will reject you. All of you. And I’ll accept you killing me for it. You have my mother’s necklace, you have me. I am allowing you to mark me. So, what’s one more thing, Silas.”
I hear Matitus snort, making my gaze dart to him.
“What do you want?” Silas asks, crossing his arms across his chest, making him even more intimidating as he glares down at me.
“You can never threaten or use Abigail or her family against me again no matter what, and I want you to restore power back to the city.”
Silas scoffs. “You want us to re-power the entire city? The city has had no power in decades since the war.”
“Yes, I do. You destroyed it, and the entire city is suffering for it, the very people you Dragon Kings swore to protect, but you are just letting them freeze to death in the winters and die from heat stroke in the summers. Turn the power back on. Not everyone has generators or working heaters. Would it kill you to do your job for once? Those people are forced to live here, forced to die here, and you continue to force them to suffer through it all. I know you have the means to do it, but you just refuse to.”
Silas remains quiet for a second. He places his hand on my lower back, pushing me toward the gates. The guards open them quickly and we step through. As we trudge up the stone road, Abigail stands out front. A Vampire has hold of her arm as she squirms trying to get out of his grip.
I try to run to her, but Silas’s hand on my arm stops me as he tugs me back beside him. When we get to the castle doors, I notice Abigail’s mother and daughter just inside the doors both shaking in fear, eyes wide. The Vampire grips Abigail’s hair, and she cries out, clutching at their hands.
“Let them go. Taylor, escort them home and don’t lay so much as a finger on them,” Silas says, and I know he is agreeing to what I want in exchange for what he wants.
Taylor nods and I see Jackie pick up Abbie’s daughter, placing her on her hip.
She runs past Abigail quickly. The Vampire still has a tight grip on Abigail.
Shaking Silas’s hand off, I step forward.
“Let her go now.” My voice does not waver as I glare at him. He smirks and steps closer, dragging Abigail with him.
“You heard her,” Silas growls behind me and the Vampire glances between us and he lets Abigail go. He then glares at me and takes a step back.
Fucking leech.
Matitus snorts and I know he is listening in on my thoughts again.
“You can go home with your family Abigail; come back in a few days,” Matitus says.
She nods, scurrying over and hugging me.
I hug her back, shrugging off my cloak. when I see her daughter is hardly wearing anything.
Silas watches me but says nothing as I go over and drape it over Jackie and her granddaughter.
“Elora, inside now,” Silas says behind me, making me glance at him.
Moving past everyone, I step inside then go to sit and remove my boots when Dragus comes over to me, kneeling and untying the laces.
I put my hand on his shoulder as he grabs my foot, removing my shoes, leaving me in my socks.
Silas and Matitus stroll in watching us while removing their own boots.
I wait for them before Dragus grabs my hand gently.
“Hungry?”
“A little,” I tell him and let him pull me further into the castle. Silas and Matitus follow closely behind. Glancing back at Silas, he is watching me.
“Thank you,” I tell him, and he looks shocked for a second then nods.