Chapter 28 #2
“What did I say, Princess? No moving until I say so.”
I jerk under his touch when I feel invisible hands move toward my breasts, shadows made straight from darkness, cupping each of them as he smiles, pleased with my uncontrollable twitching. His fingers slowly pull out, and I groan at the empty feeling.
He clicks his tongue. “You truly are impatient, aren’t you?”
“Silas!” I moan, desperate for more of him, already about to come undone.
He lowers his body over mine, his hardness teasing at my entrance. He stares into my soul, crashing his mouth into mine as he plunges his length into me with a hard push—a sob leaving my throat from the feeling of being intertwined. I claw at his back, and he groans into my mouth.
Release clouds my vision as I scream his name. His pumping quickens as I pulsate around his length, my core clenching tight around him. He doesn’t slow as I ride the high, arching my back as if floating into the clouds.
“Fuck!” I gasp.
He changes the pace, moving slowly and so deeply that I fear he can’t go any further.
He’s to the hilt in my core, and the need for more doesn’t ease as I come back down.
With another deep thrust, he shoves himself deeper once more before a low, feral moan leaves his mouth.
Silas tips his head back as he comes deep into me, still moving until the last second.
He kisses me deeply, slowly, and thoroughly.
He stares deeply into my eyes. “Say the word, and I am yours, Briar.” He kisses me again before pulling away. “Or don’t, and I’m still yours until we travel to the darkest realms and after.”
Expecting no response from me, he lays beside me on the bed. Moving a piece of hair from my face, he kisses my forehead. I could live in this moment forever.
“You are mine, Silas, and I am yours. Darkness and all.”
We remain tangled together until sleep finds us both easily. We stay this way until the morning sun beats into my window, surrounded by golden light rays.
He lies next to me as I turn to face him, watching his back rise and fall with steady breaths, showing he’s still in a deep sleep.
Small scars paint his back with white and dark purple lines—scars that hold memories he hasn’t wanted to talk about yet.
I trace one scar with my finger and listen to the calming sounds of his breathing—sounds that mean he is safe.
Scooting off the bed, I grab his shirt and throw it over my head before heading to the bathing chambers.
I splash cold water on my face, needing to feel energized after a long night with Silas.
A knock thuds on my door.
Shit.
Peering around the door, Silas still sleeps, undisturbed by the knock. I barely allow the hinges to open as I peek through the silt of the wooden frame. Maines stands, hopping around, impatient as ever.
“Hi,” I whisper, not fully opening the door.
Maines wrinkles her forehead. “Can I come in?”
Fiddling with my hair, I glance back at Silas. “Now isn’t a great time. I’m just waking up.”
She pushes the door open. “What do you mean it isn’t a great…” She trails off at the sight of Silas naked in my bed, the sheets barely covering his muscled ass.
She snaps her attention to me once more, noticing the shirt I’m wearing, which nearly hangs to my knees.
“Gods,” she laughs. “Now that’s a sight to see!
The Prince of Darkness, asleep in your bed.
” She steps back, giving me space, but whispers with a wink.
“Don’t worry, I’ll bring you some tonic later. ”
“Can I help you with something?” I huff.
“Well, we found something,” she says, failing in her attempt to stay quiet.
“We? What do you mean we?”
She pushes the door open further, revealing Oak standing there with a wide grin. “Hi there, Princess! Long night?”
Silas pushes off his hands, raising his head off the pillow, sleep still heavy in his eyes. “Good morning, everyone. Enjoying the view?”
He pulls the sheets up with a groan, turning his bare back to us.
“Actually, I am,” Maines jokes. “Get up, Nastronde. You’re looped into this mess now, and as much as I like to pretend not to like you, we need your help!”
He slips off the bed, the sheets following wrapped around his hips, and growls, heading toward the bathing chambers before slamming the door. “Well, someone isn’t a morning person, are they?”
Maines and Oak laugh as they enter the bedroom, hand in hand.
“Okay, enough, you two!” I snap, getting more annoyed by the second.
Spinning on my heel, I follow Silas, closing the door behind me and leaving Maines and Oak by the fireplace.
He steps forward—now dressed in whatever clothes he found on the floor—and grabs my face with an intensity that instantly makes my core feel molten once more.
He kisses me deeply, brushing a strand of hair that has fallen from my face, unconcerned that Oak and Maines can hear us.
“I have a feeling they’re going to catch me up on everything?” he asks.
“You’re in this now. I hope you’re ready,” I reply, grabbing his hand.
Silas softly smiles. “I’m always ready, my Briar.”
My response is kissing him in return, deep and slow. If the others weren’t right outside, I’d scream his name again. I dress and slip out of the room, joining my friends around the crackling fire.
“So, the resurrection stone?” Oak cuts the silence.
Silas blinks. “I’m sorry, what?”
Squeezing his hand, I pause, letting Oak continue.
“We found some additional text on the steps you must take to bring someone back. The longer they’ve been dead, the more extensive the process.
You must complete the ritual in the presence of the four main elements.
The process isn’t quick, but it’s doable. ”
We stare at him as Oak recites what they’ve learned, sounding like he’s been studying for years.
“Air, water, earth, and fire must be involved… and blood. Lots of it for the final ritual. If they are not performed in that order or skipped, it will be incomplete and won’t work.
The stone can resurrect however many people you’d like, but there is a large cost: your magic, lifeforce, and soul if you continue to bring people back. ”
“Thatcher,” is all I manage to say. “My father is using Thatcher to complete the rituals. It’s what he meant in the office, Oak!
Our magic is already riled up during the trials from fear, anticipation, excitement, and the rituals.
The bouts of magic aren’t noticeable since there is already such a surge.
Doing this on his own would have caused too much suspicion! ”
“I knew something was off during the second trial,” Silas cuts in. “When I arrived on the island, Thatcher, Cromwell, and the Twins were in the middle of the island instead of getting back in the water to win. I didn’t think anything about it at the time.”
“That means Calia is in on this, along with your father, Maines,” I add.
“So, it seems like he’s completed three of the four rituals then,” Maines joins in. “Air, water, and earth!”
Oak shakes his head. “No, Thatcher was knocked out during the third trial. I don’t think he ever completed one, so we have more time. They’re going to have to start over.”
Dread flushes my face, the color draining. “We don’t have time. Thatcher didn’t complete a ritual in the third trial… I did, within the earth element—the forest.”
“Shit,” Silas chimes in for the first time since the conversation started. We all glance in his direction. His head dips low, his mouth forming a thin line.
“I would have never let Rohhit die, Silas. You know that. I knew something was off when I blacked out and had the vision of my mother.”
“Briar, you didn’t just black out. Your body hovered over the ground.
A silent scream was being ripped from your mouth like your body was desperate to get rid of whatever was being held inside.
Tears were streaming from your black eyes.
I couldn’t come near you. Shadows were swirling around you like a black veil,” Oak explains.
I lower my head. “When the ritual started, I saw my mother. The same thing happened to her. It’s what killed her. Rose was with her that night, but I don’t know why yet.”
We all exchange looks, the crackling fire blocking the silence from becoming unbearable.
“You were pure darkness, Briar, unlike anything I’ve ever seen or felt.
What was moving around you was ancient. Your hands glowed black, the darkness snaking through your entire body like a disease.
When I arrived, I pulled you from the shadows.
The shadows around you didn’t hurt me. Oak tried, and it nearly took his hands off,” Silas adds.
I glance down at my hands, the black veins barely visible. “We’re going to have to continue to compete in these trials. We can’t let Thatcher successfully complete another ritual. And we’re going to have to break into my father’s study again. I know there’s something in there that we missed.”
“I’m coming with you, then,” Silas cuts in. “You aren’t doing this alone.”
Maines claps her hands. “Well, then it’s settled. You two are going to break into his study… again, and we’ll keep watch. I’m great at distractions, remember? I’ll poke around to see if I can find out what the fourth trial entails.”
For some reason, being closer to finding the truth doesn’t make me feel at ease. I need to speak to Rose to figure out what happened the night my mother died. I know this is all connected, but I don’t know how. Maines and Oak gather a few books and place them in her satchel.
“We should all meet back up tonight! Oak, you are coming with me,” Maines says.
“To the ends of the realms, Miss Madden,” he replies with more meaning behind that than she realizes.
Oak follows her through the heavy doors, shutting them with a thud.
“I’m going to go ask some questions. Stalk, if you will, since you think I’m an expert on that.
” Silas winks. Rolling my eyes, he closes the gap between us.
“Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.
See if you can find anything that could help us in the texts here.
” He kisses my forehead and moves down to my mouth; a soft kiss sending a shock through my body.
He shifts from where he stands, shadows lingering where he stood.
We don’t have time to wait until tonight. While my friends are away from danger, I’ll do what needs to be done, and I’ll do it fast.