19. Silas
Silas
The craft does not care which well you draw it from, only how deep you’re willing to reach.
Ramiel’s face shifted back to his own as he smoothed down his jacket completely fucking calm. He plucked a piece of lint from his shoulder like we were discussing fashion instead of our failed plan.
“Getting Calder out. That was the entire point of this.”
“I remember the plan, Si.” He pulled out his pocket watch, checking the time with the kind of casual interest that made me want to break something. Preferably his face.
“Ramiel.”
“Give it a moment.”
“A moment for what? He’s gone. We lost our only way through the veil because you couldn’t—”
The air shimmered.
Calder appeared in the center of the room, alone this time.
No blank expression. No empty compliance.
Just rage written across every line of his body as he turned to face me, his dark features somehow turning darker.
“You son of a bitch. If you’ve hurt a single hair on Syneca’s head, I will show you every manner of pain I can imagine.
And I have a very creative imagination.”
Ramiel’s eyes lit up. “I like him already.”
I stared at him, trying to process what had just happened. “How did you—”
“Where is she?” Calder demanded, cutting me off. “Where’s Syn?”
“She’s fine. Probably burning something down in my manor as we speak.”
“I want to see her.”
“No.” I watched him carefully, searching for any sign of Evanoch’s control. Any flicker of that blank expression I’d seen moments ago. “How are you free of him?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “That’s none of your business.”
“Make it my business, or I walk out of here and you never see Syneca again.”
“You can’t just—”
“I can, and I will.” I held his gaze, letting him see I wasn’t bluffing. “I’ll take you to her, but only if I can trust you the way I once did. So convince me right now.”
“Trust?” Calder’s deep laugh was humorless. “That’s rich coming from you. I’m not the one who’s been lying this whole time, Silas. You are. So don’t stand there and demand I prove myself to you when you haven’t earned a damn thing.”
Fair point. Still didn’t change the situation.
We stood there, locked in a stalemate. Neither willing to give ground first.
Footsteps passed in the corridor outside. Voices murmuring. Guards making their rounds.
Ramiel sighed, the sound exaggerated and theatrical.
“You two can stare at each other until you become lovers, which is fine. I’ll pull up a seat and watch everyone get naked.
But not here.” He gestured toward the door.
“We need to leave before someone notices we’re having a domestic dispute in Evanoch’s dining room. ”
The silence stretched another beat.
Then Calder broke. “A charidryn can’t be owned.
We aren’t beholden to bargains like other beings.
The heart stone makes us sovereign, gives us our own domain.
” He said it like admitting this truth was a betrayal of everything he’d been taught.
“My compliance with Evanoch was by choice. To learn what he was doing. I trusted you to take care of them while I figured out what was going on. But apparently you already knew the whole fucking time.”
I studied him carefully, weighing the truth against what he might be hiding. But all I found was exhaustion and genuine anger at being questioned by the biggest liar of us all.
“Ramiel,” I said without looking away from Calder. “Your border.”
“Agreed.” Ramiel moved toward the door, whispering something under his breath.
Our appearances shifted. Not dramatically, just enough. Different faces. Different builds. Alterations that would let us walk through Kiamond without drawing attention.
We left Evanoch’s manor and Ramiel led us through the streets with a casual stroll.
Calder didn’t bother taking any of it in.
Didn’t flinch when a gargoyle shifted position on a nearby roof.
Didn’t pay attention to the people bargaining over something that glowed red.
Didn’t seem bothered at all when a vampire passed close enough that her elongated teeth caught the lamplight.
He just kept walking. Eyes forward. Single-minded focus that meant he was on a mission and wouldn’t be deterred by anything short of death.
And I respected the hell out of him for it.
Calder had always protected Syneca and Vitoria like family because they were all he had after everything that had been taken from him. Every threat, every danger, he’d put himself between them and it without hesitation.
I hoped he’d pass this test. That he was telling the truth. That we hadn’t just walked into an elaborate trap that would cost us everything. Because now he knew the Phoenix was in the Underworld. Now he knew for sure where a massive source of power could be found.
The border appeared ahead of us, a dark shimmer I couldn’t see through because this was not my court. Ramiel stopped at the edge, turning to face us. “I need to set things in order with my court while we’re here. I’ll stop at the manor as soon as I can.”
In truth, he was giving us privacy, trusting me to handle Calder alone while he dealt with the politics of his court and his upcoming absence. He’d be coming with us to Fuerlis. We needed him.
I dipped my chin in acknowledgment. “Thank you.”
“Don’t make me regret it.” He walked through the border back into his territory. Then it was just Calder and me.
“Walk through,” I said.
Calder stared at the barrier. “Why?”
“Because the Ash Court belongs to Ramiel. Only those who’ve pledged allegiance or bargained their souls to him can pass freely. And those who can never be bound to any court wouldn’t be stopped by a border at all.”
Understanding dawned in his eyes, quickly followed by anger. “You’re testing me?”
“Yes.”
He shook his head and walked through without hesitation, no resistance pulling at him, no pain flaring across his features. Just stepped across like it was nothing more than air and intention. Then he came back through just as easily.
“So you’re not his,” I said.
“And you’re not a fucking bird, yet here we are. Now take me to Syn.”
The walk back was mostly silent. Exactly as I would have preferred it. But he had more to say, and as the tension grew with our final steps, I nearly broke the silence myself. But he beat me to it.
His words were quiet. “You knew. You knew I was the last charidryn. Knew Evanoch was in Dyssara and the trap was for me. Why didn’t you warn me? Why not take two fucking seconds and keep me from walking into it?”
Fair question, and one I’d expected him to ask eventually.
“Everyone living in that apartment had secrets,” I answered.
“Had I known Syn was the Phoenix, I would have done more. I would have taken her out of there, protected her better. You should have told me instead of parading around pretending to be her familiar.”
I stepped forward, letting him see exactly how serious I was about what I was going to say next.
“There was no pretending. The witch is mine and bound to me. We share a magical bond that goes deeper than anything you will ever understand. I am her beast as much now as I ever was, and there wasn’t a single person in this realm or any other that I would have given her secrets to.
” I held his gaze without wavering. “Not even you.”
Calder stared at me, processing what that meant.
He didn’t bite back. Instead, he must have found the trust he used to have in me because he said, “Evanoch can’t leave Dyssara.
He can’t walk through the Erelith himself.
The Seeker has never granted him permission no matter how many times he’s tried. ”
“So he’s a prisoner.” I’d deduced as much, but this was confirmation enough.
“Depends on your definition. He had enough reach to hunt my family across continents, to capture me when I got careless. That’s not powerless.”
“He’s still a prisoner, and you’re the chariot to his past. To the Underworld.
But don’t let him fool you into thinking he cares about anything except the future.
I suppose that means we have to make sure he stays there.
He can’t be allowed free access to Fuerlis.
He’ll kill every remaining Fury to break their hold on the demon princes’ power.
The veil will fall, and demons will flood into your realm with a vengeance that’s been building for centuries. ”
Calder’s steps paused. “What does that mean?”
“Have you seen a hungry demon? Absolutely every being in Fuerlis would become prey.”
Calder went quiet. “Yeah. I’ve seen some things. Just get me to Syn.”
I nodded, gesturing forward. “She’s at the manor. Pip’s there too.”
His expression eased, tension bleeding from his shoulders. “She’s really okay?”
“She’s furious at me, powerful beyond what she understands yet, tapping into magic she’s suppressed her entire life.” I started walking again. “But yes, she’s okay.”
Through the bond, I felt her restless energy pulling at the connection between us like a thread drawn too tight.
She knew we’d left to retrieve Calder, but she didn’t know yet that we’d succeeded.
I could go to her right now, tell her myself, watch her face when she realized her best friend was safe and whole.
I could give her something she was desperate for.
But if I saw her now, knowing we’d succeeded, I wouldn’t be able to hide what I was feeling. Wouldn’t be able to maintain the careful distance that kept her safe from the worst parts of what I was.
Better she stayed angry with me. Better she kept me at arm’s length where I belonged.
“We’ve got to go back to Fuerlis,” I said.
Calder stopped walking. “What?”
“Syneca owes a life debt. She needs to hunt a dragon there.”
“And you need me to get you there? How’d you get back to the Underworld without me?”
“The short version? Aureth was a Fury sister. When she died, the veil weakened for a few moments. I couldn’t do it again if I tried.”
Calder’s spine straightened. “There’s something you should know before we cross back and you’re not going to like it.”
“I rarely do.”
“Wickett pledged to Evanoch.”
Damn it.
“He swore every hunter he commands to Evanoch’s service.
And all those witches he’s been ‘saving’?
They’re his now too. Evanoch’s building an army in Fuerlis, and Wickett just handed him the perfect soldiers.
Hunters who know how to track and witches who are too grateful to question where their orders come from.
Syn will be devastated and try to free them. She can’t know yet.”
“She must. The second we cross back, we’re walking into a realm where Wickett is hunting again. And this time, he’s got a demon prince backing every move he makes, and she’s still got that fucking mark on her palm. No one goes in unprepared. Especially her.”