Chapter 23 #2
There is no self-pity in his voice, but that only makes it worse. I have spent the past months thinking of Silas as someone who holds all the keys. It never occurred to me that he might be trapped by the very world he seems to control.
“You don’t have a choice?” I ask, unable to hide my surprise.
“I suppose there’s always a choice.” He shrugs. “But my family has been leading the Veil for generations. It feels like my… obligation to continue.”
“I know what that’s like.”
One dark eyebrow rises skeptically.
“Not that I’m the heir to an ancient bloodthirsty cult like you are, obviously,” I clarify.
“Obviously.”
“But I get family responsibilities,” I continue. “Sometimes I feel like my life belongs to my mother more than to myself. Like I can’t ever really relax or be a normal twenty-something because I have her to take care of.”
Something in his expression softens. “And who takes care of you?”
“Josh did,” I say. “Now I take care of myself.”
The bridge settles again and we continue onward. For several steps, neither of us says anything as we follow the planks.
“What about you?” He turns to me, genuine curiosity in his eyes. “What do you want if you win the boon?”
“That’s easy. I want my brother back.”
The bridge shakes as we pass Rowan and Georgina and catch up to Van and his partner. Van edges past Silas, careful not to get too close, while his tattooed partner crowds me against the outer rope, the bridge rolling beneath our combined weight.
The third bell rings and then everything happens at once.
Van’s partner loses his footing and stumbles into me.
My heart lurches as my foot slips between two planks and the bridge snaps sideways, throwing me over the outer rope.
Rowan shouts my name while Silas risks his own safety, lunging across the pitching bridge to stop me from going over the side.
He isn’t fast enough.
The gust hits before he can close the distance, tearing across the ravine with enough force to blow a body over the edge.
Something surges through me on instinct, a strange rush of energy, some kind of burst of adrenaline, and somehow, I remain perfectly still.
My coat flies backward, but I go nowhere as the wind divides around me.
For one impossible second, I stand inside a pocket of perfect stillness while the storm breaks on either side.
Then it’s gone, and I’m still safely on my feet.
Silas stares at me, neither of us saying a word. I have no idea what just happened. It must’ve been… luck? The cliff probably redirected the gust, or the rock broke the momentum.
“Holy shit. Are you okay, Jack?” Rowan calls, his face tight with concern. Then he turns on Van’s partner. “What the hell was that? You nearly knocked her off the bridge, you asshole.”
The man shrugs. “It was an accident. She should be more careful.”
Silas steps beside me, one hand settling at the small of my back as his attention shifts to Van’s partner.
“Perhaps you’re the one who needs to be careful,” he says, his expression going lethally still.
“I’d watch your footing from here on out.
It would be unfortunate if the next person who went over the edge was you. ”
I know it shouldn’t matter and I can’t trust anything Silas says, but his threatening words make me feel strangely invincible.
As soon as the next gust passes, we move, slipping past Van and his partner to take the lead.
From there, Silas and I move almost instinctively together, pausing and shifting in unison, trusting each other without discussion.
By the time we reach the ruined tower, it feels like we’ve been doing this together for years.
I look up, my heartbeat quickening at the sight of what comes next.
The tower—the final obstacle—looms above us.
Its remains are little more than a column of stone fitted with iron pegs and the rotting frame of an exterior ladder.
At the top, the eastern signal lantern hangs from a pulley system connected to a counterweight below.
“You hold the line. I’ll climb,” Silas says.
“I’m lighter.”
“So you keep saying. I’m starting to feel insecure,” he says, his mouth quirking.
“It’s okay. I trust you,” I say, already reaching for the first iron peg. “You won’t let me fall.”
Something shifts in his expression.
“No. I won’t.”
Minutes later, I haul myself onto the platform, hook the lantern into place, and strike the match.
Silas pulls from below, sending the lantern rising above the ruined tower just as the first sunlight breaks over the trees.
The entire ridge turns gold as bells sound from the trailhead, every bell along Witch’s Ladder ringing at once.
The trial is concluded after we all descend and gather at the base. Only ten contestants remain, but I’m relieved to see Wren and Lena among them.
“The winners are Silas Blackhollow and… Jacqueline Mercer,” Van’s uncle announces, his attention settling on me with obvious displeasure.
“They reached the platform first and successfully raised the eastern lantern while demonstrating the hidden qualities of Air: clarity, perception, and adaptation. Leadership requires knowing when another person sees more clearly than you do.”
Silas looks at me. Our eyes meet, and warmth flutters through my stomach. There is none of his usual coldness in his face. No calculation I can identify. Only pride and camaraderie. I cannot deny that something has changed between us.
The thought should comfort me.
It terrifies me instead.
Though we may be partners now and he may appear to be helping me, I cannot forget what Silas is capable of. He is still a monster. If I lose sight of that, I might start believing he is safe.
Josh trusted him once too.
And Josh is gone.