Captive of Wolves (Bound to the Fae #1) - Eva Chase Page 0,108

that much to you?” Sylas says. I can’t read his tone either.

“I’ve trusted you in so many things, but you’re wrong about this one,” I reply. “I’ll fight for her again if I have to.”

“It shouldn’t come to that. It shouldn’t have come to this.” Sylas makes a rough, wordless sound and lowers himself to the ground across from me.

We sit there for several minutes in silence. When I dare to look at him, he’s staring into the distance, his expression gone pensive.

“I will not rule like our father,” he says finally. “I made that decision so long ago that maybe I didn’t remember it well enough. It’s no kind of lord to be, staying on top by browbeating everyone less powerful than you. I intend to be worthy of every bit of loyalty shown to me. That’s why the pack has stayed with us, as many of them as could—because they knew I wouldn’t compromise my convictions and stoop to baser methods to get ahead.”

I’m not completely sure where he’s going with this. “You never have,” I venture.

His gaze comes back to me. “But I almost did. Those convictions should apply to this girl as much as they do any other being. The moment we found her and saw what Aerik had done to her, she came into our care. It should be beneath me to turn my back on her or look the other way knowing how others might treat her.”

Hope flickers into being within my ribs. This—this is why I would lay down my life for this man, why seeking another lord has never occurred to me. “What will you do, then?”

The muscles in his jaw flex. “We’ve survived the curse this long. We’ll continue to survive it until we find our own way to overcome it, permanently. What kind of fae would we be if we find ourselves dependent on a single human girl to save the whole of the Seelie race?” He considers me. “Would you also fight to see her returned to her own world?”

I hesitate, uncertain of how much my answer will sway his judgment regardless of what it is, wanting to be certain of my answer in case he does take it into account. Some of the impulses that jolt through me at that question are selfish, but I think I get the same result even when I separate those out.

“You were right before when you said Aerik will keep hunting her. She’s safest with us, as long as no one else discovers the power her blood holds.”

“I’m glad to hear I won’t have to grapple with you over that point as well.” Sylas’s tone is dry enough to be a gesture of forgiveness. “It will be… complicated. But following what is right often is. I’m sure we can work out a strategy that minimizes the potential damage.”

“You’ll talk to her?” I ask. “It’s been weighing on her—the uncertainty. I can tell. She should know as soon as—”

“I’ll talk to her this morning,” Sylas says, gruffly amused. “Give me a moment or two to get my thoughts together first, whelp.”

The wolfish part of me wants to lay down in the dirt belly-up in prostration, to say I recognize his authority and that I’m sorry for challenging it. But the marks on my chin are enough of a chiding—and maybe if I hadn’t fought, he wouldn’t have recognized his miscalculation in time. I won’t regret it.

I might regret what I’m about to say next, but the words tumble out anyway. They’ve been jostling around in my head too forcefully since the other night.

“Many other cadres have shared lovers between them. Maybe the lord wasn’t generally involved in those cases… but it could happen.”

The corner of Sylas’s mouth twitches upward. “I’m aware of that. But perhaps you should enjoy your first victory before chomping after the next.”

He brushes his hands on his slacks and stands. As he strides toward the keep, I can’t help noting that while that wasn’t a Yes, it definitely wasn’t a No either.

31

Talia

The next time I wake up in my bedroom in the keep, it feels almost like the first morning. I don’t remember reaching the building or getting into bed. But the dissonance of finding myself there unexpectedly doesn’t come with anywhere near as many fears this time.

Somewhere along the hike back here, fatigue and the ache in my foot caught up with me, and Sylas scooped me into his arms. I must have fallen asleep there. He carried