Chapter 40 040

Chapter 40 040


Claire's POV

At first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.

The dark hair,vThe way his shoulders hunched forward even when he was kneeling. The shape of his jaw. All of it looked familiar but it could not be him.

It could not be Silas!

I shook my head, trying to clear the confusion. Silas was smart, He knew better than to do something this stupid.

He knew what happened to humans who crossed into hybrid territory. He knew the punishment was death.

But then the human lifted his head higher and our eyes met.

And right at that moment, my heart stopped.

It was him, it was my brother Silas.

I did not remember deciding to run. One second I was standing behind Lucien and the next I was on my knees in front of my brother with my arms wrapped around his neck.

"Silas!"

His name tore out of me and I could not stop the tears that came with it. His body was warm and solid and real under my hands. He was here before my eyes and it was so difficult for me to believe it.

"Claire?" He gasped as he spoke and then his bound hands were trying to reach for me even though the ropes held them back. "Oh god, Claire."

I pulled him closer, burying my face in his shoulder. He smelled like dirt and sweat and blood but I did not care. He was alive and he was here with me.

"I never imagined I would get to see you again." He was sobbing now, his whole body shaking against mine. "The rumors at the village, they said you were dead. They said you were gang raped by werewolves and your body was discarded in the bush."

I froze and then pulled back to look at him.

"What!"

His face was covered in bruises I had not noticed before, there was a cut above his eyebrow. His lip split. Dirt smeared across his cheeks mixed with tears.

"Who would spread such rumors?" My voice came out hard, accompanied by rage. Anger burned hot in my chest. "Who said that?"

Silas did not answer, His eyes shifted past me to where Lucien and the others were standing. Fear replaced the relief on his face.

"I only came to retrieve the corpse of my sister." His voice became calm and more careful.

"I did not want any trouble. I knew her spirit would never be at rest if she was not properly buried." He looked back at me. "I did not know you were alive. I swear I did not know that I wouldn't have come here."

"That does not matter now." I grabbed his face between my hands, forcing him to look at me instead of the werewolves behind us. "What happened? Why are you covered in bruises?"

Before he could answer, Lucien's voice immediately interrupted us.

"Claire!" He called out to me in his usual deep tone but the way he said it made my stomach drop.

"Follow me." It was not a request. "Guards, bring the human inside."

I stood up slowly, my legs shaking. Silas's eyes went wide with panic as two guards grabbed his arms and hauled him to his feet.

"Claire….." there was panic in his voice.

"It will be okay." I tried to sound confident even though my heart was racing. "Just come with us. It will be okay."

I followed Lucien back into the castle. The guards dragged Silas behind us and I could hear him stumbling, trying to keep up.

Lucien led us to the large living room, He sat down in one of the high-backed chairs and looked at me.

I stood there anxiously staring at him and not sure what to say or do.

"The reason your brother is here does not matter." His voice was calm but there was something dangerous underneath it. "He did not have any right to be here. He broke the human rules."

My throat felt tight, like I already knew where his words were headed "Are you going to kill him?"

He nodded once in confirmation.

His confirmation made my heart ache. Fear was slowly starting to take hold of me but I remained calm.

"That is not a problem." I met his eyes. "I will die alongside my brother."

Lucien's eyes widened. The calm mask he had been wearing cracked and something hot and angry flashed across his face.

"Why would you say that?" A frown had appeared on his lips as he stared down at me.

"My brother is here because of me." I could feel tears burning behind my eyes but I refused to let them fall. "He risked his life. His body is covered in bruises, bruises I am sure were inflicted on him by a werewolf while he was searching for me. All of this was for my sake."

My voice trembled but I kept going. "If he dies, then I am going to die with him."

Lucien started to respond but the sound of footsteps interrupted him.

The guards dragged Silas into the room and threw him down. He hit his knees on the floor hard, his bound hands unable to break his fall. A grunt of pain escaped his lips.

Something snapped inside me.

"Be careful with him!" I rushed to Silas's side and turned on the guard who had thrown him. "Can you not see he is hurt?"

The guard blinked, clearly not expecting me to yell at him. He looked at Lucien as if expecting him to cautious me at the way that I had just spoken to him.

"Apologize to her!" Lucien's voice was quiet but the command in it was unmistakable.

The guard's jaw dropped and I was also surprised "My lord, I…."

"Now!" This time his eyes flickered.

"I apologize." The words came out stiff and reluctant but he said them.

Lucien waved his hand. "You are dismissed."

The guard left quickly, probably grateful to get out of there.

I helped Silas sit up, checking him over for new injuries. His wrists were raw from the ropes. More bruises on his ribs. He winced when I touched his side.

"How long has it been since you ate?" I asked quietly.

"Two days." His voice was barely a whisper. "Maybe three. I lost track."

I looked up at Lucien. He was watching us with an expression I could not read.

"My brother is hungry." I kept my voice steady even though I was terrified of what his answer would be. "Even if he is going to be killed, he should at least have one last meal."

Lucien did not respond right away. Just sat there in that chair, his eyes moving between me and Silas. The silence stretched out, heavy and suffocating.

Silas's hand found mine and squeezed weakly. I squeezed back, trying to give him some comfort even though I had no idea what Lucien was thinking.

The word echoed in my head but I did not say it out loud. Please do not kill him. Please show mercy.

But Lucien just kept staring at us, his face blank, while I waited for his response.