She should not be thinking about getting laid while she was standing feet away from Silas’ very large, very inviting bed.
Focus.
She couldn’t believe she was doing this.
It had been reckless of her to blurt out her past to Silas. She knew that. One word from him and she’d be kicked out of Aestas for good.
And yet she’d been able to sleep the night before, rather than pacing her apartment worrying who he might tell. For some strange reason, she felt safe with him. He had been nothing but open, honest, andfair, acknowledging his privilege and showing a willingness to learn. It wasn’t enough to make her trust him fully, but it was enough to make her believe that he wouldn’t actively try to screw her over for no reason, which was far more than she trusted most people.
“So,” he said as he buttoned his shirt, sealing her distraction away under a layer of fabric. “I trust this is not a social visit.”
She was shocked to realize that a good part of her wished it could be. Silas was smart, and funny, and seemed like he might spend a good deal of time hating himself, which meant they had a shared hobby. If things were different, maybe she and Fiona could be nursing their respective crushes together, talking about double dates and weekend getaways with Silas and Tess. But that couldn’t happen. Katherine was too much of a mess for a normal relationship. A relationship with this man, this threat to her home, would never work out. She’d rather save them both the future heartbreak.
“It’s not.”
Silas pulled out the chair of the desk for her, gesturing for her to sit. She did, shivering as his fingers brushed her shoulders before he walked away and perched on the edge of the bed. He leaned toward her, the motion pushing his shoulders forward and showing his muscled arms through the material of his shirt.
“What can I help you with today then, Katherine?”
Her hands balled into fists. Risky. This was very risky.
But she didn’t think she had any other choice.
“There’s someone in Aestas making and selling altum.”
Silas stared at her. “You mean the man you tried at the coven meeting the other night?”
Katherine shook her head. “He was selling, but I don’t think he was making it. Someone else is doing that. And I think I know who, but I can’t find any actual evidence. I was wondering if you could help with the tracking spell.” She gestured at his pocket, where she knew he kept that small spellbook. Who knew what that thing held? Maybe there was something Noctis hadn’t shared, something that would help her pin Byron to the wall. “Or if you had anything stronger.”
She took in Silas’ pinched face.
Oh no, she thought.I overstepped. I told him too much, asked for too much, and now he’s going to use this to get Sylvia out, and it’s all going to be my fault.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have. I’ll just—”
Katherine stood, hustling toward the door, but Silas stopped her with a warm hand on her shoulder.
“Katherine,” he said. “Who do you think is doing it?”
“Byron Chambers.”
Silas blinked.
“I know he’s from a powerful family,” she said. “I recognize the risks of confronting him. But I think that the benefits outweigh—”
“Byron isn’t doing it, Katherine. Sylvia is.”
Katherine’s breath hitched. Not good, for her breath to hitch now. Not good for her heart to pound against her chest, for her head to fill with that familiar wooly static. Not good for a panic attack to creep in when she desperately needed to keep her wits about her.
Silas thought Sylvia was making altum.
This was bad. The only thing that could make it worse was if he knew Sylvia had been at—
“I found her caster at Hollywood and Highland.”
And that was worse. Questions peppered Katherine’s mind—when Silas had found it; how Sylvia hadn’t noticed it was missing; what Silas planned to do with this information. If Silas knew that there was more to this story.
“That doesn’t mean she had anything to do with the altum,” Katherine tried, even though she knew it was a long shot. Throwing something at the wall and hoping it might stick so she could leave here and break down in the elevator. Figure it all out once she was on the other side of this panic attack.
