Page 130 of Silk and Sirens

It just felt … real.

“Anytime, Tempest.”

Covered by one of Caden’s T-shirts, I followed the distant sound of the piano.

He’d left me to rest in his bed, but all I’d done was stare at the ceiling. I couldn’t sleep, not when my mind refused to quiet. Even here, after the first genuine sense of safety I’d felt in years, I still found myself planning a way out, calculating how quickly I could manipulate him if things went wrong.

It was instinct at this point, survival stitched so deeply into me that I didn’t know how to exist without it. Trust wasn’t something I really understood, especially from a man I’d blackmailed and had every intention of poisoning to literal death.

The music drifted through the dark in slow notes, and I followed it barefoot down the hallway, the hem of his T-shirt brushing against my thighs. I found Caden sat at his piano, with nothing but the city lights through the window illuminating his silhouette. He was still shirtless, the muscles in his back moving as his fingers brushed over the keys. His head was dipped, as if lost in whatever melody he was playing.

The puppy was sitting by his feet, looking up with his tail wagging excitedly. Already in love.

Caden really needs to name him.

“His mother taught him how to play,” came a voice to my right, and I jumped, pressing my back against the walls as Alexander came into view. “Apologies, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

It took a second for my heart to calm down, and then I stood taller, pushing my damp hair that was beginning to curl over my shoulder. “I didn’t hear you.”

“I was getting a glass of water.” He gestured to the glass in his hand and looked back at his son.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, hoping my tone wasn’t as aggressive as it felt.

“Selene.” Alexander side-eyed me, the hostility rolling off him in waves. Clearly I wasn’t hiding my distaste at his presence very well. Never mind.

“She doesn’t look like a good business partner now, does she?”

“Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit,” he replied with a sigh, finally turning to face me fully.

A quiet laugh escaped me. “Let’s not start measuring intelligence. I don’t think either of us walks away from that conversation feeling particularly good about ourselves.”

“What do you want me to say, Aeris? That I’m sorry?” His jaw tightened. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what happened to you,” he continued. “I’m sorry for what happened to your sister. It was never intentional, but it’s in the past, and nothing I can do or say will change that.”

“Would you have still agreed to help Selene if you knew?”

His eyes met mine, a muscle feathering in his jaw before he returned his attention to his son, who continued to fill the room with gentle notes. “Did you know Caden would play most nights when he was small? Thinking the music would bring Ruth home.”

I frowned up at him.

“It was … hard. For us both when she wasn’t medicated. She was in this vicious cycle I didn’t know how to break.”

“Alexander …”

“This isn’t an excuse, just an explanation,” he said, turning back to me. “So you can understand why.”

“It won’t make me hate you any less.”

“Probably not,” he said, looking older. Tired. “But you deserve to know that it wasn’t a decision I took maliciously. You just happened to be collateral damage.”

“I thought you were trying to apologise?” I bit out.

Alexander pursed his lips but continued with surprising civility. “I needed the money. A connection to other people within the Underworld so I could start my company and scrape back every penny my father threw away selfishly. I needed to hire someone to find Ruth when she disappeared yet again, and I was just⁠—”

“Overwhelmed.”

He swallowed. “I was barely keeping my head above water.” His laugh, when it came, was bitter. “You see, I was so consumed with trying to save her that I didn’t see how badly it was affecting Caden. He used to be this bright, excitable little boy. But over the years, he grew quieter … angrier. All he did was take care of her when she was home, try and make her happy, so she would stay.”

His grip tightened slightly around the glass.