Into The Wild ~ Book 3 ~ The Royal Blood Collection

Chapter 21

Silas appeared at the doorway, surprisingly with a bunch of flowers in his hand. I'd expected a lot of luggage, maybe boxes of things that would clutter the entry for days but not flowers.

He offered a hesitant smile as he walked into my study, gently placing them on the desk.

"I thought about those couple of days, you know, the beginning."

I nodded gently, eyebrows raised but generally plain-faced.

"You said that I didn't care about my family, you probably thought a lot of horrible things and to be fair, most of them are probably true. I've spent years trying to get Alaric to where he is today and finally getting him there, it was like a burden had been lifted from my shoulders. To see that he didn't get closure to his issues, it hasn't been easy. It's all that any of us have wanted. We waited fifty years for that moment and it wasn't what we expected. I see how he is now and I tried to ignore it but when you said that maybe he was a product of a questionable upbringing, I realized that you were right. I'd raised that child, I created that monster."

"Silas,"

"No," He said, shaking his head. "I gave Alaric the belief that it was his birthright to be the ruler. I told him that he was robbed of his parents and even though the home we shared was a loving one, it wasn't the same as what his parents could have given him. You are right, he is a spoiled brat and I am the one that is responsible. To learn that you are pregnant, that I am faced with another child that I will raise, it has not been easy to deal with. Don't think that I'm backing out of this, I'm here one hundred percent."

"You're just suggesting that I not let you near the child?"

Silas looked at me, struggling to figure out if I was joking.

"This is a different situation. It's not going to be easy but there is no turning back. As for the past, it's just another one of those things that can't be changed. We can learn from them and I hope that Alaric has learned from what has passed between us. I want him to understand that he is destroying lives. Regardless of whether they are deserving or undeserving, these are still vampires that have loved ones. If Alaric sent his army in without giving the warning, I would be dead. Your child would be gone too. You might not realize it, you might have never known but that's not the point. He had no idea what or who was down here, just like the other provinces. Who has died that maybe didn't need to? I understand that he has a goal and that those provinces along the ridge were the ultimate prize but there could have been another answer. You didn't fail him as a guardian but you did fail him as an advisor. I hope that you will learn from this and pass the lesson onto Oliver. Maybe we can stop the bloodshed."

He smiled as he crossed the gap, wrapping his arm around my waist.

"Maybe we can guide them into a better direction for this land."

We could but the man was probably stubborn. He seemed very focused and I think that he wanted every single leader to pay for the past. Well, I wasn't going to pay for it but I suspect that my father had.

Silas kissed me, warily at first. I guess that it wasn't just a case of delicate territory, this was new and we hadn't started in the best of places.

"I know it was a forgery." He whispered against my lips.

I didn't say a word.

"This is what I offer to you to show you that I am more than what you think I am. I convinced him to sign the treaty based on a lie. I will continue to keep my silence to ensure that this province stays in your family."

"Why?"

"Because I remembered seeing you that night. I knew that your word was the truth. Maelen didn't talk politics to me all that often but if he trusted Farris and you with the love of his life then it meant a lot. To me, it said that you were worthy of this land and to go against anything that might have been previously agreed upon would be dishonoring two great men."