Chapter 6 Too Late To Take It Back

• "Silas, move!"
• I didn't think so. I just screamed his name and ran, Kian half a step behind me, both of us crashing through the tree line before either of us had a plan.
• Silas turned, confusion crossing his face for half a second, and that half second was enough for the shape behind him to freeze too, melting back into the shadows of the trees before I could get a clear look at who it was. By the time I reached him, chest heaving, the path behind him was empty.
• "What is wrong with you two?" Silas asked, steadying himself on his bad leg, more annoyed than alarmed. "You could've knocked me over."
• "There was someone behind you," I gasped. "In the trees. Watching you."
• Silas's eyebrows lifted, unimpressed. "Probably a student cutting through for morning drills. This isn't exactly a private path."
• "They weren't cutting through," I said. "They were following you."
• Something shifted in his expression, the annoyance fading into something more careful. He looked past me, toward the trees, then back at my face like he was actually considering it now instead of dismissing it outright.
• "You're the Bloodrose girl," he said slowly. "Wren, right? Rhett mentioned you."
• My stomach flipped, but I didn't have time to think about what that meant. "Please. I know this sounds insane, but I think someone's planning to hurt you."
• "Based on what?"
• I didn't have an answer that wouldn't sound like a lie or a confession, so I said nothing, and the silence stretched too long between us.
• "Wren had a dream," Kian said suddenly, filling the gap before I could stop him. "About you. About someone coming after you in the trees, right around here. She's not the type to make things up, Silas. Trust me."
• Silas studied me for a long moment, weighing something behind his dark eyes, the same eyes I'd seen in my dream, the same jaw I'd recognized before I even knew his name.
• "A dream," he repeated, flat.
• "I know how it sounds."
• "You don't have to believe her," Kian said. "But it wouldn't hurt to be careful, would it?"
• Silas exhaled, glancing once more toward the empty trees, then shook his head like he was shaking off the whole conversation. "Look, I appreciate the concern, but I've got border patrol experience. I can handle myself." He softened slightly, maybe catching the genuine worry still written all over my face. "But sure. I'll keep an eye out. Happy?"
• It wasn't the reassurance I wanted, but it was something.
• "Thank you," I said quietly.
• He gave me one last look, curious now instead of annoyed, then turned and continued down the path, his limp steady and unbothered, like the last five minutes hadn't happened at all.
• Kian let out a slow breath beside me. "Well. That went about as well as it could've, I guess."
• "He didn't believe me."
• "He didn't dismiss you either. That's something." Kian glanced sideways at me. "You want to tell me what that was really about? Because a dream doesn't usually make someone run headfirst into the woods like that."
• I opened my mouth to deflect again, but a voice cut through before I could.
• "What happened here?"
• Rhett stood at the edge of the path, arms crossed, his eyes moving between me and the empty trees with sharp, immediate suspicion. He must have come from the training hall, his jaw already tight in a way that told me he'd heard something, or seen something, before he even reached us.
• "Nothing," Kian said quickly. "Wren thought she saw someone near Silas. Probably just a student."
• Rhett's eyes landed on me, and I felt that same prickling weight from before settle over my skin. "Probably?"
• "I saw someone," I said, steadier this time. "Watching him. I don't know who."
• "And you just decided to run into the trees after them?"
• "I decided to warn him."
• Rhett's jaw ticked, something calculating behind his stare. "You don't even know my brother."
• "I know what I saw," I said, and my voice came out sharper than I meant it to, fear and exhaustion finally cracking through the careful control I'd been holding onto since I woke up gasping in the dark.
• Rhett didn't respond right away. He looked at me for a long moment, like he was trying to decide if I was lying, or crazy, or something else entirely that he didn't have a word for yet.
• "Stay away from my brother," he said finally, quiet and cold. "And stay out of things you don't understand."
• The words hit harder than I expected them to, considering I'd only known him for two days. I opened my mouth to argue, but he was already turning, already walking away toward the trees where the shape had disappeared, scanning the shadows with the same sharp focus his brother hadn't bothered with.
• "That could've gone worse," Kian offered weakly.
• "Could it?" I wrapped my arms around myself, the morning chill suddenly feeling colder than it had a minute ago.
• "He's protective of Silas. More than people realize." Kian nudged my shoulder gently, an attempt at comfort. "Give it time. He'll come around."
• I didn't answer, because all I could think about was the dream, the blood spreading across the ground, and the fact that whatever I'd interrupted this morning hadn't been stopped. It had only been delayed.
• And somewhere close by, whoever had been watching Silas from the trees was still out there, still waiting, still patient enough to try again when no one was around to scream a warning in time.