Page 88 of Vows of Silence

That was the part my body understood immediately.

Silas didn’t need darkness. He didn’t need a head start. He didn’t need anything except the decision to take me down, and I knew—without question—that he could.

But he wasn’t doing that. Instead, he was waiting, giving me time. Warning me.

Giving me an opportunity.

The realisation slithered down my spine slowly, tangling with adrenaline until I could barely separate fear from anticipation anymore.

He wanted me to run. But he didn’t want me to run away from him. He wanted me to runforhim. To join him. To participate.

The thought should have terrified me. Especially as I didn’t know what the end goal was. Instead, heat bloomed low in my stomach, sharp and humiliating.

The lights clicked off again, swallowing us both whole.

And this time, I ran.

I shoved against his chest with both hands as I passed him, but the giant barely moved, his body solid beneath my palms for the briefest second before I stumbled into the hallway beyond him.

The lights flickered back on.

When I glanced over my shoulder, Silas had turned slowly to watch me flee, only two fingers raised now.

God help me…

Chapter 28

The Flame

I raced through this strange house, my heart hammering in my chest. I could feel every beat pounding against my ribs, making it almost difficult to breathe. The lights flickered on and off, plunging me in and out of darkness as though they were doing it for their own enjoyment. Each time it happened, my breath faltered, my heart skipped a beat, and my lungs began to burn.

I could sense Silas behind me, easily navigating the darkness in a game where only he knew the rules, in a house that seemed made for him, bending to his every whim.

I passed doors that I could have sworn were open when I first walked past them, only to find they were sealed shut, the knobs not turning, no matter how frantically I twisted them.

The lights overhead flickered as I rounded another corner, my pulse thundering so loudly I could barely hear anything else. Every instinct screamed at me to move faster, to get as far awayfrom him as possible before the countdown ended and whatever game he had decided to play truly began.

I came to a crossroads—one way leading further into darkness, one leading upstairs, and then the marble stairs downstairs. I slowed slightly, pressing one hand against the wall as I tried to force air back into my lungs.

Think, Isabelle, think!

What would Luca have done here?

Or, what would he have told me to do?

He wouldn’t have let me wait here for long, that’s for sure. He would have told me to take note of my surroundings.

I quickly looked up the stairs and decided that was a no go. I’d seen enough horror movies to avoid attics for the rest of my life. Downstairs felt too close to the basement and a return to captivity. Which only left me with one option—even though I didn’t like that choice either.

But, it was the best of a bad bunch, so I ran forward, doing my best to take note of what I was passing as I did so. The house was blurring into one dark mass in my vision, making it hard to distinguish what I was seeing.

I knew there were endless doors. There were at least thirty rooms on this floor alone. One of them belonged to me. And I had to assume Silas and his grandfather also resided somewhere here as well.

Think, Isabelle!

Which was easier said than done when I was currently running faster than I had ever run in my life.

It would make sense for Silas to place me as far away from his grandfather as possible. I couldn’t say why I thought that, it just felt right. He had kept me to himself for too long just to deposit me at the hands of someone who didn’t want me here. That was just temptation at its finest. And I knew I wasn’t near my room.So I had a small chance of entering Silas’s room by entering one of these doors.