Chapter Twenty-Seven

Silas

There was only the slightest hesitation before she took my hand. Anyone else might not have noticed it, but I did. The way her eyes, as alert and green as ever, flicked down to my upraised palm and then to my face.

"Where are we going?" she asked, using the question to help hide the hesitation as she lifted her hand.

"Not far," I promised.

"Are we flying?"

"No, no. It's here at the house." Her hand gripped mine, easily sliding between my fingers and thumb.

Like it belonged.

Forcefully, I pulled my mind away from that idea. I didn't want to linger on it just in case things couldn't be salvaged. Doing so would only make it hurt more, and I was already unsure of how I would handle losing her.

So, don't lose her.

My dragon roared its agreement from the depths of my mind. It didn't like my negative thoughts. How was I supposed to not have them, though? Despite my dragon's desire to throw her over my shoulder and carry her back to my cave to ravish her for the rest of her life, I knew that wasn't actually something I could do.

Chloe was a person. She had rights, and I had to give her the autonomy she deserved. No matter what I wanted. What I needed. Even if it was her. If she said no, that she wanted out, I would have to respect that.

The goal was to do everything in my power to make sure she never wanted to say no. That the only answer I ever got from her was yes.

And so far, I wasn't doing great.

Which was why I was taking that next step. One that would probably result in even more heat coming my way. I shrugged that aside, taking the stairs down into the basement, Chloe at my side.

A tiny shiver ran down my spine as I actively thought about that phrase. Of her being at my side. For now. For life.

I wanted that.

My stomach retracted as the gut-punch realization washed over me anew.

"Are you okay?" she asked as we reached the end of the stairwell.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, trying to compose myself so more of my thoughts didn't bleed through. Scaring her off would be the worst thing I could do.

I escorted her down a hallway to a heavy metal door with a giant wheel in the center. There were a dozen holes set evenly apart around the wheel. Each one as big around as my wrist.

Turning to Chloe, I smiled, giving her an apologetic look. "I'm going to need you to close your eyes for a moment while I unlock this if you don't mind."

She smiled and turned her back to the door. "So I don't see your secret passcode?"

"Pretty much," I said, unable to tear my gaze away from her. I wanted to stare at her forever.

"Silas?"

"Right. The door." Shaking myself free, I stepped forward, lifting my right hand. As I did, the lower half of my limb lengthened, growing red as my fingers became claws. Reaching forward with my dragon paw, I inserted my claws into the holes in a specific pattern. As they reached the back, pressure plates were triggered in a specific order.

Thunk.

"We're all good now," I told Chloe, my hand returning to its human form, even as I reached for the wheel and spun it counterclockwise, retracting the hidden bolts. Then, when I could turn it no more, I braced my feet and pulled on the wheel with both hands.

The door groaned and came open slowly.

"Wow," Chloe said as she saw just how thick it was. "That's massive."

"This is the family vault," I explained. "Most of the old families have one. Lots of important things kept in here. And since we have to keep dragons out, it has to be a bit more robust than you might be used to."

"Just a bit," she said, reaching her arms out to either side. Her fingertips just barely wrapped around the ends of the door. "Goodness."

As she did that, however, she got her first glimpse inside the vault.

"It's like Fort Knox," she observed, rocking backward on her heels. "Look at it all."

The vault stretched out into the distance, the lights flicking on slowly.

Row upon row of gold bars could be seen disappearing down the length of the vault. Stacked against either wall, they ran the length of the vault until the end, where they were simply stacked up against the wall itself hundreds of bars deep.

"We dragons like our treasure," I said, my dragon gazing contentedly at the huge heaps of glittering precious metal.

My eyes, however, strayed to Chloe.

"I can see that," she laughed. "But there's no way you brought me here just to brag about your money. Right?"

"Not at all," I said in a rush. "That was the last thing I had any intention of doing. It's just sort of a byproduct. Plus, it's fun to look at. My dragon is all fat and content and happy right now, like I just ate a dozen huge steaks or something. Huge dose of endorphins. But what I want is over here."

I led her between two stacks of gold to a side door, which opened to another section of the underground vault. The walls in there were lined with doors of varying sizes. Each of the family had a slew of lockboxes where they could keep their valuables. I walked up to one specific one, keyed the code in, and opened the door.

"What's that?" she asked as I retrieved something.

"It's for you," I said, handing her the sheath-encased knife, its creamy white handle sticking out of the protective case. "In case I'm never not around."

Deftly, Chloe slid the blade from its home and admired it, turning it over with a confidence I hadn't expected from her.

"Thank you," she said. "But I don't get how a knife is supposed to protect me from one of your kind. They won't penetrate your scales. Probably not your skin either, though I don't know if the military ever tried that. But if bullets can't stop you, how will this?"

I grinned. "You're right. Metal won't. But this isn't metal."

"It's not?" she held the blade up, looking at the dark material. "What is it?"

"Dragon scale," I said. "It will pierce my skin or the hide between scales on a dragon."

Her eyebrows shot up, then back to the knife, looking it over with sudden intensity.

"Why?" she asked in a whisper.

I shrugged. "So you'll always have a way to defend yourself. Even if you choose to no longer have me around."

"I don't think I said anything about that. Did I?"

"Your eyes did," I said, gazing into them.

"Oh." She glanced at me. Then away. Then back. "I'm just hurt, Silas. And rattled from being ambushed earlier. It hasn't been easy for me. I've never felt so powerless since coming among your people. It's humbling and very unsettling."

"I will protect you," I said instantly. "Always, Chloe. Always. I will be there for you."

She smiled awkwardly. "I know. That's not my point, Silas. My point is I've always been able to protect myself in one way or another. I taught myself how to do that. Now, everything I've done is useless with your kind. It's not a pleasant feeling and not one you will ever be able to understand, I'm afraid."

"Well, now you aren't entirely defenseless," I said, pointing at the knife.

"Yes, to a degree," she said tautly, clenching her jaw. Then she ran a hand through her hair.

"What is it?" I asked. "Tell me. What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking I need a break," she said.

My heart skipped a beat.

"From all of this. The stress and unease of being among your people. I need to get away from it. But I can't. So, I don't know what to do, Silas. That's what I'm thinking."

I pondered her words. When she first said she needed a break, I'd assumed she meant from me, from us. But that wasn't what she'd followed up with. So, maybe …

"You know what? That's a good idea."

She rocked back slightly in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, let's do it. Let's take a break. We'll leave. Get out of the Isles for a bit. Go on a vacation."

"We can do that?" she asked, jaw dropping.

"Of course!" I said, unable to hold back a laugh. "Do you think we just stay here all the time? I know the perfect place for us to go in the Caribbean. Nice beaches, good food, privacy. We'll go there for a couple of days. You can relax. How does that sound?"

Chloe flung herself at me.

"Careful," I said, easing the blade away from my midsection, even as I laughed.

"Thank you," she said, squeezing hard. "Thank you so much, Silas. This means a lot to me."

"You're very welcome," I told her, leaning down to kiss the top of my head.

A couple of days with just the two of us. Sun, sand, and nothing to worry about.

Hopefully, that would be enough to patch things up between us. To make it right.

Because I was quickly learning I hated the idea of her not being around …