Page 107 of His Mark

When we were finally done, he tossed the last rope aside and ran a hand through his hair. “Good enough,” he muttered.

I glanced at him, arching a brow. “Good enough? You’re very confident in your survival skills for someone who just half-assed that knot.”

Silas grunted, stepping closer, his gaze dark in the dim light. “You doubt me, Wildcat?”

I grinned, tilting my head. “I think if the wind picks up, we might end up wrapped in this thing like a burrito.”

Silas shook his head. “Get inside, Wildcat. My knots will hold just fine.”

I rolled my eyes and smirked in his direction before slipping into the tent. Inside, it was warmer, the canvas blocking out the wind. Silas unrolled the furs, arranging them so that they formed a thick, soft bed across the ground. I sat down first, rubbing my arms to chase away the chill.

A moment later, Silas joined me, stretching out beside me before grabbing one of the blankets, pulling me down against him, and draping it over us both. The second he did, I melted into him.

His body was all heat and hard muscle, his arm sliding around my back and cupping my waist, tucking me against his chest. I heaved a long, deep breath, my fingers stroking against his chest, feeling the steady, solid reassurance of him.

For a long moment, neither of us spoke.

“You okay?” His voice was rough, but edged with unusual softness.

I nodded, though my throat felt tight. “Yeah.”

He was quiet for a moment. Then his fingers traced up my back, slow and soothing. “You don’t have to be brave right now, Lia.”

I swallowed hard, pressing my face against his chest. “I know, but I need to be.”

Silas’s grip tightened, and just like that, the weight of everything—the fear, the exhaustion, the uncertainty of what was waiting for us in that cave—seemed to fade, just a little. For now, I was here in his arms and no matter what tomorrow brought, I knew one thing for certain.

He wasn’t letting me go.

CHAPTER22

Silas

I woke before the sun, my instincts pulling me from sleep before any of the others stirred.

Lia was still tucked against my chest, her breathing even, her body soft and warm beneath the blankets. I let myself savor it for a moment—this rare, quiet peace—before the reality of what we were about to do crashed back over me like ice water.

Today, we were going into that cave, and there was a chance none of us were coming back out.

I exhaled slowly, pressing a kiss to the top of Lia’s head before shifting out from under her. She murmured something in her sleep, burrowing into the blankets, but she didn’t wake.

Good. Let her rest a little longer.

The camp was stirring as I stepped out into the cold morning air. Rowan was the first to meet my gaze, his face worried as he adjusted the straps on his pack. Varek squatted nearby, rubbing the back of his neck, looking almost relaxed, if not for the way his nervous eyes kept darting in the direction of the mine entrance off in the distance.

Ryan, Caleb, and Hale were finishing up the last of their rations, moving with the quiet efficiency of men who knew this might be the last meal they would ever have.

I rolled my shoulders, stretching out the stiffness from sleeping on the ground. “We all know the danger we’re facing,” I said, my voice calm. “Now we just need a plan.”

Rowan grunted, tightening the straps on his belt. “Varek, you still going in with Silas and me?”

Varek smirked. “I was planning on letting you two get eaten first, but yeah, I’m going in.”

Hale shot him a look. “That’s comforting.”

I ignored them, scanning the terrain. “Ryan, Caleb, and Hale, you three stay outside, covering the forward and flanks of the entrance. Keep constant watch and set up a fallback point. If anything comes out of that cave, you don’t hesitate: you kill it by any means necessary.”

Ryan nodded, his face grim. “And if you don’t come out?”

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