Page 113 of Sonnets and Serpents
Silas went back to his dorm, she told herself, trying to believe it.Kerem is off doing evil snake things, and Silas is sulking in his dorm.
She reached in her pocket, curling her fingers around the leatherbound snakeskin Silas had given her, tucked against her book of sonnets.
Silas is fine. He’s fine. He’s too stubborn to get hurt.
Yet she remembered wrapping his wounded leg in an alley. The last snake he’d come up against had won, and she had a feeling Kerem was far more ruthless than a cobra. For all Silas’s bold opinions, he was softhearted. He comforted crying princesses. He tried to rescue strangers from prison.
He was going to get eaten alive.
Gill touched her shoulder, and for a moment, they shared a silent worry.
“Henry will find him,” said the Caster.
She wondered if he was having as much difficulty talking himself out of the fear as she was.
Once at the healing hall, Afshin talked with Ceyda until he ran out of questions and she ran out of energy. Eliza caught highlights of the conversation but missed large chunks as well. For all her improvement, her Pravish still had a long way to go. As far as she could tell, Afshin’s suspicion of Kerem grew during the conversation.
He ordered a search for the professor.
Unfortunately, Henry returned to the healing hall out of breath and empty-handed. He’d searched the dorm and campus buildings but hadn’t found Silas anywhere.
Silas couldn’t die. If he didn’t want to love Eliza, fine. If he wanted to be a stubborn, ill-tempered snake hermit all his life,fine. But he couldn’t die. She wouldn’t allow it.
“Henry,” she said softly, reaching for him.
He must have anticipated the request she was about to make because he shook his head, taking a step backward. She caught his hands anyway, drawing him back toward her.
“I’ve seen the way Silas can use snakes,” she said. “It’s how he found me. Please. Whatever animal link you have, you can find him.”
“I can’t,” he said, voice cracking.
She wrapped her arms around him. After a hesitant moment, he pressed his hands to her back and rested his chin on her shoulder, breathing deeply. The irony struck her—how she’d once tried to convince Silas to help her find Henry, and now it was the other way around. She remembered throwing herself into Silas’s arms in the library, partly as a ploy to get the braceleton his wrist and partly out of genuine fear of the python at their feet.
Here she was again, just as fearful but of different things. Manipulating with another hug.
But she would do whatever it took to find him.
“How long have you been an Affiliate?” asked Gill with some wonder.
Henry tensed, pulling away from Eliza. Color stained his cheeks. “Just recently.”
He seemed bolstered by the fact that Gill didn’t run screaming in the other direction. Instead, the Caster gave a gentle smile and said, “You’ll be pleased to know Her Majesty has repealed the laws against Animal Affiliates. You’re safe to be yourself in Loegria now.”
Eliza’s heart swelled. She could always count on her sister’s compassion.
“My family will still hate me,” Henry whispered. “My father ...” He trailed off, clearly thinking of how things had gone between Silas and Lord Bennett.
“Actually, as a member of the Upper Court, your father has spoken in defense of freedom for magic. Aria is relying on Lord Wycliff quite heavily to help champion all the changes she’s making.”
For a moment, Henry just stared, as if he had to repeat Gill’s words in his mind before he could make sense of them. Then he gave a small smile, meeting Eliza’s eyes once more.
As if steeling himself for a tournament, he said, “I’ll try.”
“Thank you.” Eliza sagged in relief. “Now will you finally tell me what your animal link is?”
It likely wouldn’t be as widespread as snakes, but she could still hope for a miracle.
“It’s better if I just show you.”
