Page 46 of Sonnets and Serpents
Eliza scrambled after him. “What was that?”
Silas shook his head.
She grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop on the sand. “Don’t youdarekeep this from me! You know something!”
He grimaced. “I’ve met that girl before—the one with the box.”
“That’s wonderful! So you know where to find Henry!” This day just kept climbing.
Until he shook his head. “It was a chance meeting. She’s ... dangerous.”
“Like you?” Eliza said heatedly.
He narrowed his eyes. “More so. And if she’s interested in Henry Wycliff, it’s not for any charitable reason. Henry may not be who you think he is.”
Every good thing, he had to sour. Eliza turned away, shaking her head. “You don’t know him. And the important thing is that Henry’salive. We’ll go back to Izili, and ...”
Her voice trailed as she realized the angle of the quickly lowering sun, saw her shadow thrown out long beside her. By the time they made it back up the cliffs, it would be dusk.
That’s fine, she thought, setting her jaw. They’d pick the search up again.
“Tomorrow—” she started.
“Is my day to work,” Silas said.
Eliza ground her teeth, but she refused to let him dampen her spirit. Henry was alive. The entire world felt alive again.
She began a determined march back to the university, and Silas fell into step beside her, looking at her strangely.
“Is Lord Henry a Caster?” he asked.
“What?” Eliza frowned. “No, he’s a knight.”
“The two are not mutually exclusive. Does he come from a Caster bloodline?”
“I ...” She faltered, stumbling over a rough piece of brush. “No, he’s just—he’s just Henry.”
Silas squinted, his lips thin, and Eliza suddenly felt like she’d exposed a secret.
“How well do you know this boy?” he demanded.
She glared at him. “I know Henry.”
“Howlonghave you known him? How much time have you spent together?”
“Long enough and time enough.”
“You’ve met his family?”
“I’ve met his ... father.” Heat grew along Eliza’s neck, and she blamed it on the lowering sun, even though its fierceness had gentled into sunset.
Silas was relentless. “How many months did you court before he was banished?”
“We never had a chance to officially court, but he’d declared his intentions. At least to me.” Had the tournament not gone so horribly wrong, Henry would have asked her father’s permission at the celebratory feast. Instead, everyone had spent the feast congratulating him on his chance to marryAria.
Eliza swallowed the bitter memory.
Silas gave a short, incredulous laugh. “You didn’t evencourthim. What, did you see the chivalrous knight compete in one tournament and ‘fall madly in love’?”
