Page 117 of Close Quarter
Isatis stood on the other side of the stream.
Not his shade--his lemur--but Isatis, clear-eyed and smiling.
"Silvanus."
He bit back the automatic correction, because he was not Silas here, had neverbeenSilas here.
"Isatis?" The name was rusty on his lips.
When had he spoken it last?
Memories bubbled like sea foam on a wave.
A tile floor, cool beneath his feet. A man with eyes the color of summer grass and a soft voice.Whatwas his name?His own response.Vel Calavius Isatis.
Silas took a step back. "You're dead. I saw you die."
"Yes."
The pinpricks that had been chasing up and down his spine dug in. The stream. Dark and thin.
When he lifted his gaze again, it was not just Isatis who stood on the other side of the tiny, insignificant stream.
The whole court stood there. His mother, her hair as dark and curly as his, and his father with his straight light hair and honey eyes. Their king.
Tall and broad with laughter like wind ruffling grass.
Everyone.
Words stuck in Silas's throat. Home. He'd truly come home at last. And he could be at peace.
He'd been so tired for so long.
"We've waited for you," Isatis said. He held out his hand.
Everyone he'd ever loved was just a step away. Everyone.
"Silas."
His name sounded on the wind, like the distant roll of thunder. Or a crash of a wave. He turned toward it.
Everyone he loved?
His name came again, louder this time. With it flowed a breeze that smelled of pine--not the stone pines that grew here, but shorter tenacious pines from a distant shore, and sea grass.
"Rhys." As he spoke the name, the memories came. Rhys's smile. Coffee. The touch of skin and a passion that made him feel new and young again.
A ship, the soulless. Anaxandros. The daemon sword plunging into his flesh. Seeing Rhys before he died.
He haddied.
Silas looked back at the court, at Isatis and his family. Long moments passed before he spoke.
The words were for Isatis. "You've haunted me since that night."
His smile was sad and loving. "No. You only ever haunted yourself."
Rhys called his name again. This time it came with the words "fucking bastard." Silas couldn't help the snort.Rhys.
