Taken

Chapter 19 (Part 4)

My eyes widened as my heart pinched at the imagery her words produced. The tragic details made wrapping my head around her having a dead body stashed in her house easier, even understandable to a degree. I would want answers too if I were in her shoes, even if it meant keeping a body in the freezer.

Unlike Silas, her steps or voice didn't waver as she detailed the tragedy. Her stride remained steady, just as difficult to keep up with as his.

"How did she die?" He asked, easily keeping up with her.

"I killed her with the blade she left in my son's chest. Then, I used a spelled amulet to keep her body from decaying once things had settled."

Instead of condolences, Silas gave her a promise. "I'll get you your answers."

Tia gave him a sad smile.

This end of the hallway also ended with a door, only it wasn't so heavily reinforced and no one stood guarding it. Tia pushed it open, picking up her pace to place some distance between us as she made her way onto the street. The sky had darkened with night while we had been inside.

"My house is a bit of a walk from here," she said over her shoulder before turning back. Her stiff movements and increased pace made it clear that she was done sharing and chit-chatting.

She made her way down the street which looked like the opposite of the one on the other side of the building.

It had been sad, decrepit, and corrupt, while this one was warm and inviting. Large trees lined the street, strung with warm twinkling lights while people milled about. They seemed more friendly than the men with sleazy eyes had been. Fortunately, none of the eyes I briefly met while following Tia and Silas were dead and empty like some of those I had seen on the other side.

Receiving her message that Tia wanted a moment to herself, Silas slowed his steps to linger back with me while she pushed ahead. She slowed her pace to match ours once she felt there was enough distance between us to save her from unwanted conversation.

Silas wasn't so lucky.

"So... you and Tia... I'm guessing you two were more than just friends?" I asked, curiosity clawing at me.

Watching him and Tia interact made him seem less intimidating and scary. She had no reason to let him go unchecked like Hilda did with her guilt. The last few days with Silas constantly by my side already made him easier to approach, but hearing Tia calling him out without trying to excuse his behavior had me feeling validated and emboldened.

Enough to pry into that which did not concern me. Like his prior relationships.

"It was a long time ago," Silas said, surprising me with an actual answer instead of just a glare. Not that it was missing.

"Not long enough, it seems," I mumbled under my breath.

If it had been, the pain and anger that had flashed in his eyes would have been numbed by the passage of time. Hearing about the tragic turn his ex's life had taken was what had it slipping from his expression.

"Three years ago," he clarified.

"How long were you together?"

He paused and I could see him debating whether to answer or not.

"Five years," he sighed. "It ended the moment I walked in on her riding Korren like a stallion."

Anger began to tighten his features again as he recalled the past.

"Her dead... Bonded?" I asked. I think that was what Tia had called him.

Silas grimaced, the fire that had ignited as he recalled the past fizzled with the sobering reality of the present. He nodded, ducking his head.