Taken

Chapter 14 (Part 1)

"Greysi!"

I jolted awake with a gasp, looking around disoriented. It took me a moment to find and register the blurred form of a large man standing near me. When I did, I clutched my blanket to my chest and scrambled back into the corner of the bed. My back hit the walls where they met as I blinked the clinging sleep and nightmares from my eyes. They seemed to have followed me into the world of the waking.

Thick arms folded over a wide chest as my eyes darted over his face which was difficult to see with the dim light bathing the room and framing him from behind.

"So damn skittish," he mumbled, speaking under his breath.

The hushed words not meant for my ears helped his features come into focus. I felt my shoulders loosen.

Silas.

I breathed out a breath of relief. It was much better to find him at my bedside, glowering down at me with a look that didn't seem to appreciate my reaction to being woken by him than who I had thought it was in my state of semiconsciousness.

"Couldn't you have just knocked?" I asked, clearing my throat when my voice came out in a croak.

What time was it?

Exhaustion was trying to drag me back under, weighing my eyelids and limbs. Rubbing my eyes, I looked towards the window expecting to find orange and pink morning light through the thin curtains, but what I found instead was the black night sky darkening it. It was too early to be awake let alone have to deal with Silas and the hostility he wouldn't explain. Though it was evident it was related to the matching marks we both had that he dismissed as nothing.

And his anger problems.

At least when he wasn't shouting, he resorted to avoidance. Much better than stomping around and snapping at us. Or worse.

"I did," he scoffed. "You sleep like the dead."

"I thought you could raise the dead," I dryly remarked as I dropped my hand back into my lap. I had to try not to grimace at the way his face darkened. It seemed exhaustion and not getting much-needed sleep still had the unhealthy effect of loosening my tongue and letting things slip past my filter.

He dropped his arms back to his side as he turned to leave, shaking his head. "You're the last one I would raise," he shot back on his way.

Though I may have deserved it, it didn't stop the irrational part of my brain from taking his remark to heart. It only revived the fading sting of the words from that night.

"Get ready. We leave in an hour," he said over his shoulder as he made his way out the door, leaving it open with his departure.

Thumping my head back against the wall in a mixture of dread and wanting to use the dull pain to keep me from curling up and falling back asleep, I sat there for a moment before pushing the sheets off my body. A shiver coursed its way down my body as the cool air penetrated through the thin shift gown I wore, causing goosebumps to pebble across my skin. It would be a while before the sun warmed the air again, though it would only be by a fraction of a degree.

Curling my toes as I set them on the cold wood floors, I grabbed the change of clothes I had set out the previous night before making my way to the washroom to get ready. It didn't take long.

Feeling refreshed, awake, and warmer in the thicker clothing, I made my way downstairs where the temperature rose further. Though the second floor grew chilly at night, the fireplace lit by a fire stone that kept the flames steady and in control kept the first floor nice and toasty. No one was required to stay up to keep an eye on it to ensure it didn't go out and cause us to freeze in our sleep or burn the house down no matter how large it grew. An added benefit of magic.