Dimitri gave him a wry look as if he doubted Silas would heed his own words.
As Silas left the northern wing and crossed the courtyard, he wondered if he was capable of staying away from Gwennore. He’d been so terrified earlier that she would come to harm. Or die.
By the Light, he had to be suffering from more than a bad case of lust. He wanted to grab on to her and not let go. And it was so damned tempting to do that when he knew from overhearing her thoughts that she was also attracted to him. Whenever their eyes met, he could feel the pull between them. The yearning. It was so strong, it felt like a cord had connected them, and it was slowly being reeled in.
But she was going home in a month. If he truly cared about her, he needed to cut the cord. He shouldn’t send her home with a broken heart.
His hands curled into fists. What about his heart? She’d nearly killed him when she’d put herself in danger. And then she’d trampled all over his traumatized heart by declaring Puff the real hero. She’d called the general a jokester, a man who wasn’t to be taken seriously.
Dammit to hell! How could she dismiss him like that? Was that any way to treat a man she was attracted to? He strode into the southern wing, then darted up the stairs, two at a time, headed for her bedchamber.
She was going to take him seriously. Now.
* * *
Gwennore settled on a pillow in front of the hearth to let the heat from the fire dry her long, wet hair. After a hot bath, she was feeling much better. Margosha had taken away her sodden clothes with a promise to return later with some hot tea and soup.
Now she was dressed in a clean shift and trying to relax, but it was difficult to do when she knew Silas was going to fuss at her. Stop worrying about him, she told herself. It didn’t matter what he thought, not when she was leaving in a month. And there was no point in wanting a relationship with him. No one else would ever accept her here. So it was better to keep her thoughts private and never let him know how much she had fallen for him.
She carefully reconstructed her mental shield once again, placing each imaginary brick into place until she had a sturdy wall that Silas could never penetrate.
A knock sounded at the door. Probably Margosha. Gwennore rose to her feet, suddenly realizing how hungry she was. “Come in!”
The door swung open, and Silas strode inside.
She gasped. “What…?”
He halted with a jerk, his eyes widening.
She grabbed the pillow off the floor to hold in front of her. Good goddesses, she was wearing nothing but a thin shift. “You can’t come in now!”
His jaw shifted. “I have a few things to say to you.” He reached back and slammed the door shut.
He wasn’t leaving? “I’m not properly dressed!”
“I noticed.” He strode toward her.
She stepped back. “You need to go. Now!”
He stopped a few feet away from her. “I see you’re taking me seriously now.”
“What?”
“For your information, I was the one who sent the dragon to you. He didn’t want to go, but I insisted. I knew he could get to you faster than I could.”
“Oh. All right.” Why was Silas making a big deal over who did the rescuing? Gwennore looked him over. He was as handsome as ever, dressed in full uniform with brown linen breeches, green shirt, and his leather breastplate. His hair was disheveled, though, as if he’d dressed in a hurry, and his green eyes were glittering with emotion.
She hugged the pillow, making sure it covered her breasts and private parts. “Then before you go, I would like to thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
When he didn’t budge, she motioned toward the door with a pointed look.
He frowned at her. “I heard the dragon told you that he would always come if you called him.”
“Yes. It’s rule number three for dating a dra—”
“What you need to know is that the same rule applies to me. You can always count on me.” Silas thumped his chest, drawing her attention to his leather breastplate.
Her eyes narrowed on the four stars. The one on the left was tarnished. Green, just like the one she’d seen in the small cabin in the clearing. Were these the same clothes? Why had Silas dressed there? And how did he know what she and Puff had talked about? “Did you listen in on my conversation with Puff?”
“Of course I could hear you. Your shield was down.”
“I didn’t hear you,” she muttered. Or had she? Silas’s voice was similar to Puff’s, although it was hard to distinguish the two since she heard Silas’s voice with her ears and Puff’s voice in her mind. And Puff was usually speaking kindly to her with a soft voice, while Silas was either fussing at her or joking.
Scowling at her, he shifted his weight, “I told you how dangerous the forest could be, but you failed to heed my warning.”
She lifted her chin. “You failed to tell me about the trolls.”
He scoffed. “Telling you about bears, wolves, and wildcats wasn’t enough? Warning you that children get lost in the—”
“I was never lost! I knew exactly how to get back. And I’m not a child.”
His gaze drifted down to the pillow, then back to her face, his eyes blazing with a fierce intensity. “You shouldn’t have gone off by yourself.”
She winced inwardly. That much was true, although she hadn’t thought there would be any wild animals close to the castle. She’d assumed there were game wardens who kept the area surrounding the castle free from any danger. It was that way at the palaces where Luciana and Brigitta lived. “I would have asked you to accompany me, but you
