The excitement from the big fight at the Glass Tower disappeared the moment we got into the elevator. My legs felt weak. My laptop bag felt very heavy on my shoulder. I was finally tired.
Silas did not let go of my hand. He held it tight as we walked through the crowd of police officers and reporters in the lobby. He led me straight to his black car. He kept looking around to make sure we were safe.
"Get in," he said, opening the door for me.
I sat down in the soft leather seat. My head was spinning. As he drove through the city, the tall buildings didn't look scary anymore. They just looked like big windows.
"Is he really there?" I asked. My voice was shaking. "Is my father okay?"
"He is waiting, Elara. I told you I would bring him back." Silas changed the gears of the car smoothly. "But you must be ready. He has been locked in a basement for weeks. He might not look like the same man you remember."
"I know," I said. My chest hurt thinking about it. "I am not the same girl, either."
We drove for forty minutes. We left the shiny city and went to an old part of town with factories. We stopped at a plain brick building with a rusty fence. Two of Silas's guards stood at the door. They nodded at Silas as he turned off the car.
My heart was beating so fast. I stepped out of the car, and my legs were shaking.
"Room 4-B," Silas said. He walked next to me but didn't touch me. He gave me space to breathe.
Inside the building, it was cool and smelled like old stone. We walked down a long hallway with heavy metal doors. When we got to Room 4-B, Silas used a plastic key to open the lock. Thud.
"Go in," he whispered.
I pushed the door open. The room was small. There was a bed, a table, and a TV. A man was sitting at the table. He had thin grey hair and looked very skinny. He was staring at a bowl of soup, and his hands were shaking.
"Dad?" I whispered.
The man froze. He slowly turned his head. His eyes got big when he saw me. He looked like he was seeing a ghost.
"Elara?" His voice was very quiet and rough.
I didn't think. I just ran to him. I hugged his neck and put my face on his shoulder. He smelled like soap and old paper. He felt very thin, like he might break if I squeezed too hard.
"I'm here," I cried into his shirt. "I'm here, Dad. It's over. The bad man is gone. We won."
He pulled back and held my face in his hands. His eyes were wet. "How? The debt... the Vane family... they told me—"
"Silas helped me," I said. I pointed to the door.
Silas was standing in the shadows by the door. He looked too fancy and too dangerous for this small room. My father saw him and got very scared. He jumped back and almost knocked over his chair.
"Get away from her!" my father yelled. "Elara, run! That is the son of the man who took you!"
"Dad, no! Listen," I said. I grabbed his hands to calm him down. "It wasn't him. The other man lied to him. Silas is the one who found you. He kept me safe."
My father looked at me, then at Silas. "Safe? Elara, look at your expensive clothes. You are married to this man."
Silas didn't move. He didn't look mad. "I don't expect you to like me, Mr. Vance. I took your daughter because I thought there was a debt. I was wrong. You should be afraid of me."
"Then let her go," my father said. "If the debt is gone, let her leave with me right now."
The room got very quiet. I knew I could leave right now. I could take my father and run away. I would never have to see Silas again.
I looked at Silas. He was waiting for me to speak. He looked like he was waiting for bad news.
"I can't go yet, Dad," I said quietly.
My father looked sad. "What? Why? Elara, what did he do to you?"
"The bad man is in jail, but his people are still out there," I explained. "If I leave now, they will find us. We have no money and no way to hide. We are only safe if we stay here and finish the fight."
"She is right," Silas said. He walked into the room and put a big envelope on the table. "This has a new name for you, a passport, and money. My men will take you to a safe house in the north tonight. No one will find you there."
My father looked at the money. "And what about my daughter?"
"She stays with me," Silas said. He looked at me. "Not as a prisoner. As my partner. When the fight is over, she can go. I will sign the papers to end the marriage."
I felt a strange pain in my heart when he said we would end the marriage. That was what I wanted, right? To be free?
"Dad, please go," I said. "Get healthy again. I will come find you as soon as it is safe. I promise."
Finally, my father said okay. Later, a black car came to take him away. I stood outside and watched the car drive away until I couldn't see the lights anymore.
Silas put his coat over my shoulders because the wind was cold.
"He will be safe, Elara," he said.
"I know," I whispered. I turned to look at him. "Did you mean it? About ending the marriage?"
Silas touched my cheek. "I meant it. You are free. You have been free since we left the big building today."
"Then why do I feel like I still want to be with you?" I asked.
Silas looked away at the dark sky. "Because the war is not over. The bad man is gone, but his brother Julian is still out there. And Julian wants blood."
"Then let's go get him," I said. My voice was strong.
Silas looked at me and smiled a little bit. "That's my girl. Let's go home. We have a plan to make."
As we got back in the car, I realized something. I wasn't staying because I had to. I was staying because I wanted to. I wanted to see Silas win. And I wanted to see if he was really a monster, or if he was the only person who actually cared about me.