Rowan's question cut through the intimidation of Silas's anger like a hot knife. My neck which was straining to keep Silas eyes focused on me with all the rage they contained snapped towards him, finding him with his brows drawn.
He quickly smoothed them out under my attention and shut his eyes to release an audible sigh. "Your name isn't-"
His realization was cut short by a fist to the gut.
"Silas!"
Taking the opportunity that Rowan had mistakenly provided, Silas moved faster than I had expected him to, Rowan either since he succeeded. While we had been distracted, he pushed off the wall he'd been leaning on for support and crossed the small cell with his fist cocked and surrounded in flames that matched the fire that burned in his gaze.
Rowan's eyes snapped open just before the hit landed, no doubt missing the fury that twisted Silas's features. He gritted his teeth against the pain, trying not to react to the blow, he thwarted away the fist that singed his shirt and the one that followed after it.
I sat on the floor open-mouthed as the two began to trade blows. I was seeing what was happening before me, but struggling for the severity of it to sink in past the buzz keeping me sane. It had only grown as time allowed my body to digest more of the liquid warming my stomach and beginning to revolt violently. I could practically feel the rum sloshing around in my stomach like choppy waves.
This wasn't supposed to be how the night ended. I should have been curled up on the bed that Rowan was continuing to relinquish to me, something I wouldn't question in case it had him changing his mind, enjoying the warmth in my belly instead of worrying about the warmth in my chest.
But... reality was a sight that spent me spiraling with anxiety as I thought of the consequences it would bring.
My heart slammed against my chest like a swinging hammer as I watched Rowan thwart away another flaming fist. Side-stepping Silas, he struck out with a strike of his own, landing it on his already bleeding side.
Silas grunted, clutching at his side as he retreated, but it wasn't his pain that jarred me into action next, it was the sight of a short and crystal clear spear in his hand that flames had been engulfing moments earlier. Its sharp point glinted in the faint light with the malicious in his eyes.
Was that what he had stabbed him with previously?
It didn't matter. What did, was that he was about to stab him with it now.
Jumping back to dodge the downward swing of Silas's arm, Rowan's brows furrowed in confusion that overtook his face as he caught sight of the weapon that had appeared from thin air in Silas's hand. It quickly hardened into a stoic expression that couldn't be read for his next move while he waited for Silas's.
While they stared one another down, I rose to my feet, staggering as I rolled my ankle over a piece of fallen brick in my haste. I was already seeing the scene that was about to take place play out in my head, but my feet moved at a pace determined to keep it from becoming reality. At a pace that wasn't anywhere near as fast as the two men who had been sparing in a near blur, I rushed them while they were too distracted to notice my approach. Not until it was too late.
But for who? That was to be determined.
A split moment before noticing me, Silas moved when I was a little over halfway across the room, distracting Rowan with a fist while his other hand took fatal aim just out of his sight. Moving his arm in an upward motion, he struck, the glinting point of his spear on track to pierce through Rowan's heart. The prince was yet to notice it, busy dealing with the fist that held his sights as it targeted his nose. He knocked it away with ease, unknowingly moving to give Silas a better line of strike.
