Foul Heart Huntsman (Foul Lady Fortune, #2)

by Chloe Gong

“Wait, Silas—” Just as he pivoted to face her again, Phoebe threw her arms around him, the embrace so sudden that Silas entirely short-circuited, his brain signals frying into oblivion. This close, he could smell every layer of her perfume, from the initial wave of jasmine to the deeper traces of something heavy like whiskey. “Thank you,” she said, her words muffled against his chest. “I don’t know what I would do without you.” He lifted his hand, settling it on her back. “That’s okay,” Silas said. His voice was steady in a way that he absolutely wasn’t. “This is far from an arduous task.” “All the same”—Phoebe drew away—“I

He let her lead them away. His vehicle was parked at the end of the street, and Phoebe

Do it, Phoebe thought. Call me a liar.

Silas didn’t mind if Phoebe didn’t love him as he loved her.

“Goddammit, Silas, it’s because I am—”

“Do you actually think,” he asked, “that I believe this act you put on for the world?”

“I’ve known you since you were six years old,” Silas went on. “Give me some credit, please. It may look the same to an outsider, but I’ve watched you long enough to tell when you switch between faces. You are not fooling me.”

Silas choked on a laugh. “I am far too young for you.” He held his arms forward, grabbing Orion in a firm squeeze. Orion, despite not knowing anything about Silas at present, returned the gesture just as strongly. “We’re all very glad you are alive.”

If Silas had been parched and starving, this sight alone would have been enough to satiate him. Let him lose everything else in the world, and he wouldn’t mind. Let the world think of him as discardable or frail or cowardly, he wouldn’t care. All Silas needed was the people he cared about, whole and well in front of him.

“Then I still wish I could remember, because under different circumstances, if you told me you loved me, I would have kissed you.”

“Even if the memories never

come back,” he said slowly, “I’m going to love you again.

have decided to warn you i...

Silas nodded, offering a small smile.

I’ve loved you this whole time, just split in two.”

Phoebe kissed him in apology. Though she was still holding the pistol in one hand, her other dug into his hair, holding him as close as she could, her lips pressed right where she could taste blood. For a moment, Silas was frozen, unresponsive.

Then he leaned in too, his hands coming to both sides of her face. His lips captured hers with an uncharacteristic ferocity, but Phoebe supposed this whole undertaking was full of uncharacteristic behavior, both of them finally peeling off skins they had been wearing and finding they were the same underneath. He kissed her, and she recognized the tune even if the pitch was different. She kissed him, and the feeling was as electric as picking up a real pistol for the first time.

“Don’t die,” she whispered. “I’m not done hitting you.”

“Don’t you dare—”

Phoebe released her terror in one shaky exhale. Her gaze snapped up, searching for Silas, the sound of his call. He was trying to push past a cluster of soldiers, and she reached for him at once.

Phoebe said in a rush, colliding with Silas and clutching him close. He grasped her shoulders as soon as she leaned back a fraction, examining her all over. “She threw them off my involvement by doing that.” “Are you hurt?” Silas demanded.

Phoebe shook her head. The crash of adrenaline struck hard. Her lip wobbled, an onslaught...

“Oh, no, no, no—” Silas wrapped his arms around her again, pressing her tightly into him. “It’s a...

“You need to get me more bullets.” “Done.” He kissed her temple, and the sensation overrode everything else that tried to cling to her with heaviness. “I’ll get you the world if you need it.”