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It was a terrible idea.

But there was no stopping me from clicking it.

And Silas poured through the speakers like a wave, the familiar cadence wrapping around my ribs and squeezing.

He sounded different to me now, now that I knew him in a way no one else did.

I could hear the performance, the persona—the way he used his intelligence and sarcasm as a shield to hide what was beneath. Someone softer than he should have been after living through so much. Someone who was so much more than clever quips and quick shutdowns.

“We have Addison on line two,” Jack’s voice said, dragging me back out of my memories.

“Hey, so I’m human and I have a question about immortality.”

“What is your question?”

He sounded tired to me.

Like he was phoning this in.

“What is the hardest part?”

“The hardest part?” Silas repeated. A short silence followed as he gave the question the thought it required. There was a huff of humorless laughter. Then, his voice tighter than a moment before: “The hardest part of forever is learning that everyone, even those you trust the most, will disappoint you.” There was another short pause, then, “Next caller.”

I was reaching for my phone before I could think better of it, every part of me just wanting to apologize, to beg him not to let this ruin the next hundred years of his life. Because of my stupid mistake.

“The Midnight Frequency,” Jack answered.

“Jack?” My voice was a half gasp, half choke. But he still somehow knew exactly who it was.

“Line three is live,” Jack said through the speakers.

“Line three?” Silas repeated, used to having a name to go with.

I could hear the static as my call went live. I could feel the weight of the silence between us.

And all the carefully planned speeches I’d created between bouts of tears dissolved.

All I had in me was one word.

“Silas…”

The silence that followed felt like standing on the edge of something collapsing.

Then, “Next caller!”

The line cut.

My breath caught with it.

I slammed my laptop shut and collapsed onto my reading chair, pressing my palms into my eyes as the pain washed over me again. This time, I wasn’t sure if I would ever surface again.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

[ “TRUST IS FRAGILE. But love is annoyingly resilient.”

— Hell & High Notes - Live]

Silas