Burn Me Once, Burn With Me novel Chapter 331

“Sylas, Cassian’s nephew,” Ruby announced.

She handed Mira over to Pamela and came in from the kitchen, carrying two mugs of tea.

At the mention of his uncle, Sylas frowned, clearly displeased. “Rue’s old friend,” he corrected quickly.

He had no intention of letting anyone in this house think he was close to his uncle.

As he spoke, Sylas shot Garrison a pointed look.

Garrison remained unruffled, his polite smile perfectly measured. “Mr. Cunningham.”

Sylas didn’t even glance his way. Instead, he got to his feet. “I’ll go check out your bedroom,” he said, directing his words to Ruby.

For the first time, Garrison’s usually impassive face betrayed a flicker of emotion.

He furrowed his brow. “Mr. Cunningham, perhaps it’s not the best idea to go into Miss Grayson and the child’s room.”

Sylas barely spared him a glance, just muttered, “Oh,” and kept walking. He hadn’t made it more than a few steps from the sofa before a gentle but firm hand pressed him back down.

“Drink,” Ruby said, setting a mug of jasmine tea in front of Sylas and passing the other to Garrison. “Sorry the place is a bit bare—we haven’t had time to get settled. Hope this will do.”

Garrison accepted the cup with a warm, gracious nod. Sylas, on the other hand, gave a soft snort, clearly unimpressed by Garrison’s manners. He might have been young, but he wasn’t stupid. From the moment he’d laid eyes on the man, Sylas knew they were destined to be on opposite sides.

Still, since Ruby had made the tea herself, he eagerly picked up his mug for a taste.

“Good tea,” Garrison offered, taking a sip and instantly chiming in with praise.

Sylas rolled his eyes, but only to himself.

Ruby just smiled politely.

She turned to Sylas, who was making faces across the room. “Remember I invited you up for a cup of tea? Well, you’ve had it. Time to be on your way.”

“Just being careful. You shouldn’t let him stay too long either,” Sylas muttered, making his complaint as obvious as possible.

Garrison, the target of all this, just smiled quietly, cradling his tea.

Ruby could only stare at Sylas in disbelief, beginning to wonder what sort of upbringing Cassian’s family had.

She fixed Sylas with a sharp look, and he finally fell silent, shuffling obediently to the door and letting himself out.

The tension in the room seemed to dissolve instantly.

Ruby dropped into the seat Sylas had just left.

Garrison noticed the subtle shift, his gaze lingering for a moment before he looked away, though there was a depth to his eyes that hadn’t been there before.

“I didn’t just come to check on you this time,” he said quietly.