Page 69 of Lake of Sapphire

Peter humored me on some things about Sie’s past, but he never talked about his home life. He told me how Sie had a hard time making friends as a child. All of their classmates either wanted to sleep with him, mock him, or challenge him to a fight to prove that they were better than him. Every male wanted a chance to beat a potential rank five. It put a target on his back.

When we finally arrived at Kitlarn, Peter led me out of our monorail compartment. Sie flashed Peter a glare as he took my arm, and we descended into the crowd. “You two seemed comfortable,” Sie mumbled, surprising me. Was he jealous?

“So were you and Reagan last night. Oh, and that other girl too. The one who was kissing your neck, if I recall correctly. What was her name again? Right, I never was introduced since your friend had me a little preoccupied,” I sneered.

He remained quiet after that and didn’t talk to me again the entire time we weaved our way through the crowd. This time, I made it a point to smile at everyone, meeting the gazes of the lower rank Advenians who had come out to see us. I stopped and talked with many of them, making our parade through the town last longer than the one in Palm, but no one stopped me.

Kitlarn was different from any of the other villages I had seen so far. The monorail passed through a forest to get here, but no trees crowded the town that seemed to be stretched out wide. We walked miles to get from one end of the main square to the other. It reminded me of LakeWood, but without the mountains. In the far distance, I could make out a rocky beach with rough waves. Ice glaciers were scattered throughout the water and ice patches by the coast.

“What color is the sand?” I asked Sie, forgetting for a second who I was speaking to.

His eyes flared. “The normal color,” he replied.

I squinted, trying to make out the details, but we were too far away. “Which is what?” I pried.

Sie halted, causing me to jerk back into his arm. “The sand is tan, but it’s mostly covered with snow,” he said slowly. “Why?”

“Nothing,” I said, looking straight ahead to avoid his assessing gaze.

When we finally finished with the tour, Peter left to meet his family as the rest of us arrived at the inn. Kitlarn was the furtherest village, making it the longest we would have to travel. I knew it was late, regardless of the sun still shining in the sky.

We were just about to enter the building, the warmth it promised already gnawing at my frozen hands, when Sie stopped dead in his tracks. Two figures approached the doors, blocking the way in.

A muscle in Sie’s jaw twitched as he beheld the older of the two males. But it only lasted a second before he took a step forward and focused on the younger one.

“Greyland,” Sie smiled as he pulled the younger one into his arms and hugged him. I couldn’t help but gasp at the vulnerability Sie was showing, at the sincerity that he genuinely seemed happy to see him.

I studied the boy he was hugging. He, luckily, was solely focused on Sie so he didn’t notice my gawking. They shared similarities. They both had the same dark eyes, the same angular jaw and straight nose. Their hair was almost an identical black with soft waves, though Greyland kept his short.

Greyland was shorter with a smaller, leaner frame. Sie’s shoulders were broader, blocking his lanky form from view. It made Greyland seem younger, closer to my age than Sie’s.

“I missed you,” the boy named Greyland mumbled into Sie’s shoulder, still embracing him. The older male produced a cough, drawing the two from their hug.

“Father,” Sie remarked in a bored manner. I stared at him, trying to read his emotions and gauge his reaction. All Peter had told me about the male before me was that he used to be on the High Council, and that he’d quit to train Sie, whatever that meant.

“I thought we agreed not to see each other,” Sie added.

“You know your mother. Once she found out you were staying here, she insisted on having you over for dinner.”

“We can’t,” Sie said. His fist clenched, then relaxed at his side. “We have to check into our inn and be up early tomorrow. Tell her I’m sorry.”

“I’m afraid I won’t be doing that. I took the liberty of canceling your rooms. You will be staying with us.”

“Rooms… as in plural? Are you planning on hosting all of us at your estate tonight?” Sie remarked as he gestured to the group. “I don’t think mother would appreciate so many Advenians in her home.”

“No. Just you and your betrothed,” Sie’s father replied with a lazy grin. My mouth dropped open. I tried to quickly compose myself as I heard him say, “And where is my future daughter-in-law?”

A grave look overcame Sie as he glanced at me. But he recovered quickly and wore a stoic expression as he gestured for me to come forward.

“Hello, sir. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I said, unable to hide the slight shakiness in my voice. I thought Sie was intimidating before, but he was nothing compared to his father.

I held my hand out for him to shake while giving him a bow that Lady Applebee would have been proud of. He grunted and disregarded my hand as he turned toward Sie. “Well, she’s pretty for a nix. At least she won’t be horrible to bed.”

Sie’s jaw set, and I thought if he clamped down any harder, he might break his teeth.

Greyland took my hand that was still awkwardly stretched out and shook it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Princess.”

“Just Scottie, please,” I said, grateful for his kindness and distraction. His father clicked his tongue.

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