Page 33 of Ocean of Silver

“What are your powers?” I asked him.

“I told you I was a healer, didn’t I?” He smiled again. “And didn’t anyone ever tell you that it’s rude here to just blatantly ask someone what their abilities are?”

“No, I didn’t know…” I started. I had no idea what the Luxian customs were, what was acceptable, and what wasn’t. I still wasn’t convinced that I would get to find out. I didn’t trust that my current situation was real. It felt too good to be true. Yes, I was Luxian, but I was still considered a prisoner. I still grew up in Tennebris. I didn’t know if I would ever fit in here. I didn’t know where I belonged anymore.

He interrupted me with a softer grin. “It’s okay. Let me heal you now.”

I had no idea what had me agreeing, why I was now lifting my shirt over my head, so he could see my wounds, but I did.

I swore that the male was hiding a grimace as my cuts healed one by one, but he never said anything. He continued to work on me, healing each and every wound.

I rolled my back and was surprised by how good it felt. I turned to look at him. His eyes looked more golden now that the sun was shining on them. I didn’t know why I thought they were the Tennebrisian brown. Beads of sweat coated his skin, and I caught a glimpse of black markings on his chest, exposed through his shirt.

“I can’t take away your scars,” he gestured toward the long gash from my knee to thigh that Kole made twice and the mangled skin on my right calf. I fisted my hands and still felt my scar on my palm from my blood bond with Sie. I didn’t know if it made me happy or upset that I would be keeping that scar. “I can only heal recent wounds.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much,” I said and meant it.

He only offered me another smile as he walked out of my room, leaving me alone. But as he left, I felt a glimpse of my old self coming back for the first time in a long while.

* * *

I hadto get out of the castle. It was starting to drive me crazy only seeing the same four walls, whether it was the walls in my new chambers or in the training area. I needed fresh air.

I wanted to explore the city beyond my small window. Going to the beach with Tezya was agony. Not because I didn’t love it but because I did. I loved the ocean and the feel of the sun warming my skin. It was agony because now I was stuck inside and not allowed to leave. It was a small taste of freedom, and I wanted more. Ineededmore.

I also was growing bored. Dangerously bored. Tezya said we weren’t training in the afternoon once we returned because he had to meet with the King, and I was absolutely restless. My entire existence lately had consisted of going full force into training, and I didn’t like to sit idle and let my thoughts haunt me. My maid Patricia stayed with me for a little bit, but now she was gone, claiming she needed to perform other duties around the castle, whatever that meant—I honestly had no idea where she went when she wasn’t with me.

And with nothing to do but think, I kept replaying over and over again what Tezya had admitted to me. How someone who was a high rank in Lux didn’t agree with the system. Someone who probably benefited greatly from having it in place too, judging from his five branded onto his wrist and his position within the army.

I had always wanted to hear those words. I had always wanted someone else to agree with what I believed in, and Tezya just offered up the information for nothing. He was a member of the Luxian army. He worked with the Fire Prince, who had murdered every rebel that disagreed with the King and with the system. He was probably forced to fight them, to kill them. I shuddered, thinking of what would happen to him if any of the Royals heard him voice what he had told me last night. And yet, he still told me, still trusted me with it.

I dreamt about Sie saying that to me, about him telling me that he would help me change things. And although Sie wasn’t completely in agreement with the system, he never wanted to discuss it. He never wanted to take action about how rank zeroes were treated. He only cared about keeping me safe. It bothered me that he was going to be the King, and he didn’t want to act to change things for his people.

You aren’t a nix anymore, Scotlind. You aren’t one of them.His words at the lake clanged through my head.One of themlike they were something different than the rest of the higher rankings. Another memory flashed from our conversation at the lake.They want to kill you. This isn’t the time. Maybe afterward, when you are safe, we can talk about how they are treated and try to come up with better a solution, better conditions for them. We can make it so servants are respected.Did Sie truly believe that rank zeroes belonged as servants? Did he not think that they could do better? Be better?

I needed to stop thinking about it. Mainly because every time I thought about Sie, either tears threatened to spill down my cheeks or I tried to break something. Either way, neither reaction was a good one.

Coral and fuchsia mixed with the deepening blue as I watched the sun set through the one window my chamber had. But the city didn’t fade into darkness. It wasn’t swallowed up by the sky as the moon and stars would soon take over the clouds. It glowed.

I watched as light after light lit up every window. An aura seemed to hover over the colorful sun-symboled banners, luscious flowers, and strange trees. Many of the buildings were made of glass, making the skyline reflective.

My window wasn’t nearly good enough. Mainly because it didn’t open, which I could understand why, but I wanted to smell the sea. I wanted to explore it with all my senses until it engulfed me, and I could think of nothing else. I had to see it for myself.

I sprung to my feet and trekked my way across the room toward my dresser before I could think better of it. I shoveled through the thin clothes of Lux and tossed them aside until I found what I was looking for. A long coat. The material was thin, not made for warmth like the Tennebrisians coats were, but designed for fashion.

It was tan, which I didn’t know if it boded well for blending in, but I guessed it would do just fine in a golden city. I pulled the thin coat over my shoulders, happy when I noticed there was a hood. Not even my eyes and freckles were exposed through the fabric. No one would recognize me.

To my surprise, no one guarded my chamber door or even bothered to look my way. It was odd. I technically was still a prisoner here, yet I wasn’t trapped. In Tennebris, I couldn’t go anywhere alone. A guard had to be with me everywhere I went. That was until Kole tried to murder me. Then Peter or Sie stayed by my side. But I was never, ever alone. I wasn’t allowed to be.

But this was easy. Too easy. No one paid attention to me as I walked through the resplendent halls. The last rays of sunbeams were floating through the open windows, reflecting off the chandeliers that were cast into a dim light. The curtains billowed in the breeze, taunting me, begging me to go outside. The briny smell of the ocean rippled toward me, my nostrils flaring. I wanted to see the water again, but I also didn’t want to see anyone naked tonight. Tezya made it clear that the oceanfront by the city was clothing optional, and I would definitely stand out with every inch of my skin covered if that wasn’t the norm.

I wasn’t sure what to do from here. I didn’t plan this out well. I honestly didn’t think I would be able to make it past my bedroom doors so easily.

It took me longer than I thought it would, but I finally found the castle entrance and walked through the archway leading outside. The city spiraled out before me. My feet laden with excitement and anticipation as I descended down the massive sandstone steps.

I was thankful for the thin material of the coat as soon as I made it outside. The humidity clung to my skin like morning dew, embedding its way through the fabric. Somehow inside the castle, despite all the open windows, there was a draft, but outside was blistering.

I pulled the ends tighter around me when I noticed men with the Luxian sun symbol plated on their chests guarding the front gate. I pivoted on my feet sharply, wanting to avoid the soldiers. Remembering the forest Tezya and I trekked through, I slowly made my way toward the back of the castle by the gardens. There had to be a path that led toward the city, I hoped.

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