Page 38 of Ocean of Silver

TEZYA

I was goingto strangle Dove for telling Rumor that Sie was engaged. I brought her here to have fun, not to make her feel like shit. I saw the haunted look in her eyes when she was talking about feeling trapped, and I just wanted her to forget about everything for a night. I’d known enough about a soldier’s trauma to understand that mental healing was just as crucial as physical recovery. And whatever happened to her was deeply rooted now.

I kept watching her, trying to gauge her reaction. But she seemed fine ever since she re-emerged from the balcony with Kallon. I had no idea what Kal said to her, but I’d have to thank her later. Maybe she didn’t care for the Dark Prince as much as I had thought. Hell, I really didn’t know a thing about their relationship.

Rainer and Kallon were both hovering over Rumor like some prized possession, chatting her ear off. They were probably grilling her about every mundane detail of her life, about what it was like growing up in the Dark Kingdom. But she looked happy enough. She slowly sipped from her wine, but I couldn’t help but notice her grimace after each one. She was listening intently to the two of them talk. Rainer and Kallon were over the top and both dramatic. Brock always said that they had a knack for engaging in conversation with everyone and anyone and somehow making them feel appreciated. Scottie was more reserved, smiling slightly, laughing softly, while my friends’ laughs were barreling toward me.

Brock came up behind me. “So her, huh?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You like her.”

“No, I don’t. You know the Lux King gave me orders to train her. That’s all this is.”

“Right, and training her means bringing her to meet your friends?” He gave me a half smile as he took a sip of the ale Kallon had made. “You are always closed off, Tez. You never let anyone new get close to you. Well, besides the four of us, but that’s only because you’re stuck with us now.”

“That’s not what this is. She isn’t getting close to me,” I said, growing frustrated that I had to explain myself. “I caught her sneaking off. We made a deal that I would get her out of the castle if she agreed to the kind of training I needed her to do. You know King Arcane won’t be satisfied until he knows all her powers.”

“Right. You keep telling yourself that. And what kind of training do you need her to do again?” Brock grinned, slowly shaking his head as he followed my gaze to where Rainer casually threw an arm over the back of the sofa to position himself closer to Scottie. “You and I both know that an Advenian doesn’t need to be healed physically in order to access their powers.”

I don’t know why I didn’t just tell him about Scottie’s fears. If I explained the extent of her trauma, how it was hindering her from using her abilities, Brock would stop pestering me. Out of everyone, he would understand the most. He had seen horrors that I couldn’t even imagine and had learned to deal with them. He had been with me through all my hell, in and out of the army. And besides Dovelyn, he was the only one who knew how my father treated me in private, about how I got the scar across my face. How I got all my scars. Hell, he would probably be a better trainer for her than me anyway.

“She isn’t progressing like she should be, and I’m running out of time to figure out her abilities.”

“Interesting,” was all Brock said before taking a sip of his drink.

“What?” I snapped.

He held his hands up in the air, feigning innocence. “Tez, I’ve worked with you for over eighty years and have been friends with you just as long. I’m just saying that I know you. Plus,” he added as he glanced over at Scottie. “You were given orders to train her, but the only thing I see by bringing her here is an excuse to be around her more.”

“Stop being an ass and mind your own business. Just because you finally reached a century doesn’t mean that you’re all knowing.”

Brock huffed a laugh. “You don’t have to be an ass to see what I’m seeing. You haven’t stopped gawking at the girl since you brought her here.”

“I don’t like her like that,” I said coolly.

As if this conversation couldn’t get any worse, Dovelyn snuck up behind us.

“You don’t like her, huh?” she crooned as she inched her way in between us. “Then you wouldn’t mind if Rainer takes his shot with her? You know he has a thing for brunettes, and I heard him tell Kal that she was pretty. They would make a good match, don’t you think? Or maybe she is only looking for a rebound after Sie. Either way, I’m sure Rainer would be happy to oblige her in whatever her needs are.”

I walked away from her, not wanting to listen anymore. With my heightened senses, I could hear Brock yelling at Dovelyn to stop, but I zoned them out.

“Tez, come here,” Kallon said, gesturing toward her. Scottie looked up, her doe-like eyes burning cold flames into mine, the blue the hottest part of the fire.

“I’ll be right there,” I said as I nodded my head toward her. I opened another bottle and poured a glass of sweet wine before making my way toward them on the sofa. I placed the sweeter wine in Rumor’s hand. “I think you’ll like this one better,” I said as I took the bitter wine from her. Our fingers lingered on each other’s for a split second, and I could have sworn I felt a jolt of electricity shoot through me, entwining with my senses. Did she possess electricity? Was that one of her powers?

She hesitantly took a sip and, to my satisfaction, didn’t grimace afterward. “Thank you.”

Kallon arched her brow at the gesture. I ignored her as I slumped into the seat across from them. She and Rainer were both still hovering over Scottie like a newborn baby.

“We were just discussing our favorite pubs. The Hilting is mine and by far the best in Lux… Weneedto take Scottie there. Did you know, Tez, that she’s never been out drinking in a pub before?”

I did know that, or I had guessed as much from her memories. She was always training during her time spent at school, and the only two revels she went to didn’t end well. The first, the same compulsion user that was in Lux tried compelling her while someone else tried kissing her against her will. The second, Sie just fucking sat there on a leather sofa, watching as his friends did fucked up things to her. I’d seen people go through worse. I’d seen and lived through more abuse, more messed up shit that should have killed me. So why did her past bother me so much? I seemed to have no self control whenever I thought of her memories.

I didn’t answer and took a sip of what remained of Scottie’s bitter wine instead, finishing it in one gulp.

“So,” Kallon continued, completely unaware of the tension building in me. “I was thinking that we should take her!”

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