Page 22 of Ocean of Silver

He swam up to the ledge I was sitting crossed-legged at and placed his thick arms on the outside of the pool. The water spanned out and traveled past where his forearms now rested. “I think it will be fun to see your reaction to the people of Lux.”

“I thought I wasn’t allowed to go out in public.”

He frowned slightly. “You aren’t for the time being. But when you are allowed to, Rumor, I fully intend to be there to witness it.”

TEN

SCOTLIND

The next morning,when Patricia woke me up at dawn, I noticed a small bag packed by the edge of my bed.

“What’s the bag for?” I asked sleepily as I stretched out my sore, stiff, newly forming muscles. A long yawn followed shortly after. I was starting to recover more quickly since I was actually sleeping.

“I was instructed to pack a bag for you, dear.”

“A bag? As in sleeping stuff?” I swallowed. Patricia didn’t say anything but merely shook her wrinkled head, yes, her bright green eyes blazing into mine.

“Why?” I asked as casually as I could muster. Were they sending me away? The thought of leaving the castle thrilled me. I didn’t want to be anywhere near the Lux King or his three offsprings, but I also didn’t know where that left me.

“As part of your training,” my maid answered, “Tezya is taking you somewhere.”

“Where?”

“I don’t know,” she said as she gestured for me to get out of bed. “Come, dear. Quickly eat and get dressed, or we’ll be late.” Worry lingered in her eyes, which only added to my growing unease of the situation.

But she saidwe. “Are you coming with us then?”

“No,” she snapped with enough of a bite to make me realize she wasn’t happy about it either. “You and Tezya are going alone. Apparently, my presence would be a distraction from your training.” She huffed, then grumbled lower so I barely heard her, “I’m not even allowed to know where you’re going.It’s confidential,” she mocked what I presumed was Tezya as she finished stuffing the bag.

I didn’t want to stay anywhere alone with Tezya. My thoughts were jumbled enough with everything that happened with Sie. I needed to accept that I would never get to see him again, that I would never get closure for why he sent me here. I needed to accept everything that would never happen with him, and the one thing that did—he betrayed me. He didn’t want me.

But Tezya… I couldn’t deny that he was attractive, unholy attractive. I hated that I was drawn to him, that my eyes would always drift toward him while we were training. It was like he was made and crafted by the High Goddess herself in the exact image of everything that captivated me.

But I didn’t need a distraction. I didn’twantone. I couldn’t afford one. I needed to focus on my training, focus on getting stronger, focus on staying alive. And I did not see how spending a nightalonewith him was going to get me any closer to that.

Why he thought my old, haggard maid would be a distraction over him was beyond me. Had he seen himself in a mirror? My maid, oddly enough, felt like a comfort, like someone I’d known for a while. I would never call her a distraction.

But if it would help me discover my powers, I had no choice but to go through with it. I didn’t really have a choice in anything that was happening to me. I wasn’t a fool. I knew I was still a prisoner. The King himself threatened to shove me back into that cage if I didn’t obey him. It was enough motivation to get me to do whatever he wanted because I would rather die than be back in the Luxian dungeon.

What would happen if I didn’t have a second Luxian ability? Or worse, if I couldn’t even control the elemental power I did have? What if all I could do was move small drops of water at a time? Was my freedom banking on me being able to do more? I had grown up knowing that Lux was the stronger Kingdom. That they lived and breathed in high ranks. Would I only be free if I was strong enough? I tried not to dwell on it, but it was hard not to, especially since I was getting nowhere with my training.

When I finally finished eating with Patricia and completed my quick cloth bath, I stood by the door outside of my chambers, my jitters fermenting and festering into something stronger.

I managed a small smile as Tezya approached me. An overnight bag was slung over one of his broad shoulders. He had on his usual pair of black pants that didn’t quite fit over his calves, and I wondered if he owned a pair of pants that did fit him properly. But what caught my attention was his tanned chest, completely exposed, as he opted for no shirt today.

“Is that necessary?” I asked as I nodded my head toward the direction of his sculpted abs. Yup. He was definitely a distraction.

His smile grew like he knew it. “We’re going outside today and it’shot. Plus, I find it amusing how uncomfortable you get around not entirely clothed Advenians, and I wanted to see you squirm.”

I rolled my eyes at him, but my breath hitched in itself, and I couldn’t hide it. Outside. I was going outside today. Other than eating on Tezya’s balcony on my first night out of the cage, I hadn’t been allowed to leave the castle. I hadn’t been allowed anywhere other than my own chambers, our training area, and the one time I went to the healer.

Excitement coiled inside me right alongside my fear and nerves. I wanted to see Lux. I wanted to see what everyone called the Golden City. It was ironic that the only thing that slightly resembled gold here was the sun. I envisioned the castle to look like the Tennebrisian Throne Room. Gilded and glistening.

But everything was varnished with silver and diamonds—at least the parts of the castle I had seen so far. I guess it made sense. Gold resembled the Tennebrisian markings. I shouldn’t have been surprised if the castle was decorated in black to resemble the markings of Lux. But it wasn’t. The King’s cold, silver eyes flashed in my forevision, so clear and vivid that I thought he was actually staring at me. I half wondered if he had the vanity to adorn the entire castle to match them.

“You’re taking me into town?” I asked, my voice rising, trying to push thoughts of the Lux King from my mind.

“Not exactly.”

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