Page 35 of Ocean of Silver

“You still can’t go anywhere unattended. Not until the King declares it. It’s too dangerous to go against his orders, but I’ll let you come out with me as long as the King’s not around. We can start tonight. I’ll take you somewhere. You don’t have to go back to your room right away.”

“Why do this? What’s in it for you?” I asked, confused, not fully believing there wasn’t a catch. This bargain seemed more beneficial to me than to him. I would be a fool not to take him up on it. Although I recoiled at the idea of being near fire or going into the pool. I knew I needed to. It was a weakness that I had to get over. I wanted to overcome it. But I didn’t see how that benefitedhim. I didn’t see how anything he did for me benefited him.

He said that he’d take me somewhere tonight and the thought of not going back to my room was too appealing. I wanted that more than anything. It was enough to get me to agree on the spot, but I forced myself to wait for his answer.

“Let’s just say it’s more convenient.”

I crossed my arms, refusing to accept that as an answer. I needed to know why he was so willing to help me. It seemed too good to be true, and my guard was in full force, my walls built so high I didn’t know if they would ever crumble. I didn’t know if I ever wanted them to after trusting Sie and seeing how that turned out for me. “Why is it convenient for you?”

He smirked when he noticed I wasn’t budging. “I was tasked to train you, and I can’t take you to the hut every other day for you to actually go in the water. So training you is kind of challenging if you keep refusing to go in the pool. Plus, if I’m forced to be around you all the time, I would prefer that you bathe.”

I went to open my mouth to protest that I did wash but stopped myself. How much could he overhear in my room? Did he listen to the conversation I had with Patricia on my first night and knew that I refused the tub? I bit back the remark as I thought of how I actually smelled to him. I hadn’t washed properly since before Kole kidnapped me. After that, it’s been only the ocean, lake water, or my cloth baths. And I was training hard every day, sweating profusely. On top of that, he said he had a heightened sense of smell. Humiliation coursed through me, but I didn’t want him to sense that too, so I tried to brush it off.

“I… I won’t be able to right away. I can’t just turn it off,” I said, trying to deflect, but it was the truth. If he was expecting me to get into the pool tomorrow morning just because I went out with him tonight, he was crazy.

“I know that, Scotlind. I’ll help you. I’ll be there with you the whole time. You just have to trust me.”

I swallowed hard. The shock of him actually using my real name hit me. I couldn’t explain why. But he was serious, that much I could tell. He wasn’t joking around or toying with me. But could I trust him?

“Okay,” I said slowly. “I can’t make any promises, but I’ll agree to try.”

“Good enough. Now let’s go, I have somewhere to be, and I’m late because of you.”

“Where are we going?” I stammered as I hurried to follow after him.

A wicked smirk appeared on his face, contorting his scar upward. “To a party.”

THIRTEEN

SCOTLIND

I was insideone of the towering glass buildings a few blocks from the castle. Tezya said that one of his friends lived in it, along with many other Luxians. It supposedly was called an apartment complex. The building itself was high, too high for my comfort. I counted seventeen flights of stairs before Tezya finally said that we made it. My breath was embarrassingly ragged by the time we stopped. I’d never felt so frustrated with my body as Tezya smiled at me from above the landing. He was leaning against a white door frame, breathing perfectly normal. He looked casual and relaxed, like walking up all those steps was as easy as rising out of his bed. I, on the other hand, was in rough shape.

“Whoever your friend is, they are crazy for having to walk up that every single day,” I huffed. My body was bent over as I pressed my hands into my knees.

“His name is Rainer, and while he is crazy, he doesn’t take the stairs. He’s too lazy for that.”

“How does he get into his house if he doesn’t take the stairs?”

“He takes the elevator.”

“The what?”

Tezya laughed. “Sorry, I forgot they don’t favor electricity much in Tennebris. It’s basically a box that moves up and down the flights for you. We can take it on our way out if you would like.”

I glowered at him. “That would have been nice to know before you made me climb up all those stairs.”

“Consider it part of your training,” he grinned. “Come on, Rainer’s place is around the corner.”

I followed Tezya down the hall that was lined with too many identical doors to count. He stopped at the furthest one, positioned at the end of the building.

“I hope you like to drink,” he said as he pushed the door open without knocking. The space was small but comfortable. We entered into a tiny gray and white kitchen. A small table was set off to the side, and at the end of the room were two deep purple sofas and a large monitor screen mounted to the wall. A slate door was closed off to another part of the home, and a set of sliding glass doors by the sofas led to a balcony outside.

When Tezya said he was taking me to a party, I didn’t expectthis. I pictured that it would be similar to the one Vallie took me to on our last night in LakeWood, or the one I walked in on with Sie when Alec compelled me. I thought it would be crowded with strangers and blaring music. But this was quiet. More intimate and private, but I still felt like I didn’t belong.

There were only four people occupying the sofas. I was shocked to see Princess Dovelyn among them. She was perched on the armrest, leaning intoa broad male. “You’re friends with Princess Dovelyn?” I whispered to Tezya as he dragged me further into the room.

He stole a glance back at me, a half grin on his face. “Something like that.”

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