Page 42 of Ocean of Silver

He nodded his head. “What were the other reasons you wanted to be a guard?”

I was surprised for a moment that he picked up on that detail after everything I’d just revealed. “I didn’t want to be weak anymore. I didn’t want anyone else to kidnap me.” I let out a dry laugh, thinking of all the times I had been taken against my will after that. “I didn’t want the night my parents were killed to be repeated. I thought if I trained and if I became a guard, I wouldn’t feel helpless anymore, I wouldn’t be weak, but I was wrong.”

“Scotlind, you know that your body may physically be weak right now because of what the dungeons did to you, but you were never weak. Your mind and soul were never weak. Not for a moment in your life. You are brave and strong. And absolutely no one can take that away from you.”

“You don’t think it’s weak to fear water and fire?”

“Everyone fears something. What makes someone weak or strong is what they do with those fears. You turned yours into motivation. Look at yourself right now. You are in the pool. Last week you didn’t even want to get near it, and you walked so close to the wall I thought you were going to blend in with it. Now, you’re swimming with me.”

“I’m being carried in a pool, and I’m too scared to even bathe,” I replied dryly.

“Things take time. Give yourself that without the resentment. Your fears don’t define you, and they definitely do not stop you.”

His eyes met mine, and I inhaled sharply as I felt his breath against my neck. Had he leaned in or did I? His hands slowly drifted lower, making idle circles against my abdomen in the water. His fingers were so soft that I hadn’t realized it at first, but now I couldn’t think of anything but his touch. His eyes were near glowing as he gazed at me. His wet locks pushed back, revealing both scars. His fingers trailed lower, his eyes never leaving mine as they traveled down and down. A warmth crept up in my core as a new kind of burning took hold.

His nostril flared. A low growl escaped him as his lips parted. I watched as a water droplet traveled over his scar and rested on his bottom lip. I couldn’t stop staring at his lips. I couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that I wanted to lick the water droplet off of them. I wanted to taste them, taste him. What was wrong with me?

I shifted away from his touch, remembering how he could scent my emotions. I didnotwant him knowing what I was feeling right now, even though I was pretty certain by the growl it was too late.

“I need to get out of the water,” I snapped abruptly.

“Rumor, I’m sorry if I—” he said, his hands immediately withdrawing.

“You didn’t. I need to go.”

SIXTEEN

SIE

I felt worse than death.Worse than when I was beaten to a pulp in that warehouse by Kole’s men. I’d never been so exhausted and weak before in my entire life. I finally got up to taking the max dose of the poison, but my body hadn’t adjusted to it yet. It was like getting hit by the monorail over and over again. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking, and it was an effort to continue standing. Every vein in my body felt like it was on fire. I was burning from the inside out, slowly, agonizingly. I needed a cold bath. I needed to be submerged in ice until my fever broke, but I didn’t have time for that. I had to do this, and I had to do this now.

It didn’t help matters that I had used almost all of my power to teleport out of the castle. I could have requested a car to take me to the monorail, but I didn’t want the Council to know where I was going.

“Sie, what are you doing here?” Greyland asked once he saw me standing in the foyer of our family home. His dark eyes assessed me, scanning my body. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” I attempted to smile, but judging from my brother’s frown, it wasn’t convincing.

Our mother came into the foyer and halted as if she saw a ghost. Maybe she had. “I wasn’t aware you were coming home today. No one notified us of your visit,” she said as she started shooing the servants away.

“They wouldn’t.” I leaned against a pillar for support. My entire back was drenched in sweat. “The Council doesn’t know I’m here. I didn’t use the monorail.”

“You teleported all the way here?” my brother gaped.

I nodded, letting them both think that was why I looked like death right now and not the poison running through my veins.

“Why?” my mother asked.

“I wanted to see my brother,” was all I said out loud, but I entered Grey’s mind at the same time,I need to talk to you in private.

Greyland smiled. “Come on, let’s go to my room. I’ll get you some water.”

She looked between us, aware we were talking in our minds. She used to yell at us for it, but it never stopped us as children. “Fine, but you will stay for dinner. I’ll have the servants prepare your favorite.”

It wasn’t a question. I used all the energy I had left to lift off the pillar and walk over to her. Kissing her on the cheek, I answered, “Yes, mother,” then followed Greyland up the stairs.

Neither of us said anything until he closed the door to his room. Our father had our rooms on opposite ends of the house because he claimed Grey was a distraction to me. Most of our conversations consisted of speaking to each other late at night. When we couldn’t sleep, I used to enter his mind, and we would talk for hours. Besides Peter, he was the only person I cared about growing up.

Greyland locked the door and turned to look at me. “What’s going on?” he said. “You don’t look well.”

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