Page 54 of Ocean of Silver

“No,” I gritted through my teeth, not wanting him to use his ability on me. I took a deep breath, loosening it. “I’m fine.”

“Good because the King is watching you,” Brock whispered into my ear so softly that I almost missed it. That did not help calm my nerves but instead did the opposite.

Brock was so tall that I had to tilt my head up at a sharp angle to be able to meet his gaze, and when I did, I found him already staring down at me. I didn’t know how to respond or what to say to him, so we just danced. I tried my best not to think about how Tezya was holding Kallon throughout the whimsical melody of the song. Brock made sure to sweep me across the dance floor, furthest away from him.

Brock bowed to me once the song finally came to a close. “Come with me,” he said over the round of applause. “I’ll escort you back.”

* * *

Tezya foundme in my room, curled up on my bed, hours later. I couldn’t fall asleep as my mind spun and processed everything that happened at the Ball.

“That’s why you didn’t want me to go to the Ball tonight, isn’t it? You didn’t want me to find out about you.” I sprang up from my bed and stormed toward him the moment he appeared. Kallon must have portaled him in and then left immediately because he was alone, with only the misting black and purple smoke fading into nothing.

He flinched slightly. “I didn’t lie. I meant it when I said I didn’t want you to attract the King’s attention.”

“You mean yourfather’sattention.”

“He. Is. Not. My. Father.” he said between gritted teeth.

I slapped him across his face. The sound reverberated throughout the room, echoing into a resounding silence. A red handprint was now painted across his scar. Tezya didn’t move. Instead, he held my angry stare, his breathing deepening. “Don’t lie to my face, Tezya,” I seethed.

“Scotlind, I’m not lying to you. He isn’t my father. That man will never be my father.”

“You’re the Prince. The Fire Prince, Tezya,” I screamed. I tasted salt in my mouth as hot tears rolled down my cheeks. “I asked you about him. I asked if the Fire Prince was dangerous for crying out loud. I asked if you worked with him. You lied to me then as you are lying to me now. You made me believe that he was someone else. And for what? Was it some kind of sick joke between you and your friends? Betting on how long it would take me to figure it out?”

“What?” he asked as he pulled his hands through his hair, his voice raised and echoing now to match mine. “Of course not. I didn’t tell you for this reason alone,” he said as he gestured between us. “Look at you. You’re looking at me like you hate me.”

“Well, at least you got one thing right tonight,” I snapped. “I do hate you.”

He flinched at my words. “I’m sorry, Scotlind. I didn’t intend to hurt you,” he said quieter, deeper.

“Well, you did.”

“I know.” He sucked in a breath. Paused. “I just didn’t want to lose you, lose this, I mean.” He gestured to the space between us.

“And what is this?” I challenged.

“Friendship.”

My heart sank, and I didn’t know what I was expecting him to say. He was engaged to Kallon, who I wanted so badly to consider as a friend. I was mad at myself for even feeling disappointed in his answer. He lied to me. He was the Prince. I didn’t want to be with him. I didn’t want him to like me. He was who Sie warned me to stay away from, and I should have listened. I could still listen. I didn’t have to get along with Tezya. I didn’t have to care. All I had to do was get trained by him. So why was I disappointed?

Some deep part of me knew that I couldn’t, that I didn’t want whatever this was to end, that it wasn’t only about the training. I just wasn’t ready to think about it tonight.

“At first, I didn’t tell you because I found it curious. And I know that is wrong and messed up. I get that now.” He ran his fingers through his hair again. “But I loved that you didn’t know who I was. I loved that you didn’t look at me as the Prince. I wanted to just be that soldier in the army that you thought I was,” Tezya said as he took a hesitant step toward me. “But then I knew. Once you told me the rumors you heard about me, I knew that you would hate me. That once you found out, things would change. I’m not sorry for not wanting that. I’m not sorry for wanting to keep things the same between us for a little while longer. But this doesn’t change anything. This doesn’t change how I feel about you.”

This doesn’t change how I feel about you.I tucked that into my memory for later. I couldn’t decipher what he meant by it right now. My head hurt too much to even begin to process his words or the meaning behind them. “You’re a coward, Tezya. A prick and a fucking coward.”

I couldn’t stand how much it all made sense now, how blind I was before. Why he was at my interrogation when I was compelled, why he was so high up in the army. I scoffed. He wasn’t just high up. He was as high up as you could go. He controlled it. Then another thought washed over me. He killed the rebels that he claimed to share the same beliefs as.

“You told me you hated the ranking system. You made me believe that we felt the same way. But you don’t. You murdered all the rebels. You burned them to ash. How could you do that if you believe in the same thing? They were fighting for the change that you claim you want, and you murdered them for it. How can you tell me that this changes nothing?” I was sobbing now, and my vision was starting to blur because of it. I hadn’t even realized I started crying. Embarrassment clung to me. I tried to blink away the tears to focus on what was happening.

“They were my orders, Scotlind. I didn’t want to do it, but I didn’t have a choice, just like you don’t have a choice now.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that we are all at the King’s mercy.”

“Please, just leave, Tezya,” I snapped. “I don’t want to see you.” I was tired and sick of fighting for today. I wanted to sleep and just forget this night ever happened.

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