Page 60 of Ocean of Silver

“Yeah, we’re engaged.”

“I’m sorry—”

“Sorry for what?”

I didn’t know how to answer that. Tezya and I never did anything. I didn’t even know how he felt about me. He told me in my room that we were friends, and I was coming up blank on how I could explain to her that I was sorry for everything that’s only been in my head? That I’ve secretly been attracted to him all this time he’s been training me, but it’s one-sided… “I just didn’t realize you two were a thing.”

She turned her head to look at me. “Babes, Tezya and I arenota thing. Yes, we’re forced to be engaged by our parents, but that’s all it is. It’s a transaction we have no say in. Neither of us like the other in that way, and honestly, half the time, I forget that we’re engaged. We both try to push it very far out of our minds and avoid thinking about it.”

“Oh,” I responded because I didn’t know what else to say.

“Trust me, babes, I don’t like him. He’s like a brother to me and has been one of my oldest friends. And Tezya feels the same way. If there’s a way out of this engagement, he’d be the first to find the loophole.”

“Are Dovelyn and Arcane betrothed?” I asked, genuinely curious if all the Royals had arranged marriages.

“They will be. The Lux King will take his time selecting a wife for Arcane. The longer he isn’t married, the less of a risk he poses for taking the throne before the King’s done. And as much as Arcane wants to rule, he isn’t keen on marrying. He has no interest in taking a wife.”

“Why?”

“He’s in love with a guy.”

“Is that allowed?” I asked because I had no idea what Lux deemed acceptable.

“Goddess, no,” Kallon laughed, but I could tell it was laced with her own sorrow on the subject. “Any marriage that can’t produce a strong offspring isn’t allowed here. It’s all they care about—breeding us to make Lux the stronger Kingdom.”

“I don’t really think that’s allowed anywhere,” I admitted. “Tennebris values birth and Lakimi too much to encourage that.”

Kallon shook her head. “That’s not true. It is allowed somewhere.”

I couldn’t keep the confusion out of my face as my eyebrows furrowed. “Where?”

“The mortals.”

“I—” I went to open my mouth to respond, but I didn’t even know where to start with that. It was illegal to breed with humans—banned by our ancestors when we first came here—but were Advenians still doing it? If it was with the same sex there wouldn’t be a concern for a pregnancy, making it easier to hide.

“It’s one of the many reasons I love going there. You can be whoever you want and love anyone. I like both genders, so that kind of freedom is appealing to me.”

“Have you ever…” I couldn’t get myself to ask it—to ask if she’s ever been with a human.

But she seemed to understand what I wanted to say. She shook her head. “I’ve thought about it, but I never went through with it. It’s too risky. I often dream that I’m human, though. I wish I had been born there. I wish I was mortal instead of an Advenian.”

“Even with their short lifespans?”

“Yes. They actually get to live, Scottie. Even if it’s just for a small blip of time. What’s the point of our long lives if we can’t even do what we want? If we can’t love who we want?” She paused for a moment, looking at me longingly like she was begging me to understand. Maybe I did. Maybe I would give up our stretched immortality and powers in exchange for that kind of freedom.

“Anyway, as for Dovelyn, the King likes to use her future betrothal as blackmail,” she said, bringing me back to what we were talking about, but it was hard to forget what she just revealed. “He threatens to marry her to his second in command, and that usually gets her to do whatever he wants. The King probably isn’t in a rush to lose that kind of leverage over her.”

“And Tezya?

She shrugged. “He’s the youngest, so the least valuable to the King, even though Tez’s powers are the strongest. He married him off in exchange for my powers. Portal jumping is really rare to Luxians.”

“And did you get something in exchange for it?”

“Goddess no, Tezya and I had no say. My parents were the ones who made the bargain with the King. For a shit ton of money, they gave up their only daughter. The only good thing about it is that the document my parents signed stated that the King can’t have access to my powers until I’m wed to Tez, and the only saving grace my parents gave me was not putting a timeline on the contract, so Tezya and I have been pushing it off, making excuse after excuse to delay the inevitable. Which, Arcane being the heir and not wed, has been working in our favor for postponing our own marriage.”

“I’m sorry, Kallon.”

“It’s alright. Things could have been worse. I could be in Dovelyn’s position with the threat of marriage to Athler.” She shuddered, and I wondered who could possibly be worse than the King himself. “But Tezya is a good guy. Even if I’m not remotely interested in him in that way, he’s my friend, and he’s kind.”

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