Page 71 of Ocean of Silver

“I will. Thank you, Peter,” I said. It was a massive relief knowing that Peter would warn Sie. We wouldn’t have to worry about the King’s plan succeeding. It didn’t help the fact that I still had to be with Tezya in some compromised way while he watched. I tried not to think about what Tezya and I would be forced to do, but at least we’d only have to do it once and not again during his coronation once they realized it wouldn’t work.

I never expected to see Sie again, nonetheless, have him see me with someone else. The whole situation was confusing and messed up.

Patricia stood up and straightened her skirts. “Oh, andPatricia,” I said, enunciating the name, “I won’t ever forget the fact that I saw you in a dress.”

Patricia’s smile was very Peter-like as she grumbled, “Shut up.”

TWENTY-SEVEN

SCOTLIND

All weekI had been a mess. I couldn’t stop thinking about having to see Sie again, about what Tezya and I would be forced to do in front of him. Even knowing Peter was going to warn Sie didn’t take away any of my unease.

I knew Tezya was just as worried, and even though he didn’t know or care for Sie, he wanted him to remain on the Dark Throne. So many times throughout training this week, I had contemplated opening up to Tezya about Peter warning Sie. But every time I went to open my mouth, I couldn’t do it. I wasn’t entirely convinced that Tezya knew about my maid, and I couldn’t put Peter at risk, not when he was in the heart of a Kingdom he didn’t belong to, not when he was so close to the Lux King.

It made training hard. I was barely able to focus, knowing that Sie was coming to Lux, and that I’d be forced to see him so soon—and now the week was up. I was barely able to look Tezya in the eye. I didn’t fully know what the King wanted from us, but my imagination ran wild with all different kinds of scenarios.

It would probably be equivalent to us fucking in public.Tezya’s words kept replaying over and over again in my mind, and I got the feeling that it wasn’t as simple as us holdings hands. We didn’t talk about it, neither of us mentioning what they might make us do.

And now, we were about to find out exactly what was expected of us as we made our way toward the King’s chambers. The Lux King had selected my gown—if you could call it that. It was a black slip with thin straps intertwining into an elaborate pattern across my open back. It was so low that I was sure the top of my crack would show depending on how I moved.

It took me twenty minutes of messing with the strings, of trying to tighten them enough so that it held the thin silk up. I really could have used my maid’s help, but ever since I found out that Patricia was really Peter, I refused to let him assist me in dressing. And now that he didn’t have to pretend with me anymore, he used all his free time snooping around the castle.

I was pulling at the straps for the tenth time during our walk when Tezya finally broke the silence. “Do you need Brock’s help?”

“For what?” I asked as I turned to look at him for the first time. The King made calculated choices on our outfits tonight. We looked like a pair. A match made in hell. His white hair and silver-blue eyes were striking against the black attire that was fitted and sculpted to his muscular frame. It might have been the first time I saw him in pants that actually covered his massive calves. And he looked—he looked like everything I’d ever wanted. I had never found someone so attractive before.

“He can calm your nerves, help you get through what we have to do…”

Oh—OH. A blush crept over my freckled cheeks as I definitely thought Tezya meant help with my gown now that it seemed to be falling lower, exposing more of my breasts. He stopped in front of two opulent doors that I assumed belonged to the King, but he didn’t enter yet. He held my gaze, face astringent, and waited for my reply.

Was he serious? Would he really ask Brock to take away my nerves? Did Tezya think I dreaded being with him so much that I would need help to get through tonight? I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about Tezya touching me, about his hands roaming my body, and with this dress… it would be so easy for him to take it off of me. I just never thought we’d be forced to do it in front of a crowd.

“No, I’m fine. I can do this,” I said back as I pushed my thoughts away, remembering that Tezya could sense my shift in emotions. No. It wasn’t being with Tezya that had my stomach turning in knots, although I hated that we didn’t have a choice. It was the fact that we would be put on display for everyone to watch… forSieto watch.

Now, my mind was racing. Was Tezya dreading this? Didheneed Brock’s help to get through tonight with me?

There was no way I was letting Brock inside my head and exposing my confused and jumbled emotions to him. I could do this alone. I could get through this one evening. I was able to get through Sie annulling our marriage, so I could do this too. I could see him one more time. Peter left as Patricia at the same time that Tezya and I were called to meet with the King. I had to trust him that he could find Sie before the meeting started and warn him.

“You ready then?”

I nodded and looked back toward the doors in front of me, my heart hammering in my chest. Tezya took a steadying breath himself, then walked in with me in tow.

The room was a large antechamber. A mantle fireplace was positioned against the far wall. It was the first one I had seen since coming here. It wasn’t the massive floor-to-ceiling pits that Tennebris used for warmth and light. This one was smaller, more decorative. Large windows framed either side, closed off to the outside, which again seemed at odds with the rest of the open, airy castle. I squinted, looking closer. No locks were positioned within the frame. The windows didn’t open. A sinking dread washed over me, and I was trapped all over again. Tezya and I were standing on a large woven rug that covered most of the floor. A bump protruded in the center of the room, directly under the rug, alluring that it was hiding something.

This room felt and seemed more like a prison than the dungeons had, just a pretty one to cover the horrors inside of it. But maybe it was just the man in the room that had the alarms inside me going haywire.

“You’re late,” was all the King said. He was leaning against the mantle with his ankle crossed over the other. His position next to the flames was dangerously close, but he wasn’t phased by the fire. He assessed his son and didn’t hold back the resentment plastered over his cool, dead eyes.

Tezya didn’t respond.

After a moment of palpable silence, the King’s silver gaze slid to me, sending shivers down the length of my exposed spine. He arched a brow, waiting, and I realized that I was expected to bow. I sucked in my breath, taking my pride with it, and bowed low. Tezya remained erect.

“You should take some notes from our little prisoner, Tezya. You could learn a thing or two on how to show respect to your sovereign.”

Little prisoner.I bristled. Still bowed, I noticed Tez’s hand clamp down into fists. When I rose, it was gone. Just a flicker of anger.

“I presume there was a reason you requested Scotlind’s and my presence?”

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