Page 78 of Ocean of Silver

At the King’s command, the soldiers instantly fled the dungeon cell. It was large, but the lack of windows made it just as dark and damp. There wasn’t a drain in the center of the room, and I couldn’t tell if that was a good or a bad thing.

The King lounged back in a chair that was brought out for him as he waited for the soldiers to return. He was staring down at me with a smug smile on his lips, the silence vexing. The minutes felt like hours, days even, as I waited for what would happen next. I wanted to say something, to ask what was going on, but I was too scared I would say the wrong thing and make things worse, so I forced myself to hold my tongue.

I shifted on the floor, wanting to see who else was in the room with us. The chains didn’t allow for much movement, but I saw Prince Arcane and Princess Dovelyn flanking my side. I craned my neck, trying to see if Tezya was here. I sagged, relief flooding into me when he wasn’t. Kole stood in the shadows of the room, his brown eyes never leaving mine.

I tried not to shake as visions flashed before me of what torture he could deliver. My throat still burned from when he compelled me to stop breathing, and it felt too familiar from the night in the warehouse. I hated compulsion. I hated what Kole could force me to do—which was anything. No matter how hard I trained, I could never win against him without Alluse.

The door swung open as Tezya strode in with the two soldiers at his back. He took in the room, the damp, cold cell, and then his attention snagged on me. I cowered on the floor, still in my dress from the celebration, my toes curling into each other from his glare as he noticed the state I was in. His eyes roamed over the chains to the dried tears that streaked down my cheeks.

A pained expression crossed over his beautiful, scarred face before he recovered and turned toward the King. Tezya kept his expression blank as he asked, “What is the meaning of this? I told you already that it was all my doing at the celebration. Athler used his powers on me, not her. She doesn’t need to be here for my punishment.”

“Oh, she doesn’t now?” The King’s smile was unnerving. “Your little stunt at the celebration is only part of why we’re here.”

Tezya scanned the room again. “What else is there?”

The chair groaned as the King leaned forward. “I was hoping you would tell me.” He smiled as he twirled and flipped a dagger around in his hand. The silver glimmered as it caught in the lone light swimming above him. My head spun as he curled the dagger into another meticulous circle, making me dizzy. “You see, we had a marvelous discovery today. It seems our prisoner here possesses enhancement.” The King’s mischievous smile never faltered as he studied Tezya’s face, gauging his reaction.

Tezya didn’t miss a beat. “What makes you think that? Enhancement is a long forgotten ability. It hasn’t been seen since before we came to this planet.”

“I’m aware of the rarity of enhancement, son. What I’m not aware of is why you didn’t report it.”

“She doesn’t have it.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t deny it if I were you. She proved it to us already. I saw her using her ability with my own eyes in order to spare her Tennebrisian friend from being tortured. The male had no reserves left and was chained in Alluse-laced metal, and somehow, he found himself able to use his ability—to shapeshift after being lashed, and this one,” he paused and turned to me, “made that most marvelous comment.Make him pay,I believe. It seems the girl really doesn’t like our new compulsion user.”

Tez looked up for a split second, his eyes lingering on Kole, before he replied matter of factly, “It could just be a coincidence. I saw nothing in her training that would indicate that kind of power. Perhaps you are wrong.”

Dovelyn flashed her brother a warning look, but Tezya didn’t notice. His eyes were focused on his father.

The King laughed at him as he said, “I haven’t brought you down here to seek your counsel on what kind of ability she possesses. You can stop protecting her now. I already looked through her memories of your time spent together. It’s interesting though. I specifically remember telling you to only train her in abilities. Yet, you two have been rather busy, going on swims, parties, taking her to a waterfall. It seems you also decided to physically train her too. Not that I mind. She looks much better with a little meat on her bones.” He paused to look at me again. “But my favorite memory that we shifted through was the two of you at a beach. It seems you discovered this little ability of hersweeksago and then proceeded to tell her to keep it a secret.To tell no one about it, especially the King, I believe, were your exact words.”

Dovelyn inhaled sharply as she glared at me, then looked longingly at her brother. Her fear was palpable. Tezya didn’t move.

Bile rose in my throat, and it took every ounce of control I had not to vomit. While I was unconscious, they went into my mind. He saw my memories, ones that marked Tezya going against the crown, his own blood. Fear, unlike anything I have felt before, overtook me as I shook harder on the floor. The only good thing was that it seemed like the King hadn’t seen our entire conversation. His focus for Kole’s compulsion must have been solely focused on my enhancement.

Tezya narrowed his eyes. “What do you want then?”

The King let out a huff, his smile now gone. “I want to know why. Why did you keep it from me, and what were you planning on doing with her? Why protect her, Tezya? Surely it wasn’t just so you could bed and fuck her?” The King rose from the chair now and stalked over to me. He crouched down to caress my cheek as he added, “Regardless of how pretty she might be.” Tezya’s jaw clenched as he stared at his father. His fists curled and uncurled by his side, flexing his fingers like he wanted to do something but was taking restraint to hold back.

Silence rippled through the damp dungeon. The only sound to be heard was my heavy breathing and a steady drip coming from one corner of the cell, leaking filth onto the cold floor. The King stood, dagger now firm in his hand, as he said, “No matter. I didn’t expect you to respond. The answer to your question, my son, as to what I want is to lay out your punishment.”

In one heartbeat, the dagger was in the King’s hand. The next, it was flying across the room with such speed and accuracy. I screamed as it sank into its mark and lodged itself into the center of Tezya’s left thigh. Tezya grunted from the pain but didn’t falter in his spot. He remained where he stood, eyes piercing with disgust at his father as blood pooled around the wound.

“And Scotlind, this is as much of a punishment for you as it is for my son. You cannot interfere like you did with that Tennebrisian male. This is what you get when you don’t put your own Kingdom first. You are to watch a Luxian torture. Watch Tezya go through his punishment and understand thatyoucaused this. But then again, since you still seem to place Tennebris over Lux, maybe this won’t be difficult for you at all.” He smiled at me before turning his attention to Kole. As if he knew he was being requested, he stepped out of the shadows and into the light. “According to her memories, how many days has my son been keeping this information from me?”

Kole answered immediately. “It’s been twenty-three days.”

“Hmm. Twenty-three days,” the King mused. “I’m feeling rather generous today. I’ll combine this with your punishment from the celebration. I’m disappointed that you weren’t able to complete the task without Athler’s help. But since the outcome was the same, I’ll go easy on you. After all, I am extremely happy with how successful the dinner was tonight.” I held my breath, hoping that it was over with, hoping that the dagger in Tezya’s thigh was enough—

“You’ll only have to endure twenty-three hours worth of torture.” He turned toward Tezya. “The soldiers will each take turns whipping you. According to Athler, he was forced to waste his ability on you for fourteen minutes during the celebration, so fourteen lashes for that.” He looked at the knife still embedded into Tezya’s thigh. “Then, Tezya, you will remove that dagger and re-pierce the exact same spot for the remainder of the time.”

Tezya nodded his head.Nodded.Like he had known this would happen. Like he’d done this before. My stomach turned. This was supposed to be an easy punishment.

“Unless,” the King added, “you want to complete thetaskto get out of it. It’s always the same. Such a simple little thing, and you wouldn’t have to endure any of this.”

Tezya ground his teeth together. “I’ll take the punishment.”

The King laughed. “As you always do.” Then he nodded to Kole. “Compel her so that she doesn’t interfere and force her to watch the entire thing. She isn’t allowed to look away. Then compel my son to make sure he obeys.”

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