SILIA

My father leans back in his seat and chuckles, “Mr. Dolos did not tell you? Smart man, playing his cards right.”

My mind jumbles with so many questions that I don’t know which one to ask first. Before I can narrow it down, my mouth decides for me, “I have never seen you on the palace grounds in Daqet. Did you work for my uncle?”

Lars shifts, visibly uncomfortable at my question. “Not quite, Your Highness.” A strand of hair falls out of the half-bun and conceals the right side of his face. The urge to tuck the hair behind his ear is overwhelming. Before I can act on impulse, his deep voice interrupts my thoughts.

“My father and Erebus were childhood best friends, even though my family is not of noble background.” Lars clears his throat, emotion filling the unspoken words between his sentences. “When my father died, Erebus was generous enough to provide us lodging on the palace grounds and offered work to my mother as one of the queen's maids.”

So Lars’s mother is one of Aunt Viktoria’s maids. What’s next, he’s some secret assassin sent here to kill us?

Lars slightly angles his head to avoid eye contact with me before continuing. “Before coming to Eza, I trained the kingdom's assassins and spies.”

Oh. My. Gods.

Not knowing how to process this latest information, I turn to my left, “Father, don’t you think this would have been important information for me to know?” I’m not sure if I would have felt any different towards Lars if I had known this before. I guess I’m upset he didn’t feel comfortable enough to share this part of himself with me.

Father waves his hand dismissively. “I did not feel it was pertinent information. However, now that we know Erebus has been making plans under my nose, I have reason to question you as well, Lars.” My eyes quickly dart back and forth between the two men, and I almost scoff in disbelief. Lars certainly had no hand in the disappearance of Diana. He hadn’t even been here.

“I can assure you, Your Majesty, I do not know of Erebus’ plans or his intentions. However, if you feel the need to interrogate me, I will comply.” Lars finally tucks the hair behind his ear and makes eye contact with me once again. I can’t help but feel as though I’ve peeled back a layer of himself he did not want me to see.

Rein moves closer to the table, next to Lars, “I can vouch for Mr. Dolos. He and I were together all night. I have never seen any correspondence leave or enter this castle from Daqet addressed to him.”

It looks like Lars has completely stopped breathing. I watch as his jaw clenches and he swallows deeply. Is he nervous? Anxious? I’m a bit shocked too that Rein monitors the coming and going of mail to the palace. It must be one of his duties I was not privy to.

He must have seen the letter sent to Diana, if he screens the mail. Rein must be slacking if he missed something so important.

“That will not be necessary, Mr. Dolos. I know of your past with Erebus and have full faith in your allegiance to Eza. I only jest.” My father stands from his chair and makes his way to the map wall. As he turns his back, I hear Lars let out a sigh of relief and watch him grip the top of the chair next to him. I would feel the same way. The last thing I would want to do is be interrogated for something I did not have a hand in.

“What should we do next, Your Majesty?” Rein asks calmly as he trails behind my father to the maps.

“For now, I would like to continue Silia’s training until I find out more information from my connections in Daqet. We need to continue business as usual.” Father traces his fingers over the border between Daqet and Eza on the map and whispers something under his breath that I cannot make out.

There hasn’t been conflict between the neighboring countries in the last fifty years, since the start of my father’s rule. Erebus is our family, after all, I cannot think of a good reason why he would want to stir things up between us. I need to speak with Lars and ask why he was hiding his lineage from me.

“Of course.” Rein gives a nod to the king. “In the event of Diana’s whereabouts are being questioned, what should we say?”

Father turns around to look at all of us. “You answer them truthfully. She has gone to Daqet to aid her dying aunt.” Father adds a subtle hint of sarcasm at the end of his sentence.

“As you wish.” Rein and Lars bow to the king, then to me, and exit the map room.

I rise from my chair and walk towards my father. “Shouldn’t we send a group to find her? What if she needs our help?”

He turns to me, hands nonchalantly on his hips. “I have no concerns for her safety. Erebus may be dumb, but he’s not an idiot. He knows what would happen if he were to harm Diana.” My heart begins to ease at his assessment.

“You truly wish for me to continue my training? I would understand if you preferred to put a pause on it.” I secretly hope he will not take back his approval. The brand on the back of my neck has been burning with anticipation since my ceremony.

“I do. I know how important this is to you. We may also need your strength in the coming months.”

I let out a sigh of relief. I know he is afraid of another outburst, but I cannot begin to control it if I don’t learn how.

“Thank you, Father.” I lean into his side and rest my head against his shoulder. “I will not let you down, I swear it.”

He kisses me on my temple and wraps me in a hug. “We will find your sister. She will be okay.” I smile up at him. I get the faint sense he’s not just reassuring me with this statement, but himself as well.

I make sure the king doesn’t need anything further from me, then make my way to the training ring. Lars and Rein are already out here, setting up the new equipment needed for the second phase. Rein is still in his armor, helmet resting in between his bicep and ribcage. As I approach them, he spots me and meets me halfway in the field.

“So, that was a lot, huh?” Rein chuckles, and I join in with him. I still cannot thank the Gods enough for bringing him to me. I can truly be myself around him without having to apologize for it.

“Yes, it sure was. Did you know Lars is from Daqet?” A part of me hopes Rein didn’t get the memo either, so I am not the odd one out.

Selfish, I know.

“No, I did not. The king didn’t brief me before hiring him, and I was not made aware of his existence until he showed up at the palace gates.” Rein drapes an arm around my shoulder and pulls me into a side hug. His clunky armor digs into my cheeks as I lean closer to him.

“Good thing he didn’t turn out to be a total dick, right?”

I let out a loud laugh at his unexpected comment.

“Oh, absolutely. I don’t think I could manage working with someone who acts like they have the right to forbid me from leaving the palace!” I reply, sarcasm drenching every one of my words.

Rein and I laugh as we head to the ring, where the man of the hour is bent over, fixing the array of weapons lined up on the ground. My eyes dart immediately to the sculpted muscles of his backside.

I am no better than a man.

Rein lets out a long whistle when he sees where my eyes are directed.

Lars stiffens and slowly stands, then wipes his hands on his trousers. “You know I could hear you both, right?”

I shrug my shoulders and close the gap between us. “I apologize, Lars. It was very rude of us to say things behind your back. Next time, if I think I have something important to say, I’ll be sure to say it to your face. No secrets” I lock eyes with Lars and shout back to Rein, “Right, Rein?”

“Right…” Rein decides to make himself scarce and head to the larger weapons rack on the far end of the ring.

Lars doesn’t back away from me; he instead invades my space. His collarbone is right at my eye level, so I have to tilt my head up to meet his gaze.

“Silia, we do not need to discuss this now.”

“Of course! Let’s just begin training and act like nothing ever happened.” I throw my arms up in the air with frustration. As I start to walk away, he grabs me by the arm and whirls me back around. His grip isn’t tight, but it's enough to stop me in my tracks, and my breath quickly leaves my lungs.

Lars lowers his voice to a whisper. “Please, Silia. I want to talk with you, but not here.”

“Why did you lie to me?” I match his volume and stare into his gold-flecked eyes.

“I never lied to you about that. You just never asked.” His eyes dart back and forth between mine, searching for something.

“Friends usually divulge that information without being prompted. It’s how bonds are formed.” I try to rip my arm away, but his grip tightens.

“Silia, I am your friend.” His eyes dart down to my lips, then back up to meet my stare. His eyes gloss over for a moment, then return to normal. “ I have nothing to hide .”

Lars releases my arm, but I do not walk away.

Neither does he.

Without meaning to, I quickly glance at his lips. He sucks in a breath, and my heart begins to race. A paralyzing feeling of lust crashes into me, and I’m stunned for a moment, stuck staring at his mouth.

“Lars, can I have this bow? I’ve never seen one so exquisitely crafted!” Rein tries to interrupt the stare-down between Lars and I, but it just sounds like muffled gibberish in the background as I’m caught in an intoxicating dance. I need to physically look away from him to restrain myself, and when I do, I feel like I dove headfirst into a lake in the dead of winter.

A shiver runs up my spine, and I feel a prick at the back of my neck. I whip around to see if someone had touched me, only to find the palace grounds empty, except for the three of us. When I turn back around, Lars is already halfway over to Rein.

This conversation is not over. Far from it.

“Focus your breathing, block out all the outside noise. Trust your gut.”

I’m blindfolded in the middle of the ring while Lars shouts instructions at me. The goal of today's training is to sense where Rein is standing and send a cloud of smoke in that direction. Easy, right?

Wrong.

“I think I got it the last twenty times you explained it.” I exhale a frustrated breath and quiet my mind.

I’m annoyed at how much control Rein and Lars have over me in this moment. I am blindfolded and at their mercy. It would sound like a fun evening if you removed the liar and the best friend from the picture.

I feel something hit the back of my leg, and I spin around in that direction. “Did you just throw a rock at me?”

“Just doing my job!” I hear Rein yell back to me in a completely different direction.

Idiot .

Without looking, I throw my hand out to my right and release a noxious cloud of black smoke. My brand burns with approval. Excellent , it seems to say to me.

Knowing I hit my mark without even looking, I remove the blindfold and examine my handiwork. Rein is standing stone still in the center of the smoke with his helmet on, blocking the fumes from entering his mouth and nose. Well, that’s no fun.

“That’s not fair. She cheated!” Rein crosses his arms, and I can tell without even seeing his face he’s frowning, looking like a comical knight in shining armor.

Lars lets out a chuckle. “Maybe if you didn’t give away your location, you wouldn’t be in this predicament.” He walks over to me and claps a hand on my shoulder, and my brand pulses in response to his touch. He leans down to whisper in my ear, “Nice one, Hecate.”

I can’t help my grin. I’m supposed to be angry at him, I am not supposed to be smirking to myself at the sound of my nickname flowing from his lips.

“Rein, get over here so we can reset. Unless you prefer to suffocate to death, then please, be my guest.” Lars walks back over to where he’d stood before, and I hold out my hand to suck the smoke back up.

Once the smoke clears, Rein walks to where I’m standing in the middle of the ring. I take the helmet off his head. “Better luck next time.” I send him a wink before I shove the helmet into his chest, and he rolls his eyes.

“Why am I even here? There’s no more physical combat. I don’t see how I’m useful in this scenario.” Rein walks over to the bench next to Lars and sits, pouting like a teenager who’d just been grounded.

“You play the most important role.” Lars hands Rein a cup of water, “You’re our test dummy!”

Rein snatches the water and gulps it down. “You’re lucky I like you,” he says, pointing a finger at me.

“Is that any way to speak to a princess? I am technically your boss, you know.” I leave my post and join Rein on the bench.

“ Technically , no, you’re not.” He reaches over and tangles his fingers in my hair. Since we’re not doing any physical combat today, I decided to unbraid my hair and allow it to breathe. I caught Lars eyeing my new hairstyle one too many times ever since I unbraided it. The memory of him twirling the end of my braid in his fingers this morning replays in my head, and my cheeks begin to heat. I clear my throat and force myself to focus on the man who is currently sitting in front of me and not the one awkwardly watching this interaction.

I want to savor this moment for as long as I can. This may be one of the last semi-normal days we have for the foreseeable future.

As I picture it right now, Diana is not in Daqet, Lars did not lie about his past, and I am not being swallowed by guilt and anxiety. We are just three best friends having a fun afternoon.

That familiar silky tone interrupts my blissful daydream.

“Are we ready to continue?” Lars stands next to his collection of daggers with his hands on his hips, the picture of impatience.

I rise from the bench and send a salute in his direction, “Yes, sir. Are you finished organizing your toys?”

Lars huffs a laugh, then picks up the dagger closest to him and flips it over in his hand. “These toys are very special to me. I don’t know if you’re equipped to handle them just yet. But I will allow you to gaze upon them for a moment, if that is what you wish.”

I trudge up to him and snatch the dagger out of his hands to examine it. “A bit small. I was expecting something more impressive. Now I know better.” I shrug as Rein chokes out a laugh and joins me at my side.

“Okay, children, let's get back to the real work.” Rein takes the dagger from me and compares it to his own sword. “Hm, mine is clearly more impressive.” He tosses the unimpressive dagger back to Lars. Lars catches it with impressive ease and sheathes it at his side, then narrows his focus onto me and raises a brow.

“Ready to play?”