I back away from Renit, the dagger still in my hand. There's no reason to fear him anymore—I know he wouldn't hurt me intentionally but I still find the need to defend myself. He towers over me in height and in strength, leaving me defenseless save for my feet. 

He steps towards me, the fury practically pouring off of him. How did he figure it out? Did he know the entire time or did he just figure it out when he came to apologize? If he came to apologize, the witch could hardly stoop so low. He barely apologizes when the power of storm takes out its anger on me underneath his blind command.

That's why Silas's door was propped open. His brother realized I disappeared, went searching around the castle, and found Silas missing too. Whatever he thinks happened, it's enough to make him follow me with that predatory gait.

I open the door, ready to bolt, and he slams it shut—trapping me between the solid surface and the unyielding frame of his muscle. He grabs the dagger from my hand and tosses it aside like the weapon was never worth anything to him. He didn't have it for that long; part of the reason he gave it to me. Worthless. The blade clatters against the stone wall and lands against the floorboards.

"You better start explaining," he growls. His breath smells like alcohol, strong and bitter. My head spins.

"Before you do anything, this wasn't me rebelling. We went to Mailan to find a gift for Celestine, for her birthday," I say too quickly. My words stumble over each other as his tantalizing stare bores into my skull. My back presses into the door with nowhere to go but onto my toes, pressing farther and farther away.

Renit snarls. "I don't care what you were doing." His palm hits the door by my head and I jump, slinking away. I slither underneath his arm quickly and scramble towards my dagger. In the open area of the room, I stand a chance. "You were under strict order to never leave this castle. You disobeyed me, again, and you have the audacity to do it behind my back."

"I did nothing wrong! We went into a bookstore, bought books, and then we left." I hold the dagger out in front of me, pointed directly at his chest. Not a single part of me wants the blade to disappear underneath his flesh. We don't share mutual care, he's thinking about more than one way to punish me right now. And I am worried about this coming to the desperate act of hurting him at all. No, we've never shared a common ground.

"I know what you did," he chuckles. "I watched you the entire time, I followed you two into the city and watched as you went into that store."

I breathe a sigh of relief. "See? We did nothing we weren't supposed to. Silas and I weren't gone that long." Yet, my mind doesn't know where to place his dander. There's something else he's mad at, whether going behind his back entirely or there's something I'm missing. But something is causing him to fume like the flame crackling in the fireplace.

"What would have happened if someone approached you? A thief, a murderer—someone able to hurt you. Would you have used your magic?" Ignoring the dagger, he takes two steps towards me; I mimic with two steps back.

"Well—I—I don't know. Probably, if it was necessary." My back hits the armoire, putting me between him and another solid surface. The only escape is through the window and I wouldn't dare try the door again, not after he nearly broke the wood with his hand.

"That's exactly what you're not supposed to do. Your power is not yet contained and you could have destroyed that entire city with one simple wave of your hand!" His voice rises and my hands shake at the sound of it. How rash it sounds compared to the soft walls of my chambers, the plump pillows, and the frilled gowns in the closet.

I can't stop the tears that prick at my eyes. "I can control it, Renit. My power wouldn't have erupted, I promise."

He snorts. "That means nothing. You're susceptible to Outbursts, just as I am. All it takes is one misplaced test of power and that's it." He jams a finger against his chest and advances towards me again. "I am responsible for you and if you do anything stupid, that comes back on me. Do you want me to be punished again? You only saw a fraction of what my father can do."

The memory of his wounds flashes into my mind; the tattered skin and the dried blood. I've never seen anything like it, comparing to the refugees that came into Arego injured and begging for a proper healer. I've seen injuries there, but this was different, this was someone I longed to protect against his father. And I couldn't do that. "No, I don't want you to go through that again but you can't keep me locked up forever. I want to experience something, not just this castle." He's not at all phased by the crack in my voice or the tear rolling down my cheek. If anything, that fuels his fire.

"You won't be doing any of that anytime soon." Renit reaches forward, grabs my wrist, and yanks me against him. I try to twist out of his grip as he yanks the dagger out of my hand and tosses it aside once more. I'm sickened by the familiar sight of the titanium band clamping around my wrist before he shoves me back.

That titanium band, the sight of it cracks something open inside my soul. The band is my shackle, my keep, my cell. And I've had enough of this. "Why are you doing this?" I ask quietly. "Why do you treat me like I am worth nothing to you?"

I slam my palms against his chest but he's so solid, my attack hardly moves him. Out of the rage I feel, my palms slam against him again and again until finally, he rocks back after stumbling over the rug. "Because I have to!" He shouts. Renit grabs my wrists and keeps hold. "Princes do not get the chance to love. If they do, they are to run from that chance because nothing but terrible things comes from it." He squeezes my wrists so tight, my entire body shakes with him. He's shaking me.

"So that's it?" I snap. "You give up before trying?" I try to twist out of his grip but his nails dig into my skin.

"I've tried before and nothing good came from it, nothing! I'm left with nothing but memories of the past and what could have been. That chance to love, I've taken it before and it was a mistake. I will not do it again." He pushes me back by my wrists, a small shove, and I stumble over the chaise, falling onto the floorboards.

He stares at me, huffing with outrage until his skin turns pale. I don't know what he's looking at until I feel the trickle against the inside of my wrist. I look down to see his nail marks; dug so deep he drew blood. With all my emotions built up, I didn't feel the pain but it's all coming back. The wounds sting.

I watch the blood trickle and clog at the sleeve of my tunic. "Get out," I hiss, staring at those nail marks.

"Roux, let me help you." His voice is softer now, so much softer, but all I can hear is the hate. I hate him.

Renit reaches for me, hands carefully bracing my elbows, and I shove him back with all my might. "I said get out!" My throat strains with how loud I scream. Even Renit looks startled. I've never screamed so loud in my life. But it feels good. I stand and shove my palms against his chest, much harder this time. "I hate you! I hate your father, I hate this castle, I hate your power and I hate your Outbursts. I hate my power for its match to yours, I hate that your father needed me here and you never once needed me." The words break in sobs. He looks like he wants to grab my wrists again but holds back. I can't hear the words he wants to say over my own sobs and fluid rage pounding against my skull. I shove him again and his back slams against the door. "I hate you and I will always hate you for dragging me here and killing my parents. You have taken everything from me." His nostrils flare as he stares into my eyes. At one point, I thought that silver to shine. Now, I hate the color.

Underneath my breath, I give him one final goodbye. "Go to hell."

He watches me move to the bathing room and slam the door behind me before he leaves, shutting the door quietly behind him with a click. I wash off the blood but I'll keep the wounds and let them turn into scars so he can remember what he did. The shape of his nails against my skin, a reminder of the night I finally found something beautiful about this place, something I truly loved, he took that all away.

As I lay there in bed, staring at the ceiling cast with moonlight, I listen to him rustling around in his chambers. He ambles, carefully, like he's calculating all his movements. The proper prince, the soldier, the warrior. I can't stand him. I can't stand being this close to him.

In my nightgown, I slide out of bed and shove my feet into slippers. My eyes are swollen with tears and as I walk down the quiet halls, I wipe at my nose to try to make myself look somewhat appealing. It won't matter anyway, I'm not going there for that reason.

The entire way, the new wounds on the inside of my wrists sting and I want so badly to seek out Hallie to heal them but this is the mark that will define Renit's relationship with myself. He hurt me; he drew blood, and when I look down at those wounds, I will remind myself why we could never be. All that will ever come of the two of us is the Grounding. That's it. I will be his little slave until I die of a broken heart.

Silas's door is locked so I knock. I'm met by silence so I knock again and then hear one of his floorboards creak. He was already sleeping. While rubbing at his tired eyes, he opens the door and smiles at the first glimpse of me. The torch in the hall casts shadows over my face but that doesn't hide the red nose and swollen eyes. His smile quickly fades.

"Can I sleep here tonight?" I ask.

His eyes tell me that so many questions need to be asked. But he gives me an answer. "Of course, come in." He steps aside and allows me into his dark chambers. The curtains block out any form of light except for a wax candle on his desk—slowly dying out. "What happened?"

"Renit knew the entire time. He followed us into the city and screamed at me when I got back. So now we're back to square one." I force myself to smile but it comes up short. "I didn't want to sleep so close to him; there's only a hall separating us."

Silas laughs under his breath. "No problem, you're always welcome here." His eyes drift down to my crossed arms and his brows furrow. "Roux, there's blood on your nightgown." He grabs my wrists without intent, directly over the wounds, and pries my arms away from my body. I yelp and his hands immediately unclench to reveal the nail marks bleeding slowly. Silas's jaw clenches as he takes the back of my wrists in his hands to examine the wounds.

"I don't think he meant to," I say. We share breath and the closeness between us has me wanting more but I know that can't happen. I've been stuck with the cruel prince, the one unable to love me. And the one I would rather have—my friend—is also the one I could never think of being with. Tonight has been weird enough to contort my thoughts, now pushed out of my mind.

"He still did it." Silas snarls. "I'll kill him."

"No." I shake my head. "I just want to get some sleep tonight, I'm so tired, and it'll be morning before long. I'll wrap my wrists in bandages and deal with it tomorrow, all right?" His grey eyes flare with anger, mimicking Renit's, but he squeezes those eyes shut and nods. That's the difference between the two princes. One can control their wrath and the other can't. Lucky for the entire kingdom, the one in control is also the next on the throne.

Silas drags a hand through his hair. "Fine, I'll deal with in the morning." He takes my hand and leads me to the bathing room, where he cleans the wounds and bandages them. I don't have to bother telling him I want to keep those wounds, I have a feeling he already understands my motives.

Once I'm cleaned and bandaged and most of the blood is wiped from my nightgown, I move towards the chaise—only to be redirected towards the side of Silas's bed that is unoccupied for the night. My eyes are heavy as I slide underneath the thick duvet and silk sheets. I keep to my side as Silas does the same.

To the untrained eye, we're crossing a line others frown upon. To us, I'm sleeping in his bed because I don't want to bother Celestine at this time of night and I definitely don't want to be in the tower with Renit.

The moral prince was the one with the heart to let me leave this castle; he didn't think twice about it. Silas is the one who creates laughter, tells me stories, and is willing to be my friend while Renit has to force himself to smile in my direction. I've tried enough and I'm exhausted from trying. My entire being is tired.

It doesn't take long for sleep to drag me under in the comfort of Silas's chambers, under the cover of night, far away from the threat digging into my soul. The one thing that makes it so easy is the sound of someone nearby, their steady breathing as they too find themselves under the comfort of dreams. With my eyes shut, I receive a taste of Arego, where Celestine was never more than an arm's reach away.