Chapter 2

I did not like his tone at all.

"I was the one who put him to sleep."

The head healer shifted uncomfortably before she spoke.

"It is true, Your Majesty. This is the earliest the prince has fallen asleep in months."

Cassian's eyes flicked toward the shell bed, and something in his face loosened for a second.

Then it hardened again.

"What are you plotting?"

I knew I could not erase what Nerissa had done by defending myself, so I didn’t try.

"Nothing," I said. "I will prove myself with actions, not words."

"And lower your voice. You will wake him."

The whole hall held its breath at that, but Cassian only lifted Cael out of the shell bed, his hands slow and careful.

"Remember this, Nerissa," he said. "Hurt him again, and not even your kingdom will save you from me."

The next morning, I passed the dining hall and found Cael with his arms crossed, an untouched plate of silverfish and sea grapes in front of him.

Cassian sat beside him, a powerful king defeated by a six-year-old.

I stopped beside one of the maids.

“Does he do this often?”

“All the time, Your Majesty,” she replied. “Once he decides he won’t eat, no one can persuade him.”

I looked at Cael and an idea took shape.

"Bring me the ingredients for seaweed cake from the kitchen," I told the maid.

“And bring Cael a small tray. He’s going to make his own.”

"You want His Highness to do kitchen work?" a servant gasped. "He has never done anything so lowly."

Cassian's eyes narrowed. "If this is your way of tormenting him—"

"Children trust what they build with their own hands," I cut in. "Unless you would rather watch him starve."

“But if he still refuses to eat, you’ll rot in the abyss dungeon,” he said.

I took that as a yes.

When the tray of kelp flour and roe arrived, Cael refused to even look at it.

So I started without him.

I mixed and kneaded by myself, asking him for nothing.

I shaped one small cake, then another, and left a third lump of dough between us.

One small hand slowly reached for it.

After that, he forgot to hate me for a while.

He patted the dough into crooked shapes, his little blue tail swaying with focus.

When the cakes were ready, Cael took one cautious bite.

Then another.

Soon, the plate was empty.

I laughed when a tiny burp escaped him.

Cael's cheeks went red, and he snatched up his magic stone.

I STILL HATE YOU.

The servants stood frozen in shock, but Cassian only snorted. "Luck."

After the meal, Cassian kept Cael at the table for speech practice.

“Try one word.”

Cael picked up his magic stone.

NO.

“Any word you want.”

NO.

Cassian's hand moved toward the stone. “If you won’t use your voice, then you don’t need this.”

Cael jerked back, hugging the stone to his chest as tears filled his eyes.

I caught Cassian's wrist before I even thought about it. "Don't."

He was already angry, and sirens are fast.

His clawed hand closed around my throat before I could take another breath.