After the night before, I spent the following day cooped up in my bedroom with bottles of hard liquor and wine. I barely ate anything. I am a pathetic mess. My eyes are swollen and puffy from hours of crying through the night, but I won't ever show anybody this side of me. The only person who had the privilege of seeing me in this state was Elane, but she ruined it for herself. That coward.

Tolly knocked at my door numerous times throughout the day. There's no doubt in my mind that he knows what happened. Elane is an open book when it comes to me. For someone so good at hiding, she wears her heart on her sleeve when it comes to us.

Around dinnertime, a knock comes at my door again.

"Not hungry," I call. I take a sip of my glass of wine, not keeping count of how many I drank already.

"Evangeline, this is your mother."

Great. After assessing my appearance in the mirror, I open the door for her. My mother stands before me, looking regal as always, for something so simple as a dinner. She never comes to fetch me. I wonder what the special occasion is. What sort of Hell would she like to drag me into today?

Looking me up and down in contempt, she says, "You've been away all day for the meetings today. Your Father wants you at the dinner table, at the least."

How sweet of her to show her motherly concern. This is all just a ploy for them to exert their control over me, regardless of what happened between Elane and I.

"I'm not feeling well. The mission yesterday had me near exhaustion." Technically not a lie, especially after saving Mare.

Mother raises her perfectly arched brow. "No Samos feels exhausted after a small rescue mission such as the one you went on yesterday. To hide out all day is to show vulnerability. Have you been slacking on your training?"

A threat. "No, Mother."

"Then you are to show yourself at dinner in 15 minutes. And look presentable, Evangeline. Nothing difficult." She leaves, and I sigh. Forced to confront Elane since last night.

Everyone is at the dinner table by the time I arrive, fashionably late. Father scowls at me, but Mother smirks at having forced me to come. Knowing that if I hadn't, they would have a few hostile words to say to me later in the night. Ptolemus is wearing a concerned expression while Elane, sitting beside him, looks like she wants to say something. I ignore the both, reaching for a plate of food and avoiding eye contact. Acting like she doesn't exist to me makes it easier to suffer through dinner.

Mother is first to speak, as usual. "Where is the King of Norta, Tiberius Calore? Shouldn't he be here having dinner with his betrothed?" She just had to twist the knife deeper.

"He's taking inventory of the jets' arsenal," Father replies. "Along with the rest of the Scarlet Guard."

Mother scoffs condescendingly. "Those jobs are to be left to the servants. Hasn't his grandmother taught him how to be a royal Silver? Those jobs are beneath us."

That piques my interest. "I suppose for some Silvers; certain jobs aren't below them." I look knowingly at Elane. She looks back at me, furrowing her brows.

"Silvers with no real power over our system," Mother goes on. I can always count on Mother to remain steadfastly snobbish over Reds and what she likes to consider lowly Silvers. Such as the Haven house. "But the truly powerful would never stoop to that level. We don't bother getting our hands dirty with tedious work such as inventory. I hope that Calore learns that quickly upon becoming King of Norta. We can't have a weak king ruling."

"I agree," I say, impressing Mother. "The weak are too easily distracted, and often give in to easy manipulation such as kindness. Cal should learn quickly once he realizes how unfaithful some of his people are. Some people are a waste of time." I slice into my stick of butter cleanly and smear it on some toast.

Elane shifts uncomfortably, taking a sip of her water. Ptolemus adds in, "I think Cal will have strong loyalties on his side. From having Reds, Silvers, and Newbloods, he will surely have the upper hand."

Father speaks. "Don't forget that you will one day be king as well, Ptolemus. If all goes as planned, I intend for the Samos bloodline to rule more than just this Rift." He looks at Ptolemus knowingly, intending for him to one day dominate more than Cal ever will. The rest of the dinner is quiet. We finish our meals and I waste no time retreating to my room.

I don't want to run into anyone on the way there. The way I acted towards Elane across the dinner table was mildly hostile. Thankfully, Mother and Father didn't notice anything was off. Ptolemus must have though, but he didn't say anything to me afterwards.

Elane appears before me suddenly, in the hallway. "Why were you being so rude to me?"

I stop, dead in my tracks. Me, rude to her? I wasn't the one cheating. "What are you talking about, Haven?"

"Drop the act, Evangeline." She frowns. "We've known each other for too long. Why are you being like this? You don't even want to talk about it."

"There's nothing left for me to say," I shrug. "Plenty left for you to do."

"Are you saying what I did to you doesn't phase you? Do you not care?"

I shake my head. "I stopped caring for you the moment I saw the both of you in my bathroom. You're practically dead to me. The only reason you're still living here is because you're fortunate enough to be married to my brother. Otherwise, I'd have kicked you out to be with your lowly Silver family."

She bites her lip. "You're so cruel, Eve."

"It's Evangeline," I smile at her. "And I can't help being cruel to those who have done me wrong."

"I didn't mean to hurt you," Elane starts, lips quivering. "I just wanted attention because I was lonely."

I let out a laugh. "Pathetic. You sound like a beggar. I suppose there's always going to be a weak Silver, giving handouts to the servants. Your handout just happens to be in between your legs."

Hitting a nerve, Elane counters, "Handouts that you were craving every time you came back from a mission."

"That was before I knew it was a charity case. Answer me this. Was it the same guy for a month you were screwing or are there more servants I need to throw out of the Rift?"

"He was the only one," she whispers, looking at me directly. "I don't like him, Eve. I only let him screw me because I was... You know. If I had truly cheated like you thought I did, I would have been with another girl."

I'm caught off guard by how direct she answered. What's the difference though? "Cheating is the same no matter how you look at it."

"He was strictly meant to sexually please me, not someone for me to be with. That's why I think you're missing the point. You don't understand."

Cruelly, I jest. "So, are you saying I should have owned a strap-on? Would you have not cheated then?"

Elane doesn't answer me. I continue. "You don't understand how much you hurt me in that moment. I would never have thought about sleeping with another person no matter what the situation is. No matter how lonely, no matter how sad, I would not ever betray your trust like that."

"Easy for you to say."

"I'm a royal Silver of my word," I state, confidently. "I thought you were raised the same."

Quietly, she says, "You know how I was raised."

Smirking, I respond, "And you know how I was raised; to never hand out forgiveness."

In a second, she's gone. Unable to stand speaking with me anymore, probably. She can't handle owning up to her issues, so she has to run away with her tail between her legs.

Feeling suddenly peeved, I can't imagine being stuck in my room for the rest of the night. I need some fresh air, to clear my mind. I enter our palace's courtyard where the garden Mother has been tending has blossomed. Her animals like to roam around the courtyard as if it was some kind of farm. Tonight though, it was just me, the stars, and the sound of the fountain streaming water.

Perhaps I went too far tonight at dinner. Or maybe not enough. I should have made her cry right then and there. I was too busy trying to come off as articulate around Father and Mother. I didn't want to become emotional. I gaze up at the stars and how many there are. The air is warm here, and there's no wind in the location of where our palace sits. I wonder if I could adjust to being Queen of Norta, what I was always destined to be. Now that there's no Elane in my future, I must start thinking of myself and what I plan to do in Norta with Cal. He's giving me freedom to do what I please. I just feel lost now.

"Knock, knock."

Distracted from my thoughts, I look up and see Ptolemus standing beside me. He takes a seat next to me, relaxed for once, away from Father's gaze.

"Where's Wren?" I ask, not like I care. I just have no idea what he's doing out here.

Shrugging, he dismisses my question. "How are you and Elane?"

I stiffen. "We're not seeing each other anymore."

"Obviously," he snorts. "The jabs you took at her over dinner. That was pretty extreme of you."

"She did some extreme things," I shrug. "Why do you care? Are you suddenly developing feelings for your wife?"

Tolly laughs. "Is it so bad to show that I care for my sister's wellbeing? I don't mean to pry or eavesdrop or anything, but I heard your guys' conversation in the hall earlier."

"You'd make a great spy, Tolly. Time to switch professions."

His expression grows sympathetic. I hate it. "I think you should talk to Elane. She brought up some really good points."

I look at Ptolemus as if he's crazy. "At what point did you think Elane was being fair? She cheated on me." I speak slowly, to get that point across to him. Sometimes he can be really dense.

"I mean," he puts his hands up defensively. "I think if she had slept with another girl then of course, it would be completely different. If Wren slept with another guy, it would be different for me as well. But if Wren slept with a girl, I think I could forgive her." He nods, mainly to himself.

I glare at him. "You're not making any sense."

"I'm just saying, Eve. If I slept with a guy, Wren wouldn't be upset at me. But if I slept with other girls then that would be a big no. Consent and open boundaries are important, of course. Elane shouldn't have gone behind your back like that. But I can see where she's coming from."

I raise a brow at him. "Would you sleep with another guy, Tolly?"

"No!" he exclaims, defiantly. "Of course not."

"Then would you sleep with another girl?"

"Never," he states.

I inspect my nails. "Then what makes it so different if Wren slept with another guy versus another girl?"

Ptolemus runs his hand through his long, silver hair. "I guess the part where she can become emotionally attached to the guy. If she slept with a girl, I know it would only be for her own needs and desires while I'm away."

I don't say anything. I can't see what they see. Even Ptolemus wouldn't sleep with another person so why would Elane and Wren want to? Regardless of gender and the complications that come with it, a lover should only ever want to be with their significant other. Faithfully.

"Anyway," he says. "I just want you to be okay, Eve. I'm trying to give you some advice here, open your mind to understanding Elane. I know you still want to be with her. I know from my own experiences with Wren, how lonely we can get being away from each other."

"You don't know anything," I lash out. "You still get to be with Wren. I'm the one being forced out of my own home to be in Norta. Either way, you're fine where you are." I stand up.

Ptolemus stands with me. "Eve, we'll find a way out of it, I know we will."

I shake my head at him. Turning toward the door, I say, "I don't want any advice from you. I've got it handled. I can take care of my situation by myself."

Then I leave Ptolemus standing in an empty courtyard by himself. Shunning out my one and only best friend.