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I shrug. "Because he visited me earlier and I thought he had returned for a second round of verbal sparring."
I catch her up on my brief encounter with Thrane and she crinkles her nose by the end of my story.
"Be wary of him," she warns. "With you here, he might feel threatened."
"Threatened?" I chuckle, "By me?"
"He might think you want the throne."
"I'm not even next in line – "
"You don't need to be next in line to claim the Ice Throne. You are part Frost Elf and part Celestial," Eris cuts me off. "You have power and a combined bloodline he could only dream of having. Just watch your back when it comes to him. He's a hard person to read."
"Noted," I say, really just to calm her down, not that I particularly have any interest in ignoring the prince. I chomp into the buttered roll and once I've swallowed the morsel, I decide to end the momentary silence by saying, "It's weird seeing you like this."
"What do you mean?" Her eyes flick up from her plate and meet mine. They're not the blue ones I know and love so well. They're hazel, and even though I know my friend is behind the mask, I can't help but feel as if I'm talking to a stranger.
I motion toward her new appearance, and she nods as if she had forgotten, too. "You look like you could be the long-lost Harland sister."
Her barked-out laugh causes me to giggle alongside her. She bobs her head and takes another bite of her dinner.
"I could be."
"I'm sorry you have to do that in the first place." I finish the last of my roll, greedily wishing I had another. "I hate that you have to hide who you are."
"I'm not doing it for me, I'm doing it for the Harlands."
"What do you mean?"
"Besides merchants, Hydrans don't tend to travel much unless my mother sends them on a diplomatic mission. I know she has her delegates under strict instructions to keep their eyes open in case they see me, and if they do find me, they're to bring me back."
I shake my head, "I fail to see how that helps the Harlands – "
"My mother won't stop at just hunting me down." That statement alone sends shivers down my spine. "She will want to claw into those who helped me escape. When I travel with the Harlands to certain kingdoms, I disguise myself, so none of us draw unwanted attention from the Hydrans or their spies."
I set my empty plate on the tray. "I hadn't thought of it that way."
Eris shrugs, stacking her plate on top of mine. "It's the price I am willing to pay to keep them safe. After everything they've done for me, it's the least I can do."
I'm not sure what to say, so I choose to say nothing at all. The love Eris has for the Harlands is astounding.
"How are you doing?" Her question slices through the silence.
I reach for the side of my head and run my fingers over the little bump. "My head hurts, but I'll survive. The embarrassment of falling in front of everyone might take time to heal though."
Once Eris' giggles die down, she clarifies, "I meant, how are you handling the news about your parents?"
"I know what you meant," I sigh. "All this time I've been wanting answers and now that I've gotten some, I'm afraid."
"Afraid of what?"
I take a moment to gather my thoughts, a trait from Atlas that is obviously rubbing off on me, before I say, "I was in danger before coming here because of my magic, but now I know I'm Enver Sol's daughter and his blood flows through my veins. If word spreads about the truth of who I am, Vesper definitely won't stop hunting me. Bastian wants me back, sure, but Vesper desires me because she saw my light magic and hope was sparked that I could be the answer to her problem. Now, she will know with certainty that I'm indeed the key to unlocking her master's portal."
"Sure, that all sounds bleak" – she replies, flippantly, reaching for my hand – "but Shaye, you are Enver Sol's daughter! That's incredible! Half Frost Elf, half Celestial. I don't think I've ever heard of someone like that." She gasps so loudly, it startles me. "Do you think you might have a second power?"
"No, why would – "
"Sometimes half-bloods have two magical affinities. It's incredibly rare, but if you are a Basilius, and only members of House Basilius have frost magic, then maybe…"
