Chapter 6
six
The ocean roars beneath my castle as I stand at the edge of my balcony watching Thesix leave, smiling up at me.
The salty breeze tangles with the strands of hair that scatter across my face, as the bioluminescent life dances in the water beneath the full moon, beckoning me to join their currents as I inhale the scent of salt and seaweed.
The wind suddenly shifts, sharp and cold, as Atlas steps onto the balcony. A familiar tension coiling tight in my chest. I turn, forcing a smile that feels brittle, but the look on his face shatters even that perceived try.
“Still clinging to the edge of the sea, are we?” He asks, his voice smooth but dripping with mockery. “Perhaps you think you can drown out your choices with the tide.”
I open my mouth to respond, but the weight of his presence suffocates my words. Instead, I stare at him, feeling the whip of the surrounding wind.
“Is it him?” His voice rises sharply, piercing through my heart like a shard of ice. “You think he can offer you what I cannot? Because you’re mistaken.” A vein throbs at his temple.
“Atlas …” I begin, wanting to soften the sting of confrontation, but he steps closer once again.
“What are you doing with him?” Atlas’ voice is low and laced with an edge. His eyes, once soft when they met mine, blaze with an intensity that feels like fire as they look at me. “I can smell him here … on you.”
“Atlas, I do not have to explain myself to you.” I say as he steps closer, invading my space.
“You think I wouldn’t find out? I’ve watched you disappearing with that baker. The way he looks at you, the way you look at him. You risk everything by being with him.” He leans toward me as his jaw clenches tight enough to turn his face pale.
I swallow, my heart thudding painfully against my ribs. The ocean churns below, mirroring the storm rising in her as well. “You’re being irrational, Atlas. Thesix is not a danger to your –”
“A danger to what? My crown? My title?” Atlas runs a hand through his beard, the moonlight catching the silver of his crown.
His laugh is hollow, echoing against the stone walls of the balcony.
“I don’t worry about him taking that from me.
Your precious baker doesn’t concern me politically.
” The muscle in his jaw twitches as he steps closer, close enough that I can smell the wine on his breath, the subtle notes of oak and spice that cling to his clothes.
“I was elected king for a reason, and I will remain that way, just as you are the queen.” His eyes narrow, pupils dilating until they nearly swallow the color. “But what I will not tolerate is him taking what belongs to me.”
“I don’t belong to you,” I say defiantly.
Atlas slams his palms against the balcony railing, the sound cracking through the night air. “Everything in this kingdom belongs to me!” The vein at his temple pulses visibly now. “Including you.”
“I belong to no one!” The ocean crashes below as I step back, my spine pressing against the cold stone as I lift my chin, refusing to be cowed. “You need to leave.”
His eyes widen fractionally, disbelief flickering across his features before hardening into something cold and unrecognizable that I’ve never seen. “You’re dismissing me?”
“Now, Atlas.”
He grabs my wrist, his fingers pressing into my skin with bruising force.
I hold out my hand, a stream of water coming from the palm as it wraps around his own, slinking up his forearm in an equal force.
“You will regret this,” he hisses, his breath hot against my cheek. “Your baker boy can’t protect you, and when your kingdom is torn in two because so many choose to follow me–” He releases me suddenly, as if my skin burns, and I let my water fall. “You’ll come crawling back.”
As Atlas storms off, the weight of his words lingers in the air. I feel the chill of his threat settle in deep, echoing in the corners of my mind.