’Am I dreaming?’

He was still dreaming, right?

Helios couldn’t be here.

He was still busy cleaning up the horde, and how would he know right away that Ezra moved to—

"Can I come in?"

Helios spoke again, his voice calm and familiar, making Ezra flinch before he could stop himself.

It wasn’t a dream.

As much as he wanted to force himself to believe that it was, it wasn’t.

Ezra immediately glances toward the bed, toward Lior, who had somehow fallen asleep again after all the excitement earlier.

That alone was a relief.

Because Ezra wasn’t ready.

He wasn’t ready to talk to Helios.

Not now.

Not after yesterday.

Just yesterday, he had the biggest realization of his life, had to rethink everything he knew about Helios, everything he believed about him, and now suddenly—

He was just there.

Standing outside his door.

In the most suspicious way possible.

And Ezra had to just...pretend?

Pretend he didn’t know anything?

Pretend he wasn’t questioning every single thing now?

’Breathe,’ Ezra told himself, but even that felt difficult.

"Helios."

Ezra opens the door, his hand tightening slightly around the handle before he lets it go.

He breathes out shakily, only then realizing that his feet had already moved on their own, carrying him toward the door before he fully decides what he wants to do.

And now—

Now he was face-to-face with Helios.

His Helios.

No.

Not his Helios.

Just...Helios.

The thought alone hurt more than Ezra expected.

"H-He..." Ezra tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come properly, his throat tightening for reasons he didn’t want to acknowledge.

Because Helios smiled at him.

Like always.

That same familiar smile.

The one that used to make Ezra’s chest feel warm, the one that always made something inside him soften, no matter how tired or irritated he was.

The smile that used to make his heart turn.

But now—

It just made his stomach churn.

Hard.

Ezra suddenly felt nauseous, like he was about to throw up right there in front of him, because for the first time in Ezra Belloren’s life—

He wasn’t happy to see Helios.

And somehow, that realization hurt more than the lies themselves.

’Why does this hurt so much?’ Ezra thought, staring at him, his chest tightening painfully as Helios continued smiling as if nothing had changed at all.

Like Ezra’s entire world hadn’t just cracked open.

Helios stood in front of him, looking the same as always.

He looked clean, composed.

Untouched by everything Ezra had been drowning in since yesterday, and the days before.

’It’s like we never had a fight.’

He wore his usual prince clothing, dark fabric lined with gold details that sat perfectly on him like it always did, not a single crease out of place despite coming straight from dealing with a horde.

And somehow—

That made Ezra feel worse.

’How can he look this normal?’ Ezra thought, his throat tightening faintly. ’How can he stand there as if nothing happened?’

"Can we talk inside?" Helios asks gently, his voice quieter now after glancing past Ezra toward the room behind him.

Ezra blinked slowly.

Because that was another thing.

Helios didn’t react.

Not to the room.

Not to mention that Ezra was in the main palace.

Not to mention that he moved.

Nothing.

No questioning.

No visible surprise.

It was like they didn’t fight a few days ago.

Like Helios hadn’t stormed out, upset.

Like Ezra disappearing into Kaelis’ side of the palace wasn’t something worth reacting to at all.

And that—

That genuinely confused him.

’Why is he acting like this?’ Ezra thought, his brows pulling together slightly as he stared at him. ’Did he already know?’

The possibility made his stomach twist harder.

But despite everything, Ezra forced himself to move.

Forced himself to act...normal.

At least for now.

Before he let Helios inside, Ezra glanced around the hallway first, his eyes scanning instinctively, checking corners, listening for footsteps, making sure nobody else was there.

No servants.

No guards.

Just Helios.

Only Helios.

’Good,’ Ezra thought, though the relief barely lasted.

Then he stepped aside slightly.

"...come in."

Helios smiled again.

Smaller this time.

"Thank you."

Ezra immediately looked toward the bed again as Helios entered, his attention snapping toward Lior first before anything else.

Lior was still asleep.

Curled under the blankets, completely unaware.

Ezra quietly shut the door behind them before turning back.

"We should be quiet," Ezra says automatically, his voice low as he gestures lightly toward the bed. "Lior just fell asleep again."

Helios’ gaze softened almost instantly at the mention of Lior, flickering briefly toward the sleeping child before returning to Ezra.

"Of course."

That familiar gentleness again.

It made Ezra’s chest ache.

He quickly looked away before Helios could notice anything on his face and directed him toward the table with chairs nearby.

"This way."

Helios followed easily, as he belonged there already.

Like this room wasn’t unfamiliar to him either.

The thought made Ezra tense again.

Both of them settled into the cushioned chairs quietly, the soft scrape of wood against the floor the only sound for a moment.

And suddenly—

Ezra felt awkward.

Painfully awkward.

More awkward than he had ever felt in his life.

Because this was Helios.

The person he used to talk to the easiest.

The person he trusted the most.

And now Ezra didn’t even know how to look at him properly anymore.

’Say something,’ Ezra told himself, his fingers curling slightly under the table. ’Anything.’

But nothing came out.

Meanwhile, Helios seemed calm.

In contrast to Ezra.

There was still a faint smile on his face, relaxed and warm in a way that used to comfort Ezra instantly.

Now it just made him more nervous.

Because Ezra couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Thinking about how Helios was smiling while Ezra sat there questioning almost everything about him.

And somehow—

Helios still looked at him like he always did.

’Isn’t he going to say anything?’ Ezra thought, his hands somehow shaking beneath the table despite how hard he tried to keep still.

The silence was unbearable now.

Ezra was trying his best not to react, not to blurt out everything crowding his mind, not to ask every single question that had been tormenting him since yesterday.

But the more he sat there—

The more he heard the clock ticking softly in the background—

The more anxious he became that Lior might suddenly wake up and walk into whatever this conversation was becoming.

So before the silence could stretch any further, Ezra finally spoke.

"When did you get back?"

Helios’ expression barely changed.

"A few hours ago," Helios says, tilting his head slightly as he answers. "It was dawn. We were all tired."

Ezra nodded automatically.

"Oh, okay—"

"So, imagine my surprise when I went to your house," Helios continues, cutting in smoothly before Ezra could say anything else, "and found out you had somehow been moved to the king’s palace."

His tone was neutral. Calm.

But Ezra could still hear it.

That sharpness underneath.

It was subtle, but not subtle enough.

Enough to make Ezra take in a bigger breath before answering.

"The king found out about our situation, and thought it would be best that we moved here," Ezra explains slowly, carefully, still trying to keep his tone steady despite how tense he suddenly felt. "For our safety."

"And he didn’t think to ask me first?" Helios asks.

Ezra’s eyes widened slightly.

"He’s...the king."

"And you’re my captain," Helios answers immediately, his gaze steady on Ezra’s face. "I should have a say, or at the very least, have been informed about your move."

Ezra’s mind immediately filled with responses.

Too many responses.

Some angry.

Some bitter.

Some outright accusing.

’You weren’t even there.’

’You’re not my keeper.’

’Why does it matter now?’

But none of them felt safe to say.

Not right now.

Because Ezra didn’t know Helios anymore.

Not fully.

And that realization still terrified him more than he wanted to admit.

He feared Helios somehow.

Not because Helios had threatened him.

Not because Helios raised his voice.

But because Ezra suddenly couldn’t recognize what was real anymore.

At the same time—

He was angry.

More than angry.

Especially now, when every single thing Kaelis said kept replaying in his head.

Especially if it actually turned out that Helios was behind everything.

The cultists.

The lies.

Even Lior is being put in danger.

Ezra swallowed hard before finally answering.

"Shouldn’t you have asked the king?"

It was the safest response he could think of.

At least—

That was what he thought.

Because Helios suddenly looked at him directly, straight into his eyes, and the look on his face made Ezra tense instinctively.

"As my knight and friend," Helios says slowly, "you didn’t try to tell him?"

Ezra was genuinely taken aback.

"You expected me to speak back to the king...your father?"

"Yes?" Helios answers like the answer should’ve been obvious.

Like Ezra should’ve naturally done it.

Ezra stared at him for a second, disbelief mixing with frustration so quickly it almost made his head spin.

"Lior was with me," Ezra says, his tone tightening despite his effort to stay calm. "I couldn’t risk anything happening."

His head was starting to hurt now.

Maybe because everything was moving too fast.

Maybe because he barely slept.

Or maybe because this conversation felt wrong in a way he couldn’t fully explain yet.

Because Helios wasn’t asking him if he was okay.

Wasn’t asking how Lior was.

Wasn’t asking how Ezra felt after being attacked.

Instead—

He was upset about the move.

"This is what I was telling you the other day, and here I thought you would think about my words," Helios says, his tone calm, but there was disappointment underneath it now.

Clear disappointment.

And instinctively—

By habit—

Ezra’s body reacted before his mind did.

That familiar sinking feeling immediately settled in his chest, the same uncomfortable guilt that always came whenever Helios sounded disappointed in him.

Like he had done something wrong.

Like he needed to fix it quickly before things got worse.

Like he should take back everything he thought and said just to smooth things over again.

Ezra’s fingers curled tighter underneath the table.

’How long has this been happening?’ Ezra thought slowly, biting the inside of his lip hard enough to ground himself.

How long had he been reacting like this?

How long had Helios’ approval mattered this much to him?

The realization made something twist painfully inside him.

"What’s happening to you, Ezra?" Helios asks quietly, his brows pulling together slightly now as he looks at him. "You keep changing. You’ve changed so much, the Ezra I knew would—"

"That’s rich coming from you."

It slipped out.