’Oh.’

When Kaelis decided to crash Ezra and Alyce’s tea party, he expected a fun and light-hearted arrival.

Maybe a little bit of an annoyed Ezra, because Kaelis does enjoy the way Ezra scrunches his nose like a little rabbit whenever he is angry.

But what he didn’t expect—

Was Ezra Belloren looking at him like that?

The usually expressionless, cold knight, who only ever seemed to know how to frown or look mildly irritated, was staring at him as he had just seen something he couldn’t process.

Like something had been pulled out from under him.

Ezra’s eyes—

Those usually narrowed, guarded eyes—

Were wide.

Fully open in a way Kaelis had never seen before, the sunlight caught the soft pink of them, making the color look lighter, almost fragile.

Exposed.

And when Ezra spoke—

When he addressed him—

There was something in it.

Something desperate.

Kaelis felt it immediately.

And just like that—

The teasing died in his chest before it could even surface.

’...that’s not normal,’ Kaelis thought, his expression softening without him meaning to as he studied Ezra more carefully.

His gaze flickers briefly to Lior.

Still bright.

Still smiling.

Then to Alyce. Calm. Composed.

Nothing seemed wrong.

Except Ezra.

’He looks like he learned something he wasn’t supposed to,’ Kaelis thought, his lips pressing together slightly as his mind moved quickly, trying to piece together what could have happened in the short time he wasn’t there.

"Brother-in-law, please join us. It’s not every day you show yourself to my palace." Alyce says, drawing his attention back to her.

Kaelis turns his head toward her, and like flipping a switch, he smiles.

Charming.

But it was fake.

"Actually, Alyce, can I pull Ezra for a minute? I need to speak to him about some knight duties," Kaelis says, his tone gentle, controlled, giving nothing away.

Ezra’s eyes widen again, like even that caught him off guard.

"Lior can stay with you; you two can bond."

"Hurray!" Lior exclaims immediately, his excitement bubbling up again as if nothing in the air had shifted at all.

Alyce glances down at him, her smile softening. "Of course. Take all the time you need. I know being a knight is an all the time duty."

"Thank you," Kaelis replies smoothly, already stepping back slightly as he gestures for Ezra to follow.

Ezra doesn’t move right away.

There’s hesitation.

A small pause as he looks at Lior, then at Alyce, like he was grounding himself in something familiar before he lets himself move.

Then he bows.

"Excuse me," he says quietly, pushing himself up from his seat.

Kaelis turns before Ezra can say anything else, walking ahead without waiting, his pace steady, measured.

’He’s not okay,’ Kaelis thought, his jaw tightening slightly as he led the way out of the garden.

For a second, his mind drifts.

’I wonder if he got jealous over Alyce and Helios.’

It would make sense.

Ezra had always been obvious.

Painfully obvious.

Even if he didn’t realize it himself.

The way his eyes would light up whenever Helios was around.

The way his entire demeanor shifted without him noticing.

It was something Kaelis had seen too many times to ignore.

’...but this doesn’t feel like jealousy,’ Kaelis thought, the idea settling quickly, dismissing the earlier assumption.

This felt different.

It felt heavier.

Something had happened.

Something that had nothing to do with petty emotions.

And some part of Kaelis—

The part he didn’t like acknowledging—

Didn’t like the idea of Ezra going through that alone.

So he came.

Despite the hesitation.

Despite knowing he might be intruding.

He still came.

As soon as they were far enough, the sounds of the garden fading just enough, the laughter, the quiet clink of teacups becoming distant—

Kaelis stops.

He turns.

Ezra was still standing there.

Still not fully there.

His gaze lowers briefly, scanning the area out of habit, and that’s when he notices them.

Alyce’s guards.

Blended into the surroundings.

Positioned like they weren’t meant to be seen.

Watching.

Watching them.

’What? Do they think we’re going to attack Alyce in her own palace? Are they stupid?’ Kaelis thought, his irritation flickering for a second before he pushed it aside, his focus returning to Ezra.

Ezra hadn’t said anything.

Hadn’t even looked up properly.

His head was slightly lowered, his shoulders just a little too stiff.

And that—

That bothered Kaelis more than anything.

So his tone shifts.

Softer.

More careful than he intended.

"Ezra, did something happen?" Kaelis asks.

Ezra doesn’t answer.

Not right away.

And that silence—

It stretches.

A little too long.

’Say something,’ Kaelis thought, his brows pulling together slightly as he watched him. ’Anything.’

Because Ezra—

Ezra looked too human right now.

"Did Alyce say something?" Kaelis asks again, quieter this time.

Finally, Ezra looks up at him, his eyes looked cold, but not the kind of cold Kaelis was used to.

Not controlled.

Not distant.

This felt...different.

Like something had snapped into place where something else used to be.

"How many more?"

The question comes out quiet.

Flat.

"What?" Kaelis asks, visibly shocked and confused, his brows pulling together as he tries to catch up with whatever Ezra has just said.

"How many more lies did Helios tell me, how many more secrets don’t I know?" Ezra asks, his tone almost dead, like he had already run through the emotions and landed somewhere empty.

Kaelis stills.

’He completely dropped any formalities,’ Kaelis notes, but the observation barely registers compared to everything else.

Because this—

This wasn’t just irritation.

If Ezra ever had glasses, figuratively, he had rose-colored glasses for Helios.

Everyone knew that.

And now—

If Kaelis could see those glasses—

He would see the cracks.

Not small ones.

Not something that could be ignored.

Big cracks.

The kind that couldn’t be fixed.

"What brought this on?" Kaelis asks, his voice slower now, more careful, resisting the instinct to reach out, to grab Ezra’s shoulder and steady him.

Ezra answers immediately.

"Bread."

The word comes out almost absentmindedly, as it slipped past him without permission.

But Kaelis—

Kaelis reacts.

His eyes widen.

His entire expression shifts in a way he couldn’t hide even if he tried.

’...no,’ Kaelis thought, something tightening in his chest. ’No way.’

"Do you..." Kaelis whispers, his voice lowering without him realizing it, the last hint of ease disappearing from his face. "...know now?"

Ezra stares at him.

"About the bread?"

Kaelis slowly nods.

There was no point in pretending.

Not now.

Not with the way Ezra was looking at him.

Kaelis takes a step back, the movement small but noticeable.

’Finally...after all these years,’ Kaelis thought, his mind racing faster now, thoughts colliding as he tried to process it. ’I thought he would never know.’

But Ezra didn’t look relieved.

Didn’t look like someone who had just found an answer.

He just kept staring at him.

Waiting.

"Wait," Ezra says, his voice sharper now, something cutting through that earlier emptiness.

"What do you know about the bread?"