"That even though you knew Helios lied..." Kaelis smiles faintly, but it is almost bitter, the kind of smile that looks more tired than amused. "...I was afraid you’d still look horrified, that anything would be better than..."
The prince took a deep breath.
"...than ."
Ezra’s eyes widened imdiately.
Because honestly—
Out of every answer he expected, that wasn’t one of them.
Not even close.
Because what?
Kaelis was scared of that?
Why?
It felt strangely intimate hearing him admit sothing like that so openly.
Too vulnerable.
Ezra hadn’t done anything that should’ve made Kaelis fear that kind of rejection specifically.
They weren’t close.
Not really.
If anything, they were only barely becoming sothing more civil now.
Acquaintances.
Partners.
Maybe friends soday?
Ezra didn’t even know anymore.
But still—
Seeing that expression on Kaelis’ face made sothing ache unpleasantly inside Ezra’s chest.
Because Kaelis looked exhausted.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Like this was sothing he had quietly carried around for years without ever expecting it to change.
And despite everything Kaelis had said—
Ezra still knew his own truth.
"I’m not disappointed," Ezra says quietly.
Kaelis visibly pauses.
"Even if it was you now, or you from the past, Your Highness." Ezra continues carefully. "Sure, I might not have believed you right away because of Prince Helios, but..."
Ezra finally forced himself to look at him properly.
Directly.
Into those golden eyes he had spent years avoiding.
And the mont he did—
Ezra sucked in a breath slightly.
’...I never noticed it before.’
Helios’ gold and Kaelis’ gold weren’t the sa at all.
Not even close.
Helios’ eyes looked darker.
But Kaelis’—
Kaelis’s eyes were bright.
Almost blinding beneath the morning light.
Alive in a way Ezra had sohow never paid attention to before.
And strangely enough—
They looked very similar to Lior’s.
That realization hit Ezra so suddenly that his chest tightened again.
"...I would’ve asked the right questions," Ezra says more quietly now, forcing himself to blink and pull his thoughts back together. "And you would’ve answered the right answers."
His fingers curled slightly against his sleeve.
"Maybe...there was a chance I would’ve figured out all of Prince Helios’ lies sooner rather than...now."
And maybe—
Just maybe—
Things could’ve been different between them.
Maybe they could’ve actually gotten along.
Maybe Ezra wouldn’t have spent years glaring at soone who only ever seed to want his attention.
Kaelis chuckles softly under his breath.
"Maybe," he says. "But my mother always told there’s a reason for everything. Everything that happens in our lives now was predestined by fate. Even what we eat today was predestined."
Ezra raises an eyebrow slightly.
"Is that why you just went along with the lie?"
There wasn’t any accusation in his tone now.
Just genuine curiosity.
Kaelis notices that too.
"I figured if destiny wanted it, you’d eventually figure it out," Kaelis answers with a sma,ll teasing smile slowly returning to his face. "And you did. Surprisingly."
That earns him a stare from Ezra.
But strangely enough—
Ezra wasn’t annoyed.
Wasn’t angry either.
Nothing like that.
If anything, the teasing almost felt..fortable now.
Gods, that was strange to admit even inside his own head.
But now that all of that was finally out in the open—
There was still sothing Ezra needed to say.
Sothing he honestly should’ve said years ago.
"Prince Kaelis..." Ezra starts quietly before trailing off.
And annoyingly enough—
Now he was the one feeling shy.
Because he didn’t want Kaelis to misunderstand this.
The bread ant a lot to Ezra.
And yes, Ezra was seeing Kaelis differently now.
But he didn’t want it to seem like everything suddenly changed overnight just because of gratitude.
He already learned where blind gratitude could lead him.
Still—
This needed to be said.
"What is it?" Kaelis asks softly.
Ezra looked away first before speaking.
"Thank you."
The words ca out quieter than he intended.
Almost awkward.
"That bread..." Ezra continues, still refusing to fully look at him now. "All those days, it kept us fed. It gave hope for a tomorrow despite the fact that we lived in the streets."
mories flashed through Ezra’s mind imdiately after saying it.
Cold nights.
Splitting pieces carefully.
Watching the others smile over sothing as simple as fresh bread.
Feeling hopeful for the first ti in a long while.
Ezra slowly glances back at Kaelis.
"I know it’s overdue," he admits quietly. "And it might not an anything now, but it ant a lot to ."
His throat tightened slightly.
"To the friends that I lost too."
Silence followed after that.
But unlike earlier—
This silence didn’t feel tense.
Just heavy in a different way.
And when Ezra finally looked at Kaelis properly again—
The prince looked stunned.
Completely stunned.
Like out of everything Kaelis expected from this conversation—
A genuine thank you had never once crossed his mind.
"I’m glad," Kaelis answers softly, tilting his head slightly as he smiles at Ezra. "I had hoped it would help."
Ezra stared at him quietly for a mont before asking—
"Why?"
Kaelis blinked once.
"Why?"
"I just wanted to know why you suddenly started helping ," Ezra explains, his voice quieter now, more thoughtful than suspicious. "What made you...give bread?"
Kaelis looked genuinely caught off guard by the question.
as nobody had ever actually asked him that before.
"Oh," he says after a second, letting out a small, awkward chuckle. "Well..."
He rubs lightly at the back of his neck before glancing away briefly.
"As weird as it sounds," Kaelis admits, "I just saw you...and I liked your eyes."
Ezra froze.
Completely frozen.
His eyes widened imdiately.
And for so reason—
His face started heating up.
Fast.
"You...liked my eyes?" Ezra repeats, visibly stunned. "What does that—"
"Oh, I an—"
Kaelis imdiately looked horrified with himself.
"I ant, I...was amazed by you—no, I—"
He cuts himself off again, visibly scrambling to fix whatever he thought he just implied.
Which honestly only made it worse.
Ezra could physically feel the heat crawling further up his neck now.
’Why am I reacting like this?’
Kaelis took a deep breath before trying again.
"Your eyes had light in them," Kaelis says more carefully this ti, his expression softening as he looks at Ezra properly again. "You were... a spitfire."
The corner of his lips lifted faintly.
"And I thought that with just a little help, you seed like the kind of kid who’d grow up and do a lot of good."
His gaze lingered on Ezra quietly after saying that.
"And I ended up being right."
Ezra suddenly didn’t know where to look anymore.
’Yeah,’ Ezra thought awkwardly as he slowly nodded. ’Like he was right about being an oga too.’
Why did hearing Kaelis talk like this make his chest feel strange?
It wasn’t even flirtatious.
Not really.
It sounded sincere more than anything else.
And sohow, that affected Ezra more.
"Why didn’t you ever approach then?" Ezra asks after a mont, trying very hard to ignore the warmth still lingering on his face. "You were a prince. You could’ve."
Kaelis imdiately froze at that.
And this ti—
It wasn’t embarrassnt.
It looked more like hesitation.
Like he was trying to choose carefully what answer Ezra was allowed to hear.
Ezra waited quietly.
Watching him.
Actually watching him now instead of imdiately preparing to argue.
Kaelis opened his mouth slightly.
Then closed it again.
And sohow, that alone made Ezra’s chest tighten faintly.
’What was he about to say?’
But before Kaelis could answer—
"Maman!"
Lior suddenly scread.
Not excited this ti.
Not happily.
It was sharp.
Panicked.
Both Ezra and Kaelis reacted instantly.
"Lior?" Ezra imdiately shot up from his seat, his heart dropping. "What’s wrong?"
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