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Talon strolled over to the crisper, grabbing a couple pounds of packaged chicken and salami. “I had half the nerve to let it happen, since your stubborn ass has to do everything the hard way.”
He placed the meats onto the table beside me, heading back to the crisper to dig out a wooden box of assorted fruit and cheese next.
I grabbed the round of uncured ham, juggling it in my hands. “Isn’t anyone going to notice you’re gone?”
Talon shrugged, walking back over with the wooden crate tucked under one arm and a loaf of bread in the other. “It was an oddity I even showed up in the first place.”
“You don’t normally go?”
“I don’t usually have a human girl to babysit.” He winked again, snatching the ham from the air before I could catch it.
I flipped him my middle finger. “You know what I mean.”
Talon pushed his hair out of his eyes as he reached for a chef’s knife, keeping quiet as he chipped away at the link of salami. He was deep in thought, seeming to contemplate whether he should let me in. If I was trustworthy of such information. I couldn’t help but imagine what he’d experienced in his lifetime. Everyone he’d encountered. Surely, he must have his reasons for separating himself from the fae court, yet why did he remain part of it?
I rubbed my palms against my thighs, nervous about opening up, but if it’d help him do the same, it was worth a shot. A truth for a truth.
“Back home, I was the infamous bastard child of Deirdre Rosewood. The disgraced lady-in-waiting who couldn’t keep her legs closed.” My mouth went dry. “I was teased relentlessly growing up. Mostly in primary school, but that sort of thing sticks with you, you know? My mother moved us out to the countryside to distance ourselves from most of it. From all the gossip and whatnot, but she never let on that any of it bothered her. She never let it dull her light. How anyone could remain optimistic despite all that slander.” I shook my head, disgusted with the memory of how they treated us.
Talon eyed me from his peripheral vision as he sliced a block of cheese, waiting for me to continue.
“I always blamed myself. For being born, for her getting sick. All of it. As stupid as it is, I thought… I don’t know. I guess I thought that if I could find her the cure, people wouldn’t think I was useless.”
Talon set the knife on the counter and picked up a slice of bread, topping it with chicken and cheese, tomato, lettuce, salami, and a smear of dressing. He stood in front of me, my legs straddling his frame as he cupped my chin.
“You have nothing to prove to anyone, Elowyn. You’re not useless. Far from it, now open,” he ordered, placing the sandwich at the edge of my lips.
I did what he asked, and he slipped it into my mouth. The bold flavors erased all memories of that horrible feast.
Talon was right. I hadn’t realized how badly I needed to eat. I took the rest of the sandwich from his hands, and he hopped up on the counter next to me, picking up one of his own.
“I grew up in Rahway.” His eyes were fixed on his lap where he held his sandwich. “It’s about a day’s journey north of here. It was a close-knit town, safe. But then one day, faerie poachers showed up and slaughtered half the people. Including my parents.”
Oh stars. My stomach sank. “Faerie poachers?” I yearned to reach out and touch him. Somehow show my support, but I kept my hands in my lap.
He lifted his shoulder, taking a bite of his sandwich. “That’s what they told us. It’s why I joined the guard. I thought maybe if I could find who did it and deliver justice for my family, then everything would be right again.”
Talon’s comment about how he understood what I was going through became all too clear. I hated we had that in common.
“Was it?”
“I don’t know.” He looked sad, mustering an indifferent smile when he noticed me watching. “In my twenty years in the guard, I’ve never come across a poacher. Not once.” Talon tore off a piece of his sandwich and tossed it into his mouth. “Then King Gareth died, and King Harkin rose to power, and everything went downhill.”
He picked at his sandwich for a moment before finishing it, his eyes haunted by distant memories. Not in the same way my mother’s eyes were when she talked about my father—with nostalgia and fondness. No. The look in Talon’s eyes was painful. Heartbreaking, even.
I placed my hand on his knee, and he topped it with his, interlocking our fingers.
A silent understanding.
“Breana told me a story before she died about the fae king who was murdered by his brother. Was that true?”
Talon inched back, sitting cross-legged on the table, and motioned for me to do the same. “It depends on who you ask—the court is largely divided. King Gareth was my mentor. When I heard the rumors, I couldn’t think straight.” He pulled my legs onto his lap, and I leaned back on my hands. “He took me under his wing when I needed it the most. So, I confronted the newly appointed kingin front of the entire court.”
“I threatened to leave,” Talon continued, mindlessly running his fingertips along my knees and thighs. “He didn’t appreciate that. As you can imagine. The king stripped me of my title. Demoted me. And in my position, that’s worse than death. Yet even though I ridiculed him in front of his newly inherited court, King Harkin wasn’t about to lose his strongest guard. Not completely.”
Talon’s fingers inched past my knees, caressing the outermost parts of my thighs. Simple. Easy. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt that way with a male. With anyone.
“What’d he do?” By the way his jaw set, I knew it was a difficult topic. I reached out, lightly grazing my nails along his forearms, needing to touch him—comfort him.
