AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“They took me from an old farm.”
My answer caused the man behind Addy to laugh. She rolled her eyes at him and then joined Nyx in assessing me.
“Did Lucifuge tell you nothing?” Bella asked once she hugged Nyx and the guy who was with her.
“It’s Luce,” Addy replied, as if his name itself explained everything.
“What’s your whole name?” Nyx asked.
“Astraea.”
She blinked, then shared a look with everyone in the kitchen, leaving me on the outskirts. Again.
“I’m Maliki, and that’s Zane.” He jerked his chin in the direction of his friend.
I’d already pieced together who they were in my head, and his introduction confirmed I was right. This meant the Savage and Venom alliance was real. It wasn’t another gossip-spread rumor amongst the guerrillas.
No wonder tensions were supposedly mounting. Other factions would be scrambling to get on their good side, isolate, or strengthen the numbers within their own groups.
Luce, Cam, and Ice eventually filtered into the gathering.
More conversation I couldn’t follow flew around, as well as a couple of jokes. I could see the way they all fit together, effortlessly and without any awkwardness.
I checked my stew, turning the burner off after double-checking it was done.
Fading into the background, I returned to my vantage point that allowed me to see out the window. I didn’t mind not being noticed. It was nice to simply exist for a minute. Though, the view would be better if there wasn’t a huge fence imposing on it.
Call me bitter, but I had a thing against anything that formed an enclosure. A cage, essentially. I understood why it was necessary. If I took Luce up on his offer, I would have to get used to it.
Cam stepped up beside me, joining in my solitude for a few minutes.
“Admiring the scenery?”
I glanced up and gave him a semi-smile. “Something like that.”
“Aren’t you going to eat?”
I glanced over my shoulder and saw that’s what everyone else had begun doing. I had been standing here longer than I thought.
“Would that be strange?”
“Can I give you a tip?”
I nodded and he leaned a bit closer to my ear. “If you want to sit at our table, then never be afraid to claim a seat.”
I knew it was a metaphor, but he made it sound simple. Why were they so willing to accept me? It couldn’t be this easy to join them. Couldn’t.
Cam subtly nudged me before going to fill his own bowl.
Not thinking too much into what I was doing, I followed his lead. He wordlessly filled a second bowl and offered it to me. I trailed him over to the table and took a seat between him and Luce, putting me directly across from Zane.
I didn’t know much about him, other than that he’d came from the slums and risen very quickly to the top. His eyes were on the same color spectrum as Luce’s, lacking the intensity. That could have been because I didn’t have a lure to him whatsoever; he was merely an attractive stranger.
When I sat, conversation continued to flow as if my presence was entirely ordinary.
“You made this, right?” Addy asked. “It’s good!”
“Everything’s good to someone who can’t cook,” Zane joked.
