Page 16 of Prince of the Sun

“Nothing,” I say quickly, from behind a napkin dispenser.

Cara narrows her eyes.

I exhale. This will be fine. They won’t sit with us. All elves sit up by the Elf Eater. Elves and humans never—

“Hey, Quinn.”

Shit.

I inch out from behind the napkins, eyes wide and innocent. And, of course—there they are. The prince and the general’s son, grinning down at me like two hungry bears.

“Oh!” My voice sounds like it’s been run through a dryer. “Hey, guys!”

Cara looks from me to the elves and back again. Her eyes narrow even further. “Hey,guys?”

“Um,” I say.

“Mind if we sit?” asks Daerios.

“I don’t know,Quinn.” Cara widens her eyes and tilts her head. “Do we?”

“Um,” I say again.

“Great,” says Berendir, dropping his tray beside Cara’s. “Thanks, ladies.”

Daerios lays his next to mine, moving with slow, careful precision into the chair to my left. I scoot imperceptibly away from his elbow, eyeing his tray.

For every meal, the dining hall staff sets out two hot food lines: one for the humans, one for the elves. The lines are not demarcated as such, but as with everything else between our species, it’s an unwritten rule. Today, it is shepherd’s pie for the humans, and roast quail and honey cakes for the elves. I’m not used to seeing a tray stacked with elvish delicacies, but here one is. Right next to my elbow.

I chance a glance out at the rest of the dining hall. Every single pair of eyes in the room is staring at our table.

“Um,” I say for the third time in thirty seconds.

“Daer, are yousureQuinn agreed to go to the Ikarith Ball with you?” Berendir interrupts before I can go on. “She doesn’t appear to know any actual words. Only vague sounds.”

“TheIkarith Ball?” Cara’s eyes have grown, if possible, even larger. She’s gripping her fork in a way even I find terrifying. “Quinn, do you have something you want to share?”

“U—” I stop myself before I say it again. “The, uh… Daerios asked me to go to their date event with him.”

Cara stares at me. “And you were going to tell me this when?”

“Tomorrow?” I try.

She opens her mouth. Closes it again. “I think my brain just short-circuited.”

“What a coincidence,” said Berendir, picking up a honey cake. Starting with dessert, naturally. “That’s what I said to Daerios after he told me he asked a human to be his date.”

I look at Berendir. “So, you agree,” I say. “It’s preposterous.”

“Of course, it’s preposterous,” says Berendir. He grins wickedly. “Iloveit.”

Cara sighs, rubbing her forehead. “Right. And when is this ball thing?”

“Saturday night,” says Berendir, taking a massive bite of the honey cake. “In fact…” An idea seems to dawn on him. He turns to look at Cara, mouth still full. “What are you doing Saturday?”

She stares at him for several long, empty seconds. Then she turns back to her plate and takes an equally large bite of meat and potatoes. “Not going anywhere with you,” she says, mouth also full.

Berendir’s smile grows. “Are you sure?”