Page 103 of Demon Food

My voice didn’t sound like me. Or it did, but not the version I used for many people. I’d always softened it a little for his ears.

“I, um. Well, I guess I’ve gotten us into a mess here, haven’t I?” My chuckle was a little soggy as I sniffled. “I should’ve taken you to the mountains like we always talked about. I would’ve liked showing you the snow and the way the lake froze during winter. I would’ve like walking across it with you.”

His palm was lifeless in my hand.

“I owe you an apology,” I said, licking my lips. “I do. I think I was scared of what I’d be without you. But I love—I fucking love that you are not scared without me. Which is why I know you’re going to be just fine.”

The empty room rang in silence.

“You will like Alek.” I nodded, wiping my eyes on my sleeve before tears could fall. “He is special, Landry. Special, just like you. He deserves your forgiveness for this.”

It was for the best that he wasn’t awake. It was a mercy that he couldn’t plead or cry or look at me with that fucking tenderness in his eyes.

I lowered my forehead to touch his, and he smelled like him. Like the rain on our balcony. Like the worn linens of our shared bed.

Tears fell from my eyes, wetting his lovely face.

“My sweet brother,” I whispered into his curls, pressing a kiss against his forehead. “Take care of yourself. I know you can.”

His body shifted with the bed when I pushed myself from it. I wiped my eyes and swallowed the last of my fight. With one last squeeze of his palm, I started toward the king.

30

ALEK

The air changed as I pushed open the glass door to the atrium in the middle of the palace. It got balmier, more humid, while the scent reflected all the life the massive Hacerium tree attracted—perching birds, dancing butterflies, small tree animals, and forest green moss that clung to its huge roots that sprawled from the earth like the tentacles of a sea monster.

I’d nearly forgotten how big it really was, such that I had to crane my neck, shielding my eyes from the sun to peer up toward the top. The spade-shaped, pearly white leaves fluttered in the breeze, contrasting strikingly against the tree’s black trunk and branches.

My heart tugged me closer, until I was forced to step.

The vultae were drawn to the natural world. It’d always been that way. We were attuned with the growth of nature from the moment a seed sprang from its restraints. Just like we were attuned with the pain it felt when it got crushed, disregarded, or undernourished.

I stepped even closer, breathing in the rich air. I hadn’t worshipped at its roots since I was a vultling, but the feeling came rushing back. I’d been so hopeful back then when life was more soft-shelled. So raw and trusting.

I’d ask the tree for impossible things. For my mother to return. For the possession trainings to stop. For my brother to be normal.

Here and now, I could almost be called to prayer, but of course, it wasn’t why I was here. Prayer was far less effective than what I was doing.

My knees hit the ground. I gathered a bit of the dirt in my fingers and touched it to each wrist, then crossed them over my chest and bowed my head as I said, “One spirit. One hunger. One heart.”

The door to the atrium opened behind me, and a sword slid from its sheath.

I kept my head bowed as knees hit the earth beside me, but not too close because she was smarter than that.

She laid her sword at the roots of the tree, gathered dirt, crossed her fists over her chest, and without looking in my direction said, “One spirit, one hunger, one heart. You look like shit, Alek.”

I couldn’t stop the smile from curling my lips as I said to the ground, “Good to see you, too, Amara.”

“It is, isn’t it? I light up the fucking room.”

There was no arguing. It was true. Amara was striking in the upright way of a warrior in their prime—broad shoulders, muscular biceps, and alarming speed.

I was not attracted to her in the least, but there was no denying how arresting she was with her height that rivaled mine, her deep brown skin, smooth and flawless, and mesmerizing eyes the color of smooth gray river stones. She could seduce any human at a glance. And did.

She kept half her head shaved with the other half twisted back in tight braids to stay out of her way, but most things stayed out of her fucking way. If it wasn’t the armor she wore, then it was the sword thrusted inside her belt that reflected the sunlight like a warning.

“I need you to do something for me,” I said without looking at her. “Something important.”