Page 71 of The Seeker

And knowing him (and I did), I would be seeing him again soon, even though we hadn’t parted on the best of terms.

Folding the note and tucking it into my pocket, I searched for the books Otho had acquired the day before, only to frown when they were nowhere in sight. Either Otho had already packed them, or he had taken them with him, either option causing my stomach to flip.

Before I could ponder that further, however, there was a knock at the door, and I pulled it open to Ena’s smiling face.

“Good morning. We are meeting downstairs for breakfast.”

I checked my pocket for the key to the room before following her down the stairs. Like the inn where I’d met my brother, there was a room filled with circular tables and a few chairs. Everyone, except Otho, was already there, huddled around two tables toward the back. I slid into the chair next to Ena, the one on my other side left empty—presumably for Otho.

“How did you sleep?” Askel asked with a smile from Ena’s other side, even though there were dark circles forming under his eyes now.

“Better than you, apparently,” I joked, but no one laughed, and I didn’t miss the way Askel’s eyes flickered to Ena.

Confused by the solemn mood and secrets I wasn’t privy to, I checked with my empathy magic, but either everyone had gotten very good at blocking me overnight, or no one felt any strong emotions at that moment. I frowned.

“We should start training again tomorrow,” Askel suggested, but his gaze still rested on Ena as she tugged her dark hair into a neat braid that fell over one shoulder.

I leaned in so I could whisper in her ear, “Do I want to know?”

She blushed and shook her head, her embarrassment reaching my gift.

Well, that answered my previous question.

Everyone turned to look behind me, but I didn’t need to do so to know who stood there. Even before our bonding, my body had always been aware of him, and now it was no different. He slid into the open seat next to me, dumping the contents of his arms on the table.

“Boiled eggs—one per person—and then you can choose a fruit.”

Hands reached forward, grabbing at the eggs and fruit that rolled on the table. Though it was nice to have something other than jerky, this definitely wasn’t what I imagined Otho would find for breakfast.

I must have projected that thought, because Otho answered with, “It was the best I could find that I was able to carry enough of. This inn only serves afternoon tea, no breakfast.”

I nodded, handing him my egg before biting into the apple I’d chosen. “I’m not that hungry.”

Otho didn’t question it, moving to peel my egg. I watched as his fingers deftly pulled off every sliver of the shell. The moment the egg was shell-less, he ate it in two massive bites.

“So, are we all going to see the king?” Karl asked, his mouth full of boiled egg.

Otho shook his head. “No, I was only going to take Runa. It’s a long boring day of waiting in line, and I doubt the king will allow all of us in at the same time anyway. There are rules to ensure safety.”

“And Ena is coming with me,” I added, not giving him a chance to argue, but I could tell from his emotions he wasn’t thrilled about it.

“She may have to wait outside,” he replied.

I shrugged, focusing on the fruit in my hand. I wasn’t going to see the king without Ena and Otho wouldn’t dissuade me from it.

I regretted giving away my egg, because it meant breakfast was over in just a few bites, and then Otho was reaching for my hand. “Are you ready?”

I looked over at Ena, who was finishing the last slice of her orange, before replying, “As much as I’ll ever be.”

The three of us rose from the table, Askel’s eyes following Ena’s movements as we made our way toward the door. Though we were just walking across a dining room, I felt like my feet were stones, and we were wading through mud.

Something inside me whispered that we shouldn’t continue. That I should return to the room upstairs and tell Otho I was ready to go back to Heimland without seeing the king.

But at the same time, I couldn’t. We’d come all this way because of my stubbornness, and the least I could do was speak to the king.

Even if the answer was no.

Exiting the inn, we took a right, heading up the street. I hadn’t noticed the night before, but the street was straight, and at the very end stood a large plaster-covered wall, which surrounded an even larger plaster-covered palace, both installments taking up more than a large share of the horizon. The plaster was lighter than what we made in Heimland, making the palace almost seem to glow, thanks to the sunlight it reflected. I squinted, trying to gain a better idea of the shape of the building.