Page 43 of How to Claim A Shadow King

He sighs, leaning back against the bench, which creaks under his weight. He's so tall that the vines overhead brush the tops of his head and shoulders as he moves, before they dip out of reach and curl back into themselves.

"What would you have me do, Aveline? The man was hurting that animal. He had done it before. He wanted to hurt you. You, the soon-to-be Queen of Shadow Keep. It was an egregious error on his part and I put it right."

"I would prefer," I say in a choked voice. I clear my throat and start again. "I would prefer if next time you conferred with me before you meted out justice on your own."

He crosses his arms over his chest, and I'm struck again by how human he looks in these clothes, especially with the confused expression that he now wears, as though he simply never considered pausing to ask what I wanted.

"If you're right," I say, struck by a sudden thought, "and once I lived before and we were, as you say, fated mates..."

"Yes," he says, leaning forward. His gaze tracks over my face like he's memorizing every single small gesture that flicks across it. "Are you ready to give in?"

"No," I say, annoyance and outrage yet again winding through me.

He raises an eyebrow.

"No!" The word barks out of me much louder than I meant, and some of the fireflies overhead pause in their flight.

Malaki leans back in the chair, spreading his palms out wide on the table. I cast a gaze around, grateful more than ever that we're in a secluded spot for this conversation.

"When we were together in the past, if that is true," I say, holding up a finger before he can interrupt me, "did you never ask what I wanted? Were my wishes not considered?" He opens his mouth to answer, and I cut him off. "Uh-huh," I say loudly. "Truly think about it. I want to know if some past version of me was simply fine with you banishing people if they so much as dared to insult me."

I raise one eyebrow at him in as much of a sneer as I can manage, and I wait. I let the silence grow between us.

"Here you are," Lila says.

The vines brush aside as she sets down a steaming pot of tea, a delicate porcelain kettle, and a tray that holds beautifully iced petit fours, small sandwiches with every possible combination—cucumber, ham and cheese, what appears to be turkey fresh off the bone—along with sandwiches with fillings I'm not sure I've ever seen before. My mouth waters at the sight.

"They look delectable. Thank you so much," I tell her.

Her eyes are wide like a scared rabbit's as her gaze darts between Malakai and I.

I swat at his forearm gently. "You're scaring her."

The stormy expression immediately leaves his face, replaced by one of indignance and then sheepishness, which makes me feel a lot better. Progress is progress, after all.

"I'll be right back with your cottage pies," Lila says quickly, rushing off to avoid whatever storm is brewing.

And Malakai's eyes... would it be that I were so lucky?

"Answer the question," I say as imperiously as I dare.

"I am attempting to remember," he says slowly. "I'm not ignoring you because I don't want to answer." He frowns. "I do not think I ever made a choice that you did not weigh in on."

His voice is low and husky, and he looks at me with a mixture of despair and desire that I've never seen before.

"Well, that's good to know," I say too fast, breaking my eye contact with him and shoving the nearest sandwich into my mouth without even checking to see what it was.

Flavor explodes upon my tongue, the soft filling sticking to the roof of my mouth. It's creamy and spicy all at once, and I hadn't realized fully how hungry I was. I take another. This one looks to be filled with egg of some kind, little herbs poking out of the soft white bread, and that one follows the first. It's equally delicious, and I continue to make quick work of the little sandwiches displayed on the cute, tiered platter in front of me, all while Malakai looks on. I don't dare glance at him. I don't want to see that look on his face again—that hurt, wounded, needy look. No one's ever looked at me like that before, and I do not know what to do with it.

"Here's the meat pie and some quiche, all fresh, delivered just this morning. The meat pie, I think you'll like, Malakai," she says. "Elder Forest venison, potatoes, some other vegetables in my own special mix of herbs that I send over to Piper. She's the one who runs the pastry shop down the way. She's a kitchen witch, best I've ever seen," Lila adds. "There may be a few other things coming out of the kitchen later. I have a couple recipes I've been wanting to try, and since you two are hungry and you wanted one of everything..." She gives a little grin. "...Malakai, I'm only too happy to make sure that you're accommodated."

"That's really not—" She darts away before I can finish the sentence. "—necessary." I look to Malakai. "This is too much food for me."

"Eat what you can," he says. "Sample a little of everything. See what you like."

"It's all delicious so far." And even though I want to eat another one of the herb and egg sandwiches, there's so many choices that I do want to try everything before my stomach will, no doubt, tell me to stop.

We eat in silence, the sound of other hushed conversations making their way back to our secluded corner as we chew. My favorite, I think, is the spicy venison pie. Flaky crust cut with thick slabs of butter, an incredible array of herbs, potatoes and carrots, some celery, all in a hearty, spiced gravy. Hotter than anything I've been served at Stormspire, and the better for it.