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With a glance at Adry, Merrik picked up his menu and scanned the items. Pretty standard elven fare with plenty of salads, venison, fruits, and vegetables. Most of the dishes were single-food items rather than a complicated mix of foods one might find in a restaurant in Aldon.
Adry tilted her menu down to peer at him over it. “Let me guess. You’re going to order a venison steak with mushrooms and ask to substitute the roasted asparagus with roasted green beans.”
“And you are going to order the same, except with a loaded salad.” Merrik grinned back at her over the edge of his menu.
They held each other’s gazes for a moment before Adry set aside her menu. “Then I guess we’re ready to order.”
Merrik put his menu on top of hers, shifting them so that the edges of both menus were aligned. “How was training today?”
“Boring.” She sighed and slumped farther in her seat. “None of the more skilled warriors had time to practice with me today.”
“I can see where that would be frustrating.” Merrik dropped his gaze, his heart twisting. Once he had been at least a decent challenge for Adry and Fieran in a sword fight, given that he’d trained with them all his life.
“We’ll be taking the test to officially become warriors in a couple of weeks.” She traced a knot in the top of the wooden slab that formed the tabletop, peeking at him in a way that was strangely hesitating for her. “I was hoping you’d come.”
“Of course I will come.” Merrik held her gaze as he shoved aside the momentary weight. “You are my girlfriend.”
His girlfriend. How he loved saying those words.
She must have loved hearing them because her grin beamed back at him in a rather mushy fashion.
The elf female returned to take their menus and their orders.
While they waited for their meal, Adry and Merrik fell into an easy conversation. Considering they had been spending nearly every day together, one would think they’d run out of topics, but they didn’t.
When the elf arrived with their food, Adry was so busy describing her recent visit with her Machasheni Leyleira and Dachasheni Taranath that she didn’t seem to notice that Merrik had been served a plate of roast asparagus instead of the green beans he’d requested.
Merrik nudged that plate farther away from his larger plate with the venison, hoping she wouldn’t comment.
As she opened her mouth to launch into another story, her gaze fell on the plate. Her mouth pressed into a line. “That isn’t what you ordered.”
“It is fine.” Merrik shrugged, ducking his head. He really didn’t want to make a big deal about it.
“It isn’t fine. You aren’t going to eat it, and I’m certainly not going to either.” Adry shook her head and, before Merrik had the chance to protest, she waved for the elf server.
Merrik sighed as the server returned to their table. There was no protesting when Adry got that look in her eyes.
Adry pointed at the plate of asparagus and explained the problem in a polite but firm tone. With an apology, the server whisked the plate away.
Merrik gave her a lopsided smile. “And I guess that is why I am courting you. Someone needs to speak up, and it will not be me.”
“You speak up over important things.” Adry shrugged, waving her fork at him.
“Not always.” Merrik dropped his gaze to the steak before him. If he’d stood up to Fieran more in the past, would he be where he was now?
After a moment, he shook himself and plastered on a smile. “So, tell me more about the warrior test.”
Adry launched into a description of the test, her voice rising in her excitement and her food growing cold and forgotten on her plate.
As she spoke, an iron determination filled his chest. He had a couple of weeks until Adry’s final warrior test. That wasn’t a lot of time, but he was going to walk for that. No wheelchair. No tottering on a peg leg. He was going to walk on two feet, even if one of those feet was made of wood and moved by his magic.
Chapter
Fourteen
Adry paced back and forth, her magic burning through her veins so strongly that a few sparks danced around her fingertips.
“Adriana.” Her commanding officer gave her a quelling look.
