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While retaining her hand, he turned to Maggie and offered her a greeting, which she returned without hesitation. He swept an arm toward the table. “Come sit. We will break our fast together.”
Cal glanced at her friend, who shrugged and shot her a look that said, “What else can we do?” Both women followed.
When almost at the table, she noted the only seats available were two to the right of the king and one to the left. She gulped.
Maggie’s gaze prodded the back of her skull. Cal turned to her, and what she saw made her freeze. Discomfiture lined Maggie’s face, her alarm an almost palpable thing in the air.
Looking about to find the perpetrator of this distress, she didn’t have far to go. The king watched Maggie with a look of glee in his gray eyes that he poorly disguised. The sinking suspicion he wasn’t trying to hide it at all filtered into her brain.
She shot Maggie a reassuring look. Where was Maggie’s composure? Not often could someone shake her confidence. The king seemed to take delight in doing so. Hopefully, this wouldn’t cause too much uncomfortable tension while they were stuck here.
Relian, with a hand on her back, pressed her into one of the chairs to the right of his father. Even after he removed his hand, the imprint still burned against her skin. He bent down and whispered in her ear, “You are in a seat of honor, rest easy.”
She bit her lip. Damn him, she wanted to lose consciousness. This was too much for her mind to take, let alone her heart.
He drew a gentle finger down her cheek, touching a few wavy tendrils that framed her face. His eyes blazed with soft warmth.
A pleasurable, hazy fog encompassed her, impeding all clear thought. She could happily ravish him right now, which was not like her at all.
“I need to see to your friend now.”
She blinked at him. Who?
“Lady Maggie. She still stands behind us. I’ll see her seated.”
Cal started. She’d forgotten Maggie. Though she shifted in her chair to throw her friend a contrite glance, her gesture was unnecessary. Eye-locked in a silent tug-of-war, Maggie and the king battled it out.
Oh, dear. That look Maggie sported meant trouble. They’d just gotten to Eria. If they had to stay for a year, this wasn’t looking good.
The king stood up, not breaking his eye contact with Maggie, and addressed his son. “Nonsense, Relian, have a seat by your lovely companion. I will see to the...other lovely lady.” He stopped at the pause, giving Maggie an arch look to match his words.
A thunderous scowl flitted across Maggie’s face. Then a smirk took its place. “I’m more a lady than you’ll ever be.”
Cal groaned. Maggie had a way of mixing up words. And while the meaning was usually clear, the hilarity value was always astronomical.
Talion’s laugh rang through the silent hall. “My lady, how right you are. I hope never to be a lady.”
Maggie deflated, her cheeks pink. All challenge in her seemed to melt away—for right now, at least.
Sympathy welled up, and Cal gave a pleading look to Relian. He muttered something and straightened to his full height. After stepping closer to his father, he all but whispered, “Father, behave!”
Talion gave a wicked smile that indicated he would do as he pleased. He sidestepped Relian and towered over Maggie. Though he was more than half-a-foot taller than her 5’8” friend, his strong presence made the difference seem all the greater.
The king inclined his head and said in a silvery voice, “Come, my lady, I will see you seated.” When Maggie’s face set in mutinous lines, Talion took her arm and put a hand on the small of her back, forcing her to move unless she wanted to stumble.
The unfolding interplay unwillingly fascinated Cal. She felt more than saw Relian take the seat to her right. By now, the whole hall was witness to the ongoing interaction. No one seemed unduly concerned, which should’ve been a relief.
The king leaned down to Maggie after seating her. “My lady, I see we are going to keep each other on our toes. It’s stimulating to have someone to engage thus in my old age.”
Maggie recovered her voice and gave him a sour look. “Yes, I’m sure you need a human to keep you on your toes.”
A hand on her forearm startled Cal, and she turned to Relian, pasting a questioning look on her face. His features had returned to their neutral mask, though when he talked, his voice retained a measure of warmth. “I fear my father enjoys getting a rise out of your friend. Sometimes, I don’t know who is the father and who is the son.” He gave a slight chuckle in seeming wonder.
The strangeness of it all struck her again, but the fact that the relationship between parent and child wasn’t so very different here comforted her. Annoyance, but also love, existed between Relian and his father. No, in this way, at least, their worlds were similar.
As if reading her thoughts, Relian asked, “Humans also behave so, do they not?”
Gracing him with a small smile, she nodded. “We do. Sometimes, especially when we age, the distinction between parent and child is blurred.”
