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But then, her father had also never filled his own plate, or even cut his own food, all of which Isael proceeded to do. Once he began, the others followed suit. Cera went straight for the bread and jam, trying to be as casual as possible, even as her hunger had returned with a vengeance.
As she slathered a berry jam onto a slice of bread, she watched Isael from the corner of her eye. He'd filled his plate, but he wasn't yet eating. Lifting his wine glass to his lips, he paused for a second, before taking a small sip and setting it down. It was a far subtler gesture than her father's routine, which involved a tasting performed by both a guard and the cupbearer.
Curious, she lifted her own glass and observed the liquid inside. It didn't look like any wine she'd seen. It had the color and sheen of honey but moved like water. She brought the glass to her lips, taking in its sweet scent before letting it touch her tongue.
Her eyes widened and she turned to Isael, catching him staring at her.
"This is wine?" she asked.
Her question prompted another interjection from Casean, who laughed and said, "Far better than what you have in Atera, no?"
"It tastes like...juice," she said, though the word was woefully insufficient.
She took in a mouthful of the wine, relishing the taste. It was sweet, yet not overbearing. The flavor reminded her of the caramels that the Hintu emissary would bring her on his yearly visits to the castle.
After another lingering sip, she set the glass down and returned to eating. Delicious as it was, she was not accustomed to drinking wine, or any intoxicating beverage. The few times she'd partaken, the drink had gone swiftly to her head, making her overtired and talkative.
Moments later, the music began to pick up and the volume of the conversations rose accordingly. Unable to remain silent even while eating, Casean inserted himself into a conversation between Esodir and an attractive woman with intricately braided hair. The woman seemed less interested in Esodir and Casean, and keener on using their conversation as an excuse to steal glances at Cera and Isael.
She was not the only one, of course. Cera kept her attention down her plate, aware of the many covert stares in her direction. Their interest in her hadn't waned, they were simply attempting to hide it.
"You are handling yourself well," Isael said, softly so as not to invite intrusion. "They are usually more tactful than this."
"They're more tactful than Aterans," she said, trying to match his quiet tone. "The staring doesn't bother me."
"I believe you're telling the truth," he said, sounding surprised.
Cera gave him a curious look. "Would you know if I wasn't?"
His lips twitched. "If you knew when people were lying, would you admit it?"
"No," she said, needing no time to consider the question. "If people knew that I could tell when they were lying, they would start lying by omission."
"But that can be useful, as well," he countered. "If everyone believes that you know when they are lying, then you need only listen for what they don't say."
Cera ran her teeth along her bottom lip, wondering how bold she could be. There was only one way to find out.
"That is true," she said slowly. "But then, I suppose it wouldn't matter if I did have the power to tell when people were lying. All I would need is for people tobelieveI had the power."
"Ah," he said, pausing to take another sip of his wine. "That would be clever. But a rather difficult myth to maintain. It would be easy enough for others to test you. Lie about inconsequential things to see if you notice."
"I don't think many people would try to test me."
"No?"
"Oh, no. I would make sure everyone was terribly afraid of me, so that they wouldn't chance lying to me, even about small things."
"Areyouterribly afraid of me?"
Something about the way he asked the question had Cera lifting her wine glass to hide a smile. She felt almost certain that Isael was teasing her.
After taking another sip of wine, she said, "I haven't decided yet."
"Fear is a visceral emotion. Wouldn't you know if you felt it?"
"Yes, but fear is all about context. If I saw a caged bear in a menagerie, I wouldn't be afraid. If I encountered that same bear while alone in the woods..."
She trailed off, wondering if she was going too far. Not in comparing him to a bear, but in talking to him as much as she was. She suspected that if Maewyn were nearby, she might have gotten a kick to the shin.
