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She looked up at him. “Food was mentioned?”
He grinned. “It was. It is a way of declaring peace between all parties. We sit, we eat, we talk. You meet my parents, and my parents and yours discuss formalizing the engagement.”
“I thought it was ratified and stuff without me being there.”
He kept an arm around her waist as they filed along with Laksiana, Riithan, and Ylara.
The room had low tables with cushions, and each table sat eight. Laksi was a few steps ahead when she shrieked, “Teddie!”
A woman in a bodysuit and swirling cloak turned toward her. “Laksi, I thought I was going nuts when you appeared again.”
The woman walked toward Laksi, but Kyda’s sister bolted toward her and hugged her. They were there for a moment, and then Laksi drew back in shock. “Holy shit.”
Laksi’s gaze went down to her friend’s midriff. Teddie snorted. “It was an error in judgment, and he is long gone.”
“Did you kill him?”
Teddie laughed. “No. He finished a project and left.”
“Looks like he finished two. Oh, come meet one of my sisters.”
Teddie grinned. “Sister?”
“Yeah, I have five sisters and one brother. Want to meet my youngest sister?”
“Of course.”
Kyda grinned at the woman who walked up. She was very tall for a female, nearly six feet tall, and her abdomen wasn’t visible under the folds of the cloak.
Kyda grinned. “Any friend of my sister’s is a friend in my book. I am a barista by trade myself.” She shook Teddie’s hand, and then they looked around. “Aw shit. They came back.”
Ados murmured, “They didn’t go far. They followed the royal family and yelled at them until I brought Riithan back. Then, they yelled to get you released from the holding cell while Laksi kept you company. Surprisingly, they didn’t hurt anyone.”
Kyda smiled. “I could have broken out of the cell, but I am starting a relationship with my mother’s people and didn’t want to cause a fuss. I am guessing they felt the same. We don’t want to upset our parent on the first day of contact.”
Ados chuckled. “We are being requested to sit at the royal table with your parent and my parents.”
Kyda looked at the table that could accommodate twelve. “Can Laksi and her friend sit with us?”
Teddie grinned. “If there is food involved, I will go anywhere right now.”
Ados introduced himself, and she beamed, her skin glowing with health. He escorted them to the table, and once the royals settled, the rest of the table filled quickly. Staff came around, and hands were washed.
Kyda was sitting next to Laksi, and Teddie was on the other side of the sibling.
The royals were at the head of the table, and Riithan and Ylara were seated across from Ados and Kyda. The rest of the seats were parents.
Kyda had been trained to eat with her fingers, so when Ados served her, she chuckled. “I think your mom just inhaled her throat.”
He smiled. “She’s just surprised because I know I have a reputation for being a bit of a bastard with a temper.”
Kyda looked at him. “Really? You are only ever nice to me.”
“You relax me. Just being around you relaxes me. Now, eat.” He nudged her with his elbow.
She grinned, started taking bits of rice and roasted meat pinched in her fingers, and ate slowly. Laksi was trying, and Teddie was managing gracefully. She stopped one of the servers and spoke softly. The person grinned and produced a spork.
Teddie handed Laksi the spork, and the woman groaned, covered her eyes as the table laughed, and then Laksi shrugged and started eating while her friend kept her plate loaded.
