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Not wanting to stop and chat, I slipped out of the room as silently as possible. I was pretty sure I knew where to find the dining hall, and didn’t think it was far enough away to cause either of us any pain.
My stomach rumbled again as I maneuvered through the halls.
“Where are you going?” the king asked, falling into step beside me.
Damn, I’d hoped for a little space from him. Guess that wasn’t happening.
“The dining hall.”
“Always so hungry,” he said, his voice almost… playful.
That joke didnothit right.
If he’d been starving for as many years as me, he’d be hungry all the time too.
But I didn’t want to explain anything about my past to him, so I didn’t say anything.
We stepped into the dining hall and only found one other couple inside. I didn’t recognize either of them, though that wasn’t a surprise.
The woman’s skin was as pale as Laeli’s, and she was wearing a long human-style dress that looked supremely uncomfortable, though not dirty. Her vibrant blue hair was gathered up in a bun on top of her head. A few of the strands had escaped, and seemed to be blowing in a breeze that had absolutely no place in the castle.
I looked around the room, trying to find the source of the breeze, but found nothing.
Guess I knew what her magic was.
“That’s Vayme and his human,”Kierden murmured into my mind.
I nodded, and the king motioned to someone in the kitchen as he walked beside me to the table.
Like Kierden, Vayme had his hand wrapped in fabric. Unlike my king, Vayme wore a pair of thick-looking pants instead of loose shorts, and his brown hair was long and thick, falling to his shoulders. He had a beard too, but it was trimmed fairly short.
“Hi,” I said, as we approached the table.
Vayme shot me a dark look, and Kierden’s hand lifted to my lower back as he stepped closer to me. When I glanced sideways at him, I found his eyes narrowed and his body tensed.
Vayme finally lifted two fingers in a tiny wave and grunted before returning to his food.
“Hello,” his human whispered, and my attention went to her. Veil, she looked even skinnier than me and Laeli. I itched to ask for her story, but didn’t want to share mine while Kierden was right there. “I’m Kaelle,” she said, pronouncing it kay-elle. “I think Laeli told me about you. You have plant magic, right?”
“Yep.” I gave her a quick smile, and she returned it, though hers was faint.
My heart ached for her.
“He hasn’t hurt you, right?” I sat down beside her, gesturing toward Vayme.
The king’s glare snapped up to me.
Kierden murmured into my mind,“Careful.”
“No, he’s fine. Thanks for asking, though.” She carefully took my hand and squeezed it lightly. I felt the breeze blowing off her skin, and it caught me off-guard a little, but I nodded.
Someone brought out plates of food for me and Kierden, and the tension dissipated as he pulled a chair up to sit next to me. Kaelle released my hand so I could eat, and silence reigned as all of us focused on our meal.
“Were you glad to leave your city?” Kaelle asked me softly, as she set her fork down next to her plate.
“I was,” I said simply.
She nodded, and the empathy in her eyes as she looked between me and Kierden told me she understood the space I was trying to put between us. “Has he hurt you?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
