“No?”It is a struggle to keep my voice even. “I’ve rested, as we agreed. It’s time to go.”
“I believe our terms included a good meal in addition to a good night’s sleep.”
My teeth grind together. “Are you joking?”
“I never jest about breakfast.”
“Soren, I mean it.”
“As do I. You must be hungry. Admit it.”
As it happens, I am hungry. I haven’t eaten for…Actually, I’ve lost track of my last meal. I only know it was far too long ago.
“Don’t make me beg, skylark,” he cajoles. “Come now. Wipe that frown off your face and follow me.”
My lips press together, deepening my frown, but the sight only makes his own tug up into a half smile. I cast my eyes heavenward, seeking divine intervention. When none arrives, I heave a sigh. “Fine. Feed me if you must.”
He laughs at my undisguised annoyance. Then he turns onhis heel and walks back into the villa. I have no choice but to scurry in his wake, resigned to my fate. Frankly, I am tired of arguing—with him, with Penn, with Yale, with Osain…with everyone in my life. On this one thing, I will yield. It is only a meal, after all.
What can one meal change in the grand trajectory of my existence?
I catch up to Soren in the kitchens. He does not slow his pace to accommodate my shorter strides, nor does he pause when we pass beyond the cold hearth into a wide hall littered with more art and artifacts. An impossibly beautiful runner rug stretches the length of the corridor. It is soft even through the soles of my boots.
“Um…Soren?”
“Mmm?”
“The kitchens are back there.”
“Astute observation. Gods, you’re sharp.”
My hands curl into fists. “How do you plan to cook my breakfast without making use of your gargantuan range?”
“I don’t plan to make your breakfast at all. Not when there are so many skilled vendors down in the city eager to do it instead.”
“But—What—” I shake my head as though that might clear it. “I never agreed to traipse through Hylios.”
“You agreed to let me feed you. You never specified where said meal was to take place, or that I was the one who’d prepare it.”
“That’s a technicality and you know it.”
“Then let this be a lesson. Your first of many. Next time you strike a bargain—with me or anyone else—be more specific on the terms.”
My eyes narrow at his back. “What do you mean by that? My first lesson of many?”
He does not answer except to slow his pace somewhat, so we are side by side as we exit the villa through another wide archway onto yet another terrace. This one does not face the interior courtyard but the city itself. A near identical vantage to that offered by my balcony, perched high above a swath of rooftops and canals. Soren hears my breath catch as I take in the view and smirks at the sound, but blessedly refrains from comment. Perhaps he knows I have reached my limit for teasing for the day.
As it is not yet noon, this does not bode well.
Chapter
eight
We walk in silence, following a downward-sloping trail of slate paths, and eventually reach a sharp set of steps hewn directly into the bedrock. It, like the rest of the royal grounds, is entirely deserted.
“Where is everyone?” I blurt, unable to contain my curiosity.
Soren glances over at me, brows aloft. “Whatever do you mean?”