“What did you bring me this time?” Fallon asked, wiping her hands on her apron.
I didn’t miss that they shook a little, but if I couldn’t ask my sister for forgiveness, I wasn’t ready to pry for Fallon’s secrets. I dropped a basket full of Vival Greens onto the large prep table. You would have thought I had brought her a mottled green nugget of fuchsite with the way she clapped herhands.
“I can always count on you to bring me something difficult to make delicious.”
“And you always rise to the challenge,” I reminded her.
Though Fallon and I weren’t besties, she always kept my plates full of clean food even when she was serving everyone else decadence. I appreciated it more than words could say. So maybe we were closer than I thought.
“Do you want anything else?” she asked.
“Just some game. No cake, please.”
Fallon smiled. “I’ll just set it on Evie’s side of the table. It will be gone before you know it.”
I smiled back. My sister and her husband would definitely demolish it.
“Well, don’t be late again or you’ll miss out on how I turn these green bastards into perfection.” Fallon shooed me out of her kitchen.
She made fun of me ever since she had to come get Noth and me from his room. If she knew what had occurred between the Elf and me, she said nothing to the rest of the group. I should revise her into bestie category.
In my disheveled room, I changed into something casual, layered and comfortable. I liked how the indigo fabric shifted, but still left my arms bare and free. A girl never knew when she would have to move out of the way. Especially with this crew. Dinner was just with friends. Our group had gotten tighter after Evie and Ward came back from their quest, and we had dinners together mostnights. It was a comfortable routine, mostly. Other than Noth always ending up across the table from me.
I palmed a Tiger’s Eye, working its natural magic to promote mental clarity, as I took the stairs two at a time back down to the dining room. I could use all the unemotional problem solving on offer because when I entered the dining room, only Noth sat at the table.
Seated was a gracious word for the sprawling lounge he accomplished. Legs spread, dark hair spilling over his shoulders and hips, he turned the simple dining chair into a throne. Wanting Noth was pretty much the most deviant thing I had ever done in my life. The Tiger’s Eye dug into my palm, I willed myself not to notice how it matched the gold piercings laddering up his long ears. I had no right to know they were very sensitive. I bet it would hurt if I cut them off.
I took my seat opposite him and stared down at my empty place setting, willing the rest of the group to be on time so my heart rate didn’t kick up.
“No snappy barb tonight, Pumpkin?” His low, smoky voice tightened every muscle I had.
I hated that nickname. It was like he found the most vulnerable part of me and made it public. I wasn’t that round, lumpy girl anymore. Discipline, control and more workouts than I cared to count made me strong, toned and noticed. The last was just as aggravating as being made fun of for being fat. It was the control I was after with all those workouts, not the attention. In my darkestmoments, I admitted that that’s what I wanted from the sex too.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t see you there. What did you say?” I asked while looking around the room, forcing my limbs loose.
Noth’s ego was unflagging, immeasurable, and my campaign of pretending he was nothing got under his skin like the Termian Plague. From the corner of my eye, I caught shadows flickering over his body, flitting over the raw muscles he had on easy display. Noth’s jaw hardened to granite, but then his face smoothed into a terrifying blankness. I locked my legs so I wouldn’t back up in my chair. His pupils dilated, small, black veins fanning out from his eyes. I unconsciously stuck my hand in my crystal pouch and pulled out black obsidian. Even though it sparked against my hand, the rock felt like little protection from the monster across the table.
My teeth clenched until they ached. I vowed to have a dagger with me at all times after this meal. Thighs pressing together, my booming heart couldn’t decide if we were about to fight, fuck or flee. We sat frozen, unblinking, the bowstring between us taught enough to snap.
The scrape of wooden legs against the stone floor jerked my attention to Evie plopping into the chair Ward held out for her. I shouldn’t have taken my eyes off Rat Face, but when I looked back, he was smiling at Ward, lounging again. No inky lines framed his eyes.
“See, I’m on time tonight. I hope that means you have good news for me,” Noth said in his most charming manner. “I told you I would even pay you for the information. What do you know?”
Ward nodded. “After dinner. I want to be thorough in my assessment of what I gathered.”
Rat Face didn’t like whatever that meant. His mouth pulled into annoyed lines as everyone started talking as they piled into the room.
Declan strode in on four paws, shaking off his shaggy wolf form and pulling clothes out of the basket standing by the door.
“I’m on time too. I wouldn’t miss Fallon’s cooking,” the wolf shifter said.
“Well, I prefer fashionably late.” Ruby and her Druid husband, Dane, took their seats, which meant Emrys was at their bar. Her date with the orc must have been after closing. I didn’t know how the girl kept up.
Fallon entered the room, laden with a huge tray just as Declan took his seat. I doubt she even realized she served him first, or saw us all stare down at our plates when she kissed him on the cheek like a brother. There would be a reckoning there someday.
Noth’s face twitched in proportion to the volume in the room. Everyone but him settled in for an amazing meal. The servants helped Fallon with the rest of the dishes and trenchers, so she was free to join us at the table.
Noth’s fist came down on the table with a boom, cutting through the chatter. “Enough of stuffing your face. You’ll tell me where you found the Calix. Now.”
