I shake my head and straighten my back. This can never happen again. I won’t be seduced, especially not by a DragonKin. With fresh resolve, I leave my crutch beside the door and carefully make my way down the stairs. Following my nose, the smell of something delicious in the air, I find two of Vander’s brothers sitting down to breakfast.
“Come in.” Rivon, the one with orange scales, motions for me to take the seat Vander made for me.
Sprite comes in, a cup in one hand and a plate in the other. “Heard you coming down the stairs.” He slides the plate in front of me as I sit. “We made it special for you.”
“Thanks.” I put my napkin in my lap, my mouth watering as I survey the eggs, some sort of crispy meat, and what I assume is a piece of fruit.
Rivon leans across the table and points his fork at the dark orange fruit. “Carvelia fruit, this is boar, and these are Shinjan eggs.”
I repeat it silently to myself, trying to remember what everything is. “We didn’t have anything like this in Raingreen.”
“Right. You had the vegetables.” Fyan tries to sound nonchalant and almost makes it.
“They aren’t that bad.” I poke at the carvelia fruit.
“The black rind is bitter. You just want the meat inside.” Rivon takes a drink from his cup. “It’s one of my favorite fruits. The Firefolk tend a grove not far into the woods.”
“Oh?” I scoop out a piece of the juicy orange meat and taste it. Sweet with an underlying tang. “Wow.” I’ve never tasted anything quite like it. “This is delicious.”
“She has good taste.” Rivon smiles and stabs the last piece of meat from his plate and plops it in his mouth. “I’ve got to do a run to the coast.”
“The coast?” I’ve heard of places where water covers the land, nothing but blue as far as you can see. I’ve never seen it, can barely imagine it.
Rivon stands, then looks at me questioningly. “The Silver Sea lies along the southern borders of Oblivion. It’s beyond our borders, but we have contacts there.”
“What are your borders?” I chew slowly, savoring the new taste. “Is there a part of Oblivion that belongs just to the DragonKin?”
Fyan and Rivon exchange a look, one I can’t read, but the air changes. Gets heavier somehow.
“What?” I stop chewing and swallow. “Is something wrong?”
“No.” Fyan glances at Rivon again. “There’s just a lot to explain if you want to know about Oblivion.”
“I do.” I sit forward, my food momentarily forgotten. “How big is it? How many people—erm, creatures—live here? What kinds are there? What’s the most dangerous of them? Are there any other mortals? Is there like, a big city? Raingreen was just a village, but travelers would always talk about Xinjia, the biggest city in the entire realm. Is there a place like that here?” I snap my mouth closed before a dozen more questions spill out.
“You’re curious for a mortal.” Brin walks in, a book in his palm, and sits beside me at the table. “Lucky for you, the keep has two libraries, each of them with all the information you could ever want about Oblivion.”
“Oh.” I look down at my plate, my mouth going dry.
“We don’t mind if you use the libraries,” Fyan says. “The keep is your home now. You’re welcome in all its rooms.”
I nod, too ashamed to tell them the truth. It’s actually nice of them to assume I can read. To think I’m someone who was important enough to be taught.
“Or maybe you don’t like to read?” Fyan scoffs. “Gods knows I hate reading. It’s so boring. Why read about it in some dusty book when you can go out and live it, right?”
I don’t have an answer for that. Now I wish I hadn’t asked anything at all.
Brin clears his throat, and when I meet his gaze, his yellow eyes are crinkled at the edges in kindness. “It’s all right.” That’s all he says. “We’ll work on it.”
“Work on what?” Fyan asks.
“Eat your breakfast.” Brin takes a plate from a waiting Sprite. “Thanks.”
“Very welcome.” Sprite refills Fyan’s cup and disappears into the kitchen.
“I’ll return tomorrow.” Rivon gives me a small bow, then leaves.
I sit stunned as I stare after him. No one has ever bowed to me before. The nobles—and especially Kanelden—demanded everyone bow to them all the time. They even required it in the Priory before and after each service that was supposed to honor the gods.
