I shake my head, my pulse surging. I hope he doesn’t hear the difference. Bale grips the metal, his warm fingers sliding against my skin as he gently tugs the torque open enough to slip it off my neck. He sets it aside, and I touch my throat. My deep breath feels like the first I’ve taken since putting it on.
“Great stars, that’s a relief.” The prickling heat instantly fades.
Bale nods to the fruit in my hand. “Try the apple now.”
I take a cautious bite and then groan, dabbing at the juice on my lip. “It’s good. Finally.” His eyes dip to my mouth, and embers pop in my belly. My breathing speeds up. “No wonder the potatoes yesterday tasted like rust.”
He quirks a brow. “Have you eaten a lot of rust lately?”
“Oh, bucketfuls.” I take another bite. “Good stuff.”
He chuckles. The sound dies when he glances at the torque. “Put it back on at nightfall. For now, leave it off.”
I nod, happy to oblige, and rub my neck, erasing the lingering feel of the enchanted silver from my skin. “Why would the torque make food taste strange?”
He moves back to his position against the tree across from me, his brow creasing in thought. He stretches his legs out again, his feet just next to mine. “The magic in that metal is strong. It has a bite—just like vampire teeth. It could be like when someone wears too much perfume. The strong smell leaves you nauseous and suppresses your appetite, but it’s not so bad that you’ll actually be sick.”
I despise strong smells and understand what Bale means. “Like that fae emissary? The one who came to announce the old queen’s death?” I smile even though it wasn’t funny at the time. My headache lasted for days, and my birds barely left their roosts. “We could smell her all over the mountain for a month after she left.”
Bale’s low laughter feels like an extra blanket when he’s already close enough to heat me through. “She was nauseating for several reasons.”
“She was especially obnoxious after she realized she wasn’t getting into your pants.” Mortification fills me. I can’t believe I just said that.
His eyes flash with humor. “You noticed that, did you?” His easy reply lessens my embarrassment. His smile helps too.
“I’m pretty sure everyone did.”
“I could barely stand the smell of her in the cavernous throne room. Imagine contaminating my bed with that much perfume? I’d have to throw it down the mountain and get a new one.”
Laughing, I bite into my apple again.
Fyrestar and Rimblaze swoop down from the branches above, their plumage glowing the same fiery colors as the dawn.
“Going hunting,” Rim says. One warm, bright-red feather on his head is askew from sleep. Reaching out, I smooth it back into place.
I quickly lower my hand and resist patting him longer than necessary. He’ll want to look all grown up in front of Bale. “Happy hunting. Don’t bring me back anything.”
Rim warbles a laugh, his expression shining with delight. He’s on a mission, going hunting with Fyrestar, and getting extra time with Bale. Life is good.
“I’ll keep him in sight,” Fyrestar assures me.
I nod and wave them off, taking my last bites of apple as I watch them clear the treetops and disappear.
When I turn back around, Bale is taking a basket of figs and a small wheel of cheese from his pack.
My chewing slows. “Why do you have all that?”
“I think we’ve established it’s not for me.”
The way my chest tightens should be considered a grave medical condition in all six kingdoms of Ellonrift. “Thank you.”
He leaves the food at my feet and stands. “I take care of what’s mine.”
My belly swoops violently. All food forgotten, I murmur, “You take care of everyone.” I shouldn’t feel special. I shouldn’t wonder. I should eat my breakfast and stop staring at Bale like he’s made of stars.
Except…isn’t he?
Bale shifts into scales. “Eat up, Sunshine, because after I hunt, we cross swords.”
