After quickly getting dressed, we follow the messenger to Orion’s war council room.
My heart patters nervously as we walk the final distance to the open doorway. I haven’t seen Orion since I accidentally witnessed his and Isera’s moment out there in Haldia’s garden, and I have no idea what state he will be in today.
The messenger sweeps his arm out, indicating the open door, and then returns the way we came.
I draw in a steadying breath as Draven and I cross the threshold and walk into the large meeting room.
A massive table takes up most of the floor space in the middle of the room. The wall right across from the door sports large windows that look out over the imposing stone cliffs and gigantic waterfalls that frame the back portion of this city. Rows of bookcases line the wall on our right, all filled with scrolls and leather tomes, while a huge map spans the entire wall on our left.
My stomach grumbles as the scent of food fills my lungs when I draw in a deep breath. I quickly scan the table, noticing that an entire breakfast feast has been placed there. Fried eggs and sausages, grilled fish, and herb-roasted potatoes are waiting on gleaming dishes on one side while fruit, cheese, and bread have been placed together on the other side.
“At last,” Orion declares. “I feared the food would get cold before you arrived.”
I snap my gaze to the Unseelie King, who is standing in front of the giant map on the wall, with his back to us. But when we walk inside, he at last turns around to face us.
As always, he is dressed in beautiful formal wear in dark blue, black, and silver, and he is also wearing his spiky black crown on his head. Now, he also has an elegant black eyepatch across his left eye. It has been decorated with gleaming silver thread in an intricate pattern, which somehow perfectly suits both his clothes and his entire personality. The edges of the scar that now runs through his eyebrow peak up above and below the dark fabric.
My heart patters, and I barely dare to breathe.
But Orion just smirks at us the way he always does, and his remaining eye glints like normal when he says, “If you two are late because you decided to have a quick morning fuck, I will be very cross.”
“No fuck with me is ever quick.” Draven shoots him a smirk back and arches an eyebrow at him. “Just because you’re a quickshot doesn’t mean everyone is, princeling.”
Intense relief and gratitude flash across Orion’s face before he manages to hide it behind a villainous smile again. “Careful now, beast. Or I might spend this entire breakfast recounting my sexual prowess in excruciating detail.”
And that’s when I realize it. That’s when I realize that I am currently making the exact same mistake that a lot of the others made with me after I had been forced to make Draven hate me. I loathed the way they looked at me then. The way they acted around me.
And Orion is the same.
He doesn’t want our pity and our sad, sympathetic looks. He doesn’t want us to walk on eggshells around him. He wants us to treat him exactly the way we usually do. As if nothing has changed. So that is precisely what I will do.
“Please don’t,” Lyra chimes in from where she is practically bouncing on her feet next to the table. “I’m starving, and I really don’t want to hear about your sex life while I’m eating sausages.” Her orange eyes gleam with mischief as she shifts her gaze from Orion to Alistair. “Because I really like sausages.”
Alistair stumbles, his face going bright red.
I burst out laughing. I can’t help it. After everything that has happened and all the tension and worry inside me, the sheer absurdity of this conversation is just so incredible that I can’t stop myself from laughing.
And it looks like I’m not the only one.
From the opposite wall, Galen shakes his head and chuckleswhile Diana looks like she is suppressing a smile. Next to them, Lavendera and the Dryad Queen are watching the exchange with light in their eyes. Even Isera, who is leaning against the windowsill with her arms crossed, has clear amusement tugging at her lips.
“Well, let’s eat then,” Orion announces.
Boots scuff and chairs scrape as we all walk over to the table and sit down. For the first few minutes, we all just pile food onto our plates and eat in contented silence. I didn’t even realize how hungry I was until that first bite of fried eggs melts in my mouth.
A faint moan, which makes Draven cast me a glance from the corner of his eye, escapes my mouth. Mabona’s tits, I feel like I haven’t eaten in ages. The food tastes heavenly. Better than anything I have ever had. Though I think it has less to do with the actual food and more to do with the company. There is something special about sharing a meal with all of your friends and loved ones.
Pain suddenly stabs through my chest when I remember that not all of my loved ones are here. My parents aren’t.
That intense urge to use my magic flares up inside me again. My mind is begging me to do it. Just once. Just for a little while. To make that pain go away.
Gripping my fork hard, I fight desperately against it while the memory of what I did down in the dungeon last night flashes through my mind again. I won’t lose control like that again. I can’t. So I force that insistent voice back to the corners of my mind and, through sheer willpower, focus on the food before me and the people around me instead.
“So, what’s the verdict?” Draven asks into the companionable silence.
“The Blue Clan is with us,” Galen replies before looking to Lyra.
“So is the Orange Clan,” she confirms. A smile spreads acrossher lips as she adds, “Tanaka was actually really excited about it. Said that this uprising was a long time coming.”
