And with that, she disappeared into her room, closing the door quietly behind her.
Matthias sat down and sighed. This day had been huge. It hadn’t sunk in yet, the reality of where he was.
Adalia had looked so radiant in the kitchen, he could tell she was in her element with how she prepared food and shared it with him. It made him feel things he didn’t know he could. Something about her brought a peace to his soul. It was wrapping around him like silent hands, squeezing out every drop of darkness and replacing it with a sprinkling of sunshine.
After making the bed, Matthias laid down with Bones on the floor beside him. The lounge was a tad too short for his long frame, but as his eyes grew heavy, he sighed into the dark. As much as he felt he should be worried or confused, his body wouldn’t let him. He simply melted into the softness of the lounge, his wings tucked around him like a dark cocoon, and for the first time that day, he felt completely at ease.
It didn’t take long before he slipped into the world of slumber, dreaming of the girl in the room next door.
Chapter Thirteen
The interaction
“Will you be spending your day off withhimtoday?” Nikolas asked as he carved into a small, wooden, cedar box.
Adalia was standing in the kitchen making tea as Nikolas lent against the counter. “He has a name, you know. Can you please do that outside? You’re making a mess on the floor.”
Her brother huffed before placing the knife and wooden box down on the counter.
“And keep your voice down.Matthiasis still asleep.” Adalia added with quiet force.
“He could be laying there listening to our conversation and plotting our demise.” Nikolas’s brow rose.
Adalia rolled her eyes and fetched some ingredients from the cold room to prepare for breakfast, her wings making a soft swishing sound as she moved. “The only person here who is plotting your demise is me. Now please leave me alone and go do your job.”
Nikolas rolled his eyes. “You didn’t answer my question, and to add to that, how long is he going to stay?”
Lilac feathers brushed against the kitchen counter. Shrugging her shoulders, Adalia whisked the egg, seasoning, and a dash of milk into a bowl. “I don’t know. I suppose so. Maybe I’ll show him around Lucius like the king suggested. Or leave him here and attend to my to do list? As for him staying. . . he’s a grown man, I’m sure he can decide for himself.”
Nikolas glanced over to the black mound sleeping on their couch and picked up the box and knife.
“So, are you going to stare at him all day plottinghisdemise, or help me with breakfast?” Adalia asked.
“You know I’d love to stay and help, but I’ve got lives to protect.” Nikolas grinned as she gave him a playful slap on his arm. “I’ll see you later. You know where to find me if you run into any . . . trouble.”
Adalia rolled her eyes as he walked out the back door and shot into the sky. Glancing over at the prince, who was still asleep, she wondered if she should wake him or let him be. Deciding on the latter, she busied herself in the kitchen. Hopefully, the aroma of bacon and eggs cooking on the stove would bring him to consciousness.
She’d just finished buttering some toast when she heard him stir. Bones stretched beside him and sat up before trotting outside to the courtyard. Matthias rolled over to his side and faced the kitchen, his big black wings tucked around him.
“Morning sunshine,” Adalia gently called.
Matthias sat up and ran his hands through his hair and over his face. “That was the best sleep I’ve had in a really long time.”
“Is your big fancy bed in your big fancy castle not satisfactory enough, Prince?” Adalia crooned.
Stretching his arms and wings out beside him, Matthias yawned and sleepily shook his head. “You have to feel safe to rest well.”
Perhaps she shouldn’t tease him. He didn’t seem to relish the castle life, and the luxuries that accompanied it. He kept surprising her—as a matter of fact; she knew little about him at all.
Adalia offered him a smile as she placed a steaming bowl of scrambled eggs down on the table, followed by a plate of freshlyfried bacon. Then she returned to the kitchen to gather the fruit salad she’d prepared alongside the stack of warm buttered toast.
Hopefully, he was hungry.
“You really didn’t have to go through all this trouble, you know. I’d be fine with some bread and cheese.” Matthias had risen from the couch and moved to stand beside the table.
“It’s really no trouble at all. I do this every morning.” Adalia smiled.
Wings shifted and scraped over the backs of chairs as they both sat at the table. Adalia offered Matthias fresh coffee. He paused, studying the cup with pinched brows before hesitantly taking it.
