Grave smirked. “She’ll return in one piece.”
“Tell me about you, Fisher,” Athela started as I followed Grave through the dining room.
The corridors were unusually quiet. The number of guards wandering the halls was only a fraction of what Sutton Castle held. Each greeted me with a smile as we passed, none stopping to stand at attention as their king strode by.
Swirling silver ran across the decorative molding of the hallway ceiling, with small pops of glittering stones embedded throughout. Several corridors shot off from the main one, some without a flame to illuminate the way. The castle was cold, but more inviting than the sterile environment of Rivale’s. Books sat abandoned on small side tables, narrow rugs were periodically placed on our path, and an occasional painting hung from the wall.
We passed through two doors that led into a large outdoor atrium in the middle of the castle. Dozens of potted plants sat around the courtyard. Miniature lemon trees, vines of tomatoes, and various fruits and vegetables grew in containers.
“This is where we grow our food for the castle and staff.” Grave’s mouth drew into a tight line.
“Do you not use a garden? This can’t be enough for everyone.”
He shook his head. “It’s not much, but we do what we can with what we have.”
“No flowers?”
“Limited resources.” He slid his hands into the leather pockets of his pants and scanned the room.
My hand roamed over the vines of the small raspberry bush, with nearly all the fruit plucked from its canes. I looked at the blueberry bush sitting to its right. The green leaves were vibrant, but the round fruit was nowhere to be found. Plant after plant was near bare or entirely naked.
“Why not use an outdoor garden?” I bent down and grazed my hand over a small ripe tomato.
“Our soil is inhospitable, so we import soil from Shalebridge and use containers to grow our produce.”
I turned to face him. “How do you feed your animals?”
He gazed at the sky contemplatively. “We provide what we can. There are flowerbeds where we grow grass for the animals that need it, and import fish for the others. It’s why Kuroden depends so heavily on imports.”
Carefully, I bent down and closed my eyes, reaching into the soil and placing a few drops of magic into the tomato plant. The dirt buzzed, and the vines rejoiced with delight. Dozens of tiny tomatoes bloomed.
“I wasn’t showing you because I expected you to fix them,” he breathed. “I was trying to get you away from my mother. She tends to ask a lot of questions—and, well, you looked uncomfortable.”
I looked up at him.
“We’ll be leaving soon.”
“You don’t live here?” I studied his face.
He shook his head. “I live in a townhouse in the main area of the capital.”
“But you’re the king.” My face scrunched. “Shouldn’t you be residinginthe castle?”
He didn’t respond. Instead, he strode over, plucked a tomato from the vine, and plopped it into his mouth. He smiled as he glided his finger over the other blossoming red fruits.
“Where’s your father?” I stood and looked in his direction, not understanding the dynamics of his family. The book from the Sutton library had abruptly stopped soon after his parents wed. Even those details were murky and incomplete.
“Dead,” he said matter-of-factly. He stood and held my gaze.
I scanned his face but couldn’t read him. I dropped back down and dug my fingertips into the soil of the raspberries and blueberries, feeling the shrub and bramble hum. Working my way around the courtyard, I replenished the produce in dozens of pots.
“Aunts? Uncles?” If I were going to be stuck in Kuroden, I needed to know my captor.
“Somewhere in the Oras.” He shadowed me around the area. “I don’t speak with any of them and my mother was an only child.”
“You’re so open about everything.” I shifted on my feet. “Why?”
He shrugged. “Can’t always keep people at arm’s length. My family’s past is not my own, and eventually you have to learn to let people in.” He blew out a breath. “Sometimes count on them for help, even when you don’t want to.”
