Since there was no way to judge the passage of time, I didn’t know how long I slept.
I bathed when I returned to the cabin, fetching my own water from the well and heating the water over the flames before I poured it into the tub. The bath wasn’t made of porcelain with gold lining. It was just a wooden bucket on the floor. But as long as it made me clean, I didn’t care that it wasn’t fancy.
The bed wasn’t a soft mattress made of sheep’s cotton and goose feather, just dried grass bunched together with a thin sheet for padding and blankets on top. But I slept so hard it felt like my old bed in my bedchambers.
When I woke up, it was dark—because it was always dark. The cabins didn’t have windows, probably because they couldn’t make glass with their limited resources. So if I wanted to see anything, I had to open the door for enough light from the torches to prepare the fire in the hearth. It wasn’t cold enough to warrant the flames, but I needed them to see. Without a sky in the Depths, there was no wind. No clouds. No rain. No heator snow. So the temperature was always the same, mild with a slight humidity to the air.
I dressed in the clothes Morco had provided and put the seeds I’d harvested into my pocket. When I approached the Gathering, people were eating another helping of stew. Normally, only lunch and dinner were served, but since there was such a surplus of food, they’d decided to serve breakfast.
I wouldn’t pass up a meal, not when I knew how rare these occasions were, so I took a bowl and sat at a table alone. It seemed like everyone was there, including Krull, and I hoped he wouldn’t bother me.
I sat down and waited to take a bite because the bowl was steaming hot. I watched the vapor dance around the surface as I stirred my spoon, seeing the chunks of meat along with the chunks of potato and carrots.
The table shook when someone took a seat across from me, and my heart leaped in dread at the thought of seeing Krull. His propositions felt like threats, and his admiration felt like an assault.
But it was that pretty brunette I’d seen speak with Morco. She was tall, with shining green eyes and a confidence I could feel even when we were at a great distance from each other. I could feel her anger the second she sat down, see her hostility because she wore it like an outfit.
Her arms were folded on the table, and she leaned close, her intimidation invading my space. “I know you’re new here, so let me enlighten you on a couple things. Morco and I are together, so know your place and stay there.”
As if someone had kicked me in the stomach, I felt the food I hadn’t touched jump back into my throat. Just when I felt somewhat invited into this group after my contribution, I was outlawed once again. “I’m sorry, who are you?”
Her eyes flashed with an obvious look of anger, like my genuine comment was a slap. “Allegra.”
“Morco said he didn’t want children.”
“Doesn’t mean he’s not committed to me. Interfere with that, and you’ll be the next thing in this stew.”
Perhaps it was a lifetime spent in a castle, but I wasn’t used to anyone speaking to me that way. My temper lashed out quicker than one of the angry vipers I found in the garden. “I’m one of the reasons our stomachs are full, and you’re going to come at me like that?”
She slowly leaned back, doing her best to retain her stoic expression, but it was obvious she was surprised that I’d snapped back once she’d trod on me. Her lips pressed tightly together, and her eyes dropped momentarily.
“We can grow and harvest these root vegetables without sunlight—and I found them. I went out into the dark in a world I don’t know and risked my life for this, and you have the nerve to sit there and threaten me?”
“I just want our situation to be clear?—”
“I don’t want Morco, but if I did, this threat wouldn’t stop me.”
She gave me a long, hard stare, her eyes intelligent and emotional, the fire from her ire dimmed. It was unclear what her thoughts were, if she wanted to kill me or if my rage had neutralized her wrath.
“If you have to fight a woman for a man, he’s not worth fighting for. Just some friendly advice.”
She gave a slight wince, like my kindness had been more painful than her insults. She left the table and walked off, head held high like we hadn’t just been entangled in an angry dispute. She headed to the cauldron, where one of the girls ladled stew into her bowl. Then she walked off and joined a table where other girls were seated.
“I like your flames—especially when they burn.” Krull approached my table from the side. He must have crept close during the argument with Allegra, unnoticed in the heat of the moment. He had an arrogant smirk on his face, the same predatory look on his face as those wolves when they’d chased me in the dark. “Given my proposition any more thought?”
“I just want to eat, alright?” I kept my head down, dunked my spoon in the scalding-hot broth, and hoped he would just go away. It was a lot easier to tell Allegra off because she was a woman, but there would be very different consequences if I pissed him off.
“Alright, let me join you.” He took the seat across from me, where Allegra had just been.
No.
Now Allegra’s company felt like fucking sunshine.
I’d been starving a second ago, but now my appetite vanished. Even a full bowl of stew wasn’t enough to chase off the hunger because I was used to a diet full of delicious bread and pastries and jellies. Now it was just meat and vegetables, when I hadn’t cared for meat much in the first place.
With the same obnoxious grin, he stared at me, reveling in my discomfort.
I spun my spoon around the stew, unsure if I should just get up and leave. But if I walked back to my cabin, he might follow me, and there might not be anyone around to witness whatever might happen.
