My heart suffered palpitations, and sweat collected under my clothes. I was angry but scared to express it, unsure if that would entice him even more. I’d had little interest from men in Baccara simply because I was a noble and rarely left the castle grounds. Was this what the world was like for everyone else? Advances that couldn’t be rejected, interest that was predatory. “Just leave me alone.”
“How can I change your mind, otherwise?”
“I won’t change my mind.”
“Krull.” Morco appeared, eyes reserved for my adversary. “Prepare another batch of meat. Stew’s almost out.”
Krull hesitated, eyes still on me like he wanted to continue this conversation despite the interruption. But he didn’t dare defyMorco and left his seat. “Yes, Chief.” He didn’t look at Morco once as he left, staring at me until he turned his back and walked away.
The second he was gone, I could breathe again, could feel the air fill every crevice of my lungs. An invisible net of safety surrounded me, cast by Morco’s bare hands.
Morco took the seat that both Allegra and Krull had vacated. He had his stew with him, but he let it sit there and cool as he stared at me, arms on the table, the size of his muscles straining the fabric of his shirt. His eyes were just as intense, but in a very different way from Krull’s. While they were angry and dangerous, his wrath didn’t seem reserved for me. His gaze didn’t seem predatory, but protective.
I’d known this man for less than a week, but I somehow felt so close to him. Felt a friendship whose foundation was built on darkness and fear. My feelings might not be reciprocated, but I suspected they were. If not, he wouldn’t sit here with me now, wouldn’t have heard me call his name when I didn’t make a sound.
He said nothing, as if he expected me to speak first.
“Thank you.”
His elbows rested on the table, and his hands came together, big fingers and knuckles, veins on the surface. He massaged one absent-mindedly as he soaked in my gratitude. “I’ll take care of it.”
“No,” I said quickly. “I don’t want a retaliation.”
“There won’t be.”
“But if you say something?—”
“I’ll kill him if he bothers you again,” he said. “There will be no retaliation.”
My eyes dropped when I heard him speak, hearing the words of a protector, the likes of which I hadn’t heard in years. My father had always looked out for me, even when I wasn’t in the room, protected me from fears I never knew about. I only realized how much he’d done for me after he was gone—when the wolves came in the dark. This was the first time I’d felt that safety since he died—and in the most unlikely place. “Thank you.”
When the conversation was completed, he grabbed his spoon and stirred his stew before he took his first bite.
I looked past his shoulder and saw that Krull had left the Gathering to prepare the meat. Allegra was still seated at the table with her friends, and she stared right at me. My eyes darted away, and I looked at my own bowl. “You don’t have to sit with me, Morco. I know you have other people.”
He ignored what I said and continued to eat.
I wasn’t sure if he’d heard what I said, but I didn’t repeat it.
“I like the potatoes. You’re right. They’re filling like meat.”
“Yeah.”
“We need to grow as many of these as possible.”
“I collected several dozen seeds, but I imagine only a third of them will make it to the end.”
“Then we’ll return and gather more—and whatever else we can find.”
I wasn’t eager to return to the open darkness, but I would do whatever was required of me. This strange place was home now.I would never see the sunlight again, just remember it in my dreams. “I’ll plant these after breakfast. After that, I’m free to leave whenever you’re ready.”
“I’ll send a group with you this time.”
“As in, you won’t be coming?”
He continued to lean over his bowl and eat. “Is that a problem?”
“No.”
