“Who is she?” Amira asked Rhay. His smile slipped.
“It’s the late queen.” Rhay closed the book. “Don’t speak of her to anyone here, especially not Karwyn.”
Amira knew that the last queen, King Harten Adelway’s second wife, had lived quite a reclusive life and died when Karwyn was still a child. She had heard rumours that the queen was a commoner and a level one like her. The high king had supposedly never revealed his wife’s origin. But Harten Adelway was a highly respected high king and no one had dared to oppose him. The Queen of Turosian was also well known for her melancholia and quietness. Rare were the ones to have even heard her speak. It seemed that after the queen’s death, her name fell into oblivion. Amira wondered if she would receive a similar fate.
Even as a non-empath, Amira felt that something had shifted in Rhay. His defensive reply made Amira very uncomfortable. Rhay was keeping something from her and she realised how unpleasant it was to see Rhay so serious.
“I’m sorry, I just…” she started.
“Let’s move on,” he interrupted her. “Come on, let’s visit the palace. I’ll show you the best rooms to hide in order to avoid your responsibilities.” He extended his hand.
Amira was relieved that his playful tone had returned, but should she give in to his offer? She debated staying here to study alone. That would be the responsible thing to do. But she longed for somethingmore.She longed for friendship, for warmth, for fun. Living in Wryen’s world, she was never allowed to choose anything herself. But she could choose now.
Closing the book, she stood up, crushing the vague feeling of guilt in her head. She avoided taking Rhay’s extended hand, fearing that the familiarity would be frowned upon by the court, yet a smile graced her lips.
“Show me,” she said.
Chapter19
Amira
The last room Rhay showed her was a vast kitchen. The soot coming from the large chimney had darkened the high ceiling. In it, there was enough room to roast a whole pig.
It was after lunchtime and the cooks were busy putting away the scraps left from the meal. In the air, the smells of juicy cooked meat, a flavourful vegetable broth, and luscious peaches mixed together perfectly.
No one seemed to be paying them any attention and Amira almost got hit by a young kitchen porter carrying a large burnt pan. “Sorry, m’lady,” he quickly said before hurrying away to wash the pan.
Amira turned around to face Rhay. As she was about to speak, her belly rumbled, causing a chuckle from Rhay.
“I see I picked the right time to bring you here,” Rhay stated.
“Do you think they have some leftovers from lunch? I haven’t had breakfast,” Amira said, a bit embarrassed.
Rhay looked around, an excited spark in his eyes. He went to the pantry, gesturing for Amira to follow. He opened it and a wave of cold air brushed Amira’s skin. The pantry had been spelled to keep food cold at all times. Rhay took out some plates and put them on a rustic table next to him. Amira’s mouth salivated when she saw the leg of a roasted chicken.
She was about to seize it when Rhay gently tapped her hand away. “Wait, I’m going to cook you something.” Amira must have looked shocked because he added proudly, “I’ve been told I’m a great cook.”
She was really hungry but she didn’t want to upset Rhay so she let him do his cooking. He seemed to be taking the most random things and combining them: shredded chicken, a thick chocolate ganache, and a stinky piece of melted cheese.
Amira had to repress her instinct to throw up when Rhay put the plate in front of her. Instead, she offered a fake smile. “That smells interesting.”
“Come on, dig in. It’s one of my specialties.” Rhay was beaming, looking proudly at the meal he had created.
She carefully took a bite of the weirdly mushy meat covered in a yucky-coloured sauce. It was worse than she expected. The mix of textures and taste made her feel like she was eating raw meat left in the sunlight for days. She didn’t know it was possible to cook something that disgusting. Amira was far from a great cook, she had only baked a few times back home with her mother, but she knew that she could have done ten times better than this…meal, if one could call it that.
“Are you practicing hiding your emotions?” Rhay asked, looking up from her barely touched food. Amira furrowed her brows, not understanding the question. “I can sense disgust, so I thought you were trying to trick my power by leaning into an opposite emotion.”
He looked so hopeful, like a young puppy waiting for praise. Amira debated lying to him, but she couldn’t stop herself from gagging. She saw the joy disappearing from his eyes.
“It’s not good?” he said, disappointed.
Amira swallowed with difficulty before speaking. “I’m sorry, it’s awful.”
“That bad? Karwyn told me it was delicious.”
“Karwyn must be an excellent friend. Or a good liar.”
Looking at Rhay’s face, Amira was worried that she had gone too far. But he let out a loud laugh, throwing his head back. She joined him and quickly they couldn’t stop laughing. Amira’s eyes began to water and Rhay was out of breath.
