“Morning, Warden,” he beams. “Looking as chippy as always,” he goads.
Forcing an awkward sort of smile, I stand next to Kael, staring down at the floor. I want to hide, to squeeze myself into somewhere small where no one will notice me. Every knight in here seems to be staring at me.
Rowan’s gaze slides to me, then back to Kael.
“You’re late,” he says.
“We are precisely on time. You, my friend, are just painfully early,” Kael replies, clicking his tongue. Rowan ignores him and gestures to the space next to him.
“Sit,” he says. I hesitate, not sure what to do. Rowan turns to look at me, squinting his eyes before I rush into the space beside him.
Kael leans into me, half whispering,
“Ask him how the mushrooms are today,” he says, raising his eyebrows and grinning at Rowan. Rowan rolls his eyes, returning to his food. Kael stands, pointing at me,
“Wait here, I’ll grab you some bits. You eat anything, right?” But he’s already gone before I can answer. I am now very aware of the six-foot-five wall of armour seated next to me as Rowan continues to eat his food, not stopping to glance at me. The silence lasts forever, and I fight back the urge to say something. Anything to break the tension. A sigh escapes me when I spot Kael return to the table. Rowan must hear it as his eyes dart to mine briefly.
“Got you a bit of everything!” Kael exclaims, handing me a knife and fork.
I stare down at the tray of food, a mix of assortments.
Again, my judgement seems misguided.
It’s just food.
Normal breakfast foods.
“Eat,” Rowan huffs in a deep voice to my left. I pause for a second before taking my first bite.
“Why do you look so surprised?” Kael asks me. “Do they not have food like this where you come from?”
“Well, yes… we do. I just…” I stumble lost for words. “It’s just…normal food?” I say, sounding more confused than I mean to.
Kael and Rowan share a glance before Kael bursts into laughter, and a faint smile curves at the edge of Rowan’s lips. I feel an odd sense of achievement at seeing Rowan’s hard exterior slightly chip. It doesn’t last very long, though, before he coughs and returns to his icy demeanour.
The surrounding whispers grow louder, knights turning their heads and stealing glances at our table. Rowan lifts his head, glancing around us as the muscle in his cheek flickers. He sets his fork down with deliberate care, the soft clink making me look at him. He rises from his seat as the entire room falls silent.
Oh god.
“I’m sure Commander Rook told you all this was a closed topic for discussion, did he not?” He calls across the room, his voice deep and commanding. “She is under my supervision, which means she eats where I eat, and she will be where I am at all times.” My cheeks flush with heat. He continues, “You won’t talk to her. You will not look at her. Disobey me and find out what happens. Your choice.”
A few of the knights suddenly find their bowls very interesting as they resume conversations, and no one seems to look at me again. Kael tuts opposite me.
“You do have a love for the dramatic, don’t you, Ro?”
My eyes fall to my plate, cheeks burning.
The attention feels heavy and suffocating.
The urge to apologise rises instinctively in my chest. I swallow it down, not wanting to irritate Rowan. My gaze lingers on him for a moment too long before he turns to look at me and catches me staring. We hold eye contact for what feels like forever before Kael breaks the tension.
“So…” he claps his hands together. “Elodie here says you told her not to call you Rothwyn?”
I stiffen, almost choking on my porridge.
“He…I…he told me to. I thought…”
“Did he now?” Kael turns to Rowan, smiling. Rowan shoots him a look that could cut stone.
