“Are Qhohena and Zadione not here on the continent as the other gods are?”
“No.” Ciana wanted to explain more. The full explanation sat on the tip of her tongue, the full truth behind why her queen was so much more than just a queen, but some instinct stopped her. A low warning tug deep in the pit of her stomach, right next to that place inside her that she refused to touch.
If Niktael saw her hesitation, he didn’t comment on it. He took another sip of his whiskey, the picture of handsome, casual grace. “And Onita’s magic?” he pressed. “I know of the marvelous ingenuity of yourallume. Do your people also have gifts?”
“Some do,” she said. “It is all either fire or wind magic.” She sipped her wine and twirled the small ring on her pinky, savoring the way the tart liquor soothed the thoughts that threatened to wander into places she didn’t want to go. “We used to believe that both gifts came from Qhohena. But recently, we learned that it’s only the gift of flame that comes from the golden goddess; the wind magic is owed to Priam.”
“Fascinating. A people with two kinds of magic.” There was true awe in Nik’s expression. “What about Zadione? Do any gifts come from her?”
Ciana shook her head. “She was trapped in Enfara for thousands of years. Even if she wanted to, this world wasunreachable to her.” She paused. “But Mariah told me that if she had, it would’ve been the gift of healing.”
Nik ran a finger across the rim of his glass. “What about you, Ciana?” he murmured softly. “Do you have any gifts from the gods?”
“No. Of course not. I wouldn’t be here if I did.” The words burned as they left her tongue, but she forced a smile and a weak chuckle.
Nik looked like he was about to ask something further, but the doors to the kitchen swung open. Servers reentered the room, bearing their main course. Ciana hid her heavy sigh of relief in her wine glass, taking another deep drink.
A man in a stained white coat emerged from the kitchens, halting at the head of their table. “Your Majesty. Lady Visseau.” He bowed to them both in turn. “For your dinner.”
Servers set the plates on the table.
Ciana’s mouth watered.
“I have prepared braised brocket loin, paired with roasted summer squash and onions and served with a white wine, caper, mushroom, and lemon sauce.” He bowed again. A server refilled Ciana’s wine as another replaced Niktael’s drink with a fresh glass. “Please, do enjoy.” The servers silently left the dining room, returning to the kitchen on the other side of the wall.
Ciana already had her utensils in hand, about to slice into the steaming food. She paused, lifting her gaze, finding Niktael already watching her. “Brocket?”
He made a face that was somewhere between a chuckle and a grimace. “A small breed of deer. They’re difficult to hunt, and we consider them a delicacy.”
A deer. Okay. “Are they cute?”
“Painfully so, I’m afraid.”
Ciana glanced back down to her plate, hesitating.
She shrugged, slicing into the tender steak. It was perfectly cooked, the center red and soft.
Lots of animals were cute. It had never stopped her before. And this? This smelledincredible.
With her first bite, Ciana decided brocket was her new favorite meal.
They again fell into silence as they ate, Ciana unable to stop her small murmurs and moans as she worked through the plate. Mikael’s cooking back in Verith was incredible, there was no mistaking that. But this? This was life changing.
When she finally pushed the plate away from her, resting back in her chair, she had to stop herself from asking for seconds.
“That good, wasn’t it?”
Ciana jumped, eyes going wide as she met the king’s gaze across the table. She’ll admit; she’d forgotten he was there for a moment.
The foodwasthat good.
Any embarrassment she might’ve felt was washed away by a happy haze of contentment, the flavors coursing through her system. She gave the king a genuine smile, taking a small sip of her wine. “That was probably the best meal I’ve ever had in my life.”
“I will be sure to give the chef your compliments.”
“Please do. Before I ask Mariah to steal him away and hire him in the kitchens in Verith.”
Nik chuckled. “I fear that might be enough to start a war.”
