When he had my attention, he jerked his chin toward a banquet table, where a toddy wobble was piling his plate high with meats and cheeses, balancing a fresh slice of sourdough bread on top of the stack with a greedy grin.
“Okay, okay, okay, okay.” I bounced on my toes.
“Ready?” Soren asked.
I sucked in a deep breath and blew it out. “I mean, not really. But let’s do this.”
AS WE APPROACHED thedinner plates at one end of the buffet, the toddy left, moving toward the nearby dessert table. We were going to miss our chance. I blurted loudly, “I don’t think my—”
“Wait for me to set you up,” Soren whispered in my ear.
His warm breath on my skin made me shiver. I swallowed, nodded, and picked up a dinner plate when he did.Chill, I reminded myself.This won’t work if you sound crazy.
Whatever food the court served that night, I didn’t know, since I slapped it on the dinnerware without looking.
Soren touched my elbow as we met at the other end of the table, turning toward the desserts and, more importantly, the unaware toddy. Leaning close to my ear once again, he asked softly, “You’re going to eat pickled marsh grubs? You should probably know that they’re generally baked with a mold crust as a delicacy for certain folk.”
My eyes widened. I tried not to gag since we were close to the toddy now, but one glance at the plate had me covering my mouth.
Soren chuckled.
“Shh,” I hissed as we came to a stop by a raised platter of brownies and a five-tier cake. I smacked his arm, but I couldn’t help chuckling when he raised a brow. It helped release some of my tension. This time, I was the one to invade his space as I whispered, “You know the food is just for looks!”
“Still,” he murmured back with a teasing glint in his eye as he picked up a cookie. “There were a dozen other options that would’ve been more believable. You really are aterribleliar.”
Adding a slice of cake to my plate, I rolled my eyes.
I was about to ask him why he’d say that right now, since it was literally the worst timing, but he continued speaking at a more normal volume. “If your mother is from the Grimhollow clan, then I would’ve thought she’d come for her family if they were in trouble.”
Oh. Oh! Showtime. Okay, Brynn, you can do this.
“No, I don’t think my mom would come for us,” I said, like we’d rehearsed. But saying the words out loud made me tense. I obviously didn’t believe it. I didn’twantto believe it. But somehow, saying it, it made me worry... Mom was fae, after all, and I never would’ve guessed that either. What if I’d never really known her at all? Was there the slightest possibility she really wouldn’t come for us? Then I started to panic, because what if I’d just started believing my own lie? And what if that made it true? Then the toddy wouldn’t smell anything—
Soren must’ve seen the panic written all over my face, because he took my plate out of my hand and set both our meals on the dessert table in one smooth motion before pulling me into his arms. His hug enveloped my whole body. My face pressed into his warm, firm chest. His arms surrounded me, blocking out the rest of the court and whatever the toddy was doing, but suddenly, I didn’t care so much. I could stay here forever.
My rapid breathing slowly smoothed out.
