I dig in with my utensil and slowly take a bite. As soon as the hot pastry hits my mouth, an involuntary, muffled moan escapes me as I chew on the hot gooeyness of it.
I look up and find Daegan’s eyes on my lips. His gaze flicks up to meet my eyes, and he points to his own lip with one long finger. “Got something there,” he mumbles, then looks away at the drunk people now dancing around the room. The music has kicked up, the string instruments playing a more upbeat song.
I don’t care. I wipe it away and continue devouring the pie.
“Elysande,” Raef moans through a heaping mouthful. It’s a bite so big he can barely shut his mouth. “So good,” he manages to get out.
I smile with a mouthful.
“Day,” Raef says, his mouth finally clear. “You need to try this. I’m so serious.”
“No thanks.”
Between the ale and the best pie ever, I’m feeling emboldened. “You can fight off an army of large spiders, but you’re afraid of a slice of pie?” I tease.
He shoots me an irritated look, but then he sighs, and to my surprise, he opens up his mouth toward Raef and waits for him to feed him a bite.
Laughter spills out of me as Raef does it happily, then Daegan looks at me as he closes his mouth around it, and winks. Raef misses it.
My cheeks flush, and I look down at my own dessert, unsure how to react to that.
“Good, right?” Raef asks. I like Raef. I like that he’s always smiling, and I like that he has the deepest gravelly voice, even though he’s joking and happy all the time.
“Okay, one more bite,” Daegan commands, holding his mouth open again.
I laugh into my flagon, and then I finish it off.
Shortly after, we call it a night. We make plans to meet for breakfast early in the morning, then ride back to the castle after. They go to their shared room, and I go to my own. Alone again as usual.
When I get back to my room, the shock of how truly dirty and weathered I look sinks in, but at the same time, the exhaustion hits me like a sinking stone. I skip the bath, using my water powers to quickly rinse myself off, then I drop my head onto the pillow. The last image in my mind before the looming slumber takes me is a dark forest, the sensation of a blazing fire on my back.
Chapter 18
Daegan and Raef are already downstairs for breakfast, and they’ve chosen the same table we were at the previous night.
Daegan’s gaze flicks up and meets mine mere moments after I enter the room and see them, his head tilting slightly. He continues to watch me from across the room as he nods his head absently at whatever Raef is saying.
Nerves fill me as I stride toward them. The previous night feels like a strange dream now, and it sticks in my mind as strongly as one would. I’ve never shared so much with anyone, and now, facing them without any drink in my system seems… daunting.
They must have been as depleted as I was before sleeping last night, but it looks like they managed to take baths anyway. It felt phenomenal to fully immerse myself in the hot tub this morning, scrubbing off every last trace of that dark forest.
Daegan’s waves are now clean and shinier than ever, but I think I like the wildness about them more.
He’s still an ass, though. An ass with nice hair.
“Morning.” Daegan is the first to speak.
“Morning…” I reply, drawing out the last sound. Is that… almost not a scowl on his face as he holds his mug of what I’m assuming is tea?
I look at Raef, who finally notices my presence.
“How long have you been up? I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long,” I say as I take the same chair across from them.
“Early riser over here.” Raef grumbles, shooting a look of ire toward Daegan.
“So he woke up and gave you some morning snuggles?” I jest.
Raef roars with a laugh while Daegan shoots me a look of irritation. “There were two small beds,” he mumbles.
