Her eyes went wide. “Dragon?”
I nodded. “It’s supposed to taste like something you call beef,” I said, sending a wave of air to settle the slab onto the cutting board on the counter.
“Are you going to add eggs and cheese to it?” Sol asked around a mouthful of his snack.
Claire smiled. “I think we can save that for breakfast.”
I gave her simple tasks of cutting vegetables and grinding fresh spices. She seemed to enjoy the job, and I felt a pang of regret for her. All of this was so new and different for the Halfling, but I was able to give her something that maybe made her feel like she was back home, doing monotonous things she used to do as a human, such as chopping up ingredients in a kitchen. I supposed it didn’t matter what world or race one was a part of—food still needed preparing.
It wasn’t until I had closed the oven door on a decorated pan of dragon steak and gotten to work on a patty salad that I felt Claire’s magic testing mine. I stopped folding the leaves over strips of filling to glance at her.
“I understand if you don’t want to be here,” she said, her words soft and for my ears alone. Her bright eyes fixated on me, rooting me to the spot. “I didn’t mean to uproot you and Sol, and I’m sure when Exos comes back, I can explain that Cyrus made a mistake.” Something in her gaze said she hoped I would disagree with her, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to.
I glanced at Sol, but she’d done the trick skillfully enough that he hadn’t heard her. He chomped down on the last of his snack and fluttered his eyes closed, blissfully enjoying the simplicity of a tasty treat.
Yes, I knew what Sol needed. He needed to be around fae strong enough to help him. Fae like me…
Fae like Cyrus and Exos with royal lines stronger than mine.
Perhaps even a fae like Claire.
She edged closer to me, her fingers grazing my arm in a way that made my magic snap taut against hers. She sucked in a breath but didn’t back away.
“The king’s orders are never disobeyed,” I said, trying to put ice and steel into my tone like Cyrus was so good at doing. He seemed to have a knack for pushing the Halfling away, and that was one skill I needed to work on. If I was going to be her guardian, I didn’t want to end up mating with her. Not because I disliked her, but because it was just too complicated.
She flinched at my tone, and even though she backed away and left me feeling guilty, I knew it was the right thing to do.
“Right,” she said, her teeth grating at the mention of Cyrus. “Well, at least he won’t be getting any dragon steak. Right?”
I nodded. “I didn’t get enough for him.” A lie, but Sol would help cover that up with his mighty appetite.
She crossed her arms and seemed pleased by that. “Honestly, I vote we never let him have any of the meals we cook together.”
Together.
Why do I like that?
I cleared my throat and continued folding the salad patties. “Agreed.”
We worked on the last of the meal in amiable silence, Sol displaying one of his rare bouts of patience until the dragon steak and patties were done.
We all sat around the table, and Titus joined us, his skin steaming as he used his magic to dry himself. He grinned as he settled next to Claire and gave her a kiss. “It smells delicious.”
Claire laughed and leaned into him, but her eyes were on me. “It was all Vox, really.”
Sol grabbed his steak with both hands and ripped into it. He chewed and swallowed the enormous bite, then smacked his lips. “Delicious,” he agreed.
I took one of the leaves from my salad patty and used it to pick up my portion of steak. “Bon appétit,” I said with a grin.
We dug into our food, and for the first time in a long while, I didn’t feel uncomfortable around other fae. Food always had a way of bringing everyone together, which, I guessed, was why I’d learned to cook in the first place. I didn’t exactly have the most stellar social skills, so I let a good meal do the work for me.
By the way Claire looked at me—like I’d just given her a piece of her life back—maybe it worked a little too well.
“So, tomorrow,” Titus said, putting down the last of his leaves with a satisfied sigh. “I’m off to Fire Quad without you, sweetheart.”
She appeared slightly uneasy at the notion. “And where am I going?”
He lifted his glass and gave Sol a salute. “Earth Quad.”